Chapter 119: Yingzi

Li Huowang pulled the girl behind him. Facing Shou San, he said each word distinctly, "Even if I die, I would never do such a thing!"

"Pfft~" A nearby Ao Jing cultist couldn't help but snicker. "Don't make such solemn promises. You're a Heartless."

"So what if I'm a Heartless? I'm insane, but I'm not an inhumane beast like Dan Yangzi! I will never do what he did!"

Shou San glared at the cultist with an unfriendly gaze. "Yan Lu, is this funny? Can't you control yourself in front of an outsider?"

The cultist seemed about to speak, but quickly, all his facial features began to fuse together. Not only his facial features but also the gaps between his fingers and toes. In a short while, the person transformed into a wriggling maggot.

"Wrap him in a blanket. He is not to suffer any pain for a month."

Shou San was right; they were incredibly skilled at healing.

As soon as the person was carried away, a solemn Li Huowang looked back at Shou San. "Find me a place to stay in the cave. I will figure out how to achieve extreme pain myself. Also, I need this woman to attend to me."

"Hmph, you speak boldly. I doubt you'll find a good solution."

Despite his words, Shou San agreed to Li Huowang's request and instructed his subordinates to arrange it.

Li Huowang was led to a moderately sized cave chamber. Though the walls were rough and uneven, the cave was fully equipped with everything he needed, even a latrine. The girl, who had been present earlier, now quietly followed behind Li Huowang.

The curled-up Mantou crawled out from under Li Huowang's robe and excitedly scurried around the cave, sniffing everywhere. With a grim expression, Li Huowang unfastened the long sword from his back and placed it on the stone table inside the cave.

Although he had made solemn promises in front of Shou San, he had no idea how to achieve the extreme pain he needed. Without extreme pain, he couldn't summon Ba Kui. If he couldn't meet the Ao Jing cult's conditions, they wouldn't help him eliminate Dan Yangzi. It felt like a dead end.

Li Huowang paced constantly inside the cave. As he paced, his gaze fell upon the young girl by the entrance. Suddenly, Li Huowang's eyes lit up. An idea had formed in his mind. Perhaps some things didn't have to be done their way.

"Don't worry, they can't harm you while I'm here. Come over, I want to ask you something." Li Huowang patted the stone stool beside him.

However, the girl standing by the entrance didn't approach. Instead, she began to sob, her cries growing louder as she slowly crouched down, trembling. Hearing her cries, filled with endless grievance, Li Huowang sighed softly. It seemed she had believed she was already one of the Ao Jing cult's own, only to be thrown out and used as a tool. Her feeling wronged was understandable, especially given her young age.

Li Huowang walked over and helped her to the stone stool. Looking at her, still sobbing, he tried to persuade her, "They don't treat you like a person at all. Do you still want to stay in this wretched place? Why not help me? If you help me achieve my goal, I promise I will never abandon you as long as I leave here alive."

Hearing this, a deep confusion appeared in the sobbing girl's eyes. "Where else can I go after I leave? My home is gone... everything... is gone..."

"What happened to your home?" Li Huowang's voice softened. He deeply empathized with her current feelings.

"The town down the mountain is..."

Hearing this, Li Huowang's heart immediately tightened. That ruined, desolate town... this girl was likely one of the few survivors.

"My father, my mother... and my three older sisters and two younger brothers are all gone. They're all dead..." The girl lowered her head, tears continuously dripping onto her tightly clasped hands.

"What exactly happened to that town? Who, or what, destroyed the entire town?" As soon as Li Huowang spoke, he immediately realized his mistake. Bringing that up now was like rubbing salt in her wounds. "It's okay if you have nowhere to go. You can come with me. I have many brothers and sisters, and we're all looking for a way to survive together. You can join us then."

"We only have two girls among us, so we're quite outnumbered by the men. If you join, we'll have three, which will balance things out a bit."

After comforting her for a while, seeing that her emotions had stabilized and sensing the timing was right, Li Huowang asked, "How long have you been here?"

They didn't trust Li Huowang, and naturally, Li Huowang didn't trust them either. Learning from his mistakes, he didn't want to repeat his experience at Zhengde Temple. This time, Li Huowang had no intention of following their scheme. If he could find a way to get his hands on the Ao Jing cult's method for resolving Dan Yangzi's issue, then he wouldn't need any so-called extreme pain; he could just deal with Dan Yangzi himself.

Hearing Li Huowang's words, the girl nodded gently, still keeping her head bowed low. "Four years..."

Seeing that she had spoken, Li Huowang decided to proceed gradually. "After all this time, you must have some understanding of this place, right? Can you tell me anything about it? Anything at all."

Her scarred hands nervously fiddled with the hem of her clothes. "The Ao Jing cult... it used to be two separate cults. One worshipped Gu Shen, and the other worshipped Ba Kui..."

"Later, Gu Shen absorbed some of Ba Kui's power, and then the two cults merged into one..."

"Hmm? Is this a fact, or a speculation recorded in the Ao Jing cult's texts?" At that moment, Li Huowang felt like he was listening to a myth. The story felt very unreal to him.

"I don't know either... I just heard it from others... When I arrived, the two cults had already merged..." The girl furtively glanced up at Li Huowang, then quickly lowered her head again, not daring to make any eye contact.

"It's alright, keep going. Oh, by the way, I haven't asked your name yet."

"They... call me Er Jiu..."

Er Jiu, Shou San, and previously Yan Si. How is it that the Ao Jing cultists all have names combining human organs with numbers? Li Huowang found this somewhat strange. It didn't sound like the dharma names of Daoists.

"What was your name before?"

"Jiang Yingzi..."

"Alright then, I'll call you Yingzi from now on. Yingzi, in these past four years, have you seen these people healing others within the Ao Jing cult?"

Yingzi nodded gently. "Yes... I've seen it a few times."

"Were they all cured?"

"I think so. They all left afterward anyway."

*They really seem to have some ability,* Li Huowang thought to himself. This was good news. At least they hadn't lied to him; the Ao Jing cult indeed had a high probability of being able to deal with Dan Yangzi.

"Alright, Yingzi, one more question. Besides the self-mutilation rituals in 'The Great Thousand Records,' does the Ao Jing cult have any other cultivation methods or supernatural abilities?"