Chapter 220: Market

Hearing Li Huowang's answer, the forked tongue slowly retracted into the bloody maw beneath the red bridal veil. The fanged mouth curled slightly upward, revealing a faint smile.

The Second Deity, lying on the bed, gently leaned closer to Li Huowang, who was holding Bai Lingmiao.

The three of them lay on the same bed; no one spoke another word, and the room finally fell silent.

As expected, Li Huowang overslept the next day. Fortunately, no one was pursuing them now.

"Senior Brother Li, here." A bowl of milky white liquid was brought before the infirm Li Huowang.

"What is this?" Li Huowang noticed some white bits floating in it.

"Goat's milk with milk tofu. I heard Baolu say that in Qingqiu, people recover faster from injuries by drinking more goat's milk."

Li Huowang took a large sip. He couldn't say it tasted good, nor bad; he just wasn't used to the taste.

However, Li Huowang was never picky about food or drink, as long as it wasn't overly salty or spicy.

After he finished drinking, Bai Lingmiao picked up a towel and reached over, gently wiping the milk mustache from Li Huowang's lips.

"How are Sun Baolu's food preparations coming along?"

"He left early this morning, saying the sheep at that particular house were sickly and not good, so he needed to check a few more places."

"What? Sheep? I distinctly told him to buy provisions. Why would he buy sheep?"

Bai Lingmiao smiled. "I asked him the same thing just now, but he said that in Qingqiu, live sheep *are* provisions. Their milk and meat can be consumed, their dried droppings can be burned as fuel, and live sheep can walk on their own, which is much more convenient than carrying dried rations."

"Oh, I see.... Alright then." Regarding such matters, Li Huowang decided to heed the local's advice.

After putting down the bowl, Bai Lingmiao gently took Li Huowang's lower leg into her lap, pulled back his trousers, and carefully observed the healing of his severed limb.

"Senior Brother Li, look, it has already grown down to your ankle. In a few more days, it will be fully healed." Seeing Li Huowang's body recovering, Bai Lingmiao radiated joy from within.

Looking at her delicate face, Li Huowang froze. He couldn't help but recall everything that had happened last night.

"Miaomiao, are you hiding anything from me lately?"

"Huh? What's wrong? No, I'm not." Bai Lingmiao looked at Li Huowang, tilting her head in confusion.

Regardless of whether she truly knew or was pretending not to, Li Huowang went straight to the point. "I'm talking about the Second Deity."

"Has she influenced you? Or have those Immortals threatened you?"

"No, she... why would she threaten me? Our lives are intertwined. If I die, she can't live either."

"Is that so?" Li Huowang looked at Bai Lingmiao thoughtfully. "Remember, I'm right here with you. If you have any trouble, you must come to me, understand?"

Bai Lingmiao nodded. Then, with a hint of caution, she asked, "Senior Brother Li, since there's nothing urgent today, can we go out for a walk?"

"A walk? Why?"

"Just... to have some fun. I've never been to Qingqiu before. When we arrived yesterday, I saw how lively it was outside." A rare hint of slyness appeared on Bai Lingmiao's face.

Li Huowang looked at Bai Lingmiao again. Her appearance overlapped with Yang Na, who he used to watch movies with.

He suddenly realized that the girl before him wasn't much older, and she also longed for relaxation.

She had always been so sensible that he had almost forgotten Bai Lingmiao was still just a young girl.

Li Huowang suddenly felt a pang of guilt, having completely overlooked this.

"Alright, let's go. We'll have plenty of fun today." Li Huowang picked up his crutch, and with her help, walked out of the humble inn.

The moment they stepped out, the sunlight hit them, and Bai Lingmiao immediately squinted her pink eyes, frowning. "The sun is so bright today."

Li Huowang quickly untied the white silk ribbon from her wrist and used it to cover her eyes. "No, you must keep it tied, otherwise it will hurt your eyes too much."

"But... like this... I won't be able to see." Bai Lingmiao's mood sank, after finally getting this chance today.

"Then you can hold my hand. I'll tell you what I see, how about that?"

"Hmm... alright!" A smile appeared on Bai Lingmiao's face, and she grasped Li Huowang's clothes with both hands.

"Miaomiao, there's someone selling lambs up ahead. Come, reach out and feel one."

Bai Lingmiao reached out and immediately felt a fluffy head. A sheep's tongue licked her hand from below, startling her. She quickly pulled her hand back.

After a moment, she cautiously reached out again.

"Come on, let's keep browsing."

The one-eyed, one-legged Li Huowang limped with his crutch, slowly guiding the blindfolded Bai Lingmiao through the market.

Through Li Huowang's descriptions, Bai Lingmiao gradually learned about every detail of the market. She was truly happy now.

Even though she couldn't see anything, she could still feel that Senior Brother Li cared about her and that he was with her.

Suddenly, Li Huowang stopped. Bai Lingmiao, unable to stop, bumped into his back. "Senior Brother Li, why did you stop? What did you see?"

"Oh, there's a group of street performers up ahead. They're fire-breathing. The flames shoot really high; they even set one man's hair on fire. He's jumping really high there."

Bai Lingmiao giggled at the scene Li Huowang described, even wanting to remove the ribbon for a peek, but Li Huowang stopped her.

"And that person, they're amazing too! They can swallow swords. Three blades go right down their throat, without even a blink."

Li Huowang's face, mirroring Bai Lingmiao's smile, continued to describe the scene, looking at the rows of people bound by chains before them.

The ragged slaves had vacant eyes, already completely numb.

Clearly, Qingqiu's unique features weren't limited to green noodles and tent inns. Its dark side was also different from other places: they were selling people!

"Next to the performers, there's a monkey show. That monkey is so clever, it's actually whipping its master." Li Huowang continued his description, looking at a headless corpse.

"Quick, that monkey is running towards us, let's go!"

Li Huowang, limping, pulled the sightless Bai Lingmiao away from the spot.

He continued to wander with Bai Lingmiao. He had thought things were strange enough already, but a short while later, he saw a dead person on a market platform, a dead person being disemboweled with a dagger.

"Senior Brother Li, what's over here?"

"Over here... someone's wrestling. That fat guy is really big, he must be as heavy as two of you."

"Senior Brother Li, I'm not that fat!" Bai Lingmiao shyly and gently punched Li Huowang's arm.

"My mistake then, let me rephrase. That wrestling fat guy is as heavy as four of you."

Li Huowang suddenly looked up at the sky. Something had just obscured the sky.

They were vultures, dozens of dark vultures diving down, directly covering the corpse. They frantically tore at it.

The vultures, though numerous, had little meat to share. Their competition was fierce. Once satiated, they scattered like flies, leaving behind only scattered bones and hair on the ground.

People who had been waiting picked up small hammers and approached, gently tapping at the remaining bones.

Once shaped appropriately, they decorated their hair and clothes with them.

Li Huowang suddenly realized how the bone ornaments on the Qingqiu people were obtained.

"Senior Brother Li, what did you see? Tell me quickly!" Bai Lingmiao tugged at Li Huowang's clothes, repeatedly asking.

Pitter-patter. Just then, Mantou trotted through the crowd with tiny steps, appearing before Li Huowang.

It placed half of a human skull from its mouth at his feet, then squatted, wagging its tail and panting incessantly.