Li Huowang quivered as he looked at the "six people" in the distance. In his eyes, they were currently undergoing some huge changes.
Their bodies were the same, but their facial organs had changed, becoming completely distorted and elongated as they rearranged themselves to look like fleshy mahjong tiles.
"Stop! We will help you get rid of Dan Yangzi now!" shouted one of the Elders.
When Li Huowang heard those words, he smiled even on the verge of collapse. However, this smile was just an instinctive response; his heart didn't feel any sense of joy. Even though he should have been happy now, the excruciating pain that was tormenting him made him incapable of experiencing any sense of joy.
All his strength was focused on resisting his strong urge to die.
At that moment, still confused, Li Huowang saw the Elder whose head resembled Three Bamboos speak.
"Xuan Yang, keep your legs crossed! Then, place your hands on your dantian, and guard your heart!"
Hearing this, Li Huowang tried his best to follow the instructions while the blood symbols around him started to sway along.
At the same time, Li Huowang saw the six Elders approach him, and sit down in a circle around him, about three feet away.
As the six people started to speak, unexpectedly, they did not recite some cryptic commands or strange incantations. Instead, they started asking rhetorical questions, their voice reverberating heavily.
"What does it mean to be sitting in oblivion?"
"Abandoning the body, deposing intelligence, detaching from the form, and transcending knowledge; this is what it means to be sitting in oblivion!"
As they conversed, their clothes started to billow in the wind as they floated into the air. At the same time, the colors around them began to distort.
"No!" A voice with an unknown origin rang out, occupying their hearts, and turning everything around them dim and colorless.
"No!" The six Elders responded simultaneously, their voices magnified immensely.
At the same time, the cracked skies began to be covered by some form of dark clouds.
Li Huowang's merged senses gradually returned to normal, yet something felt a little different than before.
"With sitting comes movement. With forgetting comes remembrance. Without sitting, one ceases to do labor. Without forgetting, one's mind becomes calm. When labor continues, the spirit is tranquil. When thoughts do not cease, the heart finds peace!"
As the six Elders continued chanting, Li Huowang felt something and looked up. At that moment, he saw Dan Yangzi hidden amongst the black clouds.
This time around, Dan Yangzi had a different appearance from before. There was an umbilical cord-like translucent object extending from his abdomen and connecting him to Li Huowang's body.
All three of Dan Yangzi's heads turned toward Li Huowang; his six eyes held extreme hatred within them. "Evil disciple! Once again finding others to deal with your Master? Hmph! Do you think you can hide? Master has already attained Immortality!"
"Immortal... Immortal... Hehe..." Li Huowang was on the verge of collapse as he looked at those sickening tentacles connected to Dan Yangzi's body.
After a moment, Li Huowang took a deep breath and shouted toward Dan Yangzi, "Someone like you can also become an Immortal? Based on what? Does this place even have any justice!"
"Hmph! You are no better than me when it comes to the number of people we have killed! So who are you to say that?!" roared Dan Yangzi.
At that moment, Dan Yangzi's childlike head on his right shook slightly. He was holding a fleshy bronze sword with three tentacles, using that grotesque body to dash toward the six Elders below; he almost looked like an eagle diving down from the black clouds.
However, the six Elders completely ignored Dan Yangzi, pointing their hands toward Li Huowang. "Three flowers blooming is an illusion. Clouds under the feet are not real. One must eventually wake up from a dream, and all things are bound to return to dust."
As soon as those words rang out, Dan Yangzi, who was in the air, seemed like he was struck by a large mountain as he directly fell down while leaving behind an afterimage.
Then, Li Huowang who was bathed in flames, felt something abnormal within his stomach; it was as though something was stirring within him.
He had a feeling that it was very painful, but he could not feel anything.
All his attention was focused on the "umbilical cord" that linked him to Dan Yangzi; it was slowly becoming thicker and more corporeal. He had a feeling that he could even grab it with his own hands. In the end, he decided to reach out, and found that he really could touch it. And since even his own hands were on fire, that "umbilical cord" started to burn with a crisp sound.
"Im... impossible! I'm an Immortal now! Who dares to stop me?!" Dan Yangzi shouted as he struggled to stand up against the force pressing him to the ground.
