Li Huowang felt a heart-wrenching pain in his heart as the light in Zhuge Yuan's eyes faded away. His mind was in turmoil, and he felt like someone had stabbed him in the chest. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't bring himself to speak in the face of his dying friend.
"Brother Li, you only have a few maggots left alive inside of you. Are you really okay?" Zhuge Yuan asked, staring at the hole in Li Huowang's chest. Even though he was breathing his final few breaths, he still asked such a question with concern in his tone.
Li Huowang revealed an ugly smile, making him look even worse than crying. Li Huowang shook his head vigorously and said, "Brother Zhuge, d-do... do you have any final wishes? Tell me, and I'll fulfill them no matter what!"
Zhuge Yuan exhaled slowly, and he stammered, "N-No, I've lived a life true to my desires... I don't have... any regrets..."
Snowfall had inexplicably vanished during the battle, but the fighting had ceased, so snow began falling once more. The snowflakes landed slowly on Zhuge Yuan's dilated pupils.
Li Huowang watched in grief as Zhuge Yuan slowly became cold and lifeless in his eyes. However, an idea struck him from out of nowhere, and he roared excitedly, "I can save you, Brother Zhuge! I've just come up with a way to save you!"
Li Huowang raised his arm covered in bulging veins, and he grabbed Zhuge Yuan's neck. He immediately tightened his grip, but Zhuge Yuan didn't respond and merely stared at him with his glazed, dead eyes.
Li Huowang squeezed with all his might, and his voice trembled as he whispered, "Brother Zhuge, I've killed some people in the past... no, perhaps they're people who died around me, but... they became illusions around me!
"Perhaps you can become one of them! You just have to become an illusion, and I can definitely make you real once I've achieved mastery over my powers as a Strayed One!"
Li Huowang squeezed frantically before tearing Zhuge Yuan's head off from his shoulders. He hugged Zhuge Yuan's head and knelt on the ground. Moments later, he looked around in confusion.
Jin Shanzhao, the old monk, Hong Zhong, and Peng Longteng.
He saw only four illusions; Zhuge Yuan was missing.
Zhuge Yuan's failure to become an illusion meant that he was truly dead.
Li Huowang's trembling lips turned pale as he hugged Zhuge Yuan's head. He leaned forward and balled his left hand into a fist before smashing it on the ground. The solid earth cracked open, and it was stained crimson by Li Huowang's wounds from the stump of his two missing left fingers.
He slammed the ground over and over again to no avail. Zhuge Yuan was dead, and there was no way he would come back to life. Tears fell down Li Huowang's eyes and pelted Zhuge Yuan's hair.
Why? How come everyone kind to him had ended up meeting such horrible fates?
Perhaps there was something wrong with the world itself? Was it really true that those who were good would die young, while those evil would live long lives?
Li Huowang felt wronged, and he felt indignant.
This is wrong! This world is wrong! The world should not be like this! Li Huowang roared to himself as he slammed his bloody hand on the ground. Eventually, his hand came to a halt, but it wasn't because he had chosen to stop; it was simply because he could no longer lift his hand.
The Five Elements Intercalation would soon be over, and he would die soon if he didn't do anything about his current predicament.
Hesitation fleeted across Li Huowang's eyes, and he felt like dying wasn't so bad. He truly couldn't care less whether he would live or die today.
Li Huowang lowered his head slowly and smacked his forehead on the ground.
A grotesque noise echoed as his skull fractured upon contact. A sharp pain inundated Li Huowang, sobering him up. Zhuge Yuan had risked everything to save your life! Do you even have the right to die?! How can you live up to what he has done for you if you die?
Zhuge Yuan's sacrifice would become a joke if you were to die! You are not allowed to die! You have to live on! Li Huowang smacked his head on the ground several times, and he only stopped when the flesh on his forehead had been reduced to minced meat, revealing his white skull.
Lu Huowang gnashed his teeth and staggered to his feet.
Li Sui took control of Li Huowang's original body and walked up to him.
Li Huowang stared at the darkening skies and shook his head vigorously. He raised the sword in his hand and slashed his own forearm. "Stop pretending! How dare you try to set up a trap for me at this point! Li Sui, retract your tentacles!"
The eyes of the "drunk" Bei Feng snapped wide open.
"Your body is about to break down. We have to swap. I absolutely cannot die right now. I must live on!" Li Huowang urged.
Bei Feng stared at Li Huowang and endured the pain to show some disdain.
"Why should I swap?" Bei Feng asked.
"Five years ago, you owe me a favor at Women's Mountain! Are you thinking of going back on your word?" Li Huowang asked.
Bei Feng examined Li Huowang from top to bottom. Then, he put both hands together and said, "Boss Hong Zhong, congratulations on your return! You've played a really big role in this incident; I even thought that you wouldn't be able to come back."
Li Huowang blinked, and he found himself in his original body.
Meanwhile, Bei Feng examined herself and saw the cavity in her chest.
"Ah, my body is completely unusable now..." Bei Feng grumbled. She looked around and found a Great Liang guard in the distance, hopping around with a severed leg.
Bei Feng blinked, and she found herself hopping around with a severed leg.
Meanwhile, the stupefied guard had yet to realize that he had swapped bodies with Bei Feng when he stiffened and fell to the ground, dying from his injuries.
Bei Feng hopped over to Li Huowang with her remaining le.
"Boss Hong Zhong, what are you doing kneeling there? Let's go and help our bosses, the Shai Zis. Look! They're about to smash each other's heads!"
However, Bei Feng received no response.
Li Huowang was crying while staring at the empty space to his left.
Bei Feng reached out in confusion, but she couldn't feel anything.
"Brother Zhuge, how are you?" Li Huowang asked in a trembling voice. Li Huowang's heart raced, and he couldn't contain his excitement as he stared at Zhuge Yuan.
As usual, Zhuge Yuan was dressed in white, and his expression was still the epitome of composure. He was holding a folding fan and was fanning himself gently.
The other illusions cast curious gazes at the newcomer.
Zhuge Yuan closed his fan and pointed at the other illusions. "Brother Li, can you introduce me to these people?"
Li Huowang was so excited that he had no idea what to say. His hands trembled incessantly, and it took him a long time to speak as he stammered, "G-goodness! I did it! I succeeded! You really became an illusion!"
It seemed that the reason Zhuge Yuan didn't appear immediately was that Li Huowang wasn't in his original body.
Chapter 441 - Past
Li Huowang had never turned an illusion into a real human being; he had only ever done the other way around. In other words, he had no idea how long it would take him to transform an illusion into a real human being.
However, he had succeeded in transforming Zhuge Yuan into an illusion, so there was a sliver of hope. Zhuge Yuan just had to stay alive, and Li Huowang would surely resurrect him in the future.
Li Huowang unconsciously reached out for Zhuge Yuan, but his hands passed by Zhuge Yuan's figure. Even though he couldn't touch Zhuge Yuan, the fact that he was here still gave Li Huowang a motivation boost.
The past few hours had been extremely stressful for Li Huowang to the point that he almost collapsed from exhaustion. In fact, his face was red and covered in beaded sweat at the moment.
"Hong Zhong, what are you doing? Are you not going to leave? If you're not going to leave with me, then I'm leaving first," Bei Feng said, staring at the chaotic battlefield; she was excited to jump back into the fray.
Li Huowang took a moment to compose himself. Then, he looked up at Bei Feng before looking around the battlefield. Doulao had vanished, but the Sitting Oblivion Dao and the Surveillance Bureau had no intention of stopping the fight.
In fact, they fought even fiercer. Li Huowang saw a pair of dragon horns protruding from behind the veil of the emperor. Meanwhile, the four Shai Zis were sitting cross-legged on the ground, setting up another array.
Li Huowang retracted his gaze and sank his body illusion into the ground to become invisible. Then, he retreated slowly out of the ruined palace.
