Chapter 322: Human Xiao

Li Huowang looked at Hong Zhong without speaking, then turned his gaze to the other three: the Monk, Peng Longteng, and Jin Shanzhao.

These figures had been following him ever since they first appeared. In the past, he had always thought they were hallucinations caused by Xin Su. However, after learning about the Human-Xian from Hong Zhong, he realized things might not be as he had believed. Furthermore, perhaps Tuoba Danqing knew something about this, but Li Huowang dared not ask, fearing that the other person would use it to deduce that he was Xin Su.

"If they're not hallucinations, then what are they? Why are they following me?" This was the first time Li Huowang had seriously considered this question.

Then Li Huowang recalled Jiang Yingzi, who had appeared and disappeared earlier. "She manifested due to her own shame, and then vanished because of my shame. Could it be that..." Li Huowang felt as though he was on the verge of grasping something, yet it always seemed just out of reach, like a thin veil preventing him from understanding no matter how hard he thought.

Seeing Li Huowang standing still in thought, the smile on Hong Zhong's face widened.

"Can't figure it out? How about I help you think? Do you know what it means to 'act as a ghost for a tiger'?" Hong Zhong said. "It's said that after a tiger eats a person, the deceased's soul becomes a 'Chang Ghost' inside its belly, often luring others to be eaten by the tiger. Perhaps you're that tiger, and we are your Chang Ghosts?"

"Chang Ghosts?" Li Huowang looked up at Hong Zhong, his eyes full of disbelief. "If you were truly my Chang Ghosts, what have you ever done to help me? Besides being an eyesore, you're useless! The only impact you have on me is making others think I'm insane when I talk to you!" Li Huowang's voice grew heavier as he spoke.

Hong Zhong laughed even more exaggeratedly. "Well, maybe you *are* insane. I've always thought you weren't a normal person."

Hearing this, Li Huowang glared at Hong Zhong with an almost man-eating gaze, the veins on his forehead throbbing.

"Oh, oh, oh, glaring at me again? I called you insane, what can you do about it, little Huowang?" Hong Zhong leaned back, the red flesh on his skinless face twisting and contorting into an exaggerated smile.

The other's mockery made a surge of hot blood rush to Li Huowang's head, his mind buzzing.

With a "clang," Li Huowang drew his sword with one hand, his expression extremely grim, and plunged it directly towards his own neck. "Come on! Let's walk the path to the underworld together!"

When Hong Zhong saw the crimson blood spray into the air, he immediately panicked. "Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?"

Before Hong Zhong could finish speaking, a long halberd pierced through his abdomen, lifting him up and violently slamming him onto the ground. It was Peng Longteng's Fangtian Huaji, and she attacked Hong Zhong frantically with her weapon, radiating intense killing intent.

The Monk rushed over, his voice filled with anxious pleading: "You can't die, Daoist! Don't you still need to get rid of Xin Su? Don't you want to go back to your wife? Don't give up!"

Just then, a wriggling tentacle emerged from his navel, coiling around Li Huowang's wrist and pulling firmly. As Li Huowang sat on the ground, gasping for breath, more and more tentacles emerged from his navel, firmly gripping the hand that held his sword. This sensation was deeply unpleasant, making Li Huowang feel as if his intestines were churning wildly within his abdomen.

Seeing that Li Huowang had finally calmed down for a moment, the Monk quietly muttered to Hong Zhong, "Don't provoke him anymore. The Daoist has nothing to lose now; he won't hesitate to harm himself. He's like kindling, igniting at the slightest spark."

Hong Zhong glanced at Li Huowang from a distance, then snorted coldly and submerged his body into the nearby river. "Truly insane..."

Under the Monk's persuasion and the tentacles' restraint, Li Huowang gradually calmed down. When he pulled the blade from his neck, some wriggling black tentacles mixed with viscous fluid quickly filled the wound. Now calm, Li Huowang felt a profound sense of unfamiliarity when he recalled his recent actions. Why had he suddenly become so extreme? Was that truly himself?

"Daoist, let's get moving! Someone is still using those children to refine elixirs. Saving a life is better than building many temples. As long as you keep doing good deeds, the Buddha is watching from above. If you save enough people, perhaps one day the Buddha will descend and help you escape this sea of suffering."

The Monk's absurd words made Li Huowang smile. He slowly sheathed his bloodied sword, then stumbled to his feet and walked towards the spot where the candles had vanished earlier.

"Monk, you're not my Chang Ghost. I didn't kill you, and it's not even certain whether you're truly dead or not."

The Monk's body subtly flickered, almost imperceptibly. He widened his eyes and asked in astonishment, "I'm not dead? Then who am I?"

Li Huowang didn't answer him, walking silently and slowly into the dim, rugged underground cavern.

He hadn't gone far when a Human-Xian with twisted limbs slowly crawled out. It extended its long tongue, licked the blood Li Huowang had left on the ground, and then swiftly departed.

Li Huowang, still in his invisible state, walked silently through the darkness, searching for the vanished Human-Xians. Now that he had found them, it was time to deal with them. He didn't care about anything else; at this moment, Li Huowang had a fire within him, a strong desire to vent.

As he walked, Li Huowang began to hear sounds—chaotic yet strangely orderly. Li Huowang followed the sounds. Soon, he witnessed a very bizarre scene: a group of Human-Xians were diligently sitting upright, following a Human-Xian clad in a tattered Daoist robe who was chanting something.

The leading Human-Xian, who had a black whisk stuck in the back of his neck, appeared to be the leader here, as a thick piece of paper lay before him, which he was leading the others in reading. The limbs of these Human-Xians looked exceptionally deformed, yet they still managed to cross their feet, which were adorned with long nails.

This sight filled Li Huowang with both shock and a sense of unreality. "Is this... morning devotion? Are they performing morning devotion?"

As he watched these Human-Xians, who seemed to be performing morning devotion, Li Huowang was reminded of Qingfeng Temple. Both were monsters, both harbored delusions of becoming immortals. This similar scene made Li Huowang feel an inexplicable urge to vomit, an extreme repulsion from deep within.

"What damned rubbish! Even *they* are trying to cultivate immortality!" Li Huowang gritted his teeth, immediately drew his sword, and charged forward.

"Wait! Daoist! Find the infants first! If those children can't go back, how sad their mothers will be!"

Hearing the Monk's words, Li Huowang's steps slowly halted. After a moment of hesitation, he removed his hand from the sword hilt and began to grope around in the surrounding darkness.

Just as Li Huowang was about to search the surroundings for the infants, he saw a Human-Xian quickly crawl over and say something to the Human-Xian leading the morning devotion.