Chapter 460: Missing

Chapter 460: Gone

Hearing the superstitious and foolish words of the Imperial Scholar Lu, Li Huowang let out a great sigh of relief and collapsed heavily onto the chair. "The sun that disappeared has returned. No matter what, this heavenly disaster is finally over."

Only when the taut string in his heart had completely loosened did Li Huowang lose consciousness the moment he sat down.

When he came to again, it was the slippery warmth of broth wrapped in his mouth that startled him awake.

The softness at the back of his head and the familiar fragrance before his nose told Li Huowang instantly that he was lying in someone's arms. "Miao Miao."

Bai Lingmiao didn't respond, silently continuing to feed him chicken soup.

"I'm not disabled, just tired," Li Huowang struggled to sit up and took a big gulp from the bowl.

Apart from being unable to see, Li Huowang’s body had suffered no serious injuries. What made him feel so exhausted was purely mental.

At this moment, Li Huowang felt as if his brain had rusted entirely; even trying to think quickly would cause a sharp, piercing pain at the back of his head.

Li Huowang naturally understood why this happened—it was because he had seen something. That sudden darkness, the essence of which under the disaster, was something that couldn’t be imagined or spoken of.

This time, the heavenly disaster wasn’t due to something missing, but rather due to something that had been added.

In that moment, while seeing it, Li Huowang also glimpsed certain things about it. There were no lies on its body, just like the bronze ding that recorded major events—everything was inscribed upon itself.

"Every memory makes it useless; every forgetfulness changes it; every word spoken assigns it a time, replacing the present with its own era."

Li Huowang had known what this meant before, but now he had forgotten completely.

It was definitely not the Fate Keeper. He hadn’t seen such a thing in Baiyujing. As for what it was or where it came from, Li Huowang didn’t know and didn’t want to know.

"Senior Brother Li, what’s wrong?" Bai Lingmiao gently stroked Li Huowang’s furrowed brow with her white fingers, trying to smooth his expression.

"It's nothing. I’m fine. This isn’t my concern. The Sky-Watching Bureau will handle it." Pale-faced, Li Huowang repeated these words over and over.

To divert his attention as much as possible, Li Huowang tried hard to think of other matters.

He gripped Bai Lingmiao’s jade hand tightly and asked with a hint of hope, "Miao Miao, are you alright? Do you really not need to use the killing aura anymore?"

Without eyes, Li Huowang couldn’t see Bai Lingmiao’s expression. All he could feel was that she placed her other hand gently on his palm.

Upon hearing her silent reply, Li Huowang’s expression dimmed slightly, quietly savoring the quietness.

Perhaps he shouldn’t bring up that matter again. It should be treated as though it never happened, completely forgotten. That seemed better for both of them.

"Have none of the villagers gone missing?" Li Huowang asked again.

"No one else is missing, but there is one person who is. I don’t know whether that counts as a person."

"Hmm?"

"Li Sui is gone. The one who came out of your belly and calls you dad."

"What!? Li Sui is gone?" Li Huowang’s heart leapt.

He fumbled to the window and shouted outside, "Li Sui!! Come here!!"

After shouting several times, Li Huowang received no response, which was very odd.

Li Sui was simple-minded, and after living together so closely, he was deeply dependent on him. He absolutely wouldn’t ignore his call.

"Miao Miao, have everyone in the village search for Li Sui! This is important!" Li Huowang ordered solemnly.

"Okay." Hearing Bai Lingmiao’s footsteps descending the stairs, Li Huowang thought of various possibilities. He didn’t believe Li Sui would leave him without reason.

"Brother Li, I advise you to prepare yourself. Black Tai Sui is also one of the evil spirits. What yesterday’s disaster might do to it, even I cannot predict."

Hearing Zhuge Yuan’s words, Li Huowang’s expression worsened further. Now thinking carefully, since the disaster struck, he hadn’t seen Li Sui at all.

"Master! Master!" Lü Xiucai’s voice made Li Huowang stand up. He eagerly called out toward the sound, "Did you find him?"

"Eh, no. I just came to inform you. The dog named Mantou is also missing."

Li Huowang clenched his teeth and slammed his fist onto the table. The wooden surface cracked along with his knuckles.

Lü Xiucai was startled by Li Huowang’s action and, taking advantage of his blindness, cautiously walked downstairs.

"Keep looking! If we can’t find him in the village, search the entire ten li around Niu Xin Village!"

"Alright! I’ll go tell them right away!"

As time passed, with nightfall approaching, the hope of finding him grew more and more faint.

By the second watch, as Li Huowang gradually calmed down, he ordered everyone to return to rest and wait until tomorrow.

Suddenly, two soft hands brought a bowl of egg noodles to the cracked table, followed by placing a pair of chopsticks into Li Huowang’s hands.

"You eat. I have no appetite," said Li Huowang with a gloomy tone.

Just two days ago, he still believed everything was heading in a good direction. In the blink of an eye, disasters kept piling up one after another.

"Tch, look at you. You’d make anyone believe you lost your real son. That’s an evil spirit. The one that came out of your belly is your son? I say, it’s better this way—you’ve lost a burden."

The mocking words of the faceless Zuo Wang Dao made Li Huowang look up toward the voice. "Brother Zhuge, can you help me slap him?"

"Slap!"

"Thank you."

Watching Li Huowang muttering to himself, Bai Lingmiao, who was walking toward the bed, showed a trace of compassion in her eyes.

She walked back, picked up a strand of egg noodles with her chopsticks, blew gently on them, and offered them to Li Huowang’s lips.

"I’m not hungry. Eat it yourself," Li Huowang pushed it away, but the noodles were pushed back to his mouth again.

After several exchanges, Li Huowang finally opened his mouth and swallowed the cold noodles.

One feeding, one eating, the room was deathly quiet.

Just as the bowl was nearly empty, a familiar voice came from the window. "Dad, did you call me?"

"Li Sui?!" Overjoyed, Li Huowang stood up immediately and reached toward the voice.

However, soon, a figure blocked his path—Er Shen.

"Senior Brother Li, that’s not Li Sui. That’s a dog’s face stripped of skin, smiling at you now."