Chapter 312: Li Huowang

Li Huowang, in a frenzy, waved the food in his hand, jumped onto a nearby car, and began bouncing on it, setting off its alarm.

"I'm crazy! I'm insane!" Li Huowang's voice echoed far and wide.

Li Huowang's bizarre behavior attracted attention. As the car owner rushed over with a broom, repeatedly striking at Li Huowang, more and more onlookers gathered.

As his laughter grew increasingly wild, Li Huowang spotted a cute little girl whose mother was leading her far away from him. The red cherry hair clip in her hair looked remarkably familiar.

The moment he saw her, the extreme excitement on Li Huowang's face faded, replaced by pain. He then jumped off the car, ignoring the owner's blows, and walked away, clutching the food he held.

Inside the bridge underpass, Li Huowang refilled his milk tea container with the murky river water and began to drink it numbly. The steamed bun had a strange smell, likely spoiled, but he didn't care. He also didn't care what else he was eating. Li Huowang ate this meager amount of food very slowly, as if savoring every bite.

"Uncle?" Li Huowang turned his head and saw a girl in a pure white dress standing at the entrance of the underpass. Under the dazzling sunlight, she seemed to glow.

Li Huowang looked at her adorable face and blurted out instinctively, "Eighteenth of the Twelfth Month?"

The little girl said timidly and uneasily, "I... I'm not called Eighteenth of the Twelfth Month. My name is Liu Yuhuan. My mom calls me Huanhuan."

When she saw Li Huowang stand up, Liu Yuhuan immediately recoiled a few steps in fear. She quickly took off her backpack, laid a piece of paper on the ground, and then took out a packet of something from her backpack and placed it on the paper. After doing so, she cast another anxious glance at Li Huowang, then hurried away.

Li Huowang walked over and looked down, discovering three steamed buns in a white plastic bag — "piggy buns" that only elementary school children would buy. Li Huowang smiled knowingly, bent down to pick them up, untied the plastic bag, and began to eat. The buns were warm, appearing fresh from the steamer. They weren't leftovers; she had bought them specifically for him. Li Huowang sat there, eating carefully, bite by bite. The buns were meat-filled and truly delicious.

As he ate, Li Huowang's surroundings shifted again. He found himself sitting on a muddy road, gnawing on a ball of mud. "Heh." Li Huowang shook his head helplessly and continued to gnaw the mud ball clean, bite by bite.

After finishing, Li Huowang returned to the temple, and under the gaze of other illusions, he resolutely picked up the sword from the ground once more. Just then, Li Huowang heard footsteps and horse hooves, the footsteps strikingly familiar.

"Miaomiao?!" Li Huowang rushed out, sword in hand, only to see an unexpected figure: the Great God, wearing a red veil. The rain outside had stopped, but the Great God's red veil was wet, with two streaks of water running down from where her eyes would be.

Li Huowang, with a complex expression, stood in front of the temple, looking at the figure beside a distant carriage. "What are you doing here?"

"Woof woof!" Mantou, wagging its tail, emerged from behind the carriage. It vigorously shook off the rainwater from its body and excitedly bounded towards Li Huowang. Mantou, wriggling its body, leaped up and repeatedly pressed its front paws onto Li Huowang, leaving yellow mud plum blossom prints.

Then, the Great God opened the side of the carriage, revealing the Black Grand Elder, bound with ox tendon, before Li Huowang. She led the carriage over, and with her cold hand, adorned with sharp black nails, she took Li Huowang's hand and guided him into the dilapidated temple.

Upon reaching the only dry spot inside the temple, the Great God first took out a towel to wipe the rainwater and mud from Li Huowang's body. She then produced brand new clothes and socks from the carriage. She helped Li Huowang get dressed, then draped an old red Taoist robe over him.

As she lowered her head to tie Li Huowang's belt, he reached out and lifted her red veil. Instantly, the Great God's face, resembling a carnivorous plant, was revealed to Li Huowang. However, the petals and buds of this "flower" were formed from snake scales, porcupine quills, and other similar elements. In the center of the "flower," a portion of Bai Lingmiao's face, tear-streaked, gazed sorrowfully at Li Huowang. Opposite this half-human face was a fox-like beast face. Furthermore, the features on her face were not static; they slowly shifted and changed over time. Sometimes the human face was more prominent, other times the beast face. The number of eyes also varied.

The Great God, in this form, opened her arms and gently embraced Li Huowang, holding him tighter and tighter until he could barely breathe. "My husband..." Her hand reached behind him, gently prying open Li Huowang's fingers one by one until the purple-tasseled sword fell to the ground. The white band on her wrist was untied and gently placed over Li Huowang's lidless eyes. Then, a forked, slick tongue pried open Li Huowang's jaw.

"My husband... we'll wait for you, for the day you get better."

Hearing this, Li Huowang embraced her back, holding her tighter and tighter while looking at the large, elongated feline-like eye. Even though life was wretched and the world utterly despairing, and every inch of Li Huowang's existence was forged from pain, no one truly wants to die. Sometimes, just a slight pull back can avert a tragedy.

The Great God eventually left, but she left Mantou and the carriage with the bound Black Grand Elder behind. Li Huowang sat on the ground, staring blankly at the gaping hole in the sky. After a long time, he picked up the purple-tasseled sword again. Looking at his own partial reflection on the sword's blade, Li Huowang's expression suddenly twisted. He lifted the sword abruptly towards the air, pointing it directly at a black pigeon on the ceiling beam.

"A pigeon?"

Just as Li Huowang thought this, the pigeon flew down and landed on his shoulder. "Coo, coo, coo..." Only then did Li Huowang notice a small slip of paper tied to the black pigeon's ankle. It bore an oracle bone script character, resembling the character for "sky" with an eye added underneath.

Slowly unfolding the paper, Li Huowang read its contents and was immediately startled. He then led the carriage out of the dilapidated temple. It was a message from Tuoba Danqing delivered by carrier pigeon, instructing Li Huowang to meet him in Yinling City, at their usual spot. This instantly reminded Li Huowang of his plan: his intention to find Beifeng through the Directorate of Celestial Observation. A strong sense of defiance surged within him, suppressing the pain and suicidal thoughts in Li Huowang's eyes.

"Mantou, let's go! This wretched place wants me dead? Not so easy! I have nothing left now, what am I afraid of? Even if I die, I'll carve a hole through it! I'll get rid of this Xinsu identity one day! One day! And then, by then..."