Chapter 104: Second God

Chapter 104: The Second Spirit

The clattering of bowls and spoons never ceased. The others kept shoveling porridge into their mouths with their chopsticks.

Today was a day of travel, so they needed to eat their fill; otherwise, they would be famished by noon, and a hungry stomach was a truly miserable thing.

Yet this was clearly not what Li Huowang was currently pondering. He turned his head to glance at Bai Lingmiao beside him.

The young girl's face was somewhat sullen, for last night he had not let her into his room, instead sending her to sleep with Chun Xiaoman.

Taking advantage of this brief moment, he had cleared away every trace of red in the room, lest she discover that he had inexplicably been married off without his knowledge.

Though the lingering trouble was now resolved, his mind was occupied by only one question: "What was that? What on earth did I sleep with last night?"

Judging from the bite marks on his own fingers, it was absolutely no ordinary person.

Thinking back on it now, Li Huowang belatedly realized there were many suspicious points.

Why did they have to blow out the candles before lifting the red veil? Why were the differences between "her" in bed and Bai Lingmiao so vast?

And in the darkness, the hairpin on her head—perhaps it was no hairpin at all! Perhaps it was something naturally grown from her own skull.

"Why did she do it? What benefit could she possibly gain from such a thing?" Li Huowang was utterly baffled.

He had barely slept last night, staying on guard against her reappearance, yet she never showed herself again.

As for who that person was, when Li Huowang recalled the red veil, he already had a vague inkling of the answer in his heart. But he wanted to confirm it.

Li Huowang watched quietly, watching Bai Lingmiao wash down five pieces of flatbread with her thin porridge.

He had always been paying attention to her petite frame; when had her appetite grown so enormous?

Seeing that she had eaten her fill, Li Huowang nudged her foot with his toe, then turned and walked toward the bedroom.

Bai Lingmiao wiped her mouth, set down her bowl, and followed after him.

As she stepped inside, she saw her Senior Brother Li standing there, his expression exceedingly grave as he stared at her.

"Senior Brother Li, what's wrong? Is something the matter?" Sensing the atmosphere was somewhat off, she lowered her voice.

"Sit down. There are a few things I want to ask you." Li Huowang reached out and pressed her down onto a stool.

After a moment of deliberation, Li Huowang spoke.

"I learned from Li Zhi that spirit dancing usually requires two people: a Great Spirit to invite the immortals, and a Second Spirit to embody them. Since you can use spirit dancing to heal me, that means besides you, there is another Second Spirit, right?"

Both involving the same red veil, it was impossible for Li Huowang not to suspect Bai Lingmiao's Second Spirit.

"Mhm." Bai Lingmiao nodded.

"Is she a living person? Or an immortal? Or something else entirely?"

"She's a living person. She's not an immortal; immortals must be invited to descend."

"When did this wife of Li Zhi crawl out? Wasn't her head smashed to a pulp by Gao Zhijian and buried alongside Li Zhi?"

Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao was taken aback. "Senior Brother Li, the Second Spirit isn't Li Zhi's wife."

"What? She isn't? Are there different kinds of Second Spirits?" Li Huowang was thoroughly surprised by this question.

"Mhm. They told me that the Second Spirit and the Great Spirit are linked; you can't just use someone else's Second Spirit."

Li Huowang recalled Li Zhi's Second Spirit from before. Aside from her face being heavily painted and adorned with some horrifying growths, that Second Spirit was the spitting image of Li Zhi himself.

"Could it be..." Connecting this to last night and that familiar voice of Bai Lingmiao, Li Huowang suddenly realized he understood something.

"If she removes those things growing on her face, is your Second Spirit actually shaped just like you?"

Hearing Li Huowang's words, Bai Lingmiao hesitated for a moment before finally nodding.

"Mhm. She looks just like me. The other Second Spirits look just like their Great Spirits, too."

"Then how did she come out? How did the immortals conjure up such a fully fleshed and blood living person?" Li Huowang asked the crucial question.

This time, Bai Lingmiao did not answer immediately. Her expression was deeply conflicted, her hands constantly twisting the hem of her tunic.

"Senior Brother Li, I really want to tell you, I really want to explain it clearly. But I truly don't know how. It's just that on the night I was mounted by the spirit, the Second Spirit appeared in my dream, and then... and then..."

Seeing Bai Lingmiao's expression, so anxious she was on the verge of tears, Li Huowang stopped pressing her. He also understood that in this wretched place, some things simply could not be explained too clearly.

"Alright, don't think about it. Call her out. I have something to ask her." At this moment, Li Huowang's eyes were filled with undisguised hostility.

After casting a cautious glance at Li Huowang, Bai Lingmiao turned and pulled open the door. A woman with a red veil draped over her head, wearing bright red embroidered shoes, simply stood there.

Suppressing his anger with force, Li Huowang walked over, staring at the Second Spirit through the red veil.

He could distinctly feel the thing inside watching him; his perception of others' gazes had grown much sharper lately.

Carefully observing the wrinkles in her clothes and her figure, Li Huowang confirmed once again: it was her in the bed last night!

"Senior Brother Li, what's wrong with her? What exactly happened?" Bai Lingmiao asked, her face full of worry.

Li Huowang, his heart burning with anger, was about to open his mouth, but looking at Bai Lingmiao's face, he forcibly stopped himself.

He really wanted to ask the Second Spirit why she had done that last night, but with Bai Lingmiao right there, he could only swallow his words.

He couldn't exactly say, could he, that last night he had slept with this god-knows-if-it-has-a-soul monstrosity right in front of him?

"Senior Brother Li, what is going on? Say something! What did she do to you?"

Bai Lingmiao's relentless questioning finally forced Li Huowang to suppress his inner fury. He pointed a finger at the Second Spirit's face, shooting her a threatening glare.

Then he pushed open another door and left directly. "Forget it. Let's set off."

Li Huowang had made up his mind: no matter whether this Second Spirit was acting on her own will or the command of the immortals, if there was a next time, he absolutely would not let her off easily!

At this moment, Bai Lingmiao was completely bewildered. She turned to look at the Second Spirit beside her and asked again, "What exactly is wrong?"

But the Second Spirit just stood there like a stiff corpse, not moving an inch.

"Strange, what on earth is going on here?" Bai Lingmiao was clearly thoroughly confused.

Two horse-drawn carriages were led out from the back courtyard, carrying everyone away from Wu Family Village, which was on the verge of becoming a beggar's den. They retraced their steps through the withered bamboo forest.

A journey of over two hundred li was long if you thought of it as long, and short if you thought of it as short. Hurrying as fast as they could, they returned to the foot of Henghua Mountain at top speed.

Compared to before, the small town at the foot of the mountain was noticeably livelier now, with more begging vagrants lining the roads.

Li Huowang opened the lacquer box, took one more look at the pair of blood-red eyeballs staring dead ahead, and then stepped toward the mountain path.

But this time, Bai Lingmiao stopped him. "Senior Brother Li, I'm coming with you this time. I can do the spirit dancing now; I'm no longer a burden."

(End of Chapter)