Chapter 194: Disguise

Chapter 194: Disguise

As Li Huowang observed those women, he overheard the conversation between Sun Baolu and Puppy.

“Old Sun, those bandits were really wicked. But all the women they captured look pretty decent. Should I pick one of them to be my wife? I don’t mind if they are dirty; it’s fine as long as they can bear children,” wondered Puppy.

“Forget it; they’ve just come out from that place. Don’t bully them,” said Sun Baolu.

“Tsk! What are you saying? I’m not taking a concubine, but openly marrying a wife. I may not be that good-looking, but they would definitely be climbing up the social ladder if they were to marry me,” said Puppy. After a moment, he continued, “Old Sun, do you want one too? If we miss this opportunity, it won’t be so easy to find such pretty wives.”

“Forget it, they are all so pitiful.”

“Hey, we are helping them! Think about it, even if they return, people will still gossip about them, and they won’t be able to marry anyone! At least with me, they will be able to have warm meals,” said Puppy.

At that moment, Li Huowang reached to remove his blanket, and stood up. He ignored Puppy who was spouting nonsense, and made a beeline for Lu Zhuangyuan who was drinking porridge.

The Lu Family Troupe appeared a lot more refreshed after a night of rest; their faces were cleaner, and their clothes were neater.

As he saw Li Huowang approach them, Lu Zhuangyuan hurriedly stood up. At the same time, he stuffed the bowl he was holding to his younger son, and his expression turned into one of utmost respect.

“Is this yours?” Li Huowang returned the tobacco pipe to its rightful owner.

“Ah yes!” Lu Zhuangyuan nodded and received it. “Sorry for the trouble. You had to return this small thing to me personally.”

“If you feel guilty, then do me a favor. We need your assistance,” said Li Huowang.

Lu Zhuangyuan was surprised. This Daoist had supernatural abilities, and so was not sure what kind of help he could offer.

On the other hand, Li Huowang turned to look back at the others who were eating. “Help us put on a disguise and some makeup.”

Soon after, everyone’s faces had theater makeup. Even Li Huowang’s coin veil was decorated with a long beard.

Once all of their weapons were stashed onto the carriages, they could no longer be recognized as a messy group of escorts, but a large theater troupe of about twenty people.

“From now on, you will lead this theater troupe. That means, we are all under your command. You will be the one to answer if anyone asks questions,” said Li Huowang as he looked at Lu Zhuangyuan.

Hou Laoer had pointed out that they were quite conspicuous. Hence, Li Huowang’s objective was for them to change their looks.

Lu Zhuangyuan also understood the situation immediately, and patted his chest while assuring them that there would be no problems.

Ta ta ta!

At that moment, horse hooves suddenly sounded as a group of fierce-looking men quickly rode past them. One of them turned back to glance at them, but did not pay much attention to a theater troupe like theirs.

Li Huowang instantly had a feeling that this wasn’t a good omen. “Hurry, those people must be related to the bandits and have likely come to look for us,”

Li Huowang’s words instantly caused the slightly relaxed atmosphere to tense up.

After they all finished their porridge, they quickly packed up and left.

In the following period, Li Huowang avoided all the major roads and took smaller paths.

Whether it was due to the make-up or their choice of routes, it took them ten days to safely arrive at a small town nestled among several rocky hills.

This town was not very large, and there seemed to be just one major street running through it. Even so, it seemed quite busy due to the constant flow of travelers passing through this hub.

When he saw the bustling street, Li Huowang breathed a sigh of relief. They were a little closer to being able to leave Hou Shu.

“We’ll rest here tonight, and continue on our way tomorrow,” announced Li Huowang before leading the group in.

Just a few steps in, Li Huowang’s eyes gleamed as he saw the old man they had bumped into along the way previously,” Senior? Where are you going?”

Hearing this voice, Jin Shanzhao turned around and saw a middle-aged man with a long beard. However, the voice sounded quite familiar, and so he asked in surprise, “Oh? Is that you, Daoist? Such a coincidence.”

“Coincidence?” Li Huowang’s eyes shrank, and then he quickly walked up to the old man and said, “Hit me.”

“Hmm? What for?”

Thump!

Suddenly, Li Huowang’s fist landed onto Jin Shanzhao’s chest, causing the latter to stumble back.

“Daoist? Why did you do that? Have I offended you somehow?” asked Jin Shanzhao as he struggled to catch his breath.

Li Huowang did not respond to him, and instead looked down at his fist.

I can touch him, and this sensation... Seems like he’s not a hallucination, unlike Monk.