Chapter 255: East Side

As others savored their meals, Li Huowang remained in his own world. He sat alone in the distance, gnawing on the fattest lamb leg while pondering his own affairs, completely isolating himself from everything outside.

“Although that Nascent Soul said the Bureau of Celestial Monitoring was strict outside but lax inside, making it not difficult to join, I still need to find a way in.”

“First, how should I approach them? I can't just go asking randomly on the street, can I? I also don't know if merely relying on a mask can completely conceal my Xinsu identity.”

“Although the mask could hide my identity from Han Fu, it might not work for everyone.”

“But I don't know anything about the situation in the Liang Kingdom right now, so mere speculation here is useless. I still need to adapt to the actual circumstances.”

“As the saying goes, the beginning is the hardest. Once I take this first step, everything else will be much easier.”

Just as Li Huowang was lost in thought, his keen hearing caught the sound of cloth shoes treading on grass.

He looked up to see Lu Zhuangyuan's old face, creased with wrinkles, and his signature ingratiating smile. “Young Daoist Master, do you have a moment? Hehe, this old man wants to discuss a small matter with you.”

“Oh? Speak,” Li Huowang said, setting down the bone in his hand and looking at the troupe leader in front of him.

He had been so preoccupied with the Black Grand Deity matter lately that he had almost forgotten he had a theatrical troupe traveling with him.

“Young Daoist Master, as you know, back in Houshu, we had to abandon all our props, costumes, and musical instruments when we fled the military disaster.”

“But we are a theatrical troupe, after all. We can't perform without our tools of the trade. So, I was hoping to borrow some silver from you to replace those things and set up our stage again. What do you think?”

Hearing that this was what the man wanted to discuss, Li Huowang seemed indifferent. The golden box Sun Baolu's mother had given him was worth a considerable amount, so he wouldn't haggle over such a small sum.

“Alright then, go get the money from Bai Lingmiao.”

“Ah, ah, hehehe, Young Daoist Master, don't be in such a hurry. This old man hasn't finished speaking yet. Please take this.” Lu Zhuangyuan said, pulling a crumpled piece of paper with a red handprint from his robes and handing it to Li Huowang.

Li Huowang took the crumpled paper and struggled to read the crooked handwriting on it.

“What is this supposed to be? Is it gibberish?”

The troupe leader's old face flushed. “This is an IOU, please bear with me. This old man doesn't know many characters, but it doesn't matter as long as there's a handprint!”

“Young Daoist Master, you've been kind to us, and we can't just take advantage of your generosity. We've been eating and using your resources these past few days. How about this?”

“Until the money is repaid, you will be the patron of our Lu Family Troupe! From now on, any silver our Lu Family Troupe earns, half will go to us and half to you.”

“Half goes to me? Then you might never be able to pay off this debt. There's no need for such trouble; it's fine if you don't return the silver.” With that, Li Huowang stood up, intending to hand the paper back.

“Hey, hey!” Lu Zhuangyuan said, bowing his back and using his tobacco pouch to block Li Huowang. “A deal is a deal. If you say that, we truly wouldn't dare to borrow your silver.”

Hearing him say that, Li Huowang no longer insisted and simply put away the paper with the red handprint.

Seeing this, the troupe leader's face immediately lit up with joy, and he quickly gestured to the Lu Family Troupe, who had been waiting. They stood awkwardly together, simultaneously cupping their hands in salute to Li Huowang, “Greetings, Patron!”

Li Huowang didn't bother to guess at the troupe leader's ulterior motives. Looking at the people before him, he simply knew he had gained a hen that laid eggs – though this hen was thin and didn't lay often, it was at least a steady, long-term source.

“Alright, everyone, go back and eat. After eating, rest for a bit, then we'll continue our journey to leave Qingqiu as quickly as possible.”

“Understood, Patron!”

Watching them walk away cheerfully, Li Huowang shook his head, speechless, and picked up his still-warm wild vegetable and lamb offal soup to drink.

“Everyone talks about Daliang, Daliang. I never thought this old man would actually get to see it,” Lu Zhuangyuan said, a rare hint of pride showing on his face as he contentedly led the others back.

While he was happy, someone else was naturally displeased. Lu Juren, with a somewhat gloomy expression, leaned closer to his father. “Father, you sold us off, and you're still so happy?”

“Oh, you boy,” Lu Zhuangyuan sighed, looking at his eldest son. He pulled out his pipe, lit it from the nearby campfire, and puffed away.

“So, what do you suggest?”

“I want to go back. I don't want to go to Daliang anymore. I... I don't want to perform opera anymore.” Lu Juren, his features tightly drawn, looked up at Luo Juanhua, who was pregnant, in the distance, and spoke.

“You!” Lu Zhuangyuan, growing anxious, immediately raised the pipe in his hand. But seeing his son stubbornly refusing to flinch, he sheepishly lowered it.

“You don't want to perform opera? That's easy for you to say! What would you do if you didn't perform? Our family doesn't even own a plot of land. Do you want to go back and be beggars?”

“Besides, can you even go back? Behind us, the soldiers are fighting so fiercely they're practically killing each other. Do you want to go back for a funeral?”

Lu Juren suddenly stopped in his tracks, a hint of longing in his eyes. “Father, perhaps the fighting has already stopped! We haven't seen any fighting on this whole journey.”

“Hmph! No fighting? You're not dead yet! There's never been a military disaster that started and then just stopped halfway!”

Seeing Lu Juren still looking conflicted, Lu Zhuangyuan sighed softly. “Son, trust me. I haven't lived all these years for nothing.”

“Do you think everything's fine just because the military disaster is over? It's not that easy. Disasters always come in pairs.”

“After a military disaster, many die and no one buries them, so nine times out of ten, a plague follows. Once the plague passes, the remaining survivors will have no money in their pockets and no grain in their fields. A tael of grain will be worth a tael of gold, and people will be selling their children for survival. Who would come to watch an opera then? If there's no audience, what will we eat and drink? Will we chew on dirt?”

At this, Lu Zhuangyuan lowered his voice. “Son, don't despise opera performers. If it weren't for this, I would have starved to death long ago. You wouldn't even exist. We must not forget our roots.”

Lu Juren knew his father made sense, but he still felt that the choice his father had made was somewhat outrageous.

“But Father, even so, it's not like you had to sell all of us to the Young Daoist Master. We'll become his servants!”

Lu Zhuangyuan glared at his eldest son, then turned to glance at Li Huowang, who was eating in the distance, and quickly pulled Lu Juren by the sleeve for a few steps.

Once they were a little further away, he lowered his voice even more. “Servants? Have you ever seen servants who get to eat meat every day?”