Chapter 253: Baolu

When Li Huowang woke up again, it was already the afternoon of the next day. The ample sleep left him feeling refreshed, a sensation he hadn't experienced in a long time.

After washing up, fully dressed, he walked out of the tent. "Senior Brother Li, where are you going?"

Li Huowang turned to look at Bai Lingmiao, who was sewing clothes. "I'm going to say goodbye to Sun Baolu," he said. "Now that things are done, it's about time to leave."

The Black Grand Tai Sui had been found, and Han Fu's Nascent Soul had been dealt with. There was no longer any need to stay; it was time to leave Qingqiu.

After asking around in nearby tents, Li Huowang finally found Sun Baolu on the outer grasslands. He was riding a horse, flying a kite with his childhood sweetheart, a Qingqiu native. His hearty laughter could be heard from a distance.

Seeing Li Huowang approach him, he quickly thrust the kite string into his beloved's hand, then stomped on the stirrup, vaulting directly off the galloping horse.

"Senior Brother Li, are you looking for me?" Baolu asked, panting heavily, as he walked up to Li Huowang.

Li Huowang re-examined Sun Baolu. "I've stayed long enough," he said. "I'm leaving tomorrow."

"So soon?" Sun Baolu's face showed strong reluctance.

After enduring hardships together for so long, it would be false to say there were no feelings. This was especially true since the other party had traveled so far to bring him home, and what was even rarer was that they hadn't shunned him because of his appearance.

"Senior Brother Li, please stay a few more days," he pleaded. "Everyone is quite happy with you here."

"What difference does staying a few more days make?" Li Huowang retorted. "Are we going to stay here forever? You slaughter sheep and cattle every day; aren't you going to live your own lives?"

"It's fine!" Baolu insisted. "Sheep in Qingqiu are so cheap, and they're easier to raise than sheep elsewhere! Once we finish these, we can go to Woman Mountain to buy some skinny sheep and lambs to raise, and before long, we'll have another large flock!"

Li Huowang smiled faintly. "Alright, I don't have time to chat with you," he said. "Let's talk about something serious. Don't spread what we saw in the cave that night."

"Especially the Lion Dance Palace," he continued. "Treat them as you did before. Just pretend you didn't discover they were a group of monsters."

Since the Lion Dance could exist as a matter of course in Qingqiu, regardless of what Qingqiu's Great Khan thought, he must have tacitly approved of the Lion Dance's blatant presence.

Perhaps these monsters living in the underground caves were actually the respected orthodox sects of Qingqiu.

Offending them would be unwise. If he didn't want Sun Baolu to get into trouble, the best way was not to provoke them.

Seeing Li Huowang's serious expression, Baolu nodded earnestly. "Alright, Senior Brother Li, I understand," he said.

After explaining this, Li Huowang looked at the young man again. "Does your woman know about your physical condition?" he asked.

At this, the cheerful smile on Sun Baolu's face froze. He nodded somewhat bitterly. "She knows," he said. "It's fine, she doesn't mind."

"Alright, come with me," Li Huowang said, then turned and walked towards a tent. Sun Baolu was surprised at first, but then he suddenly remembered something, and his expression became extremely excited.

"Gouwa! Where did you go? Come out quickly!" Li Huowang's shout echoed through the air above the tents.

Half an hour later, inside a tent, Li Huowang, holding the white tassel, carefully repositioned Sun Baolu's various organs.

Suddenly, the tent flap was pulled back, and Sun Baolu's mother, along with a large group of Qingqiu people, burst in.

After seeing Sun Baolu's naked and disheveled body on the bed, gasps and exclamations arose one after another.

Li Huowang glanced at them, and with his hands, slowly pushed, moving Sun Baolu's buttocks from the front to the back.

Gouwa, who was assisting nearby, also carefully moved Baolu's urinary organ from under his armpit to its proper place.

Gradually, the tent became quiet. Everyone stared wide-eyed at everything before them. Many looked at Li Huowang with extreme reverence in their eyes.

Sun Baolu was not Li Huowang; he couldn't forcibly repair his body with a knife, so it remained somewhat crooked.

Yet even so, he couldn't contain his joy, bouncing around excitedly, with snot and tears streaming down his face uncontrollably.

Even if it was crooked, these things had finally returned to their rightful places. He wasn't a monster!

His unspeakable defect of over ten years had finally disappeared at this moment.

After attempting to kowtow to Li Huowang and being stopped, the euphoric Baolu, naked, spread his arms and continuously ran circles around the tent. "I'm fixed! I'm fixed! I'm not a monster! I'm human!!" he exclaimed.

That night, a grand banquet was, inevitably, held again. A group of people ate mutton and drank wine and honey, celebrating Sun Baolu's return to normalcy.

Sun Baolu's parents raised their cups with both hands, simultaneously toasting Li Huowang. Any other Qingqiu people who approached Li Huowang were respectful and did not dare to neglect him in the slightest.

They had previously guessed that the person carrying two swords was extraordinary, but when they truly witnessed it, it was a different matter entirely. For a time, various rumors spread wildly among the Qingqiu people.

"Senior Brother Li, this place is so good," Gouwa, who was gnawing on a large lamb leg, shuffled closer to Li Huowang and whispered his suggestion. "Why don't we stay here? Liang State isn't nearly as good."

"Eat your meat. Meat can't even shut your mouth," Li Huowang said. "If you want to stay, I won't stop you." He picked up a piece of sizzling, oily mutton, streaked with fat and lean meat, and put it into his mouth.

Hearing this, Gouwa was visibly swayed and began to ponder.

A large hand suddenly rested on his shoulder. It was Gao Zhijian's hand.

Gouwa turned his head to look and saw him say with a very serious expression, "Don't... don't... don't stay! Th-this... th-there's... something wrong here."

"What's wrong with this?" Gouwa asked. "Baolu was born and raised here, what could be wrong?"

Gao Zhijian watched with a solemn expression as his fellow disciples, who were normally eating large mouthfuls of beef and mutton, watched their Adam's apples move as they swallowed the heavily spiced meat. "I... I... don't know..." he stammered, "it's just... it's... it's wrong!"

"You can't even speak clearly yourself," Li Huowang said. "Yet you have the nerve to advise others. If you have this much free time, practice speaking more and get rid of your stutter."

When he saw Li Huowang looking at him, Gao Zhijian scratched the back of his head with his large hand, returned to his seat, and drained the cup of ant honey.

As it was their last night, they partied late into the night. By the time Li Huowang and the others sobered up and loaded all their belongings onto the ox cart, it was already noon.

The wriggling Black Grand Tai Sui, in particular, was tightly bound onto an ox cart with thick cowhide and ox tendons.

"Senior Brother Li, we'll meet again!" Sun Baolu, whose eyes were a bit red, tightly hugged Li Huowang.

"It's probably better if there's no meeting again," Li Huowang replied. "I always feel that you meeting me isn't a good omen."

After patting his back, Li Huowang turned and left with the others.