Chapter 245: Black Tai Sui

"Let's leave it at this for now. Once the wounds heal, we can slowly repair everything, piece by piece." Li Huowang's words brought a collective sigh of relief.

Looking at the bloodied and mangled Li Huowang before her, Chun Xiaoman couldn't hold back any longer. She turned away, leaned over, and began vomiting profusely again.

However, her stomach had already been mostly emptied during the previous two bouts of vomiting, so now she could only bring up clear water.

Bai Lingmiao's trembling hands repeatedly stroked Li Huowang's black hair, her eyes brimming with tears, but the words were stuck in her throat.

"Why are you crying? You should be smiling! Not a single one of us died, we successfully acquired the Black Tai Sui, and we even captured a prisoner. This is wonderful news!"

"And Miaomiao, look at my face, isn't it great? If you ever get tired of it, you can always change it." Li Huowang said with a laugh, trying to wink at her.

Li Huowang knew he looked terrible and was in immense pain. It was the kind of pain that made him wish for death.

But he had to pretend not to care. If he kept complaining and screaming, it wouldn't solve anything and would only depress the others.

This was a trick he had learned from Lu Juren's wife, Luo Juanhua: when unavoidable things happen, one might try to act as if they don't care at all, so as not to sadden those around them.

Clearly, however, Li Huowang hadn't grasped the essence of it. The louder he laughed, the harder Bai Lingmiao cried.

Finally, Li Huowang was tired, literally. His single eye slowly closed. "I'll rest for a bit... wake me up when we arrive... Once I'm awake, we'll find our way back."

After saying this, Li Huowang instantly lost consciousness.

In a hazy state, something very familiar would occasionally float up and then sink back down in Li Huowang's consciousness. He tried to understand what it was, but he could never quite grasp it.

Drifting in and out of sleep, Li Huowang's thoughts were disjointed; he often forgot what he had just been thinking.

Suddenly, a brilliant starry sky filled Li Huowang's mind. In that moment, he remembered. This was on the school rooftop, where he and Yang Na had watched the sky all night. What he was seeing now was a memory from his past.

"Nana, I'm sorry, I'm sick. I need to take a leave of absence from school for treatment," the young man softly told the girl as he held her.

"When will you be cured? Will it take a long time?" the girl asked, gently swaying their interlocked hands.

"I don't know, but don't worry. For you, I'll cooperate with the treatment and get out of the hospital as soon as possible."

"I told you, we're going to get into the same university, and then after we graduate, I'll marry you."

Hearing this suddenly, the girl became very shy but eventually nodded slightly. "Okay, I'll wait for you."

In that moment, the two very innocent young people drew closer and closer until they were pressed together.

"Huowang? How are you?""Senior Brother Li, are you alright?""Li Huowang! Get up now!""Little Li, do you think that side is real, or is this side real?"

Various voices continuously tore at the only beautiful memory deep within Li Huowang's mind.

Li Huowang didn't want to return; he wanted to stay in that beautiful moment forever. But it was destined to be impossible. Everything around him began to fall apart, and the precious memory slowly shattered into pieces.

"Ha!" Li Huowang, covered in a cold sweat, suddenly opened his eyes to see Bai Lingmiao supporting his head, gently leaning down to transfer goat's milk from her mouth to his.

As he drank the warm goat's milk, Li Huowang's scattered consciousness gradually began to coalesce. He felt his head was like a rusty machine; his thoughts came in halting, jerky movements.

"Where are we?" Li Huowang asked, looking up at the ox-hide tent above him.

Seeing Li Huowang finally awake, Bai Lingmiao let out a huge sigh of relief. "This is Sun Baolu's home. He used to graze sheep around here and knows the area well; he's the one who brought us back.""Also, Senior Brother Li, you've been unconscious for over ten days. It's a good thing you woke up."

Hearing this, Li Huowang immediately threw off his blanket and quickly looked down at his body.

The wide gash he had inflicted on himself had mostly healed, but his appearance was still extremely strange, with many disproportions. At the very least, an ordinary person's belly button wouldn't be on their waist.

However, compared to how he looked when he first crawled out of the hole, he was much more presentable, at least resembling a human.

Most importantly, his left foot had fully regrown half a sole, so he would finally be able to walk without a crutch.

After checking his body, Li Huowang disregarded rest and immediately pressed Bai Lingmiao for information about Han Fu and the Black Tai Sui.

"It's alright, everything is prepared. But we really must thank Sun Baolu's family. If they hadn't shown up, we wouldn't have been able to transport those things here."

"We borrowed two ox-hide tents and set them up some distance away. The other disciples are watching them there. Senior Brother Li, you should lie down quickly; your injuries are too severe."

"Let's go! Find the Black Tai Sui first!" Li Huowang, who had been impatiently waiting, didn't want to delay another moment. He dressed and headed out of the tent.

As he emerged from the tent, he was met with everyone's gaze. The eyes of the Qingqiu people no longer held curiosity or wonder but a hint of apprehension and unease.

This was normal. If they had seen Li Huowang in his current state and still acted hospitably, Li Huowang would have been unsettled by *them*.

He cupped his hands in a traditional greeting towards the others before exiting the cluster of tents and walking towards the two isolated tents on the distant grassland.

As Li Huowang walked, he ran into Lu Jia Ban, who were returning with their sheep. Lu Zhuangyuan, suppressing his surprise, looked at the disfigured Li Huowang and said, "Young Daoist? You're able to get up after only ten-odd days?"

"Oh, what did I say before? My Young Daoist has extraordinary powers! Ordinary evil spirits are no match for you!"

However, the worried Li Huowang couldn't be bothered with his flattery at the moment.

After confirming that Han Fu's small head was still alive, Li Huowang went straight into the Black Tai Sui's tent. This item was now more important to him than anything else.

As soon as he entered, Li Huowang saw long spears piercing the Black Tai Sui's tentacles, pinning them to the ground and preventing the Black Tai Sui from moving even an inch.

Li Huowang circled it, scrutinizing it carefully again. Upon confirming that it was identical to the Black Tai Sui from Qingfeng Temple, he spread his fingers and directly plunged his hand into its body, pulling out a greasy chunk of Tai Sui flesh.

As the dagger's blade slowly cut along the edge of the flesh, some fissures on the Black Tai Sui's body emitted a piercing shriek, and black, viscous liquid continuously seeped out.

Observing the cut surface of the flesh clump in his hand, where some bits of meat rapidly transformed into tentacles, Li Huowang slowly opened his mouth wide and raised the Black Tai Sui, intending to put it in.

But just as he was about to bite down, Li Huowang suddenly stopped.