Meanwhile, the six Elders sighed, and continued their chanting. "Form is adhered to, while the mind is lost. Reasons emerge and emotions cease. The Dao transcends color and taste. True nature is separated from desire. Perceive the subtleties and have faith. Listen without confusion, if someone sits in oblivion..."
Amidst their sometimes loud and sometimes soft chanting, Li Huowang found that everything around him was suddenly in the wrong positions. Originally, he had just been sitting cross-legged in the center of the group of Elders, but he was now suspended in mid-air sideways.
This change was not limited to just him; everyone was the same. Some of them even had half their bodies in the air, with the other half being in the ground.
However, compared to them, the changes that happened to Dan Yangzi were much greater. As the chanting continued, his entire body began to melt. Soon, his celestial belt fell weakly to the ground and was stained by the earthly mud.
"In the ultimate path, there is silence without existence. The divine uses are without form, and so is the heart and the body. From the source..."
As the chanting continued on and on, Li Huowang saw a trail of white smoke float out from the mahjong-patterned heads of each of the six Elders before intertwining and forming a rope that burrowed deep into the ground. ๐ฏ๐ง๐๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ฃ๐ค๐๐ฎ๐ต.๐๐ค๐ข
"This... impossible! I am an Immortal...!" These were Dan Yangzi's final words.
After this last sentence, Dan Yangzi collapsed completely; everything about him turned into puffs of black clouds that floated into the skies. Before long, those black clouds had dissipated completely.
At almost the same time, Li Huowang began to vomit. With a belch, a mass of tentacles that had half a face entangled with it was expelled out.
The half-face that was entangled with the mass of tentacles belonged to Dan Yagnzi; currently, it had turned pale and emitted an extremely foul stench. It was clearly lifeless.
As he looked at the half-face in front of him, Li Huowang looked as though he was in a dream.
As the half-face gradually started to turn into ashes, Li Huowang picked it up with trembling hands.
Dan Yangzi was gone. At this moment, the 'thing' that had always been scheming to assimilate with himself was gone.
However, Li Huowang did not feel the slightest bit of happiness. Rather, he felt empty inside his heart. At the same time, the intense physical and mental pain prevented him from thinking about other more complex emotions.
On the other hand, the six Elders around Li Huowang all looked at one another, and then once again pointed their fingers toward Li Huowang again. As they did, the hook-shaped blood symbols around him slowly faded before returning to the ground.
The dark clouds in the skies had dissipated, and with this, the extremely far and high Ba-Hui once again became like the sun that illuminated them all.
At that moment, Li Huowang froze in place, ignoring everything around him. He did not want to know what the six Elders were up to.
At this point, it was already hard for him to resist the urge to seek death.
Li Huowang did not know when he fainted; the last thing he saw was the charred remains of Dan Yangzi.
Chapter 131 - New
Lick~
A large tongue licked Li Huowang's reddened cheek, pulling off a large piece of his newly-grown skin. The intense pain caused by this was akin to being scrubbed by a steel brush, forcing Li Huowang to open his eyes.
Li Huowang looked around in a daze. He realized he was still in the ghost town; however, many of the buildings around him had collapsed. It seemed that a lot had happened after he had passed out last night.
At this moment, it was already daytime, and judging by the position of the sun, he had been lying here for the better part of a day.
"Mm~" Bun circled around Li Huowang and barked. It seemed like it wanted to approach him, yet was afraid to do so at the same time.
It was only at this moment that Li Huowang noticed something unusual about his body. Logically, given that those flames had burned him from the inside out last night, he should be completely and utterly dead. But he was very much alive right now. Not only that, his charred exterior had fallen off, and had been replaced by a thin layer of skin.
From the looks of it, my ability to recover from injuries has increased yet again. No, it's more than just that; it's a qualitative enhancement.
Li Huowang thought as he looked down at his flushed-red body. All the clothes he had been wearing had been burned away.
Fortunately, the Profound Records, his long sword, and those torture tools made of iron had not been damaged by the flames.
After a while, he stood up unsteadily; at this moment, even the gentle wind brushing against his body caused him to feel pain.
Completely bare, Li Huowang led a dog and wandered through the entire ghost town. After circling around a few times, he found some new clothes in an abandoned clothing store that was filled with cobwebs.
