Chapter 382: Over the New Year

When Li Huowang woke up again, it was still night. Only then did he learn from the monk that he had been unconscious for three whole days.

Although he felt extremely hungry, his spirits were much better than when he had first been skinned.

Pulling out his rations and water flask, Li Huowang ate and drank heartily as he walked towards his skin. To his surprise, Mantou was there.

It lay coiled in a large yellow ball, head and tail overlapping, faithfully guarding Li Huowang's skin even in its sleep, with two large, dead rats lying beside it.

Smelling the food, Mantou immediately woke up and sat up, wagging its tail repeatedly at Li Huowang.

"Sometimes, I think dogs are better than people," Li Huowang mused as he patted Mantou's head. He then threw the half-eaten *guokui* (a type of flatbread) far away for Mantou to fetch.

Seeing it gnawing on the *guokui*, Li Huowang squatted down and carefully pulled his skin out of the mud.

It wasn't that Li Huowang hadn't considered other ways to skin himself, but without other helpers, it was difficult. This method was the most convenient.

Moreover, the skin peeled this way was perfectly intact, without any damage.

Li Huowang first poured the mercury out of the skin, then took out the *Great Thousand Records*. Next, by the side of the carriage, he pulled out the dry straw he had prepared and stuffed it inside.

Soon, Li Huowang's entire shriveled skin was propped up. Looking at himself before him, he had to admit it felt very strange.

Placing the human skin down, Li Huowang took out six incense sticks and lit them, inserting three into each eye socket. He then cut a few strands of his own hair, gathered some cinnabar, and swiftly drew talismans on the human skin.

"Profound origin of Heaven and Earth, root of myriad *qi*! Cultivate vast eons, *Qianluo Dana*! Within and without the Three Realms, only the Dao is supreme; may golden light illuminate my body!"

As Li Huowang finished chanting, the talismans in his hand were also complete. The incense sticks inserted into the eye sockets quickly shortened and, with tall pillars of ash, withdrew into Li Huowang's human skin.

Seeing this, Li Huowang couldn't help but feel nervous. "It worked? It should have worked, right? I practiced for so long."

No sooner had he spoken than Li Huowang immediately saw white smoke continuously rising from the seven orifices of his skin. The incense sticks seemed to have ignited the straw he had just stuffed inside.

As the thick smoke grew, the entire human skin rapidly contracted. When the white smoke cleared, a human skin no larger than a palm lay before Li Huowang.

"Success!" Li Huowang exclaimed. He reached out, took the human skin, and examined it carefully. After shrinking, its facial features were much blurrier, and the skin had turned waxy yellow, looking like a small paper doll cut from turmeric paper.

According to the book's records, carrying this refined human skin could ward off disasters and evil, help turn one's luck during unfortunate years, and most importantly, swap one's life when death was certain.

Li Huowang didn't know how the life-swapping worked, but he was certain that this item was a life-saving magical artifact.

Moreover, this wasn't a one-time deal; as long as he recovered, such artifacts could be supplied almost infinitely.

With this item, Li Huowang finally felt a bit more confident facing the upcoming dangers.

Regrettably, other artifacts related to the 'Heart' were difficult to refine; either he couldn't find the necessary rare spiritual treasures to refine them, or he simply couldn't understand what was written. This one was the simplest and easiest to refine.

"Do I... also have a golden finger now?" Li Huowang muttered to himself, looking at the human skin in his hand.

"Dad? What's a golden finger?"

Li Huowang shook his head, not answering Li Sui's question. He wanted to find a place to put the human skin he held.

Such an important item couldn't be carelessly discarded. After some thought, Li Huowang held his skin and placed it near his navel.

A tentacle extended, coiled around the human skin, and retracted. "Thank you, Dad."

"Let's go," Li Huowang said, turning and getting into the carriage.

Driving the carriage, Li Huowang pulled out some cold rations, took a bite, and washed it down with cold water. "By the way, it should be New Year's by now, shouldn't it?"

"Oh, it is indeed New Year's! I've been looking forward to this day for a month now."

Gouwa, dressed in a silk robe, exchanged a few idle remarks with Zhao Wu, then sat down and began gnawing on a large chicken leg with his hands.

Before he could even swallow, Gouwa's eyes scanned the other dishes on the grand feast.

Braised carp, Lion's Head meatballs, steamed pork with preserved vegetables, lamb tripe with pickled chili, Four-happiness meatballs, spicy pig trotters, dandelion greens stir-fried with cured meat, and boiled three-yellow chicken.

Although Yang Xiaohai couldn't create anything fancy, every dish was substantial and hearty.

Today was New Year's, and he wouldn't usually get to eat so many delicious things. He loved New Year's more than anything.

He used his chopsticks to pick out the tenderest pieces from the fish's belly and placed them in his wife's bowl. "Eat heartily! Let's you and I, husband and wife, try to eat more than Gao Shazi!"

Like Gouwa, others were no different, especially the new disciples of the Lü family troupe, whose heads were practically buried in their plates.

"Sigh... I wonder where Miaomiao is now, and what she's eating," Chun Xiaoman mused, poking at a bone in her bowl with the tip of her chopsticks, having no appetite.

Zhao Wu, who was beside her, picked up a meatball with his chopsticks and placed it in her bowl. "She has supernatural abilities, and Senior Brother Li is with her. Don't worry, let's just safely get through this New Year first."

"Eat," said Gao Zhijian, as he directly put a Lion's Head meatball into Chun Xiaoman's bowl.

Just as the great hall was filled with joyous harmony, a figure appeared in front of the Bai Family Courtyard. "Oh my, you're all having a grand feast? Smells good, doesn't it? I can smell it all the way from here."

This voice made everyone look towards the entrance simultaneously. When they saw Bai Lingmiao standing there, smiling, Chun Xiaoman was the first to react.

She rushed forward, patting Bai Lingmiao all over. When she saw that the other person had returned completely unharmed, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she grumbled reproachfully, "You worried me sick this time! Next time, before you leave, make sure you tell me!"

After Bai Lingmiao patted her shoulder, she walked past Chun Xiaoman and strode towards the great hall.

There were three tables set up in the great hall. She didn't look for the other two smaller tables but walked towards the largest table, specifically the head seat facing the main entrance.

The oldest person, Lü Zhuangyuan, was sitting in that seat, his left cheek bulging high with half a pig's trotter. He looked at Bai Lingmiao with surprise as she walked up to him.

Bai Lingmiao stood without saying anything, but the astute Lü Zhuangyuan clearly understood what she meant. He quickly smiled, picked up the pipe from the table, and with a shift of his buttocks, nudged his son off the table beside him.

"Hehehe, Miss Bai, you're back?" Lü Zhuangyuan chuckled. "Oh, when you left, everyone was so worried about you. Um, did the young Taoist not come back with you?"

Bai Lingmiao picked up a cup of wine, raised it high towards the entire table, and said gallantly, "Come, it's New Year's! I'll toast to everyone here!"