Fa Cai from the Sitting Oblivion Dao was killed by someone else.
Wait, could it be?
Li Huowang suddenly recalled Zhuge Yuan.
How is that possible?
"The Sitting Oblivion Dao wasn't the only one who came here looking to find the Muddled One! Tell me right now who took the Muddled One?" shouted Ji Xiang, his aura vastly different from before. At the same time, his eyes were bulging to the point of almost popping off from their sockets and the white makeup on his face cracked.
He glared at the three sets of people in front of him.
But the palace continued to remain silent. No one answered him.
"Fine! Everyone, return to the capital! Once we are there, I'm sure you will spit out the answers!" Ji Xiang threw the head and left.
At this point, no one dared to go against him for fear that they would be branded as someone from the Sitting Oblivion Dao. All of them followed him quietly.
Since the carriage was not large enough to fit everyone, some of them sat on horses as they started returning to the capital with Ji Xiang.
As he sat on the horse, Li Huowang was feeling quite anxious. He only had the bronze coin veil and wasn't sure whether that would be enough to hide his identity as a Strayed One.
But it was clear that some of them were even more anxious than Li Huowang.
Suddenly, one of the Li Huowangs jumped down from the horse and ran into a forest. The moment he did, the fake Hong Da and the fake Xin Chi also ran into the forest at the same time.
In the next instant, the roof of the carriage exploded as Ji Xiang held onto his golden abacus and chased after one of the members from the Sitting Oblivion Dao.
"Go and capture the other two! I want them alive!"
With this order, all of them scattered, each chasing after one of the members of the Sitting Oblivion Dao members.
——————————————
Xin Chi ran into the forest as fast as he could. His body was big so he could not move as nimbly as he wanted in the forest. He was also the slowest.
At that moment, he suddenly heard something and he tilted his head, barely dodging a blade.
But his body suddenly shuddered and he found himself being lifted off the ground. As he endured the intense pain, he saw that it was an arm covered in bone spikes piercing out from the ground and into his abdomen.
"What is this—" He opened his mouth, but realized too late that he had spoken!
At the same time, a whip made from bronze coins being tied together by a red thread wrapped around his neck.
Amidst all this, someone shouted in his ear, "You think you are petty? I'm equally petty, motherfucker!"
The bronze coin whip dug into Xin Chi's neck as Li Huowang continued to strangle him tightly.
Struggling, Xin Chi opened his mouth and coughed out blood. He tried to reach behind him to catch Li Huowang. But even if his hands became bloody, there was nothing he could do.
After that, Li Huowang used all of his strength, even resorting to biting into his bronze coin whip as he tightened his stranglehold.
At the same time, numerous tentacles burst forth from Li Huowang's body and entangled Xin Chi's limbs.
Xin Chi continued to struggle fiercely until he suddenly stopped. Then, he collapsed onto the ground with a forceful impact. He was dead.
Just as Li Huowang was retrieving his bronze coin sword, he saw Hong Da appearing from the side as he stared at Li Huowang his black tentacles cautiously.
After a moment, Li Huowang blinked and pointed at Xin Chi's body. "He's from the Sitting Oblivion Dao."
Hearing this, Hong Da looked down at the corpse and saw that its face was indeed distorting into that of a mahjong tile and slowly nodded. "But Lord Ji Xiang said that we needed to capture them alive. Why did you kill him? What should we do now?"
"I couldn't hold back in time. Sorry," replied Li Huowang as he shook his gourd and waved it at Hong Da. Instantly, its jaws opened and it spat out several lifespan pills toward the man.
Hong Da's large sleeve was like a bag that captured all of the lifespan pills. Then, he nodded with satisfaction. "It's normal for youngsters to not be able to hold back. We still have two more people, and so Ji Xiang will not blame you."
Hearing this, Li Huowang nodded and smiled, his black tentacles slowly retreating back into his body.
"Come, let's go catch the other one," said Hong Da as he turned and left.
Li Huowang was now slightly more knowledgeable about the Surveillance Bureau and the dynamics between their members.
The Surveillance Bureau was just a place for all of them to earn money, and they were not colleagues. At best they were acquaintances. It all depended on the benefits you could provide them. Depending on how much you gave them, they could either sabotage or help you in a mission.
When Li Huowang and Hong Da brought the other person back, they saw Tuoba Danqing and Ji Xiang were already back in the carriage.
However, at this moment, there was blood everywhere. In the middle of the pool of blood was a human face, a skeleton, and some discarded flesh.
Looking at Tuoba Danqing holding onto his mouth, it was clear that the victim had been tortured to this point.
Meanwhile, Ji Xiang was pacing back and forth as he muttered something.
"Senior Tuoba? What's wrong?" asked Li Huowang as he approached Tuoba Danqing.
"Lord Ji Xiang managed to force the member of the Sitting Oblivion Dao to confess. He had only said one name, Zhuge Yuan, before he was suddenly transformed into his current state. I don't even know who that is," explained Tuoba Danqing.
Zhuge Yuan? He was the one who killed Fa Cai?!
Li Huowang's pupils shrank. He remembered the few words that Zhuge Yuan had told him.
First the Surveillance Bureau, then the Sitting Oblivion Dao, and now Zhuge Yuan. Since neither the Sitting Oblivion Dao nor the Surveillance Bureau managed to get their hands on the Muddled One, Zhuge Yuan must've obtained it. Just who is he?
At that moment, Ji Xiang suddenly stopped and looked at the remaining three people. "Let me ask you this. While we were at the Buddha's Skeleton Temple, did any of you feel anything strange? Maybe someone did something suspicious yet reasonable at the same time?"
Li Huowang recalled his experiences and frowned. What was Ji Xiang talking about?
"Lord Ji Xiang, what is happening? Who's Zhuge Yuan?" asked Li Huowang. He didn't know why, but he felt like he was being sucked into even greater danger.
Ji Xiang didn't reply and just continued mumbling, "I should've known that it was Zhuge Yuan's power. It must be him. The world must be changing quite rapidly if even he is coming here to steal the Muddled One."
After pacing back and forth for a while, Ji Xiang grabbed a horse and left quickly without telling them anything else.
"Lord Ji Xiang, Lord Ji Xiang!" Tuoba Danqing shouted but to no avail. He turned to look at Li Huowang and Hong Da. "Go back. Sigh, it seems that something has happened and I fear that we won't be able to get any rewards."
When Tuoba Danqing left, Hong Da looked at Li Huowang and asked. "Let's go together?"
"Thank you, but I prefer traveling alone," replied Li Huowang.
Hearing this, Hong Da nodded and left on horseback.
On the other hand, after Li Huowang ensured that there was no one else around, he walked back to the Buddha's Skeleton Temple.
Chapter 341 - Spindle
The sounds of crying could be heard throughout the Buddha's Skeleton Temple. The monks and the devotees were busy carrying out the injured from within the collapsed palace.
At the same time, many of them were also busy cleaning up the debris as they tried to save the Flesh Bodhisattva from underneath the rubble.
Amidst all the chaos, no one noticed the black spindle that had rolled to a corner of the wall.
At that moment, two bloody pikes picked up the black spindle like a chopstick.
As he looked at the item that Zhuge Yuan had given him, Li Huowang frowned.
The spindle was made from a yellow bone. The bone was slimmer in the middle and thicker on both its ends. The marking on it showed that it was an old item. There were black threads wrapped around the bone, turning it into a spindle. The threads were extremely black and fine.
What is this? Are there any side effects to it?
Li Huowang wasn't sure what to do with it.
As he thought about it, he remembered the kindness that Zhuge Yuan had shown to him. If Zhuge Yuan really was the one who had killed Fa Cai, then his strength would definitely be above Li Huowang. Thus, if Zhuge Yuan wanted to kill Li Huowang, there would be nothing the latter could do.
Li Huowang used the pikes and examined the spindle while sitting on the stairway. He slowly tried to rationalize everything that had happened.
Zhuge Yuan... Zhuge Yuan ...
Firstly, based on how that damned eunuch reacted to that name when he heard it, I can confirm that Zhuge Yuan belongs to another faction. Zhuge Yuan's faction should also be much stronger than sects like the Righteous Monastery or the Benevolent Nunnery. Secondly, the mission this time, to obtain the Muddled One, was leaked to the Sitting Oblivion Dao and Zhuge Yuan. What happened was that Zhuge Yuan ended up killing Fa Cai and avoided Ji Xiang before obtaining the Muddled One, thus becoming the winner this time.