After he passed by the counter that was manned by a headless skeleton, he found himself a green Taoist robe to wear. At the same time, he also tore off a large piece of fabric to wrap up the items he was carrying around.
His newly-grown delicate skin was damaged quite easily by the rough fabric, causing "peach blossoms" to start blooming on his robes.
Currently, his flesh and his skin were just stuck together. Every time he moved, it felt like a knife was scraping against his body; it was akin to torture.
He soon found a long bench in the store and sat down on it, still trembling. He had decided to patiently wait for his skin to heal completely.
As time passed, the entire clothing store grew darker. Within this gradually darkening environment, the old clothes hanging from the rafters seemed like rows of hanged ghosts.
At that moment, a gentle breeze seemed to blow past from nowhere, causing those clothes to start swaying gently and give the room an eerie feeling to it.
"Woof! Woof woof!" Bun barked at the swaying clothes before timidly cowering under Li Huowang's bench.
"Shh, don't bark. There are no ghosts in this world. When people die, they are gone. Otherwise, they would have come to claim my life a long time ago," murmured Li Huowang as he stroked Bun's head.
Bun gradually quieted down and started licking Li Huowang's palm with its tongue.
Unexpectedly, Li Huowang's skin was once again pulled off by this. Due to this, Bun did not dare lick anymore, and looked at Li Huowang remorsefully.
However, Li Huowang did not bother with his injuries; instead, he began to examine Bun's condition. First, he carefully pressed down at the abdominal region where Bun had been kicked.
The blood stains around Bun's mouth proved that it was indeed injured. However, it had still managed to make its way down from the mountain, and to the town, suggesting that its injuries were not too severe.
If Yingzi had really wanted to kill the dog, it would have been quite easy for her to do so. There was only one explanation for why Bun had not diedโshe wasn't truly evil. She did not want to kill Bun, even if its owner was her enemy.
"Yingzi..." In the dimly-lit clothing store, Li Huowang stared at the swaying clothes with a blank look.
At this moment, he was thinking of many things.
Suddenly, he ignored the pain from his skin and stood up.
Then, Li Huowang walked over to the headless store owner of the clothing store, picked up his body and carried him outside.
Today, that sharp sword of his was once again used as a shovel to dig a hole.
After he was done, Li Huowang went back into the clothing store to find the skull of the store owner. Then, he arranged the skull and the headless skeleton inside the pit, before covering it up with soil.
He dismantled a door frame with the intent to carve something on it, yet found that he had long since forgotten how to write. In the end, he used the tip of his sword to carve a design that resembled a pair of clothes, and stuck it before the grave.
Next, Li Huowang turned around and walked into another house before carrying out the skeletons of a mother and her daughter.
One by one, he buried the skeletons, and erected makeshift tombstones with designs.
As his skin had not yet healed completely, it was once again torn apart due to the constant friction between the clothes and his skin. With his heightened senses of pain, this level of pain was almost on the level of death by a thousand cuts.
However, Li Huowang did not hesitate at all. The more pain his body felt, the clearer his conscience would feel.
As Li Huowang constantly moved, the robes on his body gradually turned a crimson red once again.
When Li Huowang entered another house, he was momentarily stunned upon encountering a bamboo cradle.
For a moment, he was hesitant, not daring to approach it.
"Hehe... compared to you, am I not a Saint?" At that moment, a familiar voice rang out in his ears almost like thunder.
Immediately, he turned around, only to see the three-headed Dan Yangzi standing atop the rubble of another house.
At that moment, as he looked at the three heads smiling mockingly at him, Li Huowang felt like he had been dropped in a cave of ice.
After just a moment, Li Huowang moved. He completely ignored Dan Yangzi who was standing opposite him, and instead turned to walk toward the mountain in the distance.
He started off with a slow walk, which turned into a jog, and then finally into a full blown sprint as he gritted his teeth. All along the way, a trail of blood dripped down from his body.
"Explain this! What the heck is going on?! Why is Dan Yangzi still around?!" roared Li Huowang.
Within a bright cave, a group of disciples from Ao Jing Sect watched as Li Huowang panted heavily, his face full of blood. At this moment, he was facing a wall with several large caves as shouted loudly.
