Chapter 226: Wu Yue

Just as the beautiful woman's head was about to touch the blanket, Li Huowang reached out and helped her up.

"Madam, there's no need for such formality," he said. "As fellow disciples who have fallen on hard times, helping each other is only right. I cannot accept such a grand gesture."

The deeply grateful woman only relented after Li Huowang repeatedly stopped her, finally giving up and sitting down beside him.

With lingering fear, she said to Li Huowang, "After Bao'er went missing again, we almost searched all of Qingqiu but still couldn't find him. My heart died then; I truly thought I would never see him again. By the Bodhisattva's blessing, Bao'er has finally returned safe and sound."

After saying that, she took a string of prayer beads from her sleeve and, turning them, bowed towards the north.

Seeing this action, Li Huowang paused in surprise. "May I ask which Bodhisattva you are bowing to?"

Perhaps due to everything he had experienced, Li Huowang was particularly sensitive to such mystical things. In this place, such things were certainly problematic.

Wu Yue seemed to misunderstand Li Huowang's meaning, thinking he was mocking her. She explained somewhat helplessly, "My benefactor, that's not what I meant. Bao'er's return is entirely thanks to your efforts, not some elusive Bodhisattva."

"Ever since I married into Qingqiu, I haven't bowed to Bodhisattvas," she continued. "It's just that I've believed in Buddhism my whole life, and it's a habit I developed as a child that I can't quite break."

"No, no, no, I'm not mocking you," Li Huowang said earnestly, holding his honey water. "I'm just genuinely curious. Which Bodhisattva are you bowing to, exactly?"

Hearing this, Wu Yue was instantly surprised. "Bodhisattva... isn't it just the Bodhisattva who saves from suffering and hardship? What kind of Bodhisattva would it be otherwise?"

Seeing Sun Baolu's mother respond this way, Li Huowang sighed inwardly, thinking, "There are too many fools in these worlds. They believe anything; it's all just blind faith. They are no better than Dan Yangzi."

However, from another perspective, it was perhaps a good thing for Bao'er's mother. After all, in this world gone mad, bowing to a false Bodhisattva who is nothing is clearly less dangerous than bowing to a true 'Bodhisattva'.

"Madam, please sit down," Li Huowang said. "I was just idly curious. By the way, I just saw Baolu embracing a woman. Is that his sweetheart?" Li Huowang began to change the subject, attempting to alleviate the somewhat tense atmosphere.

"Yes, that's his sister," she replied. "She's been clinging to him since childhood. They were even betrothed as children. When Bao'er went missing, she cried herself sick that day."

"Sister?" Li Huowang was somewhat surprised by her reaction. How could a mother be so amiable when her son was doing something so incestuous? Furthermore, the woman Sun Baolu had embraced clearly looked like a Qingqiu person, a different race from Sun Baolu.

"They don't have the same father," she explained. "I married into Qingqiu from Liang while I was pregnant with Bao'er. By then, Zhuo'er was already born. Although they don't share both parents, they've been close since childhood, so we arranged a childhood betrothal, hoping to make their bond even stronger."

Seeing the woman in front of him had a clearly different skin color from the surrounding Qingqiu people, Li Huowang had evidently guessed this.

Just then, a dark-skinned, short, and sturdy Qingqiu man nearby approached with a smile and raised the horn cup in his hand towards Li Huowang.

He spoke a string of short Qingqiu phrases to Li Huowang and then extended the horn cup forward again.

Wu Yue quickly explained from the side, "The child's father says thank you for saving his second son. He says may the Eternal Heaven bless you and grant you eternal life."

"Qingqiu's toast is quite unique," Li Huowang remarked. He nodded to the man and likewise raised his own horn cup to clink against the man's.

During a break from drinking the honey water, Li Huowang observed the couple in front of him. To be honest, Sun Baolu's parents were truly ill-matched.

The man had a short, stout body and a round, flat face; with a bit more hair, he could have been a monkey. He seemed utterly mismatched with Sun Baolu's beautiful mother, and Li Huowang wondered how he had managed to marry her.

"Could Sun Baolu's mother have been bought by his father?" Remembering the slave trade from Woman Mountain, Li Huowang idly speculated.

"Senior Brother Li!" A drunken Sun Baolu suddenly rushed over and collapsed into Li Huowang's embrace, sobbing loudly. He was still babbling drunkenly, "Senior Brother Li! I don't want to leave you all! I'm not going! I'm going to accompany you to Liang!"

Seeing his son in such a disheveled state, Sun Baolu's father quickly put down his cup and dragged him out of the tent to sober up.

Seeing Sun Baolu's somewhat disheveled retreating figure, Li Huowang smiled and didn't take it seriously.

Sun Baolu was talking nonsense. He was already home, and his family was harmonious; how could he possibly continue to follow him?

Furthermore, the path he had left to travel was not long. Beyond Qingqiu was Liang, and according to the map, it wasn't far.

If Ox Heart Mountain wasn't far from here, perhaps he could visit sometime in the future.

Li Huowang sat down cross-legged again. With both hands, he picked up a grilled lamb chop sprinkled with black seasoning and took a bite.

Immediately, a rich aroma filled the air. The rich meat juices exploded in Li Huowang's mouth, and he found the lamb chop exceptionally delicious.

He wasn't sure if it was due to his heightened senses or if it had any application to food, but Li Huowang, who had lived in two worlds, was indeed eating such a delicious lamb chop for the first time.

The tender, smooth lamb, combined with the savory-sour seasoning, made every bite an absolute delight.

No wonder no one else was talking; they were all hunched over, gnawing on lamb and beef bones.

Faced with such a feast, Li Huowang didn't want to waste any. He immediately put everything else aside and began to eat heartily.

Although the Qingqiu men dancing in a circle and swaying their heads were not particularly impressive to watch, their exaggerated movements created a lively atmosphere throughout the large tent, bringing smiles to everyone's faces, even Li Huowang's.

After eating and drinking their fill, the others also started dancing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Qingqiu people.

The Lu Family Troupe's performance was the most eye-catching. After all, their main profession was opera, and their novel singing style and movements drew cheers from the surrounding Qingqiu people.

Li Huowang watched everything before him with a smile. "They look genuinely happy," he thought. "Why is it that when they are with me, there is always only sadness and pain?"

Just as Li Huowang was lost in thought, looking at the scene before him, his keen senses detected someone staring at him from nearby.

It was the gaze of Sun Baolu's mother. He slowly turned his head to look and found her looking preoccupied, her face etched with worry. She had completely lost her earlier composure.

"Madam, is there something you wish to tell me?"

Li Huowang's words finally helped the hesitant Wu Yue make up her mind.

"Benefactor, this is our first meeting, and I'm not sure if I should say this," she began. "But perhaps you shouldn't go to Liang. How about staying in Qingqiu instead? That place is not a good one."