After having been here for some time, Li Huowang was well aware of the Surveillance Bureau's strength. If even they were cautious of Zhuge Yuan, then that would mean that the latter was much more powerful than he had originally thought.
There was also the issue with Zhuge Yuan's power. Even though he looked like a scholar, he had still managed to defeat Fa Cai.
Li Huowang recalled what Ji Xiang had asked them before.
Let me ask you this. While at the Buddha's Skeleton Temple, did any of you feel anything strange? Maybe someone did something suspicious yet reasonable at the same time?
This was what Ji Xiang had said. However, Li Huowang didn't know what he meant. What did he mean when he said suspicious yet reasonable? Why was it related to Zhuge Yuan and why was Ji Xiang so shocked?
Li Huowang closed his eyes and carefully remembered everything that had happened within the Buddha's Skeleton Temple. The only thing that happened back then that was suspicious yet reasonable at the same time was Xin Chi suddenly framing him as someone from the Sitting Oblivion Dao.
Xin Chi might be petty but it was definitely strange that he would try to frame Li Huowang at a time when they could be attacked by the Sitting Oblivion Dao at any time.
Also, when that member of the Sitting Oblivion Dao masquerading as me appeared, he could've just said that it was yet another member of the Sitting Oblivion Dao. But he didn't. Instead, he became somewhat conflicted and then chose to remain silent.
As Li Huowang carefully analyzed the situation, he found more and more suspicious issues.
Is that Zhuge Yuan's power? Can he control someone's actions without them knowing? Is this a technique or mind control?
Li Huowang began thinking about the various possibilities.
Wait, if he is capable of controlling others, why didn't he use it on me?
If Zhuge Yuan had this kind of power, then there was no reason for him to talk to Li Huowang in order to obtain his goals. He could just control Li Huowang and do whatever he wanted.
Unless...
Li Huowang's pupils suddenly shrank and his heart started beating faster.
Unless he doesn't have any goals at all?
Li Huowang lowered his head and looked at the spindle.
Then why did he give me this? Was it out of kindness? Did he pity me? Impossible! That doesn't make sense! There's no way that there are people like that out there! I don't believe it! He must have an ulterior motive!
At that moment, Monk's illusion approached him and said, "Daoist, you can't say that. I became a monk because I wanted to do good deeds, and Abbess Jingxin was also a good person."
Hearing this, Li Huowang just stood there. He kept thinking and thinking, but there was no satisfactory answer. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
After a while, he shook his head and sighed deeply. He had become so used to wickedness that kindness seemed much more foreign and scary to him. He would rather Zhuge Yuan just attack him. At the very least, that way he wouldn't have to think so much.
"Amitabha, benefactor, I'm sorry to disturb you."
Hearing the sudden voice, Li Huowang raised his head and saw that it was the old monk of the Buddha's Skeleton Temple. He was standing there with a kind look on his face.
"Benefactor, I know we mustn't lose sight of the bigger picture, and I know that the Surveillance Bureau has a great goal, but, if possible, please stop killing. Because of you, five of our monks have returned to Nirvana today," pleaded the old monk, kneeling in front of Li Huowang with his hands clasped together.
Looking at the nine scars on the old monk's head, Li Huowang just stood up and walked out of the temple.
Another kind person? Maybe, but I don't trust him.
Once out of the temple, Li Huowant had decided on his new goals.
Rather than waiting here and thinking, I would just prefer to ask Ji Xiang and see if my questions can be answered. That eunuch surely knew who Zhuge Yuan was! Once I know who Zhuge Yuan is, I can think about what to do with the spindle.
Having made his decision, Li Huowang lowered his head and placed the spindle in his bag of torture tools before hopping onto his horse.
The horse started galloping across the muddy road, never stopping once.
As he moved, the cold rain splashed onto the horse's back and on Li Huowang's face.
Li Huowang looked up at the dark skies as he continued to travel on the muddy road.
Back when he came here, they were in a horse carriage where he could hide from the weather; however, while traveling to the temple the skies had been perfectly clear. On the other hand, now that he was returning on horseback, the rain didn't seem like it would ever stop.
Even though it was already late at night, it was still raining. Li Huowang knew that he shouldn't be riding the horse, but he knew that if he stopped then he would be thoroughly soaked. He needed to find a place to take shelter from the rain.
Just then, Li Huowang saw a flag that had 'station' written on it, causing his eyes to light up as he urged the horse to run faster. The flag was flowing wildly in the rain.
The stations were places provided by the Liang Kingdom where messengers and officials could rest, eat, and exchange horses.
Just as the person in charge of the station yawned and lazily walked out with a lantern, Li Huowang shoved his identity plate into the person's face.
Immediately, the half-asleep station master was freed of his drowsiness.
Soon after, the stable boy was awake. He came and took Li Huowang's horse and started treating it carefully.
The chef was also woken up, tasked with cooking the best of meals before serving them to Li Huowang in his room.
Chapter 342 - Huanhuan
"Hehe. Sir, if there's anything else you need, please just let us know."
The station master's flattering smile reminded Li Huowang of his own superior.
"Go to sleep. And don't come near my room if there's nothing," instructed Li Huowang.
"Alright, have a good rest~ I will go back now. If you need anything, just call out for Old Wu, and I'll arrive as soon as I can," said the station master as he turned back.
The door shut with a creak. Then, Li Huowang fastened the door and took out the soaked rations from his bag, and began to gnaw on them. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
Without Bun around, he was even more wary and dared not eat random food from outside, even if it was at a relay station of the Liang Kingdom.
At that moment, Li Huowang suddenly stopped eating and looked at the scabs on the back of his hand. There seemed to be something moving there.
When he examined it carefully under the candlelight, he found a fine, black tentacle there. It resembled an earthworm, and was continuously wriggling around inside his blood vessels. Li Sui's tentacles had followed along his blood vessels and reached his hand, which was something unprecedented.
"I called it, didn't I? See, the omen has appeared. This is just the beginning. The Black Taisui will gradually occupy all the meridians in your body. At that point, you will be dead meat. Even the Immortals won't be able to save you then. Do as I say, and quickly get rid of the Black Taisui!" said Hong Zhong.
However, Li Huowang just continued to chew on the flatbread in his mouth while eyeing Hong Zhong coldly.
"Daddy?" Li Sui's voice rang out again, this time with a hint of grievance and hesitation.
Li Huowang withdrew his gaze, and then placed the reminder of his rations back into his pocket. Then, he directly blew out the candle. At this point, he was too lazy to even take a bath, and just directly decided to lie down. He was exhausted. The moment the back of his head hit the pillow, he had already entered dreamland.
Li Huowang woke up to the pitter-patter sound of rain outside his window. He had finally had a good sleep after a long time.
Still in a daze, he was suddenly hit by a strong bout of queasiness.
What's going on?
Li Huowang walked over to retrieve his water gourd and hydrate himself.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, before the water had even poured in, several tentacles burrowed out from within his throat.
"What are you doing? Get back in!"
However, as he spoke, more and more tentacles started to emerge.
"Li Sui! What are you doing?!" Li Huowang bellowed in his mind.
"Daddy, you... won't die!"
As Li Huowang bent over to vomit, the wriggling tentacles that came together to form Li Sui were soon vomited out, covered in mucus. Then, the mass of tentacles quickly crawled its way underneath the bed.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang swallowed a mouthful of saliva mixed with blood, and then glared at Hong Zhong with annoyance. "Will you die if you don't speak?"
He turned back and walked toward his bed. But before he could even reach it, he clutched his head in agony as the surroundings around him started changing rapidly. When he finally came to, he found that he was no longer standing, but lying on the cold, muddy ground.
Li Huowang looked around dumbfoundedly. He was still in the area under the bridge, but now, he was much dirtier than before.
Back again...
Li Huowang sighed helplessly. He turned around to lie flat on the ground, and watched the spiders spinning their webs at the bottom of the bridge.
The only fortunate thing was that his mother and Yang Na were no longer around. Thus, he did not need to carefully mull over what was real or what was fake. He just had to quietly wait for time to pass.
