Chapter 23 - Home

“Senior Li!” Bai Lingmiao’s frantic cry made Li Huowang turn around. He was holding a lantern in the darkness while looking toward the others standing in the sunlight.

He once again waved them off. “Go on. All of you can go back home now.”

“Senior Li, come together with us. Staying together on the way back will be safer too. Or did you forget something inside?” Zhao Wu said while lying on Simpleton’s back. His expression was rather nervous; it was as though he could sense that something was amiss.

“Keke... Go together? To where?” Li Huowang said as he turned around before once again heading toward the darkness.

“Let’s go back home together to celebrate the New Year. Senior Li, where is your home?”

Li Huowang just chuckled soundlessly in the darkness before carrying the lantern and walking back to where they came from. “Home? I don’t have one now. I have not been able to return to my home since a long time ago!”

Then, Li Huowang silently walked back into the darkness. Zephyr Temple was currently very peaceful, and only the sound of his footsteps was accompanying him.

Amidst this peaceful environment, Li Huowang suddenly began to hum a song, his footsteps becoming lighter, as he swung the lantern from side to side rhythmically.

As he continued humming, Li Huowang returned to his residence. He then closed the door and placed down the lantern on the table. Not even bothering to wipe off the blood that had splattered on his face, he slowly lay down on the stone bed before closing his eyes.

“It’s the first day of the year. I haven’t eaten that disgusting Black Taisui this month. I should be able to see Yang Na again soon, right?” Li Huowang’s lips curled slightly upward at the thought.

He silently waited for his childhood sweetheart to bring him back to the world that he belonged to.

Having not slept for an entire night, Li Huowang’s consciousness soon began to fade gradually. However, at that moment, the door suddenly opened just before he could slip into the beautiful dreamland.

Li Huowang rubbed his eyes and sat up only to see Puppy, Zhao Wu, and the others standing at the door.

Bai Lingmiao stood there uneasily, her gaze darting around for a while before it finally settled down.

“Senior Li, if you can’t go back to your home, then come to mine. My house is very spacious, and the room in the East wing is empty.”

Li Huowang looked at the kind girl before him before shaking his head gently. “This place is comfortable too; I have grown quite used to it.”

Only a raving madman would choose to stay in such a dark and ominous place. Bai Lingmiao’s lips quivered slightly as she found Li Huowang’s words to be quite unbelievable.

“I once had a home and a family, but...” Li Huowang looked up toward the pitch-black roof. His expression was complex, as though he was recalling something.

Puppy thought for a while, then shot a few glances at the others and whispered, “Since Senior Li wants to stay here, should we just leave?”

“Shut up!”

Bai Lingmiao’s sudden outburst caused Puppy to jump in fright. This was different from the submissive young lady that he knew.

Meanwhile, Bai Lingmiao stepped up in a hurry and stubbornly said, “Do you think that your current actions would make your family happy? If your family knew you were like this now, what would they think?”

Li Huowang smiled bitterly before his expression turned extremely agonized as he said, “How would I know what they would think? I don’t even know if they truly exist! I might just be a madman who is all alone. Everything around me could be completely dreamt up by me.”

Bai Lingmiao reached out with her almost-transparent hands and grabbed onto Li Huowang’s hand. “Senior Li, you are not alone—you still have us.”

Li Huowang just blankly stared at the girl before him, looking at her determined and delicate face. At that moment, he felt that his understanding of this girl was very shallow.

Why is she so kind to me?

Suddenly, his surroundings began to change again. The cave system around him started to switch back to white hospital walls.

At the same time, Bai Lingmiao’s features melted and reformed into Yang Na’s face. Her tearful face was filled with worry.

“Nana!” Li Huowang dashed across the room, hugging her tightly with an extremely pained expression.

“Huowang, you cannot give up on yourself. You must live on, no matter what you encounter. Alright? You must persevere, no matter what you encounter. Never ever give up.” Yang Na’s voice quivered.

Soon, that face morphed into that of his mother. “Son, you cannot die. If you end up dying, how will your old man and I survive!”

After this, that face rapidly morphed into various people that Li Huowang recognized, all of them encouraging him.

Suddenly, everything around him froze. Then, the bright hospital ward quickly became dim.

Li Huowang slowly released the person he was embracing, only to find that he had actually been embracing Bai Lingmiao.

While the girl in his arms was slightly embarrassed, she didn’t evade his gaze. “Senior Li, let’s go. I’m uncomfortable with staying here for much longer.”

Then, she pulled out those paper notes from the pouch at her waist and said, “Senior Li, there’s no use passing these on to me. After all, we are all illiterate.”

“Right, Senior Li, only you are capable of handling this.” At that moment, the others standing at the door chimed in.

“I, I, I can re-” Simpleton stuttered as he tried to speak.

However, before he could finish what he was saying, Zhao Wu covered his mouth. “Even if you can read, you would better pretend that you can’t!”

Meanwhile, Li Huowang silently looked at the paper notes containing the last words left behind by those people with an inscrutable expression.

Bai Lingmiao then used both her hands to push those paper notes toward him. “Senior Li, you were the one who personally promised them. A true man doesn’t go back on his words.”

The reality and the hallucination constantly alternated within his brain. Finally, Li Huowang reached out to retrieve those notes. “Let’s go.”

Li Huowang had decided that no matter where he was, he would do his best to live well, not just for himself, but also for those family members who may or may not even exist.

Upon hearing those words, everyone broke out into relieved smiles.

While they did not know what Li Huowang was thinking, it was fine as long as he did not choose to stay in this cursed place.

The group then flocked around Li Huowang and walked out of the dusky room together. They were about to start heading toward the entrance when Li Huowang suddenly called out for everyone to stop.

“Hold on. Since we’ve decided to leave this place, we have to plunder it a little. Simpleton, carry Zhao Wu with you and lead the others to the kitchen. Take the food supplies that we can carry while traveling. We won’t last if we don’t have anything to eat.”

Li Huowang then brought Bai Lingmiao to the Pill Refining Room to take some of the pills that he could recognize. Li Huowang had practiced the Dao of Pills for some time now and could be considered half a doctor with these items. He did not know how long they would have to travel before they could reach their homes, so it was better to be well prepared.

However, he only took the pills that he recognized. He did not even dare to touch the ones that he didn’t recognize and were refined by Dan Yangzi, much less take them with him.

When they regrouped with the others in Zheng Yi Hall, Li Huowang said, “Hold on, there’s one more thing I have to take with me.”

Li Huowang then carried the lamp in his hand and carefully made his way toward the cave that held the Black Taisui.