On the dark dirt road in the forest, Li Huowang held a torch and led the others forward.
It was still dark, but they were still in shock and did not feel sleepy. After all, they had just experienced so many things that no one could take care of sleep.
There were some cut horse meat piled on the donkey cart. In addition to a few pieces of silver on the robbers' bodies, this was also Li Huowang's only spoils of war.
"It's almost done. Let's rest here until dawn. It's not safe to travel at night." Li Huowang gave an order, and soon the torches were piled together to form a new bonfire.
"If you can't sleep, you can just squint. We have to continue traveling tomorrow. Keep your strength. I'll keep watch."
As the sound of donkey hooves and footsteps disappeared, the entire dirt road returned to silence again.
Sitting on the fire, Li Huowang turned his head and looked at the road he had just walked. It was pitch black there. It seemed that the old beggar would not follow until he buried all the dead.
Recalling everything that just happened, Li Huowang couldn't help but feel a little emotional. This place is really messy.
All kinds of messy things are dangerous enough. As the same kind, they don't keep each other together for warmth, and they kill each other.
He poked the bonfire that was about to go out with his long sword, grabbed the firewood beside him and threw it in.
As time passed, the scattered people in the forest gradually gathered around Li Huowang's bonfire, and soon several small bonfires gradually rose around the bonfire.
There was no sign of the Lu family among the returnees, but Li Huowang was not worried at all. When the robbers came out just now, they were the fastest runners.
Lu Zhuangyuan is indeed an old man in the arena. No wonder he is so stingy. He has to choose horses for the animals pulling the cart. He must have considered this situation today.
Time passed little by little, and the sky gradually brightened. Others began to wake up and roasted horse meat for breakfast, ready to start a new journey.
Don't worry about whether horse meat tastes good or not. At least horse meat is meat, which can replenish their physical strength well.
Just as they were eating, a trembling figure came from behind.
Seeing the appearance of the person, Li Huowang's vigilance was slightly relieved. It was the old beggar from before. It seemed that he had buried people all night.
The morning dew wet his tattered monk robe, and he shivered with cold. He walked to a place slightly closer to the campfire, squatted down and curled up.
Seeing that Li Huowang was looking at him, the beggar smiled innocently.
Thinking of his act of sacrificing his life to save people last night, Li Huowang's hostility was reduced a lot.
Although he thought that this old beggar was so kind-hearted that it would be difficult for him to survive in this dangerous world, no one would reject contact with a good person.
Seeing Li Huowang handing him a steamed bun, the beggar quickly reached out to take it, chewing and mumbling: "May Buddha bless you."
Hearing the other party say this, Li Huowang immediately became interested, "Which Buddha are you talking about?"
"Ah? Isn't Buddha just called Buddha? What's the difference between which one?" The old beggar showed a trace of confusion in his eyes.
"Hey, eat quickly, it's rare to have people like you in this world. I hope you are not lying to me."
"How can I lie? I'm a monk, monks can't lie." The old beggar said firmly.
"You can only chant Amitabha when chanting sutras, and you don't even believe in the Buddha you believe in. What kind of monk are you?"
"Sun Xiucai said that monks are all bald, so I shaved my head. Tailor Wang said that monks can't marry, so I won't marry! Liu Pu Kuai said that monks can't eat meat, so I won't eat meat! And I saw other monks shouting Amitabha, so I learned to shout Amitabha. I did it, so why can't I be a monk?"
It seems that the old beggar cares a lot about this aspect and argues very stubbornly.
Hearing the other party say this, Li Huowang laughed dumbly. The other party's monk is even more fake than his own Taoist priest. "But it doesn't mean that you are a monk."
The old beggar was stunned, holding half a steamed bun and looking at Li Huowang carefully. "Then what do you think a monk should be like?"
Looking at the other party's eyes, Li Huowang opened his mouth, but couldn't answer the question. The other party's words seemed to be foolish but also revealed a trace of truth.
For some reason, Li Huowang saw the shadow of Danyangzi in him, insisting in ignorance.
"I guess you can't read?"
"How do you know? Are all you Taoists so good at fortune-telling?"
"Hehe."
"Why are you so obsessed with becoming a monk?"
"If there hadn't been a monk who saved me, I would have died long ago. From that day on, I swore that I would become a monk too! I must be a good monk!"
While speaking, Li Huowang looked at the Lu family class rushing back from a distance. He patted his butt, stood up, and walked towards that side.
No accidents happened on the road afterwards. The old monk followed him all the time. Sometimes when he was so hungry that he chewed raw wild vegetables, Li Huowang occasionally helped him with one or two steamed buns.
After walking for more than ten days, a city more magnificent than Jianye appeared in front of Li Huowang. Xijingcheng had arrived.
The blue brick walls are tall and magnificent. Standing at the gate and looking up, a huge sense of oppression comes over you.
"Are we finally here?" When he saw the gate, Li Huowang was completely relieved. He was terrified all the way, but fortunately the scene in the nightmare did not appear.
"Little Taoist, you can't stay in the inns in Xijing City randomly, it's a rip-off. I'll take you to an inn, it's definitely cheap," said Lu Zhuangyuan, and he was about to walk towards the tall gate, but was stopped by Li Huowang.
"Wait, where is the Buddhist temple you mentioned before?" Li Huowang asked impatiently, this was the most important purpose of his coming here.
Under the leadership of Lu Zhuangyuan, Li Huowang walked towards the Zhengde Temple, the most prosperous incense in Xijing City.
Before he saw the temple, Li Huowang smelled the unique sandalwood scent of the Buddhist land, and the spacious streets began to be crowded.
Old men, women, adults, children, all kinds of people. Seeing the stacks of incense in their hands, Li Huowang immediately understood that these people were going to worship Buddha.
"Has this temple always been so popular?"
Hearing Li Huowang say this to Lv Zhuangyuan beside him, the pilgrims next to him came over and interrupted: "Of course, the Bodhisattva in Zhengde Temple is very effective! My daughter-in-law got pregnant after praying here once."
"And the masters in Zhengde Temple are very nice. They give porridge to the poor every now and then."
"Yes, yes. It is a blessing for Xijing City to have such a good temple."