Chapter 39: Wild

Li Huowang glanced at the silver ingots in Bai Lingmiao's hand, then reached into his chest pocket, pulled out a piece of silver, and placed it on top.

Before Li Huowang could speak, Bai Lingmiao quickly interjected, "That gold bracelet has already been melted down. I saw it melt with my own eyes. It can't be bought back now."

Seeing Li Huowang standing there, mouth agape, Bai Lingmiao smiled triumphantly, as if she had won. She took the silver in her hand and tucked it into his embrace.

"Don't worry," she said, "that bracelet was just something my mother gave me for safekeeping, not some family heirloom."

Since Bai Lingmiao had put it that way, Li Huowang no longer insisted. He carefully counted the silver and put it away. "Once everything is settled, I'll buy you a bigger one."

"Okay! I'll be waiting!" Bai Lingmiao nodded with a smile.

Just then, the door suddenly opened, and Gouwa walked in from outside. He paused when he saw the two people crouching in the corner, then immediately turned to leave. "Wrong guest room, my apologies, I'll just head out."

Bai Lingmiao blushed, buried her head, rushed to the door, pushed him aside, and ran off.

Gouwa walked in grinning. "Senior Brother Li, although Junior Sister Bai is pale all over, when it comes to finding a wife, looks aren't important, character is. Don't be too picky now."

Li Huowang was too lazy to humor him. "Stop talking nonsense. Wash up and go to sleep. We finally have a bed."

In a daze, Li Huowang found himself in an ancient forest. A faint light source glimmered ahead. Perplexed, he used his sword to cut through branches, hurrying towards the flickering light.

As he drew closer, Li Huowang saw Bai Lingmiao, her mother, and Yang Na gathered around a bonfire, roasting dried sweet potatoes.

Witnessing this heartwarming scene, he immediately felt relieved and started to walk towards them.

Suddenly, the world dramatically shifted. Li Huowang saw Danyangzi, hundreds of feet tall, with three heads and a body covered in feathers, standing there like a colossal mountain.

"Hahaha, child, well done. You've brought the medicinal ingredients," the terrifying Danyangzi roared with laughter.

The terrifying Danyangzi finished speaking with a laugh, then raised a stone pillar in his hand, longer than his own height, and violently smashed it towards the bonfire below.

"Wait!!" Li Huowang jolted upright, drenched in cold sweat. After several deep breaths, still shaken, he realized that everything had just been a dream.

"Senior Brother Li, you're awake? I specifically bought you some wontons; eat them while they're hot." Gouwa, who had been peering in, pulled his head back from the window.

"What time is it now?" Li Huowang sat down at the table, rubbing his aching head. He noticed that what Gouwa called "wontons" were similar to regular dumplings.

"It's just past Chenshi (7-9 AM). It's fine if you slept in; we don't have to travel today anyway."

Picking up a ceramic spoon, he quickly shoveled the wontons into his mouth, finishing them in just a few bites. "Who said we have nothing to do today? Let's go buy what we'll need for the journey."

The recent dream flashed through his mind. Li Huowang spoke again: "I'll take the others to buy supplies. You go ask Lu Zhuangyuan when we can leave. The sooner, the better. If he can't go, then we'll leave ahead of time."

Li Huowang still had some silver left after buying the donkey cart, and with the extra silver Bai Lingmiao gave him, they could purchase more necessities.

At the very least, they needed quilts and mats so they wouldn't have to huddle by the bonfire at night with hot backs and cold chests.

They could also buy a pot, allowing them to eat hot food on the road instead of just gnawing on dry rations every day.

With more scattered items, one donkey cart wouldn't be enough. By the time he met Lu Zhuangyuan at the city gate, they already had an additional donkey cart.

"Hey, Young Daoist Master, you're quite capable! As we travel, your possessions keep accumulating. I reckon if you keep going for another six months or a year, you'll be rolling in money," Lu Zhuangyuan, who was driving, didn't forget to flatter him.

