Chapter 134: Found

"What is that?" Bai Lingmiao was about to approach Er Shen when Xiaoman pulled her back.

"Be careful, don't go."

Glancing at Er Shen at the edge of the forest, Bai Lingmiao pulled her hand free. "It's fine, there shouldn't be any danger now."

Seeing Bai Lingmiao walk over so casually, the others, still uneasy, raised their torches and followed.

When they reached Er Shen, they finally understood where those sounds had come from.

By the light of their torches, they saw the gesticulating madman in the woods.

"Mom, I'll eat, you really don't need to feed me. It's fine even with the IV in my hand."

Li Huowang, covered in dust, sat on the ground strewn with dead leaves, smiling at a spiderweb on a tree.

In his hand, he gnawed on a long strip of stone. It made constant crunching sounds, and he didn't stop even when his mouth was full of blood.

"Mom, I swallowed, I really did. I'm not a child, you don't have to worry about me being a picky eater. Heh heh."

"Woof woof," Mantou circled Li Huowang, wagging its tail continuously. The whimpering sound they had heard earlier had come from him.

"Senior Brother Li!" Seeing his miserable state, Bai Lingmiao, with tears in her eyes, couldn't help but cry out.

She instinctively took a few steps forward but then forced herself to stop.

"Quick! Go get some rope and tie Senior Brother Li up! He'll be fine in a moment!"

After an unknown amount of time, when Li Huowang opened his eyes again, he saw a familiar face, streaked with tears.

He managed an extremely weary smile. "You're here? How did you find me?"

A choked-up Bai Lingmiao held Li Huowang's head tightly in her embrace.

She didn't speak, but her deep emotions were conveyed through their physical contact.

A warmth spread through Li Huowang's heart, and a somewhat unfamiliar emotion welled up within him. "Is this... joy? It's been so long since I've felt it..."

He patted her back. After a moment of thought, Li Huowang vaguely said, "I... I went and clarified some things, and also dealt with some troubles. How did you all get here?"

Li Huowang didn't want the others to know what he had experienced, nor what he had done in the past.

After a period of warm conversation, everyone gradually quieted down.

By the campfire on the dark forest path, Li Huowang took a gentle sip of hot soup. Besides warming his stomach, it also rinsed away the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.

The flesh in his mouth was raw and chafed, but Li Huowang knew that such injuries would heal quickly.

Gently squeezing Bai Lingmiao's smooth right hand, Li Huowang offered her comfort once more.

"It's alright now, the troubles are over. We can continue our journey home."

As Li Huowang spoke, he looked at everyone gathered around him. Seeing the concern in their eyes, he knew that there were still people in this world who genuinely cared about him.

He cupped his hands and bowed to the others. "Thank you all for your hard work. Li is very grateful."

He didn't elaborate on what he was grateful for; some things were best kept in the heart, no need to vocalize every detail.

Just then, Master Lu, who was sitting to Dan Yangzi's right, spoke with an ingratiating smile. "Oh dear, what are you saying? It's nothing, it's what we should do."

"What happened to the young Taoist priest just now? Was he possessed? Why was he eating stones? What kind of evil spirit is so powerful?"

Li Huowang already knew why the Lu Troupe had come; he didn't care about these minor details.

Li Huowang shook his head, and with a wry smile, pointed to his own head.

"I have a small problem with my head, but don't worry, it's nothing serious."

At that moment, Gouwa, who was squatting beside Jiang Yingzi, spoke with wide eyes. "Senior Brother Li, are you really okay now? You won't crawl into people's stomachs and eat them from the inside out anymore?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Master Lu and the others' faces turned green with fright. Zhao Wu punched Gouwa hard in the waist and quickly interjected to smooth things over.

"What kind of talk is that in front of outsiders? When did Senior Brother Li ever eat people? That was when he had an episode and only pretended to believe he was eating people."

"Ah~ right, right, right. Oh, my pig brain, why do I always remember things wrong?" Realizing his blunder, Gouwa quickly chimed in, trying to agree.

However, this did little to reassure Master Lu; the smile on his face clearly froze. His young son, standing nearby, was even worse off, starting to tremble uncontrollably.

"Alright, stop acting. Some things, once done, are done. There's no need to hide anything," Li Huowang said, breaking the fabricated atmosphere.

"Master Lu, let's be straightforward. I have indeed done many terrible things in the past. I don't want to explain, I can only say that it was not my intention."

"If Master Lu feels that it might harm your family, then we can part ways amicably. If you don't mind, you can follow us for as long as you wish. As friends, I, Li, will naturally protect your safety."

"Oh, young Taoist priest, what are you saying? Am I such a snobbish person? I trust the young Taoist priest's character; there must have been extenuating circumstances." With a fawning smile, Master Lu quickly picked up a bowl of hot soup.

"Let me use this tea as wine to apologize to the young Taoist priest. Who said anything about leaving? Whoever leaves is a worthless scoundrel!"

Li Huowang raised his bowl, gave a slight nod to Master Lu, and took a sip.

Whether they stayed or left was actually a minor matter to Li Huowang. What he needed to consider now was what he would do next.

After a moment of reconsideration, Li Huowang addressed everyone before him. "We've been delayed by these matters for too long. Fortunately, all the problems have been resolved. Tomorrow, we will continue our journey and leave Siqi."

Once these people were safely home, a great burden would be lifted from him, making everything much more convenient in the future.

"Senior Brother Li, we can't leave yet. Abbess said that if we found you, we should tell you to go back and report that you're safe," Bai Lingmiao conveyed this unexpected message to Li Huowang.

"There's no need for a special trip just to report my safety. I can just write a letter and have the post station deliver it."

Since the problems were resolved, there was truly no need to go back. Although Anzi Temple wasn't far, it wasn't exactly close either.

"No, that's not it. Abbess said you need to go back specifically, as if she has something important to instruct you in person."

"Instruct me in person?" Li Huowang frowned in thought. "That doesn't sound as simple as just reporting my safety. Does the Abbess have something she needs to tell me?"

After some consideration, Li Huowang placed the bowl he was holding into Bai Lingmiao's hand.

"Alright then, let's go to Henghua Mountain again. It's a good opportunity to sort out the overall situation of this world."

Since arriving in this desolate place, he had constantly been pursued, leaving no time to understand what this wretched place was truly about.

How many factions existed, how wide their spheres of influence were, and what taboos were involved in interacting with them.

Since he would be continuing his journey, it was certainly important to learn more about these matters.