Li Sui is beginning to recognise words faster and faster now. Now, it can even understand what Hong Zhong is saying. But I have to teach it that not everything some people say is definitely true.
Covered in his tattered clothes, Li Huowang thought to himself as he continued lying on the ground underneath the bridge.
At that moment, footsteps rang out from the entrance along with a voice. He remembered that it was Huanhuan's voice.
Li Huowang turned around to look and saw the cute little girl carrying her red bag while holding out a few shumais. She was just standing there uneasily. At this point, she seemed slightly taller than before, and her clothes had also been changed. The only thing that did not change was the cherry-colored hairpin on her head.
"Huanhuan, there's no need to bring me food. I won't starve to death. Actually, it might even be better if I do starve to death," said Li Huowang.
Li Huowang's words caused Huanhuan's eyes to widen. "Uncle, you can recognise me! You haven't recognised me in a while."
Hearing this, he chuckled silently, then stood up and walked toward her. This time, she did not move away as usual, and just stood there uneasily as she looked up at Li Huowang.
Then, Li Huowang took the five shumais from her hands and stuffed them into his mouth as he said, "Back at the kindergarten, I'm sorry about what happened. You know too that I have a mental illness. Sometimes, I cannot differentiate things very well."
Huanhuan smiled sweetly as she watched him eat, then shook her head, her two ponytails swinging from side to side. "It's alright, I know that you are not intentionally trying to harm me."
Li Huowang raised his hand to pat her head, but decided against it when he saw just how filthy his palm was.
"Thank you for your shumais. Remember, don't bring food for me in future. I might end up harming you when I am mad," said Li Huowang before pausing abruptly. Why was he spouting such nonsense in this obvious hallucination?
"Mm, I got it! Goodbye Uncle! I'll head home first!" Huanhuan gave Li Huowang a big hug, and then turned to leave.
Li Huowang walked to the edge of the area under the bridge. Standing in the shadows, he watched the petite figure dashing off in the sunlight. There was a sense of warmth in his eyes.
Back there, he would treat every act of kindness with extreme wariness. Conversely in this hallucination, kindness was everywhere. If he could choose, then he would much rather this side be the real one.
Just as he was going to turn around and head back to the area under the bridge, a fatty emerged from a corner in the distance. He was smoking and was wearing a large golden chain on his neck. This made Li Huowang's expression freeze.
The fatty occasionally stole shifty glances toward this direction, which made the warmth in Li Huowang's expression slowly turn into chilliness.
What's he trying to do to Huanhuan?
Li Huowang immediately thought of a movie scene, which made his skin twitch. Even if this was just his hallucination, he would not let such disgusting events unfold.
He looked around and picked up a cobblestone that was within reach from the riverside, and then started moving toward the fatty.
By the time the fatty turned to see Li Huowang, he had already been hit on his head.
Immediately, the fatty's head started bleeding, causing him intense pain. By the time he realized what was going on, Li Huowang had already dragged him to the area under the bridge. When he looked down, he saw that a piece of shattered glass had pierced through his left palm, causing him to start screaming in pain.
At that moment, Li Huowang suddenly punched the fatty's chest, causing the fatty's cries to stop abruptly and lose his breath. "What are you screaming for? I haven't even started yet."
When the fatty finally regained his composure, Li Huowang looked at him coldly and asked, "Speak. What were you trying to do with the little girl?"
The fatty looked extremely wronged as tears almost fell from his eyes. "Why would I be watching the little girl? I have been keeping an eye at you!"
Chapter 343 - Da Long
The other party's words caught Li Huowang completely off guard. He stared at the fatty with the big, gold chain in disbelief. "Keeping an eye on me? What for?"
Looking fearfully at the blood-stained piece of broken glass, the fatty stammered, "I... I don't know. My distant cousin just asked me to keep an eye on you. He said that he'd pay me 2,500 a month. I thought it was crazy to watch a lunatic. But with 2,500 a month, and no boss to bother me, and the fact that I could play games, it was better than working in an electronics factory. So, I took up his offer."
Li Huowang reached out to pull the gold chain, but felt that something was wrong. The gold felt much heavier in his hands than it should, and was likely fake. As he thought about it, he suddenly felt that the fatty was probably telling the truth, and he was just sent here to keep an eye on him.
The fatty had an ingratiating smile on his face as he spoke, "I bought this thing from a stall for 30 bucks. I don't have money required to buy a real gold chain. That bastard Wang Zhilong hasn't paid me for two months."
Hearing this, Li Huowang's gaze suddenly became vacant.
What has been happening in this hallucination? Who is the person that sent people to keep an eye on me?
However, as his thoughts reached this point, Li Huowang's breathing quickened as he forcefully shook his head.
No! All this doesn't matter since it's just a hallucination. There's no logic here, and I don't need to care or understand what happens here.
"Li Sui!" Li Huowang turned around and shouted toward his surroundings, "Li Sui! Have you had enough fun? If you still recognize me as your daddy, then come back now!"
Since he had already given up on it, there was nothing left to care about. He did not want to continue staying in this hallucination. He still had many matters left to deal with on the other side!
Meanwhile, when the bound fatty saw Li Huowang's bizarre actions, he was so frightened that he was about to wet his pants. After observing him for such a long period of time, he knew that this person was not just faking it. This person was a genuine lunatic. Moreover, from what he knew, this madman had even chopped at someone before.
The fatty struggled as he tried to retreat backward while shouting, "That's none of my business! I'm just doing my work! It was that kid Da Long who asked me to inform him immediately if you created any objects to appear out of the blue! If you are looking for trouble, then go look for him instead!"
As he heard this, Li Huowang's eyes shrank. He turned to look at him. "What did you say?!"
Li Huowang quickly walked across and picked him up from the ground, then stared at his fat face and asked, "What's going on? Who is this Da Long? Why does he know that I can create things out of the blue?"
Everything that had just been extremely absurd until just a moment ago now started to have some logic in it. At the same time, this inexplicable logic made him start to feel a little nervous.
"I only know so much. His contact is on my phone. You can call him, and I'll lure him over for you!" said the fatty.
Hearing this, Li Huowang took out the fatty's phone and unlocked it via face verification. Then, he opened the contact list, and dialed the person named Da Long.
"Hey~ Brother Long! Come quickly! The lunatic has conjured something out of thin air, just like magic! Yes, yes! There's gold too!" The fatty spoke to the person on the phone, his voice filled with conviction. Then, he looked toward Li Huowang with an ingratiating expression.
"Bro, he said that he would arrive in just a moment. I've already helped you trick him over, so can you let me go now?" asked the fatty.
Li Huowang tossed the fatty's phone into the fast-flowing river, and then took off his socks, rolled them into a ball, and stuffed them into his mouth.
The so-called Da Long was not far away, as Li Huowang soon heard the screeching brakes from the outside.
When three men rushed under the bridge and saw the fatty tied up , the man with a crew cut and muscular face revealed a look of surprise. After they rushed over and released him, Wang Zhilong grabbed him and asked, "Where's Li Huowang?"
However, before the fatty could answer, a dark shadow emerged from the river beside them. The shadow held a cobblestone and smashed it directly onto the man's head.
The man hastily dodged, but the stone still managed to hit his collarbone, causing the area to visibly swell up.
That was just the beginning. These people were completely unprepared when they were faced with Li Huowang's sudden ambush. The four-against-one situation unexpectedly resulted in their retreat.
"Damn it! I'll fight you!" A short man steeled his heart, and then pulled out a dagger as he stabbed Li Huowang in the arm. However, he became a little flustered after hitting his target and subconsciously released the dagger while taking a step back.
The next moment, Li Huowang grabbed the handle of the dagger and pulled it out. Then, without hesitation, he stabbed it into the man's arm. Miserable cries soon rang out from the area under the bridge.
With lightning speed, Li Huowang pulled out the dagger and stabbed it onto another person's thigh.
As he saw this horrifying scene, Wang Zhilong obviously started panicking. He hadn't expected the other party to be so terrifying. At this point, he wanted to run. However, faced with the armed Li Huowang, it was too late. A kick on the back caused him to fall and taste mud.
