Upon hearing those words, Li Huowang held his burning shoulder and looked at Li Zhi, who lay on the ground.
Is he... apologizing to... me?
"You are on the verge of death. No need to fake it and try to gain my mercy. After all, it was you, not someone else, who wanted to kill me, right?" asked Li Huowang.
Li Zhi's face slowly turned pale as he smiled bitterly. "I had no choice. I really didn't. They forced me to do it. You can run, but I can't do that. The moment I became a Shaman, it was destined that I would never be able to run away anymore," said Li Zhi weakly.
Crimson blood continued to flow from Li Zhi's body, dyeing the ground a deep shade of red. His time was almost up.
Li Huowang stood there with a complicated expression. He wasn't even sure if the Li Zhi in front of him was real or fake.
"This... This ain't too bad. At the very least, my mind is finally quiet now," Li Zhi lamented.
"Just now, did the Immortals force you to do everything?" Li Huowang asked.
"Hoho... It doesn't matter if you don't want to believe me. Ever since I became a Shaman, I have been nothing more than their puppet. I tried to fight back, but it was useless. A human could never hope to win against Immortals," explained Li Zhi.
At this point, Li Huowang had stopped caring about whether it was the truth or not. He walked toward Li Zhi and tried to pull his sword out from Li Zhi's abdomen. But no matter how hard he pulled, it didn't come out. He then saw that Li Zhi was tightly holding onto the sword with his hands. Some of his fingers were already sliced off.
Li Zhi flashed a bloody smile. "Taoist Li, if you happen to meet someone like me in the future, do be careful. You are a Strayed One and that quite literally makes you a walking treasure in the eyes of others. The people who don't have bad intentions toward you will be few and far between."
Hearing him say that, Li Huowang's heart skipped a beat. He had never thought that he would get such information from Li Zhi, but now the man himself was telling him all of it.
Looking at the dying man in front of him, Li Huowang spoke slowly, "What exactly is a Strayed One?"
"Strayed Ones. In the beginning, everything starts to take form, and when there is form, there is essence, and yet, it is not complete. That is a Strayed One; one who has both form and essence, but at the same time is still incomplete," explained Li Zhi.
"What?" Li Huowang did not understand what he was trying to say.
"This was all that the Immortals told me. I am just an uneducated man, and so I do not understand what it means either. But this was the first time I had seen them this happy, and that's why I thought... I thought that it must be something good."
Li Huowang raised his hands, staring at them in shock.
When he thought back to what happened with the monks at the Righteous Monastery, he was certain that Li Zhi was not lying to him.
Am I something precious in this world? But I'm no different from the others except for my hallucinations. What does it mean for me to be a Strayed One?
Li Huowang silently memorized what Li Zhi had said. He had a feeling that this was something important.
At the same time, he remembered his dead Master, Dan Yangzi.
Li Huowang realized that there had always been hints ever since the beginning. Dan Yangzi, that cheapskate, would never simply find someone random to be used as a guiding drug ingredient.
Once he realized that the cultivation methods of the others he had met were just as bizarre as Dan Yangzi's, he could deduce that they too would likely need something akin to a guiding drug ingredient on their path of cultivation.
Li Zhi's voice slowly became softer and softer, his eyes starting to glaze over.
"Taoist Li, can you do something for me?" asked Li Zhi.
Li Huowang turned to the dying Li Zhi. "What is it?"
"The 22nd day of the next month happens to be the Qingming Festival. On that day, can you burn some extra money for me? I've been poor throughout my life, but I don't want to die and become a poor ghost," said Li Zhi.
After saying that, Li Zhi smiled as blood flowed out of his mouth.
"If I am to be reincarnated, then I would rather be livestock than become a Shaman. It's way too suffocating and... tiring. It's even worse than becoming the manager of a brothel. Taoist Li, whatever you do, don't ever become a Shaman. This is not something that a normal person should do. It's way too hard and suffocating." Tears streamed down Li Zhi's eyes.
