Chapter 493: Night Visit

"Alright, move along. Stop showing off." Chun Xiaoman held up her bamboo pole to ward off the bragging Gouwa, then walked up to the distraught person. After carefully considering her words, she slowly asked, "Why did you come to our village? Why are you killing everyone you see? When did we ever offend you?"

Faced with Chun Xiaoman's questions, the person quickly spilled everything they knew, terrified that any delay would result in the rope tightening around them.

"We... we were driven out by those soldiers on horseback. We ran out of food while fleeing, so we followed the shaman's instructions to find a village far from the authorities for provisions. It turns out your village is the furthest from the county town in this area."

"Soldiers on horseback?" The person's disjointed explanation left Chun Xiaoman utterly confused. It seemed their targeting of Niuxin Village had no special reason at all.

"Who exactly are you? And why are the soldiers of Daliang driving you away?"

"We are the Dharma Sect!" At the mention of this, the sect follower immediately became much calmer, chin held high, as if the name itself possessed some power supporting him.

"Tell me, is there any justice left? Any heavenly law? There are so many people who worship Buddhas and immortals! They never get a second glance, so why do those court dogs dislike us for worshipping Yu'er God?"

"Hmph! The Great Shaman, who can communicate with Yu'er God, has already said it! Don't let these Daliang lackeys think they're invincible now! They're like grasshoppers in autumn; they won't be jumping around for much longer!"

"Just recently, Yu'er God appeared! That night's darkness was Chun Xiaoman's divine power! When he completely reveals himself and descends to the mortal world, hmph hmph hmph! By then, our Dharma Sect will be the state religion! Our Dharma family members will rule as emperors in turn! We won't pay taxes or perform labor! We'll eat fatty meat every day!"

"What's this guy babbling about? Is he crazy?" Gouwa said, staring at the person with a surprised expression.

Gouwa didn't understand, but the well-traveled Scholar Lu saw through it.

"Oh no, these guys aren't just common bandits! They're rebelling, following the example of King Xian!" He slapped his thigh in agitation.

"It's over, it's all over. We ran all this way to escape the war, but we haven't even had a few peaceful days before chaos starts again!"

"Rebel? With just those useless people?" Scholar Lu said with disdain, but as he recalled the strange young woman, the disdain on his face gradually faded.

Other words were incomprehensible, but everyone present understood the word "rebellion." In their minds, rebellion meant war, death, and famine.

Li Huowang, his expression relaxed, quickly knelt in front of the person and asked, "Does your Dharma Sect have many followers?"

"Of course! In the entire Jiangnan region alone, there are at least a million! And everyone under heaven is a subject of Chun Xiaoman! It's just that some have awakened earlier, and some haven't yet!"

"You too! I advise you to surrender early and submit to our Chun Xiaoman!"

Although these words seemed like self-praise, they still stunned everyone present.

Zhao Wu said with a grim expression, "We've killed so many of them; they won't retaliate against us, will they?" No one could answer this question, and a heavy stone pressed on everyone's heart.

"Don't panic. Yu'er God left with Miaomiao some time ago; they should be back soon."

These words immediately brightened everyone's faces. In their eyes, Senior Brother Li was like an immortal being.

As long as he was there, this so-called rebellious Dharma Sect was utterly insignificant.

"Miss Chun, I think we should stock up on more grain. We can't rely on the autumn harvest. If the world is truly about to fall into chaos, then grain will be our very lives." The experienced Scholar Lu was thinking several steps ahead of everyone else at this moment.

"Yes, Zhao Wu, pawn some of the gold. Let's fill up our granaries first! As for other matters, we'll discuss them thoroughly once Yu'er God returns!"

"Zhijian, arrange for a few village militia members to take turns on night watch, just like we did on the road. It would be best to bring two dogs too! They can see things that some people cannot."

With Senior Brother Li absent, everyone else began to move under Li Huowang's command. Originally, Gao Zhijian would have been more suitable as the backbone, but he stammered.

While Niuxin Village was brightly lit, in the capital city, the wooden door to Senior Brother Li's small courtyard was knocked upon. "Is Mr. Er home?"

Hou Weijing, who had been having a nightmare, suddenly woke up, his hand unconsciously gripping the weapon beneath his pillow.

"Is Mr. Er home? Could you please open the door? My master requests your presence."

Listening to the watchman's calls from several streets away, Senior Brother Li realized it was only the third watch of the night. He didn't know many people in the capital; who would come looking for him in the middle of the night?

"Yu'er God, there are twelve people outside the door, and a large palanquin," Miaomiao whispered, describing everything outside.

"Get dressed, grab your belongings, and wait on the second floor. If they mean us harm, we'll kill them and quickly leave the capital under the cover of night!" Senior Brother Li, donning his red Daoist robe, hid his Zisui Sword behind him and walked towards the courtyard gate.

Just as the focused Li Huowang reached for the wooden door latch, the skinless face of the Red-Clothed Forgetfulness Daoist suddenly emerged from within the door. "I've checked for you. The one calling out is a eunuch."

Li Huowang's eye twitched slightly. He reached into the faceless, eyeless head and gently pulled, and the courtyard gate opened.

Li Huowang's keen sense of smell immediately detected a mixture of fragrance and urine odor. Red-Clothed hadn't been wrong; the stout, beardless old man before him was indeed a eunuch.

What surprised Li Huowang even more was that the old eunuch was holding a very familiar jade cat in his arms.

"Heheheh, I have met Lord Er Jiu." The old eunuch, holding the jade cat, bowed deeply to Li Huowang, then said obsequiously, "Please step into the palanquin. My master invites you to his residence for a discussion."

It seemed the young emperor, after recovering, had remembered this insignificant person again.

As Li Huowang stepped into the large palanquin, which was the size of a small room, eight strong palanquin bearers simultaneously lifted it, carrying him towards the Daliang Imperial Palace.

Despite being carried by eight people, the palanquin was remarkably stable, giving Li Huowang the sensation of riding in a carriage. He was, in effect, experiencing the highest-grade palanquin, an eight-bearer grand sedan.

When the palanquin entered the dark red colossal walls, it did not stop. Instead, it continued to be carried directly towards the Daliang Emperor's bedchamber. Only upon reaching the bedchamber entrance did it slowly tilt, inviting Li Huowang to alight.

The bedchamber had a golden roof and red doors. Golden glazed tiles shimmered silver under the moonlight, and on the similarly gleaming ridge of the roof, rows of small glazed beasts squatted, each wearing the distinctive mask unique to the Daliang Emperor.