Chapter 102: Benefit

Chapter 102: The Benefit

The sudden thought that sprang to mind made Li Huowang tremble all over.

He carefully patted himself down from head to toe, and only after confirming that no extra jade pendant had appeared on his body did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Yes, it was just a dream, it was just a dream," Li Huowang muttered to himself, still haunted by lingering fear.

"What's wrong?" Bai Lingmiao lit the oil lamp and asked sleepily.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing. Go back to sleep."

Seeing that Li Huowang didn't say much, Bai Lingmiao didn't press the matter either, and simply closed her eyes.

Her head full of white hair rested lightly against his shoulder, her slender palm softly stroking his heaving chest over and over again.

Pressing his hand over hers on his chest, Li Huowang stared straight up at the ceiling beam. "Miaomiao."

"Hmm?" Bai Lingmiao, half-asleep, responded instinctively.

"Do you want to know about my past? Do you know why I suffer from hysteria?"

Bai Lingmiao's drowsiness was instantly dispelled; she opened her eyes in surprise and turned her head to look at the man beside her. This was the first time Senior Brother Li had ever talked to her about his past.

Through their days and nights together, she had long sensed that Senior Brother Li was different from the rest of them.

It wasn't a difference born of coming from different states, but a very peculiar sense of not belonging. She wasn't the only one who felt this way; the others thought so too, they just hadn't spoken of it.

"Actually, I'm not from around here."

"I know, you're not from Siqi."

Li Huowang smiled knowingly and shook his head. "I mean I'm not from this world. I'm from another world..."

Accompanied by the flickering of the oil lamp, Li Huowang slowly explained his origins and his troubles to Bai Lingmiao.

As he continued to pour his heart out, Li Huowang felt somewhat better, as if the thousand-pound burden pressing on his shoulders was being shared by someone else.

He talked until the paper window showed the faint light of dawn before he finally stopped. The room fell into a profound silence. "Don't you have anything you want to ask?"

"Yes." Bai Lingmiao pulled her hand from Li Huowang's and reversed their grip, holding his hand—the one missing three fingernails.

Her fingertips trembled slightly as they gently brushed over the scabs of dried blood. "What's the deal with that red bamboo slip?"

"Let me tell you a little fun fact. Human fingernails can actually regenerate. After they're pulled out, they'll grow back on their own."

Li Huowang had just tried to change the subject and pull his hand away, but she gripped it tighter. Right then, he saw Bai Lingmiao's slightly reddened and stubborn eyes right in front of his face.

"I don't care where you come from, and I don't care what exactly happened with the hysteria. I just want to know if the wound on your abdomen is also related to it?"

Li Huowang didn't answer her question. He simply pressed her head against his chest and patted her gently, over and over.

"Senior Brother Li, that thing is too sinister. Throw it away. If this keeps up, it will really kill you."

After saying this, Bai Lingmiao paused, but finally spoke with a slight tremor of tears in her voice, "If you die, what will become of me?"

Li Huowang sighed softly. Bai Lingmiao looked soft and gentle, but that was only her surface; in truth, she was soft on the outside and steel on the inside.

"Let me think about it, let me think..."

In truth, Li Huowang also knew that the Record of a Thousand Worlds was a double-edged sword; the slightest carelessness would leave him covered in wounds.

Yet this item was also an incredibly useful tool. With it, he had a certain degree of self-preservation in this bizarre world.

If he threw it away and actually ran into a fiend like the Eighteenth of the Twelfth Month, what would he do? He couldn't possibly rely on Danyang Zi, could he?

He also wanted to join some other sect and cultivate to gain enough power. But that path was fraught with even more difficulties.

Not to mention whether they would even accept him, or whether they would covet his exceedingly rare Heart Essence, even if they were willing to take him in, Li Huowang wouldn't necessarily dare to practice their arts.

Qingfeng Temple, Zhengde Temple, Anci Nunnery—ever since coming into contact with these sects, Li Huowang had basically given up all hope for any other sects. They were bound to be even more sinister than the last.

Until he found another alternative, the Record of a Thousand Worlds absolutely could not be discarded. It was the foundation of his survival, even if every use demanded an exceedingly cruel price.

Unnoticed, a commotion began outside the door as the other senior and junior martial siblings started preparing breakfast.

Li Huowang had just sat up when Bai Lingmiao moved to help him dress, but he suddenly froze. "Wait."

He slowly pressed his hand against the bandages on his abdomen and was surprised to find it didn't hurt as much. Pulling them back, he saw that the wound underneath was already nearly healed.

"Healing this fast?" Even Li Huowang himself was astonished.

According to Li Huowang's estimation, it should have taken at least half a month to recover to this extent. His body seemed to be undergoing some kind of change.

After pondering for a long time, Li Huowang focused his attention on that final glance Ba Hui had cast upon him. "This should be a good thing, right?"

At this moment, Li Huowang was torn between joy and worry. He understood far too little about the entity he had summoned through the dual agony of body and mind.

He had no idea what this signified.

"Is it just making it more convenient for me to mutilate myself?" After thinking for a long while, this was the only reason Li Huowang could come up with.

As the saying goes, when you have too many lice, you stop itching; when you owe too much, you stop worrying. Compared to Danyang Zi and his own illness, this could only be considered a minor issue.

"At this rate, my wounds should be mostly healed by tomorrow. We'll rest here for one more day today and head back tomorrow," Li Huowang said to Bai Lingmiao.

Bai Lingmiao looked as if she wanted to say something but held back, and finally nodded.

Upon hearing they could go back, the others began loading things onto the cart, practically sweeping the entire courtyard clean, even putting the two old hens that laid eggs on board.

When the time for dinner came around again, Li Huowang unwrapped the bandages and found that the wound had basically healed completely.

"Not bad. At least after paying so much, there's finally some reward." Li Huowang was fairly satisfied with this inexplicably acquired ability. With it, at least he wouldn't die so easily in the future.

Returning to the main hall, Li Huowang sat down to eat. The table was filled with simple farm dishes, all picked from the fields of Wu Family Village.

Although they were all vegetarian, they were stir-fried with lard after all, so the taste was quite good.

Li Huowang picked up a piece of radish and took a bite, involuntarily frowning. "Who cooked this? Why is it still so salty?"

Although he didn't have much of an appetite, he wasn't a beast of burden either.

Li Huowang soon saw a pale-faced Daoist boy stand up. "Senior Brother Li... it was me..."

Bai Lingmiao, sitting beside him, picked the radish off Li Huowang's chopsticks. "Senior Brother Li, this radish isn't that salty. It's just right."

"Isn't it?" Li Huowang picked up another piece in confusion and took a bite, only to find it was still incredibly salty.

"Forget it, let's just keep eating. A little salty just means it goes down better with rice."

(End of Chapter)