Chapter 454: Familiar Person

"Oh, oh, oh!" As the rooster's crow echoed, the sleepy Niuxin Village gradually awoke.

After washing up, it was time for breakfast. Typically, ordinary villagers couldn't afford breakfast, eating only two meals a day. The exception was during the autumn harvest, when they had three meals to maintain their strength for the arduous work.

However, things were different in Niuxin Village; everyone received breakfast. This was a significant reason why many felt so deeply indebted to Bai Lingmiao. She provided ample food, access to books, and even a share of the crops harvested from the fields. Where else in the world could one find such a benevolent benefactor?

"Quick! Get up now! The first serving of porridge is thicker, and you're not even diligent about eating! What in your life *can* you be diligent about?" Mr. Lü repeatedly pounded on his eldest son's door.

"Father, we have money now; we can cook for ourselves at home," complained Luo Juanhua, Lü Juren's wife, who was very unhappy about never being able to sleep in.

"Are you so rich you're burning money? You won't eat free food, but you'll spend your own money on grain! You spendthrift, get up!" Holding his tobacco pipe, he sternly lectured his daughter-in-law. Then, with his hands clasped behind his back, he turned to knock on the apprentices' doors. Of course, he wasn't kindly calling his apprentices to rush for breakfast; he was making them get up to practice their fundamental skills.

Mr. Lü taught them exactly as his own master had taught him: strictly, yet with a singular focus. If they didn't practice enough or perform well, they weren't allowed to eat. To become a performer of grand opera, one typically had to start practicing from childhood. For those in their teens, like his apprentices, they needed to be even more diligent to achieve success.

Amidst the apprentices' varied attempts at voice training, Mr. Lü led his entire family in a grand procession towards the Bai Family Manor. Just as they entered the courtyard, they saw Yang the Kid directing two people who were carrying a large pot of hot porridge into the main hall. A smile was just forming on his face as he stepped inside, but it immediately vanished when he spotted his rebellious younger son, Lü Xiucai. "Hmph!" He had hit and scolded his younger son countless times, but the scoundrel was stubbornly set in his ways and refused to listen to anything.

Confronted with his father's hostility, Lü Xiucai mumbled curses under his breath, occasionally muttering phrases like "old bastard," "just wait and see," and "one day." Meanwhile, his purchased wife, Tao'er, watched her father-in-law and husband silently from behind, seemingly lost in thought.

"Oh, oh, everyone's here," Gouwa's grating voice announced. Everyone immediately saw him enter, supporting his heavily pregnant wife.

"Yes, she's due any day now. Full term, I reckon it'll be in the next few days. My son is coming soon!" Gouwa said with a wide smile to Lü Xiucai.

Lü Xiucai's face registered a hint of disdain. "Did I ask you? What are you showing off?"

"Hehehe," Gouwa chuckled, his face beaming. He helped his wife sit down, then leaned in close to Lü Xiucai and whispered, "Xiucai, how's your cultivation of divine abilities coming along?"

"Same as always. It's slow going since I can't read. What? You want to learn?"

Gouwa chuckled. "Me? No way I'm learning that stuff; it's too much work. After breakfast, I'll take a leisurely stroll, then just wait for lunch. I've got my four acres of land being farmed by others; I just wait for the harvest. Don't have to do a thing, and there's grain every year. How carefree! I've endured so much hardship, so I deserve a good rest now." Traveling with Senior Brother Li for so long, he hadn't learned much else, but he certainly gained experience. There was not much in this world that came for free, especially divine abilities, which could be very dangerous if not cultivated properly. In truth, his real plan was to wait a few months to see if Lü Xiucai encountered any problems before attempting to learn himself—a lesson he'd also picked up from Senior Brother Li.

"Hmph, all you do is eat and sleep; you have no ambition!" Lü Xiucai scoffed, looking at Gouwa with utter contempt.

"Hey, maybe I have no ambition, but I have a son. Do you?"

Just as they were speaking, Li Huowang and Bai Lingmiao descended the steps. Everyone else immediately fell silent, waiting for them to take their seats. Although Li Huowang's lack of skin was somewhat horrifying to behold, those present were long accustomed to it, having witnessed far more frightening sights.

Only when Li Huowang took his seat at the head of the table and picked up his chopsticks did the others begin to eat. Li Huowang ate a hearty breakfast of steamed buns and porridge, accompanied by salted vegetables and salted eggs. His movements were large and he ate a considerable amount.

"Eat slower. Are you a reincarnated hungry ghost? No one's going to snatch it from you."

Li Huowang, however, paid no mind to Bai Lingmiao's complaints and continued to devour his breakfast. When he started cultivating, a whole day would pass by. If he didn't eat his fill now, there would be no lunch.

"Ugh, there are no villains here in Niuxin Village to harm you, so why are you always covered in blood?" Bai Lingmiao picked at the blood scabs on his body.

"Better safe than sorry. Don't worry, I won't die."

"Even if you won't die, doesn't it hurt? Are you addicted to pain? Lying next to you at night, I get startled whenever I get up."

Under Bai Lingmiao's constant nagging, Li Huowang hastily finished his breakfast and exited the Bai Family Manor, where Li Sui was already waiting outside. The two figures, one tall and one short, began their ascent up Niuxin Mountain, following a winding, rugged path.

However, just as he left the village, white mist began to spread through the surrounding woods. Li Huowang's brows furrowed; he immediately gripped his Purple Sprout Sword and sharply drew it partway from its sheath. "Who's there! Come out!"

A surge of malevolent energy burst forth, sending the surrounding mist swirling outwards. The white haze quickly dissipated, revealing a face wearing a wooden mask emerging from the now-clearing air.

"Well, well, isn't this a case of 'a flood washing away the Dragon King Temple'—kin failing to recognize kin? It's you, Erjiu!"

"Liu Zongyuan?" Li Huowang asked, surprised, as he looked at the man wearing the wooden mask. He remembered him; Liu Zongyuan had been one of the people with him, Ji Xiang, and Tuoba Danqing when they had searched for the Heart of Turbidity. The world was indeed unpredictable. Of the five who had acted together then, Ji Xiang was dead, Monk Xinci was dead, and Tuoba Danqing was trapped, unable to escape the Heart of Turbidity. Now, only the two of them remained.

Meeting again, a sense of familiarity mixed with shared melancholy settled between them. Since Liu Zongyuan was there, cultivating immortality was clearly out of the question for the moment. Li Huowang immediately led him to the reception room and offered tea.

Picking up his tea and taking a sip, Li Huowang asked with a hint of curiosity, "Brother Liu, did the Jiantian Division assign you a special task that brought you here today?" Although Liu Zongyuan was also from the Jiantian Division, Li Huowang doubted his visit was related to the major incident in Shangjing City. After all, at that time, he had been using Beifeng's female body, making it impossible for them to trace anything back to him.

Liu Zongyuan's words soon confirmed Li Huowang's suspicion. "Oh, I just heard that people were living here again and thought it might be another White Lotus cult gathering. So I came specifically to check it out. I truly didn't expect to run into you here."