After a moment, an elderly voice rang out from one of the caves, "Little friend, everything between us is over. Your Master has been expelled, and we can't see any trace of him on yourself."
Hearing this, Li Huowang's pupils shrank, and then he pointed toward a particular direction with a trembling finger. "Then tell me what that is? What is that?! Are all of you blind? What nonsense?! His influence on me is even greater now! He can appear at any moment! That thing had not been eradicated at all!"
Suddenly, Li Huowang paused and seemed to see something else as he sucked in a breath of cold air. "No! Even Jiang Yingzi is here! She is standing right beside Dan Yangzi!"
These words bewildered the members of the Ao Jing Sect. Even Li Huowang himself felt that something was amiss.
Dan Yangzi could exist because of his cultivation to Immortality, but what about Jiang Yingzi? She did not practice cultivation!
Li Huowang continued to stare fixedly at the woman who was covered in mangled flesh and had a few limbs missing, his mind buzzing continuously. ๐๐๐๐๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ป๐๐๐๐น.๐๐จ๐
Currently, her eyes were filled with intense hatred as she locked eyes with him.
"Little friend, we had already told you that we would only deal with your Master, and not with those strange illusions of you Strayed Ones; we cannot do anything about them."
Chapter 132 - True or False?
"Illusions of the Strayed Ones?" Li Huowang mumbled as he stared at Jiang Yingzi and Dan Yangzi; he could still see them in the distance.
One was a three-headed deformed creature draped in celestial silks, and the other was a naked girl with grotesque scars all over her body. They just stood in place, both of them gazing at him with a mixture of hatred and amusement.
The two of them appeared to be so real that Li Huowang could not tell whether they really existed, or whether they were illusions. Trembling, he lifted his right foot to approach them, but found that he could not do so.
Every time he took a step forward, the two figures would move back accordingly.
However, they were not moving on their own; it was more like they would always remain at this specific distance from Li Huowang.
"Little friend Xuan Yang?" asked a voice.
Only after the voice from the cave echoed a few times did Li Huowang finally come to his senses.
After a while, a voice rang out from the cave; Li Huowang recognised that the voice belonged to the square-faced Elder Shen Benyou and that it carried a hint of complex emotions. "Little friend, you don't look too well."
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Li Huowang replied subconsciously.
However, before he could continue, he fell silent.
He immediately realized that he had misspoken.
How could he possibly be fine? He had a lot more problems now.
This was not just related to Dan Yangzi and Jiang Yingzi appearing in the distance, but also about what he had become now. Nobody could guarantee that there wouldn't be any more of these apparitions appearing before he resolved this issue.
"Little friend, are you alright? Isn't it natural for a Strayed One to always have difficulty distinguishing between reality and illusion?" asked Elder Shen Benyou. "Since you have survived into your adulthood, you should have become used to it by now. Why are you still so surprised?"
Li Huowang swallowed his saliva with difficulty, then took a deep breath to focus and arrange his thoughts. After contemplating for a long time and reluctantly digesting all this information, he spoke again, "Elder, I have heard that Abbess Jingxin's son came here before. He is also a Strayed One. Can you tell me if he also had similar symptoms back then?"
Elder Shen Benyou paused for a long time before he answered. "Ah, it's really hard to guess. In general, Strayed Ones tend to be a bit crazy. I once heard him referring to himself as a ship."
Before Li Huowang could ask another question, a rough voice sounded from another dark cave within the wall. "I know about this matter. That person often woke up in the middle of the night, screaming that the Three Pure Ones were staring at him. Not long after, he turned into a complete lunatic."
"Three Pure Ones? What is that?" Li Huowang questioned.
Beside him, Shou San quickly replied, "Seen but unseen; Colorless. Heard but unheard; Soundless. Can be reached, but is still unreachable; Bodiless. Colorless, Soundless, Bodiless. One becomes three, and three unite as one. This is the Three Pure Ones. Taoists of various sects to the south worship the Three Pure Ones. I've only ever heard of them and never seen them. Something that is even more unheard of is the fact that the Three Pure Ones can watch people." ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐๐๐.๐๐ ๐
Li Huowang was somewhat baffled upon hearing these words. The other party's symptoms did not seem to be similar to his.
