Chapter 103: Marriage

Li Huowang slowly sipped a cup of tea, not because he particularly liked it, but simply because his dinner had been too salty. Using the lid to push away the tea foam, he took a small sip, and a strong bitterness filled his mouth.

"I should have known," Li Huowang muttered, spitting slightly. "Village Chief Wu must have good tea." He put the teacup down and turned towards his bedroom.

He hadn't slept well last night because of the nightmare, so he needed to go to bed as early as possible tonight to conserve energy for tomorrow's journey. As he walked towards his bedroom, Li Huowang's mind was still active, recalling last night's nightmare and the two jade pendants.

"When the hallucinations appear again, should I try to bring something over?" Li Huowang didn't hesitate long with this question. "I'll try! But not the jade pendants. I'll try to bring something that absolutely couldn't exist here, like an IV drip or handcuffs."

"If I can't bring anything over, it proves that world is fake, and I'll have nothing to be nostalgic about. But if I can..."

Lost in thought, Li Huowang unconsciously arrived at his bedroom door. With a creak, the door swung open, but what he saw inside shattered his thoughts.

There were red candles on the table, red double-happiness cutouts on the wall, a red pillow, and a red quilt. Everything was red, including the red veil covering Bai Lingmiao's head as she sat by the bed.

Seeing all this, Li Huowang's heart skipped a beat. He paused at the threshold, where the vibrant red of the room met the dark night outside, a hint of struggle on his face. Li Huowang understood what walking in represented. It didn't just mean he would have a wife; it also signified heavy responsibilities and commitments.

After a moment of hesitation, Li Huowang took a deep breath, stepped inside, and locked the door behind him. He then approached the bride and asked, "Are you sure you've thought this through? You must understand my problems. Can you truly accept marrying a madman?"

"Mmm..." Her small hands gently gripped Li Huowang's calloused palm. "Senior Brother Li," she said, "a woman marries the man, come what may. No matter what we encounter in the future, I'm willing to spend my life with you."

Bai Lingmiao's voice was as soft as ever, yet it held a rare firmness. With her words, Li Huowang felt it would be unmanly to hesitate further. He reached for the red veil, but she bashfully dodged his hand. "Senior Brother Li... that kind of thing... I'm shy... Could you blow out the lights first?"

Li Huowang turned, walked to the table, and with a flick of his sleeve, the red candles gradually extinguished.

That night, as they embraced in bed, Li Huowang finally understood why people say women are made of water.

Two hours later, in the pitch-black bridal chamber, Li Huowang collapsed heavily onto the bed, breathing in ragged gasps. He gently stroked the soft hair of the girl lying on his chest, savoring the wonderful feeling he had just experienced.

"Husband~" That single word sent a shiver through Li Huowang. "Please, just call me Senior Brother Li. I'm not used to that."

"Alright, as you wish. You're the man of the house; I'll do whatever you tell me."

Bai Lingmiao rested her ear against Li Huowang's chest, listening to the rapid beat of his heart beneath his skin. Li Huowang exhaled deeply, pulled the girl in his arms a little closer, and kissed her soft hair, adorned with hairpins.

"Once the matter with Danyuanzi is resolved, we'll go home, back to your family's place, and have a proper wedding ceremony."

"What about your hysteria? Is there really no cure?"

"I don't know. I only heard it from others. The abbess of Anqi Nunnery has no reason to lie to me about this."

Li Huowang's hand moved lower, stroking her smooth skin. "But it's okay. Now that I have you, I'm completely rooted in this world. I absolutely cannot let those flimsy hallucinations from that other side control me anymore."

"Hehe..." Bai Lingmiao seemed very happy, her limbs tightly wrapped around him, her head nuzzling against Li Huowang's chest.

For some reason, Li Huowang found that Bai Lingmiao in bed felt very different from her usual self. She had claimed to be shy earlier, but in fact, she wasn't shy at all.

"Are all women like this?" Li Huowang, experiencing this for the first time, seemed a little inexperienced.

Feeling her begin to move restlessly again, Li Huowang gently held her still with his hand. "Wait, I just realized something."

"What is it? Did I... bleed?" Bai Lingmiao's voice was a little tense.

Li Huowang chuckled. "No, not that. I mean my senses feel very different."

"Senses? What do you mean?"

"It seems all my senses have become much more sensitive, everything." Li Huowang recalled the ecstatic feeling from earlier; it felt too abnormal. It hadn't been obvious before, and Li Huowang thought he might have misremembered, but after what had just happened, he was certain that in addition to his increased recovery ability, his perception had also been comprehensively enhanced. This included his sense of touch, smell, and even taste.

"Is this also a power from Ba Kui?" Li Huowang realized that both abilities granted to him were related to sacrifice.

Just as he was telling Bai Lingmiao about his discovery, he suddenly felt a piercing pain in his right index finger. "Ow! Why did you bite me?"

"Does it hurt? More than before?"

"Of course! It's bleeding, so it hurts."

"Then, Senior Brother Li, it seems you were right. It really can enhance the sensation of pain."

The next second, Li Huowang felt his bitten finger enveloped in something soft. Bai Lingmiao's gentle sucking quickly made the pain recede.

"You've told me about Master You before," Li Huowang asked. "Have you ever heard of the legend of Ba Kui?"

"Mmm-mm," Bai Lingmiao mumbled, shaking her head with his finger still in her mouth.

"Hmm..." Li Huowang opened his eyes and looked at the pitch-black room, pondering. "Why exactly did Ba Kui grant me these two abilities? What kind of being is it?" Li Huowang instinctively tried to piece together Ba Kui's appearance in his mind, but he failed. With normal human perception, it was impossible to imagine its form.

*Knock, knock, knock!* In the middle of the night, there was a sudden knock on the door.

Li Huowang's body tensed. He quickly rolled over, pulled Bai Lingmiao from his chest deeper into his embrace, and pulled the quilt tightly over them. "Who's there? If it's not urgent, let's talk tomorrow."

"Senior Brother Li, it's me. Can I come in? I don't know how I ended up in the woodshed."

The voice was soft and familiar. Li Huowang instantly realized: It was Bai Lingmiao's voice! Bai Lingmiao was outside the room, so who was in his arms?! A chill instantly ran through Li Huowang.

"Hehehe, husband~" Li Huowang felt the thing in his arms recoil, and it instantly slipped out from behind the quilt.

Li Huowang violently threw off the quilt and lit the red candle as quickly as possible. However, in the small bedroom, he was the only one left.

"Senior Brother Li, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Bai Lingmiao was still calling from outside the door.

At this moment, Li Huowang's gaze had fallen upon his finger, which was now pale where it had been sucked. The raw, grotesque wound on it didn't look like it could have been made by normal human teeth at all; it was more like something sharp, like an animal's fangs, had gnawed it!