Mutated Tao

Dressed in a silk brocade and a hat, Puppy squatted down underneath a tree, slurping braised meat noodles from a bowl.

The braised meat noodle had chili in it. He was sweating as he ate.

Zhao Wu took a bite of a white bun and patted Puppy with his shoulder. “Hey, where do you think Senior Li is transporting that food to? Is he selling it or something? Did he say that he would give the food back?”

Zhao Wu was in charge of the village's finances. He felt uneasy when he saw the numbers in his ledgers slowly disappearing.

“I don’t know. He’s a god now. He’s flying everywhere,” Puppy said, huffing indignantly.

Puppy saw his food getting transported out from his house and yet saw no monetary returns. He felt his heart ache when he saw Li Huowang’s wasteful actions.

“What will happen to us if there’s a famine? What if we don’t have any food?” Zhao Wu estimated that their food would be emptied out within a few days.

Puppy finished his noodles and licked the bottom of the bowl clean. “I did ask him about it. Guess what he said.”

“What did he say?” Yang Xiaohai joined their conversation, holding onto his own bowl of noodles.

“He said there’s no way we would have that many famines here. Didn’t the big guy send us money? We can buy food with it. At worst, we could ask the villagers to each hold a bowl and walk to Shangjing to request food. There’s no way the Emperor would ignore us that way.”

Zhao Wu didn’t believe it. “Are you sure that was what Senior Li had said? I don’t think that’s how he usually talks. Are you sure that you didn’t exaggerate it?”

“Well, he did say it like that. I just added some details here and there.”

“You damn blabbermouth. You always exaggerate the details.”

Puppy was hurt by Zhao Wu's words and retorted, “Zhao Wu, I’ve heard you still haven’t given up on Xiaoman. You even requested the peddler to send her letters. How many words are you even capable of writing in those letters?”

It was Zhao Wu’s turn to panic as he tried to beat Puppy with his crutches. “Stop trying to butt into other people’s business! I can now read and recognize many words. The teacher even said I could go take a test to become an official!”

Just as they were quarreling, Yang Xiaohai saw someone approaching the village and ran up to them. “Senior Bai! You are back!”

Upon seeing Bai Lingmiao, Puppy and Zhao Wu stopped fighting and went up to greet her too.

“Senior Bai, did Xiaoman not return with you?” Zhao Wu raised his head and stared at the White Lotus Sect’s procession.

“Move away! I was the one who sent someone to call her back!” Puppy pushed Zhao Wu away to complain to Bai Lingmiao.

“Senior Bai, Senior Li has gone crazy again. Please take care of him. He has almost emptied our coffers!” Puppy then exaggerated the details as he described what Li Huowang was doing.

“Don’t worry. He won’t do that with me here.”

“Yes! Please scare him a bit when you find him. Just say you won’t live with him anymore if he keeps this up! We might be rich, but we cannot be so wasteful. Even a mountain of silver and gold wouldn’t be enough for us if we lived like this!”

Bai Lingmiao shook her head lightly and tilted her body slightly. Her procession split apart, revealing multiple carriages carrying heavy loads of food behind her. The carriages were so heavy that they left deep prints on the path.

Soon, the bags of food were sent into the hidden room. The empty room was slowly getting filled back up again.

“Senior Bai, where did you get this food from?” Puppy was astonished by the sight.

He wanted to ask them to place the food outside since Li Huowang was bound to come back and take it away. Moving them in and out would just be a waste of time and energy.

However, Puppy decided not to say anything since it would help slow down their wasteful expenditure. “Senior Bai, where did you get all this food from?”

“The devotees of the White Lotus Sect donated it to us. Our followers come from all walks of life, not just the impoverished. Also, don’t tell him I brought this.”

Puppy thought that both of them were crazy for being so wasteful. “Do you not want to tell him to stop?”

“Since this is something he intends to do, I will support him. He is my man, and I will help him achieve his goals.”

Puppy scratched his white and yellow face as he pondered. He felt that they had turned slightly bizarre after the New Year. With some caution, he asked, “Are you sure you guys are fine?”

Bai Lingmiao shook her head and sat back on her palanquin. The devotees then took her out of the village.

“Are you heading back now? It’s not every day you come here. How about having a meal with us first? Xiaohai, go and slaughter a pig!”

“Maybe next time. The Heavenly Mater finally returned to the throne. There’s still a lot of work to do in the White Lotus Sect. I will send someone to replenish the granary from time to time. Please coordinate with them.”

“What would Li Huowang say, though? Wouldn’t he find it weird that the granary is constantly full and the food never runs out? I wouldn’t be able to explain it without revealing that you’re sending food.”

Bai Lingmiao didn’t slow down on her way out of the village. “Don’t worry, I know him well. As long as there’s enough food, he won’t pay attention to the minor details.”

“Also, Senior Zhao Wu, Xiaoman told me you shouldn’t send those letters anymore. She doesn’t know how to read.”

The procession of the White Lotus Sect left the village as Puppy and Yang Xiaohai made fun of Zhao Wu.

***

Li Huowang bent down as he walked into an underground room. He saw Miao Guihua and a monk diligently watering the ground to keep the room moist.

The monks and the civilians were carefully plucking the mushrooms before placing them into a grass basket.

Their faces had clearly improved. Despite having just one hot meal and one preserved meal per day, they could at least eat actual food now.

The underground room was massive, with baskets full of soil mounted on the walls. The soil was rich black soil used for agriculture, allowing the mushrooms to grow rapidly.

He quickly looked around and found the person he needed to see. He walked towards the depths of the underground room and saw Chan Du diligently gathering mushrooms.

“The abbot of the Righteous Monastery is now picking mushrooms. Don’t you need to help people give birth to sons?”

Chan Du straightened his back. “Amitabha. Benefactor Li, everyone is starving to death here. Who would want to give birth to a child?”

“Let’s go up to talk.” Li Huowang raised his chin and gestured upwards before leaving the place.

In an abandoned ruin, Li Huowang asked, “Are your people keeping a close eye on the Mo family? Have they done anything?”

Chan Du shook his head. “They might be an evil sect, but they are smart. They know what they shouldn’t do. The Mo family is good at machinery and construction. With their help, the You Capital is gradually returning to its former state.”

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