Chapter 89: Wu Family

Chapter 89: The Wu Family

After a moment of silent deliberation, Li Huowang nodded. "Speak, old man. What are these rules of yours?"

"First off, here in Wu Family Village, no talking back to your elders, especially not to me," the goat-bearded village chief said, raising his index finger.

"That's it?" Not only was Li Huowang taken aback, but everyone else was utterly bewildered as well.

They had expected some bizarre and outlandish rules, only to find them so utterly mundane.

"Aren't these just family rules? Are you really going to use your own family rules to constrain outsiders?"

Li Huowang tapped Gouwa beside him with his hand and said to the village chief, "Please, go on. We're listening."

"Second, since we're right next to the woods, living creatures from the forest often wander out. Whether it's rats or wildcats, you must neither strike them nor step on them. If you meet them on the path, you must yield first. In the past, they did our Wu family a great favor."

"Third, since you are guests from afar, no man is allowed to speak to the women of our village. This rule didn't exist in previous years, but a few years ago, a peddler ran off with two of our brides! Ugh, just mentioning that peddler makes my blood boil..."

Under the village chief's incessant chatter, Li Huowang and the others gradually learned of the various rules of Wu Family Village, even trivial matters like not relieving oneself just anywhere were brought up.

"Shallow waters breed many turtles; this broken village has quite a lot of rotten rules. Maybe we just shouldn't stay here after all."

"Hush, listen quietly."

By then, the village chief's recitation of the rules was nearing its end. "The eleventh rule is no lighting lamps at night, and no going out at night. And the very last rule is that, no matter the time, you must wait for the other person to turn around before speaking. Never speak with your back to someone."

Hearing this, Li Huowang's brows furrowed slightly; these last two items felt somewhat off.

"And what if I break these rules? What then?"

"Break the rules?!" The village chief's eyes instantly widened to their maximum, and he declared with full confidence, "Fines! Break it once, and it's a tael of silver. Break it again, and you pay again! We'll fine you until you don't dare do it again! Don't say we're bullying you outlanders; our own clansmen are treated the same."

"..." Li Huowang suddenly had the illusion that perhaps he had misjudged the situation.

Feeling someone tug at the hem of his robe, Li Huowang nodded at the goat-bearded old man before him. "Rest assured, old man. We are reasonable people."

"Mm, that's good. Otherwise, seeing you traveling with two children, I wouldn't have wasted my breath. I'm old now, and I can't bear to see children suffer."

With that, he turned and walked into the courtyard. The two carriages stopped in the yard, and Li Huowang and the others carried their quilts into the slightly musty west wing.

By the time they finished sweeping and tidying up, the sun had already begun to slant westward.

Once everything was settled, the village chief walked in again, a smile on his face. "Say, young fellows, will you be having dinner here? If so, I'll have the boys' mother cook a bit more."

"Dinner?" Li Huowang's heart tightened; one does not simply eat another's food without consequence.

After a moment's thought, Li Huowang nodded and said, "Then we shall trouble you, old man."

Watching the old man leave with his hands behind his back, Li Huowang gave Xiaoman a meaningful glance. "Go to the kitchen and help the host."

"Mm." Xiaoman nodded and walked out.

The village chief had a large family, with six sons and two daughters, plus grandchildren; during meals, dozens of people made for a lively scene.

This was also the reason he dared to take in Li Huowang and the others; in the village, as long as one had many sons, no one dared to provoke them.

Despite living in a three-courtyard estate, the Wu family ate double-steamed rice that hardly filled the stomach, and their dishes were merely green vegetables grown in their own fields, appearing exceedingly stingy.

Moreover, by the time Li Huowang came out, they had already started eating. There was not the slightest hint of hosts waiting for guests, and many plates were already scraped clean.

"The rice is over there, serve yourselves. Country folk don't have so many rules when eating."

Li Huowang shook his head indifferently. "It's fine, it's fine."

He led his people toward the steamer in the corner of the wall, but in his heart, he began to silently count.

Just as he reached ten in his mind, the sound of shattering bowls rang out clamorously behind him.

When he turned around, he saw that dozens of people, including the village chief, were all sprawled on the ground, fast asleep.

"Heh, that peddler's sleeping draught is indeed quite good. You truly get what you pay for."

Regardless of whether these people were controlled by the evil entity called "La Yue Shi Ba" and planning to set a trap for him, Li Huowang had no intention of figuring it out; striking first was always the right move.

With a wave of Li Huowang's hand, the others swiftly rushed toward the east wing where the hosts lived, beginning to search for clues.

"Look for characters first, then anything else unusual. The more bizarre, the more attention it deserves, like Buddha plaques or spirit tablets. I want to see what tricks they're really playing!" Li Huowang told the others.

Searching east and rummaging west, Li Huowang and the others turned the entire three-courtyard estate upside down, yet they found nothing. There was nothing out of the ordinary.

"How can there be nothing?" Li Huowang stood in the main hall, his brows tightly furrowed as he pondered the issue.

After a whole day of hard work, apart from the woods outside the village chief's house being slightly abnormal, they had discovered nothing.

"Could La Yue Shi Ba be in the woods from earlier? No, I just checked; this village is surrounded by a bamboo forest. If La Yue Shi Ba is hiding anywhere, it must be here."

"Does finding their family's loose silver count?" Gouwa said at this moment, holding some loose silver in his hands.

Seeing the look Li Huowang shot his way, Gouwa sighed helplessly and walked back, holding the silver with his head hung low.

Glancing at the dim sky outside, Li Huowang gave another order: "Go get the fire steel and light the fire."

"Senior Brother Li, aren't we forbidden from lighting fires?" Bai Lingmiao asked in confusion.

Hearing this, Li Huowang's eyes narrowed slightly, and his right hand brushed against the row of torture implements at his waist.

"I just want to see what happens if we light it."

If there were any other doubts about this village, it lay in the rules spoken by this goat-bearded old man.

"Whoosh~" The candles and lanterns previously found were quickly lit, illuminating the entire Wu Family courtyard brightly.

Li Huowang sat quietly in the hall filled with sleeping people, waiting as the sky grew darker and darker.

There was no moon tonight; the darkness was as if a great black cloth had been draped over the world.

Yet that was all; dark as it was, absolutely nothing happened.

"Hah~" Gouwa yawned and leaned against a pillar, beginning to doze off.

The others seemed infected by him, yawning one after another.

Looking at the unconscious Wu family members on the ground, a trace of doubt arose in Li Huowang's heart. "Did I really come to the wrong place?"

Just as he thought this, a playful giggle rang out from the top of the courtyard wall. "Hee hee, you broke the rules."

(End of Chapter)