Li Huowang looked at him with complicated feelings. But then, everything that Li Zhi had done before flashed through his mind. Li Huowang might think of himself as virtuous, but in the end, it was not something that he could define himself with.
Li Zhi was just someone unlucky who was controlled by the Immortals.
This cruel world had taught him that those who used supernatural powers might not just be skilled people like Abbot Xin Hui or Dan Yangzi—they could also be people who were just pawns of supernatural beings.
"Thank you for your reminder, Li Zhi," thanked Li Huowang.
Li Zhi was on his last breaths. He took one last deep breath as he said his final words, "One more thing. You asked before that you needed help with repelling something evil, right? Go south. Find the nuns in black. They can be... counted... as... nice... people. They... should... be able to help you."
Li Huowang had never thought that he would be able to get hold of such precious information today. This was closely related to the matter of getting rid of Dan Yangzi, who was somehow possessing him. He quickly asked, "Nuns? What is the name of their sect? Are they specialized in repelling or exorcizing evil beings?"
Li Huowang waited for Li Zhi's reply, but to no avail.
Soon, he realized that the light in Li Zhi's eyes was gone. He was dead.
Staring at Li Zhi, who had died with his eyes wide open, Li Huowang felt bitter in his heart.
If Li Zhi hadn't been a Shaman, they could've become friends.
Just then, the rest of them came over. "Senior Li, once the drum beats stopped, that weird thing stopped moving as well. Oh? What happened to him?"
Puppy and the rest looked quite disheveled after fighting the Second Deity for so long. However, at the very least, they had only suffered minor injuries.
Li Huowang sighed as he pulled his sword out from Li Zhi's body and returned it to the sheath. "Find a place and dig a grave for both of them. We don't want the animals to nibble on their flesh."
"Why should we do that, Senior? He's just a cold-blooded murderer!" Puppy did not understand Li Huowang's intention.
Li Huowang did not explain, merely gently closing Li Zhi's eyes. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
Li Huowang did not erect a gravestone for Li Zhi. After all, no one would be coming to pay their respects to him anyway. At the same time, if he did erect gravestones for them, there might be even more trouble down the road.
The roosters were already crowing by the time they dealt with the aftermath and returned to the village.
They had just arrived at the door when they saw a thin figure by the well. It was Bai Lingmiao. Previously confined to the bed due to her fatigue, she was now fetching water from the well.
"Senior Li! Where did you go? Why are all of you injured? Is everything ok?" Bai Lingmiao asked anxiously.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang frowned as he grabbed the bucket from her hand and threw it aside, "You have a fever. Why are you out here fetching water from the well? Quickly go back to your room and rest."
"I'm fine. Here, feel my forehead," said Bai Lingmiao.
When Li Huowang touched her forehead and realized her fever had dissipated, he was surprised. "The pills I made weren't that potent. Are you sure you are alright?"
Bai Lingmiao's looked stunned for a moment before she hurriedly smiled. "Yes, I am fine. My illness is gone. Isn't that good news?"
"You should still rest even if you are healed. You've just recovered from the illness, so don't touch the water unless necessary!" said Li Huowang.
Chapter 67 - Parcel
Regardless of what had happened, with Li Zhi's death, everything came to an end.
Even though it had been quite dangerous, after his near-death experience, Li Huowang had obtained many benefits.
First, Li Huowang now knew why the monks at Righteous Monastery had tried to trick him.
Strayed Ones. In the beginning, everything starts to take form, and when there is form, there is essence, and yet, it is not complete. That is a Strayed One; one who has both form and essence, but at the same time is still incomplete.
This was what Li Zhi told him right before his death. In this world, he was a precious Strayed One.
Li Huowang had never really understood ancient literature, but he still tried to recall whatever he had learned in school, getting a rough understanding of it.
Based on his understanding, there was a certain primordial substance in the beginning, and that substance formed everything. However, Strayed Ones were formed even before this primordial substance was formed.
He deciphered what Li Zhi's words meant, but instead of getting any answers to his questions, he was left with even more questions.