Soon, the four men were tied up like pigs waiting to be slaughtered. Their limbs were bound by their own shoelaces and belts, as they lay on the ground.
Then, Li Huowang dragged Wang Zhilong by the hair and brought him to the riverbank before pressing him directly into the muddy water. He held him down until the man started struggling violently, and then lifted him up forcefully. This went on for a few times until Wang Zhilong was gasping for air.
Finally, Li Huowang lifted him up again and asked, "How do you know that I can conjure up things?"
Wang Zhilong was somewhat dazed, and he spoke weakly and intermittently, "I... I overheard it."
"And what else did you do?" Li Huowang released his hand, causing Wang Zhilong's face to be a few centimeters away from the water.
The fear of suffocation caused the man to start speaking rapidly while sputtering, "I heard that you have a special ability to conjure gold out of thin air! And so, I had some bad ideas to find some connections and use them to sneak you out of the hospital so that I could use you to conjure some gold for myself!"
They didn't abandon me?
A strong surge of happiness flushed Li Huowang's heart.
They didn't abandon me!
He had always told himself that he didn't care. But only after hearing how this person had sneaked him out of the hospital did Li Huowang realize just how much he cared.
Meanwhile, Wang Zhilong saw Li Huowang's emotions stabilize, and hastily pleaded, "Please spare me! I had a wrong idea and thought of this crooked path! I am wrong, I am wrong!"
Hearing his pleas, Li Huowang looked down at him, the intense emotions in his heart quickly vanishing. At the same time, a strong sense of doubt started growing.
"You're lying! If you wanted to control me to conjure gold, then why didn't you kidnap me? Instead, you left me out in the open so casually. This is fake! It's a hallucination!" shouted Li Huowang.
Wang Zhilong wailed in despair, "I wanted to capture you, but the problem was that I couldn't tie you up! The rope was clearly bound on your hands, yet it loosened the next moment. The door was clearly shut, yet you managed to appear outside! If you hadn't shown this special ability, then I would have just thought that you were some ordinary lunatic and would have given up long ago!"
Chapter 344 - Li Sui
Li Huowang's eyes shrank.
This ability... Is it my shifting ability? I have such an ability in my hallucination as well?
Meanwhile, Wang Zhilong burst into tears as he continued to complain in a sullen voice, "I didn't even get a single dollar. Do you know how much I've invested for this exchange? Tens of thousands! And how many strings I had to pull for the officials to not take you away! This could only be done with the help of dozens of credit cards used by us few! Please, I'm begging you! Conjure up a few gold pieces. We're all at the end of our wits about how to deal with all the debt!"
At that moment, Li Huowang suddenly released his grip and looked around with some confusion.
What's going on? Why does it seem like this world suddenly became more realistic?
He looked down at the bleeding wound on his body, then raised the dagger in his right hand and stabbed it towards his left hand.
This pain... Why does it feel so real?
Even if there's only a miniscule chance that it's real, doesn't this mean that Yang Na and my mom... They didn't abandon me! And they might even be looking for me right now!
Li Huowang's heart started racing as he quickly dashed outside. But right as he was about to get out into the sunlight, his footsteps gradually slowed down.
But in my current state, so what if they find me? Other than letting them continue with their suffering, and for me to continue to be thrust into bewilderment? I can't keep being a burden to them.
Dispirited, Li Huowang turned back as he walked back to the area under the bridge with heavy steps.
This is fake. Since I've ascertained this side to be fake, then there's nothing else to hesitate about.
He released Wang Zhilong's restraints and freed him, then lay on the ground and stared vacantly toward the ceiling.
Finally freed from his restraints, Wang Zhilong did not try to release his comrades, and instead looked back at Li Huowang, his gaze hesitant.
"Brother Li, since you're conscious now, tell me. Do you really have any special abilities?" asked Wang Zhilong.
However, Li Huowang completely disregarded everything around him. He was trying to think of how he could persuade Li Sui to go back into his tummy.
"Through the surveillance cameras, I saw that gold box that you gifted your mom! It was full of precious stones! Any one of them could buy you a house! That should be true, right? Otherwise, how could they have the money to issue missing person notices all over the internet and the streets?" continued Wang Zhilong.
"Scram..."
"Ah, Brother Li, don't be like that. If you really don't want to go back, then give me some gold. In return, I'll tell your mom that you're dead so that she can finally give up hope completely," offered Wang Zhilong.
Hearing those words, Li Huowang once again focused on Wang Zhilong's greedy face as killing intent surfaced within his eyes. "You want gold, right?! I'll give you some!"
As he spoke, Li Huowang took out the fatty's gold chain from his pocket and wrapped it around Wang Zhilong's neck. Then, he kicked the man's calves and pulled up. In an instant, his eyes began to turn white.
Wang Zhilong struggled for his life as tried to reach toward Li Huowang's face. But even as the back of Li Huowang's hands was scratched up and bloodied, he did not release his grip at all.
As time passed, Wang Zhilong's struggles only grew more intense. Gradually, his facial color turned from red to purple and then to black.
As he saw all this, Li Huowang's bloodshot pupils suddenly shrank. He found that this scene was extremely similar to when he previously killed Xin Chi.
A surge of fear caused Li Huowang to release his hands. He started trembling as he looked down at his hands.
Since when did he become like this? Killing people without even blinking?
Li Huowang turned around to look at his reflection on the river surface. The beggar in tattered clothes looking back at him was a complete stranger to him.
The ordinary high school life he had led was just a few years ago at this point. But to the current him, it was as distant as his previous life.
His past memories had already started to become hazy, as the bizarre and crazy events that had happened started replacing them in his mind.
Li Huowang had finally found the reason.
After experiencing various events, he was gradually assimilated by the other side. At some point, he had started becoming indifferent to human life, just like those from the Surveillance Bureau, and filled with resentment.
Even worse, he was slowly turning into another Dan Yangzi.
No, this is not me, this is not Li Huowang.
He turned around and walked back before sprawling beside Wang Zhilong, who was clutching his neck, and then reached out to support him. Then, he emotionally pleaded, "I beg you, stop provoking me! I'm a lunatic! I really don't want to kill anyone!"
Wang Zhilong had just been on the brink of death, and dared not say anything. He just abandoned his three other companions and sprinted out from under the bridge.
The recent events had truly scared him. He could sense that the other party had really wanted to kill him.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang sighed deeply. He approached the other three and untied their restraints. Then, he ignored their hasty retreat, as well as the bleeding wounds on his body. He knelt on the ground and closed his eyes.
This is fake, this is fake...
After some time, Li Huowang felt his surroundings go dim.
He looked around, and unsurprisingly found the entire room in chaos, as though a strong wind had blown through.
Finally back...
Now that he was finally back in this crazy world, Li Huowang felt an inexplicable sense of security.
He walked back to the collapsed bed, knelt down, and reached under his bed. Then, he used the gentlest tone possible and called out, "Li Sui, don't be afraid, that person is a liar. Whatever he says is false. You won't hurt me by staying in my tummy."
After a short while, a hesitant black tentacle emerged from the darkness under the bed and entwined itself around Li Huowang's hand, "Hmm.."
With a gentle pull from Li Huowang, Li Sui was completely dragged out. Li Huowang embraced him, soothing the various long and short tentacles. "Li Sui, be good, and come in. Daddy really cannot do without you now."
Hearing this, two tentacles that were entangled with a pair of double-pupiled eyeballs looked at Li Huowang affectionately.
"Ugh... ugh!"
Amidst the pangs of nausea, Li Sui once again entered Li Huowang's throat.
With a strange sensation, Li Sui's tentacles filled the veins throughout Li Huowang's entire body.
At the same time, Li Huowang rubbed his belly and breathed out a sigh of relief. As long as Li Sui was with him, he didn't need to go to the other side anymore.
Afterwards, Li Huowang walked to the window and looked outside. The sky was still gloomy, but it seemed to be getting brighter.
After a night of turmoil, Li Huowang had no intention of sleeping anymore. He picked up his luggage and headed downstairs toward the stable.
However, as soon as he entered the lobby, Li Huowang saw the pitiful Old Wu, who was with the cook and the stableman, all of them bandaging each other.
When he saw that Old Wu's injuries were in similar positions to Wang Zhilong's, Li Huowang immediately understood what was going on.
