"Fifth Brother, come on in! Where have you been these past days? Sixth Sister and I were so worried about you; we thought something terrible had happened!"
The shirtless young man helped Zhao Wu as they walked inside. Li Huowang followed behind them, his intuition telling him something wasn't right.
"What are you doing back?"
Before Zhao Wu could sit down, a man sitting behind an abacus asked this in an indifferent tone. Hearing it, Li Huowang knew his hunch was correct.
The excitement on Zhao Wu's face quickly faded. With a trembling voice, he explained, "Father, I was kidnapped. They covered my head with a sack and took me far away. These friends of mine helped me come back."
The older man, Zhao Wu's father, waved his hand impatiently toward the doorway, saying, "All of you, move aside, move aside! You're blocking the entrance to my shop! How can we do business with all of you standing there?"
His attitude struck a nerve with Li Huowang. Whatever issues you have with your son, that's your business, but why are you dragging us into it?
Grabbing the sword Zhao Wu had been holding, Li Huowang raised it high. With a flash of cold light, the blade slashed into the wooden counter, nearly splitting it in two.
"What are you doing?! Don't forget, the town constable is my relative!" Zhao Wu's father stepped back in fright, hands trembling.
Ignoring him, Li Huowang reached into his pocket, pulled out a tael of silver, and began shaving off a small piece along the edge of the sword. He pushed the sliver of silver toward the man and said coldly, "I'm here to buy rice."
In the small courtyard behind the rice shop, Zhao Wu poured tea for Li Huowang. "Li Shixiong, please calm down. My father has always been like this; deep down, he's not a bad person."
Li Huowang downed the tea in one gulp. Whether Zhao Wu's father was good or bad didn't matter to him; it wasn't his problem. The only reason he had come here was not just to escort Zhao Wu home.
"These notes contain the last wishes of the others," Li Huowang said, pushing a stack of paper slips toward Zhao Wu. "Since Jianye is familiar to you, find a trustworthy courier service and make sure these are delivered to the right people."
Zhao Wu took the slips with both hands, nodding solemnly. "Don't worry, Shixiong. I'll make sure this is done."
"Alright then," Li Huowang stood up. "Take care of yourself here. We'll be leaving now."
"So soon?" Zhao Wu asked, visibly reluctant. "At least stay for lunch at my house. I wouldn't even be alive without you all."
"Forget it. Don't bother," Li Huowang said, brushing off the offer. Judging by his father's attitude earlier, lunch at Zhao Wu's house would likely be more trouble than it was worth.
"The words I've taught you these past days—remember them well, especially how to write your own name. Being able to write your own name at least ensures you're not completely illiterate."
As Li Huowang gave these parting words, one of the female medicine slaves—her body covered in dark hair due to hypertrichosis—suddenly stepped forward. Leaning close to Zhao Wu's ear, she whispered something in an unusually low voice.
"When you go home, look into it carefully. You might not have been kidnapped; maybe your father sold you off."
Her words left the group in stunned silence. When Zhao Wu's third brother came out carrying a sack of rice, Li Huowang waved him over. He motioned for Silly to load the rice, then turned and led the others away.
On the bustling main road, Li Huowang and his group were searching for a place to stay.
"Why did you say that to Zhao Wu?" Li Huowang turned to the hairy woman, asking pointedly.
This woman, who usually stayed silent and withdrawn, had surprised everyone by speaking up. Her statement still lingered in Li Huowang's mind.
"A tiger wouldn't harm its cubs, but people can be far crueler!" she replied, her voice trembling with pain. "I know because my own parents sold me!"
The revelation left everyone stunned, their eyes wide with shock as they stared at her.
"Two taels of silver—just two taels! They sold me like livestock, without even looking back!"
Sensing her anguish, Bai Lingmiao walked over and gently embraced the woman, patting her back to comfort her.
After a long silence, Li Huowang finally asked, "If they sold you off, why are you planning to go back?"
"Because I have to," she growled through gritted teeth.
Her chest heaved with rage, and the bitterness in her voice made it clear that her reasons for returning were vastly different from those of Bai Lingmiao and the others.
"Donglai Inn—we'll stay here for tonight," Li Huowang said, pointing to the sign of a small inn on the left side of the street. He led the way inside.
"Welcome, dear guest! Are you here for a meal or a room?"
"A room. How much per night?"
"We have three types: 'A' rooms are 90 wen per night and include meals; 'B' rooms are 60 wen per night without meals; and 'C' rooms are 20 wen per night, but you'll have to share with others."
"You have a total of seven adults and five children—twelve guests in all," the innkeeper continued. "May I suggest four 'B' rooms? They're spacious enough to fit three people each. Two adults with one child per room should be safe and comfortable."
"Alright, let's do that," Li Huowang agreed.
"Great choice, sir! Twelve guests, four 'B' rooms—please head upstairs and watch your step on the stairs."
That night, Li Huowang sat by the window, looking out at the street below.
After days of constant travel, he finally had time to sit down and observe this unfamiliar world.
In the street, a muscular man led a horse, a scholar waved a folding fan, a child carried a lantern, and a hunched vendor balanced trays of food on a pole.
It was all so vivid, yet so alien.
Faces passed by, one after another, until Li Huowang's eyes suddenly froze. His entire body tensed as his muscles coiled like springs.
Amid the crowd, he saw Yang Na.
Her delicate face was streaked with tears, and she looked utterly heartbroken. She cried so hard she could barely breathe. "Huowang, please wake up!"
"Ha!" Li Huowang stumbled backward, cold sweat pouring down his back. He immediately leaned forward again to look more closely.
But the person below wasn't Yang Na—it was just a young woman who bore a slight resemblance to her.
"Of course. I've grown so much older now. If Yang Na is real, there's no way she'd still be a girl..."
Li Huowang slid down the wall, sitting on the floor with his back against it. His hollow eyes stared at the wooden beams above him.
"Am I hallucinating again?"
A knock at the door jolted him from his thoughts.
"Come in; it's open," Li Huowang called, expecting to see Gouwa, his roommate for the night. But to his surprise, it was Bai Lingmiao.
She entered with a warm smile, holding a lotus leaf bundle. Opening it, she revealed several steaming hot buns. "Shixiong, you must be hungry. I brought you some buns."
Li Huowang grabbed one and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing hungrily.
Bai Lingmiao crouched down beside him, silently watching. Every time he finished one, she immediately handed him another.
"This place is quite something, selling buns so late at night," Li Huowang commented between bites.
"Isn't it normal to find buns at night? If there's anything unusual, it's Silly dipping his buns in vinegar!"
"Haha, who knows where he picked up that habit?"
Suddenly, a thought struck Li Huowang. "Wait, I didn't give you any money. Where did you get the money for these buns?"
Bai Lingmiao hesitated, avoiding his gaze. Then she placed the remaining buns on the floor, reached into her waist pouch, and pulled out several large pieces of silver.
"Shixiong, I pawned the golden anklet. You've been carrying too much on your shoulders. I can't help you in other ways, so this is all I can do."
Li Huowang fell silent, staring at the silver in her hands. He sighed and looked out the window again, unsure of how to respond.