Chapter 380: New Year

Chapter 380: New Year's Eve

When Li Huowang awoke again, it was still night. It was only from the monk that he learned he had been unconscious for three full days.

Though his stomach growled with hunger, his spirits were far better than they had been when he'd first been stripped of his skin.

He pulled out his dry rations and water flask, eating and drinking heartily while walking toward his own skin. To his surprise, the steamed bun was still there.

It lay coiled like a large yellow ball, its head and tail overlapping, guarding his skin as if even in sleep it would not let it go. Beside it lay two dead rats, their bodies bitten through.

The scent of food immediately roused the steamed bun, who sat up on its haunches and wagged its tail frantically at him.

"The more people you meet, the more you come to love dogs," Li Huowang said, stroking the bun’s head before tossing the half of a baked cake he held into the distance for it to retrieve.

Watching it gnaw on the cake, Li Huowang knelt down carefully and pulled his skin from the earth.

He had considered other methods of peeling off his own skin, but without help, none seemed feasible—this way was the simplest.

And the resulting skin bore no damage, perfectly intact.

First, he poured out the mercury, then took out the *Great Thousand Records*, and finally carried it over to the carriage, stuffing the dry rice straw he had prepared inside.

He couldn't help but feel strange looking at himself now.

Then he lit six incense sticks, inserting three into each eye socket, and cut a few strands of his hair, gathering cinnabar powder upon which he quickly drew talismans.

"Yin and yang, the root of all things! Through countless eons, the great truth unfolds! Beyond the three realms, I alone am supreme, my body glowing with golden light, shrouding me in radiance!"

As Li Huowang finished reciting, so too did he complete drawing the talisman.

Seeing this, he grew tense. “Did it work? Should it have worked? I practiced for so long.”

Just as he spoke, white smoke began billowing from the seven orifices of his skin—the incense must have ignited the rice straw he had stuffed in.

As the smoke thickened, the skin shrank rapidly. When the smoke cleared, a figure no larger than a palm appeared before him.

"It worked!" Li Huowang picked up the skin and examined it closely. After shrinking, the features were blurred, the skin yellowish like wax, resembling a small paper doll cut from ginger-yellow paper.

According to the book, carrying such an artifact could ward off calamities and evil spirits, aid in changing one's fortune during unlucky years, and most importantly, save one's life in dire situations.

Li Huowang didn’t know how exactly it exchanged lives, but he was certain it was a kind of life-saving talisman.

Moreover, it wasn’t a one-time use item. Once restored, this artifact could be replenished endlessly.

With this in hand, facing future dangers, Li Huowang finally felt somewhat confident.

Regretfully, he thought, other magical items were harder to forge. Without the celestial treasures needed for their creation, or simply because he couldn’t understand what was written, this one was by far the easiest to make.

“I’ve got... a golden finger, too?” Li Huowang muttered to himself, staring at the skin in his hands.

"Dad? What's a golden finger?"

Li Huowang shook his head, not answering Li Sui’s question. He held the skin and looked for a place to hide it.

Such an important thing could not be discarded carelessly. After some thought, he placed the skin right in front of his navel.

A tendril extended, wrapped around the skin, and retracted back into his body. "Thanks, Dad."

"Let’s go," Li Huowang climbed onto the carriage.

Driving the carriage, he took a bite of his cold rations and washed them down with icy water. "Say, shouldn’t we be celebrating New Year’s now?"

"Oh, don’t tell me—it’s New Year’s already! I’ve been waiting for this day for a month," replied Gouwa, dressed in silk robes, chatting idly with Zhao Wu before sitting down and gnawing on a chicken leg.

Before he could swallow, his eyes turned toward the other dishes on the feast table.

Braised carp, pork meatballs shaped like lions, braised pork with preserved vegetables, spicy lamb stewed in chili peppers, four joy meatballs, spicy pig trotters, stir-fried dried meat with wild plant shoots, and boiled chicken with yellow feathers.

Even though Yang Xiaohai couldn’t cook anything fancy, every dish was hearty and satisfying.

Today was New Year’s Day—such abundance was rare in ordinary times. He loved this holiday more than anything else in his life.

Using chopsticks, he picked the tenderest pieces from the fish belly and placed them in his wife’s bowl. "Eat up! We’ve both worked hard to feed Gao Shazi!"

Gouwa’s actions were echoed by others, especially the new disciples of the Lü family. Their heads were nearly buried in their plates.

"I wonder where Miao Miao is now, what she’s eating." Chun Xiaoman ate listlessly, poking at the bones in her bowl with her chopsticks.

Zhao Wu picked a meatball from his plate and placed it in hers. "She has divine powers, and Master Li is with her. Don’t worry. Let’s just enjoy this New Year peacefully."

"Here," a whole pork meatball landed directly in Chun Xiaoman’s bowl—a gift from Gao Zhijian.

Meanwhile, in the main hall, everyone was enjoying themselves merrily when a figure appeared before the Bai family compound. "Oh my, are you all having your New Year’s dinner? Looks delicious! I can smell it from here."

That voice made everyone turn toward the entrance. Seeing Bai Lingmiao smiling standing there, Chun Xiaoman was the first to react.

She rushed forward, inspecting her thoroughly, and only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

Then she scolded gently, "You scared me half to death these past few days. Next time you leave, at least say goodbye!"

Bai Lingmiao patted her shoulder and walked past her straight toward the main hall.

There were three tables set up in the hall. She didn’t find the other two smaller ones, instead heading straight for the largest table, also facing the door.

Seated there was the eldest Lü ZHUANGYUAN, his cheek swollen from a whole pig trotter, staring in shock as Bai Lingmiao approached.

She stood silently, yet the smooth-tongued Lü clearly understood her message. He chuckled and grabbed the tobacco pouch from the table, shifting his seat to push his son off the table.

"Heh heh, Miss Bai, welcome back! Oh, you’ve been gone, and everyone worried about you. Um, didn’t the little master come with you?"

Bai Lingmiao raised a cup of wine and offered it around the table with a bold gesture. "Come, it’s New Year’s Day. Let’s drink together!"

(End of Chapter)