"When did you get close to my room? Didn't I tell you not to come near my room if there wasn't anything?"
Hearing this, Old Wu forced out a bitter smile, and quickly knelt on the ground. "I heard a commotion and was afraid that something had happened to you, so... I deserve to die! I deserve to die! My blood has stained your hands. I should pay you back for dirtying them."
Li Huowang yanked at his clothes and straightened the man up, "Stand still!"
Then, he began to chant as the white wax of the Fiery Scripture quickly melted and became a fiery centipede that leapt onto Old Wu's wounds.
"Ahh!" Old Wu's cries reverberated in the lobby.
"Stop shouting! It's treating you!"
By the time their throats were hoarse from shouting, the injuries on each person had been replaced by a slight burn mark.
Then, Li Huowang took out two silver ingots from his pocket and placed them on the table. "This is compensation for your furniture."
"This... I cannot accept it," Old Wu was about to decline, but Li Huowang stuffed the silver directly into his arms.
"If I tell you to take it, then you take it. I don't want to be assimilated by this damn place!"
Chapter 345 - Bai Lingmiao
"Dong dong dong~! Dong dong dong~! Summon the gods~"
A rhythmic drumbeat sounded from a simple-looking house, followed by a chant.
"Small drum whip of one foot three, that colorful ribbon tied on it! Dong dong dong~"
"Go down and make a bend, go up and point a finger! Dong dong dong~"
"Hit it once, bounce three times. Hit it thrice, make it nine! Dong dong dong~"
"The whip sounds with every beat, the drum sounds and the gods are pleased! Dong dong dong~"
Two red-veiled ladies were standing in the house, surrounding an ashen-faced child while beating their drums continuously.
Beside the child's pillow was a mound of soil. Three incense sticks were placed in it, and the incense smoke wavered continuously, forming fuzzy characters.
However, just before the characters were about to solidify, a strong gust of wind blew open the tightly closed window, dispersing the strands of smoke.
In an instant, the tempo of the drum beats increased, the turn suddenly becoming urgent and fast.
At the same time, the Second Deity swirled her slender and black nails in the air, causing the dispersing white smoke to turn into substantial white threads that entwined around her hand. The sharp fingers followed the guidance of the white threads and ruthlessly pierced a point three inches below the child's thumb.
With a swift downward motion, the child's tender palm was cut open, revealing clusters of yellowish things that resembled fish wriggling inside as though it was trying to emerge.
At that moment, a pair of black scissors, tied to a red string, was plunged in, causing the hole to become even larger.
"Waa waa waa~!"
The child who had seemed lifeless until just a moment ago, now suddenly sat up and started crying for his father. He did not notice that the objects emerging from his palm were turning into a puddle of yellow water that joined his tears in soaking the cool mat on his bed.
"My son~!" A shriveled and short man stepped in from outside, and exclaimed loudly when he saw that his almost-dead son had now been awakened.
He rushed over and quickly embraced the sweating and crying child. Then, he then quickly turned to the red-veiled Bai Lingmiao who was standing by side and bowed to express his gratitude.
On the other hand, Bai Lingmiao's expression was pale and agonized. She just shook her head and turned to leave.
"Fairy, hold on, I haven't paid you." The man hastily rummaged through his belongings and picked out fifty pieces of copper coins from the bottom of a drawer. They were good coins that did not have any worn edges. He grabbed them and presented them to Bai Lingmiao with both hands.
Bai Lingmiao glanced at the patches on the man's clothes, then at his straw sandals, and then again at the shabby walls of this house. In the end, she shook her head to decline the payment. "It's alright, Uncle. Leave it for the child and buy some food for him. He's too skinny."
"No, Fairy, you must take the money. My Zhou family only has this one offspring left. If not for you saving his life, then there would have been no one left to take care of me in old age!" said the shriveled man.
After several refusals, Bai Lingmiao was finally forced to accept the fifty coins.
When she came out of the house, the one-armed Chun Xiaoman, who was practicing swordplay beside the carriage, quickly sheathed her sword and approached her. "Miaomiao, how's it going? Are you done?"
When she saw Bai Lingmiao nod, Xiaoman smiled slightly and then pulled her toward the carriage. Once they were seated, the mud-covered wheels began to roll back toward Cowheart Mountain.
"Thank you, Sister Xiaoman, for accompanying me here," said Bai Lingmiao.
Chun Xiaoman replied, "Aren't we good sisters? There's no need to be so courteous. I can help out too if we happen to meet any bandits along the way."
As she spoke, Chun Xiaoman peeled open a corner of the curtain, and then glanced at Bai Lingmiao inside the carriage before sighing softly.
Of course, she had just made up those words. Bai Lingmiao did not need her protection. However, when she saw the black scar that had not yet faded from her pale neck, Xiaoman couldn't help but worry.
Logically, no matter what happens, things would generally improve with the passage of time. This was the same when her own parents sold her off. She was not as hurt about it now as she was back then.
But this sister of hers wasn't the same. Senior Li had already been gone for such a long time, and yet she still remained so dejected. Ever since that time, she had not smiled, and the gaze in her eyes was vacant, as though she had lost something.
The carriage continued to hurry along, and only stopped when it was deep in the night. While they had not yet reached Cowheart Village, there were no villages nearby, and so they had to spend a night in the wilderness on the way back.
They ate some of their dried rations, and then lay in the carriage to rest.
In her half-asleep state, Chun Xiaoman suddenly felt rather uneasy, and reached out a hand to touch the face of the lady beside her.
When she felt that her eyes were actually opened, Xioaman sighed, "Miaomiao, you can't go on like this. I know you're very sad, but it's been a long time. You have to move on. People who have passed away cannot come back to life. Even if you keep tormenting yourself like this, they won't come back to life."
Seeing that she didn't get a response from the other side, Chun Xiaoman changed her angle. "Since we're sisters who speak from our hearts, I'll be straightforward. I know Senior Li saved us, but looking at things holistically, he isn't that great. At the same time, without even mentioning the other things, considering your current condition, as long as you offer yourself for marriage, many people would want to marry into the Bai family. You can ask for anyone that is as fat or as thin as you want. Which one of them wouldn't be better than Li Huowang? In fact, separating from you is a much bigger loss for him than for you. With his crazed state, he's destined to be an old bachelor. No other woman would want him."
Though Chun Xiaoman knew that Senior Li was not as bad as she had just described, this criticism would be worth it if it could help lift her sister's spirits. Besides, scolding him here wouldn't hurt him anyway.
Bai Lingmiao curled her body up like a baby, and nestled into Xiaoman's arm. "Don't say anymore, Sister Xiaoman..."
"You don't need that stinky man! You and me can be comb sisters[1]! No matter what, you must pull yourself together! What you're doing now is the same as giving up on yourself!" Chun Xiaoman was getting emotional as she started to shake Bai Lingmiao by the shoulders. But then, she started to hear sobbing, which immediately caused her heart to soften.
"Alright, I won't say anymore. Stop crying and get some rest," Chun Xiaoman held Bai Lingmiao in her arm and ran her hand through her waist-length hair.
A night of silence passed.
The next day, the two acted as though nothing had happened the night before, and just continued on their journey. With the two strong horses pulling them, they arrived at the village entrance in the afternoon.
"Uncle Lu, going to put up a play?" Chun Xiaoman greeted the oncoming carriage.
Lu Zhuangyuan chuckled and nodded as he took a puff from his tobacco pipe. "I'm going to the south to see if there are any villages. This Liang Kingdom sure is wealthy. One trip can cover several years of my expenses."
"Why are there so few of you? Your younger son isn't back yet?" asked Xiaoman.
1. Comb Sisters, also known as Self-comb Women, are a group of women who set up their own hairstyle in a way that resembles that of married women. This is seen as a demonstration of their determination to remain single for the rest of their lives. ?
Chapter 346 - Heavenly Mater
Hearing Chun Xiaoman bring up Lu Xiucai, Lu Zhuangyuan could no longer continue puffing his pipe. He looked very indignant.
"Don't even mention that trouble-maker! He actually dared to steal money! If you meet him on the road, then remember to bring him back for me. We'll see if I can break his legs then!" spat out Lu Zhuangyuan.
As the two carriages passed each other, Chun Xiaoman continued toward the village.
