Chapter 624 - 627: When It Rains, It Pours

Chapter 624: Chapter 627: When It Rains, It Pours

The fact that Li Ji had traveled a thousand miles to chase Hua Manman to Longdong County made one thing clear: he would never let her face danger alone.

Hua Manman was well aware of this, so after Li Ji’s refusal, she didn’t mention returning to the capital alone to rescue anyone again.

Now that they knew about the wanted posters, they abandoned the flat, wide main roads and switched to remote, rugged mountain paths.

The carriage jostled so violently on the mountain path that it felt like it was about to shake Hua Manman and Yue Niang’s insides out.

Hua Manman couldn’t take it anymore. She gave up the carriage and opted to ride a horse instead.

Although spring had officially begun, a biting chill remained, and the temperature in the mountains was still very low.

A cold wind blew in her face, turning her cheeks red and freezing her fingers stiff.

Li Ji glanced back at her from time to time, asking with concern.

"Do you want to stop and rest for a while?"

Braving the cold, Hua Manman shook her head. "There’s no need."

She wanted to hurry back to Tianjing so she could see Gou Dan sooner.

When it rains, it pours.

A sudden downpour began that day, making the mountain path slick and muddy. The slightest misstep could cause one to slip and fall off the side of the mountain.

For safety’s sake, they had no choice but to pause their journey and look for a place to take shelter from the rain and rest.

Nearby, they found an abandoned Earth God temple.

But when they hurried into the temple, they found a group of people already taking shelter from the rain inside.

Following the principle of "first come, first served," Li Liao took the initiative to approach them, asking if they could share the space to wait out the rain.

The group consisted of young people, including several small children. They all carried bundles big and small. In the corner stood a flagpole with a triangular banner that read "Cloud Crane Opera Troupe."

So, this was a traveling opera troupe.

The troupe master was a strong and robust middle-aged man named Zheng Fu.

Zheng Fu was initially unwilling to let others into the temple. After all, the troupe was traveling with a lot of gear; what if someone took the opportunity to steal something?

But when he saw Li Liao’s tall, powerful build and the longsword at his waist, the refusal on the tip of his tongue instantly changed.

"This Earth God temple doesn’t belong to anyone. We’re just passing through and stopped in to get out of the rain. We have no right to keep others out. Please, come on in."

Li Liao thanked him and turned to usher everyone inside.

The temple was small, and with so many new people suddenly squeezing in, it inevitably felt cramped.

The members of the opera troupe instinctively clustered together.

Li Ji’s group, for their part, had no intention of striking up a conversation either.

A clear line was drawn between the two groups.

The trusted aides swiftly cleaned up a space, found some firewood in the temple, and started a fire. Then they set up a pot to boil water.

Yue Niang took out their travel rations and passed them around.

Their rations consisted mainly of steamed buns and flatbreads, along with some meat jerky and pickled vegetables.

For Li Ji’s group, it was a very simple, rough meal. But for the members of the opera troupe, it was the finest of fare.

Even the troupe master, Zheng Fu, couldn’t help but stare at Li Ji’s group, his eyes lingering on the white steamed buns in their hands.

The buns looked so white and fluffy; you could tell at a glance they were made from the finest white flour.

Ordinary families couldn’t afford such fine food.

A troupe like theirs, for instance, could only eat hard cornmeal buns while on the road.

The buns were dry and hard, and they scratched your throat on the way down.

A far cry from the white steamed buns this group was holding.

Sitting next to Zheng Fu was a lad of about fifteen or sixteen.

There was a slight resemblance between their features.

The youth’s name was Yuanbao; he and Zheng Fu were uncle and nephew.

Yuanbao’s mouth was watering for those white steamed buns too. He whispered to the troupe master.

"Uncle, let’s go chat with them for a bit?"

Perhaps if their new companions were in a good mood, they might spare them a few white steamed buns to try.

Hoping for a taste of the buns, Zheng Fu and Yuanbao shamelessly sidled up to Li Liao and Li Ji, trying to strike up a conversation about anything they could think of.

Li Ji didn’t even lift an eyelid the entire time, clearly not bothering to acknowledge them.

Li Liao was willing to chat, but that was all.

He pretended not to notice how their eyes lit up at the sight of the white steamed buns, and simply made small talk while he ate.

Even after Zheng Fu and Yuanbao had talked until their mouths were dry, they still hadn’t managed to get a bun or two out of him.

The uncle and nephew were both inwardly annoyed.

They returned empty-handed.

Meanwhile, Yue Niang noticed the few small children staring at the bun in her hand, practically drooling. Her heart softening, she whispered to Hua Manman.

"Can I give some buns to those children?"

Hua Manman followed her gaze to the scrawny little children.

The oldest of them looked to be seven or eight, while the youngest was only three or four.

They were all thin and small, likely due to chronic malnutrition.

As a mother herself, Hua Manman found she couldn’t harden her heart, especially when looking at children around the same age as her Gou Dan.

She agreed to Yue Niang’s request.

Yue Niang beckoned to the children.

After they came over, Yue Niang gave each of them a bun.

They cradled the soft white buns as if they were priceless treasures, unwilling to take a bite.

They tucked the buns into their clothes, then knelt and kowtowed to Yue Niang and Hua Manman to thank them for the gift.

Hua Manman quickly pulled them up.

Seeing this, Zheng Fu and Yuanbao couldn’t help but curse inwardly.

’These people must be blind! We just buttered them up with so many nice words and didn’t get a single bun, yet these rotten kids get one each for doing absolutely nothing.’

After those children returned, Zheng Fu and Yuanbao immediately snatched all the buns from their clothes.

Zheng Fu noticed the two young women looking their way, and an idea sparked in his mind.

He stuffed the buns into his robes and began to beat the children, punching and kicking them while spouting profanities.

The children were clearly used to being beaten. They didn’t dare fight back. Their first instinct was to crouch down, cover their heads, and curl into a ball to protect their vital organs.

Unable to bear the sight, Hua Manman stepped forward to intervene.

"Talk things out properly! Don’t just start hitting people!"

Zheng Fu put on an embarrassed expression and readily agreed.

But the moment Hua Manman turned her back, Zheng Fu viciously slapped the youngest child across the forehead.

The scrawny child was knocked to the ground and let out a pained groan.

Hua Manman glared at him. "I told you to stop hitting them! Are you incapable of understanding plain language?!"

Zheng Fu replied, "You don’t understand, young lady. This is how we’ve always disciplined the young ones in our troupe.

"If we don’t beat them into submission now, they’ll be impossible to control once they’re older and get ideas of their own.

"I can tell you’re a kind-hearted person, young lady. If you can’t stand to see it, you could always buy these children from me."