"Daoist, why are you leaving? Are you not interested in the cultivation method to cultivate the 'Truth'?"
Li Huowang smiled coldly and said, "She doesn't have it. It was just a rumor to lure in unsuspecting Strayed Ones."
The entire Shangjing had been devastated by Doulao's appearance. The sight reminded Li Huowang of a violent earthquake's aftermath. Li Huowang grabbed a horse that belonged to no one and traveled to his own home.
His house had tilted, but Bun was outside the house and was sitting next to the crooked tree in the courtyard.
Li Huowang entered the house, gathered his belongings, and ran out of the city with Bun. They ran nonstop, running for tens of Lis before stopping in front of a waterfall somewhere in the deep forest.
Zhuge Yuan couldn't admire the scenery as he frowned. "Sigh. I wonder if the people of the Great Qi have succeeded even without my lead."
"Leave it be, Zhuge Yuan. You should have prioritized yourself more than others. I'm not sure if you managed to hear my plan before you died, so let me tell you my plan again."
Li Huowang explained his plan to revive Zhuge Yuan.
Zhuge Yuan pondered over it before sighing and shaking his head. "Junior Li, I think it's impossible."
"Why not?"
"A Strayed One can indeed turn truths into reality, but I am a living being. I'm not just a normal human being but a Twisted One as well.
"I have certain unique properties that are going to be difficult to reproduce, and it's all because I'm a Twisted One. I don't think your primordial breath has enough power to do such a thing."
"I can do it!" Li Huowang roared, attracting the attention of the other illusions.
"You have no idea just how powerful the Strayed Ones are, Brother Zhuge!
"Bei Feng had not told me everything. Indeed, the primordial breath of the Strayed Ones does come from Doulao Taiyang, but what she didn't say was that the Heavenly Daos under Doulao's control wasn't innate to it!"
Li Huowang clenched his fist and continued, "The Heavenly Daos are stronger than the Siming! I reckon that I can create even a whole new universe once I'm strong enough, much less give you a mortal body."
Zhuge Yuan was worried about Li Huowang, and he couldn't help but ask, "Where did you hear that from?"
Zhuge Yuan was certain that Li Huowang didn't learn that information when he was on Xing Island.
Li Huowang was taken aback by the question, and he calmed down slowly as he replied, "I just recalled my past. I remembered my life as Hong Zhong."
"Hm?" Zhuge Yuan was surprised.
Li Huowang smiled bitterly and said, "I don't want to accept it, but it's the truth. I am Hong Zhong. It was one thing to be tricked by Bei Feng, but how could I explain my memories? How can I explain my powers as Hong Zhong?"
Li Huowang's face changed rapidly, transforming into the Hong Zhong mahjong tile.
Indeed, he was Hong Zhong, and the fact made Li Huowang's head hurt. After all, it meant that he had never been a high school student. The other side was indeed just a mere hallucination.
The Abbess of the Benevolent Nunnery was right—Li Huowang was from this world, and the random scenes in his mind were fake memories that he had implanted in himself when he was still Hong Zhong.
Li Huowang felt like someone had stabbed a knife into his heart when he realized that Yang Na and his mother on the other side were fake all this while.
"Wait, Junior Li. Something's not right. Let me think about this," Zhuge Yuan said, placing his hands behind his back and pacing back and forth. After some time, Zhuge Yuan looked at Li Huowang and said, "Junior Li, let's not speak in absolutes and say that you're Hong Zhong."
Li Huowang frowned and replied, "Setting aside the memories, how do I explain my Sitting Oblivion Dao powers? Also..."
Li Huowang looked around to get his bearings. Then, he got on the horse and traveled again until he saw a roadside restaurant selling noodles. He walked inside and revealed his mahjong tile face without talking to the owner.
The owner's smiling demeanor shifted when he saw the Hong Zhong mahjong tile on Li Huowang's face. He immediately took out a small mahjong tile with the Hong Zhong pattern on it and presented it to Li Huowang.
Li Huowang placed his palm together and split it in half. He presented the top part to Zhuge Yuan and showed him the five words the size of flies inside of the tile, "Hong Zhong, Li Huowang."
"See that? This was one of the verifications I made for myself six years ago. I know that this is a hard-to-accept truth, but this is the truth. I am Hong Zhong, and I cannot run away from my true identity."
"No, that's not right." Zhuge Yuan shook his head and said, "You're not Hong Zhong... your identity was swapped with someone else.
"It's just like the Qi Kingdom and the Liang Kingdom.
"At first, the Qi Kingdom ruled over the lands, while the Liang Kingdom was the fake one. However, just like how they got swapped, your timeline and past have been swapped as well."
Chapter 442 - Hong Zhong
"Past? Timeline? Great Qi? Great Liang?"
Li Huowang was stunned by Zhuge Yuan's explanation. Zhuge Yuan's words were even more weird than the fact that he was Hong Zhong all along. "That doesn't make sense at all. How can something that has been set in stone be swapped?"
"Why not? If the history of the Qi Kingdom can be swapped to that of the Liang Kingdom's history, then why can't your history be swapped with someone else?"
Li Huowang was worried about the accuracy of Zhuge Yuan's words.
Zhuge Yuan had never harmed him, but Zhuge Yuan's words were often just partially correct.
Li Huowang wanted to say something, but he still ended up pondering the possibility that Zhuge Yuan was true.
If Zhuge Yuan's words was true, then he wasn't Hong Zhong...
But... Li Huowang felt a headache coming as he thought, If I'm Hong Zhong, then the other side is fake. Yes, that's right... I wasn't Hong Zhong before, so does that mean that the other side was real back then?
"Junior Li, are you okay?" Zhuge Yuan asked, sounding worried.
"Don't worry. Let him sit there and think over your words," said Hong Zhong's illusion. "You're a newcomer, so I'm sure you don't know that he does that often. He just sits there and thinks about many things."
Li Huowang turned to Zhuge Yuan just then and asked, "Senior Zhuge, are you sure about what you said? Can someone's past truly be swapped for someone else's past?"
Zhuge Yuan's words were just too surreal.
What entity was capable of changing someone's entire past?
Zhuge Yuan nodded and explained, "Ordinary entities can't do it, but we just fought against Doulao." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
As the Siming that controlled two Heavenly Daos, it wasn't strange that it was capable of doing such a thing.
However, Li Huowang wasn't sure of its motives for doing so. "Senior Zhuge, why? I'd understand it if it had killed me immediately, but why did it have to go through all the trouble to swap my past with a Hong Zhong's past?"
Even a Siming needs a reason to do something. What if the Siming is like the Sitting Oblivion Dao members, who will do anything for no rhyme or reason other than for the sake of fun. Wait, is this even fun?
Even Zhuge Yuan didn't know how to answer that question and shook his head. "I don't know. I do know that you're not a Hong Zhong. If you really were Hong Zhong, I would've discovered it back in Buddha's Skeleton Temple."
Zhuge Yuan could truly figure out the identity of a disguised Sitting Oblivion Dao member just by getting close enough to them. Li Huowang dived into his memories and found no techniques that he could use to hide his identity from Zhuge Yuan.
"Junior Li," Zhuge Yuan said, and his expression became serious as he continued, "I want you to put aside the matter of reviving me for now. Your substituted past as Hong Zhong is a pressing matter that needs your immediate attention before anything else.
"There must be a reason behind Doulao's decision, and I think there's more than meets the eye here."
"No, no, no. I think we can just ignore my past. I mean, we already know that my identity as Hong Zhong is fake," Li Huowang said. His eyes twinkled in excitement as he got onto the horse and continued, "I managed to find the method to cultivate the 'Truth' through Hong Zhong's memories! I have to obtain that first!"
"Really? Does this Hong Zhong know about it? Where is it?" Zhuge Yuan asked, sounding shocked.
"It's hidden somewhere in a special way, but I just have to go and retrieve it."
