Chapter 310: Say

"You want me to lie to her!" Li Huowang’s words were squeezed through his teeth as he looked at Hong Zhong.

"Hey! What's wrong with lying? Why do you look down on it? Lies can be used for evil, but also for good! If you do what I say now, it'll be a benevolent lie!"

As Hong Zhong spoke with increasing excitement, the sighing monk beside him walked over, took his arm, and pulled him away from Li Huowang.

"Senior Brother Li...?" Sensing that something was wrong with Li Huowang, Bai Lingmiao's voice softened considerably.

She extended her soft, fair hand and gently placed it on Li Huowang's charred, skeletal fingers.

"Senior Brother Li, don't overthink it. You must be exhausted after such a long journey. Rest for a while; we can talk about everything tomorrow."

Bai Lingmiao helped Li Huowang to her bed, showing no aversion to his current terrifying appearance, and tucked him into her quilt.

Covered by the silky quilt and resting on a rustling rice husk pillow, Li Huowang took a shallow breath, filling his senses with Bai Lingmiao's familiar subtle fragrance.

"Senior Brother Li, you got wet in the rain. I'll go make you some ginger soup to ward off the chill," Bai Lingmiao said, standing up to head towards the kitchen.

Li Huowang raised a hand and grabbed Bai Lingmiao's wrist. "Miao Miao, can I ask you something? In your eyes, what kind of people are the Bai family?"

"My clan? Everyone is very kind. We help each other daily and don't quarrel like people in other places," Bai Lingmiao replied as if it were obvious.

"Senior Brother Li, what's wrong? Why are you suddenly asking such a question?"

"Haven't you... noticed... anything strange?"

"No, not really. Oh, right, Bai family members visit the ancestral hall more often than others. When I was little, I pestered my grandfather relentlessly to take me inside to see what it was like, but he always said I couldn't go in because I was a girl."

As she spoke, Bai Lingmiao suddenly remembered something, her mouth slightly agape in surprise, instinctively covering it with her hand.

"Senior Brother Li, have you met them? Where are they now? Are my mother and father alright?"

Li Huowang took a deep breath, then exhaled forcefully, as if trying to release the pent-up emotions in his heart, but it was no use.

He desperately wanted to do as Hong Zhong suggested; that way, nothing would change. But he truly couldn't do it.

"Miao Miao, I’m sorry. They are all dead. I killed them." Bai Lingmiao, sitting by the bed, froze, her body stiff as a statue.

Li Huowang, lying on the bed, calmly recounted everything that had happened. Throughout his narrative, Bai Lingmiao remained silent, only her grip on Li Huowang's hand growing colder and colder.

Once Li Huowang had explained the entire sequence of events, silence filled the room, broken only by the continuous patter of rain outside.

As her long white eyelashes blinked, two streams of clear tears slowly flowed from Bai Lingmiao's eyes. Her voice trembled as she spoke.

"Senior Brother Li, did I do something wrong? Why did you kill everyone in my village?"

Bai Lingmiao pawning her gold bracelet for travel money, Bai Lingmiao crying over his injuries, Bai Lingmiao imagining their return home together—various images flashed through Li Huowang's mind.

"I don't know why it turned out this way. It was too cold there, I just wanted to warm myself by the fire, I... I really just wanted to warm myself by the fire, I truly just wanted to warm myself by the fire..." Li Huowang stammered, his words bleak.

Bai Lingmiao's face gradually filled with fear. She abruptly pulled her hand from Li Huowang's grasp and retreated step by step.

Just as she was backing away faster and faster, about to rush out the door, Li Huowang embraced her from behind.

The puppet-like features on Bai Lingmiao's face instantly collapsed. She struggled desperately, her hands clenched into fists, wildly pounding Li Huowang's body. A shrill scream escaped her wide-open mouth.

In the end, she even lunged at Li Huowang, biting him fiercely, tearing at the black scabs.

But when she saw the bleeding wounds on Li Huowang's body, she stopped biting, covered her face with her hands, and slowly crouched on the ground, sobbing.

One standing, one crouching, they remained frozen in place.

Li Huowang stood there, silently looking at Bai Lingmiao's white hair. Only he knew what he was thinking at that moment.

This situation lasted a long time, and the light in the room gradually dimmed.

After a long while, the sobbing Bai Lingmiao stood up and walked towards the door without even looking at Li Huowang.

Li Huowang stopped her again. "No, you don't have to leave. This is Ox-Heart Village, this is your home. I'm the one who should go."

With that, Li Huowang turned and left. He made no attempt to salvage anything.

"You must have already figured it out, right? The moment you spoke, your connection with Bai Lingmiao would probably be over. Why did you still do it?"

Li Huowang's expression was as rigid as wood, completely ignoring the hallucination's words. "Now you regret not using the benevolent lie I mentioned?"

"A lie is a lie! There is no good or evil! I will bear the consequences of my mistakes! My heart is at peace!" Li Huowang's sudden roar startled the other disciples who were close to him.

"Senior Brother Li, you just came back and you're leaving already? Miao Miao is very worried about you. Whatever you do, you should consider her feelings, right?" Chun Xiaoman asked.

"Take good care of her for me. You all should live peaceful lives here from now on. Don't wander around; the world is chaotic."

As Li Huowang walked through Ox-Heart Village, more and more disciples gathered around him.

By the time Li Huowang reached the village entrance again, everyone else had arrived.

He didn't hesitate at all, charging directly into the heavy rain.

"Senior Brother Li, where are you going? Should we come with you?"

"Stop right there!! No one is to follow!" Li Huowang's sharp rebuke made everyone freeze in place.

Soaked from head to toe in the pouring rain, Li Huowang turned around, looked at all of them, took a few deep breaths, then suddenly burst into curses.

"Get out! Get far away! The ashes have been delivered! All my remaining last wishes from Qingfeng Temple have been sent out! All my promises have been fulfilled! What more do you want from me?!"

"Look at all my injuries! I’ve done enough for you all! I'm tired! Do you disabled useless people want to burden me for the rest of my life?!"

Seeing their sorrowful faces, Li Huowang, with a face full of water, suddenly turned and rushed out of Ox-Heart Village.

In truth, after what had happened, Li Huowang had already made up his mind to leave everyone on the way back.

He genuinely dared not let anyone stay by his side anymore. The closer they were, the more he feared that one day, he would burn them all alive, just as he had burned the Bai family.

A madman who doesn't know what he's doing is terrifying; a madman with various mysterious and unpredictable abilities is even more terrifying.