After a moment, Elder Shen Benyou's voice once again rang out from within the cave, "That person clearly came here on his own, but Abbess Jingxin from Benevolent Nunnery always assumed that it was us who drove him insane due to there being some past conflicts between us. It was an unjustifiable disaster. Little friend, these few days, you've also seen how we do things. Have we done anything that was against the rules? Under the heavens, breaking the rules is a great taboo."
However, Li Huowang did not pay attention to what he said; his mind was simply a mess right now. After a while, he said, "Then... is there any solution to my situation?"
"Haha, you must be joking, little friend. It would truly be great if we had a solution. Strayed Ones often have hard lives. After all, they can never be truly understood by anybody. If one day, someone tells you that they have a way to heal you, little friend, then remember to be cautious. It's highly likely that they want to harm you instead. You should know about this yourself, right? Strayed Ones are beings that are very desirable to many. Many seek them out to refine them into pills, or to use them for cultivation techniques to enhance their own cultivation."
After listening to all this, Li Huowang realized he was still very unfamiliar with his own body.
The name 'Strayed One' carried too many meanings.
He stood on the spot for a long time, lost in thought. After a while, he first looked toward the two people in the distance, and then at the silent Ao Jing Sect disciples around him.
At least Dan Yangzi won't try to take over me anymore. That should be a good thing, right?
Li Huowang consoled himself bitterly.
Then, he clasped his hands together and faced the caves, "Thank you, Elders, for enlightening me. We'll meet again if fate wills it."
Having said that, Li Huowang reached out and patted Bun's head. Then, he began to make his way back with Dan Yangzi and Jiang Yingzi following right after him.
After a while, he returned to the desolate town in a daze; there, he stared at the two figures dazedly. At that moment, the two illusions started to speak at the same time.
"Kid, I've truly become Immortal now. As long as you continue to help your Master achieve enlightenment, everything that happened in the past can be forgiven."
"Why aren't you dead?! Why are you still alive, you murderous devil?!"
However, no matter what they said, or how close they were, they never came in direct contact with Li Huowang.
"Hehe... at least it's more lively now. I'm no longer alone," mumbled Li Huowang. He did not know whether his current situation was better than before, or worse; the only thing that he knew was that he had to keep moving forward, no matter what.
Li Huowang picked up the sword that was stuck in the ground, and continued to dig graves for the other skeletons in the town.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yingzi dragged her broken body and came beside Li Huowang, shouting at him with endless hatred, "Do you think that everything you did can be brushed away just because you are giving them a burial? They were all killed by you! If you really want to atone for your sins, then you should take your own life! Otherwise, everything you do will be in vain! Li Huowang, why don't you go and die! Why pretend to be a Saint? Just hurry up and die!"
Li Huowang continued to remain silent; under Jiang Yingzi's piercing insults, he just continued to dig one grave after another.
Meanwhile, back in the Ao Jing Sect's cave, Elder Shen Benyou's voice rang out, "Shou San, Tou Qi, you guys can disperse. If he comes back again, then just block him at the mountain gate. We have no further connection with him."
"Yes, Elder Shen Benyou," replied the charred Shou San as he bowed respectfully. Then, he brought the other Ao Jing Sect's members away from the meditation area of the elders.
Not long after, everything turned quiet, leaving only the wall with six caves.
At that moment, a sharp female voice suddenly broke the silence. "Hehe... that Strayed One actually believed it... he believed it all! San Tiao, your method really worked!"
Once this voice rang out, it seemed like a switch had been flipped. The wall filled with black caves suddenly came to life and all kinds of laughter rang outโsome sharp, some sinister, some mocking and some light. The joy contained in all those types of laughter soon filled the entire cave.
Chapter 133 - On the Way
Shivering, Lu Xiucai was awakened by the extreme cold. He groggily looked toward the campfire only to discover that it was nearly extinguished. He glanced over at Puppy with a gaze filled with displeasure; Puppy was responsible for keeping watch right now. This fellow with a sharp mouth and puffy cheeks was already nodding off. It seemed like he had been fast asleep for a while already.
However, Lu Xiucai dared not go over and berate him; his father had given him strict instructions previously.
These people were their future escorts. Thus, they couldn't have any confrontation with them if they wanted to continue traveling together; he had to be careful about his interactions with them.
After a moment, Lu Xiucai got up unhappily and added more firewood to the campfire before crawling back into his blanket.
