Eternal madness

Chapter 9 The First Bowl
Zhang Laifu went to the willow tree, peeled off the bark, and took out a bundle from the tree hole.

Upon opening the bundle, they found a top hat inside.

Lin Shao Cong stared at the top hat, his eyes wide, then looked at Lao Liang's exquisite craftsmanship and silently compared the value of the two items in his mind.

Zhang Laifu, holding up the hat, asked Lin Shaocong, "What is this?"

Lin Shao Cong really wanted to say that it was just an ordinary hat, but after hesitating for a while, he told the truth.

"This is a bowl, a bowl that can grow good things." Lin Shao Cong was a man of principle. Zhang Laifu was someone who had gone through thick and thin with him, and he would never cheat someone who had gone through thick and thin with him.

But if Zhang Laifu doesn't even know what a bowl is, then he can't be blamed. He can't be wasted. He has to find a way to get the bowl into his own hands.

"A bowl!" Zhang Laifu's lifeless eyes suddenly lit up. "Is this one of those bowls that can grow trains?"

“I’ve never seen a train before, but it should be able to grow a lot of good things…” Lin Shao Cong was taken aback; he hadn’t expected Zhang Laifu to know about bowls.

Could this silly boy have been to Wansheng Prefecture before?
Was he pretending to be stupid too?
Lin Shao Cong kept his promise: "The bowl is yours. There's also a horse over there. Let's discuss who gets it."

Zhang Laifu saw the horse tethered on the hillside: "Is this a prop or real?"

Lin Shao Cong was bewildered again. Why was he talking about props again? Did this guy think he was acting?
"This horse is real, but of course, it's also a prop."

"Since it's a prop, let's follow the script!"

Lin Shaocong said it made a lot of sense: "Since we're following the script, and my legs aren't very mobile, I can ride this horse."

Zhang Laifu looked at the hillside: "Can we ride horses here?"

"You can't ride a horse here."

"Then why are you still talking about horses? Hurry up and leave. You don't want to go back to the opera house to perform, do you?"

Zhang Laifu was right, Yuan Kuilong was catching up soon.

But Lin Shao Cong didn't rush to leave. He sensed the surrounding silt and quickly discovered something was wrong.

He found a willow branch where Lao Liang had fallen, which Lao Liang must have buried before he died.

Lin Shao Cong wrapped the willow branch in mud and rubbed it in his hands until the willow branch was crushed into wood chips and mixed with the mud into a mud ball before he stopped.

Zhang Laifu was puzzled: "What are you doing with this willow branch?"

"These are marks left by Lao Liang. You must remember them. In Wansheng Prefecture, marks are a menace. Some can attract enemies, some can track us, and some can even directly harm people. You must remove any marks you encounter. This is required by the script."

Zhang Laifu asked, "When does the script require us to retreat?"

"Right now." Lin Shao Cong rubbed his palms together, alternating between them, as if he were kneading a lump of mud.

The silt on the ground kept converging towards Zhang Laifu.

Zhang Laifu quickly dodged, and Lin Shaocong explained, "Don't worry, this is preparation for going down the mountain. Look, there are some on my feet too."

The silt not only accumulated at the feet of Lin Shao Cong and Zhang Lai Fu, but also at the feet of the horses.

Before long, the three clumps of silt merged into three large mud balls, completely enveloping Zhang Laifu, Lin Shao Cong, and the horse.

Zhang Laifu could still breathe, but his limbs were immobile: "This prop is for going down the mountain?"

"Yes, are you ready?" Lin Shao Cong's head slowly began to rotate to the right from its vertical upward position.

Not just his head, but the whole mud ball covering him was spinning.

Zhang Laifu seemed to understand how to get down the mountain.

"Is this safe?"

"If you have any skills, you can do a fortune telling for yourself and see if you're safe or not..." Lin Shao Cong's voice grew fainter and fainter as he rolled down the mountain.

Zhang Laifu's body was unable to move, but he could feel that he was about to begin rolling.