"Boss Lu, is Jianye far from Xijing City?" Li Huowang asked, looking at the wide dirt road ahead.

The road was wide and busy. Besides his group and Lu Zhuangyuan's, there were many others carrying bundles, all seemingly heading to Xijing City.

"Not far, just another ten-odd days of travel," Lu Zhuangyuan said, a wide smile breaking across his face as if he had thought of something pleasant.

Li Huowang nodded and continued, "Regarding the monastery you mentioned, besides its reputation for helping people conceive, what else do you know about it?"

"Oh, a monastery is just a monastery. What's different about them? Aren't all monasteries just a bunch of old monks leading young monks in vegetarian meals and chanting prayers?"

Li Huowang sighed softly. It seemed he would have to inquire about such matters himself. Ordinary people like Lu Zhuangyuan lived somewhat ignorantly and had no real concept of these things.

"Young Daoist Master, look, there's a monk up ahead. The one urinating under that tree. You'd better ask him instead of me. He might be from that monastery."

"Oh?" Li Huowang looked up and indeed saw a bald monk standing by the roadside.

As he walked over, he saw the back of a figure in a tattered monk's robe twitch and turn around.

However, upon seeing the man's front, Li Huowang immediately frowned.

He was called a monk, but he looked more like an old beggar with a shaved head. He was as shabby as could be, his monk's robe covered entirely in patches and tears.

"Amitabha, do you need something from me?" The filthy old man grinned, revealing yellow teeth with several missing front ones, and smiled foolishly.

"Are you... a monk?"

"Yes, I am a monk!" The old monk said, a hint of pride in his voice, as he lifted the prayer beads made of fruit pits hanging around his neck.

"Excuse me, Master, from which monastery are you a revered monk?" Li Huowang's voice already held a trace of hesitation.

"I don't have a monastery. Aren't I heading north to find one? I heard there are many monasteries there, and they even provide food. I plan to become a monk there."

Hearing this, Li Huowang immediately had a suspicion. He gave the man a flat nod and turned back to rejoin his group.

But even as Li Huowang decided to ignore the old beggar pretending to be a monk, the man stuck to him like a stubborn plaster.

"Are you also looking for a monastery? Then let's go together! But aren't you a Daoist? Daoists shouldn't believe in the Buddha, right?"

*Is this guy pretending to be a fool to trick me?* With heightened vigilance, Li Huowang slapped the donkey's rump, quickening their pace and simply ignoring the man.

While he ignored him, someone else didn't. The simple-minded Fool, feeling nothing amiss, started talking.

"You didn't... didn't bring... food. You'll starve!"

"How could I starve? Look, there's everything in the forest: wild fruits, wild mushrooms, wild vegetables."

"I've... I've... eaten wild fruit too...! I've also... I've also..."

"Fool, don't talk to him!"

"Oh..."

When no one paid him any attention, the old beggar eventually left, bored. Li Huowang, who had secretly tightened his grip on the Daoist bell, breathed a sigh of relief.

Whether he was genuinely foolish or merely pretending, in this strange place, it was always best to be cautious of others.

After walking along the dirt road for an hour, with the sun directly overhead, Li Huowang saw many people squatting down to eat their dry rations and told his own group to do the same.

Although he was starting to feel a bit anxious, it was safer to stay with a larger group.

Freshly bought white steamed buns were handed to everyone, and they ate their lunch with a few jars of pickled vegetables.

Taking Bai Lingmiao's water gourd, Li Huowang tilted his head back and drank. He then looked around and suddenly realized someone was missing. "Hmm? Where's the Fool?"

"He just went into the woods to pee. Why isn't he back yet? Don't tell me he started pooping halfway through peeing. Hey!! Fool!! Are you in there?!"

As Gouwa yelled into the woods by the roadside, the Fool's simple, large head emerged from the trees, his cheeks bulging as if he were chewing something.

"What are you eating?" Li Huowang asked, puzzled.

"Wild... wild... wild white rice from the woods, it's... it's... free!" The Fool finished speaking and then retreated back into the woods.