Dao Cheng Gui Xian

Chapter 178 Village Shopkeeper Huang A-sao

The two dismounted from the donkey one after the other.

The Taoist priest tied his donkey to a large willow tree, pointed to the dirt road on the left, and introduced it to Li Wushou:
"This road leads to Huangmao Village."

Then, pointing to the road in front of the village shop, he continued, "This road leads to White Bone Mountain."

Li Wushou nodded, still lost in thought. Seeing the Donkey Taoist tie his donkey to the willow tree, he casually tied his own short-legged paper donkey to the tree as well.

The donkey-wielding Taoist was taken aback, then gave Li Wushou a thumbs-up and praised him:

"Fellow Daoist is indeed a lover of donkeys!"

"Hahaha"

Inside the Three Immortals Pavilion, the old beggar and Chen Gou'er burst into laughter again.

Li Wushou snapped back to his senses, looking at the strip of paper he had torn from the paper donkey in his hand, and his lips twitched involuntarily.

Just then, the elderly village chief Huang, dressed in a long gown, led two villagers to the crossroads.

The three of them were not in a good mood at the moment, but they were a little better than before.

Seeing Li Wushou tying up the paper donkey, the three of them were all stunned. This thing actually needs to be tied up?
As expected of a village chief, Chief Huang was well-informed and knew that there were many extraordinary people in the world.

Who knows, this thing might run away if it's not leashed?

Therefore, Village Chief Huang was the first to react, bowing respectfully to Li Wushou, and then calling out to the village shop:

"Sister-in-law Huang, come and greet the guests!"

The two remaining thin, dark-skinned men exchanged a glance, both somewhat bewildered.

They were still a little confused. As for the donkey rider, he had been riding a donkey everywhere he went for so many years, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, and everyone had seen it.

But is it really necessary for this young wandering sorcerer to ride this paper donkey?
The three of them had been following the two men at a distance when the elderly village chief told them to rest for a while, which prevented him from overtaking the two men riding donkeys.

Upon seeing the paper donkey tied to the other side, the two exclaimed "God of Heaven!"

But since the other party was a wandering sorcerer, neither of them dared to say much.

Just then, at the call of Village Chief Huang, a thin old woman in a dark blue floral shirt walked out of the village shop. She had many wrinkles on her face, but her brows revealed a certain competence. However, for some reason, her eyes were slightly red.

Although Village Chief Huang calls her "Auntie," she looks more like an old woman.

Two dark-skinned, thin men bowed respectfully to Sister-in-law Huang and greeted her, saying, "Greetings, Auntie!"

Sister-in-law Huang nodded slightly, glanced at everyone outside the door, smiled before speaking, and then greeted them.

"I've met Donkey Immortal, Village Chief Huang, and this is the Wandering Taoist? He's so young."

Li Wushou was not arrogant; he maintained the etiquette expected of someone from a small family and returned the greeting calmly.

However, he was subtly observing Sister Huang. The reason was simple: when Village Chief Huang had asked Sister Huang to entertain the guests, the donkey-walking man had paused for a moment, seemingly surprised.

Li Wushou sniffed lightly a few times and smelled a faint scent of incense.

Just as he was about to take a closer look, the donkey-walking man beside him laughed and replied to Sister Huang:
"Greetings, Sister-in-law Huang. This is Li Wushou, Fellow Daoist Li. He shares my passion for donkeys. Tomorrow I'll be going to White Bone Mountain with him. We'll rest at the village inn tonight. But usually Huang Ping is in the inn, so why is Sister-in-law Huang here today?"

Sister-in-law Huang's smile remained unchanged. She sized up Li Wushou for a moment, then turned to the donkey-riding Taoist and said:
"It's rare to find a wandering Taoist who loves donkeys as much as you do, Master. Huang Ping has some business in the village and will come over later. It won't interfere with you entertaining your friend. But you, Master, were you rushing out of the village just now to greet a fellow Daoist?"

When Sister-in-law Huang asked this, Donkey Master's smile faded, and the expressions of the three village chiefs standing to the side also turned somber.

