Chapter 178: Village

Bailianmiao quietly traveled beside Li Huowang, occasionally taking out a handkerchief to wipe away their sweat. As the Dog Days of Summer approached, the weather grew increasingly hot and dry. Even traveling in the morning when the sun wasn't strong, they would sweat continuously.

After wiping away sweat yet again, Bailianmiao thought for a moment and suggested to Li Huowang, "Brother Li, it's too hot this afternoon. How about we rest now and get an early start tomorrow morning?"

"Okay," Li Huowang replied, taking out a map from the carriage to re-examine it. They were still within the borders of Sizhou, and fortunately, their old map hadn't been discarded and was still usable.

"We won't eat lunch today. Let's hurry," Li Huowang said. "There's a village ahead; we'll spend the night there."

As soon as they heard about beds, everyone immediately perked up, and their pace quickened. After another hour of walking, when everyone was parched, they finally saw cultivated fields alongside the road. Behind the fields lay a cluster of black-tiled houses. They had arrived at the village.

"Look, there are flowers by the fields," Bailianmiao exclaimed, her eyes gleaming with delight. "They're so incredibly red!"

Bailianmiao, with joy in her eyes, was about to go pick one, but Li Huowang pulled her back abruptly. "Don't go. Something's not right with those flowers," he warned.

Li Huowang cautiously observed the large flowers, which uncurled as if turning inside out, their edges slightly shriveled. "These are Lycoris radiata flowers," he stated. Although he couldn't recall where he'd heard it, in Li Huowang's memory, these flowers seemed to be ominous.

As soon as Li Huowang spoke, an awkward silence fell. Everyone looked puzzled, not understanding what he meant.

"Haha, you're not as good as me; you're mistaken," a cheerful child's voice chirped from nearby. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice to see a barefoot boy, around seven or eight years old, laughing with a bamboo basket taller than himself on his back.

"That's not a Lycoris radiata flower, let me tell you," the boy said. "It's called a Crab Flower. My mom said you can't feed these flowers to pigs; pigs get stomachaches if they eat them and easily lose weight."

The boy reached into the basket on his back, pulled out a sickle, and casually chopped down a few Crab Flowers. His dismissive demeanor showed he clearly saw them often, indicating he was likely a resident of this village.

After a moment of thought, Li Huowang walked over. "Boy, what were you doing?" he asked.

"Gathering pig feed!" the boy chirped. "My family has two pigs! They eat the feed I gather every day. How many do you have?"

When he learned Li Huowang's family had no pigs, he grinned from ear to ear. "Haha! Your family is so poor, not even as rich as ours!" he chuckled.

"Yes, my family is very poor," Li Huowang agreed. "Do you live here? Can you show us around?"

"Sure!" the child replied, completely guileless, as he led Li Huowang and the others toward the village.

"By the way," Li Huowang asked, "is there still a war going on?"

"A war?" the boy repeated. "No, there's no war. My third uncle, who was conscripted to be a soldier, has already returned."

"Oh, that's good," Li Huowang said. "It's better if there's no war."

The child was so simple-minded that Li Huowang quickly extracted most of what he knew. This village was called Qianjia Village. It had a few hundred residents, neither very big nor very small. In summer, the villagers tilled the fields, and in winter, they collected mountain goods from the nearby forest to make a living.

In Sizhou, there were many such mountain villages; there was nothing special about this one. These villages were usually quite exclusive, but persuaded by the offer of copper coins, Li Huowang eventually managed to secure temporary lodging at the child's home.

Inside an old guest room, two heavy swords lay on the table. Li Huowang immediately felt much more at ease. He reached to unbuckle the *Great Qian Record* from his waist, but his hand found nothing. It was only then that Li Huowang realized his *Great Qian Record* had been used up during the previous battle.

"Sigh," he murmured. To be honest, Li Huowang still felt a bit regretful. Although the *Great Qian Record* came at a high cost, it didn't require practice or cultivation. As long as the corresponding price was paid, the corresponding ability could be obtained. Without it, he would now have to deal with troubles relying solely on the sword given by the abbess.

"Oh, and there's this," Li Huowang mused, taking out the *True Fire Robe Scripture*, wrapped in white wax, and began to study it carefully. It was a trade-off; this item was still unfamiliar and required much more practice. Once he mastered it, he would have an additional means of self-preservation.

Bailianmiao, carrying a plate of roasted sweet potatoes, entered. Upon seeing his focused back, she quietly withdrew. Standing at the doorway, she considered the plate of roasted sweet potatoes for a moment, a hint of mischief appearing on her face, and then walked towards her and Xiaoman's room.

"Sister Xiaoman, do you want some freshly roasted sweet potatoes?" she asked.

However, as soon as Bailianmiao entered the room, she saw Chun Xiaoman clutching her stomach and vomiting into a spittoon. She instantly paled, put down the sweet potatoes, and went to gently pat Chun Xiaoman's back for a while. Only then did Chun Xiaoman recover, still shaken, sitting on the edge of the bed, gasping for breath while clutching her throat.

"Sister Xiaoman? Did you eat something bad?" Bailianmiao asked, concerned. "But that can't be; we all ate from the same pot. How come you're sick, and no one else is?"

Xiaoman shook her head. "It's nothing. I probably kicked off my blanket last night and caught a heat-induced chill."

"But when I sleep with you, you don't have a habit of kicking off your blanket," Bailianmiao pointed out.

Seeing the doubt in Bailianmiao's eyes, Chun Xiaoman quickly said, "Sister, please go to the kitchen and make me some ginger soup. I beg you, I really feel terrible."

"Then... alright."

When she saw Bailianmiao leaving, looking back multiple times, Chun Xiaoman finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then she flung back the blanket on the bed, revealing a blood-red bamboo scroll before her eyes.

It was the *Great Qian Record*, which Chun Xiaoman had found in the cave and secretly hidden. Having seen Brother Li use it multiple times, Chun Xiaoman already understood what it represented. However, she had clearly overestimated her endurance; just thinking of the bloody and terrifying rituals recorded within made her stomach churn.

"Ugh!"

At this moment, she finally understood what and how much Brother Li had sacrificed before. But after retching, Chun Xiaoman gritted her teeth and continued to read. Compared to these torments, Chun Xiaoman cared more about owing favors to others. She was unwilling to always let Brother Li step forward whenever a problem arose; this made her feel incredibly useless. Ever since she killed her own father, Chun Xiaoman had resolved never to be useless.

"If Brother Li can endure it, so can I!" Chun Xiaoman declared, clutching the *Great Qian Record* with both hands and reading, gritting her teeth.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Bailianmiao, who was boiling ginger tea, looked at the firewood in the stove, her face full of worry. "She's been vomiting so much, and she's been acting strangely lately," she pondered. "Could she really be pregnant? It can't be Brother Li; I sleep with him every day. Then whose could it be? Dogwa's? Gao Zhijian's? Or Sun Baolu's? But when did Sister Xiaoman..."

Bailianmiao pressed her legs together, and a faint blush appeared on her face. After the blush subsided, Bailianmiao felt very worried about her sister's situation. With such a long journey ahead, if she truly were pregnant, traveling would likely be difficult.

Just as she was worrying, she suddenly felt someone standing behind her. Smelling the identical body scent, Bailianmiao's delicate brows furrowed. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Behind her, Ershen's red veil subtly swayed. "Bring the drum," she said. "There's work to be done in the village."