Chapter 360

By the flickering campfire, Li Huowang listened as Bai Lingmiao, nestled in his arms, continued to speak.

"It's the same for me; the Bai Lingmiao of the past was Bai Lingmiao, and the Bai Lingmiao of today is still Bai Lingmiao—a better Bai Lingmiao!" As she spoke, her eyes seemed to glow.

"Oh, and don't forget, you killed my entire family." These words sent a jolt through Li Huowang.

"In the past, I always struggled and agonized, unable to let go of either side. I couldn't forgive you, nor could I let go of my deceased family members."

"But I'm different now. I know they were part of the White Lotus Sect, and I understand what they intended to do to you, so I can only say you were right to kill them. In that situation, if you hadn't, you would have been the one to die."

"You see, I think so clearly now. There's no hesitation, no pain at all!"

Hearing this, Li Huowang suddenly felt that the Bai Lingmiao in front of him was incredibly strange, like a completely different person. If he had to compare her to anyone, it would undoubtedly be Peng Longteng. Bai Lingmiao, in both her tone and demeanor, was at this moment leaning towards Peng Longteng. He didn't want this to happen.

Just then, another soft body pressed against him from behind, gently embracing Li Huowang's back. A long, forked tongue slid across his ear. When he felt Ershen, Li Huowang's body trembled. He quickly stood up from the embrace, looking with some horror at the two individuals on the ground.

Li Huowang's actions naturally attracted the attention of others. He forced a smile. "I'm going to relieve myself." When he saw Jixiang looking his way, Li Huowang glanced towards the nearby darkness and walked in first.

Before long, Jixiang, as expected, also entered the woods, looking at Li Huowang with a chuckle. "Erjiu, is something wrong? Tell us if you have any issues! We'll definitely help if we can." Li Huowang had been so obvious just now; if Jixiang still couldn't see what was going on, he'd have to be blind.

After pondering everything Bai Lingmiao had told him earlier, Li Huowang asked Jixiang, "Lord Jixiang, is there a way to remove the fiendish aura that has entered her body—the kind associated with military practitioners?" The current Bai Lingmiao was not the Bai Lingmiao of the past. Even if she never forgave him, he had to save her.

"Fiendish aura entering the body?" Jixiang replied, "You'd have to ask a military practitioner about that; we don't quite understand it." Li Huowang's pupils contracted slightly, and he asked again, "Lord Jixiang, do you know anyone among the military practitioners in Daliang? If it's convenient, could you introduce me to them?"

Jixiang glanced towards the campfire. "Alright, that's no big deal." If it hadn't been for Li Huowang today, the group might have truly been in trouble. Such a small favor was naturally no problem. Of course, he only offered an introduction; as for what Li Huowang wanted to do with the military practitioners, Jixiang wouldn't need to put himself further in debt.

After Jixiang finished speaking, he shuddered as he recalled what had happened earlier. "Fortunately, this matter is finally settled. I'll wait and see if I can give a gift to my godfather, grease some palms, and get transferred to another yamen. This Censorate isn't for humans."

"Then thank you, Lord Jixiang," Li Huowang said, expressing his gratitude. Regardless of whether it was useful, he had to make the effort to help Bai Lingmiao return to normal.

"Alright, is there anything else? If not, let's head out. We still have to travel tomorrow."

As soon as Jixiang finished speaking and was about to leave, both he and Li Huowang simultaneously turned to look at the woods nearby. "Someone's there!" In the middle of nowhere, at night, a sudden gaze felt distinctly wrong.

Li Huowang pulled out two pieces of turmeric-colored paper, quickly drew talismans with his own blood, and after sticking them to his knees, he rushed towards the direction of the gaze, his body moving like a blur. Jixiang, who had stayed in place, quickly changed his expression several times before hurrying back to the campfire, keeping a firm watch on the Xinzhuo corpse, lest the other party create a diversion.

Li Huowang quickly weaved through the woods, getting closer and closer to the person. Seeing that the person still didn't stop, Li Huowang, with a swift motion, cut off one of his own fingers. The finger in mid-air quickly sprouted bone spurs and flew rapidly towards the distant person.

It hit the person without surprise. When Li Huowang reached them, he finally got a clear look at their appearance. At first glance, Li Huowang's pupils contracted slightly. The creature looked human, yet its body was abnormally small and thin, with a thin layer of skin barely clinging to its skeletal frame. Its two large, protruding, whale-like eyes looked as if they could fall out at any moment. Its mouth was sunken inward, with hardly any teeth left, and the remaining ones grew haphazardly. For a moment, Li Huowang couldn't distinguish whether the creature before him was human or some kind of evil spirit.

Facing the weapon in Li Huowang's hand, the creature showed no fear in its eyes, merely grinning foolishly. "Could this be a diversion?" With misgivings, Li Huowang didn't hesitate to break the creature's limbs, then picked it up and hurried back towards the campfire.

When he returned to the campfire and saw that everyone was there and the Xinzhuo corpse was also present, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Lord Jixiang, do you recognize this creature? It was watching us from the woods just now." Li Huowang dragged the creature in front of Jixiang.

"Oh?" Just as Jixiang approached, looking bewildered, a voice filled with extreme terror suddenly came from behind him. Li Huowang turned his head and saw that it was Hong Da. At this moment, Hong Da looked at the creature with deep terror in his eyes. "This... this is someone the Xinzhuo hid away! If the Xinzhuo didn't release them, then..." The next moment, as if possessed by something, he sprawled on the ground, gnawing at the mud, the terror in his eyes deepening.

"No taste, nothing! I can't swallow it! We came in earlier! We don't know when, but we were hidden away by this Xinzhuo!" These words sent a chill down everyone's spines, and they looked around at the dark woods.

Jixiang rushed over and reprimanded him, "Stop spouting nonsense! The Xinzhuo we were supposed to catch is dead! A dead Xinzhuo couldn't possibly hide all of us! Could there be another one?"

Hearing this, Li Huowang's heart trembled. "Lord Jixiang, there was indeed another Xinzhuo that didn't die—the female Xinzhuo from the very beginning."

"What? What female Xinzhuo? Wasn't there only one Xinzhuo?" Everyone looked at Li Huowang, making him doubt his own judgment for a moment. But after looking at the scars on his arm, he vigorously shook his head. His memory was fine; it was *their* memories of this part that had been hidden. "No! We came to catch the female Xinzhuo, not this male one."

"Where is the female Xinzhuo, then?" Jixiang's voice became extremely sharp, and cold sweat slowly dripped down his cheeks.

Li Huowang pointed to the corpse of the male Xinzhuo on the ground. "He hid her within his karmic obstruction."

The moment Li Huowang said this, Jixiang's face instantly went ashen, his legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground. "A living Xinzhuo and a dead Xinzhuo have come together! The dead one is hidden within the living one, and the living one is hidden within the dead one! It's over, we're all finished!"