The Rabbit

Chapter 218: The Rabbit

Hearing this, Sun Baolu’s face showed a flicker of confusion, but quickly returned to normal. “I’m not sure if those Luo Sect Lamas count, but my father and grandfather both respected them greatly. They said they could communicate with spirits and summon ghosts.”

“I’ve only heard about it. I haven’t seen much myself. In my whole life, I’ve only seen them twice. They came to beg for alms, and my father treated them well.”

From Sun Baolu’s explanation, Li Huowang learned the basic appearance of these so-called Luo Sect Lamas.

According to his description, they presided over all weddings and funerals throughout Qingqiu, and they were very worldly—eating meat, drinking alcohol, and observing no prohibitions.

Furthermore, these Lamas claimed that it was because of the protection of their Eternal Heaven that the entire region of Qingqiu was free of evil spirits.

“No evil spirits? Truly nothing at all?” Li Huowang asked in surprise, looking around once more. This place was so different from everywhere else.

“Well… at least I’ve never seen any, and most other people haven’t either.” Sun Baolu wasn’t as adamant as Li Huowang had expected.

“No evil spirits… Should I try to make contact with those Lamas? Maybe I could ask them about the Heart-Element.”

But after thinking it over carefully, Li Huowang eventually abandoned the idea. It was too dangerous to rashly make contact with another faction right now. Even though his face was hidden by the copper coin mask, if they somehow recognized him as a Heart-Element, the trouble would be immense.

After everything he had been through, aside from Anci Nunnery, no other power had turned out to be good.

Beyond Qingqiu was Liang Province. Getting there safely was more important than anything else now.

“I can’t take this group with me. After I’ve escorted them there, maybe I can go on my own,” Li Huowang quickly decided.

“Come on, keep talking. Tell me everything about these Luo Sect Lamas. What’s their reputation around here?”

“They’re alright. At least, they were the few times I saw them.”

Li Huowang then carefully extracted every bit of information about the Luo Sect Lamas that Sun Baolu’s mind held.

“Senior Brother Li, here. Time to eat.”

A bowl of plain noodle soup was set down in front of Li Huowang. Floating on the surface of the broth were some small, finger-sized, white, round tubers.

“What are these?” Li Huowang picked one up with his chopsticks.

“I don’t know,” Sun Baolu said. “Senior Brother Sun said this wild vegetable is edible. He said he used to dig them out of the grass and eat them as a snack when he was a kid. He called them ‘wild crystal heads.’”

Li Huowang popped a wild crystal head into his mouth and bit down gently. It tasted a bit like a bitter potato. It wasn’t bad.

The ears of Mantou, who was lying on Li Huowang, suddenly perked up. In a flash, it shot off towards the distant grassland.

“Mantou ran off! Should we go see what it’s doing?”

“Let it have some fun. We’ve been traveling all this time; it rarely gets a chance like this. Mantou is smart. It knows when to leave, and it will come back on its own.”

Having said this, Li Huowang began to eat. Bai Lingmiao crouched beside him, watching silently.

The bowl of wild crystal head noodles was soon gone, and Li Huowang asked Bai Lingmiao for a second bowl.

He didn’t know if it was because his skin was growing back, but his appetite was now no less than Gao Zhijian’s or Bai Lingmiao’s.

Reaching out her right hand, she gently brushed the dust from Li Huowang’s clothes. Bai Lingmiao’s voice carried a hint of hopeful anticipation. “Senior Brother Li, once we pass Qingqiu, we’ll be in Liang Province soon.”

“When we get to the foot of Bullhead Mountain, back to my village, we can finally settle down.”

“We can use the silver to buy a few acres of land. You can use the ox that pulls the cart to plow the fields. I’ll raise silkworms and weave cloth at home. Once we save enough money to build a house, we can split from my father and mother.”

“The man plows and the woman weaves? Is that how you want to live your whole life?” Li Huowang slurped a mouthful of noodles.

At his question, Bai Lingmiao’s voice became cautious. “Senior Brother Li… you don’t want to plow the fields? That’s fine. If you don’t, it doesn’t matter. We have the ox.”

“I’d do anything, but there’s one condition. I need to cure my illness.”

As soon as Li Huowang finished speaking, Bai Lingmiao grabbed his hand. “Senior Brother Li, it’s fine. Things are good as they are. I don’t care. When you have your episodes, I’ll be right here to take care of you.”

Li Huowang remembered the swelling on Bai Lingmiao’s face, the one he had caused. He shook his head firmly. “No, it has to be cured.”

Otherwise, he couldn’t bear to stay by her side. In his current state, he was a ticking time bomb, capable of doing something he would regret for the rest of his life at any moment.

On the other side of the hallucination, there was Yang Na and his mother. But the fake was always fake. It could never become real. He should have given that up long ago.

“Senior Brother Li, I’m begging you. It’s fine as it is. Don’t go looking for anything. Didn’t you tell me yourself that even that powerful abbess couldn’t find a way?”

Li Huowang put down his bowl and looked at Bai Lingmiao with some surprise. “How will I know if I don’t try? Don’t you want me to be cured?”

Bai Lingmiao seemed about to speak, but stopped. In the end, her eyelashes drooped, and she remained silent by Li Huowang’s side.

Part of her was worried about the danger to Li Huowang. But another part of her was even more afraid that one day, if Li Huowang was truly cured, he would no longer need her and would abandon her.

A Li Huowang without his illness was too good. He was so good that someone like her could never be worthy of him.

Li Huowang continued eating his noodles, his eyes fixed on Peng Longteng, the monk, and the half-corpse of Jin Shan Zhao ahead of him. He recalled his earlier speculations about the Zuowandao, and his gaze grew even more resolute.

“No. I have to completely solve this Heart-Element problem. If North Wind of the Zuowandao really is a Heart-Element, then there has to be a way.”

“And even if there isn’t, I have to go looking. Otherwise, I’ll never be able to live with myself!”

Just then, Mantou came trotting back from the distance, something in its mouth. As it got closer, he saw it was a dead rabbit.

Mantou dropped the rabbit in front of Li Huowang, its tongue lolling out as it wagged its tail excitedly.

The dog’s arrival broke the tension between them. Bai Lingmiao reached out and patted its head. “What a good boy. You know Senior Brother Li needs to build up his strength right now.”

With that, she picked up the rabbit with both hands and walked towards the pot.

Li Huowang watched her retreating figure for a moment, then turned to Mantou, who was still panting. “I know she means well for me. But I really don’t dare to spend the rest of my life with her like this. To be honest, I’m terrified that one day I’ll accidentally kill her.”

“Woof! Woof!” Mantou barked at Li Huowang, who was talking to it, then pressed its nose to the ground, sniffing intently.

Li Huowang reached into his clothes and dug out another piece of dead skin. He flicked it towards Peng Longteng, and Mantou shot off like an arrow, charging straight for the gap between her legs.

The rabbit was roasted by Sun Baolu. He seemed to be very good at it. It tasted delicious.