Once they arrived at the Bai family's courtyard, Bai Lingmiao got down and walked toward the ancestral hall. "Sister Xiaoman, go and take a rest. I'll go and light some incense in the ancestral hall."
Hearing this, Chun Xiaoman anxiously looked around, and then said to the passing Puppy, "Take this carriage to the stable."
"Why should I? Is 'stableman' written on my face? My wife is pregnant! I need to go and cook egg soup for her!" said Puppy.
However, Chun Xiaoman completely ignored his protest and directly handed him the reins before rushing toward the Bai family ancestral hall.
Chun Xiaoman's breathing slowed down considerably when she stepped through the entrance and saw the rows of black ancestral tablets. She looked around at this unfamiliar place with both curiosity and fear.
Aside from Bai Lingmiao, the others would rarely come near this area. There were even rumors circulating that this was an eerie place.
Chun Xiaoman breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Bai Lingmiao was just kneeling in front of the ancestral tablets.
There wasn't much else to see here; the hall was rather empty. Aside from the few objects placed against the wall, there wasn't even a chair to sit on.
She glanced again at Bai Lingmiao, who was whispering something, and then her gaze swept over the objects placed on those tables. As someone from a humble family, Chun Xiaoman couldn't understand the significance of these peculiar decorations.
There were stones placed on strange plates, and some bright-colored ceramics. Why were these things placed inside the house?
After inspecting everything, a palm-sized bronze ornament caught Xiaoman's attention. It depicted three monkeys squatting side by side. One covered its ears, another covered its eyes, and the last covered its mouth.
What does this trio of monkeys represent? Why do wealthy people like to have things that are so difficult to understand? But these monkeys are quite interesting. They are rather delicately made.
Chun Xiaoman walked over and wanted to pick them up for a closer look. But just as she touched it, she found that they wouldn't budge.
Huh? What's going on? Is it stuck by its base?
Just as she tried to move it left and right a couple of times, the monkeys suddenly shifted to the left.
At the same time, a rumbling sound rang out, and a large piece of the wall, holding the ancestral tablets, beside her collapsed. A chilly black hole was revealed before them.
"Dad!"
Bai Lingmiao rushed in emotionally, picking up the fallen ancestral tablets tenderly. However, she soon paused, and then looked toward the black hole, astonished just like Chun Xiaoman.
As she stared at the entrance, Bai Lingmiao felt like something inside was attracting her. Soon, she started walking toward the entrance, almost as though she was in a trance.
However, at that moment, a figure walked past her, stepping into the black hole before her. "Wait here. I'll go in and take a look first."
Not long after, Chun Xiaoman emerged from the hole. "There are a lot of words written on the walls inside. Go and get Gao Zhijian!"
In a short while, Gao Zhijian walked into the Bai family ancestral hall. He was in a fully-armed state—dressed in half-armor with a stone slab on his chest and wielding a heavy wolf-toothed club.
"There's no need for all this. Since it's the Bai family's ancestral hall, there shouldn't be any danger inside."
"Just in c... case!" Gao Zhijian stood before the two and stepped in first.
The dark room was spacious, and the words on the wall stumped Gao Zhijian temporarily.
"Mud originates from chaos! White lotus emerges, ushering in a flourishing era!"
As he read, he looked toward the top, where some white flags imprinted with lotuses were hung.
"Isn't this the Bai family ancestral hall? Why would there be such things in this secret room?" Gao Zhijian was puzzled. Although he didn't know what these things were, he had a feeling that something was amiss.
"Don't stand in the middle of the path. Continue walking forward."
Hearing this, Gao Zhijian gripped his weapon tightly as he slowly walked onward. Based on the fact that they were going down a flight of stairs, it could be seen that they were descending.
The secret room was quite large, and the phrases that appeared on the walls from time to time deepened Gao Zhijian's sense of unease.
"White lotus descends! The people rise!"
"Heavenly Mater! Hometown of true void!"
Whenever Chun Xiaoman asked about what was written on the walls, he just shook his head in response.
After circling for a few times, the stairs finally stopped, and a pitch-black expanse appeared in front of them. The green glow of their glowing stones could only illuminate a small part of their surroundings.
"Stick... to the walls! Be... be... be careful!" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
Gao Zhijian led the way while leaning against the walls. As he felt around, he found a book, then began reading it in the light from the glowing stones.
The words did not seem contemporary, but he could understand them. However, the content was much more difficult for him to grasp.
"Gao Zhijian, what do you see? Don't just read silently, say something! You're killing me with suspense!"
Prompted by his companion's urging, Gao Zhijian stammered as he translated the content into understandable words.
"The Heavenly Mater is an ancient Buddha who transcends birth and death! She can save us from the worldly realm and return us to the true void, avoiding all calamities!"
"In the beginning, everything was supposed to be the Heavenly Mater! Every inch of the earth and sky was originally the true void."
"We were born, grew, and aged under the care of the Heavenly Mater, until someone betrayed her! It was someone amongst the most trusted Tian Huang nobles!"
"When those armies of unspeakable origin grew out of the Heavenly Mater's dantian, a group of Tian Huang nobles betrayed her."
"They conspired with the unspeakable armies to betray the Heavenly Mater! They killed the Tian Huang nobles who refused to defect and stripped the Heavenly Mater of everything!"
"They threw away what they didn't want and swallowed what they needed. In the end, they shamelessly stood in the position where the Heavenly Mater should have been!"
"These treacherous rebels feared that their shame would be discovered, and so they modified the history books, altering everything in people's hearts."
"But we didn't. Our history books will always belong to the Heavenly Mater. We will always remember, waiting for the moment when the Heavenly Mater returns!"
"The Heavenly Mater is neither born nor dies; while she has been deprived of everything, it also means that she can no longer lose anything."
"When a person is covered in wounds, they will never have new wounds. When an existence has been stripped of everything, it will no longer be possible to deprive it of anything!"
"The Heavenly Mater is always trying, whether it's day or night, whether it's a man or a woman, whether it's yin or yang."
"Those unfaithful rebels are watching. They are afraid, and they are constantly obstructing the return of the Heavenly Mater, who is with us."
"They can always send their lackeys to stop us, but it doesn't matter. As long as we succeed even once, the Heavenly Mater will return on the six ceramic horses, and openly occupy the spot that is hers!"
"I will wait, no matter how long it takes. As the only surviving Tian Huang noble, even if I am killed, my son crawling out of my body will continue waiting. When my son dies, he will be replaced by my grandson. Generation after generation, we will wait forever!! Heavenly Mater, hometown of the true void!"
Chapter 347 - White Lotus Sect
"Gao Zhijian, what are you talking about? Could it be that you read it wrongly?" Chun Xiaoman looked suspiciously at the brown book in his hands. The content spoken by him was messy and confusing. She couldn't understand what was being said. What did it mean by no birth and no death? What were the things emerging from the dantian?
How could the son crawl out from the person's own corpse? Was that still a human being?
A strange thought emerged in Xiaoman's mind, "Could the person who wrote this book be just as crazy as Senior Li?"
Gao Zhijian sensed her doubts, and put his hands back into his pockets as he silently continued forward while sticking to the walls. "Hmph..."
Chun Xiaoman was about to pull Bai Lingmiao and follow along, but found that her hand was surprisingly icy to the touch.
"What's wrong, Miaomiao?" asked Xiaoman.
Bai Lingmiao's expression was pale, but she shook her head in response before following Gao Zhijian in the distance.
As they walked, they came across yet another book. This seemed to be a place where books were stored. However, the content of this book was even more obscure and difficult to understand than the previous one.
"Miaomiao, why does your ancestral hall have these strange books?" Chun Xiaoman asked the only living member of the Bai family.
This place didn't really seem dangerous, but everything, right from the white lotus flags to the contents of the previous book, all felt weird.
Who would create such a large space beneath the Bai family ancestral hall and place such messy objects within? Weren't they afraid of disturbing the ancestors in the ancestral hall above, and receiving their scolding in their dreams?
Bai Lingmiao paused, as though trying to recall something. "I... I don't know. I'm a woman, and so they never let me enter during any of the ancestral rituals."
Just then, Gao Zhijian stopped again. His tall figure stood stiffly, preventing the two behind from seeing what was ahead.