Hong Zhong had hidden it somewhere to make sure that no one else would get their hands on it. Li Huowang traveled for more than a hundred Li to reach his destination, which was a small town south of the Liang Kingdom.
It was a cold day, and it was already nighttime, but there were still many people on the streets. They were burning papers which were inside circles drawn on the floor, and most of them were burning pieces of paper near crossroads.
Li Huowang saw that and realized that it was Qingming[1] once again. He had been living here for an entire year now.
Li Huowang walked until someone's roars caught his attention.
"I'm hitting your head so that you'll be out of breath every day. I'm hitting your face until your family goes crazy, and they'll despise you for all your life. I'm hitting your eyes until you are blind, and you'll end up injuring your hands every day. I'm hitting your ears until they're filled with filth that you have to dig out with your fingers. I'm hitting your mouth until your breath smells like crap!"
Li Huowang followed the roars and saw an old lady. The old lady was sitting on a wooden stool and was using her shoes to beat a human-shaped paper.[2]
The old woman didn't even raise her head despite hearing the sound of horse hooves next to her. "Two hundred coins to beat the person you hate. My technique is effective, so don't think that it's effective! Don't believe me? Go and ask someone else!"
Li Huowang looked at the mole on her chin and said, "How about we play mahjong? You, me, and your daughter-in-law—the three of us will play."
The old woman was stunned. Finally, she looked up, and her expression shifted intermittently as she stared at Li Huowang for a while.
Eventually, the old lady smiled and exclaimed, "Sure! Let's go! Let's go and play right now!"
The old woman was all smiles as she led the way for Li Huowang. Soon, they arrived at a room with a mahjong table. The old lady's chubby daughter-in-law was already sitting there in front of the mahjong table.
The three stared at the last remaining empty seat. A fourth person was supposed to sit there, so the three stared at the seat, seemingly waiting for the fourth person.
Tap.
Eventually, Li Huowang placed a Hong Zhong mahjong tile on the center of the table and said, "It seems that we're missing one person. Why don't you write them out?"
"Sure!" The two ladies said in unison and whipped out writing implements. They hung a massive piece of paper in the room and wrote in sync—one from the front and one from the back.
The ink from both sides glued to each other and transformed into legible words.
The words depicted the cultivation method to cultivate the "Truth" that Hong Zhong had decided to hide. A physical scroll was risky to store, so Hong Zhong decided to hide the cultivation method in the memories of other people.
"Sit down and silence the heart. Be relaxed. Relax the teeth and lips. Then, breathe deeply and slowly. The hands must be clenched naturally, while the eyes must be focused. Gather the light and be one with the surroundings."
Li Huowang's hands trembled as he stared at the words on the paper.
The paper was light, but Li Huowang knew that it was far more expensive than gold.
Li Huowang was trembling, as he truly didn't expect that he'd finally obtain the cultivation method that he had been looking for all this while. Li Huowang didn't even hesitate to follow the instructions on the paper.
"Junior Li, wait," Zhuge Yuan said, "This might be Doulao's trap. The fact that Doulao managed to place this method in your memories means that it might be waiting for you to cultivate it."
Li Huowang stopped and looked down at the paper in his hands.
"You mean it's risky to cultivate this?" Li Huowang asked.
"Not necessarily. You just need to think first before acting. Don't forget that you're not Hong Zhong. You're Li Huowang, and your memories aren't supposed to be yours."
1. A festival to honor the dead. Usually, people will pray to their ancestors, clean their graves, and offer tributes ☜
2. This is a voodoo technique used to curse people by beating a paper cutout with their names on it ☜
Chapter 443 - Cultivating the "Truth"
Li Huowang looked at the paper in his hands and recalled everything regarding the cultivation method. Hong Zhong's memories told him that this method was the correct one.
However, those memories embedded in Li Huowang's mind were fake. Could they be trusted? What if there were side effects?
Li Huowang hesitated before placing the paper down. It seems that I need to find another Strayed One to verify the method.
Previously, he'd tested the method for getting rid of the murderous aura entering someone's body before using it on Bai Lingmiao. Likewise, Li Huowang needed a test subject for the cultivation method. This was the simplest and most straightforward method to test it.
"Who should I use?" Li Huowang wondered.
He looked through his memories and remembered Bei Feng. Bei Feng was also a Strayed One and had been looking for the cultivation method too.
As a Sitting Oblivion Dao, Bei Feng could cultivate "Lies" and get rid of the hallucination, but Li Huowang was certain that she would still be drawn to a cultivation method that could allow her to use her primordial breath.
With a plan in mind, Li Huowang didn't hesitate. He left the house, leaving the old woman and her sister-in-law in the room as they continued to play mahjong.
Several days later, Li Huowang found Bei Feng in a brothel. She was soaking in a hot tub filled with metals.
Bei Feng smiled as she lifted her left leg out of the water, revealing her fair skin.
"Oh, it's Hong Zhong. It's my honor to have such an esteemed guest," she said.
"Do you want the cultivation method to cultivate the 'Truth'?" Li Huowang asked, showing her the sheet of paper with the cultivation method.
Bei Feng's eyes lit up, and she walked out of the hot tub. Water dripped down her body as she walked towards Li Huowang.
Bei Feng remarked, "I knew you had it. You even lied to me and said you didn't! You are so bad~"
Now that Bei Feng had taken over the body of the best prostitute in the brothel, her tone became coquettish and seductive.
She extended her arms towards Li Huowang, but she was puzzled by Li Huowang's actions. "Why are you so good? Do you want to lie to me again? I won't get tricked by you again."
"Then don't take it."
Li Huowang put the scroll away and walked out.
"Ai! Wait! I didn't say I don't want it." Bei Feng extended her manicured hands and took it. "Fine. I'm willing to get tricked by you if it's for the sake of this cultivation method."
Her body was still wet when she put on a see-through shawl, sat down on the bed covered in red sheets, and started cultivating.
Li Huowang frowned and looked at her, as if waiting for something to happen.
Before long, several things were levitating around Bei Feng. One of the pink pillows circled around Bei Feng before it slowly transformed into a green brick.
Bei Feng opened her eyes in shock. "Hong Zhong! This is the real deal!" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
But there was no one else there. Li Huowang was gone. Bei Feng was stunned.
Nevertheless, she ran out of the window with the scroll in her hand, smiling cheekily.
One month later, Bei Feng had already changed her body to that of an old man.
The old man was sitting in a cave and looked like an Immortal as he looked at the youth in front of him.
He said, "My disciple, since you are a Strayed One, I can't teach you much. It's now time for me to teach you the final technique, the method to cultivate 'Truth'! Once you've finished cultivating it, not only will you be able to command the heavens and earth but also remove those hallucination completely!"
The youth felt excited. He kept kowtowing and kneeling on the ground in front of the old man.
The old man was like a father to the youth. He'd save the youth from evil people and even taught the youth such an incredible technique!
Bei Feng squinted as she looked at the Strayed One in front of her. Hmph! Hong Zhong, do you think I'm an idiot that would just do what I'm told? You told me to try, so you thought I would try it myself? Of course, I will test it on another Strayed One instead. I don't know if you managed to cultivate it since you are so rash, but that's your issue, not mine, hehehe~
As the youth inhaled, the space around him twisted like it was going to be sucked into his body.
Everything in the cave started to change. The scene changed rapidly, going from a cave to a bedroom before changing to a prison.
When the youth started sinking into the ground, he opened his eyes and looked around him in astonishment. "Master! This method is useful!"
"Don't stop! Keep cultivating!" said the old man.
Li Huowang was currently invisible as he watched on from behind Bei Feng. He was clenching his fist hard.
He knew what kind of person Bei Feng was. That was why he'd set the trap. He only needed someone to test the method, and he didn't care who it was.
Li Huowang looked at the youth for a very long time until the moment he succeeded.
