Chapter 627: Tree Flower

The sky, ablaze with the fiery red sunset, cast a crimson hue across the clouds and bathed Li Sui's profile in a warm, rosy light.

At that moment, she sat sideways on the horse, leaning against her father's back, head bowed, intently examining her new body. This was still a woman's body, but compared to the previous one, it was older and less attractive. The black cloth on her shoulder indicated her identity: she was one of the Dharma sect believers who had previously ambushed Li Huowang. There was only one reason she chose a woman's body: a skirt could hide her dog's head and limbs.

Originally, she could have burrowed into her father's body as before, but after the last incident, she was afraid. She feared getting stuck inside her father, which would cause him great pain, and she didn't want him to suffer.

When she felt the horse's hooves suddenly stop, Li Sui cautiously peered out from behind her father, noticing many houses blocking their path.

"It's getting dark. Let's rest here at this post station for the night. Tomorrow, we'll ride at full speed to Yinling!"

When the postmaster and postmen emerged from the station, they were startled to see Fo Yulu holding up the identification plaque of the Supervisor of Heaven's Bureau. Instantly, they became exceptionally vigilant and attentive in their service. This was a perilous figure, even more formidable than a messenger carrying an urgent dispatch.

As night fell, good wine and delicious food were prepared and served. They even thoughtfully prepared vegetarian dishes for the three monks.

Sitting on a stool, Li Sui held a single chopstick, watching others skillfully use the two wooden sticks. She had never learned how to use these; in the past, she always swallowed her food whole.

"Eat an egg. You don't need chopsticks for an egg." Li Huowang, who was gulping down mutton soup beside her, reached out and tore off the white cloth on Li Sui's shoulder.

Li Sui nodded emphatically, picked up the shelled eggs from the plate, and, under the astonished gaze of the postmaster, swallowed more than a dozen of them whole, one after another, like a large snake, without chewing. Li Sui wasn't keen on eating those; they had no taste at all. After only slightly filling her stomach, she stood up and, like a curious child, gazed around the post station. Any unfamiliar furnishing sparked her intense curiosity.

Wandering around, she came to a window and looked out at the nearby county town. Seeing the bustling streets, Li Sui's eyes filled with curiosity; it seemed very lively here. After glancing at her father, who had resumed talking to the bald monk, Li Sui exited the gate. Her father would be sleeping there, and she just needed to return before bedtime.

As she entered the county town, the festive atmosphere instantly infected Li Sui, and she began to laugh happily. She loved lively scenes. "Is it New Year again? I love New Year's!"

"The New Year just passed, how could it be New Year again? It's a festival," a passerby couldn't help but interject.

"A festival? A festival is fun too!" Li Sui walked among the crowd, observing the surrounding streetscape with them. There were many people out tonight, and many street performers around. Here, someone was walking on stilts, there, someone was breathing fire – it was wonderfully lively.

As she walked, everyone stopped by the city wall, standing still and quietly watching the dark wall, waiting for something.

"What's happening? What's going on?" Li Sui asked the people around her, full of curiosity.

"Shh, they're creating fire trees. Be quiet."

Just as Li Sui was still wondering what 'creating fire trees' meant, she saw a cheerful old man wearing a straw hat and a sheepskin coat turned inside out, carrying a bucket of flaming molten iron, walk to the wall. With a mighty scoop, he flung a ladleful of molten iron towards the city wall. Pearl-sized red droplets splattered against the dark wall. With a "whoosh," clusters of umbrella-shaped, golden-yellow sparks instantly erupted, fanning out along the wall and into the distance, forming a huge yet incredibly dazzling golden fire tree in mid-air.

"Wow, the fire trees are so beautiful!" Li Sui, her eyes sparkling, joined the others around her in an involuntary chorus of exclamations. Each fire tree was fleeting, yet new ones instantly burst forth, captivating Li Sui. She had never seen anything so beautiful.

When no more fire trees appeared, the onlookers, a mix of regret and satisfaction, finally left the city wall.

"Though the fire trees are magnificent, they lack something. Such a scene demands sound and color, accompanied by song and dance. Only then can it truly be 'the furnace fire illuminating heaven and earth, red stars scattering purple smoke. The bashful groom on a moonlit night, his songs stirring the cold river!'" A scholar, shaking his head, walked past Li Sui.

Li Sui couldn't be bothered to understand what the scholar was mumbling about; her mind was completely preoccupied with something else at that moment. She wanted to learn how to create fire trees and show them to her father and mother! They surely hadn't seen anything so beautiful!

"Can you tell me how to create those fire trees? I want to show them to my father!" Li Sui, running to the base of the city wall, stopped the old man.

But the old man didn't even raise an eyelid. "I don't teach boys!"

As he tried to walk around Li Sui, still carrying his iron bucket, she blocked him again. "Why? Why can't you teach me?"

"You, you boy! You—" The old man suddenly looked up, and when he saw Li Sui's appearance by the ambient light, his eyes widened in shock.

"My girl? My girl?!" The old man raised his hands, covered in old scars and fresh blisters from burns, and tremblingly clutched Li Sui's shoulders.

"Please teach me. The fire trees are so beautiful. My father would surely love to see them."

The old man's wrinkled face beneath the straw hat completely broke, and tears immediately welled up. Then he nodded vigorously, his voice trembling as he said, "Teach! I'll teach you everything! Whatever you want to learn, your father will teach you!"

"Really? That's great! How do you learn to create fire trees? Do you read books?"

"Come, come, come, follow me!" The old man, pulling Li Sui, excitedly hurried towards his home.

Soon, Li Sui followed him to a humble mud house. The old man excitedly pushed open the door and shouted inside, "Old woman! Old woman! Look! Guess who's back!"

An old woman, squinting as she carefully threaded a needle by the light of a candle, heard his words. She put the fine needle tip to her lips, wet it, and then tucked it into her salt-and-pepper hair. "Who is it? Who's here?"

As she spoke, she turned around, and when she finally saw Li Sui clearly, she rubbed her eyes in disbelief.

Li Sui smiled and nodded at her. "I've come to learn how to create fire trees from him."

The old woman slapped her knees, cried out loud, and ran to embrace Li Sui, sobbing and wailing, "Oh, my girl! Oh, my poor, fated child!"

Li Sui didn't understand what the old woman was saying, but she felt that the way she wailed was similar to how the Wu Family Troupe performed opera. She turned to the old man, who was wiping away tears beside her, and asked, "Do you have to do that to learn how to create fire trees?"