Chapter 306: Stomach Rupture

Daoist Deceitful Immortal

Looking at the indifference in their eyes, Li Huowang sighed softly. He realized that anything he said now would likely be futile. It had come to this point; if he persisted, there would surely be bloodshed, and he didn't want to fight Bai Lingmiao's family.

With that thought, Li Huowang turned around without hesitation and plunged into the thick reeds, retracing his steps.

“I’ll check later to see if that masked kid is still there. If he is, I’ll have to find a way to stall him, to buy some time for the Bai family to retreat.”

As he walked, however, Li Huowang's expression grew unsettled. Based on the time he had spent earlier, he should have already exited this dense reed bed, but he still hadn't even seen a glimpse of its edge. He immediately remembered Bai Sai's earlier warning: it was very easy to get lost in these reeds.

“What? Am I trapped?” Li Huowang suddenly stopped, slowly turning, and carefully scrutinized the identical surroundings.

“Swish!” A cold gleam shot from the reeds. Li Huowang instantly twisted his body, dodging it. But the next instant, a sharp pain exploded behind his waist. As the pain forced Li Huowang to open his mouth, black, writhing tentacles emerged from deep within his throat, trembling with agony. Feeling the tentacles brush his mouth, Li Huowang's heart sank. “Damn it! My stomach is injured!”

Before he could react, more and more cold glints shot from the reeds, and two-meter-long giant arrows instantly enveloped Li Huowang from all directions. Once all the arrows formed a pile, Li Huowang, clutching his bleeding abdomen, slowly emerged from the wooden heap. As he looked at the silent reeds surrounding him, there was no warmth left in his eyes.

The sheer number of arrows indicated that the Bai family had hidden weapons here long ago; perhaps this was even their territory, and Bai Sai hadn't told him the truth earlier. If he had previously considered these people half-family, now they were unequivocally enemies. However, even as enemies, they were still Bai Lingmiao's family, and Li Huowang still didn't want to engage in direct conflict with them.

Li Huowang's body slowly blurred and sank into the ground within the reeds. In his invisible state, he walked step by step towards the edge. “This time, when I return, I must get a clear explanation from Bai Lingmiao!”

Li Huowang walked slowly. The surroundings finally fell silent, with no new disturbances. After walking for about two hours, a breathless Li Huowang stopped. He released his hand from his abdomen, gazing at the bloody mess within. He thought with some worry: “Black Grandfather isn't dead, just injured; it shouldn't affect its ability to suppress illusions, should it?”

Just as he was contemplating this, a slight tremor in his surroundings instantly made Li Huowang's expression change. Only when he saw that his surroundings remained unchanged did Li Huowang breathe a sigh of relief.

“Please don't scare me. Falling into an illusion now would be no laughing matter.”

No sooner had Li Huowang spoken than a blurry form suddenly emerged from the ground, passing directly through his abdomen. The next moment, Li Huowang instantly felt as if his intestines were tearing, the pain bringing cold sweat to his face. Another blurry Old Man You emerged from underground, attempting the same trick. Li Huowang swiftly drew his sword and slashed forcefully, and Old Man You dissipated like a wisp of wind. The remaining Old Men You dared not approach Li Huowang, circling him like ghosts, searching for an opportunity.

“What's going on?! I'm clearly invisible! How did they find me?!”

As he stared at the ground, his gaze fixed. Blood—it was blood dripping onto the ground, betraying his position! And at that very moment, as if sensing his vulnerability, the surrounding Old Men You surged forward simultaneously. Li Huowang instantly sheathed his sword, then drew his Copper Coin Sword. As he fiercely chanted an incantation, the Copper Coin Sword exploded, and the coins embedded themselves into the Old Men You, causing them to vanish into thin air.

“What exactly do you want?! Do you truly think I won't fight back?!”

At that very moment, a mound of earth suddenly bulged beside Li Huowang. The next second, a man emerged, single-handedly swinging a blade at him. Li Huowang's expression twisted into a grimace; he decided he would no longer hold back. But the hand Li Huowang had on his torture tool froze when he recognized the man's face: it was Bai Lingmiao's father.

“No!” Li Huowang instinctively raised his hand, but the next moment, most of his palm was severed. The next instant, cold-gleaming spears shot from the reeds, piercing Li Huowang's torso like a ragged doll and pinning him to the ground. With Li Huowang pinned to the ground, his fate seemed sealed. Sounds of “thwack, thwack” echoed as all four of his limbs were pinned.

Li Huowang looked at the extremely indifferent faces around him and asked with difficulty, “Was this necessary? What exactly did I do to you?”

Hearing this, one of the Bai family women, her face twisted in disgust, told Li Huowang, “You have no idea the depth of our hatred for the imperial dogs! Since you're one of them, nothing we do to you is too much!”

Li Huowang swallowed a mouthful of bloody saliva with difficulty, a bitter smile appearing on his face. “Alright then, you’ve won. How about you carry me back to Niuxin Village and ask Bai Lingmiao what to do with me? After all, I am her husband.”

Upon hearing this, a murmur of discussion immediately arose around them. At that moment, Bai Lingmiao's mother rushed to the front, her expression unusually severe as she declared to Li Huowang, “Marriages are decided by parents and matchmakers! We dictate who she marries! We will absolutely never allow our daughter to marry an imperial dog!”

Bai Lingmiao's father glanced at the miserable Li Huowang, then flicked the bloody blade in his hand, tugged at his wife, and whispered something into her ear, seemingly having other thoughts on the matter. At this point, Bai Sai walked over, looking down at Li Huowang. Li Huowang looked at his face, and the more he looked, the more it resembled an orange. He couldn't help but laugh out loud despite the pain.

Yet, as he laughed, Bai Sai's head actually gradually transformed into a rotten, moldy orange, which then appeared in his hand.

“An orange?” The next moment, torrential rain poured down from the sky, stinging Li Huowang's face. Soaked by the rain, Li Huowang squatted dazedly beside a trash can, shivering as he cradled the rotten orange in his hand. As if electrocuted, Li Huowang suddenly jumped up, and the rotten orange in his hand fell into a nearby mud puddle, bobbing up and down with the rain.

The next moment, he immediately realized where he was. “No good, the Black Grandfather in my stomach was attacked, and its ability to suppress illusions has vanished!” Immediately, another thought crossed his mind: “But why am I on the street? Shouldn't I be confined in a mental hospital? What exactly happened during this time??”

Li Huowang looked down at his attire: a large, filthy top covered his upper body, water-soaked cotton trousers clad his lower half, a leather shoe with exposed toes was on his left foot, and only a sock on his right. His entire disheveled outfit, that of a homeless madman, was thoroughly drenched by the torrential rain.

Before Li Huowang could fully grasp the situation, an intensely strong hunger sensation instantly surged from his abdomen, consuming his awareness. He had never felt such hunger, as if he hadn't eaten for over ten days. Li Huowang immediately squatted beside the puddle of sewage, picked up the moldy, rotten orange, and crammed it into his mouth, peel and all. Just then, a car tire rolled over the puddle, splashing water all over Li Huowang, but he remained unfazed. Shivering from the cold, Li Huowang huddled, facing the trash can, gulping down the moldy orange in his mouth.