Chapter 23: Home

"Senior Brother Li!" Bai Lingmiao's voice, thick with tears, made Li Huowang, who was holding a lantern in the darkness, turn around. He looked at the others standing in the sunlight outside the door.

He waved at them again. "Go on, all of you. Go home."

"Senior Brother Li, why don't you come with us? It's safer if we travel together. Did you forget something?" asked Zhao Wu, who was riding on the simpleton's back. His expression was a little tense, as if he sensed something was amiss.

"Heh, come together to where?" Li Huowang turned away, once again concealing his face in the shadows.

"To go home for the New Year, Senior Brother Li. Where is your home?"

In the darkness, Li Huowang smiled silently, then began walking back the way he came, carrying the lantern. "Home? Where is my home now? My home is long gone, I can never go back!"

Li Huowang walked silently through the darkness. Qingfeng Temple was utterly quiet; his footsteps were his only company.

Suddenly, Li Huowang began to hum a tune, and his steps grew lighter. The oil lamp in his hand swayed rhythmically from side to side.

Accompanied by his singing, Li Huowang returned to his room. He closed the door, placed the oil lamp on the table, and without even bothering to wipe the blood from his face or body, slowly lay down on the stone bed and closed his eyes.

"Today is the first day of the lunar month. Since I haven't consumed that disgusting Black Grand Emperor this month, I should be able to see Yang Na again soon, right?" A faint smile touched Li Huowang's lips as he thought this.

He waited quietly, anticipating that his dearest childhood friend would return and take him back to his own world.

Li Huowang, having been awake all night, felt his consciousness slowly fading. Just as he was about to drift into a pleasant dream, the door suddenly opened.

Li Huowang rubbed his eyes and sat up. He saw Gouwa, Zhao Wu, and the others standing at the doorway.

Bai Lingmiao stood there hesitantly, her eyes briefly flickering away before settling with determination.

"Senior Brother Li, if you can't go home, then please come to my house. It's very spacious, and the east wing is empty..."

Li Huowang looked at the kind girl before him and gently shook his head. "This place is quite alright; I've grown accustomed to it."

Only by staying in this dark place could a madman who talked to himself and gesticulated avoid frightening others.

Bai Lingmiao's lips trembled slightly. She seemed to find Li Huowang's words hard to believe.

"I once had a home, and I once had a family, but..." Li Huowang looked up at the dark ceiling, his expression complex as he began to recall something.

After a moment of thought, Gouwa quietly winked at the others. "Since Senior Brother Li says he wants to stay here, why don't we just leave?"

"Shut up!" Bai Lingmiao's sharp retort startled Gouwa. This was not at all like the timid little girl he used to know.

Bai Lingmiao quickly stepped forward, her expression resolute. "Are you truly being fair to your family like this? If your family from the past knew you were in this state now, what would they think?"

A bitter smile touched Li Huowang's face. "How would I know what they'd think? I can't even be sure if they truly existed!"

"Perhaps I'm just a madman with nothing, completely devoid of everything. Everything I perceive might just be a figment of my imagination." Li Huowang's expression twisted in pain.

Bai Lingmiao extended her fair, almost translucent hands and clasped Li Huowang's. "Senior Brother Li, you are not alone. You still have us."

Li Huowang stared blankly at the girl before him, at her determined, delicate face.

In that moment, he realized how little he truly knew about this girl. "Why is she so kind to me?"

Suddenly, everything around him began to shift. The cavern and the sterile white walls of a hospital room flickered interchangeably.

Bai Lingmiao's features began to melt, then reformed into the tear-streaked, worried face of Yang Na.

"Nana!" Li Huowang lunged forward, embracing her tightly, his face contorted in agony.

"Huowang, you cannot give up on yourself. You must live. No matter what you encounter, you must live well, alright?" Yang Na's voice trembled.

"You must persevere. No matter what you face, never give up."

Then, that face transformed into his mother's. "Son, you can't die! If you die, how will your father and I live?!"

The face rapidly and continuously shifted, displaying various people Li Huowang knew, all offering him encouragement.

Suddenly, everything around him froze, and the bright hospital room swiftly dimmed.

Li Huowang slowly released his embrace, realizing he was holding Bai Lingmiao.

The girl, still in his arms, was visibly shy, yet her gaze did not waver. "Senior Brother Li, let's leave. I can't stand being in this place."

She then pulled some slips of paper from her waist pouch and placed them in his arms. "Senior Brother Li, it's no use giving these to me; none of us can read."

"That's right, Senior Brother Li. This is something only you can do; no one else can," the others chimed in from the doorway.

"I... I... I can read..." The simpleton barely got the words out before Zhao Wu clapped a hand over his mouth. Leaning close to the simpleton's ear, he whispered, "Even if you *can* read, you must pretend you can't right now!"

Li Huowang silently looked at the last words written by the people before him, lost in thought.

Bai Lingmiao pushed her hands forward, nudging the slips of paper closer. "Senior Brother Li, you personally promised them. A man of integrity cannot go back on his word."

Reality and illusion continuously shifted in his mind. Finally, Li Huowang reached out and took the papers. "Let's go."

Li Huowang resolved that no matter where he was, he would try his best to live well. This was not just for himself, but also for the family members who may or may not exist.

As soon as he spoke, everyone visibly relaxed and smiled.

They didn't know what Li Huowang was thinking, but they were simply relieved that he wouldn't remain in that dreadful place.

The group gathered around Li Huowang as they emerged from the dim room and started towards the cave entrance. However, after only a few steps, Li Huowang called out to them.

"Wait," he said. "Since we've decided to leave, we should thoroughly search this place first. Simpleton, carry Zhao Wu and take the others to the kitchen. Grab some food for the journey; we can't travel without provisions."

Next, Li Huowang took Bai Lingmiao to the alchemy room to gather some elixirs he recognized. He had been practicing the art of alchemy for some time, and with these supplies, he considered himself half a doctor. Since they didn't know how far their destination was, it was best to be prepared.

He only took the elixirs he recognized. As for the other unfamiliar elixirs refined by Dan Yangzi, Li Huowang wouldn't even dare to touch them, much less take them.

After the group reconvened in the Zheng Yi Hall, Li Huowang spoke again: "Wait a moment, I still need to get one more thing." Carrying the oil lamp in his hand, Li Huowang cautiously walked towards the cavern where the Black Grand Emperor was imprisoned.