Village Chief Huang pointed to two dark-skinned, thin men behind him and said to Sister-in-law Huang:
"Alas~ My second son's son and Huang Hua's son, cousins, made a bet with other children and escaped from the realm of the Donkey Immortal. The Donkey Immortal went to help us save our children, what a pity."

Sister-in-law Huang exclaimed in surprise and glanced at Donkey Master. Donkey Master nodded as if he felt a pang of sympathy.

"Oh dear, what should we do?"

Li Wushou and Donkey Master remained silent. Li Wushou was unwilling to offer words of condolence, and Donkey Master seemed equally unwilling.

However, after experiencing sadness just now, Village Chief Huang seemed to have regained his composure and began to comfort Sister-in-law Huang.

"This is the fate of the two children. I have to go back to the village to take care of their funeral arrangements, so I won't delay your hospitality to Master Donkey and his fellow Daoist Donkey."

Sister-in-law Huang clutched her chest, took a deep breath, nodded sadly, and then beckoned Donkey Master and Li Wushou into the shop.

Seeing Village Chief Huang turn to leave with two thin, dark-skinned men, Sister-in-law Huang seemed to remember something and said to Village Chief Huang:
"After the village chief goes back, tell Huang Ping to come to the shop early and bring more ingredients to properly entertain Donkey Master and his friends."

Village Chief Huang nodded to indicate that he understood, and then walked towards Huangmao Village.

Li Wushou followed Donkey Master, stepped over the high gate, and entered the village shop.

Upon entering, a painting hangs on the wall directly opposite the entrance. The painting depicts a large willow tree, and below it is a red wooden board, nailed horizontally to the wall, serving as a simple incense table.

Incense was burning on the altar, its smoke mingling with the eerie mist, making it impossible to distinguish one from the other.

Li Wushou sniffed it; the fragrance was rather strange, unlike any other.

Inside the Three Immortals Pavilion, the old beggar finally stopped laughing. Upon seeing the incense, he let out a soft exclamation and muttered, "It's actually incense made from ashes?"

Ash incense?
Li Wushou was also somewhat surprised, but upon seeing the painting on the wall, he came to his senses.

Huang Maocun worships the village ancestor Liu Shen in life and death. Since Liu Shen likes to eat corpses, it is normal to offer some ashes and incense.
Composing himself, Li Wushou continued to examine the small shop.

The counter in front of the painting is a mahogany table, three or four feet long, with a smooth surface, clearly used for many years.

A small door on the side, draped with floral fabric, leads to the backyard. The counter faces the shop entrance, with a narrow path flanked by two square tables on each side.

Sister-in-law Huang followed Li Wushou and the Donkey Taoist into the small shop. She intended to lead the two to the second floor via the stairs on the left, but the Donkey Taoist refused, saying that they should just sit in the lobby for a while and have some tea.

Li Wushou naturally had no objections, so Sister Huang led the two to sit down at the square table by the window on the left.

After apologizing, he turned and went to the backyard to prepare tea.

Just as Sister-in-law Huang left, Li Wushou, whether by mistake or not, saw a cold smile on the Donkey Taoist's face.

The expression changed so quickly that even he couldn't tell if he had misread it.

When he looked again, the Donkey Taoist had put on his signature smile and said to Li Wushou:
"The village shop is simple; please don't be offended, Fellow Daoist Li."

"Not at all. If it weren't for your hospitality, I would still be staying in the wilderness tonight."

Li Wushou waved his hand politely in response to the donkey Taoist, but then used the paper he had just torn from the paper donkey to wipe the table.

The donkey-walker saw everything, but instead of caring, he was even happier.

Being particular is good; people who are particular are rich, not just poor people who are particular.

Once Li Wushou was seated, the Donkey Taoist began to share his insights on wild donkey breeding with him.

Through the conversation just now, the Donkey Taoist also discovered that this Fellow Taoist Li's favorite subject of study is this kind of knowledge.

