Chapter 469: Village

The wagon wheels ground against the earth, leaving two narrow tracks.

Li Huowang sat on the front board of the wagon, gently flicking his horsewhip to urge the horses forward. Beside him, Li Sui, dressed in a straw raincoat, looked curiously at the sparrows on the tree branches through the new black veil hanging from her bamboo hat.

Li Huowang tapped the wagon. "Miaomiao, there's no need to stay inside all day. It must be so stuffy. It's dusk now; you can come out and get some fresh air."

Bai Lingmiao pushed aside the wagon curtain and gently sat beside Li Huowang, removing the white veil that covered her eyes as she looked around.

Looking at her delicate profile, Li Huowang noticed Bai Lingmiao seemed a little different. If her eyes were pink before, now they had turned a pinkish-white.

What this signified was self-evident.

Li Huowang gently squeezed her hand to comfort her, "It's okay. We're almost in Shangjing. Once we get there, we'll definitely find a way to fix your eyes."

Of the four pressing matters, the self-preservation of Niuxin Village was temporarily resolved. The most urgent issue now was Bai Lingmiao's eyes.

This matter was very urgent, but fortunately, it wasn't as difficult to solve as he had imagined.

Having witnessed the previous battle between the Bureau of Celestial Observation and the Sitting-Forgetfulness Sect, Li Huowang didn't think replacing a pair of eyes would be difficult in this chaotic world.

"Senior Brother Li, why did you ask me to come along too?" Bai Lingmiao asked in a soft voice.

"Of course, you have to come. This is about curing your eyes; how can we do that if you don't?" Li Huowang replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh," Bai Lingmiao murmured softly, lowering her head.

"Are you tired? There's a village up ahead; we can stay there tonight. No need to sleep in the wagon."

"Don't worry, at this speed, we should reach Shangjing by tomorrow night. Then, you'll not only be able to see everything clearly again, but you'll also be able to keep your eyes open in broad daylight from now on."

"Okay, Senior Brother Li, I'll listen to you."

It wasn't Li Huowang's first time going to Shangjing, so he was already familiar with the road. As the setting sun began to fade from the sky, a cluster of villages appeared before him.

As they approached, a hint of worry appeared on Bai Lingmiao's face. "Senior Brother Li, it's the same here..."

From a distance, it seemed fine, but closer inspection revealed crooked, dilapidated mud-brick houses that looked as if they might collapse at any moment. Weeds and messy spiderwebs indicated that these houses had been uninhabited for some time.

Li Huowang's expression was grim, but not surprised, as this wasn't the first time he had encountered such a situation.

Although the natural disaster had been short-lived, most villages that were unlucky had lost some of their people.

Even if some villages were fortunate and nothing happened, those were merely isolated cases.

This wasn't just about one or two villages; it was a worldwide event. Heaven knew how many people had died in the process.

"Who are you looking for?" An old voice made Li Huowang instantly grip his sword hilt.

However, seeing that the words came from an old man with only a few teeth left, trembling and leaning on a walking stick, Li Huowang released his weapon.

A piece of black cloth hung on his right shoulder, indicating that someone in his family had recently passed away.

"Elder, it's me. Do you remember? I stayed here before." Li Huowang walked up to him and, after snapping his fingers between the old man's eyes, spoke.

The old man stared at Li Huowang's face for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed with realization, "Ah, it's you, young one! Come, come. There are plenty of empty houses in the village now. You can stay as long as you like this time."

As the old man walked forward, Bai Lingmiao quietly approached Li Huowang, "Senior Brother Li, do you really know him?"

"No, just a little trick. The old man's memory isn't very good."

As the old man led them further into the village, other villagers gradually appeared before Li Huowang.

Men and women alike held large bowls, either squatting or standing around a large banyan tree, eating and chatting before it got completely dark.

Seeing Li Huowang's wagon, everyone turned their gaze towards it. Many who knew the old man casually struck up conversations. "Elder Zhao, do you have relatives visiting?"

Although their expressions seemed normal, black cloth hung on everyone's arms—the most black cloth Li Huowang had seen worn in one place throughout his journey.

Soon, Li Huowang was led to a clean, small courtyard with a mud house. "This was my youngest son's. He died a couple of years ago. You can stay here."

"Thank you so much. Elder Zhao, I'm truly troubling you."

"Oh, don't mention it. It's just for a night's stay, no trouble at all. No trouble at all."

Watching his receding back, Bai Lingmiao said with a hint of sympathy in her voice, "Senior Brother Li, it seems many people here died because of the last natural disaster."

Hearing this, Li Huowang immediately looked at Zhuge Yuan, who was silently standing in mid-air some distance away, his back turned to him.

The speaker had no intention, but the listener took it to heart. From what Li Huowang knew of him, Zhuge Yuan would surely blame himself for these people's deaths.

"Never mind, it's all in the past, let's not talk about it. I'll go fetch water from the well and make us something hot to eat."

Since they had to travel again the next day, they ate a simple dinner. After washing up, they went to bed.

Li Huowang had expected nothing to happen during the night, but at the third watch, he was woken by Li Sui, who was on watch.

Li Huowang glanced at Bai Lingmiao, who was breathing slowly beside him, and asked Li Sui by the bed in the lowest possible voice, "What is it?"

"Father, they're performing an opera outside."

"Hmm?" Li Huowang looked at Bai Lingmiao again, then quietly slipped out of bed, pushed open the door, and went outside.

Soon, under the banyan tree from before, Li Huowang saw a group of people forming a circle, dancing and gesturing wildly.

They were none other than the villagers from under the banyan tree, and even the old man who had led Li Huowang earlier was among them.

"Father, what are they doing?"

"Shh, don't make a sound. Let me see."

Li Huowang's brows gradually furrowed. It seemed he had stumbled upon a sect or cult he had never encountered before.

Yet, what puzzled him was that when the old man led them into the village, he had deliberately checked and felt no malice from his "ten emotions and eight sufferings."

"Could they also be like the Abbess, somewhat good people?" Li Huowang pondered, eventually deciding to wait and see what they were truly up to.

Regardless of whether they harbored ill intentions towards him, at least for now, Li Huowang wasn't afraid.

Because of the distance, the words they chanted only reached Li Huowang's ears intermittently.

"Enduring endless hardship, countless misfortunes. Oh, Son of God, nothing goes as planned. No money, no food. Oh, Son of God, all clothes must be pawned."