After verifying that everything was alright with the youth, Li Huowang slowly left the cave. He looked like he was in a horrible state. Li Sui's black tentacles covered his veins, extending all over his body. Li Huowang could see the tentacles wriggling and pushing outwards from beneath his skin.
He found a quiet place in the forest and sat down cross-legged. Then he closed his eyes and hands and started cultivating according to the method recorded on the paper.
Li Huowang turned his sight inwards into his body to find the formless primordial breath.
It was not an easy thing to do, especially since he was trying to cultivate the "Truth." It was a cultivation method that cultivated a concept.
Nevertheless, he was not greedy. His initial goal was to suppress the hallucination.
According to the cultivation method, as long as he used his inner sight to cover the primordial breath, he could stop the hallucination from occurring again.
Li Huowang cultivated for three nights straight before he took a deep breath. His voice was already shaking by then.
He said, "Li Sui. Come out. Let me try."
Tentacles spilled forth from his mouth before they pooled together into a ball. Two curious eyes peeked at Li Huowang.
Li Huowang took a deep breath and clenched his fist tighter. He waited. He kept waiting and nothing happened. Fifteen minutes passed, and he was not dragged into the hallucination!
Li Huowang looked at the illusion at his side to share the good news. "Senior Zhuge! This thing is real! It's useful! And I succeeded in using it!"
The illusion replied, "This is good. At the very least you don't have to eat the Black Taisui anymore. You are no longer at risk of losing your body."
"With this cultivation method, I can now suppress my hallucination and even control when it appears!"
Li Huowang revealed a part of the primordial breath that was covered in his inner sight, and everything shifted around him.
When he woke up, he found himself tied to a cold machine, and his temples were pulsing. He looked around and saw there were numerous people around him, including his mother. Li Huowang looked around in confusion, and everyone clapped.
Sun Xiaoqin was so happy that tears flowed out as she almost kneeled to one of the doctors, but the doctor stopped her.
The doctor said, "Madam Sun, no need to be so agitated. Since electroconvulsive therapy can wake your son up, he has a chance to recover as long as he eats his medicine and undergoes therapy at the same time."
Li Huowang looked around and thought to himself. If the hallucination was caused by the primordial breath leaking out inside of me, that means this is fake...
Sun Xiaoqin hugged her son tightly and kept his head in her embrace.
She finally saw a chance for her son to recover. This was more important than anything else!
Li Huowang looked around as he basked in the warmth of his mother's embrace. He looked at the doctors and nurses around him, and his gaze became resolute.
"Mom, don't worry. I'm not stuck in the hallucination anymore. I'm fine. A Strayed One's body contains the primordial breath, which is part of the Heavenly Dao. I can use it now! Even if this place is fake, I will turn everyone here into reality one day!"
Chapter 444 - Li Jiancheng
Tied down in two straitjackets, Li Huowang looked around silently at the white walls, LED lights, and the dull green color of the shock-resistant glass.
The place was empty and was furnished simply, but Li Huowang was not bored. In fact, he looked around as if everything was a shade brighter than it was.
That was because these were real, not fake.
Li Huowang looked through Hong Zhong's memories and learned how strong Strayed Ones were. It was all due to the primordial breath hidden within them. The primordial breath was a part of the Heavenly Dao.
Just as how the Muddled Ones would rend the heavens, Strayed Ones could turn "Lies" into "Truth" as long as they mastered it.
The confusion in his mind dissipated once he learned about it. He didn't need to figure out what was real or fake because he could just turn everything into reality.
The metal door creaked open and Li Huowang turned to see who it was.
Two massive-looking prison guards dressed in protective clothing walked into the room and stood guard by the door.
Sun Xiaoqin appeared between them and walked into the room with a container of food, ignoring the two prison guards.
She said, "These youngsters. Sigh... I already told them that nothing would happen to me here, yet they were still adamant on following me in. And there are even two of them! Is being a prison guard that boring?"
One of the prison guards grumbled, "Madam Sun, please don't blame us. This is an order from our superior. Even though we work hard and do a lot of things, we only earn a few thousand per month. Look at how expensive houses are nowadays. We wouldn't dare to risk our lives just for fun to deal with your son. We aren't getting paid enough for it anyways."
Sun Xiaoqin wanted to continue complaining, but she walked hurridly when she saw Li Huowang looking at her.
She called out, "Son? Are you awake? Come, have a meal! I've made your favorite—wintermelon and pork rib soup!"
Li Huowang looked at the familiar and friendly face. Sun Xiaoqin used a short plastic spoon to scoop up some rice, pieces of rib, and wintermelon before placing it in front of Li Huowang's mouth.
It was a simple but delicious meal. He enjoyed it slowly, no longer worrying about whether he was eating the real food or chewing on dirt and nails.
When he saw the wrinkles around Sun Xiaoqin's eyes, Li Huowang said gently, "Mom, there's no reason for you to come visit me so often. You need to rest a lot too. I will gradually recover."
"What are you saying? You are in the critical stage of recovery. You need to have someone accompanying you!"
Li Huowang stopped trying to persuade his mother because he knew it was useless.
He continued eating and finished his meal peacefully; nothing strange happened.
The two prison guards sighed in relief when they saw one of their colleagues bringing in a middle-aged man.
Their colleague told them, "Don't worry. He is the patient's father."
The three prison guards watched the man bring a bag of oranges towards the bed of the martial maniac.
"Dad," Li Huowang said, looking at the man in front of him.
He rarely saw his father even in his hallucination previously.
Sun Xiaoqin pulled her husband outside. "Why are you here without informing me?"
Through the glass window, Li Huowang saw his parents discuss something while looking at him from time to time.
Li Huowang stared at them with complicated emotions. His parents' clothes were looser than before, indicating they had lost a lot of weight.
Five minutes later, Li Huowang saw his father entering the room again while his mother took the finished food container outside.
"Do you want some oranges?" his father offered.
His rough hands reached into the bag of oranges and took two out.
Li Huowang shook his head, but his father peeled an orange anyway and placed it on the table beside the bed.
"How's everything recently?" his father asked.
Li Huowang answered, "Not bad. This place is quite good."
"How's your sickness?"
"I'm recovering soon. I'm telling the truth."
"Oh. That's good."
Their conversation stopped there. This was normal in Li Huowang's household. Compared to his openly loving mother, his father was more reserved.
Li Huowang looked at his father and saw that he had dark eye bags and bloodshot eyes, a sign of a lack of sleep. His collar was turning yellow, and his sleeves were a bit oily. He hadn't changed his clothes in a while. There were more white hairs on the balding head than there used to be, and the stubble on his chin showed he hadn't shaved in a while too.
Li Huowang's father's name was Li Jiancheng.
Li Jiancheng stared at his son, who was tied to the bed, and the scar running across his face.
Taking a deep breath, Li Jiancheng reached into his pocket and took out a crumpled box of cigarettes. He lit it up with a green lighter. Li Jiancheng took a deep breath and exhaled the smoke out. His eyes were wet as if they were irritated by the smoke.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but the entire place is a non-smoking area. Please comply," one of the guards said.
Li Jiancheng wanted to snuff out his cigarette, but he couldn't find an ashtray. In the end, he used the discarded pieces of orange skin to snuff out his cigarette.
"Dad, I thought you quit? Why did you start smoking again?"
Li Jiancheng smiled and put the lighter away. "Because I'm feeling irritated. Don't worry, this is a cheap brand of cigarette. It doesn't cost me much."
"I'm not worried about money but your health."
Li Jiancheng remained quiet for a long time before he sighed. "It's my fault. I didn't realize you were sick early on. I've checked online and saw that illnesses related to the mental state had a higher chance of being treated if found early on. If I've found out sooner, we might've—"
"Dad, this is not your fault!" Li Huowang interrupted his father. "This is an issue with my body. Since I'm a Strayed One, this is my life. I can't escape it. You don't have to blame yourself; I will deal with it myself. Please don't worry."
