CH 29

“You’re welcome, Elder. Are there any sects in Nanping State?” Li Huowang asked about his most concerning matter.

“Yes, of course. There is a Buddhist temple in the Xijin City, which is said to be very effective for praying to get children,” Lv Zhuangyuan answered.

（In ancient times, people without children would hope to have children through prayer or magic）

Buddhist temple? Li Huowang recalled that Dan Yang Tzu had mentioned being chased by monks before; it might have been this temple.

Li Huowang kept this information in his heart. Anyway, those who oppose scumbags like Dan Yang Tzu should be good people.

“Little Taoist Master, you are a Taoist, is it appropriate for you to go to a Buddhist temple?”

Li Huowang lowered his head and looked at the Taoist robe on his body. He thought about whether the clothes should be changed, as he was not really a Taoist.

“Elder, how has your business been lately?”

Upon realizing that Li Huowang was shifting the topic, Lv Zhuangyuan immediately reacted.

“Not very good.

“The whole Nanping State just experienced a major drought and then a major flood, and these days the common people don’t have money. Even fewer people are willing to go to the theater and give rewards. Rich people don’t want to invite the theatrical troupe for funerals, they just finish it after a meal. Bah! It’s really unfilial!”

“It will pass, just hold on for a few more years.”

“Yeah, just endure it. We have to find ways to get by. I’m thinking that if get better in the future, I’ll sing a few hundred more times and when I’ve saved enough money, I’ll buy a theatrical building that belongs to my Lv Family in the Xijing City. Hey, then I can die without any regrets.

“With the theatrical building, my son and my granddaughter no longer have to suffer like me. They can go to school, and maybe in a few years, our Lv Family can really have a Zhuangyuan! At that time… hehe hehe… “Lv Zhuangyuan giggled with a tobacco pipe.

Li Huowang listened quietly to Lv Zhuangyuan’s imagination of the future. In fact, he was quite envious of this old troupe master. At such an old age, he could still have a goal to strive for.

Under the leadership of Li Huowang and Lv Zhuangyuan, the atmosphere between the two sides eased a lot.

At least, Lv Juren and Lv Xiucai no longer consider the medicinal herbs of Qingfeng Temple as monsters. They already know that those people are human, but they just have diseases.

What if they have various diseases? Who wouldn’t get sick? They are all people with a difficult fate.

By the time they arrived at Wuli Hillock, Luo Juhua had already trusted Bai Lingmiao and others enough to make Bai Lingmiao hold her daughter.

Standing on the flat ground with dry rice, Lv Zhuangyuan looked at the villagers holding bowls to eat dinner under the eaves,he said, “Alright, there are many people in Wuli Hilock. Let’s sing the opera here.Open the theatrical box! Set up the platform!”

They are going to sing opera, and Li Huowang is not planning to rush away. After such a long journey, everyone is tired, and it’s just time for others to rest.

For this ancient form of entertainment, singing opera, Li Huowang is not interested. But obviously, others are very curious and have run over to help the Lv Family.

Tall bamboo poles hold up several large pieces of red cloth, gradually building the entire theatrical platform.

Li Huowang was sleeping on a pile of golden rice stalks in the field, suddenly felt someone poking his nose. He opened his eyes and saw that it was Bai Lingmiao, who was smiling at him.

She raised both hands and a shiny golden object appeared in front of Li Huowang. 

Excitedly, she said, “Senior Brother Li, look! What a bright bronze mirror! My face is reflected so clearly! They use this thing to assist with makeup when singing opera!”

“The sun hasn’t even set yet, and you’ve already taken off your eye mask like this, you…”

Li Huowang’s words abruptly stopped as he stared at himself in the mirror. He suddenly felt very unfamiliar with the person he saw in the mirror.

“Senior Brother Li, what’s wrong?” Bai Lingmiao noticed that something was off.

“Junior Sister Bai, did I look like this when I was at Qingfeng Temple?” Li Huowang hesitated and touched his face with his hand.

“Yes, you’ve always looked like that. What’s wrong? Is there something different about the you in the mirror?”

Li Huowang lowered his hand from his face and reached out towards the reflection of himself in the bronze mirror in front of him.

He was no longer a teenager, he had been in this world for some time already.

“If the things in hospital is true, then I must have been no more than seventeen back then. How old am I now?”

Li Huowang couldn’t answer this question as he not only had a confused memory but had also lost his age.

He could only roughly infer from his appearance that he should be no more than thirty years old.

Li Huowang tried hard to search for answers in his confused memory, but still got nothing.

“Senior Brother Li, what’s wrong with you? Are you okay?” Bai Lingmiao felt nervous seeing Li Huowang’s reaction.

“I’m fine, just remembered some things. Quickly return the bronze mirror to them. The Lv Family is singing opera, and they may need it soon.”

“Ok,” Bai Lingmiao hugged the bronze mirror and ran towards the back of the theatrical platform.

“Yi~~ Ah~~” Li Huowang lying on a pile of rice stalks,watching Lv Juren practicing his singing in the distance,and Li Huowang sneered at himself,”Hey…My life really like a joke.”

At this moment, Li Huowang had a new goal: to find his own age.

At night, the sky was cloudless, and the bright moon illuminated everything clearly, including the simple theatrical troupe.

When the villagers heard that a theatrical troupe had arrived, almost everyone in Wuli Hillock came to watch. These farmers usually either worked in the fields or slept, so a theatrical troupe was very tempting for them.

The Lv Family Troupe was small, consisting of only six people aside from a two-year-old child who couldn’t speak yet.

Playing musical instruments, singing,makeup, acting…they had too much to do, so they had to reduce some of their performances.

Luckily,the farmers weren’t picky and enjoyed the show while sitting on the chairs they brought themselves. 

Li Huowang and others lay on the pile of rice straws, watching and listening to them singing in the distance. He had never heard operas before and didn’t know what they were singing about.

He only recognized Lv Zhuangyuan, who had a painted black face, a mustache, and held a long knife. Despite his age, he still sang and acted vigorously on the platform.

“Nice!!!” Suddenly, cheers erupted, startling Li Huowang.

Performance after performance, more and more people crowded the flat ground to watch. The Lv Family Troupe on the platform was sweating profusely, while the audience below seemed very excited. Only Li Huowang felt like a passerby.

Unknowingly, the moon had risen to the center of the sky, and the Lv Family Troupe’s performance was coming to an end.

At this moment, Li Huowang saw Lv Zhuangyuan’s daughter-in-law, dressed in tattered clothes and with makeup on, holding her daughter and a wicker basket, crying as she climbed up onto the platform.

“Uncle drove me away mercilessly~~

“I feel like a lonely wild goose drifting alone~ Ah ah ah~

“Like weeds by the roadside, trampled by anyone~ Ah ah~

“My daughter and I are suffering from hunger and cold, it’s hard to bear~ hard~to~bear~~

“We can only beg on the streets~”

When the singing got to this part, Luo Juanhua lightly pinched her daughter’s buttocks with her hand. The two-year-old child understood and immediately burst into loud crying.