Just as he closed his eyes, he felt his father poking him with his tobacco pipe. "Kid, wake up and go fetch some water from the river. It's getting bright soon."
Hearing this, Lu Xiucai groaned, and covered his head with the blanket.
However, the next moment, the pipe was no longer just poking him, and was instead tapping him. "Hurry up! All you do is laze around! At this rate, you're going to turn into a lazy bum soon enough. Nobody would be interested in marrying a lazy bum!"
The sun gradually rose, as did the surrounding people.
Bai Lingmiao rubbed her eyes and sat up from Chun Xiaoman's warm embrace, looking around. Her face revealed disappointment when she did not find that familiar face.
Next, she looked up into the distance and saw the mountains shrouded in mist.
According to Abbess Jingxin, Li Huowang's destination was there. If they did not find him on the way, they could only head to the mountains to ask around.
She pulled her feet out from the blanket before putting on her shoes. They couldn't afford to remain hungry; they had to continue on their journey. At the same time, they couldn't just use up all their available food, and had to be frugal with its usage. Increasing their complementary food options was one way to save on their rations. And so, she, Xiaoman and Lu Zhuangyuan's daughter-in-law had decided to go into the forest to pick some wild vegetables.
Since this was the transition period between spring and summer, the woods were rather abundant with wild vegetables. In just a short while, Bai Lingmiao's basket was filled with Solomon's seals, wild onions and some wood ear mushrooms.
On their way back, they passed by a patch of mushrooms, but did not pick any.
After the past few days of practice, Bai Lingmiao could identify most of the wild vegetables. However, mushrooms were risky. They could be deadly if handled incorrectly. She didn't dare to pick them, even if they appeared normal and seemingly safe to consume.
By the time she brought the washed wild vegetables back to the bonfire, she saw that the dough was already being cooked by the responsible young boy, Yang Xiaohai. The pieces of dough were rolling in the boiling water like tadpoles.
"Yang Xiaohai, let the adults handle these things," said Bai Lingmiao as she grabbed small handfuls of wild vegetables and placed them into the pot.
"It's alright, Senior Bai. I enjoy cooking, hehe," replied Yang Xiaohai.
The wild vegetables were cooked quite quickly. After that, a spoonful of lard was melted into the pot, and a hearty bowl of wild vegetables and fish dumplings was ready to be served.
The bunch of them held their bowls and ate heartily.
At the start, when the two groups met, they often prepared their own meals. But after a few days, they found it to be way too troublesome and time-consuming. Finally, Lu Zhuangyuan suggested sharing a communal pot, with each side contributing one meal.
Slurp~
Lu Zhuangyuan inhaled a dumpling into his mouth, then munched on it as he asked, "Miss Bai, did the young Taoist really come this way? I hope we haven't taken a wrong turn."
"It's the correct direction. Abbess Jingxin told us that Senior Li could have only gone through this route. After all, there is no other way to reach his destination," replied Bai Lingmiao confidently.
She was the first to notice something was amiss when Li Huowang had told all of them to leave. When he talked to her, his face was no longer gloomy; it was as though he had come to some sort of realization. It was quite an unsettling feeling, and she felt inexplicably afraid every time she thought about it.
And precisely because of that, she had hurried the others along. Even so, they still couldn't meet him.
That was how they happened to have a chance encounter with the Lu Family Troupe as they rushed in the direction that Li Huowang had departed in.
Senior Li, please be safe.
"As long as he's fine. I'm just asking." Lu Zhuangyuan had a smile on his face.
Though he was smiling, on the inside he felt quite anxious. He had left the Qi Kingdom to escape the calamity brought about by the war with the confidence of relying on Li Huowang. Now, they had bumped into everyone besides him. After being on the journey for so long, he had still not seen his reliable escort, and so he could not help but be worried.
The large pot of vegetables and fish dumplings was quickly emptied, with not even a drop of soup being left behind. It was too wasteful to pour the soup away as there was even some usable grease in it.
After having their fill, they once again resumed their journey.
Traveling on the road was boring, and the days passed uneventfully. Aside from the distant mountains becoming a little clearer, there were no other significant changes.
As the night approached, Bai Lingmiao seemed to notice faint light on the distant mountains.
