Chapter 311: Li Huowang

Chapter 311: Li Huo Wang

Li Huo Wang, in his delirium, waved the food in his hand and leaped onto a nearby car, bouncing with each honk of the car’s siren.

“I’m a lunatic!! I’m a madman!!” Li Huo Wang's voice echoed far and wide.

His bizarre behavior caught the attention of others. When the car owner rushed over wielding a broom, striking at Li Huo Wang repeatedly, more onlookers gathered around.

Just as his laughter grew more frenzied, Li Huo Wang saw a lovely little girl. Her mother was pulling her hand away, keeping her at a distance, and the red cherry hair clip in her hair was oddly familiar.

At the sight of her, the manic excitement on Li Huo Wang’s face gradually faded, replaced once again by anguish.

Then he jumped down from the car, ignoring the blows from the car owner, and walked away holding the food.

He came to the bridge’s hollow, where he used the slightly murky river water to refill his milk tea and began drinking it numbly.

The buns had a strange smell—probably spoiled—but he didn’t care. Nor did he care what she was eating on the other side.

This small amount of food, Li Huo Wang ate slowly, as if savoring every flavor.

“Uncle?” Li Huo Wang turned his head and saw a girl standing at the entrance of the bridge hollow, dressed entirely in a white dress.

In the dazzling sunlight, she seemed to glow from every pore.

Looking at her adorable face, Li Huo Wang instinctively blurted out, “December eighteenth?”

The little girl said timidly and anxiously, “I... my name isn’t December eighteenth. I... I’m Liu Yu Huan. My mom calls me Huan Huan.”

When she saw Li Huo Wang stand up, Liu Yu Huan took a few steps back in fright.

She quickly unslung her backpack, first placing a piece of paper on the ground, then taking out something from her bag and placing it on the paper.

After finishing this, she glanced nervously at Li Huo Wang before hastily running off.

Li Huo Wang walked over and looked down. It was three steamed buns wrapped in a white plastic bag—buns that only elementary school kids would buy, the piggy-shaped ones.

Li Huo Wang smiled knowingly, bent down to pick them up, and opened the plastic bag to eat them.

The buns were warm, clearly just taken out of the steamer. They weren’t leftovers from her meal; they were bought specially for him.

Li Huo Wang sat there, carefully eating one bite at a time. The bun was meat-filled, and it really tasted good.

As he ate, the environment around him shifted once more. He found himself sitting on a muddy road, holding a mud ball in his hands and gnawing at it.

“Heh.” Li Huo Wang shook his head helplessly and continued to chew the mud ball clean.

After finishing, he returned to the temple. Under the gaze of other hallucinations, he resolutely picked up the sword from the ground once more.

At that moment, he heard footsteps and hoofbeats. The footsteps were so familiar—

“Miao Miao?!” Li Huo Wang rushed out with his sword drawn, but saw someone unexpected—a divine figure wearing a red veil.

The rain outside had stopped, but the red veil on the divine figure was soaked. Two streams of water slid down from under the veil.

Standing before the temple with a complex expression, Li Huo Wang looked toward the distant carriage beside which the divine figure stood. “What are you doing here?”

“Woof woof!” A bun with a wagging tail emerged from behind the carriage. It shook off the rainwater from its body and ran excitedly toward Li Huo Wang.

The bun bounced, using its front paws to stamp yellow mud flowers all over Li Huo Wang’s body.

At that moment, the divine figure lifted the carriage beside her. The Black Tai Sui, bound tightly with cowhide straps, appeared before Li Huo Wang.

She walked toward him, pulling him by the hand with her icy fingers, long and sharp black nails, into the broken temple.

Once inside the only dry spot, the divine figure first wiped the rain and mud off Li Huo Wang with a towel, then took out fresh clothes and shoes from the carriage.

She helped him dress, then draped an old red Taoist robe over him.

As she bent down to tie his belt, Li Huo Wang reached out and pulled off the red veil from the divine figure.

Suddenly, the face of the divine figure—like a blooming flesh-eating flower—appeared before Li Huo Wang.

Its petals and buds were made of snake scales, hedgehog quills, and other similar appendages.

At the center of the flower, half of a pale face—Miao Miao’s—was streaming tears, looking sorrowfully at Li Huo Wang. Opposite to this human half was the face of a fox-like beast.

Her facial features were not fixed—they moved and changed slowly over time.

Sometimes the human face dominated, sometimes the beast face, and the number of eyes fluctuated.

With those monstrous features, the divine figure opened her arms and gently embraced Li Huo Wang, tightening her grip until he could barely breathe. “My husband…”

Her hand behind him slowly spread open his fingers, letting the Purple Spike Sword fall to the ground.

The white band around her wrist was removed and gently placed over Li Huo Wang’s eyes, which had no eyelids.

“My husband… we’ve been waiting for you. We’ll wait until the day you’re cured.”

Hearing these words, Li Huo Wang hugged her tightly, gazing into her enormous, elongated cat-like eyes, holding her ever tighter.

Even though life was miserable and the world was utterly hopeless, even though every inch of Li Huo Wang’s existence was forged from pain,

no one truly wanted to die. Sometimes, just a slight tug back could prevent a tragedy.

The divine figure eventually left, but she left behind the bun and the carriage tied with Black Tai Sui.

Sitting on the ground, Li Huo Wang stared blankly at the sky through the hole in the roof. After a long while, he picked up the Purple Spike Sword.

Looking at the half of his own face reflected on the blade, Li Huo Wang’s expression suddenly twisted. He raised the sword high and pointed it at a black pigeon perched on the rafters.

“A pigeon?”

As soon as he thought this, the pigeon flew down and landed on his shoulder. “Goo-goo-goo~”

Only then did Li Huo Wang notice a small note tied to the pigeon’s leg.

It bore an oracle bone character, appearing to be the character for "heaven" with an eye beneath it.

Slowly opening the note, Li Huo Wang read its contents and was startled. He immediately grabbed the carriage and left the broken temple.

It was a message from Tuoba Danqing, sent by carrier pigeon. He told Li Huo Wang to meet him in Yinling City, at the usual place.

This reminded Li Huo Wang of his plan—to find Bei Feng through the Heavenly Observation Bureau.

A strong sense of injustice surged within him, pushing aside the pain and despair in his eyes.

“Bun, let’s go! This place won’t kill me that easily!”

“I have nothing left now—I fear nothing! Even if I die, I’ll punch a hole right through it!”

“I’ll break free from this identity of heart-soul someday! Someday, someday...”