CH 35

Name:Mutated Tao Author:Fox Tail Pen
“Dad! Dad! Look, braised pork!! Braised pork!!” Lv Xiucai with a big meatball stuffed in his mouth stared straight at the dish just served up.

As soon as the oily braised pork was placed on the table, seven pairs of chopsticks reached out instantly. When the chopsticks were withdrawn, even the pickled mustard greens under the braised pork were all taken.

“Look at how you guys are eating, like a bunch of starving ghosts! Slow down and don’t make others think we have no manners!”

“Dad, don’t talk about manners. Even during the New Year in the past, we couldn’t eat this well. And look at the fat pork on your chopsticks, you’re not eating any less than us.” Facing Lv Xiucai’s ridicule, Lv Zhuangyuan knocked him hard on the head with his chopsticks.

Seeing his younger brother being kocked, Lv Juren swallowed the food in his mouth and began to help resolve the situation. “Dad, just let everyone enjoy the food. We suffered a lot last night for this meal.”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone who was wolfing down their food showed relief as if they had escaped death.

Last night was really scary, Little Taoist Master and that evil spirit had a battle of magic powers under stage. Those who were singing on the platform were so scared they almost wet their pants.

And then they all looked unconsciously towards Li Huowang who was gazing at the sky lost in thought in front of the house.

Everyone’s eyes involuntarily carried a trace of awe. If it weren’t for the Little Taoist Master last night, they probably wouldn’t have been able to enjoy this meal today.

Although the Little Taoist Master was young, he was really amazing.

However, when another dish was served, their attention immediately shifted.

“Oh! There’s chicken! Look! Roast chicken!” 

As they extended the chopsticks about to tear apart the roast chicken, Lv Zhuangyuan’s tobacco pipe suddenly stopped in front of the chicken. “Stop! Don’t touch this chicken! Wait for me to invite Little Taoist Master to come and eat together.”

“Dad, stop shouting. Taoists don’t eat meat, you want to make Little Taoist Master break his vows?”

“Bullshit! Monks are the ones who don’t eat meat! If I come back and see that this chicken is missing even a bit of skin, I’ll show you how I’ll deal with all of you!”

After giving a fierce stare to the most unruly Lv Xiucai,Lv Zhuangyuan wiping his oily mouth with his hand,and  wiped the hand vigorously under the table, then turned and walked towards Li Huowang.

“Little Taoist Master, haha… Little Taoist Master?” Lv Zhuangyuan seemed like a changed person, looking very friendly.

“Little Taoist Master, you’ve been busy all night. Let’s eat together, okay? The dishes provided by the Hu Family are all with plenty of oil and water!”

Li Huowang turned around from his contemplation and looked at him. After thinking for a while, he hesitantly asked, “Troupe Master Lv, did the memorial tablets fall down by themselves? Was that scene just my illusion?”

“Oh my, Little Taoist Master, how would I know about such things? I don’t have the kind of power you possess and I dare not look around randomly. Later on, I was singing with my eyes closed.”

Li Huowang let out a soft sigh. He recalled the voice he heard in his ear at that time again. Although it was very faint, he was completely sure that it was the voice of his master Dan Yang Tzu. No matter which world it was, only he would call Li Huowang “my son.”

(In the original text of the novel, Dan Yang Tzu referred to Li Huowang as “娃wa啊a”, which is an informal way of addressing him, similar to dialects or nicknames,This is not very easy to translate, so I use ‘my son’ instead)

In theory, hearing Dan Yang Tzu’s voice again should have made him very nervous. But Li Huowang was confused because he couldn’t even believe himself now.

“I have mental illness, and very serious. If not eating The Black Ganoderma caused the relapse of my illness and led to some minor auditory hallucinations, that would be completely reasonable.

“But those suddenly falling memorial tablets and the sudden appearance and disappearance of The Delight… all of this cannot be explained. Could it be…”

Li Huowang remembered the strange changes in Dan Yang Tzu’s body before his death, and his expression became fierce. 

“Could it be that he really… became an immortal?!

“No! Dan Yang Tzu couldn’t have become an immortal! The so-called cultivation methods and elixirs were all made up by me. How could they make him become an immortal?! Or… what he has become is not an immortal at all!

“But if he’s not an immortal, then what has he become now? Why does he keep entangling me?!” Li Huowang’s face showed a frustrated expression.

“Little Taoist Master, what are you thinking about? We’re all on the same team here,if you have any difficulties, you can tell us,” Lv Zhuangyuan’s words brought Li Huowang back to reality. He took a deep breath and made up his mind, “Regardless of whether it’s true or not, there’s not much I can do now. I must first go to the Xijing City and check out the Buddhist temple that Lv Zhuangyuan mentioned. They might know something. I really don’t know enough about this world.”

“I’m fine. I just remembered some trivial matters. Let’s go eat,” Li Huowang said to him.

Hearing this, Lv Zhuangyuan nodded happily and they turned to walk towards the table inside. 

But when they arrived at the table, Lv Zhuangyuan’s expression suddenly froze because he saw that, apart from the roasted chicken, all the other plates had been licked clean. They were so clean that they didn’t even need to be washed.

“Ah~ That was so comfortable! Even if I were the emperor, this would be the highest level of enjoyment,” Lv Xiucai, with a mouth full of oil, leaned lazily against the chair and burped.

Lv Zhuangyuan awkwardly smiled at Li Huowang, then held up the roast chicken with both hands and placed it in front of him. 

“Little Taoist Master, please have some roasted chicken… This chicken is pretty fat, I’m sorry……the other dishes were all eaten by them…”

Li Huowang smiled and picked up his chopsticks, pulling off a piece of chicken and putting it into his mouth, “It’s not a problem.”

Just as Li Huowang took a few bites, a group of people walked in through the corridor and into the room. At the forefront was Lv Zhuangyuan’s employer, Hu Qinghe.

“Not bad, not bad. Our ancestors are very satisfied. The candles on the tables were eaten completely clean, that’s a good thing!” 

Upon hearing Hu Qinghe’s praise, Lv Zhuangyuan smiled humbly and said, “Thank you, thank you. This is what we should do.”

“Troupe Master Lv, when you pass by here again in the future, you must come to our Hu Family and have some tea,” Hu Qinghe said politely.

As he spoke, a sturdy man next to Hu Qinghe walked up carrying a tray covered with red cloth. When the cloth was lifted, ten shining silver ingots were neatly placed there.

“This is ten taels of silver, you take it,” Hu Qinghe said.

“Oh my, many thanks for the reward from Lord Hu! Rest assured, Lord Hu, whenever you need us in the future, no matter where we are, we will rush over as soon as possible!” Lv Zhuangyuan exclaimed gratefully.

After Lord Hu left, the Lv Family gathered around the tray, eagerly staring at the silver ingots in it. Just as Lv Xiucai was about to reach out and touch them, Lv Zhuangyuan immediately hit his hand with the tobacco pipe.

Lv Zhuangyuan pulled out four silver ingots from the tray and put them in his pocket. Then, he looked at the remaining six, showing strong reluctance on his face.

But finally, he put on a smile again, carrying the tray over to Li Huowang who was eating.

“Hehehe, Little Taoist Master, this is what we agreed on. Six for you and four for me. Here’s your share,” Lv Zhuangyuan said, handing over the silver ingots to Li Huowang.