028 The Lu Family Opera Troupe

"Hey! No need to be scared of such things. When traveling far, as long as there are enough people, it'll be all right," Lu Zhuangyuan shared his experience with Li Huowang.

"Oh? Does having more people mean stronger yang energy, scaring those things off?"

"Nah!" Lu Zhuangyuan refilled his tobacco pipe and took a long puff. "How many people can it gobble up? If you really run into something, just run faster than the others. Instead of fretting about these, you should be extra - careful of bandits who rob and kill for silver and the man - eating beasts in the forest."

Li Huowang was at a loss for words. It seemed he and Lu Zhuangyuan were on different wavelengths.

"Come on, the steamed buns are roasted. Eat them while they're piping hot." Luo Juanhua brought over several white steamed buns skewered on twigs, roasted to a perfect golden - brown.

Li Huowang took them and handed them to the young disciples he'd picked up on the way.

Once these guys learned they could leave Qingfeng Temple, they rushed out without a care for the future.

By the time Li Huowang met them on the road, they were on the verge of fainting from hunger.

Since they were fellow disciples, Li Huowang couldn't just turn a blind eye. So, he took them along.

Seeing the hot food, the others didn't hold back. They were famished after that late - night ordeal, so they grabbed the buns and took huge bites.

Watching the big, simple - minded guy wolf down one bun after another, Lu Zhuangyuan's eyes twitched. These were white - flour steamed buns! He usually wouldn't even dream of eating them. He thought to himself that he shouldn't have been so generous earlier.

Just then, a question from Li Huowang made him forget his distress. "Sir, do you have a map? To be honest, we're not from around here. We're completely lost in this forest and have no idea where we are."

Yes, Li Huowang had been lost before. The forest looked the same everywhere, and he couldn't figure out his position. Asking the others was useless too.

They came from all over the place and could talk in detail about their homes, but when asked where they were at that moment, none of them could answer.

To avoid suspicion, it seemed Danyangzi wasn't looking for medicinal ingredients nearby.

"What? A map? No, but I know all the roads around here. Where do you want to go? Just ask me!"

"Well, there are many places. See which one is the closest, sir." Li Huowang took out a bunch of notes from his sleeve.

"What's this? What's written here?" Lu Zhuangyuan held the notes at arm's length, his wrinkled face scrunched up as he strained to read.

Although his name was Zhuangyuan (which usually means the top scorer in the imperial examination), if he really were a top scorer, he wouldn't be out performing in an opera troupe.

Lu Zhuangyuan could read, but not many characters. With Li Huowang's translation, he finally understood all the addresses on the notes.

As an experienced troupe master who had traveled far and wide for years, Lu Zhuangyuan knew a thing or two about geography.

However, just because he knew where these places were didn't mean Li Huowang could easily get there.

"Goodness, there's even Liang Country on here. Didn't they fight with our Nanping Country a few years ago?"

Lu Zhuangyuan squatted down and used the tip of his tobacco pipe to draw on the ground. A simple map appeared in front of Li Huowang.

If one had to describe the map he drew, it was like a big pie that had been dropped on the ground and smashed into a million pieces.

Their Nanping Country was in the upper - left corner of the "pie." Moving from left to right, various countries, big and small, were all jumbled together.

"It seems a bit like the era of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms when there was no unified country," Li Huowang thought to himself as he looked at the map on the ground.

Although he hadn't held out much hope, when he saw the map, he was sure that he hadn't traveled back to an ancient dynasty in history but to a more special place.

"I usually just perform in the northern part of Nanping Country. I know this area like the back of my hand, but once I'm out of Nanping, I'm completely lost. I've just heard that the operas they perform are different from ours here."

Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao's heart skipped a beat. Her home was in Niuxin Mountain in Liang Country, which sounded miles away.

Li Huowang sensed her unease and gave her a reassuring look. "Don't panic."

Looking at the strange - looking dozen or so people in front of him, Lu Zhuangyuan's suppressed thoughts started to stir again.

"Hey, young Taoist priest, look, there's a place called Jianye Town on your note. Our Lu Family Opera Troupe is going in the same direction!"

"Hehe, how about we travel together?"

"Jianye Town? Whose destination is this?" Li Huowang rummaged through the notes.

"Senior Brother Li, my home is in Jianye Town," Zhao Wu, who was standing beside him, suddenly said.

"And there's a security escort agency in the town. As long as you give them silver, they can deliver the letters from Nanping on your behalf."

Hearing this, Li Huowang didn't hesitate. He stuffed the papers back into his bosom. "Okay, sir. We'll rely on you to show us the way on this journey. Let's travel together to Jianye."

Whether it was the map information or other things, it was really hard to trust the old troupe master based on just his words.

Whether it was to find the Black Tai Sui that could suppress his hallucinations or to send letters for others, he should go to a town where information circulated first. Moreover, their food was almost gone.

And if possible, Li Huowang also wanted to find so - called famous and upright sects.

In such a dangerous place, one really needed strength. Otherwise, anyone could push you around. He didn't want to be captured by another Danyangzi.

Lu Zhuangyuan, smiling from ear to ear, waved his hand repeatedly. "Hey hey hey, you're being too polite. No need for such words."

Although he said so, Lu Zhuangyuan was over the moon. Having such a master by his side was like having a free bodyguard!

After this trip, he would at least earn back those white - flour steamed buns and five salted duck eggs.

"Ha~" The silly guy beside them let out a huge yawn. He was full and ready to sleep.

Seeing that the others were sleepy - eyed, Lu Zhuangyuan stood up gracefully. "Before we knew it, it's already the second watch of the night. Young Taoist priest, you guys rest first. I'll keep watch."

"No, I'll keep watch today." Li Huowang wasn't being overly polite. It was just that one should always be on guard against others.

After all the commotion, everyone was exhausted. Two groups of people with different motives fell asleep around the warm bonfire, while Li Huowang and Lu Zhuangyuan, sitting alone, stared at each other in silence.

Early the next morning, Li Huowang was woken up by Gouwa, who had kept watch in the second half of the night. "Senior Brother Li, the opera troupe is packing up their things."

"Let's go. We'll set off too." Li Huowang, carrying his long sword and slate, stood up and led the others to follow the opera troupe.

At the start of the journey, both sides were clearly a bit awkward. No one said a word. They stole glances at each other from time to time and whispered to their companions.

However, this didn't include Li Huowang and Lu Zhuangyuan, who were leading the group. Along the way, the two of them chatted merrily.

Li Huowang wanted to get more information about this place from Lu Zhuangyuan, while Lu Zhuangyuan wanted to get closer to this master. Anyway, nice words didn't cost a thing, so there was no harm in saying more.

"Wow, young Taoist priest, you're so amazing at such a young age. Your future achievements will be boundless! Hahaha."