A simple steamed bun made from refined wheat flour. In pre-modern China, white flour was a luxury, and the promise of a white-flour lunch was a powerful incentive for laborers — here, it’s the only thing keeping the exhausted militiamen from quitting.
Definition
A simple steamed bun made from refined wheat flour. In pre-modern China, white flour was a luxury, and the promise of a white-flour lunch was a powerful incentive for laborers — here, it’s the only thing keeping the exhausted militiamen from quitting.
Buckle up, fellow travelers — this one’s going to sting. After the explosive ritual that freed Bai Lingmiao from the spirits that controlled her, our protagonists don’t get a triumphant victory lap. Instead, they get the silent, crushing aftermath. Lian Zhibei limps away with her payment, Li Huowang stares at a blood-stained veil, and the quiet that follows is louder than any explosion. This is a chapter about collateral damage — not the physical kind, but the emotional wreckage that settles when the right thing costs something you never expected to pay. And if you thought Li Sui was just a creepy little sidekick, wait until you see her waiting for someone who will never come home.
This chapter is a masterclass in *show, don’t tell* grief. Notice how the author uses objects — a pair of shoes, a raw wild dog, a silent embrace — to do the emotional heavy lifting instead of any dramatic monologue. Li Huowang’s inability to answer Bai Lingmiao’s unspoken question is more devastating than any confession. And Li Sui’s innocent hope that the Second Spirit will “come back” like she always did? That’s a kid processing loss in real-time, and it hurts exactly as much as it should.
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