Chapter 103: Wedding

Chapter 103: Marriage

Holding a cup of tea, Li Huowang sipped it slowly, not because he particularly enjoyed tea, but simply because the dinner had been too salty.

Pressing the lid against the tea froth on the surface, Li Huowang took a gentle sip, the rich bitterness flooding his mouth.

"Should have guessed it. Village Chief Wu's family surely doesn't have any good tea." Li Huowang spat it out, set the cup down, and turned toward his bedroom.

Having slept poorly last night due to that nightmare, he needed to go to bed as early as possible today to conserve energy for tomorrow's journey.

Walking down the path to his bedroom, Li Huowang's mind was not idle; he thought back to last night's nightmare and those two jade pendants.

"When the hallucinations appear again, should I try bringing something over?" Li Huowang did not hesitate on this question for long.

"Try it! But not the jade pendants—bring over something that absolutely could not exist over here, like an IV drip, or handcuffs."

"If I can't bring it over, it proves the world over there is fake, and I have nothing to miss. But if I can bring it over..."

Lost in thought, Li Huowang unknowingly arrived at the door of his bedroom.

With a creak, the door was pushed open, but everything inside disrupted his train of thought.

Red candles on the table, double happiness characters on the walls, red pillows, and red quilts—everything was red, including the red veil covering the head of Bai Lingmiao, who sat by the bed.

Looking at everything before him, Li Huowang's heartbeat quickened. He paused at the boundary between the redness inside the room and the night outside, a hint of struggle crossing his face.

Li Huowang understood what walking in meant; it not only meant he was gaining a wife, but also heavy responsibilities and promises.

After a moment of hesitation, Li Huowang took a deep breath, stepped inside, and locked the door behind him.

He then approached the bride and asked, "Are you sure you've thought this through? You must know what's wrong with me. Can you truly accept marrying a madman?"

"Mm..." A pair of small hands gently grasped Li Huowang's palm, calloused and thick.

"Senior Brother Li, where the hen goes, the rooster follows; where the dog goes, the dog follows. No matter what we face in the future, I am willing to spend my life with you."

Bai Lingmiao's voice remained as soft as ever, yet it carried a rare firmness.

With the bride having said so much, it would be unmanly of Li Huowang to hesitate any longer. He reached out to grab the red veil, but she shyly dodged his hand. "Senior Brother Li... that kind of thing... I'm shy... could you blow out the lamp first?"

Li Huowang turned to the table, flicked his long sleeve, and the red candles gradually went out.

That night, they entwined in the marital bed, and it was only then that Li Huowang truly understood the old saying that women are made of water.

Two hours later, in the pitch-black bridal chamber, Li Huowang collapsed heavily onto the bed, gasping for air.

He gently stroked the beautiful hair of the girl lying on his chest, savoring the wondrous sensation from just moments ago.

"Husband~" The way she called him husband sent a tingle of numbness through Li Huowang's entire body. "Just call me Senior Brother Li. I'm not used to that."

"Alright, I'll listen to you. You're the head of the household; whatever you tell me to do, I'll do."

Bai Lingmiao rested her ear against Li Huowang's chest, listening to the rapid beating of his heart beneath the skin.

Li Huowang exhaled deeply, pulling the girl in his arms a little closer, and kissed her hair, adorned with numerous hairpins.

"Once the matter with Danyangzi is settled, we'll go home, back to your home, and formally bow in marriage."

"But what about your delirium? Is there really no cure?"

"I don't know. I heard it from someone else. The abbess of the Anchian Nunnery has no reason to deceive me about such matters."

Li Huowang's hand slid down, continuously caressing her smooth, slippery skin. "But it's fine. Now that I have you, I've taken root completely in this world. I absolutely cannot let those flimsy hallucinations from over there control me again."

"Hehe..." Bai Lingmiao seemed very happy, wrapping her limbs tightly around him and gently nuzzling her head against his chest.

For some reason, Li Huowang found that Bai Lingmiao in bed felt very different from Bai Lingmiao out of bed.

She had claimed to be shy earlier, but in truth, she wasn't shy at all.

"Are all women like this?" Li Huowang, experiencing this for the first time, seemed somewhat inexperienced.

Feeling her start to move restlessly again, Li Huowang pressed his hand against her. "Wait, I just realized something."

"What? I had my red flow," Bai Lingmiao said, her tone slightly nervous.

Li Huowang chuckled in amusement. "That's not what I meant. I'm saying my sensations feel very different."

"Sensations? What kind of sensations?"

"It seems all my senses have become much more sensitive, every single one." Li Huowang recalled the heavenly sensation from earlier; it felt entirely too strange.

It hadn't been obvious before, and Li Huowang thought he had misremembered, but after what just happened, he was certain that besides his enhanced recovery, his perception had also been comprehensively elevated.

Whether it was touch, smell, or even taste.

"Is this also a power of Ba Hui?" Li Huowang realized that both abilities it had granted him were related to sacrifice.

Just as he was telling Bai Lingmiao about his discovery, he suddenly felt a piercing pain in his right index finger. "Hiss! Why did you bite me?"

"Does it hurt? Does it hurt more than before?"

"Of course! It's bleeding, how could it not hurt?"

"Then, Senior Brother Li, it seems you guessed right. It can indeed enhance the sense of pain."

The next second, Li Huowang felt his bitten finger sink into a soft warmth as Bai Lingmiao gently sucked on it, making the pain quickly recede.

"You told me about Lord You in the past. Have you ever heard the legends of Ba Hui?" Li Huowang asked.

"Mm-hmm," Bai Lingmiao shook her head, her mouth still holding his finger.

"Hmm..." Li Huowang opened his eyes, gazing into the pitch-black room as he pondered. "Why exactly did Ba Hui grant me these two abilities? What kind of existence is it, truly?"

Involuntarily, Li Huowang tried to piece together the appearance of Ba Hui in his mind, but he ultimately failed. Relying on normal human perception, it was impossible to imagine its form.

"Knock, knock, knock!" In the dead of night, the door was suddenly knocked upon.

Body tensing, Li Huowang quickly rolled over, pulling Bai Lingmiao from his chest into his arms and covering her tightly with the quilt. "Who is it? If it's nothing urgent, we'll talk about it tomorrow."

"Senior Brother Li, it's me. Can you let me in? I don't know how, but I ended up sleeping in the firewood shed."

The voice was incredibly soft and familiar; Li Huowang instantly realized it was Bai Lingmiao's voice!

If Bai Lingmiao was outside the room, then who was in his arms?! A chill instantly swept through Li Huowang's entire body.

"Hehehe, husband~" Li Huowang felt the thing in his arms shrink, instantly sliding out from behind the quilt.

Li Huowang fiercely threw off the quilt and lit the red candle with utmost speed, yet the small bedroom was left with only him.

"Senior Brother Li, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Bai Lingmiao outside the door was still calling out.

At this moment, Li Huowang's gaze had already shifted to his own finger, sucked pale white.

The everted, hideous wound on it was absolutely not something a normal human bite could make; it looked more like it had been gnawed by some sharp beast's fangs!!

(End of Chapter)