"Hey! There's no need to worry about that, when you're on a long journey, as long as you stick together in a larger group, you'll be fine." Top Scholar Lv told Li Huowang, sharing his experience.
"Oh? The stronger the yang energy with more people, the less those things dare to act?"
"Not really!" Lv said as he refilled his pipe and continued to smoke, "How many people can it eat? If we really encounter something, isn't it enough to just run faster than the others? It's better to be cautious of bandits who might rob and kill for silver than to worry about tigers in the forest that eat people."
For a moment, Li Huowang didn't know how to continue the conversation; it seemed like he couldn't quite connect with Lv.
"Come on, the mantou is ready, eat them while they're hot." Luo Juannhua brought over several mantou skewered on twigs, toasted to a golden brown.
Li Huowang took them and passed them to an apprentice nearby; these were all apprentices he had picked up along the way.
These fellows, upon realizing they could leave the Qingfeng Taoist Temple, didn't care about anything else and just ran out without thinking of what was to come.
By the time he encountered them on the road, they were almost fainting from hunger.
As fellow sect members, Li Huowang couldn't just watch them suffer without helping, so he brought them along.
Seeing there was hot food to eat, no one was shy, and with it being so late, everyone was indeed a bit hungry and started to eat heartily.
Watching the simpleton gobble up one mantou after another, Lv's eyelids twitched with dismay; these were white flour mantou, a luxury he couldn't normally afford. Had he known earlier, he wouldn't have been so generous.
It was then that a remark from Li Huowang made him forget his distress, "Old man, do you have a map? To be honest, we're not locals, and we're a bit confused wandering through these forests, not sure exactly where we are."
Indeed, Li Huowang had gotten lost. Everywhere looked like the same forest, and he couldn't determine his own position, and asking others proved fruitless.
They came from all over the place, everyone could say where home was, but when asked where they were at that moment, none could answer.
To avoid drawing attention, it appeared Master Danyang hadn't been looking for Medicinal Guides in the nearby area.
"What? A map? No, but I know all the roads around here; wherever you want to go, just ask me!"
"Hmm, many places, you see which is the closest," Li Huowang said as he pulled a bunch of notes from his sleeve.
"What's this? What does it say?" Lv squinted at the notes, his face scrunching up with effort as he tried to read them.
Although his name was Top Scholar, if he had really been a top scholar, he wouldn't be out performing in operas.
Lv could read, but he didn't know many characters. With Li Huowang's help in translating, he finally understood all the addresses written on the notes.
After so many years of traveling around, if there was one thing Lv knew well, it was geography.
However, just because he knew where these places were, didn't mean Li Huowang could easily get there.
"Oh boy, there are places in Liang State too? Weren't they just at war with our Qi State a few years back?"
Lv squatted down and drew on the ground with the stem of his dry pipe, creating a simple map in front of Li Huowang.
If one were to describe the map he drew, it would be like a round cake thrown on the ground, breaking apart upon landing.
At the moment, their location was at the top left-hand corner of the cake. Moving from left to right, various countries of different sizes were interspersed with each other.
"It seems a bit like the time of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, with no great unification," Li Huowang thought to himself as he looked at the map on the ground.
Although he hadn't held much hope, it was only when he saw the map that he confirmed he hadn't merely traveled to some ancient dynasty, but to a place even more special.
"This old man only peddles in the northern territories, I know this area well, but once we leave the country, I really can't make heads or tails of it. I've heard that their operas are different from ours."
Bai Lingmiao, who was nearby, suddenly felt her heart tighten upon hearing this—her home was in Ox Heart Mountain, Liang State, which sounded very far away from here.
Li Huowang, with a keen sense of her discomfort, gave her a reassuring look. "Don't panic."
Top Scholar Lv, looking at the more than a dozen odd folks in front of him, felt his previously suppressed emotions stir once again.
"Well, dear Taoist Master, you see, there's a Jianye Town on your note, and our Lv's Troupe happens to be passing by!"
"Hehe, why don't we join forces?"
"Jianye Town? Whose is that?" Li Huowang searched through the notes.
"Brother Li, my home is in Jianye Town," Zhao Wu suddenly spoke up.
"Moreover, there's an escort agency in town. Just give them some silver, and they can send the Nanping messages on your behalf."
Upon hearing this, Li Huowang didn't hesitate and stuffed the paper back into his chest. "Alright then, old man, we'll be relying on you to lead the way. Let's make for Jianye together."
Whether it was the map information or anything else, relying solely on the word of this old troupe leader was indeed hard to trust.
Whether it was searching for Black Taishui to suppress his own hallucinations, or delivering messages for others, he decided to head for the town first—a place with better information flow—and they were almost out of food anyway.
Moreover, if possible, Li Huowang also wanted to find these so-called reputable sects.
In such a dangerous place, lacking strength was truly untenable; anyone could trample over you at will, and he didn't want to be casually snatched away by another Master Danyang.
Top Scholar Lv was all smiles, waving his hands dismissively, "Ai ai ai, don't mention it, don't mention it."
Verbally he said that, but inside, Top Scholar Lv was overjoyed. Having such an adept person accompany them was like having a free bodyguard!
This journey would at least earn back the plain buns and the five salted duck eggs they had recently spent.
"Ha~" The simpleton next to them let out a big sneeze; he had eaten his fill and now wanted to sleep.
Seeing the others' bleary eyes, Top Scholar Lv tactfully stood up. "Without realizing it, we've chatted till the second watch of the night. Taoist Master, you go ahead and rest, I'll keep watch."
"No need, I'll take the watch tonight," Li Huowang firmly insisted, but it wasn't out of mere politeness—caution was always necessary.
After such a tiring series of events, everyone was exhausted, and two groups with different objectives fell asleep around the warm campfire, leaving Li Huowang and Top Scholar Lv sitting in silence, looking at each other.
The next morning, Li Huowang was awoken by the boy who had taken over the late-night watch. "Brother Li, the troupe is packing up."
"Let's go, we're setting out as well," said Li Huowang as he stood up, carrying his longsword and stone tablet, leading the others to follow the troupe's footsteps.
As they hit the road, both parties were clearly restrained, neither speaking, occasionally stealing glances and whispering something to their companions.
However, this did not include Li Huowang and Top Scholar Lv, who chatted merrily along the way.
Li Huowang wanted to glean more information about the area from Top Scholar Lv, while Top Scholar Lv was more keen to get closer to the adept—they say flattery costs nothing, so a few more words could do no harm.
"Oh, dear Taoist Master, so young and already so formidable, your future achievements are surely boundless. Hahaha."