However, Li Huowang saw his father's lips quiver and realized he shouldn't have said that.
His father would never understand the other world. In fact, hearing those words made him think his son was still seriously ill.
"Huowang..." Li Jiancheng's voice was filled with bitterness and tiredness. "I know you can't differentiate the two places. Don't worry. I don't blame you. If you like the other place, then just stay there. If you think you can live much more comfortably there, then go. I will handle everything here. Your father is still here."
Hearing that made Li Huowang's heart ache. Afraid he would cry, he didn't say anything else.
The father and son sat there silently until the prison guard came and informed them that visitation hours were up. Li Jiancheng, who was tired and stressed out, patted Li Huowang's head before standing up and leaving the room.
Chapter 445 - Start
"Mom, I think I will return to my crazy self for a moment, but don't worry. Everything will be fine in the end. I will wake up every three to five days. Don't worry if I'm late. That just means that I'm being held up on the other end. No, Mom. I'm not ill. Don't get agitated, please listen to me."
Zhuge Yuan stared at Li Huowang in confusion as he was talking to a crooked tree in the forest.
"See that? This must be your first time seeing it. Not everyone gets the chance to see a Strayed One stuck in a hallucination," Hong Zhong's illusion explained to Zhuge Yuan.
"Has Junior Li always acted like this in the past?" Zhuge Yuan asked puzzledly.
"Yeah. I heard the old monk say that he got stuck in the hallucination quite frequently before he started eating the Black Taisui."
Zhuge Yuan looked at Li Sui coiled around at the base of the tree, and then at Li Huowang who was speaking to himself. "Sigh. Junior Li had it rough. Being a Strayed One is much more difficult than being a Twisted One."
The old monk said, "Yeah. The Daoist has it rough. My heart aches for him every time I see him acting like that. I really want to do something for him but I don't know what I can do."
"Thank you for trying to help him."
Even though the old monk looked the same as the Abbott of the Righteous Monastery in the Great Qi, Zhuge Yuan knew they weren't the same person. The Abbott was still alive after all.
"Oh? No worries. I have to thank you too. Also, be careful of the faceless man. He's a liar. He tricked me many times."
Zhuge Yuan looked at Hong Zhong standing beside him and smiled. "I see. He's part of the Sitting Oblivion Dao. Sir, who is that headless one then?"
The old monk introduced the other illusions to Zhuge Yuan, including how they'd died.
"You mean to say that Senior Jin Shanzhao was killed by Peng Longteng?" Zhuge Yuan asked.
"That's what the Daoist told me, but he doesn't like talking to me, so I'm not very sure either."
"Then why does Senior Jin not hold any animosity towards General Peng Longteng?"
"I don't know. I'm not a parasite in his body, so I don't know what he's thinking."
"Alright, then let me ask again. Are there any others aside from the five of us?"
"There are. I heard there was once a baldy and a woman. They were illusions that once accompanied the Daoist, but they disappeared after some time."
"Does that mean Junior Li had seven illusions in total?" Zhuge Yuan wondered, fanning himself as he thought about it.
"What are you thinking?" Hong Zhong glared at Zhuge Yuan. "We are all illusions accompanying Li Huowang now. What are you scheming?"
Zhuge Yuan chuckled but said nothing.
"Senior Zhuge," Li Huowang called out, shifting their attention to him.
He looked the same as before, but something seemed off.
"Senior Zhuge, have you ever encountered anyone, aside from the Great Qi and the Great Liang, whose past was changed?" Li Huowang asked.
"No. There are extremely few cases where people got into contact with a Siming. But most of those people either went crazy or died just from getting into contact with a Siming, let alone getting one to change their past."
Li Huowang frowned. Doesn't that mean I'm one of the first cases where my past was changed?
He thought he would be in trouble once his past was changed, but it was not exactly a bad deal either.
Li Huowang had obtained a new identity, Hong Zhong, and numerous techniques belonging to the Sitting Oblivion Dao. He could even use them freely.
Moreover, he obtained the method to cultivate "Truth" from Hong Zhong's memories. No matter how Li Huowang looked at it, everything had been good so far. There wasn't anything bad.
However, Li Huowang suspected that Doulao had an ulterior motive for changing his past.
Why...?
Li Huowang sifted through Hong Zhong's memories for information on Doulao, but he found nothing.
As Hong Zhong, he learned that Doulao was not a deity that the Sitting Oblivion Dao worshiped, but rather they used each other. Both parties were trying to gain an advantage by lying to each other.
The Sitting Oblivion Dao knew that the Doulao controlled "Lies."
Everyone had a small wisp of Doulao's "Lies" in their body, which was why everyone would lie from time to time. This much was certain, and the Sitting Oblivion Dao obtained energy by tricking a person and taking away the small wisp of "Lies" in a person's body. They also took things from their target's body.
However, the Sitting Oblivion Dao wondered why they needed to do that. Some of them hypothesized that Doulao wanted them to trick the common people and obtain the wisp of "Lies" to achieve its own goal.
As for what the goal of Doulao was, the Sitting Oblivion Dao didn't know anything about it.
"Maybe Shai Zi knows something about it," Li Huowang murmured to himself.
"Junior Li, I think we should distance ourselves from the Sitting Oblivion Dao as much as possible, especially Shai Zi. Once he sets his sights on you, everything will become much more complicated. You know that the Sitting Oblivion Dao don't fight head-on. They always operate behind others' backs; the same goes for Shai Zi."
"Don't worry, I'm not crazy yet. I won't go find Shai Zi. I need to find a quiet place to cultivate first. Once I'm done, I can finally find peace in both worlds."
Li Huowang could increase his strength, turn Zhuge Yuan back into reality, and even turn the hallucination into reality. The cultivation method was the key to achieve all of this.
Zhuge Yuan nodded. "Then, where should we go now?"
"I ..." Li Huowang said hesitantly, "I want to go back to Cowheart Village. It's a quiet place that's suitable for cultivating. I'm worried about Miaomiao and the others now that everything is in chaos outside."
He had to fulfill his promise to Miaomiao—that he would return once he could control his hallucination. He had technically succeeded, so it was time to go back.
Li Huowang recalled the faces he hadn't seen in a long time and longed to see them. They were his attachment to this world.
He had always been a man that never hesitated, so he hopped onto his horse and started moving towards Cowheart Village. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
Li Huowang was about to depart when he remembered something was missing. "Wait, where's Li Sui and Bun?"
"Li Sui! Bun!" Li Huowang shouted towards the forest.
Black tentacles quickly appeared from beside a bush, rolling out as a tangled ball. Li Sui held Bun up with his tentacles wrapped around Bun's mouth and feet.
"What are you doing?" Li Huowang asked.
Li Sui replied, "Playing with the dog."
Chapter 446 - Cowheart Village
Li Huowang had his veil on as he held the reins of his horse and stood by the road, looking at Cowheart Village from afar.
He had stood here a few months before, thinking about how to explain to Bai Lingmiao that he had killed her entire family.
He was now standing in the same location, thinking about how to explain to the villagers what he had gone through during the past few months.
Li Huowang had accomplished his goal and was no longer plagued by his hallucination. He should be happy to meet the villagers again, but he felt hesitant instead.
Unlike in the stillness of winter the last time he was here, Cowheart Village was much livelier in spring. There were people and cows working in the fields around the village.
The people working in the fields looked young and clumsy, but they worked hard. They looked quite disheveled though.
"Woof! Woof!"
Bun's barking tore Li Huowang's attention away, and he looked at Bun. Bun was arching its back and growling at Li Sui hiding in the bushes.
Even though Li Huowang had reprimanded Bun many times, it still refused to acknowledge Li Sui as a companion and viewed him as an enemy.
Li Sui asked, "Father, why is it barking at me? I like playing with it, but it doesn't like me."
Li Huowang looked at Li Sui. Li Sui was covered tightly in a straw robe and wore a hat with a black veil too.
