Chapter 69: Eating

Sheets of yellow paper gradually turned into black ashes as they burned in the flames, carried upwards by the rising heat.

Li Huowang watched everything before him with a complex expression. "Li Zhi, Li Zhi," he murmured, "I've burned the paper money you asked for. I hope you receive it."

Just as he finished speaking, Li Huowang saw the black ashes swirl in front of him, as if in response to his words. In that moment, Li Huowang suddenly understood the mindset of superstitious people. Compared to the incredibly cruel and despairing idea that everything simply vanishes after death, the notion of becoming a ghost and continuing the cycle of reincarnation was truly a beautiful fairy tale.

After throwing the last stack of yellow paper into the bonfire, Li Huowang stood up and patted the dust off his clothes. "Let's go," he said. "We'll find an inn in town to rest. Everyone is soaked."

Just as he was about to leave, Bai Lingmiao's words from beside him made him turn. "Brother Li," she said, "Sister Xiaoman is gone."

After observing the crowd for a while, Li Huowang confirmed that the woman with hypertrichosis was indeed missing. "Oh, I remember," he said. "She told me before that her home is supposedly nearby."

There was no reply. After what had happened earlier, everyone knew what Xiaoman intended to do upon returning home. The already somber atmosphere became even more oppressive.

"Um, Brother Li," Gouwa said with an awkward smile, reaching under his conical hat to scratch his greasy hair, "maybe we should go look for her? We might be able to stop her."

Li Huowang glanced at him, then walked towards a direction where an inn's sign was visible. "First, let's find an inn and settle in," he said. "This area is Xiaoman's old home; she's definitely familiar with it. She'll come find us once she's done."

These words silenced Bai Lingmiao, who had seemed about to speak. She clutched the hem of her clothes with both hands and quietly followed behind. The sky was gray, and a light rain fell. She didn't have to cover her eyes with a cloth strip, and her pink pupils were filled with sorrow.

Dry, clean rooms were quickly prepared. Some washed their hair, others took baths. Once everyone was ready, they gathered in the main hall for dinner.

They didn't have much money left. The dishes on the table were mediocre, mostly vegetarian. The only non-vegetarian options were bitter melon stir-fried with eggs and fried chili with pork cracklings. But everyone ate with gusto. The reason was simple: the dishes were generously flavored with lard. They smelled fragrant and were filling.

It was Qingming Festival, so there weren't many guests staying or dining at the inn. A young errand boy was chatting idly with the accountant nearby.

"Hey, scholar, do you know?" the errand boy asked. "I heard that war is probably about to break out on the border again."

"Don't talk nonsense," the accountant retorted. "What do you know? What right does a lowly errand boy have to discuss state affairs?"

"I don't like hearing that," the errand boy scoffed. "Though I'm just a small errand boy, I may not be good at other things, but I'm the most informed. I heard that this time, our Siqi plans to attack the east."

"East?" Li Huowang, who had been eating normally, pricked up his ears. East was the territory beyond the pass.

Li Huowang didn't know many people there; his only concern was for the members of the Lu Family Troupe. However, thinking of the very astute Scholar Lu, he felt relieved. That old man was shrewd; he should be fine.

The errand boy lowered his voice. "Scholar, let me tell you, a while ago, all the merchants doing business over there rushed back. They must have heard something."

Li Huowang, still eating, shook his head. This wretched place was already so chaotic, full of evil spirits and bandits. Yet the authorities weren't busy managing the people's lives; instead, they had time to send troops to war. How foolish!

The enthusiastic errand boy was about to continue speaking when his eyes suddenly lit up. He quickly hurried towards the inn entrance to greet someone. "Oh! Young lady!" he exclaimed. "Please come in. Are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"

Hearing the commotion, Li Huowang and his companions simultaneously turned their heads. They saw a woman carrying a short saber and wearing a black gauze conical hat walk in.

Not many people in the entire town dressed like this. Seeing the person's hand covered in black hair, Li Huowang easily guessed her identity.

"Errand boy," Li Huowang called out, "bring a set of bowls and chopsticks. Tell the cook in the back to add two more hearty dishes."

"Alright! Coming right up!" the errand boy replied.

Li Huowang nudged the simpleton beside him with his elbow. Understanding the hint, the simpleton quickly scooped up several mouthfuls of food, then took his bowl and squatted down to eat away from the table.

Xiaoman walked over to Li Huowang and sat down. She took off her black gauze conical hat, revealing the black hair on her face, wet from tears.

Li Huowang took a breath, then quickly ate several mouthfuls of rice. He smelled a faint scent of blood from Xiaoman.

"Chopsticks and bowls are here~~ Oh! My heavens!!" the errand boy exclaimed, startled.

Waving away the startled errand boy with his hand, Li Huowang placed the bowl and chopsticks in front of Xiaoman. "Eat," he said.

Xiaoman, her face contorted in pain, looked at the empty bowl in front of her, as if recalling something. "He sold my sister too," she choked out. "My sister was sold to an old man over fifty. She died in childbirth at the beginning of the year."

Only the clatter of chopsticks and the sounds of chewing and swallowing could be heard at the table. No one spoke.

"He's scum!" she spat out. "I hate him! I wish I could eat his flesh and drink his blood!" Xiaoman ground out the words through clenched teeth.

Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao, sitting nearby, leaned closer with a pained expression and gently embraced her with her fair, jade-like hands.

"My mother tried to persuade me," Xiaoman continued, "saying he's still my father no matter what, and that killing your own father would incur divine wrath. But I'd rather incur divine wrath than not kill him!"

Li Huowang scooped a few spoonfuls of green vegetable and tofu soup into his empty bowl with a ladle. He then lifted the bowl and poured the contents into his mouth, and as if in casual conversation, he quietly said, "Heaven here is blind."

The table gradually grew quiet. The others sat in silence, quietly watching Xiaoman. Their eyes held a trace of anger and sorrow. They were all 'medicine ingredients' and could deeply empathize with Xiaoman's plight. Before reaching their homes, no one could be sure if they themselves hadn't been sold by their own families.

As the anger faded from Xiaoman's eyes, only deep confusion remained. "My home is gone," she said. "I tore it down myself. I don't know where to go next."

"Stir-fried donkey meat, braised river fish~!" the errand boy announced. "Please enjoy, esteemed guests!" After setting down the two dishes, he scurried away as if fleeing for his life.

Li Huowang took Xiaoman's empty bowl, filled it with a heaping mound of white rice, and pushed it in front of her. "Eat," he said. After saying that, Li Huowang used his chopsticks to pick out a fish bone from the braised fish as a toothpick, then picked his teeth as he walked towards the guest rooms on the second floor.

Seeing this, the others also dispersed in twos and threes. Soon, only Bai Lingmiao remained in the main hall, staying with Xiaoman.

Tears slid down the hair on Xiaoman's face, constantly dripping onto the rice. She trembling picked up her chopsticks, lifted the bowl, and ravenously ate the rice mixed with her tears. The more she ate, the more her tears flowed. Finally, still holding the bowl, she began to wail loudly.