I'm a human. A mortal with blood and flesh. How could I be something that was formed before 'the substance' but still be incomplete? This makes no sense.
This was something so profound, and yet, it didn't sound like it applied to him.
If something wasn't even complete, then how could it move or think?
Facing this question, Li Huowang failed to comprehend it.
However, no matter what he thought, the actions of the cultivators of this world, including Dan Yangzi, Abbot Xin Hui, and even Li Zhi, told him a completely different story.
Ignoring what it means to be a Strayed One, I am a living treasure, just like Tang Sanzang. Everybody wants a piece of me, per se.
Li Huowang thought about it. At this point, he had lost any and all trust he had for the people of this world—anything said by anyone could be fake.
They could be trying to lie to him.
This made him doubt everyone as if everyone who approached him had some sort of agenda.
Even so, he still needed to survive here. He had no choice but to face his problems one by one.
For now, Li Huowang could tell that Li Zhi hadn't been lying to him. Dying men had better things to do than spout lies, so what Li Zhi had said was most likely the truth.
Li Zhi had even requested Li Huowang to burn some money for him during the Qingming Festival. He couldn't have gained anything from lying to Li Huowang about this.
"Hey! Wait up!"
Hearing this shout, Li Huowang and the rest turned their heads and saw an honest looking man catching up to them while holding something in his hands.
"Where are all of you going? Where is my Shaman friend? The one who was with you guys." asked the man, panting.
Li Huowang could never tell him how Li Zhi had died. Thus, he lied, "Li Zhi had something to do and left with his wife."
That man didn't even doubt his words and just passed a heavy parcel to Li Huowang. "Oh. If that's the case, these are his belongings that were in his room. He probably forgot to take them. Please send them to him for me. Thanks."
Looking at the color of the parcel, Li Huowang recalled that it was the item that Li Zhi was carrying on his back when they first met.
After entrusting the parcel to Li Zhi, the man left without even waiting for Li Huowang to say anything.
Back on the road filled with many potholes, Li Huowang checked the items in the parcel. After all, the items would never be returned to Li Zhi, since he had died.
Just then, a sudden thought flashed through his head.
Wait, maybe there's something precious in Li Zhi's parcel?
Li Huowang didn't even hesitate before opening it.
However, there was nothing new inside it; everything was old.
The first thing he saw was a piece of white drum leather; most likely a method to repair the drum used to summon the Immortals.
Li Huowang picked it up and threw it to the ground. He had a bad impression of the Shamans and felt that this item was a source of bad luck.
"Hey, don't throw it away. It's still good leather. Maybe we can use it in the future." Bai Lingmiao picked it up with both her hands.
"What can we do with it? Patching stuff up?" Li Huowang realized that Bai Lingmiao was much more pragmatic than him.
"We don't have any money left. We should save as much as we can," said Bai Lingmiao.
Seeing Bai Lingmiao carefully placing the leather in the donkey cart, Li Huowang shook his head and continued to rummage through Li Zhi's belongings as he picked up a string of coins. The coins were all new and shiny. It seemed that Li Zhi had been saving it up.
Shaking the coins in his hand, Li Huowang sighed.
He didn't know what Li Zhi had been saving for, but it was clear that he had put in a lot of effort.
"Use it to buy some food." Li Huowang threw the string of coins into Bai Lingmiao's arms.
Seeing this, a smile instantly blossomed on the face of Bai Lingmiao who had been worried about their finances.
But her happiness didn't last long. "Senior Li, we still need to find a way to earn money. These coins won't last us long."
"An income stream? What are you thinking of doing? Becoming performers like Lu Zhuangyuan?" Li Huowang asked as he continued to rummage through Li Zhi items.
Bai Lingmiao shook her head vigorously. "My father would kill me if he knew that I had become a performer. I was thinking of something more normal."
At that moment, Li Huowang took out the jade pendant that was tied to a thread and placed it in her hands. "Don't worry about money. Let's find somewhere that's more developed and sell this. Then, we would be able to buy anything we need."
"I have something too! Here you go!" At that moment, Puppy took out a stack of red envelopes from within his shirt before passing them over.