If someone were to see Li Sui, they would've thought he was a short, plump kid, rather than a bundle of tentacles.
Li Huowang answered, "Since it doesn't want to play with you, you should play with something else instead. Stop bothering Bun."
Li Sui had been instrumental in suppressing Li Huowang's hallucination in the past, but Li Huowang no longer needed him for that. So, Li Huowang didn't know what to do with Li Sui now.
Should I let him go? Li Huowang thought.
However, he really didn't want to. He had taught Li Sui how to speak one word at a time ever since he developed a consciousness. Li Huowang would be lying to himself if he said he didn't feel attached to Li Sui even though he was an evil being.
Still, Li Sui might look horrifying, but he was a pure-hearted evil being. It would be too easy for someone to manipulate him. A Black Taisui was technically also a pill ingredient, and Li Huowang was afraid that the moment he released Li Sui into the wild, someone would snatch him up.
Li Huowang decided to raise Li Sui like Bun instead. Thankfully he wasn't a handful.
"Once you enter the village, you mustn't take off your robe and veil. Also, do not extend your tentacle outside the veil; you'll scare the others."
"Father, I understand," Li Sui replied quietly.
As his tentacles continued to wiggle, he followed Li Huowang to the entrance of the village, leaving a trail of slime in its wake.
Two people, a horse, and a dog approached the village. It was clear to the villagers that they were not peddlers. The villagers in the field quickly took notice of them.
"Senior Li! Senior Li, you are back!" Yang Xiaohai yelled.
He ran out of the fields excitedly, and a plump lady followed him out of curiosity.
Bun wagged its tail excitedly when it saw familiar faces and ran over. It jumped into Yang Xiaohai's embrace.
Yang Xiaohai hugged Bun tightly and asked Li Huowang excitedly. "Senior Li, where have you been? We've been thinking of you! Are you alright?"
More and more people gathered around Li Huowang. By the time he arrived at the Bai Family's estate, almost everyone in the village had crowded around him.
Gao Zhijian appeared to have grown even taller, and he looked like a goose among chickens. He stammered as he tried to say something.
However, Puppy interrupted him. "Senior Li, look! This is my wife! Look at her belly! She's going to give birth soon! I'm becoming a father! Hahaha!"
Puppy's laughter didn't last long though.
Chun Xiaoman pushed him away and told Li Huowang, "Senior Li, you've finally returned. Miaomiao kept talking about you. She's worried."
Zhao Wu walked over with a cane and shared excitedly, "Senior Li, when you weren't here, I kept tabs on the finances of the entire Cowheart Village! We did not go bankrupt, and we even earned a lot of money!"
Everyone was chattering excitedly about what had happened to them during the time Li Huowang was gone. None of them remembered what Li Huowang had done before he left.
Li Huowang looked at the people around him and felt relieved. His heart was no longer as tense as before.
Maybe this is what having a home feels like.
"Hohoho~ Young Daoist, you've finally returned. Come, you've traveled far. You should step over the fire pot to remove your bad luck," Lu Zhuangyuan said, placing a pot of fire near the entrance. [1]
He was happy now that Li Huowang was back. The villagers would feel more at ease too. Li Huowang strong, and he was also Lu Zhuangyuan's employer. It would be easier to justify why Lu Zhuangyuan should be staying in the village.
Once Li Huowang stepped over the pot of fire and entered the Bai Family's estate, he saw Bai Lingmiao looking down from the second-floor window. She was smiling at him as if it had been a different Li Huowang that left the village previously.
Bai Lingmiao called out, "You're back? Yang Xiaohai, go and slaughter a lamb and a pig. Tonight, we are having a feast."
"Alright!" Yang Xiaohai replied excitedly and let Bun down before running towards the kitchen.
Lu Zhuangyuan was very adept at reading the room. He shouted orders, and everyone got busy preparing for the feast. Some went to get the pigs while others looked to see what they could help with. Before long, no one else was in the Bai Family estate, and it fell quiet again.
"Is that Junior Li's wife? Should we stay outside then?" Zhuge Yuan suggested, seeing Li Huowang climb towards the second floor.
"Why should we stay outside? You are still new, so you don't know what happened between them. The next scene will be very interesting, and I've been waiting to see it," Hong Zhong replied excitedly.
He tried to follow Li Huowang but was pulled back by Zhuge Yuan.
"I think we shouldn't do that. This is not a gentlemanly way to conduct ourselves, my dear Sitting Oblivion Dao junior."
"I'm not a gentleman in the first place. I'm a trickster of the Sitting Oblivion Dao!"
No matter what Hong Zhong said, Zhuge Yuan did not let him go upstairs.
Li Huowang went up to the second floor, and Bai Lingmiao approached him. She acted like a wife and removed the weapons and the torture tool that Li Huowang carried.
Bai Lingmiao was about to say something when she glared at the dwarf following Li Huowang. Who is this guy? Why did they come into the room? What an idiot.
Li Huowang said, "This is Li Sui. Li Sui, greet your mother."
"Mother."
"Mother?!" Bai Lingmiao uttered in shock. She stared at the "boy" in the straw robe and veil. "Explain this to me! Why do you have a child? And the child is already so old! Did that bitch Yang Na birth him for you?!"
1. Usually seen in weddings, though I think some villages do it for non-wedding occasions too. Crossing a small fire burns off bad luck and turns them into good luck. ☜
Chapter 447 - Anklet
Li Huowang was slightly speechless when he saw how big of a reaction Bai Lingmiao had. "What are you talking about? I've told you before that it's the Black Taisui I ate previously to suppress my hallucination. I don't need it anymore, so it came out of my body."
Li Huowang lifted the veil and revealed Li Sui's tentacles.
Catching onto the most important point, Bai Lingmiao beamed in happiness. "Oh! Does that mean you won't get trapped in the hallucination anymore?"
"No, I still need to go. There are still things to do there, but I can more or less control it now."
Bai Lingmiao was much happier than Li Huowang was. "That's good! You are the first person I know who has treated their own disability!"
Li Huowang was ashamed when he looked at her radiant smile. It was clear that she cared for him more than he did for her.
Li Huowang took out a golden anklet wrapped with red thread from his robes. He bent down and carefully removed Bai Lingmiao's shoes.
"I remember that you gave me the gold anklet when we first came out from Zephyr Temple and we didn't have money to buy food. You melted it down and used the money to buy me a bun," Li Huowang said.
Bai Lingmiao looked at the gold on her white leg in astonishment.
Li Huowang continued bitterly, "I said before that I would buy you a bigger one once I had the money to do so. I'm sorry. So many things happened during our journey before I finally had the time to buy you one."
Bai Lingmiao's white lashes fluttered, and she said nothing before she sank into Li Huowang's embrace.
Li Huowang could now see the emotions of others thanks to Hong Zhong's memories. He saw Bai Lingmiao's feelings of happiness and love grow larger and cover her feelings of desire and disgust. Bai Lingmiao was now similar to how she had been before the murderous aura entered her body.
Li Huowang caressed Bai Lingmiao's hair and took in her scent, enjoying a rare moment of peace.
Right then, Li Sui climbed onto a table and stared at them with his two eyeballs.
He asked, "Father, what are you doing?"
Li Sui was curious. He had never seen people do that, and Li Huowang never told him about it before.
"Is your son stupid?" Bai Lingmiao's muffled voice reverberated against Li Huowang's chest.
Li Huowang chuckled and gently pushed Bai Lingmiao away. He whispered to Li Sui, who then crawled out of the window like an octopus to find Bun.
Once Li Huowang closed the window, Bai Lingmiao excitedly pounced into him. Li Huowang hugged her and was about to say something when she shut his mouth with something soft. He saw the emotion of desire flaring up in Bai Lingmiao.
Some time later, Li Huowang was lying on the bed and hugging Bai Lingmiao, who was in her inner wear[1] that had a lotus motif. He was enjoying the peace after the storm and telling Bai Lingmiao about what had happened during the past few months.
