The Red Bridal Veil

Chapter 63 The Red Bridal Veil

Seeing Li Zhi's expression turn sour, Li Huowang walked straight over. "Brother Li Zhi, about last night, I can explain."

Li Zhi raised a hand, cutting Li Huowang off. With a hint of impatience, he said, "Ah, explain what? It's not like I did anything to you. Let's just leave it at that."

With that, he stood up, grabbed his wife, and turned to walk out of the house.

Li Huowang watched the two retreating figures in silence.

"The Second Spirit called me a Heart-Element Immortal. That sounds like some kind of special title. And she warned me not to look at the Protecting Immortal. Maybe she knows something about me. I have to find a way to pry that information out of her."

He didn't want to let go of a clue he'd only just managed to uncover.

"Senior Brother Li, what's wrong? Got a problem with that spirit-dancer?" Hearing Gouwa's question, Li Huowang shook his head.

"Nothing. It's a personal matter. Go eat breakfast. We finally have a bed to sleep in, so let's rest well these next few days. Once we leave this village, we'll be sleeping by the roadside again."

Over the next few days, Li Huowang didn't seek out Li Zhi again, nor did he pay attention to what the other man was doing. He knew Li Zhi was still in a mood. If he went to ask about the Second Spirit now, it probably wouldn't go well. Best to let the thread hang for a while.

That was Li Huowang's plan. But as he waited, a small problem came knocking: Bai Lingmiao was sick.

It was a problem both big and small—big, because in this wretched place, a minor illness left untreated could easily kill you; small, because with the pills he'd learned to make at Qingfeng Temple, he could barely pass as a country doctor. He couldn't treat everything, but this little sickness was no problem.

Li Huowang cradled Bai Lingmiao's feverish head against his chest and gently placed a red pill into her mouth.

"Senior Brother Li… am I going to die? I don't want to die…" Bai Lingmiao's voice was very weak. Her hand gripped the sleeve of his robe tightly.

"Don't talk nonsense. It's just a slight cold from the wind. You've taken the medicine. Just sleep it off, sweat it out, and you'll be fine."

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. Li Huowang looked up to see Li Zhi standing at the entrance with his wife.

"Well? I heard from the villagers that your little sister is sick. Need any help?"

"No, thank you." Li Huowang gently covered Bai Lingmiao with the blanket and walked over to him.

"Come on, don't be polite. You treated me to noodles before, so I ought to help you out. Old Immortal Bai is a master at curing illnesses and saving people. As long as you don't make a move on my wife, we're still friends. I have to help."

Li Zhi's tone was natural, as if that whole incident was already in the past.

"It's just a mild cold. There's no need to trouble your great immortal. Besides, the 'tea money' they ask for is something we can't afford."

Li Zhi was taken aback for a moment, then laughed again. "Yeah, that's true. Guess I came to make a fuss over nothing. You really can't just casually invite the old immortals."

"But, Honored Daoist Li, you can't exorcise spirits and you can't cure illnesses. Being a Daoist like that is pretty useless, isn't it?"

Li Huowang studied the man before him and the perfectly natural smile on his face.

"I'm already treating her. The pill has been taken. We just have to wait for it to take effect."

Li Zhi stood there stiffly, shaking his head. "That's not good enough. I've seen other Daoists before. They're really impressive. They just draw a yellow talisman, burn it to ash, mix it with water and drink it—no matter what the sickness, it's gone in a flash."

Li Huowang gave a faint smile, sensing the relaxed atmosphere. He felt this was a good time.

"Brother Li Zhi, can we talk? About your wife. She doesn't seem like an ordinary person, does she? Are all the other spirit-dancers' Second Spirits like this?"

The smile on Li Zhi's face froze. "Honored Daoist Li, if you start talking like that, it makes things awkward. You're a cultivator too. I'm sure you wouldn't tell me all your secrets, would you?"

"Did I ask you where you found these cripples and freaks? No, I didn't."

With that, a smiling Li Zhi patted Li Huowang's red Daoist robe, then turned and left with his wife.

It was clear that, although Li Zhi usually seemed very talkative, even complaining about the immortals behind their backs as if he didn't care about anything, it was all just an act.

Li Huowang pondered this for a moment, then turned and went back inside to take care of Bai Lingmiao.

That night, during the third watch, he was startled awake from a light sleep by a tapping on the window.

Creak… The wooden window slid open silently. A pair of blood-red embroidered shoes hung on the sill, gently swaying.

Li Huowang recognized those shoes. They belonged to the Second Spirit. She had come to find him.

He thought for a moment and said, in a voice so low it was barely a whisper, towards the embroidered shoes, "The grove at the edge of the village. I'll be there soon."

Seeing the shoes slowly retreat, Li Huowang took a deep breath, rolled out of bed, and began to dress.

Soon, guided by the hazy moonlight, he arrived at the pitch-black woods outside the village. There, beneath a tree, he saw the Second Spirit standing motionless.

Li Huowang looked around warily. Not seeing Li Zhi, he moved closer. "Miss Second Spirit, is there something you need to tell me?"

The Second Spirit once again raised a bleeding finger and began writing on her red bridal veil.

From this distance, Li Huowang couldn't see clearly. Unconsciously, he leaned in closer towards the veil.

"…Be… on… your… guard…"

In the middle of the word, without any warning, the Second Spirit raised both hands. Her black nails extended straight out and viciously stabbed into Li Huowang's neck.

Thump! Every muscle in Li Huowang's body instantly tensed. He grabbed the red veil in front of him, raised his right foot, and kicked her hard in the stomach.

Though he'd temporarily escaped danger, four bloody holes had already appeared on both sides of his neck.

Trembling, he pulled out a few止血丹 and stuffed them into his mouth. His gaze fell on the Second Spirit, who was dressed in gaudy red and purple.

Li Huowang never imagined that the Second Spirit, who had seemed to want to warn him before, would suddenly try to kill him.

But when he saw the person's face, he was stunned.

The features were deformed, and the face was covered with the traits of various animals: snake-green scales, hedgehog quills, fox ears, and more.

Yet, based on the few remaining human traces, he could still tell—this person was clearly Li Zhi.

No, it was a female version of Li Zhi. The little human skin she had left was covered in powder.

Half of her mouth was a beast's maw, fangs protruding, impossible to disguise. But the other half, a small cherry-like mouth, was deliberately painted with red rouge.

Seeing that Li Huowang had seen her true face, "Li Zhi" covered her mouth with her hand and let out a piercing, fox-like laugh.

"After all that testing, this Heart-Element of yours is just a useless front. You're lucky no one snatched you up before."

Her voice was twofold: one came from right in front of him, the other echoed from the surrounding dark woods.

Thump-thump-thump!! The long, dense sound of a drum came from deep within the forest.

"Summoning… the… spirit…"