Li Huowang was surprised. "Wait a minute, these are the red envelopes that Dan Yangzi had given to the now dead official disciples. When did you get your hands on them?"
"I took them when we were exiting the Zephyr Temple. I saw that no one had touched them so I took them instead, hehe." Puppy was satisfied with his slyness.
Just then, Li Huowang's hands stopped moving; he felt something spherical in Li Zhi's parcel.
He took it out and saw that it was a gourd twice the size of his palm.
This looks like a gourd used to store pills. Do Shamans refine pills too?
Li Huowang wondered as he examined it.
He turned it upside down and shook it, but nothing came out. Li Huowang closed one of his eyes, intending to look inside the gourd.
Just as he was about to see what was inside, the top part of the 'gourd' suddenly opened. The mouth of the gourd was lined with rows of backward-facing teeth as it lunged toward Li Huowang.
Kachik!
Thankfully Li Huowang reacted quickly enough, otherwise half of his face would've been bitten off.
Even so, Li Huowang was visibly shaken when he saw the gourd reverting back to its original form.
It is a living thing and Li Zhi was using it to store something! Whatever is inside it must be very precious. But what is it?
At that moment, as if sensing something, the bell hanging at Li Huowang's waist vibrated lightly.
"Wait a moment." Li Huowang realized something and entered the forest.
Soon, the sound of a bell ringing was heard in the dense forest and a Wandering God was summoned.
Then, Li Huowang raised the gourd and showed it to the Wandering God before asking what was inside.
The Wandering God hummed in return.
Li Huowang was surprised at the answer and stared at the gourd incredulously. "What? Are you sure the item stored inside is... lifespan?"
Chapter 68 - Festival
Lifespan.
The fact that it was limited was a problem that everyone had. And, to think that the answer to that problem was now in the palm of Li Huowang's hand.
Li Huowang completely ignored the question of how it was possible to give lifespan a tangible form. After going through so much in this bizarre world, Li Huowang couldn't be bothered with such questions anymore. Instead, it was more important for him to comprehend what it meant for him to have gotten his hands on this item.
With guidance from the Wandering God, Li Huowang raised the gourd before pointing it toward the sun.
Soon the mouth of the gourd opened up like a flower, revealing six round pills that were rolling slowly in a greenish liquid. At the same time, it was possible to see a golden glimmer on the pills. This golden glimmer was the Chinese character for 'lifespan.'
Li Huowang carefully took out one of the pills from within the fluid, holding it firmly while placing all his attention on it.
The Wandering God had explained to him that the lifespan within the pill would disappear the moment it touched anything composed of the five elements. Basically, it would become useless the moment it fell to the ground.
A single pill contained enough lifespan to grant a normal human an extra year of life.
Under the sunlight, the pill slowly started to dissipate, turning into a yellow smoke.
Then, Li Huowang pinched the pill and it disappeared in his hands.
At that moment, Li Huoawng suddenly felt his body becoming lighter—he had just increased his lifespan by a year.
Wouldn't I be undying if I keep using these things?
However, Li Huowang quickly brushed off the thought.
Thinking back upon what Li Zhi had said, it wasn't hard to determine that this was the 'payment' that the Immortals wanted for their help.
It must've taken Li Zhi many rituals just to collect these few pills. If they were easy to collect, then there was no way Li Zhi would look so old.
For now, the only use he could think of for these lifespan pills was to help him in controlling the Wandering Gods.
Having thought up to this point, Li Huowang decided to take out the remaining five pills to absorb them. After all, he had summoned six Wandering Gods just to fight Li Zhi yesterday. That meant that he had spent eighteen months of his lifespan just last night. He needed to recover his lost lifespan.
However, just as his fingers were about to touch the lifespan pills, he stopped.
What if I can use these as a currency?
As the saying went, time was money. What if he really could trade money for time or vice versa?
The price of these pills would be astronomically high regardless of whether I sell them to cultivators or to normal people. It's quite a waste for me to just absorb them. I need to use them wisely.
