The Feast and the Burial Shroud

When Li Huowang heard that, the last trace of worry in his heart vanished completely. If someone was responsible for this huge mess, that was fine. The Supervisory Heavenly Office of Great Liang wasn’t reliable, but there was still the office of Later Shu, and of Siqi.

When the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. Either way, it had nothing to do with him.

Time ticked by, one minute after another. As the hours passed, everyone realized that aside from the sky being a bit dark, there was no other real danger. Their attention was completely drawn by the smell of beef, and they crowded around the Bai family’s kitchen in a tight circle.

“Are we really eating beef? That’s against the law. I’m a little scared.”

“Yeah, and what a waste, killing a whole ox. Think how many fields it could have plowed in its life.”

“The ox is already dead, so stop blabbing. Hey, I’ve never had beef in my whole life.”

Soon, bowls of rice topped with big chunks of beef were handed to everyone. They compared whose bowl had the bigger piece and whose had the smaller, eating with great relish.

“Eat. Don’t overthink it. Do you think you’re some kind of immortal? This Heavenly Calamity is not your problem.” An enormous stewed ox heart, chilled with ice, was set in front of Li Huowang.

“This is way too big.” Li Huowang stared at the heart, which had to weigh at least four pounds. It was a good thing it was stewed; any other method and the middle probably wouldn’t have been cooked through.

“You eat first. If you can’t finish it, give it to me. I’ve got a big appetite.”

Bai Lingmiao picked up two chopsticks, sliced the ox heart open, picked out the gold ring buried inside, and then pushed the heart in front of Li Huowang.

“Why did you bury gold in the stewed ox heart?”

“My mother taught me that. She said it’s good for the body.”

After all the chaos since morning, Li Huowang had to admit he was actually feeling a bit hungry.

He stuck both chopsticks straight in, lifted the heart up like a zongzi, and took a bite. The flavor was rich, smooth, and chewy.

But just as Li Huowang was filling his stomach, Gouwa walked over, looking utterly dejected, carrying his daughter in his arms.

The man who was once obsessively fixated on food now had no appetite at all.

With a thump, a grieving Gouwa suddenly knelt on the ground and gave Li Huowang, who was eating with gusto, three heavy kowtows.

Li Huowang stopped chewing and looked at him, then at the baby in his arms.

Before Gouwa could even open his mouth to beg, Li Huowang spoke directly. “I can’t help you with this. Your daughter isn’t sick or cursed. This is just how she was born. Even if you peeled off her skin and let it grow back, it would be the same.”

As for trying to use the innate pneuma inside his own body, that wasn’t even a consideration for Li Huowang.

With his cultivation barely at the Root Chakra stage, if he forced the issue, there was no telling what irreversible consequences would follow.

Hong Zhong of the Zuowandao did have some sleight-of-hand tricks, but those were useless for anything except fooling oneself.

When Gouwa heard this, his face went ashen. He turned and walked away, carrying his daughter. After only a couple of steps, he raised his hand, tears streaming down his face, and slapped himself across the cheek several times.

“Ah… Gouwa is really pitiful. When his daughter grows up, I wonder if she’ll blame him.”

Bai Lingmiao’s words made Li Huowang look up at her. His voice was heavy as he asked, “He’s pitiful? What about you?”

“What?” Bai Lingmiao’s pupils contracted sharply. She was clearly startled.

“Did you think you could fool me? How long were you planning to keep this from me?” Li Huowang put the ox heart back in the bowl.

“Who told you that?!” Bai Lingmiao was first burning with anger, but when she saw the way Li Huowang was staring at her, her emotions gradually reined themselves in.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not like I’m blind. And as for me having a shorter lifespan than normal people, there’s no point in mentioning it. I haven’t even turned twenty yet. Even if it’s short, I still have a good ten-some years left. It’s too early to talk about that.”

“Just that? Is there anything else?” Li Huowang’s tone was flat, his eyes locked on every slight expression on her face.

A flicker of irritation crossed Bai Lingmiao’s face. “The immortals’ business is really none of your concern. You’re crazy enough as it is. Just focus on managing yourself.”

“Whose tongue is so loose? How did you find out everything? Hardly anyone even knows about this! Was it the Second Spirit?”

“It wasn’t her. It was you. You just told me.” Li Huowang picked up the ox heart and took another bite.

Bai Lingmiao froze for a moment, but she quickly understood what that meant. Her right hand shot out and slapped the ox heart right out of Li Huowang’s hand, sending it to the ground.

“You tricked me! How dare you trick me!”

“If I hadn’t tricked you, would you have told me yourself? Were you planning to wait until you were completely blind before saying anything?” Li Huowang stared at her pink eyes.

He had remembered the Second Spirit’s conflicted look earlier. He knew Bai Lingmiao was hiding something from him.

He hadn’t expected that a single bluff would dig up so much.

At Li Huowang’s words, Bai Lingmiao’s voice shot up. “Fine, since we’re putting it all out there, fine! You hide things from me, but don’t you hide things from me too? Your illness never got better! You go up to Ox Heart Mountain every single day to have an episode! Do you think I’m really blind?!”

Li Huowang took a deep breath, just about to explain, when a frantic burst of barking cut off their argument.

He recognized it. It was Mantou. The sound was wrong. Mantou had been with him for so long, and it had never barked like that before—so fierce, so urgent.

By the time Li Huowang and Bai Lingmiao reached the courtyard, they saw Mantou with its hackles fully raised, baring its fangs and barking in a frenzy at the direction of the gate.

The half-closed door was creaking slowly back and forth.

“Hey! What’s going on? I’m sure I locked the door. How did it open?” Zhao Wu limped over on his crutch.

An inexplicable chill ran through him. Everyone in Ox Heart Village was supposed to be inside the main courtyard.

Li Huowang shot toward the courtyard wall on one foot, kicked off the wall with his right foot, twisted his body, and landed steadily on top of the wall. He scanned the rooftops of the surrounding houses.

As his gaze swept the area, it suddenly stopped on a dark corner. Standing there was a man in a silken burial shroud, his back to Li Huowang, wearing a watermelon-cap hat.

From behind, the pear-shaped head took up half the body’s volume, and the hat was enormous. His legs were comically short, while his arms were comically long. The proportions were grotesquely off.

Li Huowang had only ever seen this kind of strange, distorted proportion on one thing in this world: the small-footed two-faced woman who could summon the Xi Shen. An evil entity.