Chapter 888: Reward

Chapter 888: Reward

Within the village encircled by the forest, Li Huowang ate bamboo tube rice under the gaze of the women.

The semicircular bamboo slices functioned like spoons, scooping up the rice and stuffing it into his mouth with great gusto.

While eating, Li Huowang continued his inner conversation with Li Sui: "Sui Sui, what do you think?"

"Not much. They’re probably just ordinary citizens of Tianchen Country, and they likely know little about anything."

After finishing the bamboo tube rice in a few bites, Li Huowang wiped his mouth and handed back the bamboo tube to the woman before him. "Thank you for your hospitality, Sister. If it's not too much trouble, would there be an empty room where I could spend the night?"

"Of course! I’ll pay for the room." Li Huowang reached into his sleeve and pulled out several darkened silver coins that appeared in his palm.

"Just one night—no need to worry about it." The woman was very enthusiastic, tugging at Li Huowang’s arm to lead him forward.

"Are the people of Tianchen Country this kind-hearted?" Li Huowang couldn’t help but wonder in his heart.

It was hard to imagine these people had once been followers of the Mother of the Unborn, and ultimately betrayed her, seizing her heavenly way.

"Sister, this place is pretty remote," Li Huowang glanced around at the low houses, noticing they were all wooden or woven from bamboo strips.

"Yes, it's better to be remote. We grow our own grain, no one comes to steal it."

"All ours? Does the court not collect taxes?" Li Huowang began steering the conversation toward information he wanted.

"The court? What’s a court?"

Hearing this, Li Huowang finally understood. Tianchen Country had no court. If there was no court, then there was no emperor. That made the possibility of the Golden Dragon being a dragon vein even more plausible.

Seeing the woman’s expression of surprise, Li Huowang quickly changed his tone. "Nothing, just something from my hometown."

Staring at the back of the woman leading the way, after a moment, Li Huowang asked cautiously again: "By the way, Sister, when I came here, I saw some people dressed in theatrical costumes walking on stilts, floating over rooftops."

Before Li Huowang could finish, she turned around, eyes wide with shock. "What? You said you saw... what?"

Li Huowang studied her face and the expression on it carefully, trying to detect any hint of deception.

"You're joking, right? There's no such thing as that."

But what disappointed him most was that she truly didn’t know anything about the Great Army.

Li Huowang asked a few more simple questions, but still received no answers.

As war seemed imminent in Tianchen Country, yet everything in her world remained peaceful and unchanged.

"Could it be that this place is too remote? These villagers are all narrow-minded? Never mind, let me ask what they do know."

He then used casual conversation to inquire about the general location of Tianchen Country. It was clear that Tianchen Country was vast, extremely vast.

According to the woman’s description, Li Huowang judged it to be larger than Daliang, though she couldn’t say exactly how much bigger.

In her simple worldview, this village was basically the only place she had ever lived.

To her, the entire country of Tianchen was just one big place without divisions like counties or provinces. The upper half of Tianchen was mostly flat land, full of rivers and lakes; people from there were called northerners.

The lower half was mountainous and forested; those from there were called southerners.

As for anything else, she knew nothing. She didn’t even know what “the Great Army” or “the Golden Dragon” meant. She simply lived in ignorance.

If nothing disrupted her life, she would spend her whole life within a hundred miles of this village.

"The dice truly deceived me," Li Huowang said to Li Sui in his heart. "These people can’t even touch heaven or grasp the Dao—they might not even know how to read."

Based on what this woman knew, Li Huowang realized that Tianchen Country wasn’t nearly as terrifying as the dice claimed. Just pick any random person, and you could easily pull apart their heavenly destiny.

Like Daliang and Dachi, in Tianchen, those who possessed supernatural powers were always a minority. Most people lived and died in their simple worldview, unaware.

Thinking of this, Li Huowang finally relaxed slightly, feeling the oppressive pressure of Tianchen Country ease a bit.

"Dad, the dice didn’t lie—you’re right, she can do it, she just hasn’t learned yet."

"Not learning and not knowing are the same, aren’t they? It’s too late to learn now. Shh, stay quiet. We’re almost there. Once she leaves, we’ll sneak away into the darkness to that county she mentioned."

Since this small village offered no useful clues, there was no point staying longer.

To learn more about Tianchen Country, at least one should find someone educated.

Though there was no court or emperor, there should still be someone in charge, just with a different name.

After winding through the village seven times, a small wooden house supported by wooden beams appeared before Li Huowang.

"This evening, you’ll stay here. Don’t complain it’s shabby." Seeing the woman climb up the ladder, Li Huowang followed suit, planning to knock her unconscious.

But as soon as he climbed up, Li Huowang froze in place—the woman had already stripped off the top half of her clothes.

"Come, lie down," she reached out to pull him.

Li Huowang quickly dodged her hand. He suddenly realized why there were no men in this village, and why everyone was so kind to him—it was all for a reward.

"What? You think I’m too old? Then I’ll call my youngest daughter."

"No need for that." As Li Huowang reached out and touched her face, she stiffened instantly.

Li Huowang quickly descended the ladder and, following the direction he had previously indicated, used his speed to dash away.

"Dad, did I interrupt you? Don’t worry—I won’t tell Mom."

Hearing this, Li Huowang’s scalp twitched. "Now is not the time for jokes. Don’t forget why we’re here."

He hadn’t expected the customs of Tianchen Country to be so strange.

"Dad, don’t be so tense. You should smile sometimes. If you keep this up, that string will snap eventually."

"Fine, no need for you to teach me. Let’s go."

"Dad, are you really not tempted? That woman looked quite nice."

Hearing Li Sui say that, Li Huowang felt uncomfortable. He really didn’t want to discuss this topic with his daughter.

He had always thought Li Sui knew too little, but now he felt she knew far too much.

"If you keep talking nonsense, do you believe I’ll throw you back?" Seeing Li Huowang grip the hilt of his spine sword, Li Sui finally fell silent.

Leaves and branches rustled continuously behind him as Li Huowang kept moving along the forest path.

When the hourglass illusion reversed once again, the ground ahead opened up, and a county town appeared before Li Huowang.