"Horse," Gao Zhijian said, without his usual stutter.
Bai Lingmiao suddenly let go of Chun Xiaoman's hand and walked in front of Gao Zhijian. She looked up and saw a ceramic horse head that was even larger than her own body.
The horse head was extremely lifelike. Its two eyes were staring straight ahead, placing immense pressure on the hearts of anyone standing before it.
After a moment, Bai Lingmiao walked under the horse before touching its smooth and hard body with her hands. A trace of confusion appeared in her eyes; this feeling was very familiar to her.
"This ceramic horse is really big. It must have taken a really large kiln to fire it," Puppy exclaimed.
"Eh?!" Chun Xiaoman was surprised to see Puppy suddenly appear out of the blue, "When did you come?"
"Why can't I come? I saw the few of you running over here, so I thought that you were hiding the spoils from me," Puppy said as he examined the ceramic horse before them. "Junior Bai, was your Bai family involved in the ceramics business? Selling such a large horse would probably fetch at least twenty to thirty taels of silver."
He turned around as he spoke, colliding with a person in the darkness startling himself. However, when he saw that the figure had no head and limbs, and was just made of ceramic, he cursed silently and kicked it.
"This place... I've been here before."
Bai Lingmiao's voice attracted their attention.
Staring at the tall horse head, she tried her best to recall the vague memories. "My grandfather brought me here when I was very, very young. That day, I was crying and wanted to ride a horse, but he said that riding a real horse was too dangerous. So he brought me here and let me ride this ceramic horse. That day... I had a lot of fun."
As she spoke, her brows furrowed, "I seem to remember... This horse flew and took me into a painting. It was quite lively there. There were so many adults and children that played with me! Yes! There's a painting here!"
Bai Lingmiao quickly turned and dashed toward a corner in the dark. The others were shocked as they hurried to keep up with her.
After a few steps, they saw Bai Lingmiao stop before a wall. There was a painting on the wall, full of pure white lotuses on an ink-black water surface. It was not full of the many people that she had mentioned.
"This... what is this place?" Bai Lingmiao seemed to recall Senior Li telling her previously that her Bai family had done some wrong things. However, she had been completely overwhelmed by the despair of losing her entire family, and had not paid attention to these things.
"No, it's impossible... My grandfather... My father and mother..." Bai Lingmiao thought of the perfect image of her family members in her heart, while a trace of hesitation appeared on her face.
"Look, the small lotus flower on the wall is actually an oil lamp," said Puppy as he took out a small tinderbox and went to light it.
As each white lotus lamp was gradually lit up, everything around them began to brighten. The entire expansive underground hall was gradually revealed to them.
The first thing that caught their attention was a large painting at the forefront of the hall. It was huge, and there was a censer for burning incense placed before it. This indicated the importance of the painting to the original owner.
The painting depicted six lifelike black horses galloping, carrying a blooming white lotus flower on top. There was surprisingly nothing else on the lotus flower.
The base color of the painting was a bright yellow. However, on this lotus, there was a twisted area that strangely lacked even the base color. It directly exposed the uneven adobe wall, making it appear even more abrupt.
After viewing this painting with an unclear meaning, they turned to look around at the entire hall.
The hall was rectangular, and was about six meters tall. It seemed to be interconnected, with many exits that led to other unknown places.
It almost seemed like there was another underground village beneath the entire Cowheart Village.
Various exquisite patterns were drawn on the top portion of the walls. However, most of them featured white lotus flowers against a black background.
In the center of the hall were three giant ceramic black horses, as well as hundreds of unfinished ceramic figures.
As he saw all this, Puppy's jaw dropped in amazement, "Tsk tsk, is this the majestic style of the emperor?"
Seeing that there was no danger around, Gao Zhijian put down his wolf-toothed club and scratched his head in confusion, as he turned to look toward Bai Lingmiao.
"Miaomiao? What's the matter? Your expression isn't looking great. Are you feeling uncomfortable? Should we head up first?" Chun Xiaoman supported Bai Lingmiao and asked gently.
However, Bai Lingmiao just shook her head and gently pushed away Xiaoman. She had a complex expression on her face as she searched for the vague memories in her mind.
As she pondered, she saw a blurry childlike figure appear amongst the ceramic figures.
The child wore a tiger head hat, had tiger head shoes, and was wrapped in a cotton padded jacket. Her wide pink eyes made her look very adorable.
"Grand... Ah grand~!"
The child stumbled forward and tripped, but fell into the arms of a smiling old man.
"Ah~ Good girl~ Do you like Grandpa?"
Chapter 348 - Tombstone
Bai Lingmiao recalled everything as she looked at the fuzzy phantom images. That child was her from her younger days, and this was an event that had happened before, a long time ago.
Bai Lingmiao watched as her grandfather lifted her up, carried her on his neck before starting to run and jump among the ceramic figures, shouting and amusing her.
She silently followed them, gradually recalling everything that happened in this place.
"Wa, wa~ Waa waa~"
Bai Lingmiao watched her childhood self cry, sitting in the corner with her open-crotch pants. She was covered in mud.
"What's wrong, little one? Who bullied you?" An elderly woman with white hair hurried over as she comforted and lifted Bai Lingmiao up.
"Waa waa wa~ Waa waa" Bai Lingmiao was nestled in the arms of the old woman as she pointed her fat fingers toward the wall. With only three teeth in her mouth, she babbled some words that only she could understand.
"Oh~ Did it scare our little one? Don't cry. Look, Grandma will fight for you!"
The old lady led Bai Lingmiao to the wall, then stamped her foot, "Ah! Who scared our obedient little girl? Bad thing, I'll stomp you to death!"
When Bai Lingmiao saw her childhood self stop crying with her grandmother's comforting, another scene appeared in her mind. At the same time, her expression suddenly changed. "I recall now."
"Recall what?"
"I recall what scared me back then!" said Bai Lingmiao as she rushed over, dispersing the phantom image of her younger self and her grandmother.
She came to the wall, raised her sharp black nails and dug into the solid rammed earth.
"Miaomiao! What are you doing?" Chun Xiaoman walked over, looking at her good friend with worry.
However, when she didn't get a response even after asking several times, Chun Xiaoman also decisively pulled out her sword and stabbed it into the earth, digging it together with her.
Seeing this, Gao Zhijian also rushed over. He removed a piece of armor from his body and started using it to dig out the soil.
"Is there a treasure buried in the soil?" Puppy also rushed over and started helping excitedly.
However, this didn't last long before Puppy's horrified cry caused everyone to stop.
Bai Lingmiao reached out with her trembling hands. There was a woman buried in the soil, her eyes closed tightly. Her eyeballs were shriveled up and even sewn with threads. Her face was ashen, and seemed exceptionally terrifying.
At that moment, a large hand reached over and blocked Bai Lingmiao's hands. "This... this... this is a... human... human pillar..."
However, before Gao Zhijian could even finish, Bai Lingmiao once again started digging. Slowly, more and more dead bodies were dug out from the mud. They were all tightly packed together, just like bricks stacked against each other.
It was not just adults; there were people of all ages buried in the soil.
After digging for a while, Bai Lingmiao stopped. She could see that these people were not just randomly buried here; they were all positioned right at the perimeter of the entire hall. At the same time, the back of each person's hands had a white lotus flower painted on it. This was obviously deliberately designed.
"They used people to build the foundation. Just how many dead people are buried in this large underground area? Just what kind of people can be so heartless?" Puppy exclaimed in shock. However, he immediately felt that he had said something wrong, and covered his mouth as he looked toward Bai Lingmiao's direction.
This was the Bai family's ancestral hall. Even if he only used his butt to think, he could know who had buried so many dead people here.
Bai Lingmiao tried hard to hold back, but how could she endure such a thing? She soon started crying just as loudly as younger self with the tiger head hat. However, this time, she didn't have a grandmother to comfort her.
All the beautiful memories of her hometown in Bai Lingmiao's heart collapsed at this moment. What was even more tragic was that she didn't even have anyone left to question or blame.
They had all been burned to ashes by Li Huowang. Not a single one remained.
"Why is this happening?! Dad! Mom!! Why did you kill so many people?! Why did you become villains?! Don't you know that these people could also have been someone else's parents? Or grandparents? Do you know how painful it is to lose your loved ones?"