The willow tree in front of me began to spin, and everything around me began to spin.

Zhang Laifu's vision became increasingly blurry; he could no longer discern the exact direction his head was pointing.

But he could clearly sense the route he had taken. The mud was not as thick as he had imagined, and stones and tree roots occasionally hit Zhang Laifu.

With mud and sand covering his face and dust filling his mouth, Zhang Laifu was struggling to breathe, feeling as if this hillside would never end. Finally, the muddy mess hit a rock, and Zhang Laifu came to a stop.

The mud on its body hadn't come off; it had hardened into a shell because it was covered in so much silt and sand.

Zhang Laifu couldn't climb out. Not to mention him, even Lin Shao Cong was trapped in the hard shell. His body was already weak, and after being tormented by the bandits for so many days, plus the fighting along the way, Lin Shao Cong was exhausted and couldn't use many of his skills.

But the horse, somehow, managed to get out of the mud and quietly watched the two people struggle.

Zhang Laifu shouted at the horse, "What are you looking at me for? Say something!"

How did it get out?
The more anxious he became, the less he could struggle, and Lin Shao Cong was drenched in sweat.

"There's water!" Zhang Laifu carefully observed the horse and discovered a puddle next to it.

Zhang Laifu and Lin Shaocong rolled into the puddle, soaking off the hard shell on the mud balls, and finally emerged.

Lin Shao Cong looked at the horse. This horse was truly rare; it had rolled down such a high mountain without being startled.

Zhang Laifu asked, "What's the next scene?"

Lin Shao Cong looked at Zhang Lai Fu, a man even more unusual than Lin Shao Cong, who couldn't figure out what he was thinking.

"You really think this is acting?"

Zhang Laifu nodded: "Otherwise what?"

Lin Shao Cong still felt something was off, so he asked again, "Is that really what you think?"

"What else can I think?" Zhang Laifu wiped his cheek, where there was still a lot of blood on his face.

From Yangzifang to Guaizipo, Zhang Laifu used the clay knife given to him by Lin Shaocong to kill three bandits in succession.

Old Liang can't be credited for the murder; according to the script, it should be attributed to Lin Shao Cong.

This has to be staged, otherwise Zhang Laifu himself won't be able to stand up for himself.

Lin Shao Cong sat on the ground and looked up at Zhang Laifu.

He couldn't understand the person in front of him.

He didn't know whether this person was exceptionally intelligent or utterly foolish.

According to Song Yongchang's description, he was just a deceived actor from out of state.

But when he was killing people with his knife on the road, he showed no mercy.

The main problem at hand is that Zhang Laifu knows many of his secrets.

If Lin Shao Cong wants to continue pretending to be stupid, the best way is to kill Zhang Laifu to silence him, then run back to the Lin family and lie that Hunlong Village has released him.

Killing Zhang Laifu would allow us to take the bowl, a win-win situation with no downsides.

But Lin Shao Cong hesitated for a long time and still didn't make a move.

He has killed many people since childhood, but he has never harmed those who have shared hardships with him; this rule has never changed.

"Are you from out of state?"

Zhang Laifu did not answer; he was not quite clear about the concept of "out-of-state".

Lin Shao Cong didn't explain further. He had never been to other states before and didn't know how to get there: "Let's ride horses together to Heishakou. Where do you want to go?"

Zhang Laifu thought for a moment and said, "I want to go to Qingxiang Garden!"

Lin Shao Cong said, "That's a theater."

Zhang Laifu nodded and said, "I'm an actor, so I have to go to the theater."

That theater is where the train station is located; you can take the train back to Viet Tung.

P.S.: In Wanshengzhou, if you want to make something of yourself, you need to have a bowl first!

Dear readers, please don't mind the short length. I can't release too long during the new book period. There's another chapter coming up!
Thank you to our leaders Ken and Huang for your support since the beginning of "Lord of Pro". I will always remember this friendship.

(End of this chapter)