The Confession

Chapter 103: The Benefit

The thought that suddenly surfaced in his mind made Li Huowang tremble all over.

He carefully felt himself all over, and only after confirming that there wasn’t an extra jade pendant on his body did he finally let out a complete sigh of relief.

“Right, that was just a dream. That was just a dream.” Li Huowang kept muttering to himself, still shaken.

“What’s wrong?” Bai Lingmiao lit the oil lamp and asked, her voice thick with sleep.

“Nothing. It’s nothing. Go back to sleep.”

Seeing that Li Huowang wasn’t going to answer, Bai Lingmiao didn’t press further. She closed her eyes.

Her head, covered in white hair, leaned gently against his shoulder, and her slender hand softly stroked his rising and falling chest.

He placed his hand over hers on his chest, staring straight at the beam above. “Miao Miao.”

“Hmm?” she responded, half-asleep.

“Do you want to know about my past? About why I have this delusional disorder?”

Bai Lingmiao’s drowsiness was suddenly dispelled. She opened her eyes in surprise and turned her head to look at the man beside her. This was the first time Senior Brother Li had ever talked to her about his past.

Living alongside him day and night, she had long since noticed that Senior Brother Li was different from the rest of them.

It wasn’t the kind of difference that came from being from another country. It was a very particular feeling of not belonging, of being out of place. She wasn’t the only one who thought so; the others felt it too, they just never said it out loud.

“Actually… I’m not from here.”

“I know. You’re not from Siqi.”

Li Huowang smiled knowingly and shook his head. “I mean I’m not from this world. I’m from a different world.”

Accompanied by the flickering lamp, Li Huowang slowly explained his origins and his troubles to Bai Lingmiao.

As he talked, he felt a little better, as if a heavy burden he had been carrying was being shared.

He continued until the paper window began to glow with the pale light of dawn, then stopped. The room was silent for a long moment. “Don’t you have anything you want to ask?”

“I do.” Bai Lingmiao pulled her hand free from his, then took his hand—the one missing three fingernails—in hers.

Her fingertips trembled slightly as they gently traced over the blood scabs. “What about that red bamboo slip?”

“Let me tell you a fun fact. Human fingernails can actually regrow. Once you pull them out, they grow back on their own.”

Li Huowang tried to change the subject and pull his hand away, but she held it tight. Then, he saw her red-rimmed, obstinate eyes staring up at him.

“I don’t care where you came from. I don’t care what’s happening with your delusions. I just want to know… is the wound on your stomach related to that thing too?”

Li Huowang didn’t answer. He just pressed her head against his chest and gently patted her, once, twice.

“Senior Brother Li, that thing is too wicked. Throw it away. If you keep this up, it’s going to kill you.”

After she said this, she paused, and then, her voice trembling with a sob, she added, “If you die… what will happen to me?”

Li Huowang let out a soft sigh. Bai Lingmiao seemed soft and gentle on the surface, but that was just her exterior. Inside, she was tough.

“Let me think about it… Let me think about it some more.”

The truth was, Li Huowang already knew that The Thousand Greats Record was a double-edged sword. One misstep and it could cut him to the bone.

But it was also an incredibly useful tool. With it, he had some ability to protect himself in this bizarre world.

If he threw it away, what would he do if he ran into something like Layue Shiba? He couldn’t exactly rely on Danyangzi, could he?

He’d thought about joining another sect, learning to cultivate, and gaining enough genuine strength. But that path was also fraught with difficulty.

Setting aside the question of whether they’d even take him or whether they’d try to steal his rare xinsu constitution, even if they did accept him, Li Huowang wasn’t sure he’d dare to train there.

Qingfeng Temple, Zhengde Temple, Anci Nunnery… Since coming into contact with these sects, Li Huowang had basically lost all hope for any other sects. They were all definitely stranger and more evil than the last.

Until he found a suitable replacement, The Thousand Greats Record could absolutely not be abandoned. It was his foundation for survival, even if using it came at a terrifying price.

Before they knew it, noises started coming from outside. The other fellow disciples were preparing breakfast.

Li Huowang had just sat up, and Bai Lingmiao was about to help him get dressed, when he suddenly froze. “Wait.”

He slowly pressed his hand against the bandage on his stomach. To his surprise, it didn’t hurt as much. He pulled the bandage open and saw that the wound underneath had nearly healed.

“Healing this fast?” Even Li Huowang was surprised.

By his own estimation, it should have taken at least half a month to reach this point. His body seemed to be undergoing some kind of change.

He thought for a long time, focusing his mind on that final glance Bashe had given him. “This… is probably a good thing, right?”

Li Huowang felt a mix of joy and worry. He understood far too little about the entity he had summoned through his own physical and mental agony.

He didn’t know what it meant.

“Is it… making it more convenient for me to cut myself?” After thinking it over, this was the only reason he could come up with.

As the saying goes, if you have too many lice, you stop itching, and if you have too many debts, you stop worrying. Compared to Danyangzi and his own illness, this was a minor matter.

“At this rate, my injury should be mostly healed by tomorrow. We’ll rest here one more day, and head back tomorrow.” Li Huowang said to Bai Lingmiao.

Bai Lingmiao looked like she wanted to say something else, but in the end, she just nodded.

When they heard they could finally go back, the others started loading things onto the cart, practically stripping the entire courtyard clean. They even threw on the two hens that could still lay eggs.

When it was time for dinner again, Li Huowang tore off the bandage and saw that the wound was almost completely healed.

“Not bad. At least all that pain wasn’t for nothing.” Li Huowang was fairly satisfied with this newfound ability. At the very least, with this, he wouldn’t die so easily anymore.

He went back to the main hall and sat down to eat. The table was covered in simple farmhouse dishes, all picked from the fields of Wujia Village.

Even though they were all vegetarian, they had been stir-fried with lard, so they still tasted pretty good.

Li Huowang picked up a slice of white radish and took a bite, then frowned. “Who made this? Why is it so salty?”

He wasn’t a gourmand, but he wasn’t an animal either.

He quickly spotted a pale-faced junior disciple standing up. “Senior Brother Li, it was me…”

Bai Lingmiao picked up the slice of radish from Li Huowang’s chopsticks and took a bite. “Senior Brother Li, this radish isn’t that salty. It’s just right.”

“It isn’t?” Li Huowang picked up another piece in confusion and took a bite. It was still unbearably salty.

“Forget it. Let’s just eat.” Salty or not, it would just make him eat more rice.