Mutated Tao

Once he confirmed that his daughter-in-law had stopped crying, Lu Zhaoyuan turned back to look at his terrified-looking younger son who was trailing behind the carriage.

“Son, how are you? Not too scared, I hope?” Lu Zhuangyuan asked as he tried giving a reassuring smile, but could only manage a sickly grimace. “Don’t be afraid, ok? Those smelly soldiers are just paper tigers. If they were truly capable, then they would be sent to battle.”

However, even though Lu Zhuangyuan tried to comfort him, Lu Xiucai’s expression did not improve. It was almost as if the plundering soldiers were right in front of him, and threatening him with knives placed on his throat.

“Dad… why are we crossing the border? Shouldn’t we go home first?” asked Lu Xiucai.

Lu Zhuangyuan lit up his tobacco pipe and started to smoke it, the white smoke released by it puffing up and covering his eyes. “I’ve been thinking that these aren’t ordinary times; the world is going to enter a period of utter chaos. And so, we’re heading out there to find a place to hide for a while.”

“Dad, our emperor lost the war, so does that mean we are going to be slaves to another nation?” asked Lu Xiucai.

Immediately, Lu Zhuangyuan knocked his tobacco pipe onto Lu Xiucai’s head causing the sparks to scatter around.

“Does the identity of the emperor affect us in the slightest? Is that really what you should be thinking about?” asked Lu Zhuangyuan. However, when he saw Lu Xiucai’s aggrieved expression as he massaged his head, Lu Zhuangyuan sighed softly and continued to instruct patiently. “There are so many defeated soldiers, so it’s likely that there will be a change in the regime. There’s likely going to be even more chaos after such huge militaristic movements, so we’re heading out to lay low for now. It doesn’t matter if our money is stolen. As long as we are safe and alive, we can go anywhere.”

“But… I’ve never been to the kingdom of Si Qi. Dad… I’m a little scared…” muttered Lu Xiucai.

Lu Zhuangyuan was frustrated upon seeing his younger son being so cowardly. “What’s there to be afraid of! Don’t the people from the kingdom of Si Qi also have two eyes and one nose, just like us? Can they grow extra features? At most, the kingdom of Si Qi has some more lakes and rivers than us.”

At this point, Lu Juren who had been quietly listening in joined the conversation, “Dad, we aren’t too familiar with this place… I also think it’s better to stay in our hometown. It might not be as severe as you said.”

“You’re still taking this disaster too lightly! Your father has eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice. Do you think I could be wrong?” Lu Zhuangyuan continued to explain. “Don’t worry; I’ve got it all figured out. Back when the Taoist was looking at his map, I took several glances. They were going to the Liang Kingdom. The journey is quite long, but we’ll definitely be safe as long as we stick by his side. Wherever he goes, that’s where we will follow. He can go on his journey, and we can just host our own play. Nobody will dare to disturb us. Once the emperor is changed, and this disaster has blown over, we will return. Don’t you think it’s a sound plan?”

“We aren’t even related to him; will he let us follow him?” Lu Juren asked, feeling embarrassed.

“Ah~ do you still not see why I gave away that jar of salted duck eggs back then?” Lu Zhuangyuan continued, “Remember what the Taoist said when he crossed the border? We’ll meet again if fate allows! It doesn’t matter if he was just being polite. Since those were his words, we just need to be humble and pretend to be miserable. With the relationship of that jar of duck eggs, could he bear to drive us away?”

When he saw the look of understanding on his son’s face, Lu Zhuangyuan felt rather pleased with himself. “Hehe, the older, the wiser. Learn more from me in the future.”

“Dad, I got it. Since we’re performers, it doesn’t matter where we go. Perhaps the people in the other regions will like our performance even more, and thus we can make more money,” said Lu Juren.

The atmosphere improved considerably after Lu Zhuangyuan explained the situation; everyone began to look forward to a brighter future.

The carriage continued on its way, where they suddenly saw several rolling black balls up ahead. Only when they got closer, did Lu Zhuangyuan find out that those rolling black balls were a group of a dozen fat nuns who were traveling with their carriages.

There were six carriages in total, and the wheels left deep marks on the ground, suggesting that they were transporting something heavy.

“These nuns are really smelly. Dad, let’s move faster,” said Luo Juanhua as she furrowed her brows and took out a handkerchief to cover her daughter’s nose.

“What nonsense? Don’t you see that even the people from the kingdom of Si Qi are following these nuns? We’ll follow them as well,” said Lu Zhuangyuan as he looked at the other travelers beside the fat nuns. His wealth of experience told him that there must be a reason behind all these people from the kingdom of Si Qi to be enduring the smell and traveling alongside these nuns.

“But… this smell is too…” Luo Juanhua frowned and muttered under her breath.

Less than an hour later, Lu Zhuangyuan saw that the nuns had stopped and begun to eat their dry rations with big mouthfuls.

Seeing this, Lu Zhuangyuan and his family started to eat as well. After spending some more time with them, the smell was quite a bit more bearable.

While they were eating, Lu Zhuangyuan suddenly stood up. He looked rather excited as he walked toward a man amongst the travelers.

The man was wearing a black-veiled bamboo hat. He seemed to have some difficulty with his legs as he was leaning on an old horse while eating.

When Lu Zhuangyuan approached, the man also seemed to recognize him. “Troupe Leader Lu, what are you doing here?”

Lu Zhuangyuan’s eyes lit up upon hearing the familiar voice. “Ah, so it really is you. You’re that Taoist’s…”

However, before he could finish his sentence, the man removed his black-veiled hat and revealed himself to be Zhao Wu.

Unexpectedly meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign land made both parties feel especially close.

After they finished exchanging pleasantries, Lu Zhuangyuan learned that Zhao Wu was searching for Li Huowang, immediately causing his old face to break into a broad smile.

“Your legs aren’t in great shape, and it’s dangerous to travel alone. I’ll accompany you to find him; it’s on the way anyway,” offered Lu Zhuangyuan. That Taoist would owe him a favor once he delivered this person to him; it would be rather difficult for him to reject them after that. Also, this person was that Taoist’s junior, and may have some supernatural abilities as well. That would mean that he would get another bodyguard for his journey.

Lu Zhuangyuan enthusiastically brought Zhao Wu back to the Lu Family Troupe and introduced them once again. He even had his daughter-in-law get off the carriage to make room for him to be seated.

At that moment, their lively conversation was interrupted by Lu Xiucai. “Zhao Wu, didn’t you go back home earlier? Then why did you come out again?”

Those words made the smile on Zhao Wu’s face gradually vanish, breaking apart this harmonious scene.

Just as it seemed like he was going to reveal some strong emotions, he managed to control himself before these outsiders. “It’s nothing much. Some things… happened at home.”

Lu Zhuangyuan sensed that the atmosphere had taken a strange turn, and immediately used his tobacco pipe to knock his younger son’s head. “Who asked you to talk so much! I taught you for so many years, but still haven’t learned anything, have you? What Zhao Wu? Is that what you should be calling him? To you, it’s Master Zhao!”

When he saw the teary-eyed Lu Xiucai, Zhao Wu quickly stepped in to mediate, “Troupe Leader Lu, there’s no need for this. Calling me Zhao Wu is fine.”

Just at that moment, a gust of wind blew across, causing everyone to close their eyes.

When they opened their eyes again, everyone was stunned. The curtains covering the nuns’ carriages had been blown open, revealing a shimmering white sea.

Lu Zhuangyuan’s eyes were wide with shock. “My goodness! So much silver!”