Chapter 53 - Ponder

Creak, creak~

The horrible grinding sound of the donkey cart’s wheels filled the air.

“Puppy, add some oil to the wheels,” Li Huowang said with difficulty as he lay in the cart. Bai Lingmiao had just stitched the wound on his neck and then applied medicine on it. He couldn’t move for now.

Soon, the sound of squeaking wheels lessened. Li Huowang gazed at the sky and recalled the incident from a few nights ago.

The trouble with the Righteous Monastery had been resolved, but his personal problems had only just begun.

In his view, it was the Immortal Dan Yangzi who had killed the Buddhas.

However, to others, it was Li Huowang himself who had shot into the mouths of the Buddhas and consumed them from the inside out. They told him that his expression became extremely twisted and fierce right before he had done so.

In this world, it wasn’t possible for people to observe two different scenarios at the same time. That meant whatever he was seeing had to be false.

Li Huowang turned to his side and saw Bai Lingmiao holding his hand tightly, not letting go for even a single moment. Her eyes were currently covered with a blindfold.

After a while, Li Huowang turned and once again looked toward the skies before smiling bitterly.

When he thought about it, due to his illness, he didn’t even trust himself.

Coupled with the fact that he had been covered in blood and his stomach had been full, it implied that he was indeed the one who had killed the Buddhas, not Dan Yangzi.

Is Dan Yangzi truly dead? Was all that just my imagination?

Just as he had that thought, he dismissed it.

It’s impossible for me to defeat all those Buddhas with just my illusion. It had to be Dan Yangzi who did it. Regardless of what he has become, he is still here, watching me.

Li Huowang was certain about this.

I had always thought that Dan Yangzi had truly become an Immortal and was just entering the mortal realm. But from the looks of it, he seems to have either possessed me or attached himself to my body. If that really is the case, my assumption that he was protecting me seems to have been correct. But why? He’s not the benevolent type, so there must be a reason behind all this.

Thinking back upon that night, he felt quite weird. He had a hunch as he gently held Bai Lingmiao’s hands.

“Hey, did my temper become shorter after we left the Zephyr Temple?” asked Li Huowang.

“No. Why do you ask?” replied Bai Lingmiao.

Li Huowang just circled his index finger on the back of Bai Lingmiao’s hands and didn’t explain his thoughts to her.

The reason I have to ask such a question is that Dan Yangzi is a truly evil man.

Even though no one had explicitly said it, Li Huowang sensed some subtle changes had occurred within him.

Is Dan Yangzi trying to resurrect himself through my body? If this is true, that means that protecting my body would be the same as protecting himself.

This was a very bold thought that crossed his mind. However, he tried to calm himself down; that was merely a conjecture.

Dan Yangzi had to be removed, but how was he going to go about achieving that? He was grasping at straws here. This world was not like video games, where everything was laid out in a clear cut manner. He had to find bits and pieces of clues within this world itself.

After the incident in the Righteous Monastery, Li Huowang had decided that he would no longer trust any of the other sects here. If a monastery that was supposed to preach kindness and stand by it was already so evil, then the other sects could only be worse.

But still, in order to survive in this world, Li Huowang would have no choice but to confront them.

Just as he was pondering about it, the donkey cart slowed down. The sound of running water could be heard from near them.

“Senior Li, let me wash your clothes,” Bai Lingmiao released his hands and walked to the creek with Li Huowang’s bloodied Taoist robes.

Meanwhile, the rest of them did not stop to rest, instead opting to find firewood to cook their meal.

Currently, Li Huowang couldn’t even sit up. All he could do was listen to his surroundings and guess as to what was happening.

Soon, the fragrant smell of something being cooked wafted over. In response, his stomach started gurgling immediately; his injured body needed the nutrients from the food.

“Senior, let me feed you.”

Then, Li Huowang felt that he was propped up as he felt something soft and furry. He knew that it was the guiding drug ingredient with hypertrichosis that had helped him up. He recalled that her name was Chun Xiaoman.

It was an easy name to understand. She was born on one of the days in the Xiaoman period[1], so she was named Chun Xiaoman. Farmers usually didn’t put much thought into naming their daughters.

Xiaoman poured some horse meat soup into a wooden bowl before bringing a spoonful to Li Huowang’s lips.

She was silently feeding him, while he was silently eating. Ever since that incident, Li Huowang found that everyone here was afraid of him.

However, Li Huowang could understand their fears. Traveling with a monster-eating man? Who wouldn’t be afraid?

After finishing most of the soup, Li Huowang told Xiaoman, “Ask Bai Lingmiao to come back. She doesn’t need to worry about washing the robe if the blood can’t be washed off.”

“Alright,” said Xiaoman as she placed Li Huowang down gently, using the stone inscribed with the sacred text as a makeshift pillow.

Soon, Bai Lingmiao returned. The Taoist robe was still red in color instead of its original green color.

“Just put it on the donkey’s back to let it dry. Quickly go and eat. The food is almost cold now,” said Li Huowang.

“Mm hmm.” Bai Lingmiao removed her blindfold and quickly inspected Li Huowang’s wound before putting it back on and finding her way to the nearby campfire.

Dak, dak, dak~

At that moment, the sound of horse hooves came from afar. The owners of the horses had yet to arrive, but their voices could already be heard. “Aiyo! Young Taoist! So that's where you were! I thought we were separated forever!”

When Lu Zhuangyuan’s wrinkled face appeared in front of him, Li Huowang knew that the entire Lu family troupe had arrived.

“Aiyo~ Look at you!” Lu Zhuangyuan said as he saw Li Huowang’s wounded body.

“It’s nothing. I just met with some small trouble on the road. What do you need?” asked Li Huowang.

“Young Taoist, how could you leave without a word? Didn’t we agree that we would travel together? Luckily you had told us that you intended to cross the border, or we might never have known which direction you had gone off to!” Lu Zuangyuan chuckled. They had finally found a free bodyguard, so how could he just let Li Huowang leave?

“Sorry, troupe leader Lu. As you can see, I am currently injured. No need to worry about us. You can just leave whenever you please,” said Li Huowang.

“Aiya! Just lie down and rest.” Lu Zhuangyuan did not bother asking what had happened. His experience told him that the more he knew, the more dangerous it would be for him.

Seeing that the sun had almost set, both parties decided not to travel anymore. There was even a small creek near them, making it easy for them to wash up or replenish their water supply.

Meanwhile, Li Huowang stared at the night skies and continued to ponder.

At that moment, he turned to his right and saw someone there. Before he could even react, a small and soft body had already gotten into his embrace.

Recognizing the familiar scent, Li Huowang gently patted her back. “It’s alright. Leave everything to me.”

1. Ancient China split the twelve months into 24-periods, each period lasting two weeks. Xiaoman is one of the periods. ?