Chapter 183: Guardians of the Village

Since the Chief Dart Master had agreed, the rest was simple: preparing the manifest, collecting the deposit, and affixing a fingerprint.

Watching each item being loaded into his carriage, Li Huowang turned to look at the Chief Dart Master standing nearby.

“By the way, Chief Dart Master, if you don't mind me asking, wasn't there a war recently? Was business affected?”

“How could it not be? When it comes to dart escorting, the more chaotic the world, the more profitable it generally is. But if the world truly descends into complete chaos, then no money can be made at all. You see, soldiers are like a razor; they don't follow any rules. But thankfully, the fighting has stopped.”

Hearing this, Li Huowang was surprised. “Dart Master, do you know what happened? Why did the war suddenly stop?” He recalled that many people had died in the conflict, so it shouldn't have been just a minor skirmish. Normally, regardless of who won or lost, the situation shouldn't have been like this. Some reason must have prompted both sides to cease fighting. No, it wasn't just two sides; far more than two nations were involved. Yet, they all suddenly stopped as if by prior agreement, which was extremely odd.

“How would I know?” the Chief Dart Master replied. “If I did, I'd be sitting on the Emperor's throne in Siqi. But I heard from people who were conscripted and came back that, at first, everything was fine. Then suddenly, the bodies of those who died on the battlefield stopped decaying and didn't even attract flies.”

Li Huowang's expression hardened upon hearing this. After all this, it still circled back to the Abbess. This sudden truce was unexpectedly linked to the disappearance of decay. “Is it because, in the eyes of those in power, the disappearance of decay is far more important than conquering cities and seizing land? Is that why the emperors stopped fighting and worked together to solve this problem? Could the disappearance of decay lead to a great upheaval in the world?”

Li Huowang, speculating wildly, turned to look at the street on the other side. The streets of Bianshui Town were bustling with carriages, ox carts, and camels constantly moving, seemingly unaffected by the disappearance of decay. It seemed something significant was happening in this world, but it had nothing to do with him. He was just one of the common people, like everyone else. Let the tall ones worry about it. Perhaps the disappearance of decay was important in this world, but ever since the Abbess died, it no longer concerned Li Huowang in the slightest.

Unbeknownst to him, the escorted goods were fully loaded onto the two carriages, which were packed so tightly that he would have to sleep underneath them at night.

“My young friend,” the Chief Dart Master said, “you will receive seventy taels as payment if you deliver these goods to the Fengteng Dart Agency in Jicheng, Houshu.”

Seventy taels! Li Huowang was astonished by the payment. He recalled that the Lu Family Troupe only earned ten taels for performing a ghost play. It seemed that operating a dart agency truly was profitable in chaotic times.

“Don't think it's too little. This is your first time, after all. As long as you perform well, business will naturally grow in the future. Here’s the dart manifest; please keep it safe on your person.”

Reaching out to take the manifest that served as proof of the dart agency, Li Huowang bowed to the Chief Dart Master. “Chief Dart Master, we shall meet again.”

“Take care, and have a safe journey.”

Stepping out of the dart agency, Li Huowang glanced back at the town he had visited several times, letting out a sigh of melancholy. He had no more ties in Siqi; this was likely his last time here.

“In this vast world, where is my true home?”

Once everything was ready, the carriage wheels began to roll again. He led everyone towards the increasingly barren land of Houshu. If there was any difference now that he was a dart escort, it was that they traveled much slower. After all, there was more cargo, and the horses pulling the carriages were tired.

To avoid vengeance from the relatives of those who performed the Nuo opera, Li Huowang did not stop in the previous town, deliberately taking a longer route. Thus, after about half a month of travel, when they saw a village again, Li Huowang and his companions, covered in dust and with chapped lips, had to go in and rest. Not having water to wash up and being a bit unkempt was one thing, but eating dry rations every day truly caused them to feel unwell. At that moment, a large, translucent blister hung from the corner of Li Huowang's mouth.

Li Huowang patted Mantou's soft yellow head, silencing his “Awoo” howl. “This is someone else’s place; keep your voice down.” As Mantou licked him, Li Huowang surveyed the small Gobi village before them. Perhaps to contrast with the desolate and barren Gobi outside, all the houses were painted a striking red. Otherwise, there was nothing particularly special about it.

When a man wearing tattered sheepskin emerged from the village, Li Huowang immediately led his group to meet him.

“This—” Li Huowang barely started speaking before he trailed off, simply because a thick string of green snot stretched from the man's face all the way down to his chest. Judging by its thickness, it had clearly accumulated from repeated air-drying.

“Huh? Outsiders?” The man stood with his feet turned inward, tilting his head and grinning foolishly at Li Huowang. Li Huowang tugged at the copper coin mask on his face, unsure whether the man was truly foolish or just pretending. He stood his ground, watching him warily.

“Han'er, Han'er, the Wu family is having a celebration! Come quickly and help! There will be baked buns if you do a good job!”

Hearing an old man's shout from afar, the man's eyes immediately lit up, and he turned and ran toward the sound.

“What kind of person is that?” Just as Li Huowang felt utterly confused, Gao Zhijian spoke up from beside him, “A vil... vil... village guardian!”

“What?” Li Huowang looked at him and learned the meaning from his stammering explanation. Some villages have a fool, known as a 'village guardian.' It's claimed that such individuals are born without their faculties for life, specifically to protect the village from misfortune. However, that's just a polite way of putting it. Most 'village guardians' live difficult lives, often going hungry, barely surviving day to day. Only when there were joyous or mournful occasions in the village, and they actively went to help, would they rarely get a full meal from the leftovers.

Li Huowang nodded in understanding. “So that's what it is. I've never encountered this before; it’s my first time learning about it.”

Just then, Li Huowang was suddenly startled. He looked up at Gao Zhijian's simple, honest face. “You know nothing about other things, yet you know this so clearly? Were you... a village guardian once?”

Gao Zhijian immediately shook his head like a rattle-drum. “No... no... no! I... I... I... I’m not!”

Seeing his flustered reaction, Li Huowang nodded. “Alright, don’t explain. I know you're not.”

No sooner had he spoken than Gouwa chimed in from the side. “That's right, that's right, you're not, you're not.”

“I really... I really... am not!” Gao Zhijian's face turned red with anxiety.