The Escape

Chapter 48: The Escape

With a creak, the wooden door slowly opened a crack. Li Huowang peered through the gap, watching the outside with wary vigilance.

The soft afternoon sunlight filtered through the rustling leaves, dappling the ground with shifting shadows.

It was very quiet outside. Aside from a monk sweeping the courtyard in the distance, there was nothing unusual.

But to Li Huowang, who had finally grasped the full horror of his situation, this peaceful scene looked completely different.

"Hmph! It's all an act. They can't fool me! They're just trying to keep me calm, to make me volunteer for that so-called 'Great Deliverance Feast' they keep talking about!"

As soon as he thought it, another idea flashed through his mind.

"Wait… why go through all this trouble? I'm just an ordinary guy. If they're so powerful, why not just force me? Why the charade?"

There was no answer to that question now. And Li Huowang didn't need one anymore. All he wanted was to get as far away from this hellhole as possible.

As Li Huowang was still trying to guess if the distant sweeping monk was there to spy on him, the man saw there were no more leaves, picked up his broom, and left.

"The monks of Zhengde Temple haven't noticed anything's off yet. That's the only advantage I have right now," Li Huowang calculated silently.

The courtyard was empty now. But Li Huowang didn't leave. He waited, quietly.

Time passed. The palms of his hands began to sweat.

Clang—Clang—Clang—

The dull roar of the bell echoed through the entire temple, making Li Huowang’s whole body jolt.

He’d been here long enough to know this bell marked the Hour of the Rooster. It was also the signal for the temple monks to eat.

With another creak, a calm-faced Li Huowang stepped out of his dwelling and fell in line with the monks heading toward the refectory.

His presence here was perfectly logical. For the past few days, he had followed this same routine.

Compared to his lodgings, the refectory was much closer to the main hall, which was crowded with pilgrims. If they were using illusion magic, they probably didn't want ordinary people to see their twisted, dark side.

As he walked, Li Huowang noticed several monks sneaking glances at him and whispering to each other, probably still discussing the afternoon's events.

Their eyes held mockery, hostility, and curiosity.

But Li Huowang knew it was all fake. These monks were all just putting on a show.

"They're all in on it with Xin Hui! There's not a single good person in this whole temple! They all want to hurt me!" Li Huowang confirmed to himself, his conviction ironclad.

After walking at a steady pace for the time it takes half a stick of incense to burn, Li Huowang saw the refectory, a sea of bald heads. He didn't try to escape directly. Instead, he merged with the flow and went inside.

He filled his wooden bowl with rice, sat down calmly on a stool, and began to eat the vegetarian dishes in front of him.

Today's meal was taro soup, fried konjac with fried tofu, stir-fried greens with oil, and potato and pumpkin stew.

There was no meat, but it tasted decent enough.

Still, after what he'd been through, Li Huowang had completely lost his appetite.

But to keep up the act, he didn't dare show any signs of abnormality. He forced himself to eat, taking big mouthfuls.

Slap.

A hand landed on his shoulder, making Li Huowang’s whole body flinch. "Little Daoist, you're here too? Hey! What were you running away from so frantically earlier?"

Recognizing the voice, Li Huowang turned, his cheeks still bulging with food, and saw, sure enough, that familiar, gap-toothed grin.

It was that old monk he'd met on the road. If it weren't for him dragging Li Huowang off to see those stone statues, he wouldn't be in this mess now.

The old monk squeezed his way over with his bowl of rice and sat down next to Li Huowang. "Let's eat together."

Li Huowang shot a glance at the other monks through his peripheral vision. They seemed normal. He chewed the food in his mouth, then lowered his head and continued eating. "Suit yourself."

"Hey, Daoist, where are the others from your group? Tell them to stop staying at that inn and come eat here instead. I'm telling you, the food here is free!" the oblivious old monk continued with his usual boisterous demeanor.

But this time, Li Huowang, desperate to get away, couldn't be bothered with him.

He finished his dinner at his usual pace, burped, and headed for the refectory exit.

Once he was back on the stone-paved road outside, the old monk followed him again. "Don't go yet! Let's chat a bit more. These monks here are boring as hell."

Li Huowang licked the food debris from his teeth with his tongue, a look of impatience crossing his face as he looked at the old man. "Stop following me. Go back to sleep."

"Sleep? It's way too early! Listen, let me tell you something—"

The old monk stopped mid-sentence. He saw the young Daoist, who had been fine just a moment ago, suddenly turn ashen.

Then, in a voice so low it was barely a whisper, Li Huowang said to him, "Get out of here! Now! This temple is dangerous!"

The next second, Li Huowang pushed off the ground with all his might and sprinted toward the main hall.

The moment he broke into a run, it immediately drew the monks' attention. Heads turned to watch him. But he paid them no mind. He just ran.

His heart was pounding. His mind was razor-sharp. He watched every corner for that old bastard Xin Hui to appear.

Ten zhang! Five zhang! One zhang!

The moment Li Huowang burst through the side door, the world exploded with noise. The sounds of footsteps, chatter, and the rhythmic tok-tok-tok of wooden fish drums flooded his ears.

He was back in the main hall, thick with the smoke of incense and crowded with pilgrims. The tide of ordinary people jostled against him, knocking him off balance.

Standing in the center of this cacophony, Li Huowang was momentarily stunned. The natural, unconcerned faces all around him seemed to be telling him something.

Panting slightly, a thought struck him. He spun his head to look back at the side door he'd just come through.

It was empty. No one was following.

No greeting monk, no scripture-interpreting monk paid him the slightest attention.

To Li Huowang, everything looked so… normal. So normal that it was… abnormal.

"Could it be…? Was it really an illusion? Was all that disgusting, vile stuff just something I made up?"

But he shook off that absurd idea almost immediately. He shook his head vigorously, then strode out of the temple gates with a long, determined step.

He couldn't gamble on that. Not even the slimmest chance.

Exiting the temple was just as easy as entering it had been.

Li Huowang hurried back to the inn as fast as he could.

The other "human ingredients," who hadn't seen him in days, crowded around, happy to see him.

"Senior Brother, you're back! Did you finish your business at the temple?"

"No time for catching up! Pack your things! We're getting out of here, now!"

"Alright! I'll go tell Troupe Leader Lü."

"There's no time to wait for them! We're leaving now! Move it!"

"Senior Brother… where are we going?" Bai Lingmiao asked, her face full of confusion.

"Through the Pass!"