After returning the horse, Li Huowang walked into an inn. After the long journey, he needed to rest and regain his strength before boarding the ship.
"Sir, your food is ready." The waiter who served the food turned around but was stopped by Li Huowang.
"Wait, are these fish and shrimp still alive? How am I supposed to eat them?"
"Hehe, is this your first time in Huating City? They're not alive, they're called 'shengyan'. Look, other customers eat them like this. You can try it, if it's not good, you don't have to pay."
Li Huowang looked at the food on other tables and then wrapped his right hand with a piece of gauze before waving it to drive away the waiter.
Perhaps because it was close to the sea, the cuisine in this place was quite different from other places, with a focus on seafood.
Although it was a bit unfamiliar at first, it was undeniably fresh. The shengyan meat was sweet and had a unique flavor.
After eating and drinking to his heart's content, Li Huowang fell asleep and didn't wake up until the sun was high in the sky the next day. He shook his drowsy head and got out of bed. "Let's go on the ship!"
The ship to Xing Island was easy to find. It was a medium-sized Fu ship that could accommodate dozens of people.
Just as Li Huowang was about to board the ship, he was stopped by the scruffy ship captain. "Wait! What's your last name?"
"Ear."
"Don't play dumb with me! There's no last name Ear. If you don't tell the truth, just get off. I don't have time to waste with you."
"Last name Bai."
After taking a closer look at Li Huowang, the ship captain waved his hand. "That's about right. Next, what's your last name?"
After a stick of incense, as Li Huowang watched the harbor gradually shrink in the distance, he took a deep breath. He was about to see Zhuge Yuan again, and his feelings at the moment were very complicated.
Suspicion? Excitement? Joy? Curiosity? Perhaps a little bit of everything.
Rubbing his stomach, Li Huowang felt a little relieved. He was no longer the same Li Huowang who had just come out of Qingfeng Temple. No matter what happened next, he was prepared.
"Hehe, why don't you come inside the cabin and sit for a while? The sea breeze outside is so cold." A voice came from behind.
Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
Li Huowang turned his head and saw a young man with a piece of dogskin plaster on his forehead, smiling and leaning against him.
With a slight frown, Li Huowang couldn't be bothered to deal with this overly familiar person and moved his body to the side.
"It's fate to be on the same ship. It will take six days to reach Xing Island. Let's play mahjong together in the cabin. We're short of one player, and it's just right."
"No." Li Huowang coldly replied and walked a few steps to the other side of the deck.
Seeing Li Huowang's attitude, the man also didn't want to continue bothering him and turned to walk towards the cabin.
At that moment, the sky suddenly darkened, and everyone looked up at the same time, only to find a huge ship passing by.
The ship was enormous, like a small mountain. Just by approaching, it blocked all the sunlight on the Fu ship. On the side of the ship, there were copper lion heads the size of a mahjong table, hanging side by side.
The lion heads were wide open, and something inside emitted a faint cold light, like the sharp teeth of the copper lion.
It was obviously a warship, and the traces on the ship indicated that it had just finished a battle.
As soon as the ship appeared, everyone on the deck immediately prostrated on the ground, trembling like sieves.
"The ship of the Daliang Kingdom? Who are they fighting against?" While Li Huowang was pondering this question, the oppressive warship slowly sailed towards the harbor.
When the sun returned to the Fu ship's deck, everyone let out a sigh of relief.
"You've got guts, not kneeling. If you anger the soldiers, you'll lose your life!"
The man with the dogskin plaster from earlier came to Li Huowang's side and gave him a thumbs up.
"Where did they come back from?" Li Huowang asked him.
"How would I know? But there are rumors in the city that they went overseas to find something."
"Such a big show of force just to find something?"
Li Huowang immediately thought of the Heart Muddy he and Ji Xiang were looking for. They were also looking for something.
"Could it be that the Heart Muddy is just one of the many treasures they want? What are they planning to do with so many spiritual treasures?"
Li Huowang had a feeling that something big was happening somewhere at this moment, but he couldn't make sense of it.
Shaking his head slightly, he brushed off these unrelated questions and turned to walk towards the cabin.
The next few days were uneventful, with calm seas and peaceful winds. But for Li Huowang, sitting on this ship that was gradually approaching Xing Island, he felt like time was passing slowly.
"Yu Qilin."
"Six hundred sons."
"One hundred thousand guan, Baldy, can you play faster? You're always so slow, like a woman."
"Hey! Wait a minute, I won! Give me the money!"
Leaning against the ship's side, Li Huowang silently watched the people playing mahjong to pass the time. After a few days, he finally understood. In essence, this leaf card game was just like holding mahjong in your hand.However, there were far fewer tiles than Mahjong, which had over a hundred. These leaf cards only had a few dozen, making the game quick to win or lose.
Not only did Li Huowang understand the rules, but he also understood the people. The man with the dog-skin plaster liked to cheat, but the bald man with a beard had the best card skills, winning the most games through sheer skill.
Li Huowang wasn't the only one watching. Other bored people also gathered around to watch the game and pass the time.
"Damn it! You little bastard dare to cheat! No wonder I've been losing every game!" Soon, the card game turned into a brawl, but it didn't affect the others' goal of passing the time.
"Ah ah." A little girl, not even four years old and wearing open-crotch pants, walked up to Li Huowang and tugged at his pant leg.
Seeing Li Huowang look over, she grinned and handed him the half-eaten piece of sesame candy in her hand.
Li Huowang looked into her eyes, which were incredibly clean and innocent. She just wanted to share her delicious candy with others, just like the foolish senior sister who had shared candy with him back at the Qingfeng Temple.
"Whimper." Mantou, crouching in the corner, poked its head out.
The little girl was overjoyed to see the big yellow dog and immediately offered the sesame candy to Mantou.
Just as Mantou carefully opened its mouth to take the candy, a black tentacle swiftly stretched out and snatched the candy away.
Seeing the sticky black tentacle retract into Li Huowang's red robe, the little girl burst into giggles, completely unaware of what had just happened.
As she leaned on Li Huowang with both hands, her mouth wide open, laughing and shouting at the spot where the tentacle had disappeared, a sallow-faced woman hurriedly embraced her.
Holding her struggling daughter, the woman bowed several times to Li Huowang before heading towards the cabin where the women lived.
Mantou glanced at its motionless master, tilted its head, and licked the small handprint on the blood-red robe with its tongue, tasting the slight sweetness on the sticky print.
Wishing all the big friends a happy Children's Day! No knives today, just candy!
(End of Chapter)
