Chapter 160: Death

Jiang Yingzi vanished without a trace, right before Li Huowang's eyes.

Stunned, Li Huowang stood rooted to the spot, recalling Jiang Yingzi's last words before she vanished: "Are the elders of the Aojing Sect all Sit-Forget Daoists? Is Dan Yangzi still alive? Is he not an illusion?"

Li Huowang should have dismissed what an illusion said, but as he carefully considered the possibility, he suddenly realized everything made sense.

The Sit-Forget Daoists hadn't just appeared beside him; they had been there all along, since the time of the Aojing Sect.

"This is impossible! You couldn't have found out!" A furious scream made Li Huowang look down at Erbing on the ground.

Erbing, who had been smugly smiling despite enduring all sorts of torture, now had an extremely grim expression, appearing utterly furious and frustrated.

At this moment, Li Huowang suddenly understood the abbess's words and what it meant to go against the Sit-Forget Daoists if he wanted to defeat them.

These madmen, for their own amusement, feared neither pain nor death. Their concepts were twisted compared to ordinary people; in their minds, some things were far more important than life itself—the game itself.

Once he knew what they cared about, Li Huowang also knew how to retaliate against them.

"Want to know how I saw through your deception?" Li Huowang said, raising the long sword in his hand and plunging it directly into Erbing's chest.

"Cough, cough~" Blood slowly trickled from Erbing's mouth. The remaining skin on his face twitched slightly. "How on earth..."

Li Huowang leaned his scarred body closer, and, leaning close to Erbing's bloody, mangled ear, he whispered softly, "Heh heh... you guess."

As he spoke, Li Huowang slowly twisted the hilt of the sword to the right. Erbing's body tensed like a dead fish, his expression filled with extreme unwillingness.

With a squelch, Li Huowang pulled out the sword and swung it forcefully at Erbing's head, splitting it directly in two.

As if that wasn't enough, Li Huowang, with extreme hatred in his eyes, raised the sword again and brought it down heavily. Blood and flesh flew through the air; in a short while, Erbing's corpse was completely chopped into mincemeat.

The others could only watch from a distance, observing the gradually deranged Li Huowang, too timid to make any sound.

Bai Lingmiao, her lips pressed together, was about to rush over, but Chun Xiaoman stopped her. "Don't go now! What if he..."

"I'm not afraid!" Bai Lingmiao pushed her away forcefully and rushed towards Li Huowang.

"Senior Brother Li! Senior Brother Li! Please, regain your senses!" A tearful Bai Lingmiao desperately clung to Li Huowang's arm, preventing him from chopping again.

Looking at that face, Li Huowang gradually regained his clarity. The bloodied sword slowly retracted and was reinserted into its sheath.

Li Huowang sluggishly raised his head and looked at the terrifying Dan Yangzi nearby.

At this moment, Dan Yangzi floated in the air, his three faces—one joyful, one enraged, one sorrowful—looking at Li Huowang. Under Li Huowang's gaze, he offered a chilling smile before slowly sinking into the earth.

"Senior Brother Li, please don't be like this," Bai Lingmiao said. "This person is dead. We are all safe. It's all over."

Li Huowang took a deep breath and nodded. Dan Yangzi's return, to him, spoke volumes.

"Yes," he said, "it's all over."

Li Huowang nodded in agreement. He first looked at the shredded flesh on the ground, then turned to the others and said, "Who has a flint? Burn this completely."

Li Huowang dared not gamble on even the slightest possibility; he had to reduce Erbing completely to ashes.

The others did as instructed, using the broken carriage as fuel. Along with Erbing, other corpses were also burned. On the Gobi Desert morning, a large pile of bonfires, emitting black smoke, burned fiercely.

Li Huowang didn't leave. He had to personally see Erbing reduced to ashes. In this abnormal world, anything could happen, and he dared not gamble.

Master Lu, carrying his luggage, stood to the side, hesitating for a long time. Finally, looking at the resolute, blood-stained figure in front of him, he said, "Um, Young Daoist... My daughter-in-law was frightened last night. She's pregnant and weak now, so we don't want to travel for now. We want to go to town and find a doctor. What do you think...?"

Last night, it wasn't just his daughter-in-law who was frightened; the entire Lu Troupe was terrified. Before, Master Lu had secretly rejoiced that he could benefit from the Young Daoist without spending a penny.

But everything that happened last night proved his petty cleverness was a huge mistake. If the Lu Troupe traveled alone, at most they would be robbed if they encountered trouble, and his daughter-in-law might suffer some grievance. But if they truly continued to follow the Young Daoist, they might lose their lives!

This Young Daoist was too good at hiding; he almost fooled Master Lu. So, he was this crazy.

Li Huowang tilted his head slightly. Master Lu immediately turned pale with fright, recoiled a few steps, and began to formulate an explanation.

"Alright, Master Lu, have a safe journey," Li Huowang said. "Dogwa, give Master Lu two camels for transport."

"No, no, no! No trouble at all!" Master Lu waved his hands frantically like a rattle drum. Having received Li Huowang's reply, he felt as if he had been granted a great pardon and led the others to flee back along the path they came.

Li Huowang ignored them and continued to watch the bonfire in front of him. The flames burned from morning until afternoon, finally dying out.

He personally walked in to inspect. After finding nothing left but ashes, Li Huowang finally felt relieved.

"Are you okay?" Li Huowang turned to look at the wound on Bai Lingmiao's shoulder.

"I'm fine, just minor injuries." Seeing Li Huowang return to normal, Bai Lingmiao gave a forced smile and shook her head.

She extended her hands, carefully reaching towards Li Huowang's severed arm, her eyes filled with extreme sorrow.

"It's fine," Li Huowang said, "it's just a severed hand, it'll grow back soon." He gently stroked her soft hair.

"Really?" Bai Lingmiao's eyes immediately lit up again.

"Of course, it's true." After comforting her, Li Huowang turned to look at the others.

Everyone looked very disheveled. Li Huowang could no longer worry about their injuries, because someone had died.

It was the man with good eyesight who now only had one arm; he was dead. And beside him, a plump young Daoist priest had also died.

The two bodies, one short and one thin, lay side by side on the ground. The ragged old monk, with his hands clasped together, stood there with a sorrowful expression, continuously chanting "Amitabha."

More people had died. Looking at their ashen faces, Li Huowang was even numb. He even wondered if taking them with him was the correct approach. Perhaps if they had gone home by themselves, they would have arrived by now.

"Burn them too," Li Huowang said. "Do you have jars? If not, wrap them in cloth."

When everything was ready, Li Huowang set off again with the others.

"Senior Brother Li, you've taken the wrong path," someone said. "That's the way back to Siqi."

Li Huowang nodded. "Yes," he said, "so we need to be quick, or we'll miss it."