Chapter 484: Arrival

Chapter 484: Arrival

“Senior Brother Li, is that you?”

Bai Lingmiao reached out to touch the face of that shape, and gradually everything around her began to coalesce, forming that familiar visage.

Seeing this scene, a smile bloomed across her face. It seemed she still needed to grow accustomed to this ability.

“Lingmiao, can you see now? You really can see, right?!” Li Huowang stared into her eyes, asking with overwhelming joy.

“I don’t know if what I’m seeing counts as seeing, but… at least I can do the same things I used to do. And at least I’m not a burden anymore,” Bai Lingmiao stood up and began walking in circles within the room, savoring this strange new experience.

She could not only see the outside world, but even peer into the insides of certain objects—especially those that moved, which she observed with startling clarity.

For instance, she could clearly “see” the insects and ants crawling on the low tree outside the courtyard.

Gradually, Bai Lingmiao grew fond of this sensation. It was far better than being enveloped in total darkness where nothing could be seen.

“Senior Brother Li, I can see! I really can see! Thank you so much!” Her expression became increasingly joyful.

When Li Huowang saw her radiant smile, he felt all his previous hardships were worth it. At least through his own efforts, the people around him were slowly becoming better.

After watching Bai Lingmiao, who looked like a white butterfly, spin around for a while, Li Huowang said, “Alright, rest a bit. If you keep spinning, you’ll get dizzy.”

With that, Li Huowang opened the two roasted geese wrapped in lotus leaves on the table. “Come! Let’s celebrate your restored sight today—we’re having roasted goose! I heard this place uses lychee wood for roasting—it has an exquisite taste, a specialty of the capital city.”

“Father, I want some too.”

“If you want some, go get your bowl and chopsticks yourself.”

Just as this family of three enjoyed their rare moment of happiness over food, a knock came at the door. “Is Erjiu home? It’s Aunt Lian here. Lian Zhibei.”

Hearing that familiar name, Li Huowang frowned. Wasn’t this person supposed to be picking up his mother? What kind of mischief was she up to now?

When Li Huowang opened the door, the plump, elderly woman immediately started talking without pause.

“You see, this whole thing, I went down the wrong path before. There was no need to bring my mother here. I severed the connection between your wife and the immortal. Just give me that jade token, and it’s settled!”

Before Li Huowang could say anything, he suddenly heard footsteps behind him.

“Senior Brother Li, why did this auntie come too? Why not invite her to share the roasted goose?”

As Bai Lingmiao, in high spirits, offered to welcome the guest, the two voices whispered softly in her ears.

“Why must I go in first? Isn’t there already a guest in the house?”

“Lingmiao, go in first. It will be good for you.”

Upon hearing Li Huowang say the same, Bai Lingmiao didn’t protest further. She nodded gently and walked into the room.

“Have you decided? If you’ve decided, let’s start right away!” Lian Zhibei said, stepping forward, only to be stopped by Li Huowang.

He turned his head silently toward the two voices, and after a long silence, he spoke: “You should understand what this means for you, shouldn’t you?”

“I know. As long as I remove the immortal from Lingmiao, I can reunite with her once more.” The voice came from beneath the red veil.

That may have been true, but Li Huowang felt deeply conflicted about the two voices. He wasn’t sure whether to treat them as a separate entity or as part of Bai Lingmiao herself.

If he treated them as an individual, did that mean she had died?

“And besides, if the immortal isn’t removed, it will always remain a threat, won’t it? Do you really want to carry such a huge danger around with you every day?”

“Lingmiao might not agree, but don’t worry—I’ll persuade her.”

“Are we going or not? What are we doing? Speak up! Are you trying to kill me?” Lian Zhibei, unaware of the complexities, feared Li Huowang might change his mind.

“Go. This way,” the two voices nodded at her, pulling her into the house.

“Fine! Wait a moment—I’ll go prepare your wife. You wait outside.” Saying that, Lian Zhibei hurried after the two voices into the house.

Once the oil lamp inside the room lit up, Bai Lingmiao grew visibly nervous. Although she had met this person along the way, being alone with her still made her feel uneasy.

“Miss, what are you staring at? Hurry up and take off your clothes!”

“Ah? Take off my clothes?” Though her senior brother had told her to listen to her, Bai Lingmiao still felt extremely nervous at such a request.

“Of course! What are you embarrassed about? We’re all women. Hurry up!”

“Oh…” As Bai Lingmiao shyly undressed, Lian Zhibei suddenly rushed to her side and whispered into her ear: “Curtain hides snow on the peak of jade, tiles grow moss from blue water.”

Bai Lingmiao was clearly startled by this sudden move and took several steps back. “Auntie, what did you just say?”

“You don’t know? Really don’t know?” Lian Zhibei asked excitedly again.

“What do you mean?” Suddenly, Li Huowang’s voice came from behind her, making Lian Zhibei’s heart skip a beat.

She turned her head and quickly put on an impatient expression. “Oh, this was all prearranged. Didn’t I tell you to wait outside? Why did you follow me again?”

“She’s my wife. What difference does it make if she undresses? Why should I step aside?”

“She doesn’t need to. But I also have to take mine off. Am I your wife too?” With that, Lian Zhibei tore off her top, revealing a yellow belly band stuffed with fatty flesh.

Li Huowang stared at her and said word by word: “Don’t cause trouble for me!”

After saying that, slightly threatening line, he turned to Bai Lingmiao, who looked bashful. “I’ll stay outside. I can hear everything that happens in there. If something goes wrong, call out.”

“Mm.”

Li Huowang opened the door and pulled Li Sui, who had been waiting outside, into the house. “Keep an eye on that fat woman. If anything happens, bite her!”

“Understood, father.”

After arranging everything, Li Huowang returned to the main hall.

He was absolutely certain that Lian Zhibei had spoken two cryptic phrases to Bai Lingmiao—definitely not just a prearranged plan.

Judging by her tone and expression, it seemed more like a secret code.

It appeared Lian Zhibei had ulterior motives. If it weren’t for the fact that she truly had a way to help Bai Lingmiao rid herself of the immortal, he would have preferred to avoid letting her interact with Bai Lingmiao.

After a while, the two emerged. Lian Zhibei now carried a large package—where had it been hidden?

But Li Huowang’s attention was entirely focused on Bai Lingmiao. At the moment, she wore nothing but a yellow paper belly band adorned with runes.

On her soft, lamb-like body, red cinnabar had been painted in various crooked characters, the white and red intertwining in a bizarre yet strangely seductive pattern.

(End of Chapter)