Chapter 23: Home

Chapter 23: Home

"Senior Brother Li!" Bai Lingmiao's tear-choked cry caused Li Huowang, lantern in hand amidst the darkness, to turn and look toward the others standing in the sunlight outside the door.

He waved at them once more. "Go on, all of you. Go back home."

"Senior Brother Li, you should come with us. It's safer to travel together. Did you forget to grab something?" asked Zhao Wu, draped over the fool's back, his expression tense as if sensing something amiss.

"Heh, come along to where?" Li Huowang turned away, hiding his face once more in the shadows.

"To go home for the New Year, Senior Brother Li. Where is your home?"

In the dark, Li Huowang smiled soundlessly and began walking back the way he came, lantern in hand. "Home? Where would I have a home now? My home is gone forever, gone forever!"

Li Huowang walked in silence through the dark. The Qingfeng Temple was utterly quiet now, his own footsteps his only companion.

Suddenly, he began to hum a tune, his steps growing lighter, the oil lamp in his hand swaying rhythmically from side to side.

Accompanied by his own song, Li Huowang returned to his quarters. He shut the door, set the lamp on the table, and, too weary to even wipe the blood from his face and clothes, slowly lay down on the stone bed and closed his eyes.

"Today is the first day of the month. I didn't eat that disgusting Black Tai Sui this month, so I should be able to see Yang Na again soon, right?" At this thought, the corners of Li Huowang's mouth curled up slightly.

He waited in silence, waiting for his dearest childhood sweetheart to take him back to the world where he belonged.

Having stayed awake all night, Li Huowang's consciousness began to fade, but just as he was about to slip into a beautiful dream, the door suddenly swung open.

Rubbing his eyes, Li Huowang sat up to find Gouwa, Zhao Wu, and the others standing at the doorway.

Bai Lingmiao stood there anxiously, her gaze darting away for a moment before finally settling with resolve.

"Senior Brother Li, if you can't go back to your home, then come to mine. My house is very spacious, and the east wing is empty..."

Li Huowang looked at the kind-hearted girl before him and shook his head slightly. "This place is fine. I'm used to it here."

A raving, flailing madman could only stay in such a gloomy place so as not to frighten others. Bai Lingmiao's lips trembled slightly, seemingly unable to believe his words.

"I had a home once, and I had a family, but..." Li Huowang looked up at the pitch-black ceiling, his expression complex as he began to recall something.

After thinking for a moment, Gouwa winked at the others and whispered, "Since Senior Brother Li says he wants to stay here, maybe we should just go?"

"Shut up!" Bai Lingmiao's sharp retort gave Gouwa a terrible fright; this was nothing like the timid, submissive girl she used to be.

Bai Lingmiao stepped forward quickly, her expression fiercely stubborn. "Is this how you honor your family? If your family from before could see you like this, what would they think?"

A bitter smile touched Li Huowang's lips. "How would I know what they'd think? I can't even be sure if they truly exist at all!"

"Maybe I'm just a madman with nothing to my name. I have nothing. Everything, absolutely everything, is just a figment of my imagination." Li Huowang's expression twisted in profound agony.

Bai Lingmiao reached out with her pale, nearly translucent hands and grasped Li Huowang's. "Senior Brother Li, you don't have nothing. You still have us."

Li Huowang stared blankly at the girl before him, at her stubborn, delicate features.

For a moment, he realized how very little he truly knew about her. "Why is she so good to me?"

Suddenly, everything around him began to shift, the cavern and the pristine white walls of the hospital flickering in and out of view.

Bai Lingmiao's features began to melt, only to reform into the visage of Yang Na, her face tear-streaked and filled with worry.

"Nana!" Li Huowang lunged forward, his expression one of utter anguish as he held her in a desperate, crushing embrace.

"Huowang, you can't give up on yourself. You have to live. No matter what happens, you must keep living, do you hear?" Yang Na's voice trembled.

"You have to hold on. No matter what you endure, never let it break you."

Then, that face shifted again, becoming his mother's. "Son, you can't die! If you die, how will your old man and I go on living?"

The face changed rapidly and continuously, cycling through all the people Li Huowang knew, each offering him words of encouragement and support.

Suddenly, everything around him froze, and the bright hospital room rapidly dimmed.

Li Huowang slowly loosened his embrace, realizing he was holding Bai Lingmiao.

The girl in his arms was visibly flushed with shyness, yet her eyes did not waver. "Senior Brother Li, let's go. I can't stand being in this place."

Right after, she pulled the slips of paper from the pouch at her waist and pressed them into his arms. "Senior Brother Li, giving these to me is useless. None of us can read."

"That's right, Senior Brother Li. This is a job only you can do. No one else can," the others chimed in from the doorway.

"I... I... I can re..." The fool had barely gotten the words out when Zhao Wu clamped a hand over his mouth, leaning in to whisper, "Even if you can read, you'd better pretend you can't right now!"

Li Huowang gazed silently at the last words written by those people, lost in his own thoughts.

Bai Lingmiao pushed the slips of paper further toward him with both hands. "Senior Brother Li, you gave them your word. A true man doesn't go back on his promises."

Reality and hallucination alternated endlessly in his mind, until finally, Li Huowang reached out and took the papers. "Let's go."

Li Huowang had made up his mind. No matter where he was, he would do his utmost to survive, not just for himself, but for his family, who might or might not truly exist.

At these words, everyone broke into relieved smiles.

They didn't know what Li Huowang was thinking, only that as long as he didn't stay in this godforsaken place, it was fine.

The group ushered Li Huowang out of the dim room and headed toward the cave entrance, but after only a few steps, Li Huowang called out to stop them.

"Wait. Since we've decided to leave, we should scavenge this place properly. Fool, carry Zhao Wu and take the others to the kitchen. Grab some rations for the road. We can't travel on empty stomachs."

Then, Li Huowang took Bai Lingmiao to the alchemy room to gather some pills he recognized. He had been practicing the alchemical arts for some time, and with these supplies, he'd be half a doctor. They didn't know how far home was, so it was better to be prepared.

However, he only took what he recognized. As for the other pills refined by Danyangzi that he didn't know, Li Huowang wouldn't dare touch them, let alone take them.

After the group regrouped at the Zhengyi Hall, Li Huowang spoke again, "Wait a moment. There's one more thing I need to get." With that, he lifted his oil lamp and carefully made his way toward the cavern where the Black Tai Sui was imprisoned.

(End of Chapter)