At first, this fellow Daoist Li hesitated slightly when faced with his persuasion, but when he mentioned that he would have a late-night talk with the other party about donkey mating and reproduction, this fellow Daoist Li immediately agreed without hesitation.

In order to intimidate Li Wushou, the Donkey Taoist decided to tell him some wild stories.

And so it all began with a few wild donkey mating incidents!

Li Wushou truly hadn't expected this Taoist priest to be so wild; even he, with his composure, was somewhat dumbfounded.

The laughter that had just subsided at the Three Immortals Pavilion erupted again, and the old beggar lay on the ground, pounding his fist.

This time, Chen Gou'er didn't laugh because he didn't understand.

Li Wushou quickly called a halt and asked the donkey-wielding Taoist:
"We can discuss the wild donkey matter later. I'd like to ask you, fellow Daoist, how many people went to White Bone Mountain to celebrate Master Zhu's birthday this time?"

The Donkey Taoist was getting into the swing of things when Li Wushou interrupted him, clearly indicating that he hadn't had enough.

But upon hearing Li Wushou's question, one could tell that Li Wushou was concerned about celebrating Zhu Junzi's birthday.

She was even willing to pause her studies, which reflects the anxiety of someone doing something for their family for the first time, fearing they might mess it up.

This also indirectly illustrates that the other party's family is really not very large.

This is probably the first time I've celebrated Zhu Junzi's birthday, otherwise how could I not even know this?
Thinking this, the donkey-man's mood improved again, and he changed the subject, introducing Li Wushou:

"Judging by the time, this is Zhu Junzi's 100th birthday celebration at White Bone Mountain. There will definitely be a lot of people this time. All the prominent villages within a radius of fifty or sixty miles will probably be there."

Li Wushou's mind stirred. It was his hundredth birthday?
Isn’t this nonsense?
The total time from when I was born to when I moved to Wufang City was less than ten years.

broken!

Got it wrong?
Was Zhu Junzi occupying some other mountain, not Ai Bai Mountain? But where are the other mountains in that area besides Ai Bai Mountain?

Li Wushou was momentarily stunned. He had been pondering for a long time how to kill this Zhu Junzi, but now what should he do?
I was thinking of asking about the White Bone Mountain Bamboo Gentleman again when I suddenly had a thought and discovered something interesting.

Before entering the village store, he raised his perspective and hovered it in mid-air.

Just now, after seeing Sister Huang enter the backyard to prepare tea, Li Wushou focused his attention on Sister Huang, who had caused the Donkey Taoist's expression to change several times.

Sister-in-law Huang entered the backyard, walked along the corridor to the right until she reached the kitchen.

The kitchen wasn't big. Right opposite the door, against the wall, was a meat rack. It wasn't empty; hanging on it was a plucked dog, which had already been gutted and cleaned.

Sister-in-law Huang stood in front of the meat rack, staring at the dog with a complex expression in her eyes, as if she couldn't bear it and was also somewhat sad.

It took a long time to calm myself down. I stroked the dog's head and murmured something as if I were saying something.

Sister-in-law Huang turned around and saw a long table near the courtyard, which was probably used for chopping.

He picked up a water ladle from the table and deftly scooped water from the water vat into the soup pot in the middle of the earthen stove.

Then he took rice from the rice container and put it into the large pot in the inner room.

Sister-in-law Huang should be preparing dinner and tea together.

Sitting on a low stool behind the earthen stove, Sister Huang lit firewood to cook rice and boil water at the same time. Apart from her lips moving constantly, she seemed normal.

But as he burned the firewood, Li Wushou discovered that, without him noticing, the firewood in Huang A's hands had turned into white bones.

Inside the stove pit, the bones crackled and popped, and the firelight made Sister Huang's face glow red.

The smoke from burning bones seeped into the rice cooker and soup pot through the cracks in the earthen stove.

"Gudu~Gudu~"

The rice water in the rice cooker and the tea in the soup pot were bubbling away.

The water is about to boil!
(End of this chapter)