Chapter 614: People

"Kid, are you really leaving? We just came all this way, and now you're going back? There's no need for that.""Kid, Later Shu is very far, not to mention the sea south of Later Shu. A round trip will take at least a year and a half."Upon hearing Yang Xiaohai say he was going to find his parents, the others who had come out of Qingfeng Temple with him all tried to dissuade him.

They had all endured hardships on their journey. The saying "away from home, life is cheap" wasn't just words; in those times, any long journey carried significant risk.

With mountains so high and roads so long, who knew what dangers they might encounter along the way?In response to their advice, Yang Xiaohai remained silent. Carrying his luggage, he looked at Li Huowang, who was sitting in a grand armchair. "Senior Brother Li, do you think I can go?"

"Your legs are your own; you don't need to ask me whether you should go or not. Gouwa, give him that Rotted Wood Ruyi for self-defense on the road.""Huh?""What do you mean, 'huh'? Hurry up, and also get him a carriage. He'll wear out his shoes walking such a long distance."

Soon, Yang Xiaohai's travel provisions significantly increased. The carriage was filled with various dry rations, enough to last them all the way to Later Shu.

"Take this pouch of silver. Besides being travel money, it can also be used to deal with any troubles you encounter on the way."When Yang Xiaohai took the heavy pouch of silver, he felt a bit overwhelmed. "Senior Brother Li, I can't take this, I..."

"If I tell you to take it, then take it. The village doesn't lack money now, and my injuries aren't fully healed, so I can't go with you. Since you want to go, then go. The world is peaceful now, and your learned talismans and the Rotted Wood Ruyi can help you protect yourself against ordinary evil spirits."

Hearing this, Yang Xiaohai excitedly knelt on the ground and kowtowed several times to Li Huowang. Then, he immediately jumped into the carriage and, with the woman already inside, departed from Niuxin Village.

Gouwa, holding his daughter, suddenly stepped forward and shouted loudly, "Kid! When you pass by Qingqiu, go see Sun Baolu for me! Tell him I got married and had a daughter!""Okay, Senior Brother Gou! I got it!"

Yang Xiaohai left, and the others also began to walk back in twos and threes.On the way, Gouwa couldn't help but complain, "Now that the kid's gone, who's going to cook for us? Zhao Wu, how are your cooking skills?"

"Look at my legs," Zhao Wu, leaning on his crutch, shot him a glance. "Do I look like I can cook?""Oh no, this is bad. Now no one will cook! What do we do? Xiaoman, can you do it?""Scram."

"Since no one will cook, then we won't have communal meals anymore," Li Huowang said, drawing everyone's attention.

Eating together had been an old habit carried over from their journey. But now, Gao Zhijian had become emperor, Sun Baolu had returned home, the Lu Family Troupe had settled in Shangjing, and several others had died on the road. There weren't even enough people left to fill a single table.

"Everyone has settled down, and we're no longer short on silver. So from now on, cook your own meals. Stop running to the Bai family's compound all day long."

Hearing this, a slight smile appeared on Bai Lingmiao's face, who was standing beside Li Huowang.

"No, Senior Brother Li," Gouwa said with a look of regret. It had been so convenient to just show up with an open mouth at meal times every day.

"Stop talking nonsense; that's how it's going to be," Li Huowang said, then took Li Sui's hand and walked towards the Bai family's compound.

Gouwa, still looking regretful, scratched his head and looked at Zhao Wu. "Hey, you haven't started a family yet. No one will cook for you from now on. You should hurry and persuade Senior Brother Li."

"Don't expect me to take over. I can cook for myself; I don't need it," Zhao Wu replied, ignoring Gouwa's surprise, and slowly made his way towards the storeroom, leaning on his crutch.

What they called a storeroom was actually an unoccupied large compound, specially cleared out to store the items sent by Gao Zhijian.Gold, silver, fabrics, and various bestowed items filled the main hall. Placing an abacus on the table, Zhao Wu began to take inventory.

This was Zhao Wu's job, and he was the only one in Niuxin Village who could do it. His family sold rice, so he had grown up listening to the click-clack of an abacus. When it came to calculations, no one could surpass him.

On the road, they were poor and had very little money, so Zhao Wu had little to calculate.But now, with the expenses for so many people in Niuxin Village, and such large amounts of money and provisions, his value truly shone.

He meticulously tracked everything on his abacus: how much money Niuxin Village earned, how much was spent and where, how much old rice they had, and how much old rice needed to be sold and new rice stored each year.

Doing all this work alone was exhausting, but Zhao Wu was happy to do it, because only then could he feel that he wasn't a useless person unable to lift or carry anything.

"Five hundred pearls? What would Gao Zhijian send so many pearls for? No one in the village uses them." Zhao Wu gently shook his head, picked up his pen, and meticulously recorded the entry.

This accounting took him all day. By the time his stomach rumbled and dusk began to fall, he still hadn't heard Yang Xiaohai's call for dinner.It was only then that Zhao Wu realized Yang Xiaohai had just left, and he would have to cook for himself from now on.

"Ah, it's hard to get used to someone suddenly leaving," he sighed. Picking up his nearby crutch, Zhao Wu limped towards the kitchen.

By the time he reached the kitchen, it was dark. Zhao Wu planned to grab something he could eat raw to tide him over so he wouldn't miss Master Wu's evening lesson.The thought of Master Wu's evaluation of him just yesterday warmed Zhao Wu's heart. Master Wu had said that among everyone in Niuxin Village, he had the highest aptitude for literacy.He now recognized eight hundred characters, which was enough to somewhat consider himself a scholar.

"It's really dark. Where's the oil lamp?" Zhao Wu fumbled around in the kitchen.He lifted a steamer lid, and when he felt something cool, soft, and spindle-shaped, he picked it up and tucked it into his clothes. "Sweet potatoes will do. I'll eat them on the way so I don't miss class."As Zhao Wu thought this, his movements quickened. But just as he tucked the third sweet potato into his clothes and reached for a fourth, his hand brushed against a bony, emaciated claw in the darkness.

"Ghost!!"A few breaths later, with a loud "bang," the wooden door of the kitchen exploded inwards. Li Huowang stood there, his body covered in constantly writhing black tentacles, holding his Spine Sword, a murderous expression on his face, glaring intently into the room.

"Senior Brother Li! There's a ghost! There's a ghost in this room!" Zhao Wu, forgetting his crutch, scrambled on all fours to hide behind Li Huowang.

"Quiet down!" Li Huowang pulled a pale green glowing fluorite from his pouch and threw it into the dim kitchen.Soon, he saw a ragged man huddled in the corner, his shoulders shaking as if he was eating something.

"Turn around!" Li Huowang held his sword horizontally.When the man turned and saw Li Huowang, he immediately forgot the sweet potato in his mouth, trembled, and prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly to Li Huowang. "Great Immortal, spare my life! Great Immortal, spare my life!"