CH 147

They arrived at Siqi Pass soon enough.

As expected, the officials set up checkpoints to prevent spies.

The entire border fortress was heavily guarded, and no one's face showed any smiles.

But with the help of money, the two groups passed the checkpoint smoothly.

After leaving Siqi, the surroundings became increasingly desolate, and the trees gradually disappeared.

By the tenth night, there wasn't a single tree left.

The deeper they went, the more desolate it became. Li Huowang guessed that this was what the former Shu Kingdom was supposed to look like.

"Phew~" Zhao Wu, who was on watch, exhaled a white breath.

He rubbed his numb hands together and breathed into them.

It was almost summer, and it shouldn't be this cold. But in this wilderness, even the wind-blocking stones were useless. Plus, without firewood, it was naturally freezing.

He looked back at Li Huowang, who was sleeping next to Bai Lingmiao in the carriage, and felt deep envy.

He lowered his head and looked at his own fragile body, feeling full of inferiority.

He wanted a wife too, but as a useless person like himself, no woman would want to be with him.

Taking a dry, cold breath, he shook off his drowsiness and practiced writing with small stones on the ground.

Some of them were taught by Li Shixiong, and the other part was self-taught with Gao Zhijian's guidance.

"I will learn to recognize characters, I must learn!" Zhao Wu's eyes were full of determination.

He wanted to prove to his father that he was not useless!

After learning to recognize characters, he could make money writing letters for others like the blind fortune-tellers at the temple fair.

As long as he learned to recognize characters, he could read many books in the future and even take the imperial examination to become an official!

"When that time comes..." Just as he was daydreaming about the future, he suddenly felt someone behind him.

This sudden change made Zhao Wu's body instantly cold.

As he involuntarily trembled, he was about to loudly alert the other brothers when a hand without a fingernail covered his mouth. "Don't make a sound, it's me!"

Li Huowang's voice quickly relaxed Zhao Wu.

He whispered, "What's wrong, Li Shixiong?"

Looking around, there was nothing but pitch-black desert.

"Shh~ something is coming, I'll try to see if it's a living person."

Staring at a spot, Li Huowang cleared his throat and suddenly shouted loudly towards that direction, "The Three Elders and Four Young Masters are on the Dao, and a sea dragon is causing trouble in the river. Which set of moves are you using?"

Li Huowang's voice echoed far away in the vast emptiness, waking up the others.

"Is the Spring Festival open or not?" A voice even hoarser than Li Huowang's came from afar.

"The Spring Festival is open!"

"Side by side, swing a vine?"

Li Huowang bowed to that side. "A delicate pagoda! Facing Qingzhai, backed by sand! Swing the vine with your hands!""So it was Master Li, are you just passing by or waiting?"

"Just passing by, may I know your name, shopkeeper?"

After Li Huowang spoke, there was no response.

He waited until dawn and only then did he realize that the person had already left.

"I didn't expect Zhao the escort's secret language to be useful so soon," Li Huowang muttered to himself.

Although he had sensed the person's arrival keenly last night, he couldn't tell if it was one person or a group.

Now, being able to resolve the conflict with just a few words was the best outcome.

After all, these bandits with unknown origins might have some hidden tricks up their sleeves.

When Lv Zhuangyuan learned about the danger they faced last night from Li Huowang, he felt a shiver down his spine.

"My goodness, we've only been here for a short while and already someone's trying to rob us. It seems that the Later Shu Dynasty is not a safe place."

Li Huowang picked up their belongings and sat up.

"Who cares if it's safe or not, we're just passing through. Let's hurry up and leave. We should be able to reach the town before it gets dark today."

The rest of the journey was relatively normal, although the surroundings were still desolate, at least they weren't ambushed.

Just as Lv Zhuangyuan was flattering Li Huowang, they finally saw signs of civilization.

"Dad, why is this horse so strange? Why are there two humps on its back?" Lv Xiucai asked.

"Are you stupid? That's a camel!"

The sound of camel bells kept ringing as the caravan slowly moved forward on the hard road.

The appearance of the camels seemed to be a signal, and soon more and more people began to gather.

Finally, Li Huowang and his companions arrived at the first town of the Later Shu Dynasty before nightfall.

As soon as they entered the town, Li Huowang noticed the difference between the Later Shu people and the Four Qi people, both in architecture and clothing, the former being more rugged.

It seemed that many people in the town covered their faces, perhaps to protect themselves from the sand and wind.

But this also had its advantages, as Li Huowang's fellow brothers, who were also wearing black veils and bamboo hats, didn't stand out as much.

"Let's go, let's find an inn to rest first. We've been on the road for more than ten days, let's take a break," Li Huowang said.

The other dusty travelers immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Living without firewood or water was really difficult.

Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread dot com ].

The group followed the crowd and blended in with the people in the town.

The aroma of roasted food and noodle soup from nearby stalls tantalized everyone's taste buds.

As they walked, they arrived at an open space that seemed to be the center of the town.

The sound of drums and gongs immediately drew everyone's attention to the crowded group of people.

"That's the Nuo opera, right?" Li Huowang murmured as he watched the three people jumping up and down in the crowd.

Shaking, twisting, squatting, trembling, stepping, jumping...The three people with their heads wrapped in red cloth and wearing grotesque wooden masks danced in a very strange way, with movements that seemed unimaginable for humans.

Accompanying this strange dance was the chaotic rhythm of gongs and drums.

And from time to time, a horn-like instrument would appear.

The sound that came out of the black bull horn was like the wailing of a female ghost.

The combination of the gongs, drums, and ghostly cries, along with the strange dance, made Li Huowang feel very uncomfortable.

But the people around him seemed to be completely absorbed in the performance.

"What is this? How can this be called opera?" Lv Zhuangyuan, who was also in the same profession, expressed his disdain.

As soon as he finished speaking, the bodies of the three people twisted even more violently.

With their movements, sharp white fangs trembled and protruded from the mouths of their wooden masks.

Not just one or two, but a full sixteen fangs.

The sixteen fangs trembled along with their performance.

"Is this... teeth playing?"

These three people were very skilled at playing with their teeth. Li Huowang looked at their agile white fangs that moved in and out of their mouths, and almost thought that these fangs were really growing out of their mouths.