Chapter 22: Exit

Inside the alchemy room of Qingfeng Temple, Li Huowang stood frozen, his body covered in his master's blood. He hadn't fully processed what had happened. "Are these three pills really that powerful?" he wondered. "Did Danyangzi and I refine pills or explosives?"

After lying on the ground for a while, he got up, wiped his face, and bent down to rummage through the debris.

After searching for a long time and failing to find a single piece of moving flesh, and seeing that even Danyangzi's copper bell had been flattened by the explosion, Li Huowang finally breathed a sigh of relief. Danyangzi was truly and completely dead by his hand.

"But he's dead, so what do I do next?" Li Huowang stood rooted to the spot, unsure which way to go.

Li Huowang had expected to feel happy after getting his revenge, but when the moment finally arrived, he found himself adrift.

All his plans in recent days had revolved around killing Danyangzi. He hadn't even considered the possibility of surviving.

Now Danyangzi was dead, Bai Lingmiao was safe, and he had fulfilled all his promises. What should he do next?

As he pondered this question, the door to the alchemy room suddenly opened, and Changren and Changming walked in cautiously, each holding a longsword in one hand.

After looking around and failing to find Danyangzi, they turned their wary gaze toward the blood-soaked Li Huowang. "Hey! What monster are you?" they demanded. "Speak! Where is our master?"

"Master?" Li Huowang replied. "You're stepping on him. And by the way, I'm Xuanyang, senior brothers."

At his words, Changren and Changming instinctively lowered their heads and lifted their feet, revealing internal organs beneath them. Their pupils instantly constricted.

Li Huowang looked around, then picked up half of Danyangzi's face from the ground. "See," he said, "he's truly dead."

"I killed him," Li Huowang said, almost to himself.

"Logically, he deserved to die long ago, having committed countless murders in his life," Li Huowang continued. "But that's not why I killed him. I killed him for personal reasons."

Just as Li Huowang was about to explain his reasons, Changming and Changren exchanged a glance. Without a word, they swiftly sheathed their longswords and rushed out the door.

"Hey, wait until I finish talking before you leave!" Li Huowang called out to them helplessly.

After shouting for a long time with no response, Li Huowang gave a wry smile, clutched his still-aching stomach, and walked towards the door.

"Baldy is dead! He's dead! Everyone come out, you can go home!" Li Huowang shouted loudly to his surroundings, vigorously shaking the flattened copper bell in his hand.

It was Lunar New Year's Day, and the harsh ringing didn't attract any wandering masters, but instead drew out the child apprentices and the "medicine ingredients."

When they saw the half-face in Li Huowang's hand, they were overjoyed, falling to the ground and kowtowing in all directions.

Li Huowang walked slowly along the cave tunnel, intending to deliver this news to everyone in Qingfeng Temple.

More and more people joined his group, beginning to shout along with him: "Baldy is dead! He's dead! We can go home!"

Just then, Li Huowang felt someone reach out to support him. He turned his head and saw Bai Lingmiao, weeping tears of joy.

Li Huowang smiled at her, then raised Danyangzi's half-face and waved it vigorously. "Baldy is dead! You can all go home! It's New Year's! You can all go home!"

"Yes, Senior Brother Li!" she exclaimed. "You can go home too! We can all go home!"

Li Huowang's expression stiffened. He then continued to swing the copper bell with all his might, shouting at the top of his lungs: "Danyangzi is dead! Everyone come out! You can go home!"

Not everyone in Qingfeng Temple shared the same joy, however. As Li Huowang approached Danyangzi's residence, he heard the sound of clashing metal from a distance.

Li Huowang led the group over. Inside Danyangzi's squalid dwelling, they saw Xuanyuan confronting Changming and Changren. Both sides had drawn their weapons, and the atmosphere was extremely tense.

Li Huowang looked at the so-called "Heavenly Book," wrapped in black thread and copper coins, and instantly understood what they were fighting over.

"Junior Brother Xuanyang! Come quickly!" Xuanyuan urged Li Huowang, his face no longer amiable. "Let's kill Danyangzi's two accomplices together! We can share this immortal scripture!"

Changming, standing nearby, stepped forward and pointed his longsword directly at Li Huowang at the entrance. "If you don't want to die, get lost!" he snarled. "Master taught you the path of alchemy! In this situation, do you really think you can handle the two of us who practice swordsmanship?"

Li Huowang sighed lightly, looking at the scene before him with a hint of resignation. "That's not some immortal scripture," he said. "It's just ancient scriptures. Everything I said before was made up to trick Baldy."

"Don't believe Baldy's nonsense," Li Huowang continued. "That guy was full of lies. 'Personally given by Old Lord'? Given his character, he probably just stole it from somewhere after killing someone. Senior brothers, let's go."

Changming and Changren, with a flick of their left hands, wiped two black talismans along their longswords. Instantly, an eerie wind filled the entire room.

"Junior Brother Xuanyang," they said, raising their longswords and speaking in unison, "if you don't want to get involved, then stop talking nonsense and leave."

Feeling Bai Lingmiao timidly tugging at his Taoist robe, Li Huowang cupped his hands to both parties. "Then, senior brothers, you may continue," he said, leading everyone towards the exit of Qingfeng Temple's cave. "We shall meet again someday."

The moment Li Huowang considerately closed the door, sounds began to emerge from within.

In the dark tunnel, a group of people, excited and agitated, walked towards home. Each person's hand, holding an oil lamp, trembled.

This tunnel was unfamiliar and rugged; they occasionally had to climb using ropes. Li Huowang had no memory of ever being here before.

Yet, he clearly knew this was the exit of Qingfeng Temple, as he saw the hands of those around him trembling even more intensely.

After walking for about the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, light began to appear in the distance of the cave tunnel. The moment they saw the light, everyone's steps became erratic, turning from a walk into a run.

As they ran, the distant light grew larger and larger, eventually encompassing everyone's vision.

The moment they exited the cave, almost everyone squinted their eyes. Having lived inside the cave for so long, the outside world was simply too bright for them.

As their eyes gradually adjusted to the light, the scenery outside Qingfeng Temple appeared before everyone.

The distant sky was just revealing the first hint of dawn. The mountains and forests in the distance were so pure and refreshing, like a delicate ink wash painting.

Just then, the first ray of morning light on Lunar New Year's Day pierced through the thin mist and fell upon everyone's faces.

Li Huowang squinted at the sunrise in the sky and murmured to himself, "Did Baldy and I stay in the alchemy room all night? The sun's already out; the weather's really nice today."

Suddenly, someone nearby moved. It was a child apprentice, who, with tears streaming down his face, quickly began running, head down, towards a small path that disappeared into the forest.

His run triggered a herd effect, and more and more people started running in that direction. They wanted to get far away from this sorrowful place.

Soon, only seven or eight people from the ingredient room remained at the cave entrance, their gazes now fixed on Li Huowang.

"Senior Brother Li, let's go too," said Bai Lingmiao, who was smiling very happily despite the tear stains on her face.

"Wait a moment," Li Huowang said, taking some notes from his pocket and tucking them into Bai Lingmiao's arms. "These are the last words and addresses left by the deceased 'medicine ingredients.' After you get out, find a courier service along the way to deliver them."

Bai Lingmiao held the notes in both hands, standing frozen and momentarily at a loss.

Li Huowang smiled at the remaining people again, then turned around, holding the oil lamp in his hand, and walked back alone into the pitch-black Qingfeng Temple.