"There's... there's... there's... there's shit!"
"My eyes aren't blind, so don't get any closer. Are you trying to eat it? I know you're a fool, but you're not that foolish, are you?"
"Doggie, shut up. There's someone on the road."
"HEH HEH, whatever you say, Brother Li."
Before long, Top Scholar Lv saw a group of people emerge from the forest.
When he saw their appearance, Top Scholar Lv gasped. No wonder his youngest son had said there were ghosts—these people looked terrifying.
There was a skinny man with patches of black and white on his face, a woman with white hair, a bow-legged freak lying on someone's back, and even one person whose face was completely covered with hair.
Top Scholar Lv had traveled far and wide and considered himself worldly, but this sight still spooked him.
"Dad, I'm scared." Scholar Lv kept shrinking back, trying to hide behind his father as much as he could.
Are you scared? Do you think I'm not? Top Scholar Lv silently cursed his youngest son. If it weren't for the handsome Taoist and a few normal-looking Daoist Boys in the group, he would have already turned tail and run.
Shaking uncontrollably, Top Scholar Lv bowed to Li Huowang. "Excuse me, Daoist Master, um... are these all monsters you've subdued?"
As soon as he said it, he was met with a volley of hostile stares.
"What are you talking about, old geezer! Are you looking for a beating? Who are you calling a monster?"
Top Scholar Lv saw the handsome Taoist wave a hand to silence the aggressive, black-and-white-faced man, which only made him more certain of his assumption.
"Sir, may I ask where this road leads?"
"Wuli Hill! Wuli Hill is just ahead. It's not far, not far at all. HEHEHE."
As soon as these words were spoken, Top Scholar Lv secretly jabbed the horse's rump with his hot, dry tobacco pipe. The horse neighed in pain, pulling the wagon and bolting down the forest path.
"Hey! My horse! My horse! Quick, after it!" Top Scholar Lv led the others, feigning anxiety as they chased the horse.
They ran frantically, and it wasn't long before they left the strange group far behind.
They ran for two straight hours. Only when his youngest son was so exhausted that he vomited did Top Scholar Lv finally whistle for the horse to stop.
After stopping, he paid his young son no mind, instead immediately checking on the cart-pulling horse. In this traveling troupe, the animal was more precious than any person.
The sky was slowly darkening as night approached.
"Good heavens, what were those things? They scared me half to death," Lv Elevated Man panted, sweating buckets.
Top Scholar Lv kicked him. "Can't you see it's getting dark? Get into the woods and gather some firewood!"
By the side of the forest path, a cozy fire crackled to life. Everyone ate warm mantou made of mixed grains, and the sweet flavor of the food soothed their frightened hearts.
"Look at you, scared witless! When you're out on the road, running into some strange things is nothing. I'm telling you, it's at times like these that you absolutely cannot panic," Top Scholar Lv lectured the others.
"Dad, maybe they weren't monsters," his daughter-in-law chimed in. "They looked pretty human to me. That young Daoist Boy even called you 'sir'."
Hearing this, Top Scholar Lv simply shook his water calabash.
"Whatever they are, we stay out of their way. All of you remember this: if you're on the road and want to live a long life, you avoid what you can and don't get involved."
This was Top Scholar Lv's philosophy for life. Whatever one might say about it, by sticking to it, he had survived to his current age. He planned to pass this wisdom down to his sons, as they would have to take over the troupe and its performances when he grew old.
Passing the water calabash to his nephew, Top Scholar Lv glanced at his granddaughter, who was lying in his daughter-in-law's arms.
He watched her gnaw on a small piece of mantou with her newly grown milk teeth, and the longer he looked, the happier he felt.
He turned, fished a salted duck egg out of a round jar on the cart, carefully cracked a small opening in the shell, and brought the oily yolk to his granddaughter's mouth. "Come, come, Nannan, suck on this. This is the good stuff."
Seeing his granddaughter sucking on it with all her might, Top Scholar Lv's eyes crinkled into a joyful line.
It was a shame she wasn't a grandson, of course, but the special bond between grandparents and grandchildren was strong, and he doted on this little girl fiercely.
Sensing an opportunity, Luo Juannhua immediately spoke up. "Dad, look, Cui'er is so big now. Shouldn't she have some proper clothes? Wearing that old stage costume all the time just won't do."
The moment money was mentioned, Top Scholar Lv's smile vanished, and his features scrunched together.
He was about to refuse, but when he saw his granddaughter in her loose, oversized costume, his heart softened once more.
He took a few noisy puffs from his dry pipe, his many wrinkles deepening. Then he walked to the cart and used a long copper lock to open a chest.
After fumbling around inside for a good while, he counted out fifty Copper Coins.
"Don't buy cloth in town—it's expensive. In a couple of days, when we get to Wuli Hill, ask around for a woman who weaves her own cloth and buy a few feet from her. Make sure you check a few different homes and find the cheapest one."
"Also, remember to buy cotton, not linen. Cui'er's skin is delicate, and linen is too coarse for her."
"I understand," Luo Juannhua said, beaming as she took the Copper Coins. She had thought she would be lucky to get enough for linen; she never expected the old miser to actually pay for cotton.
A small child doesn't need much cloth for clothes. Maybe I can skim a little off the top for myself this time.
Once his granddaughter had finished the yolk, Top Scholar Lv divided the remaining egg white among the adults.
Though it wasn't much for each person, they all ate it happily. The touch of saltiness was a rare savory treat.
Night had fallen completely. With supper over and nothing else to do, Top Scholar Lv told a few old stories he had picked up from who-knows-where, and then it was time for bed.
Lv Elevated Man was on watch for the first half of the night. He was exhausted from the day's travel, but he forced himself to stay awake, staring at the fire to make sure it didn't go out.
"Son, go to sleep. I'll watch," Top Scholar Lv said, sitting beside him and once again beginning to noisily puff on his dry pipe.
Lv Elevated Man yawned. "Dad, I'm not sleepy. You go rest."
"Stop arguing and get to sleep. An old man like me doesn't need much."
As the two bickered by the campfire, Top Scholar Lv suddenly slapped a hand over his son's mouth and pointed toward the dark forest.
"HEE HEE..." A high-pitched, shrill woman's laugh suddenly echoed from their right.
Top Scholar Lv and his son instinctively looked over, but they could see nothing but darkness.
"HEE HEE HEE... Tell me, do I look more like a human or a god?" The pitch-black woods began to shake, as if something inside was about to emerge.
Top Scholar Lv instantly broke into a cold sweat. All his experience told him that a spirit was seeking an endowment.
This was not a question to be answered lightly. A wrong answer could lead to the ruin of his entire family.
But the problem was, what exactly was it in the woods that was seeking an endowment?
The woods shook rhythmically in the night, producing a creepy, rustling sound.