Chapter 333: He Meets an Old Friend in a Foreign Land

Li Huowang turned towards the bed, closed his eyes, and lay down.

As Hong Zhong, with a smile on his face, pondered something nearby, the monk approached and said, "What wicked ideas are you cooking up now? Let me warn you, don't even think about harming the Daoist. He's a good person."

"A good person, hehe, a good person..."

That night, perhaps due to the alcohol, Li Huowang slept deeply. When he woke up again, the sun was already high in the sky.

Li Huowang yawned and began to get dressed and wash up.

Since Tuoba Danqing told him to stay here for now, he decided to temporarily remain in Yinling City.

Besides, he had nowhere else to go at the moment.

How long he would stay depended on Tuoba Danqing, but judging from previous interactions, it shouldn't be for too long.

"Steamed flatbreads~ Delicious steamed flatbreads~"

"Sweetened hawthorns on a stick—candied hawthorns!"

"Scissors sharpened~ Knives clanged!"

"They say General Jiang, eight feet tall and four feet wide, stood there and roared at the enemy camp, 'Aiyou~ Hey!!' Immediately, thousands of Qi soldiers were scared to death! You see..."

Li Huowang slowly walked along the streets of Yinling City, listening to the sounds coming from all directions.

"Vendor selling flatbreads, how much for one?"

"One copper coin each, look how big they are! My flatbreads are cheap and good value~"

He bought four steamed flatbreads, which looked like blooming buns, and ate them as he walked.

He didn't walk fast; his purpose in coming to the street was to let Li Sui learn the voices of the people around him.

Previously, when someone casually said "father," it remembered it so clearly. This proved that it could imitate not only his own voice but also the voices of others.

Today, he wanted to test if Li Sui would learn faster with more exposure to people.

When sporadic imitations echoed in his ears, Li Huowang felt he had guessed correctly.

However, one difference was that Li Sui's imitation was all-encompassing; it even picked up the curses of scolding women.

Listening to those harsh sounds, Li Huowang frowned slightly and quickly walked a few steps away from his original spot.

Standing in the middle of the street, Li Huowang looked at the bustling surroundings. He had to admit, Da Liang was indeed Da Liang; it was truly prosperous, with all sorts of things available.

Yet, the rulers of this prosperous land were using things like "beauty paper cups," a contrast that was anything but small.

However, it was also possible that such prosperity was precisely what gave rise to those things.

Just as Li Huowang stood amidst the crowd, pondering, he suddenly saw something and, with a grave expression, rushed forward.

To increase his speed, Li Huowang even used his dislocation ability to navigate the crowd.

After weaving through the crowd, Li Huowang heavily patted a man's shoulder who was staring blankly at a dumpling stall. "What are you doing here?"

The man turned, looking a bit confused, but when he saw Li Huowang, he immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Master!"

Scholar Lu was incredibly excited to see Li Huowang, almost leaping at him.

"I asked why you're here. Where's Director Lu?"

Hearing Li Huowang mention his father, Scholar Lu looked disdainful. "I've been sick of him for ages, damn it. If it weren't for me, I'd still be—"

Seeing Li Huowang's cold gaze, Scholar Lu immediately shut up. "Master, I have supernatural abilities now! How can I continue performing operas with him? Of course, I'm out here making my own way!"

Li Huowang glanced around, then pulled him to a nearby dumpling stall and sat down.

"Making your own way? Where are your clean clothes? Where's your travel money? Your self-defense weapon? You're just doing this empty-handed?"

Hearing Li Huowang's words, Scholar Lu gnashed his teeth, a malicious glint in his eyes, and said unwillingly, "I brought everything! But yesterday, some beast stole it! Don't let me catch them! Damn it, if I catch them!"

"Alright, alright." Li Huowang showed a hint of impatience. Scholar Lu now reminded him of his old neighbor's poodle—tiny and weak, yet incredibly arrogant.

Although the Purple Tassel Sword had drastically changed his personality, no matter how much his personality shifted, it couldn't change the fact that Scholar Lu was still a naive seventeen-year-old boy.

"Your travel money was stolen yesterday? So you probably haven't eaten all day, have you? Innkeeper, two bowls of dumplings."

When the dumplings, sprinkled with sesame and dried shrimp, were brought before Scholar Lu, he immediately ignored everything else, almost grabbing them with his hands.

Watching Scholar Lu suck in cold air from the hot dumplings but refusing to spit them out, Li Huowang frowned slightly and asked in a low voice, "How is the village after I left?"

"Still~ ha~ ha~ still the same."

After forcefully swallowing the dumplings in his mouth, Scholar Lu said, "Everyone's doing well. Old Immortal bought a few more cattle and plans to plant all the fields around the village next spring. He says we don't have enough hands and is worried about finding tenants."

"What about Miaomiao?"

"Miss Bai is fine, she eats and sleeps well, but she's often a bit distracted."

Li Huowang let out a long breath, resting his elbows on his knees. He closed his eyes and vigorously rubbed his face with both hands. "It's good that nothing happened, good that nothing happened..."

In that short time, Scholar Lu had already eaten a small half-bowl, easing his hunger. His somewhat listless spirits lifted.

"Master! I'll follow you from now on!"

Li Huowang decisively shook his head.

"After this meal, I'll give you money for your journey back to Ox-Heart Mountain. Don't go anywhere else, just go straight home."

He couldn't possibly carry a burden with him, especially not one who was neither kin nor acquaintance. Providing travel money was already the utmost generosity.

"I'm not going back! If I go back, my eldest brother will definitely force me into the fields with his fists!"

Li Huowang grabbed Scholar Lu's collar with one hand, glaring at him with extreme severity. "Only your father would coddle you, but I'm not your father!"

"I have enough troubles of my own! I don't have time to deal with you! If you say one more word of nonsense, believe me, I'll break your legs and throw you onto the street to beg!"

Scholar Lu's lips trembled. Facing Li Huowang's stern gaze, he ultimately didn't dare say another word.

"When you go back, don't mention you saw me." Li Huowang placed a thumb-sized piece of broken silver on Scholar Lu's table and turned to leave.

Watching Li Huowang's retreating figure, Scholar Lu looked very unwilling.

Just as he was about to disappear into the crowd, Scholar Lu excitedly shouted at his back, "You were the one who said you'd teach me supernatural abilities! But you only taught me how to use a sword, and you didn't even leave me a sword! What kind of master are you! You don't keep your word!!"

Seeing Li Huowang turn back, Scholar Lu immediately picked up the silver and stuffed it into his pocket, ready to run at any moment.

Li Huowang flicked his hand, and five blackened copper coins, like throwing darts, shot over and directly embedded themselves in the wooden table in front of Scholar Lu.

They were taken from the copper coin sword Li Huowang had. Although there were only five, Scholar Lu could control them with the Immortal Capital Sealing Imprint, making them quite powerful.

"We're even! Don't call me Master anymore!"

Encountering an old acquaintance in a foreign land, Li Huowang was distracted and lost his interest in wandering. He turned and walked towards the inn.

"Miaomiao?" Black Grand-Taisui's voice sounded in Li Huowang's ear.

"Since Li Huowang is your father, you should call this Miaomiao 'mother'," Hong Zhong, whose face had returned to a playful smile, jumped to Li Huowang's side and reminded him.

"Mother?"

When Black Grand-Taisui said that, Li Huowang was momentarily stunned. "Li Sui can actually hear hallucinations speak?"