Have the people on the mountain seen Senior Li? Master said these people are dangerous. Could he be in trouble?
That night, Bai Lingmiao used the light from the fire to mend her shoes. They were on the move every day, and it was normal for their shoes to be worn out.
Apart from Zhao Wu, who was on night watch, everyone else soon fell asleep. Compared to the bustling daytime, everything around them had quieted down.
"Zhijian, your shoes are worn out as well. Take them off and let me mend them," said Bai Lingmiao to the big guy who was holding an iron rod.
"Uh... uh... Smelly!" Gao Zhijian moved his feet backward.
"It's alright, take them off. See, your toes are already starting to peek through. If you don't fix them now, they will soon fall apart," said Bai Lingmiao.
After some hesitation, he was about to take off his shoes. However, he suddenly grabbed the iron rod with both hands and shouted toward the forest on his right.
This loud shout startled everyone. When they awoke, they immediately understood the reason behind Gao Zhijian's shout.
A certain sound could be heard from the dark woods. It was a crunching and nibbling sound, along with some sort of eerie howling noises.
Everyone was horrified to hear such sounds in the middle of the forests at night.
"This... is this another spiritual possession? How can I be so unlucky this year! Again?" Lu Zhuangyuan grumbled as he put on his clothes. ๐ณ๐ฟ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐๐ป๐๐๐๐ฅ.๐๐ ๐
He then turned toward Bai Lingmiao and clasped his hands together, "You guys are the juniors of that Taoist. You should be able to deal with such a situation, right?"
As he spoke, the sounds seemed to approach even closer, seemingly like they were just coming from the shrubbery next to them.
The atmosphere became tense, and everyone picked up their weapons.
At that moment, the shrubbery beside them suddenly moved and a red-veiled woman stepped out.
"Gosh! A female ghost!" Seeing this, Lu Xiucai was so scared that he directly crawled under the carriage.
"What's going on? What is it?" Bai Lingmiao asked the Second Deity.
However, the Second Deity did not say anything, instead raising her long black nails as she gestured for Bai Lingmiao to come closer.
Chapter 134 - Found
"What's there?" asked Bai Lingmiao, about to head toward the Second Deity. However, she was pulled back by Xiaoman.
"Be careful, don't go there," said Xiaoman.
Bai Lingmiao thought for a moment, glanced at the Second Deity who was at the edge of the forest, and then said, "It's okay. There shouldn't be any danger."
As they saw Bai Lingmiao directly walk over like that, everyone grew worried. They all raised their torches before following along.
When they reached the Second Deity's side, they finally understood where the sounds had been coming from.
In the light of the torches, they saw a person dancing wildly in the forest.
"Mom, I can eat on my own; you don't need to feed me. The IV on my hand is also fine."
Covered in dust, Li Huowang sat on the ground covered in dry leaves while smiling at a spider web on the tree. He held a long piece of stone in his hand, biting it over and over. One could hear a constant cracking sound, and his mouth was flowing with blood.
"Mom, I swallowed it, I really did. I'm not a child, so there's no need for you to worry about me being picky. Hehe," said Li Huowang.
"Woo~ woo~" Bun circled around Li Huowang while constantly wagging its tail. It was the source of the howling sound from earlier.
"Senior Li!" Bai Lingmiao could not help but cry out upon seeing his pitiful state. She unconsciously took a few steps forward, but then forcibly stopped herself. "Quick, get a rope and tie Senior Li up. He'll be fine in a while!"
After some time, Li Huowang opened his eyes to a familiar tear-stained face. He showed an extremely exhausted smile as he asked, "You guys came? How did you even find me?"
Bai Lingmiao was choked with emotion as she held Li Huowang's head tightly in her arms. Even though she didn't say anything, her deep emotions were conveyed through her actions.
Seeing this, Li Huowang felt warmth in his heart while an unfamiliar emotion rose within him.
Is this... joy? I haven't felt this in a long time...
He reached out and patted her back. After some thought, he decided to give a vague explanation, "I... I went to figure some things out, and finished dealing with some trouble. How did you all get here?"
Li Huowang did not want the others to know about what he had been through or what he had done in the past.
After a warm conversation, everyone gradually fell silent.