Thinking up to this point, he retracted his hands from the gourd before placing it in the shade of a tree. Soon, the mouth of the gourd slowly closed.
Once it was closed, he picked the gourd up and walked back to the cart. Then, he found a string and used it to tie the gourd to his waist before continuing to rummage through the parcel.
But he didn't find anything else that was worth any money.
Old pieces of clothing, two pairs of worn-out shoes, some needles and threads, as well as a few clay sculptures in the form of Household Immortals. This was all that was owned by Li Zhi, his everything.
Looking through the items, Li Huowang sighed pitifully. Not only did the Immortals not allow Li Zhi to live a better life, it was even worse than that of a regular person's.
It would be easy for the Immortals to use their powers to amass immense amounts of wealth, using it to compensate Li Zhi for his work.
But the Immortals never did that.
They only ever wanted a slave that would amass large amounts of lifespan for them; they couldn't care less about how badly their slaves were living. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Li Zhi was right. The work of a Shaman was not something an ordinary person could do.
"Senior Li, can you give these to me?" asked one of the assistants as he stared at the clay sculptures, snot dangling from his nose.
Even though the assistants performed quite well under stress, in the end, they were still children, and all children loved to play.
But, Li Huowang shook his head and threw the clay sculptures on the side of the road. "These things are dirty."
The wheels of the donkey cart once again started to creak as they continued on their journey.
While Li Zhi had lied to them about many things, he did not lie about the fact that the journey ahead would be perilous. The roads were uneven and there was not a single village in sight.
They walked on the muddy road for more than ten days before finally finding a medium-sized town.
Even though it was drizzling, it was unable to stop them from smiling.
"We can finally sleep on beds. It's been so torturous throughout the journey," said a man with a single arm. It was not that he had just one arm, but that his other arm was as small as that of a baby.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang raised his head up from his map. "We will rest here for two days. When the rain stops, we will resume our journey."
The donkey cart slowly rolled into the town.
When they arrived at the entrance of the town, they saw many horse carriages and ox carts exiting the town.
Compared to the carriages, there were even more people walking on foot. They were all wearing raincoats made from straw as they carried baskets full of yellow paper as well as bowls of fish, egg, and meat. All of them had expressions of sadness as they walked out.
"What's wrong? Did something happen in the town?" Li Huowang asked instinctively.
"Senior Li, today is the Qingming Festival. They are going to clean the gravestones," explained one of the assistants.
"It's already Qingming? Time flies quite fast, huh." Li Huowang mumbled to himself.
Inside the town, there were many stores selling yellow paper, paper gold ingots, paper dolls, and even paper ox. Their business was booming.
At that moment, Li Huowang remembered his promise with Li Zhi. He did not want to dishonor it.
However, after getting his hands on some paper money and candles, he suddenly thought of a problem.
How do I do this? How do I burn paper money for Li Zhi?
"Senior Li, leave this to me. I know what to do." Puppy patted his skinny chest with pride.
They soon arrived in the town square. Many of the townsfolk were gathered here, burning paper money for their dead relatives who had been buried far away from the town.
Puppy took out his knife and drew a circle on the ground with it, leaving a small opening toward the direction where they had buried Li Zhi. The yellow paper was then placed within the circle and burned, slowly turning into ashes within the circle.
As Puppy was burning the paper, he chanted, "I'm burning this for Li Zhi and his wife! Whoever dares to take his money is a fucking animal! You will be reincarnated as livestock in your next life!"
"Does it work when you shout like this?" asked Li Huowang as he placed a paper gold ingot within the fire.
"Yes! It will definitely work! My third uncle had taught me how to do this. If I shout like this, then the stray ghosts would not dare to come and steal the paper money we are offering to the deceased!" Puppy was confident when he said that.
Li Huowang stared at the smoke that was slowly drifting upward as he slowly said, "Do you think a human would turn into a ghost when they die?"
"Senior Li, what are you saying? If a person doesn't become a ghost when they die, then what do they become?" asked Puppy.
