Night Talks

After hearing Xiaoman’s words, Li Huowang gave a cold snort. Now that he understood Layue Shiba, he immediately guessed that these people, like himself back then, had had their identities stolen by the entity.

The entire village was a patchwork the thing had cobbled together out of thin air. Every person in it was unknowingly playing along in this long, drawn-out performance with it.

Since Layue Shiba was controlling this many people at once, it obviously wasn’t doing it for fun. It was for its own benefit. Maybe this thing was some kind of strange, evil being that fed on other people’s names and identities.

“What Wu Family Village? It’s a No-Family Village,” Li Huowang said with a sneer.

But the moment Layue Shiba came to mind, his muscles tensed and his expression turned sharp as he looked at Xiaoman. “Wait! The eyes! What about Layue Shiba’s eyes?”

He had gone through all this trouble just for those things.

“We found them near you. Are these what you want?”

It was as if Xiaoman had known he would ask. She turned and pulled out a palm-sized black lacquered box.

The box opened. Two eyes, each the size of a billiard ball and a deep, vivid red, stared fixedly at Li Huowang. These were Layue Shiba’s eyes.

“Got them. Danyangzi can be dealt with now.” Li Huowang’s heart began to pound with excitement. He would never have to live in fear of becoming Danyangzi again.

Once Danyangzi was taken care of, he could focus on finding a way to fix the hallucinations.

With a soft click, the lacquered box closed. Li Huowang tucked it behind his pillow.

“Is everyone else alright? Tell me everything that happened after I left, in detail.”

Through Xiaoman’s account, Li Huowang learned what had happened after he fell into the hallucination.

Just when Layue Shiba thought it had gotten rid of him, it immediately started going after the others.

But right when it was about to succeed, a faceless man burst in and interrupted its scheme.

The faceless man shouted that Li Huowang was a fake, and kept signaling for Bai Lingmiao and the others to attack him.

Li Huowang understood, of course. That was him—the version of him who had lost his name. Only, from his perspective back then, he had been standing in the middle of a road, screaming at a red car.

“After that, Brother Li’s body just… collapsed. All that was left was a pile of skin on the ground. That faceless man seemed to be able to see Layue Shiba, and he charged outside after it.”

“We tried to follow, but those bamboo trees suddenly started moving, blocking our way. So we lost track of the faceless man.”

By the time Xiaoman finished explaining, Bai Lingmiao had walked in from outside carrying a bowl of chicken soup. This time, the oily broth had actual chunks of meat in it.

Hearing that Li Huowang was awake, the others also came to check on him. Seeing their senior brother conscious, their faces lit up with excitement as they crowded around, asking how he was doing.

Watching them, all alive, Li Huowang felt a little calmer. As long as no one died, nothing else mattered.

After chatting for a while, Li Huowang, holding the bowl, said, “Since I’m awake, let's not wait. We’ll head back tomorrow.”

But the suggestion was met with unanimous opposition.

“Brother Li, your intestines were practically hanging out! What’s the hurry? Wait until you’re healed to go back.”

“Exactly, exactly. Didn’t you find what you were looking for?”

“Take a few days to rest, Brother Li. We’re not in a rush, so why are you?”

Li Huowang pressed a hand gently against his wound and tried to sit up. “I’m fine. I can ride in the car—sshhh.”

A sharp pain in his abdomen cut him off. Faint traces of blood were beginning to seep through the white bandages.

The pain was so intense it almost matched what he had felt when he’d cut himself open.

Gouwa quickly moved in, and together with Gao Zhijian, they forcibly pressed Li Huowang back down.

“Brother Li, please, stop messing around. That cart of ours is bumpy as hell. One good jolt and your guts will be spilling right out.”

Seeing the situation, Li Huowang had no choice but to give in.

“Fine. All of you, go back to sleep. Everyone, take this time to rest properly. We’ve been on the road ever since we left Qingfeng Temple. You’re all tired.”

After a little more conversation, the others drifted away in twos and threes, leaving only Bai Lingmiao standing there, looking uneasy. She seemed torn, wanting to leave but not quite managing it.

When Li Huowang reached out his right hand and took hers, the hesitation in her heart dissolved. She pulled a stool over and sat quietly by the bed.

Li Huowang, his eyes closed, gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Is that all the Great-Grandmother of the Bai family can do? Heal someone only halfway?”

“That was what I agreed to with her. I just thought it was better to let you heal naturally as much as possible, to avoid wasting too much payment.”

Bai Lingmiao looked down at the large hand holding hers and continued, “Actually, she could have healed you completely. But if she did, she would have taken all the yang life left in the gourd, and she also wanted to take something from your head.”

“From my head? Not trading my lifespan?” A surprised Li Huowang lifted his head to look at Bai Lingmiao.

Seeing her shake her head, he understood. He had misunderstood the yang life pills in the gourd. These beings were different from the Wandering Lord. They were greedier.

“Did she say what she wanted to take?” Li Huowang couldn’t imagine what in his head could be of value to them.

“I asked. She wouldn’t say. What’s between the host family and the immortals, a spirit-dancer can’t interfere in. But I figured, if it’s something in your head, it’s probably pretty important. So I didn’t let her.”

“Hmph. A bunch of lowlifes.”

Having dealt with so many evil spirits now, Li Huowang had started to piece things together. Compared to the Deity of Joy or the “Great Buddha” of Zhengde Temple, these xianjia were much lower in rank. They could only hire pitiful people and eat the scraps others had left behind.

Li Huowang opened his eyes again and looked at Bai Lingmiao. “Did they threaten you? Say you have to find a certain number of host families every month?”

“No, not really. They just push me from time to time. It’s a little annoying.”

At this, Li Huowang’s expression turned serious. “Remember this. If you’re having trouble dealing with them, tell me immediately. Let me talk to them. Remember, at most you’re their assistant, not their slave.”

Li Huowang wasn’t necessarily afraid of them. If it came to a fight, now that he had the Thousand Greats Record, he might not lose.

Now that things had already happened and couldn’t be changed, Li Huowang was determined never to let Bai Lingmiao end up like Li Zhi. Because Bai Lingmiao was different from Li Zhi. She still had him.

Hearing the concern in his voice, Bai Lingmiao felt a warmth in her chest. “Okay.”

“If we happen to run into someone on the road, you can do a spirit-dance for them. But in normal times, there’s no need to go looking for it. We don’t need that fifty coppers.”

“Mm.”

And so, one of them kept giving instructions while the other listened quietly. Without realizing it, the wick of the oil lamp on the table began to sputter, its flame growing smaller.

“It’s late. Let’s sleep.” Li Huowang lifted the blanket on the bed.

Bai Lingmiao nodded obediently, gently blew out the oil lamp, and carefully slipped into the warm covers, taking care not to jostle Li Huowang’s wound.