Tao: The Uncanny Immortal

"Huh? What a chaotic mess!" Li Huowang frowned as he stepped into the grove where the simpleton was staying.

The moment he entered the grove, Li Huowang's pupils abruptly constricted. There, he saw the simpleton and the old beggar from before, squatting in front of a small earthen mound, munching away ravenously.

On top of the small earthen mound lay several pieces of yellow paper, firmly weighted down by a stone, like a silent sentinel guarding some hidden secret.

Li Huowang's anger flared like a wildfire. He suppressed it with great effort and rushed over, kicking the simpleton to the ground. "Get up! How dare you eat the offerings for the grave! Are you tired of living? Didn't I tell you not to talk to this beggar?"

The simpleton got up aggrievedly, stuttering, "I didn't... didn't... didn't talk to him."

"Kneel down! Quickly kowtow and apologize!" Li Huowang ordered sternly, his voice like a thunderclap.

After seeing the simpleton kowtow heavily to the grave mound several times, Li Huowang reached out and yanked him up forcefully.

This ghostly place was full of all sorts of perils. He didn't dare to take any risks. If things weren't handled properly, trouble would come crashing down on them like a falling boulder.

With a sharp "clang", Li Huowang drew out the long sword behind him and pointed it straight at the old beggar's nose. He said coldly, "I don't care what your purpose is. Stay away from my people! Otherwise, don't blame me for being merciless!"

Without waiting for the man to reply, Li Huowang grabbed the simpleton and spun around, striding away.

"I'm not a beggar. I'm a monk," the man murmured softly, then resumed squatting there and devouring the offerings meant for the dead.

Back on the road, the group set off again. Li Huowang's face was as solemn as a storm - cloud. He began to instruct the others. "Don't sleep too soundly in the next few nights. Something might happen."

Although the simpleton had already kowtowed to admit his mistake, who knew what kind of temper the thing in the grave had? He didn't dare to take chances.

Hearing what Li Huowang said, the others immediately understood and nodded gently, like obedient soldiers receiving an order.

As the sun sank in the west and night descended like a black curtain, the people on the road went into the woods beside the road one after another to gather firewood and start a fire.

Around the two donkey carts, Li Huowang built a roaring bonfire, a fiery beacon in the darkness. He also asked the others to cut enough firewood in the woods.

There was no moon tonight, and it was pitch - black all around. The branches swayed gently in the breeze, like countless shadowy figures hiding in them, spying on the people around the fire with malicious intent.

As time ticked by, it gradually grew quiet all around. Everyone else fell asleep, their breathing soft and rhythmic.

But Li Huowang didn't sleep. He sat there as still as a statue, as if waiting for some long - awaited enemy.

Apart from keeping a sharp eye on the woods around, he also had to spare most of his attention for the old beggar.

If that thing came looking for them, it would surely come for him first.

If it did come, it would also be a golden opportunity to find out what this guy was all about.

After a long, tense wait, the first half of the night passed, and it came to the second half, the time when people were most likely to be overcome by sleep.

"Brother Li... was there just a face over there?" Gouwa, who was on night watch with him, said in a trembling voice, his words quivering like a leaf in the wind.

Li Huowang quickly looked over, but saw nothing in the inky darkness.

"Are you sure?" he asked in a very low voice, barely above a whisper.

Gouwa swallowed hard. "Not sure. Maybe... maybe I was just seeing things."

"Don't talk. Be quiet," Li Huowang pretended to stare at the bonfire in front of him and glanced over there out of the corner of his eye, like a hunter stalking his prey.

After waiting quietly for a while, in the faint light of the fire, he saw an ugly face slowly emerge from the darkness, with a cruel smile playing on its lips.

What made Li Huowang's hair stand on end was that more heads slowly emerged behind this one. Streaks of white light flickered under the heads, like eerie ghostly glows.

"Wait, white light?" Li Huowang suddenly sprang to his feet, grabbed a burning piece of firewood from the bonfire and hurled it over. "Stop! Who are you?"

Li Huowang's loud shout was like a thunderbolt in the quiet night, waking up the others who were sleeping soundly.

When the rolling firewood landed under those heads, and seeing that these heads had feet and shadows, Li Huowang immediately realized that these people were alive.

Not only did Li Huowang see them, but the others did too, and they also saw the big machetes in their hands. "Bandits are coming!! Run!!"

This panicked shout made the crowd explode into a frenzy. Everyone quickly picked up their valuables and scattered in all directions like frightened rabbits.

"Damn it! We've been discovered! Quick, bring the horses!!" Soon the thunderous sound of hoofbeats rang out, and these bandits rushed after the pedestrians on the road with their knives in hand, like a pack of ravenous wolves.

"Run into the woods quickly! Their horses can't run well in the woods!!"

Hearing the old beggar's shout, the others quickly left the main road and rushed into the surrounding woods.

They ran away, but those like Li Huowang who had donkey carts couldn't. Donkeys could never outrun horses, like a snail trying to outpace a cheetah.

Hearing the hoofbeats approaching from behind like a menacing drumbeat, Li Huowang quickly stood still and turned around. He saw a tall horse carrying a bearded bandit charging towards an old woman with his knife raised high.

"She can't dodge!" Li Huowang quickly took out a pill and stuffed it into his mouth. An instant heat surged through his whole body like a volcanic eruption.

Just as Li Huowang was about to leap towards the bandit, the old beggar suddenly rushed out from the side and pushed the falling old woman away.

Gaode Qiu on the horse looked at the old beggar in front of him with a look of disdain in his eyes. Without even raising his knife, he pulled the reins of his horse. The horse reared up on its hind legs and charged straight towards the old beggar, like a rampaging bull.

A cruel smile appeared on his face as he anticipated the bloody scene that was about to follow. For him, as a bandit, besides womanizing, this was his only pleasure.

However, the next moment, he saw a figure rush out from the front and punch the horse hard on the head.

"Bang!" Along with the horse's neigh, the charging horse was abruptly redirected and fell to the right.

Gaode Qiu, who was falling to the ground, could do nothing but watch the caved - in horse's head with his eyes widening in horror.

The next moment, with a dull thud, his head met the same fate as his horse.

Seeing their comrade in trouble, the other bandits quickly put their fingers in their mouths and whistled as they came to help.

However, Li Huowang, who had taken the pill refined by Danyangzi, quickly made these bandits realize that they had provoked someone they shouldn't have.

Dull sounds kept ringing out on the dim dirt road. After losing several of their men, these bandits quickly fled in a hurry, like whipped dogs.

"Quickly retreat! The target is too tough! It might be someone from the Heavenly Surveillance Department!"

Li Huowang, with his fists covered in blood, stood there gasping for breath, like a warrior after a fierce battle.

He turned around and looked at the old beggar behind him. After what had just happened, he could be sure that this guy was not a dangerous figure; he was just a harmless one.

Under Li Huowang's gaze, the old beggar stood up, walked up to a person killed by the bandits, knelt down, put his hands together, and murmured something in a low voice.

As Li Huowang walked closer, he could hear what the man was saying.

"Amitabha, Amitabha, Amitabha..."

The somewhat mispronounced "Amitabha" was repeated over and over again, like a solemn chant in the night.

After repeating it dozens of times, the old beggar walked into the nearby woods and began to dig the ground with his hands.