"Maybe that's it. When a person dies, they leave nothing behind, nor do they turn into a ghost. Humans are quite small and insignificant," said Li Huowang. He had seen many bizarre things in this world, but he had never seen a ghost.
Li Huowang's words caused everyone to feel uncomfortable as they looked around. Puppy was even hugging his arms to his chest as he soothed the goosebumps on his skin.
"Aiya, Senior Li, what are you saying? Today is the Qingming Festival so we shouldn't simply say anything without thinking. A person becomes a ghost when they die. Then, they would arrive at Hell and be reincarnated. This is the truth," said Puppy.
"Why are you so sure about it? Have you seen it yourself?" asked Li Huowang.
"That's... That's because my second aunt's mother told me this. She's ninety four years old, so she knows everything," said Puppy.
Chapter 69 - Meal
The yellow paper slowly burned, gradually transforming into black ashes that spiral upward into the hot air, disappearing into the skies.
As he looked at this scene, Li Huowang's expression was quite complicated.
"Li Zhi, I've burnt some paper money for you. Hopefully you'll receive it," muttered Li Huowang.
Just as he finished saying that, Li Huowang saw the black ashes swirling around in the air; it was almost as if Li Zhi was giving him a reply.
At that moment, Li Huowang had a feeling that understood the slightest bit about the mindset of superstitious people.
Compared to a depressing end in which a human being would be reduced to nothing after their death, the belief that they would become a ghost and be reincarnated sounded like a fairy tale.
He threw the last batch of yellow paper in his hands into the fire before standing up and patting the dust off his body.
"Let's go. We should find an inn to rest. All of us are drenched," said Li Huowang.
Just as they were about to leave, Bai Lingmiao's words caused them to stop. "Senior Li, Xiaoman is missing."
Li Huowang observed his group and saw that the girl afflicted with hypertrichosis was indeed missing.
"Oh, I remember her saying that her house is nearby," said Li Huowang.
No one replied to him. After what she had told them last time, all of them knew what she intended to do once she reached home. The depressing atmosphere around them became even worse.
"Uhm Senior Li, should we go find her? Maybe we can still stop her." Puppy smiled sheepishly, scratching his oily hair beneath his veil.
Li Huowang merely glanced at him for a moment before walking toward an inn marked by a wooden sign.
"Let's find an inn to rest first. Xiaoman's home is nearby so she should be familiar with the directions here. She will come and find us after she finishes whatever she needs to do," said Li Huowang.
Bai Lingmiao was just about to say something but after hearing what Li Huowang had said, she decided against it. She just gripped the hems of her clothes as she followed behind him, quietly.
The skies were gray and it continued drizzling. Due to this, Bai Lingmiao didn't need to use her blindfold. Sadness was reflected in her pink irises.
They soon found an inn and entered their respective rooms. They were delighted to have a dry place to rest. Some of them washed their hair, while others took a bath. Once all of them finished cleaning themselves, they gathered at the food hall.
They didn't have much money left so they only ordered some simple dishes. Most of them were vegetables; they only had one source of protein—stir-fried bitter gourd with eggs and crispy pork lard with chili.
Everyone happily ate their meals. Even though they didn't have much choice due to their limited finances, the scent of the pork lard was more than enough to satisfy them. At the very least, they wouldn't have to stay hungry anymore.
Today was the Qingming Festival so there weren't many people at the inn. Out of boredom, the waiter was talking with the cashier.
"Hey, did you know that a war will soon be breaking out at the border?" asked the waiter.
"Don't lie to me. What do you know? You aren't even qualified to talk about issues of the national level," replied the cashier with a scoff.
"Hey, don't judge me like that. I might be a waiter, but I still know the latest information. I've heard that this time our kingdom of Si Qi is planning to wage a war toward the East," said the waiter.
"East?" Li Huowang muttered as he overheard their conversation while eating his meal. They had just come here from the East.
Li Huowang did not know many people there, but there was someone he was worried about—troupe leader Lu and his family.
But thinking back on how cunning Lu Zhuangyuan was, he relaxed.
