Black Scabs and Rotten Flesh

“No!” Li Huowang’s answer to Bai Lingmiao’s request was cut and dry.

Seeing the grievance on Bai Lingmiao’s face, Li Huowang explained, his tone softening. “There’s no such thing as a divine power. Only extreme suffering. Trust me, compared to going through something like that, losing a hand is nothing.”

To gain Bashe’s attention, one had to endure pain that was both spiritual and physical.

Li Huowang had been through it twice. He knew exactly what it took to reach that level.

He didn’t want that kind of despair to happen to his companions.

Otherwise, he was truly afraid Chun Xiaoman would go mad.

“Oh. I just feel sorry for Xiaoman-jie. Losing a hand so young…”

“Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out. This world doesn’t make sense, so there has to be a way to get her hand back.”

Li Huowang wasn’t sure if he was trying to comfort Bai Lingmiao or himself.

As he spoke, he sniffed hard. “Do you smell that? What’s that stench?”

“Li-shixiong, there’s some dead flesh on you. It’s rotten, so of course it stinks.”

“Rotten? Stinks?”

Hearing this news, Li Huowang laughed—a genuine laugh.

Decay was back. In this world, the twisted heavenly way had returned to normal.

If decay had returned, a new idea formed in Li Huowang’s mind.

Since decay was back, could the Abbess be revived too? Li Huowang speculated wildly.

Maybe it was wishful thinking, but it was possible.

In this unreasonable world, after all, nothing that happened was truly surprising.

For a moment, a powerful urge surged within him—to turn around right now and go back to the Anci Nunnery in Siqi to see for himself.

But it was just an urge. Li Huowang knew that not only was he in no state to go back…

He had just killed Peng Longteng. Unless he wanted to die, he probably couldn’t go back to Later Shu for a few years.

“Did the decay come back on its own? Or did some entity bring it back?” Li Huowang’s thoughts were spiraling.

His mind went back to the Black Fly Bodhisattva he had seen at the Anci Nunnery—a mass formed from dense clusters of green bottle flies.

At Zhengde Temple, they burned incense and worshipped the Flesh Buddha; the monks gained flesh-based supernatural powers by copulating with that pile of flesh.

And the Ao-Jing Sect sacrificed pain to Bashe to gain various transcendent powers.

Did that mean there was also some entity responsible for decay?

Did the disappearance of decay mean that entity had encountered something? Did its return mean the entity had reclaimed its place?

Li Huowang’s mind churned through these questions chaotically.

Now that he thought back, the old Abbess’s untimely death was very peculiar. Someone so powerful had died in a pigsty.

“Were those entities at war? Was the Abbess just caught in the crossfire?”

Almost instinctively, Li Huowang recalled the things inside the White Jade Capital.

Through the hazy Mao Gate back then, he had seen those things inside, as if they were devouring something.

“Was it them?” As he started to recall what he had seen that day, a look of pain appeared on Li Huowang’s face, and his breathing grew rapid.

“Li-shixiong, what’s wrong?” Sensing something amiss, Bai Lingmiao quickly grabbed his hand.

Li Huowang forced himself to stop thinking, repeating over and over, “Don’t listen… Don’t think… Don’t think…”

To compel himself to abandon the train of thought, he quickly looked up at Bai Lingmiao and said, “The book! The True Sutra of the Fire Vestments! The one wrapped in wax, get it here fast!”

Bai Lingmiao rummaged around nearby, and soon the True Sutra of the Fire Vestments, sealed in transparent wax, was placed before him.

As Li Huowang chanted the incantation from the book, the white wax ignited, coalescing into a slug.

It slowly crawled across Li Huowang’s charred body, healing his injuries.

It moved very slowly. The superficial burns gradually replaced the deeper ones, the two types of wounds blending together until they were indistinguishable.

The entire ox-cart was filled with a pungent, peculiar smell.

The pain made Li Huowang breathe a sigh of relief. He needed the pain to interrupt his own thoughts.

He shouldn’t be thinking about those things now. Those matters were already settled. They had nothing to do with him. They were things for the big shots to worry about.

What he should be thinking about now was how to survive.

Maybe when he was strong enough, he could consider these things.

Suddenly, another thought struck Li Huowang. He lifted his neck and asked Bai Lingmiao, “Where’s the Thousand Greats Record? The red bamboo slips.”

The slug of fire vanished with Li Huowang’s incantation, suddenly dispersing into a puddle.

At the mention of the Thousand Greats Record, a hesitant look crossed Bai Lingmiao’s face, but in the end, she turned and climbed down from the cart.

Li Huowang’s keen hearing picked up faint sounds of an argument from outside.

A few moments later, Bai Lingmiao climbed back in, carrying the red bamboo slips.

Li Huowang’s entire body tensed, and with a sudden exertion, he flipped himself over, eliciting a startled cry from Bai Lingmiao.

“Come on. Tear off the black scabs on my back, then press that thing onto my skin.”

Since his skin hadn’t grown back yet, this was perfect timing to press the Thousand Greats Record onto his body.

By the time his skin healed, the Thousand Greats Record would be embedded beneath it.

That way, he wouldn’t have to take it out and spread it open every time he wanted to use it. It would also make his attacks much more unexpected.

He had wondered before why Shou San of the Ao-Jing Sect hung the Thousand Greats Record on his chest.

Now he suddenly understood. There had to be a reason for it.

Bai Lingmiao clearly understood why Li Huowang wanted to do this. “Li-shixiong, do you really have to do this? It’ll hurt so much. And if you do this, no one else will ever be able to use the Thousand Greats Record again.”

Li Huowang nodded firmly. “That’s right. That’s exactly the effect I want.”

This time, it was Chun Xiaoman who lost an arm. Next time, who knew who it would be.

The Thousand Greats Record was too easy to use. Others would surely try to emulate it. So it was better to just hide the Thousand Greats Record beneath his skin completely. Solve the problem once and for all.

Biting her lip, Bai Lingmiao did as she was told. As her pale hands tremblingly pried off the black scabs on Li Huowang’s back, his screams filled the ox-cart.

Beneath the black scabs were raw flesh, oozing blood and tissue fluid. The red Thousand Greats Record was carefully laid out and pressed down on top.

With another flip, Li Huowang, his expression twisted in pain, pressed his back hard against the ground, forcing the Thousand Greats Record further into his own flesh.

When it was all over, he could finally take a break. Exhausted, Li Huowang closed his eyes, wanting to get some proper rest.

Somewhere between waking and sleeping, Li Huowang opened his eyes again and looked at Bai Lingmiao.

“Did Peng Longteng have anything on her? Did you guys take it?”

Bai Lingmiao nodded. “Gouwa said those armor plates could be sold. We loaded them all onto the cart. Even her great halberd.”

“He said this divine weapon, even if we can’t use it, we can always melt it down and forge it into something else later.”

“Besides those armor plates and that halberd on Peng Longteng, did you find anything else on her?”