Mutated Tao

Chapter 627: Strike Tree Flowers

The sunset was so red that it was like a fire that had set the skies ablaze.

It was so red that it made Li Sui appear as if she were blushing.

She was sitting on horseback just behind her father, and she was examining her new body. She was in another woman’s body, and it was a slightly older and uglier body than the body she usually wore.

The black cloth on her shoulder indicated that the deceased woman was a Dharma Sect follower. She was one of Li Huowang's ambushers.

Li Sui chose this body, as the body had a skirt that she could use to hide her true form, which was a skinless dog.

Li Sui could have just traveled while staying inside Li Huowang, but she had become afraid of staying inside her father for an extended period of time, especially after what had transpired last time. She didn't want her father to go through that procedure again, as she didn't want to hurt him.

The horse stopped just then, prompting Li Sui to peek out from her father’s back.

There were many houses ahead of them.

“It's getting dark. Let’s rest at this station. We can travel tomorrow to Yinling City!”[1]

Fo Yulu showed her identity plate to the station master and his subordinate, and they immediately snapped to attention. They made sure to give Fo Yulu the hospitality they deserved as members of the Surveillance Bureau.

The Surveillance Bureau was even more important than regular soldiers around here.

Night fell, and they brought out food for Fo Yulu and her group to eat. They even made vegetarian meals for the monks.

Li Sui was sitting on a bench with a pair of chopsticks in hand. She swept her gaze across the others to try and imitate how they were using two wooden sticks to grab food.

Li Sui had never really bothered attempting to learn how to use a chopstick, as she'd either use her tentacles to eat her food or simply use her mouth.

“Here, eat the egg. You don’t need the chopsticks for it,” Li Huowang said. He drank a mouthful of the lamb soup and tore off the black cloth on Li Sui’s shoulder.

Li Sui nodded and took the bowl with eggs in it. Beneath the shocked gaze of the station master, Li Sui devoured the eggs with their shells. She devoured tens of eggs in one go as if she were a snake.

Li Sui disliked the eggs, as she thought they were tasteless. After filling up her stomach, she stood up and looked around curiously like a child, but nothing attracted her attention.

She walked around and approached the window.

Looking out the window, she saw the city next to the station. She also saw people walking down the streets, and she became curious about what they were doing.

The city was evidently lively with many people going about on their own business.

She looked back and saw her father talking to the bald woman. At the sight, Li Sui secretly made up her mind.

Since her father was going to sleep here, she decided to visit the city and return back before her father woke up.

Li Sui soon made her way into the city, and the city's lively atmosphere made her feel excited and happy. She loved the excitement here.

“Is it going to be the New Year soon? I love the New Year.”

“The New Year celebrations have just ended, so this is just a regular festival,” a pedestrian chimed in.

“Festival? Festivals are fun too!” Li Sui exclaimed. She walked with the crowd and took in the scenery.

There were many people at night, as there were performances all over the place.

Li Sui saw people standing on high stilts while others were spitting fire out of their mouths.

Li Sui followed the crowd until everyone stopped right in front of the city walls. Li Sui looked around and saw that the people seemed to be waiting for something.

“What’s happening?” Li Sui asked.

“Shhh… they're about to strike the tree flowers. Be quiet.”

While Li Sui was wondering about what was about to happen, she saw an old man walking toward the edge of the city wall.

The old man was frowning and was wearing a straw hat with an overall made from lamb fur. He was holding a hot bucket filled with molten metal.

The old man scooped a small portion of the molten metal and threw it forcefully at the city walls. Drops of red and orange exploded upon impact, showering the sky with sparks.

The molten metal emitted a yellow and orange light as it splattered into the air. It looked like a canopy of flowers had appeared in the sky.

The old man hurled the molten metal nonstop, so the dazzling shower was nonstop.[2]

“Wow... It’s so pretty!” Li Sui exclaimed with her eyes glued to the beautiful scene, just like everyone else.

The beautiful flowers appeared again and again in the night sky, and Li Sui enjoyed it a lot.

She had never seen anything so pretty before.

When the performance was over, the people sighed and left the city wall.

“Striking Tree Flowers is pretty, but it’s a shame that they don’t have any music and performers to go along with it. Its true beauty will only appear by then. The fiery sparks lit up the dark skies~ The scent of molten steel~ The instruments going along with the beat~ The performers singing and aligning the chorus with the flowers~” a scholar lamented while shaking his head. Then, he sighed and walked past Li Sui.

Li Sui didn’t care what the scholar was talking about, as she only cared about one thing—learning it. She wanted to learn it to show it to her father and mother. Li Sui was sure that they had never seen something like that before.

“Can you tell me how to Strike Tree Flowers? I want to show it to my father!” Li Sui exclaimed, rushing at the old man to stop him from leaving.

However, the old man didn’t even look at her. “We don’t teach girls!”

The old man walked past Li Sui, but she stopped him again, asking, “Why? Why can’t you teach me?”

“Because you're a girl! You—” the old man stopped upon seeing Li Sui’s face, which was finally illuminated by the faint moonlight.

“Ni’er? Ni’er?!” the old man exclaimed. His trembling hands covered in scars and boils grabbed Li Sui’s shoulders.

“Teach me. It was so pretty. My father will definitely like it.”

The old man cried, seemingly unable to hold back his tears.

The old man nodded vigorously, and his voice was trembling as he said, “Sure! I'll teach you! I will teach you everything!”

“Really? That’s great! How do I learn it? Do I need to read books to learn it?” Li Sui asked.

“Come! Come here! Follow me!” the old man exclaimed, pulling Li Sui to his house.

Li Sui soon arrived at the old man's house, which was made out of clay. The old man excitedly pushed the door open and shouted, “My wife! My dear wife! Look who’s back!”

An old woman inside the house was painstakingly trying to thread a needle under the weak flames of a small candle. Upon hearing the old man's words, she licked the needle and placed it in between her black-and-white hair. “Who is it?”

The old woman turned around and was stunned upon seeing Li Sui’s face. She even rubbed her eyes as if she couldn't believe what she was staring at.

Li Sui smiled and nodded. “I’m here to learn how to Strike Tree Flowers.”

The old woman smacked her knees and cried out loud before hugging Li Sui tightly. Her chest heaved strongly as she sobbed and cried, “Sob! My Ni’er~ Sob! You must've had a hard life!”

Li Sui had no idea what she was talking about, but she found the old woman's actions to be quite similar to the Lu Family’s performance.

With that, Li Sui turned around and stared at the crying old man. “Do we have to do this to learn Strike Tree Flowers?”

1. A station in ancient times was a place where officials could exchange horses and rest for the night. Kinda like motels with a petrol station in modern times ☜

2. Striking Tree Flowers is a performance where molten iron was flung against city walls to create a shower of sparks; a pseudo fireworks in a sense ☜

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