Chapter 535: Natural Disaster

“Beat the drums fast, strike the gongs slow—stop the gongs, stop the drums, listen to me sing, listen to me sing ‘The Eighteen Touches.’”

A theatrical tune, drawn out and wailing, drifted from the alley to the left. When Li Sui turned her head towards the sound, Li Huowang couldn't help but frown. He immediately cracked the reins, urging the carriage faster, lest Li Sui be corrupted by such vulgar lyrics.

“Reaching out to touch my sister’s temples, oh, dark clouds flutter across half the sky—reaching out to touch my sister’s forehead, oh, a full and alluring brow.”

Lu Juren, with a white pancake of theatrical makeup pasted on his nose, stood on the high stage, singing with great effort. His two hands gestured along with the lyrics.

Below the stage, men young and old listened intently. From time to time, they exchanged winks and nudges, chuckling amongst themselves.

As soon as ‘The Eighteen Touches’ concluded, a wave of cheers erupted. This was a new type of risqué folk opera, unfamiliar in Shangjing, and copper coins showered onto the stage.

“Another one! Another one!”“Doesn’t your troupe have women? I want a woman to sing the risqué opera!”“That’s right! If a woman sings it, I’ll give even more reward money!”

Just as Lu Zhuangyuan was bowing and holding up his gong to catch the flying copper coins, a voice from outside the crowd boomed, “What’s going on! What are you doing!”

When the crowd saw that the newcomers were blue-clad constables, they scattered in a panic. Lu Zhuangyuan’s expression grew tense.

“Who told you to perform here? And you’re performing a damn risqué opera! It’s morally corrupting! Are you blind? Couldn’t you see the huge notice by the city gate?”

Lu Zhuangyuan humbly approached the leading constable, speaking cautiously, “Reporting to your honor, this humble one is illiterate. I hope you can make an exception.”

“I don’t care whether you’re literate or not! Pick up all the copper coins on the ground and hand them over to the authorities!”

Lu Zhuangyuan truly hated to part with so many copper coins, but when faced with official authority, arguments were futile. In the end, he reluctantly complied.

After the constable happily departed with the copper coins, the others, looking as wilted as frost-bitten eggplants, sullenly began dismantling the stage.

Halfway through the dismantling, Lu Xiucai and Gouwa returned, bickering fiercely with each other.

“Bullshit! You’re called Gouwa, and your method is bull-crap! Those beggars have been searching for so long! They haven’t even found a trace of master!”“Watch your mouth! Who are you calling bull-crap? At least I’m working. What about you? All you do is flap your gums. What else have you accomplished? Do you really think you’re still a scholar?”

The two bickering men arrived at the stage, and seeing it dismantled, their arguments died down.

“Troupe Leader Lu, what happened here? We finally found a good spot for a grand performance, why is it dismantled again?” Gouwa asked, scratching his painted face.

Upon learning the full story, Lu Xiucai stomped his feet in anger, and vigorously waved the copper coin sword he had already bound. “Those damn Shangjing people are bullying us again! Which way did those bastards go? I’ll cut them down!”

Lu Zhuangyuan sighed, rubbing his aching back. “Alright, alright, there’s already enough trouble. Don’t cause us any more. If we can’t make money, then we can’t. It’s not the end of the world.”

“Father-in-law, you can’t say that,” his daughter-in-law, Luo Juanhua, holding a bronze mirror, said with some dissatisfaction. “Day in and day out, we have people to feed and horses to stable; those are all expenses. Besides, money in Shangjing isn’t worth much. A single flatbread costs five copper coins.”

“Who asked for your opinion? I manage the money myself, don’t you think I know?” After reprimanding his daughter-in-law with his pipe, he turned and smilingly looked at Gouwa. “So, Young Master Cao, have you found the Young Daoist yet?”

With no hope for the theater and no money to be made, Lu Zhuangyuan actually wanted to leave. However, he knew there was another purpose for coming to Shangjing this time, and simply saying they were leaving would make it difficult to explain back in Niuxin Village.

Given the atmosphere, Gouwa couldn’t say anything else. He just kept repeating, “Soon, soon.”

But Shangjing was so vast, with so many people. His search was like looking for a needle in a haystack; how could it be quick?

“Never mind. I’ll send a message via carrier pigeon to Xiaoman and the others about what happened here. Anyway, I’ve already asked the beggars; if I can’t find Senior Brother Li, it won’t be my fault.”

With that thought, Gouwa headed towards the City God Temple, intending to find a down-and-out scholar to write a letter.

Meanwhile, the Senior Brother Li he was looking for had just left the city. After traveling dozens more kilometers, he found a secluded spot and parked the carriage. After preparing water and feed for the horses, he was ready to head to Daqi.

Feeling Li Sui’s tentacles emerge from all sides of his skin, Li Huowang exhaled deeply. As he raised his right hand, two tentacles wrapped around the Spine Sword and placed it in his palm.

“Let’s go!” With a forceful swing, Li Huowang pushed off the ground with both feet and six tentacles, and lunged towards the rift ahead.

Having had one experience, he was noticeably more skilled. This time, when Li Huowang emerged through the rift into Daqi, not even his daoist robe was torn.

However, before Li Huowang could feel any joy, the astonishing sight before him made his pupils contract. In the distance, a colossal dark cloud, like Mount Tai bearing down, loomed towards them.

“That is…” Li Huowang squinted, instantly discerning what those things truly were. “Those are locusts!”

The next moment, the overwhelming swarm of locusts blotted out the sun, descending like an inverted black ocean.

Li Huowang, acting decisively, sheathed the Spine Sword and directly drew out the Purple Spike Sword. A towering aura of malevolence instantly enveloped him, startling away the locusts that were gnawing at his daoist robe and hair.

The sound of insect wings beating continued for half an hour. When the sun reappeared overhead, the trees, flowers, and plants around Li Huowang were nothing but bare stalks.

“Brother Li, this is a natural disaster.” Zhuge Yuan’s expression began to turn grim.

“This is also a natural disaster? Brother Zhuge, these are clearly just locusts.”

“For the common people, the most important thing is food. They never care if a certain Heavenly Dao is missing; after all, they can still live, temporarily, without it. But without food, they will starve to death. In their eyes, a locust plague is far more terrifying than any other natural disaster.”

“What’s even more frightening is that this locust plague might be followed by drought, war, and pestilence. The entire Daqi might be devastated.”

Watching the distant locusts fly towards Daqi’s capital city, a hint of doubt resurfaced in Li Huowang’s mind. “What exactly is happening in Daqi?”

Seeing Zhuge Yuan’s expression, Li Huowang couldn’t help but say, “Brother Zhuge, if there’s anything you need me to do here in Daqi—”

Zhuge Yuan shook his head. “Brother Li, you are not a Daqi native; this is not your karma, and there’s no need for you to get involved. Besides, you’re not in an easy situation yourself. No matter how much I sympathize with the suffering of the world, I cannot impose on others.”