Li Huowang looked at the six pieces of silver and accepted them directly; after all, he needed the money.
"Young Taoist, please take your time eating. We will go and prepare first. We will depart tomorrow."
After eating their fill, the members of the Lu family felt groggy. They went back to rest and sleep, since they hadn't slept at all last night.
After they left, Li Huowang was the only one left in the room. Staring at the roasted chicken that was even larger than his head, he called for the Hu family's servants. "Is there something I can use to store and carry this?"
Soon, Li Huowang exited Wuli Gang with a donkey cart filled with bags of food.
He had to properly budget the six pieces of silver. Even though the amount wasn't enough to buy a horse, it was sufficient to buy an old donkey and a cart. At the very least, they would no longer have to carry food themselves.
When Li Huowang came out of Wuli Gang, he saw that everyone was huddled in the rice field amidst the dried rice stalks; they hadn't entered the village for fear of scaring the villagers.
At that moment, Li Huowang saw that they were roasting some sweet potatoes. He reached into the cart and took out the roasted chicken. "Here, eat this."
The group had been eating dry rations for so long that, upon seeing the chicken, they exploded with happiness and rushed over. A single chicken was then portioned and shared among ten people. While it wasn't much, they ate carefully, even chewing the bones!
"Senior Li, where did the chicken come from? And the donkey cart? Where did you go yesterday?" Bai Lingmiao asked while carefully chewing a piece of chicken.
Li Huowang lay down on a stack of dry rice stalks and slowly recounted what had happened the day before.
After hearing how Li Huowang had risked his life to obtain those things, Bai Lingmiao put down her piece of chicken and slowly approached him, worried.
"Senior Li, we're sorry for dragging you down. If it weren't for us, there'd be no reason for you to fight so hard."
Li Huowang opened his eyes and looked at the girl wearing a green cloth as a blindfold.
"It's not your fault. Since that 'thing' appeared in the ancestral hall, it means 'it' had been following us all along. Even if 'it' hadn't appeared yesterday, we would have encountered 'it' sooner or later," Li Huowang explained.
"Also," Li Huowang paused, recalling the times he was stuck in hallucinations back at the Zephyr Temple, "we still don't know who'll be dragging who in the future."
He looked at the girl and gently held her hand.
Just as Bai Lingmiao was about to pull her hand away in embarrassment, she stopped.
Li Huowang slowly closed his eyes as he lay down on the dry rice stalks. Then, he gently loosened his grip on her hand.
However, just as he was about to let go, Bai Lingmiao's soft hand tightened its grip on his.
They rested well for the night before the two groups resumed their journey. Their next destination was Jianye Town. It would be the first proper town Li Huowang would visit in this world.
"Young Taoist, the distance between Wuli Gang and Jianye Town isn't far. At our speed, we should reach it in four to five days," Lu Zhuangyuan reported to Li Huowang.
Li Huowang turned around and looked at Zhao Wu, who was being carried on Simpleton's back. "You're going home. Are you happy?"
He had heard before that Zhao Wu's home was in Jianye Town. After traveling for the past few days, he had come to understand Zhao Wu a bit more. Zhao Wu was smart, but because of his body and the fact that he was illiterate, he couldn't show his full potential.
"Zhao Wu, we're about to reach your home. Shouldn't you invite us to stay at an inn?" Puppy chuckled.
However, Zhao Wu's reaction wasn't what anyone expected. He just smiled bitterly and said, "So what if we're about to reach my home? I'm crippled. I can't even carry anything. To the people at home, I'm nothing but a parasite."
Everyone fell silent at his words; it was a truth that had been weighing on their hearts.
All the people in the Preparation Room, except Li Huowang, were more or less afflicted with some ailment. Even if they returned to their hometowns, they would still be shunned. While escaping the Zephyr Temple and death had been a relief, returning to homes filled with hostility wasn't exactly something to look forward to.
Seeing the mood sour, Li Huowang turned around and told Zhao Wu, "Who said you're useless? Since we have free time while traveling, I'll teach you how to refine pills. Memorize as much as you can. Selling some pills at home shouldn't be too bad. At least you won't starve."
Hearing this, Zhao Wu perked up, a deep thirst showing in his eyes. "Senior Li, I don't want to learn how to refine pills. Can you teach me how to read instead?"
"Why do you want to learn to read? Isn't it better to learn how to refine pills and become half a doctor? At least then you can earn a living." Li Huowang was puzzled.
While literacy was extremely useful, it takes a normal person up to five years in school to learn to read. Teaching someone who couldn't even write their name to be literate in just a few days seemed nearly impossible. It would take years of effort!
"It's alright! I'll try and learn as much as I can!"
Facing Zhao Wu's hunger for literacy, Li Huowang couldn't quite understand it. But since Zhao Wu wanted to learn, he was happy to teach.
"Simpleton, place Zhao Wu on the cart. I'll teach him."
Since Zhao Wu didn't know any basics, Li Huowang could only teach him common words and make him memorize them.
He was teaching Zhao Wu quite intently when he noticed it had suddenly gotten quiet. He looked up and saw that everyone was listening to his lessons, including the Lu family.
Not only were they listening—they looked at him with eyes full of respect, as if Li Huowang was doing something sacred.
"Erm... Young Taoist? Hehe~" Lu Zhuangyuan chuckled as he took out two preserved sausages, dragging his youngest son toward Li Huowang.
Just as Li Huowang was about to see what Lu Zhuangyuan wanted to say, a cloud of dust billowed from behind them.
Soon, a horse stopped in front of them, and a plump man jumped down.
Lu Zhuangyuan recognized him as someone from Wuli Gang. He paid his respects and said, "Aiyo! Aren't you the youngest son of the Hu family? Where are you going in such a rush?"
"Nowhere! I just want to follow you! That way I can listen to your performances every day!"
The youngest son of the Hu family was quite excited. Even though he looked like an adult, his tone was still quite childlike.
"Aiyo~ Please don't joke like that. Quickly go back and don't make your grandfather worry!"
"Don't worry! I'll pay you!" he said, taking out a solid gold chain and forcibly placing it into Lu Zhuangyuan's hand.
Lu Zhuangyuan looked between the gold chain and the man, clearly conflicted.
However, a group of riders soon arrived beside them.
"Father! Don't take me back! I refuse to go back! I want to become a performer!" shouted the Hu family's youngest son.
Suddenly, the sound of a slap rang out as the young man was struck across the face by his father. Everyone was shocked to see his face swell up.
"You want to become a performer? Are you stupid?! Performers are the lowest of the low! If you become one, I'll personally kill you!"
As the man said that, he took back the gold chain, grabbed his son, and rode back to Wuli Gang.
Once they left, Li Huowang looked at Lu Zhuangyuan, waiting to see what he would say.
Lu Zhuangyuan stood there in shame. He held the sausages in his hands, wanting to speak, but no words came out. For the first time, the experienced old man looked just like a lost child.
In the end, he didn't say anything. He forced a smile, nodded, then dragged his son back to the carriage, his back looking more hunched than ever.