Beside the campfire on the dark forest path, Li Huowang took a sip of hot soup. It helped to warm his stomach, and also cleared out the taste of blood from his mouth. While the inside of his mouth was all torn up, he knew that these wounds would heal quickly.
After a while, Li Huowang gently squeezed Bai Lingmiao's smooth right arm, and once again reassured her, "It's alright. The trouble is over now. We can continue our journey home."
Li Huowang looked at everyone surrounding him and saw the concern in their eyes. He knew that there were still some people in this world who genuinely cared about him.
He raised his hand as he thanked all of them. "All of you have worked hard. Thank you for your hard work."
He didn't specify what he was thanking them for. Some things were better when kept within; there was no need to say everything out loud.
At that moment, Lu Zhuangyuan, who was sitting on the right side of Dan Yangzi, spoke with a flattering smile, "Oh my, what are you saying? We only did what we should have. Anyway, what happened to you earlier? Were you possessed? How come you were eating stones? Was there some kind of evil spirit?"
Li Huowang already knew why the Lu Family Troupe had come; however, he didn't care about these small matters. He shook his head and pointed to his own head with a bitter smile. "My brain has some problems. Don't worry; it's nothing serious."
At this point, Puppy who had been squatting beside Jiang Yingzi, widened his eyes and asked, "Senior Li, are you really alright? You won't crawl into someone's belly and eat your way out from the inside in the future, right?"
As soon as he uttered those words, the faces of Lu Zhuangyuan and the others turned green with shock.
Zhao Wu punched him on the waist as he quickly tried to defuse the situation. "What the heck are you talking about in front of outsiders? When has our Senior Li eaten others? That was when he was ill, and thought that he had eaten someone."
"Ah~ right, right. I'm so pig-headed; how come I keep remembering things incorrectly," Puppy realized that he had misspoken and tried to cover up.
However, this wasn't quite enough to reassure Lu Zhuangyuan and the others. They all tried to put on a brave facade.
"Enough, stop pretending. Some things have happened, and there's no need to conceal anything," Li Huowang clarified the situation. "Troupe Leader Lu, I'll be honest. I have done many wicked things in the past, which I won't explain further. All I can say is that all that was against my wishes. If you are worried that it might bring harm to your family, then let's part ways amicably. However, if you don't mind it, then you can stay for as long as you want. We are friends, and I will ensure your safety."
"Ah, what are you saying? Is this old man so snobbish? I trust your character. There must be some difficult reasons behind all this," Lu Zhuangyuan put on a smile before quickly pouring out another bowl of hot soup. This old man will use this as a substitute for wine to compensate you. Who said we're leaving? Whoever leaves is a bastard!"
Hearing this, Li Huowang raised his own bowl to Lu Zhuangyuan, and then took a sip.
It didn't really matter to Li Huowang whether they left or not. What he needed to consider now was what his next steps would be.
After some consideration, Li Huowang addressed everyone before him, "Everyone, we've been delayed by these matters for far too long. Fortunately, all the problems have been resolved now. And so, we will resume our journey and leave the Kingdom of Si Qi tomorrow."
As long as he sent all these people back to their homes safely, he would feel much less burdened, and it would also be a lot more convenient to do what he needed to in the future.
"Senior Li, we can't leave yet. The Abbess told us that if we found you, we had to report to them that you are safe," explained Bai Lingmiao.
"There's no need to take a detour merely for this. Just write a letter and send it through a relay station," said Li Huowang. Since his problem had been resolved, there was no need to make another trip to the Benevolent Nunnery; while it wasn't very far, it wasn't that close either.
"No, the Abbess asked for you to come see her in person. It seemed like she had something she wanted to tell you face-to-face," said Bai Lingmiao.
Li Huowang furrowed his brow.
Face-to-face? Seems like it's not something as simple as reporting my safety. Does the Abbess have something else that she needs to tell me about?
After some consideration, Li Huowang handed the bowl in his hands to Bai Lingmiao. "Alright, let's go back to Henghua Mountain. It's also a good opportunity to get an overall picture of what's going on now."
Ever since coming to this wretched place, he had been rushing all along, and had never had time to figure out what was going on.
How many sects there were, how extensive was their influence, and what he should avoid when dealing with them. If they were to continue with their journey, then he had to get a better understanding of these matters.