Bai Lingmiao snuggled against him, listening to his story while playing with her new golden anklet.
When Li Huowang reached the part when he could cultivate "Truth," he paused and thought, If I can turn both sides into reality, doesn't that mean both Bai Lingmiao and Yang Na are real? How should I treat them both? Am I disloyal?
Li Huowang sank into a state of distress. He had never thought about it before. He'd always thought that one side was fake, so he'd never had to think about it.
"Keep talking. Why did you stop?" Bai Lingmiao asked, snuggling deeper and pressing her hair into his face.
"It's nothing. The hallucination is not a special place. How's Cowheart Village doing? Was everything fine while I was gone?"
"It's the same as usual. But I've recruited more people to work in the fields. There is too much land in the village, and we don't have enough manpower to deal with all of it. You think Puppy and Zhao Wu could work the fields?"
Li Huowang nodded and recalled the strangers working in the field.
"Even though they are technically slaves, they are officially known as our adopted children. They will call you Father, so I hope you don't mind."
"Father? Why call me that?"
"Apparently it's what people do in the Liang Kingdom. The emperor banned anyone from owning slaves, so the slave vendors just changed their official line of business but continued selling anyway. Li Huowang, even though you are still young, you are already an adoptive father and even a father. You are quite the elder now, hehe."
While the couple were whispering to each other, there was a knock at the door. "Miaomiao, it's time to eat dinner."
It was Chun Xiaoman, and she sounded embarrassed. She only gave them one reminder before running away. Naturally, she could tell what Li Huowang and Bai Lingmiao were doing inside.
Bai Lingmiao said, "Let me tell you something funny. Recently both Zhao Wu and Gao Zhijian are awkward with each other because both of them wanted to marry Xiaoman. Chun Xiaoman, however, is feeling irritated because they keep swarming around her like flies."
Li Huowang put on his clothes and pinched various parts of his body to feel his healing skin.
"Oh, let her just choose then. It's their path after all and we shouldn't interfere," he replied.
After putting on their clothes, the couple left the room and sat at the table placed in the center of many tables. Lu Zhuangyuan had led the rest of the villagers over for dinner to celebrate Li Huowang's return. There were now enough villagers to use ten tables for dinner.
Lu Zhuangyuan said loudly, "Come, let us toast to the young Daoist! We pray that the young Daoist will have smooth beginnings!"
Everyone cheered when Li Huowang downed his cup.
Li Huowang could even hear Puppy's excited voice from several tables away, babbling on about him. "That's my Senior Li! He's like an Immortal! He can fly, burrow into the ground, and even summon soldiers out of nowhere! He's capable of doing everything! That day, we met some water bandits..."
"How strong is this alcohol?" Li Huowang asked, frowning and scratching his head. His body was very sensitive, so he couldn't drink strong alcohol.
"How strong is it? Troupe Leader Lu went ahead and bought some Scholar's Red, so it should be a good wine. I should've changed your drink to tea. Just eat something and go to rest," Bai Lingmiao said.
Li Huowang shook his head and left the Bai Family estate. He hunched over a tree and poked his finger into his mouth. He vomited all of the wine and food and felt much better.
Someone passed him a napkin, and Li Huowang took it to wipe his saliva away. He turned around and saw it was the Second Deity in her red veil.
Under the dim light from the estate, Li Huowang looked at the Second Deity with a complicated expression.
"Senior Li," the Second Deity said.
Li Huowang saw the Second Deity's Ten Emotions and Eight Sufferings. The Second Deity looked just like Bai Lingmiao of the past.
Li Huowang hesitated before taking out a brand new gold anklet with red thread from his robes.
Chapter 448 - Shaman
The Second Deity looked at the golden anklet on her leg.
Her voice quivered as she called out to Li Huowang again. "Senior Li."
The red veil was wet with five streaks of tears. The Second Deity appeared excited and sad at the same time.
Li Huowang could not look at the Second Deity's Ten Emotions and Eight Sufferings; they were covered by a fog inside her body.
He looked at the Second Deity with a complicated expression. Then he slowly lifted the red veil.
Li Huowang had seen the true face of the Second Deity many times before, so he wasn't surprised to see it. However, the Second Deity looked a little different today.
Her beast-like features were less visible today. Most of what Li Huowang could see was her silver-white fox fur. The Second Deity flattened the fur as much as possible against her face to make herself look better.
Li Huowang looked at the other half of the Second Deity's face—the human part. He stared at the eyes of the Second Deity and noticed how similar she looked to Bai Lingmiao of the past. To him, the Second Deity was now the Bai Lingmiao who had run out of Zephyr Temple with him.
Li Huowang caressed the Second Deity's face unconsciously. The prickling pain he felt when his fingers touched the scales underneath the fur snapped him out of it.
No, the Second Deity is not Bai Lingmiao. Miaomiao would not forgive me if I treated the Second Deity like this.
Li Huowang's face fell, and he slowly lowered his hand. Right then, the Second Deity reached out with her hands and their characteristically sharp nails and grabbed Li Huowang's hands tightly.
The Second Deity opened her mouth, revealing her sharp teeth and forked tongue while she tried to speak. Nevertheless, she gave up in the end. The Second Deity covered her face with the red veil again and left with a sob.
Li Huowang did not chase after the Second Deity. He watched her disappear into the darkness before sighing in relief.
He knew the Second Deity was part of Bai Lingmiao; she was the manifestation of Bai Lingmiao's remaining Ten Emotions and Eight Sufferings. However, he really didn't know how he should treat the Second Deity aside from getting her an anklet too.
Should he treat her as though she was Bai Lingmiao? Or should he treat them both as Bai Lingmiao? Li Huowang felt that there was no right answer to this problem.
When Li Huowang returned to the crowded dinner party, he was still thinking about the tears in the Second Deity's beast-like eyes. Then he looked at his bowl and realized there was a mountain of meat stacked in it.
Bai Lingmiao placed a piece of chive on the top of his bowl. "You finished talking? Eat first. This dinner is meant to celebrate your return."
Li Huowang extended his right hand, but rather than taking the chopsticks, he grabbed the pot of wine. He poured himself a full cup of wine and drank it in one go.
He felt drunk once more, and he felt a little better once a numbing sensation washed over him.
Li Huowang didn't have experience with matters like these. After all, before all these things happened, he'd only been a high school student.
"Why is it that the problems never stopped? Can't they just disappear for a moment?" Li Huowang mumbled as he poured himself another cup of wine.
Before he passed out, Li Huowang realized that he had actually been facing issues in his relationships. It's just that he was so busy trying to survive in this world and stop his hallucinations that he never stopped to think about these smaller issues.
When the dinner eventually ended, Li Huowang felt like he was floating; it was as if he was on a cloud. He was only half awake due to his drunkenness.
After some time, he lay down and felt the smooth silk bed sheets beneath him. He breathed in a familiar scent and understood that he was back in Bai Lingmiao's room.
Li Huowang unconsciously extended his arm and pulled a soft body towards him. He gently stroked the hair of the person and kissed the top of their head.
Bai Lingmiao was walking along the twisted path of Cowheart Village. Under the candlelight of the various houses, everyone was excitedly talking about how to ration the meat they'd taken from the dinner.
Chun Xiaoman smiled at Bai Lingmiao. "Miaomiao, everyone is having a better life than before. To think there are leftovers after dinner."
"You need to feed the horse if you want it to run," Bai Lingmiao said nonchalantly as she walked towards the ancestral hall of the Bai family. "Moreover, this didn't cost us much money. The money that Troupe Leader Lu earned from their show was more than enough to cover the dinner. I never thought they would pull through and earn so much money from performing their pink show in the Liang Kingdom."
"Yeah. They told me that there was an old man who wanted them to perform their pink show at his own funeral for three days! I wonder what that old man was thinking about."