Seeing Bai Lingmiao on the verge of collapse, Chun Xiaoman quickly embraced her and comforted her softly, "It's okay. It's not your fault. It's not your fault..."
Gradually, Bai Lingmiao's cries stopped. She had cried enough, and she understood that crying wouldn't change anything.
She wiped away her suppressed tears and nudged her way out of Xiaoman's embrace. "No... This is my fault. This is our Bai family's fault! Since it's our fault, then as a member of the Bai Family, I must take responsibility!"
After that, the stiff corpses were dragged out from the dark room and laid out on a cart, to be taken buried on Cowheart Mountain.
The bodies were extremely rigid, as though filled with lead. Bai Lingmiao couldn't even give them a decent burial.
Each time a body was buried, a tombstone was erected. Then, Bai Lingmiao would kowtow and offer incense as a gesture of apology. She knew that perhaps this was useless, but this was the only thing left that she could do.
There were many dead bodies in that dark room, and they worked for a long time, even working until after the Lu Family Troupe returned from their performance.
After finishing, Bai Lingmiao looked extremely haggard, and her face was completely drained.
After kowtowing three times before the final tombstone, she looked up with her bloodshot eyes. With her cracked lips, she asked Chun Xiaoman beside her, "Sister Xiaoman, if they could do such evil things, then why did they teach me to be kind? If I just became as evil as them, then I wouldn't be so upset..."
This question stumped Chun Xiaoman.
Lu Zhuangyuan, who was beside them, was helping to shovel the soil as well. He wiped off his sweat and sighed. "Girl, as a father myself, I can guess what your parents were thinking about. Actually, they knew that such things would bring about much retribution, and so they didn't want you to get involved. Besides, you were just a young child. Once the daughter is married off, it's like water thrown out. As long as they kept it from you until you were older and found a good family for you to marry into, then whatever happens in the family wouldn't have much to do with you. In the end, they were doing this for your own good."
"For my own good?" Bai Lingmiao wanted to say, yet the words stuck in her throat.
Chun Xiaoman sighed, embracing her as she tried to console her. In such a situation, whatever she said as an outsider would be futile.
"Sister Xiaoman..."
"Yes?" Chun Xiaoman turned her head, lightly brushing against Bai Lingmiao's white hair.
"Even if my family was so evil, I still can't forgive Senior Li for killing them..."
Chapter 349 - Arrival
Puppy carried a hoe as he walked briskly down the mountain. Though they had just buried many bodies, he was not acquainted with any of them, and thus it didn't affect his joyful mood at all.
Now, he had a house and his own fields. More importantly, his wife was about to give birth. Everything he had dreamt of previously was now going to materialize.
"Ah, I, Cao Cao, am truly a genius. Every step I took was right. If I was not so smart, how could I have a share of these things!"
If the journey back wasn't so long, he really would have wanted to return with glory to his hometown and announce all his accomplishments to everyone.
He glanced at the people behind him, then quickened his pace to increase the distance between them. Then, he carefully took out a book from his pocket.
Just as he happily touched the words he could not understand in the book, a hand covered in black fur reached over and snatched it away.
"Hey! What's wrong with you!" Puppy anxiously tried to snatch it back, but was stopped by a stern glare from Chun Xiaoman.
Puppy withdrew his hand indignantly and said, "In the tiger-less mountains, monkeys become kings. Look at you. If I didn't know any better, then I would have thought that you were the one that rescued us from Zephyr Temple."
"Where did this book come from?" asked Xiaoman.
"I... I bought it from a street vendor, to teach my son how to read!" replied Puppy.
"Stop lying. We've only met street vendors twice so far, and neither of them was selling books!" said Xiaoman as she flipped through the book and looked at those incomprehensible words.
With the help of Gao Zhijian translating, Chun Xiaoman learnt what this book was called—Verses of Hard Work and Enlightenment. Even if she couldn't read, she could tell that there was something amiss with the title; it was as though it was some sort of cultivation technique.
"Spit it out, where did this thing come from! I saw that you have been acting sneakily for a while now," asked Xiaoman.
Feeling that things were not quite right, Gao Zhijian frowned and took a step forward with his shovel.
"What's wrong? Am I breaking the law? Why do so many people need to get involved in this? I picked this book up!" Puppy raised his hand in annoyance and finally snatched the book back from Xiaoman's hands.
"Picked up? Can you just pick such a book randomly?" asked Xiaoman.
"Of course!" said Puppy before continuing in a softer voice, "But it was from the cellar under the Bai family ancestral hall..."
"You—!" Xiaoman was about to speak, but Puppy immediately shushed her nervously.
He stole a glance at the dispirited Bai Lingmiao, and then leaned toward Xiaoman and said, "Sis, think about it. Do you think the Bai family did so much and built all that for fun? Think again, Senior Li came back in such a state. We all know his incredible skills. Could the Bai family have forced him into such a state if they didn't have skills of their own? They must have some methods! Regardless of what they used before, since they're all dead, their things all belong to us now!"
Hearing all this, Chun Xiaoman's expression turned cold. "What's the point of learning those things? Are you going to learn to use living people as a foundation? If you dare to learn that, then don't blame me for not being cordial!"
"Hey! You're so inflexible. Let's only learn things that won't harm our conscience. We can just ignore those techniques that involve killing people," retorted Puppy. "Let me tell you, there are many things in the house! There are still many more books, and there must be more techniques as well! Once we learn those easier things that don't involve killing, who would dare to bully us then?"
Xiaoman looked down at the sword on her waist, as a trace of hesitation appeared on her face.
Now that Senior Li was gone, could she really protect all of them with this longsword if they were faced with a crisis?
After a moment, she reached out and snatched the book back from Puppy's hands, then examined it carefully. "Don't tell Miaomiao for now. Her condition is not too good. Let's look at this from all angles before we make a decision."
"Alright, we'll listen to you. This time's gain is enough for the three of us to share in." Puppy readily agreed.
Meanwhile, back in Yinling City, the dusty Li Huowang dismounted from the horse before tying it in the inn's stable. He was somewhat surprised to not see Bun shaking its head over there.
He circled his own carriage a few times before spotting the dog standing with its claws on the manger, stealing the horses' feed.
"So fat and still eating?" Li Huowang lifted it up, "Come here. I brought you here to watch the carriage, and not to eat more."
"Woof woof!"
Bun was rather excited after not having seen its owner for some time. It shook its head and wagged its tail, twisting its body like a maggot.
Just as Bun was about to lick Li Huowang's boots, it was pressed down by Li Huowang.
"What's going on? Are you injured? Who did this?" Li Huowang looked at the notch on Bun's ear and frowned slightly.
Bun obviously did not know what Li Huowang was talking about, and just wagged its tail as it tried to burrow into Li Huowang's arms.
"Come here!" Li Huowang grabbed the nape of its neck and lifted it, then headed toward the lobby.
"Innkeeper, didn't I give you enough silver? Why can't you even look after a dog?" asked Li Huowang.
The fat innkeeper looked helpless. "Ah, dear guest, this is not my fault. Your dog ran out by itself."
"You know too that this is a female dog. It ran to the street and fought with another female dog for attention from a male dog. In the end, it lost the fight and was bitten like this by the other dog," explained the innkeeper.
Bun didn't know what the two people were talking about, and just looked innocently at Li Huowang as it sat on the ground.
This made Li Huowang rather speechless. He didn't even know how to get angry. "Where's the dog that bit it?"
"That female dog ran away. After mating, those wild dogs usually run away," said the innkeeper.
Feeling helpless, Li Huowang patted Bun's head, and then headed back upstairs to the guest rooms.
In his haste to travel, they had only been eating and sleeping when he could. Thus, Li Huowang was exhausted, and slept for an entire day and night.
After waking up, he called up the kitchen to order some dishes. After washing up, Li Huowang began to eat heartily.
While eating, he started pondering on what excuse he should use to ask Ji Xiang about information on Zhuge Yuan without directly approaching and asking more.
I should contact Tuoba Danqing first, and confirm the situation with Ji Xiang. With how he looked the last time, the consequences for the failure of this task should be quite severe.
Just as Li Huowang was thinking to himself, the cooing sound of the pigeon rang from the rafters.