Chapter 896: Set Off

Chapter 896: Setting Out

Li Huowang stood frozen, his body chilled to the bone, suppressing the rage within as he stared at Qing Wanglai, who spoke with such disarming sincerity that, had Li Huowang not known the man’s true colors, he might have actually believed him.

Though he had long known Qing Wanglai to be a beast in human skin, every time the man revealed his nature, Li Huowang was still struck by the sheer horror of it.

To deal with an enemy, he could use his own companions as bait without so much as a blink.

"You, you people!" Li Huowang shook his head, wanting to say more, but in the end, no words could pass his lips.

He turned away and approached Chen Hongyu, whose face was a mangled mess of flesh and blood. With trembling hands, he reached out to lift her corpse.

"Sister Chen, how could you just die like this? You are, after all, the Si Ming who governs decay!"

"You cannot die! If you die, decay itself will vanish..."

Li Huowang always inexplicably associated Chen Hongyu with the old nun, and just like with Qian Fu, watching someone he had spoken to simply snuff out like a candle left him feeling hollow and wretched.

"Enough. Get ready; we are moving on."

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Li Huowang shoved it away with a violent jerk.

He turned to glare at the owner of the hand: Zhao Shuangdian.

Zhao Shuangdian offered no explanation, merely watching him with a calm gaze as she repeated, "What did I say before we arrived? Follow orders, no matter what happens. We have no time for grief."

Staring into her eyes, Li Huowang slowly lowered Chen Hongyu to the ground. "You are all the same! Every single one of you! You had a hand in Chen Hongyu’s death!"

With a sharp click, the black muzzle of a sniper rifle pressed against Li Huowang’s chest. "Do not forget what I said. Li Huowang, I will confirm this one last time: are you saying you do not intend to follow my orders?"

"If you refuse to comply, whether you realize it or not, you are already one of them."

As Zhao Shuangdian spoke, her people—the two men he had just met, as well as the Ba siblings—all closed in on Li Huowang with cold, indifferent expressions.

Li Huowang watched them, clenching his teeth, his hands gripping the hilt of his blade until his knuckles turned white.

Just as the tension threatened to snap, Qing Wanglai emerged from the side, stepping between Li Huowang and Zhao Shuangdian.

He smiled, patted Li Huowang on the shoulder, and nudged him away from the encirclement.

"Li Huowang, this won't do. Offending me is one thing, but if you offend Zhao Shuangdian, you truly won't have any friends left."

"I recall you saying we were friends, weren't we? Then, as a friend, could you do me a favor?" Qing Wanglai’s tone was impossibly sincere.

"Who the hell is friends with you?"

Unfazed by Li Huowang’s temper, Qing Wanglai continued with the same earnestness, "As long as you don't cross Zhao Shuangdian right now, we can work together to get through this crisis. Once we return, we can find a way to finish her off."

Li Huowang’s face remained cold as he pondered this for a moment. He reached out, shoved Qing Wanglai aside, and walked back into the crowd without a word.

Seeing Li Huowang’s change in attitude, the others dispersed, returning to their previous state. Nothing had changed, save for the body of Chen Hongyu lying on the ground.

"Sister Zhao, I checked those two dead men; they were poachers." The bearded man returned from the distance, carrying a heavy-looking firearm on his back.

"Poachers? Using something meant to take out tanks to poach?"

Li Huowang’s remark went unanswered. Zhao Shuangdian knelt on one knee, her fingers flying across the laptop resting on the ground. "We are almost there. Just a little further."

Li Huowang walked silently behind her, seeing a blue 3D wireframe map on the screen that shifted and pulsed with every tap of her fingers.

With a snap, the laptop closed, and Zhao Shuangdian stood up. "We must be quick. We need to arrive before their reinforcements react."

"Which way?" Qing Wanglai asked.

Zhao Shuangdian did not answer; instead, she looked at Li Huowang.

"Why are you looking at me? How the hell would I know which way to go?"

"Hmm, you do know. As I said before, you are very special. Lead the way." Zhao Shuangdian’s words drew the eyes of everyone present toward Li Huowang.

"I don't even know where we are. How am I supposed to lead you?" At that moment, the absurdity of it all felt overwhelming to Li Huowang.

"You don't need to know where we are. You only need to follow your instincts."

Her words left Li Huowang speechless. He had expected the others to reject this ridiculous suggestion, but they showed no sign of opposition at all.

"I must have truly lost my mind to have ever believed you people." Li Huowang finished, then stepped forward into the pitch-black void, the others following closely behind.

Across the dark, blurred Gobi Desert, Li Huowang walked forward, guided only by his intuition. In truth, in such an environment, it made little difference whether he followed his gut or not; the path was invisible regardless.

Gradually, the sky began to gray with the dawn. They had walked for an entire night, yet they remained in the desolate Gobi, the landscape unchanging.

Li Huowang shoved aside those blocking his path and struggled to pull the helmet from his head, revealing a face slick with sweat. "I’m tired! We rest!"

Without waiting for their approval, he collapsed onto the ground.

Having spent the night running blindly through the dark in that heavy gear, coupled with the exhaustion of the journey prior, Li Huowang’s stamina had reached its absolute limit.

Wu Qi walked over and pulled a bottle of clear liquid from a medical kit, handing it to him. "Replenish your fluids. Don't get dehydrated."

"What is this?"

"Saline for washing wounds."

Li Huowang took it and gulped it down. It was salty, but it made his body feel significantly better.

After a long, ragged breath, he looked at the woman before him with a complex expression. "Sister Chen is really dead."

"I know." Wu Qi took the bottle from his hand and took a long drink herself.

A flicker of sorrow crossed her face as she reached out to gently stroke Li Huowang’s damp hair. "It’s alright. Don't be afraid."

"Sister Wu, I’m not afraid. I just can't understand them, and I can't understand you."

"If you can't understand, then try not to. Focus on yourself. Too much empathy will only lead to depression."

"Focus on myself..." Li Huowang took the bottle back and drank deeply once more.

He gazed out at the desolate Gobi, muttering to himself, "Why is the place where the Yu-Er God exists so strange? Is this truly the elephant that these Si Ming inhabit?"