Chapter 445: Anklet

Chapter 445: Ankle Ring

Seeing Bai Lingmiao’s reaction, Li Huowang felt somewhat at a loss for words. “What are you talking about? I’ve told you before—it’s the Heitaisui that suppresses my hallucinations inside me. It’s only now that it’s no longer needed to suppress those visions, so it has come out.”

As he spoke, Li Huowang picked up Li Sui’s straw hat and revealed beneath it a cluster of black, sticky tendrils.

Upon hearing this, Bai Lingmiao immediately grasped the most crucial detail, her face lighting up with joy. “Oh? So that means you won’t fall into hallucinations anymore?”

“No, not entirely. There are still things to be dealt with over there, but now I can barely control them.”

Bai Lingmiao was overjoyed, far more so than Li Huowang himself. “That’s wonderful! You’re the first among us to heal your own flaw!”

Looking at her radiant smile, Li Huowang felt a pang of guilt. Compared to what he had done for her, she clearly cared much more for him.

After a moment’s thought, Li Huowang took out a golden ring wrapped in red silk from his chest. He bent down and gently slipped off Bai Lingmiao’s white shoes.

“I remember when we left Qingfeng Temple, I didn’t have money for food, and you melted your golden ankle ring to buy me buns.”

Staring at the golden ring on Bai Lingmiao’s pale, jade-like ankle, Li Huowang said with a complex expression, “I once promised you that when I had money, I’d get you something bigger. Sorry, there were too many things happening along the way. Only now do I have time to bring it back.”

Bai Lingmiao blinked her white eyelashes slightly and said nothing more. She simply leaned forward gently and nestled into Li Huowang’s arms.

Li Huowang gazed into Bai Lingmiao’s inner world, where joy and love overshadowed desire and malice. At this moment, she was unchanged from when the aura hadn’t entered her body.

While Li Huowang gently stroked her hair, breathing in her sweet fragrance, savoring this rare tranquility, beside him, Li Sui moved to the nearby table and curled up, holding its two eyeballs fixedly on the scene.

“Father, what are you doing?”

It was curious, having never seen such a thing before. Li Huowang had never explained it to it.

“Is your son not thinking straight?” Bai Lingmiao asked in a muffled voice from within Li Huowang’s embrace.

With a light chuckle, Li Huowang let go of Bai Lingmiao and walked over to Li Sui, whispering a few instructions. Soon, Li Sui scurried out through the open wooden window like an octopus, heading off to play with some steamed buns.

When he closed the window and turned around, Bai Lingmiao, eyes bright with excitement, leaped into his arms.

Startled, Li Huowang held her as she opened her mouth to speak, only to be silenced by her soft, slippery kiss. At this moment, desire radiated strongly from Bai Lingmiao.

After a long while, Li Huowang lay in bed, embracing Bai Lingmiao dressed in a white lotus-bud bodice, enjoying the calm after the storm. He softly recounted their experiences since they had been apart.

Bai Lingmiao, curled up in his arms, listened while fondling the red thread and golden ring on her ankle.

But as he continued, speaking of how cultivation techniques could make illusions real, Li Huowang suddenly stopped.

“If both can become true, then would I be doing wrong to both Bai Lingmiao and Yang Na?”

Li Huowang was troubled. He had never considered this before, because he always assumed one side must be false. Thinking about it was just a waste of time.

“Come on, why did you stop?” Bai Lingmiao gently pushed her hair into Li Huowang’s chest.

“Nothing. There’s nothing much to say about the hallucinations. How is Niu Xin Village while I’m gone?” Li Huowang casually changed the subject.

“It’s fine. What else could it be? I hired some people to help farm the land. The village has too much farmland for just Gouwa and Zhao Wu to handle. Besides, they’re not suited for farming.”

Li Huowang nodded knowingly, recalling the unfamiliar faces in the fields.

“Oh, by the way, even though they’re servants behind the scenes, publicly they call you father. You should answer to that.”

“Father? What kind of title is that?”

“It’s a term used in Daliang. Since Emperor Liang was known for benevolence and forbade slavery, slave traders had to find another way to phrase it—using the word ‘selling’ instead.”

“Ah, Li Huowang, though you’re young, you’re both godfather and father. Your status is quite high indeed. Heh.”

As the two continued their whispered conversation, a knock came at the door. “Lingmiao, dinner’s ready.”

It was Xiao Man’s voice, tinged with shyness. She merely reminded them and fell silent. She naturally knew what they were doing inside.

“Oh, here’s something interesting—Zhao Wu and Gao Zhijian have gotten into a bit of a spat lately because of Xiao Man. They’re both chasing after her like flies. It’s driving her crazy.”

Li Huowang got out of bed and started dressing, pulling at various parts of his skin to feel how well he had recovered. “That’s good. Let her choose. After all, it’s her path. We can’t really help with personal matters.”

Once the two had changed into new clothes and taken their seats at the main table, nearly ten tables of guests raised their cups under the lead of the scholar Lu ZHUANGYUAN.

“Raise your cups to the little Daoist Lord! May everything go smoothly for him!” When Li Huowang lifted his cup and drank, the dining hall erupted in cheers.

From several tables away, Li Huowang could hear Gouwa’s loud bragging voice. “That’s my senior brother Li! My buddy! A celestial being! Flying through the skies, summoning troops from beans, capable of anything! That day, we were traveling when we met a gang of river bandits…”

“How strong is this wine?” Li Huowang frowned, rubbing his throbbing head. His sensitive body wasn’t good at drinking.

“What strength? This is the ZHUANYUAN HONG specially bought by Master Lü. It’s probably a fine wine. Should’ve given you tea instead. Just eat a little and rest in bed.” Bai Lingmiao replied.

Li Huowang shook his head hard and left the table, walking out of the Bai family compound.

When he bent over a tree and vomited the wine he had just drunk, he instantly felt much clearer.

At that moment, a hand holding a cloth came toward him. Li Huowang caught it and wiped his mouth.

Turning around, he found the person was the second deity, veiled in a red veil.

Under the distant lantern light, Li Huowang stared at the blood-red veil covering her face with a complex expression.

“Senior Brother Li,” he said, observing the changes in her ten emotions and eight sufferings, feeling as if the past Bai Lingmiao had returned.

After hesitating for a long time, Li Huowang finally took out a new golden ring tied with red silk from his chest and offered it to her.

(End of Chapter)