That old man is very sly, so he should be fine.
The waiter lowered his voice to a whisper as he continued talking. "Let me tell you something else too. Just a couple of days ago, those that went East for business were hurriedly traveling back here. Maybe they know something about it."
Li Huowang shook his head as he ate his meal.
This damned place is so chaotic. Not only are there evil beings, there are also bandits. The people at the top aren't even doing their job of maintaining the peace, but they still have the time and energy to wage war. What a bunch of idiots.
The waiter was quite excited as he talked. He was just about to say something when something caught his eye as he hurriedly went to the entrance of the inn.
"Hello young miss! Please come in. Are you here for a meal or will you be staying for the night?" asked the waiter.
Hearing the commotion, Li Huowang and the rest turned around and saw a girl wearing a black veil walking in with a short blade in her hands.
Based on the fact that there were not a lot of people wearing similar outfits and that the girls's exposed hands were covered in long black hair, Li Huowang easily guessed who it was.
"Waiter, bring us another set of utensils, and give us two more items. This time, something with more meat in it," said Li Huowang.
"Alright! Just a moment!" replied the waiter.
Then, Li Huowang elbowed Simpleton who was sitting beside him. Simpleton knew what this meant so he helped himself to a few more pieces of vegetables before taking his bowl and squatting down at a corner of the table to eat.
Xiaoman walked over to Li Huowang and sat beside him before taking off the black veil and revealing her face. The black hair on her face was wet from her tears.
Li Huowang took a deep breath and sighed before continuing to eat. He could smell a faint bloody stench coming from Xiaoman.
"Your bowls and chopsticks are here~~ Aiya! Yikes!" The waiter brought the utensils requested by Li Huowang, but shouted out of fright when he saw Xiaoman.
Shooing off the spooked waiter with his hand, Li Huowang placed the bowl and chopsticks in front of Xiaoman. "Eat."
Xiaoman's face was filled with pain as she stared at the empty bowl as she recalled something. "He sold my sister as well. He sold her to a fifty-year-old man. She died from birth complications earlier this year."
Only the sounds of utensils and munching were heard at the table; no one dared to speak.
"He's trash! I hate him! I hate him so much that I want to eat his flesh and drink his blood!" Xiaoman clenched her teeth as she squeezed out those words. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
Hearing that, Bai Lingmiao had a worried expression on her face; she scooted over and gently hugged Xiaoman with her white arms.
"My mom tried to stop me, saying that no matter what, he was still my father. She said that I would suffer Heaven's wrath for killing my father. But at this point, I would rather accept punishment from the Heavens than not kill my father!" said Xiaoman through her sobs.
Li Huowang scooped up some of the vegetable and tofu soup into his bowl and drank it before saying casually, "Heaven does not have eyes here."
The table grew silent; everyone just sat and silently stared at Xiaoman.
Everyone had a hint of anger and sadness in their eyes. They were all guiding drug ingredients so they could more or less resonate with her feelings. Without reaching back to their homes, none of them could confirm that they hadn't been sold off by their family.
The anger in Xiaoman's eyes was slowly replaced with confusion. "I don't have a home now. I destroyed it with my own hands just now. I have no idea what to do next."
"Stir-fried donkey meat! Braised river fish! Please enjoy!" At that moment, the waiter came in and placed the two dishes down before running away.
Li Huowang took Xiaoman's empty bowl, and filled it with steaming white rice before placing it in front of her. "Eat."
Having said that, Li Huowang used his chopsticks and picked out a fish bone from the braised fish before using it as a toothpick. Then, he got up and slowly walked back up to his room on the second floor.
Soon, everyone else followed suit, silently leaving the table. Only Xiaoman and Bai Lingmiao were left in the food hall.
Tears streamed down from the black hair on Xiaoman's face, dripping onto her rice. She picked up her chopsticks with trembling hands, picked up the bowl of rice, and ate a mouthful of the white rice that was mixed with her tears.
The more she ate, the more she cried. When she finally placed the bowl down, she burst into tears, crying loudly.