Chapter 256: Birth

Daoist Peculiar Immortals

Lv Zhuangyuan continued to explain to his eldest son, "Little Daoist Master is someone destined for great things. Don't assume he cares about such petty gains. Even if he doesn't, we must always be shrewd and perceptive in our work!"

"Besides," he added, "this could very well be a great opportunity for our Lv family! Didn't Xiucai mention that the thin man with the painted face received divine powers from the Little Daoist Master? Surely, we are more capable than he is, aren't we? Think deeply about all of this when you're by yourself."

Lv Juren stared, wide-eyed, at his father's aged face. It turned out his father had been circling the topic for this very reason.

"Ask less, do more! Don't waste your days thinking about trivial matters," Lv Zhuangyuan said, pulling his son and walking towards the carriage.

Before long, the Lv family troupe took advantage of their free time to practice their vocal exercises and martial arts. With their performances resuming soon, they couldn't afford to let their fundamental opera skills deteriorate.

After lunch, everyone resumed their journey, heading towards the State of Liang with a degree of anticipation.

They still didn't know their precise location, but observing the increasingly sparse green grass on the ground, which was being replaced by scattered shrubs, everyone realized they were very close to the State of Liang.

As the sun began to dip towards the west, a cry of pain shattered the tranquil atmosphere of the ox-cart procession. Everyone turned their heads towards the sound, discovering it was Luo Juanhua, who was seated in one of the ox-carts.

She nervously clutched her belly, glancing at her skirt, which was now damp with amniotic fluid.

"Quick! Get her into the carriage! Juanhua is going into labor!" Lv Zhuangyuan's urgent voice sent everyone into a flurry, bringing all the ox-carts to a halt.

The women rushed over to assist, while the men kept a respectful distance.

"What are you doing? You won't be able to help," Li Huowang asked Bai Lingmiao, who was hurrying towards the scene.

Bai Lingmiao turned, a faint blush coloring her cheeks as she glanced at him. "I... I'm going to observe how a baby is delivered. Perhaps this experience will be useful in the future."

Li Huowang stepped onto a carriage wheel, then flipped himself onto the roof of the carriage, lying down to watch the clouds overhead, which were now flushed crimson by the setting sun.

Listening to the distant sounds of hurried activity, Li Huowang closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

There were no hallucinations. Li Huowang hadn't felt such profound peace in a long time; he was finally free from the struggle between reality and illusion.

"Daoist, it's been a while since you had an episode."

Li Huowang turned his head, looking at the monk standing in mid-air, flanked by Peng Longteng and Jin Shanzhao.

Although the hallucinations were gone, these three figures remained constantly by his side.

"Yes, the Black Grand Duke worked. I no longer have to fall into those illusions," he chuckled. "You know, when I provoked Wang Wei one last time, there was a tiny part of me that still hoped that side might be real. But alas, an illusion is just an illusion."

As he spoke, Li Huowang's gaze drifted to a cloud in the sky that resembled Yang Na. His eyes unfocused, and his voice filled with deep longing, he murmured, "I actually... really wished that side was real."

"Daoist, what are you saying? I don't understand any of it."

"Haha," Li Huowang chuckled, turning his body to face the solitary green hill in the distance. "If you don't understand, that's fine. Just don't say anything, or others will think I'm having an episode again."

After a moment, Li Huowang covertly glanced towards the carriage behind them. Some time had passed; why hadn't the baby been born yet?

He had no idea if this duration was too long or too short, having never experienced childbirth before.

"I hope it goes smoothly. If not, there's not much I can do to help."

"No, wait. I did study alchemy for a while at the Qingfeng Temple, but unfortunately, I don't even have an alchemy furnace with me. I can't even refine a Blood-Nourishing Pill."

".......Hiss....." A faint, almost imperceptible sound caused Li Huowang to suddenly sit upright. After listening intently, he found that there was no sound around him.

With a puzzled expression, he slowly lay back down. "Did I mishear? Where did that sound come from?" After a moment's thought, Li Huowang inserted his little finger into his ear canal and probed, discovering that something was indeed there.

As his fingernail scraped, he eventually pulled a long, dried blood clot from his ear canal.

The instant the blood clot was removed, everything around him became incredibly clear. He could even hear the sound of grass growing from the ground.

"It's too loud; this won't do," Li Huowang muttered. He pulled out a small pair of serrated scissors, jumped down from the carriage, clipped some wool from a nearby sheep, and stuffed it into his ear canals.

"Ah, much better," Li Huowang sighed, lowering his head to put the small scissors back into his pouch of implements.

"Hmm? What's that?" Li Huowang squinted at a small black speck on a distant mountaintop. Unfortunately, it was too far away; even with his exceptional eyesight, he couldn't quite discern it.

"Wah! Wah! Wah!" A robust baby's cry suddenly erupted, causing Li Huowang to turn and follow the others towards the ox-cart.

Just as he reached the ox-cart, he saw Lv Juren grinning foolishly by himself, softly muttering, "Hehe~ I have a son now, hehe~ I have a son now, hehe..."

When Li Huowang saw the crying male infant in Bai Lingmiao's arms, he couldn't help but feel a pang of doubt. *This child must have some illness; he's far too ugly,* he thought. *He looks like a little monkey that's been boiled and de-furred.*

Chun Xiaoman, noticing Li Huowang's expression beginning to cloud with concern, immediately understood his thoughts and quickly enlightened him. "Senior Brother Li, all newborns look like this right after birth. They're different from us."

"Oh, really?" After receiving Xiaoman's detailed explanation, Li Huowang realized he had been mistaken. The babies he remembered were always at least three months old, their features already developed.

"Right after being pulled from the womb, they look just like this."

When Li Huowang saw Lv Zhuangyuan emerging from the carriage, his rear end sticking out as he crawled, Li Huowang walked over to offer his congratulations.

"Hahaha, my joy is your joy!" Lv Zhuangyuan's wrinkled face, at that moment, resembled a blooming chrysanthemum.

He then cupped his hands towards the others who had gathered around. "Everyone! My apologies! We have no eggs here right now, but once we reach town, I will certainly provide red eggs for all!"

Just as everyone was offering their congratulations and the atmosphere was harmonious, an inexplicable tightening seized Li Huowang's heart. He abruptly looked up, scanning the distant grassland.

The grassland, which should have been bathed in the red hues of the setting sun, now had a small black circle upon it. The small speck that had previously been on the mountaintop had actually moved closer!

"Something's not right!" The anomalous sight in the distance instantly made Li Huowang's expression grave. "Get all the sheep moving! We need to leave this place!"

Li Huowang's words instantly shattered the festive mood. Though somewhat perplexed, seeing his grave expression, no one dared to disregard his command.

Amidst Mantou's barking, the dozens of white sheep, along with the ox-carts, began to move once more.

Time passed slowly, and the sky gradually darkened. Under the last vestiges of twilight, Li Huowang watched the black mass draw nearer and nearer!