Bai Lingmiao and Chun Xiaoman walked into the ancestral hall and twisted the monkey statue. Then they entered the hidden chamber.
The underground hidden chamber was lit up by oil lamps, and the sound of chanting rang out from its depths.
"The heavens are round, and the earth is square. May the gods descend and help the shaman. I implore the heavens and the earth, may the ancestors ride the clouds and come assist the shaman before the altar..."
When they walked into the underground hall, they saw Lu Xiucai wearing a belly band covered in runes. He was holding a triangular white flag and a short sword with two spikes. He was poking the spikes on his own head.
Lu Xiucai continued chanting, "The left eye transforms into the sun, and the right eye transforms into the moon. May the celestial bodies light the way and show the sincerity of my prayers."
The sharp spikes of the short sword had already injured his head. Blood was flowing down from the wound and covering his face. Covered in his own blood, Lu Xiucai looked like a maniac.
"May the gods descend on me with haste! My body for the gods and the gods enter my body! Open the path through the rivers and mountains, and slowly guide me on the path. Hold me close, and guide me through! Shine me in your divine light, and show me!" Lu Xiucai shouted the last verse and stomped the ground hard three times.
Then silence fell over the hall.
Bai Lingmiao frowned when she saw how Lu Xiucai stood there like a statue with a menacing look on his face. She took Chun Xiaoman's sword and slashed Lu Xiucai's waist. But rather than cutting him down, the sword struck Lu Xiucai's body, and a sharp metallic clang echoed.
Bai Lingmiao wasn't satisfied and tried a few more times, but each time she cut him, she only managed to leave a shallow wound on him.
Chun Xiaoman's sword had been given to her by Li Huowang. Not only could it cut through evil beings, but it was also capable of slicing through steel like butter. Yet, a sharp sword like that could not leave a deep wound on Lu Xiucai; he was now essentially impenetrable.
Lu Xiucai looked at his own body with excitement.
He had suffered so many beatings just to learn this technique, but he felt every single wound that had been inflicted on him had been worth it.
Lu Xiucai snarled. As his hands trembled with rage, so did the short sword and the flag in his hands.
He shouted, "Damn old man! How dare you hang me up and beat me? Don't stop me! I will take revenge today! I will snap that old man's bones myself!"
"You—"
Chun Xiaoman was going to stop him, but Bai Lingmiao stopped her.
Bai Lingmiao said, "We won't stop you. Go now. Your father drank a lot tonight, so he should be sound asleep."
Lu Xiucai growled and raised his short sword as he ran towards the exit.
He was about to leave when he slowed his pace and bellowed even louder, "Don't stop me! I will kill that bastard today!"
Chapter 449 - Change
Chun Xiaoman was confused when she saw that all Lu Xiucai did was shout scolding remarks profusely; he didn't even attempt to leave the hidden chamber.
"Miaomiao, did you know that he would be like that?" Chu Xiaoman asked.
Seeing how indecisive Lu Xiucai was, Bai Lingmiao chuckled. "You think I was joking when I scolded him for being useless? He can't be a good guy, but he can't be a bad guy either. He's just a useless bum."
Right then, Puppy walked down the stairs with a bowl of rice.
He was surprised when he saw Lu Xiucai cursing away.
Puppy placed the bowl of food on the ground before stopping Lu Xiucai. "Aiya, aiya. What are you trying to do? Stop, stop!"
Lu Xiucai became more agitated when Puppy got in his way. He raised the short sword and wanted to run out, but Puppy managed to stop him.
With Puppy comforting him, Lu Xiucai slowly calmed down. Puppy dragged him back down and gave him the bowl of food.
Taking the bowl, Lu Xiucai continued ranting, "Puppy, I will not forget what that old man did to me! I will remember it always! I'm going to slice him to bits one day!"
Puppy replied, "Aiya, you've already been starving for the entire day. Just eat your meal first. You can kill your dad anytime you want, but your food won't taste good once it's cold."
Lu Xiucai ate voraciously and only noticed halfway through that the meal was better than yesterday's. He stabbed a piece of pork the size of an egg and scooped up some rice, shoveling them all into his mouth. He munched on the food in delight.
As Lu Xiucai ate the delicious pork, he asked curiously, "Why is the meal so luxurious? Did we celebrate the New Year earlier?"
"No, Li Huowang came back! The entire village came together to have dinner to celebrate his return."
"Oh? My master is back?!"
Lu Xiucai was excited. He wanted to run out to greet his master before realizing that he should ask Bai Lingmiao for permission first. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
But when he turned around, he saw that Bai Lingmiao and Chun Xiaoman were missing. A hidden door was left open at the side of the wall.
Bai Lingmiao was walking down the hidden corridor when she staggered and almost fell in the dark.
She complained, "This stupid place is so dark."
Chun Xiaoman gently held her arm. "It's not too dark. I will place a few more lanterns on the wall tomorrow. By the way, should we tell Senior Li about the techniques that the White Lotus Sect left for us?"
Bai Lingmiao felt irritated by that. "What can he do if we tell him about it? Do you think the techniques are so great? It's nothing compared to him. He's much stronger than you think."
"Really? Is Senior Li that strong? That's good news!" Chun Xiaoman remarked, feeling happy for Li Huowang.
"It's not good news. Do you think having a strong lunatic is good for us? Think about what he did in the past," Bai Lingmiao said as she walked until they reached the innermost chamber.
"But didn't Senior Li tell you that he won't relapse again?"
"And you trust him? If you do, you are even crazier than him. I think something is still wrong with him. He changed the subject the moment we were talking about his hallucination as if he was hiding something. Let's just wait and see instead. He probably won't run in the near future. Let's observe his condition first before we decide what to do."
"Miaomiao, you are so kind to him."
"What else can I do? I'm married to him. He never thought that I was dragging him down, so there's no way I can leave him for being a lunatic now. We can only think of ways to treat him instead."
The stone door opened, and Bai Lingmiao walked in. The room was bright thanks to the glowing jade lotus.
Bai Lingmiao used the light to stare at the mural. She looked at the six white donkeys dragging the conjoined lotus.
Ever since the strange chanting was first heard, the conjoined lotus in the mural had been becoming clearer instead of disappearing. She didn't know what it meant.
Is this related to the Heavenly Mater of the White Lotus Sect?
It was a wild guess, but Bai Lingmiao had found nothing about the conjoined lotus even after reading through all the books of the hidden chamber. She didn't know if it was a good sign or bad.
Bai Lingmiao was the sole survivor of the White Lotus Sect. Her future would be decided by what kind of phenomena the conjoined lotus would bring.
"If only we knew where the strange chanting came from. We might be able to get a clue," Bai Lingmiao murmured.
However, it was impossible. She had tried asking the Immortal families when she'd worked as a shaman, but they hadn't had an answer either.
The only thing they'd told her was that the chant was chaotic and disorderly. Bai Lingmiao didn't know what it was, but she had a feeling that the Immortal families were scared of the chant.
Bai Lingmiao thought about it as she took three incense sticks. She lit it up, prayed to the conjoined lotus, and placed the incense sticks on the incense burner.
She didn't know if it was effective, but she decided to try. At the very least, the books never said that the Heavenly Mater banned others from praying to it.
"Miaomiao, what should we do with the books at the edge of the room? They are talking about how to use humans as sacrifices to lay out a spell array."
Chun Xiaoman's voice snapped Bai Lingmiao back from her train of thought.
Bai Lingmiao looked at the corner of the room and replied, "What else? Burn them."
"Burn them?"
Bai Lingmiao's voice was filled with disgust. "Burn them! They're such disgusting books. I feel irritated by just looking at them!"
She threw an oil lamp towards the stack of books and ignited it.
Under the glow of the fire, the conjoined lotus was flickering. It appeared to be floating in a small orb that was inverted on itself.
Nevertheless, both Bai Lingmiao and Chun Xiaoman failed to notice that.