Chapter 448: Spirit Medium

The second deity looked down at the golden anklet on her wrist, her voice trembling slightly. "Senior Brother Li..."

Tears soaked through the red veil, leaving five distinct streaks on the red fabric, seemingly from a mix of excitement and sorrow.

Bai Lingmiao couldn't see through her; the second deity seemed shrouded in a mist, preventing him from using his Forgetful Way abilities to discern her ten emotions and eight sufferings.

Li Huowang looked at her with a complex expression. After a moment of hesitation, he reached out and lifted a corner of the red veil.

He had seen the second deity's appearance many times and wasn't startled, but her current look was different from before. On her largely bestial face, there were fewer other animalistic traces, while the silver-white fur of a fox clearly predominated. The short quills among the white fur were pressed as flat as possible, seemingly trying to make herself look better.

Li Huowang stared intently at the smaller, human part of her face and the melancholic gaze upon it. This gaze was so similar to Bai Lingmiao of the past that he felt as if the Bai Lingmiao who had accompanied him since Qingfeng Temple had reappeared before him.

As Li Huowang instinctively reached out to caress her cheek, the scales beneath the fur pricked his fingers, bringing him back to reality. No, the second deity wasn't her. The Bai Lingmiao of the past would never forgive him.

Li Huowang, his expression dimmed, was about to let his hand fall slowly, but the second deity's hand, with its sharp nails, firmly clasped his, fingers interlaced.

Yet, as the second deity opened her mouth, revealing her sharp teeth and forked tongue, she gave up first, pulling the red veil back over her face, and left, sobbing. Li Huowang did not pursue her. He sighed softly as he silently watched her gradually disappear into the darkness.

Although he knew the second deity was part of Bai Lingmiao, albeit with a different distribution of the ten emotions and eight sufferings, he honestly didn't know how to face her, beyond giving her a similar anklet.

Should he treat her as Bai Lingmiao, too? Two Bai Lingmiaos? Li Huowang felt a deep discomfort in his heart.

When a somewhat dejected Li Huowang returned to the lively banquet, his mind was still fixated on a tear drop at the corner of the second deity's large beastly eye. When he snapped out of his thoughts, he saw that his bowl was piled high with various pieces of chicken meat.

Bai Lingmiao, standing nearby, picked up a piece of chives with her chopsticks and placed it on top of his bowl. "Done talking? Eat quickly; this banquet is for your welcome." Li Huowang reached his right hand across the table, not for chopsticks, but for the wine pitcher beside him.

He poured himself a full cup and tilted his head back, drinking it all down.

The familiar sensation of regaining his drunken stupor enveloped his mind once more. This tingling scalp sensation made him feel a bit better in his heart. Truth be told, he had no experience dealing with such matters; he was just a high school student in the past.

"Why is there no end to these troubles? Can't they just cease?" Li Huowang muttered, clutching his wine cup, and poured himself another.

Before he drank himself into oblivion, Li Huowang understood the problem: these emotional troubles had always existed, but in the past, he had been preoccupied with major matters of life and death, reality and illusion, with no time to dwell on such trifles...

The banquet ended. Li Huowang, half-asleep and reeking of alcohol, felt light, as if floating on clouds.

After a while, the silky smoothness of the sheet beneath him and the familiar faint fragrance made Li Huowang realize he was back in Bai Lingmiao's boudoir.

Instinctively reaching out, Li Huowang embraced a soft body. Caressing the hairpins nestled in her hair, he lowered his head and kissed her.

Bai Lingmiao walked along the winding dirt paths of Oxheart Village. Candlelight glowed from the windows, and every family was happily discussing how to portion out the meat and vegetables they had brought back from the feast over the next few days.

"Miao Miao, everyone's lives are much better now than before. After the feast, there's even leftovers!" Chun Xiaoman smiled at Bai Lingmiao. "You always have to feed a horse if you want it to run," Bai Lingmiao said indifferently, walking towards the Bai family ancestral hall in the distance.

"Besides, it doesn't cost much silver. The silver earned by the Lu Family Troupe is enough to feed them. I didn't expect much from the Lu Family Troupe, but their fans in Daliang are earning them more and more silver."

"Yes, last time, an old man had a funeral, and I heard that before he died, he specifically requested Master Lu's troupe to sing opera for three days in front of the mourning hall. I don't know what he was thinking."

As they spoke, Bai Lingmiao and Chun Xiaoman had already entered the Bai family ancestral hall. Skillfully, Bai Lingmiao turned the "Three Non-Monkeys" and walked through the secret door. The oil lamps in the underground hall were lit, and rapid chanting echoed up the empty steps.

"Heaven round, earth square, invite the spirits to descend, possess the spirit child. Heaven urges, earth urges, ancestors soar on clouds, ancestors ride on horses, come before the altar, possess the spirit child's body..."

When they entered the main hall, they saw Lu Xiucai wearing a paper bellyband covered in scriptures. In one hand, he held a triangular white lotus banner, and in the other, a short sword with spikes on both ends, repeatedly striking his head with the sharp points.

"...Left eye transforms into the sun, right eye transforms into the moon, transforming sun and moon to clearly illuminate, disciples sincerely come to worship..."

The spikes on the short sword had already broken his scalp, and crimson blood slowly dripped from his forehead, covering his face. Coupled with his current agitated state, he appeared particularly terrifying.

"This altar's respected deity descends swiftly! Body transforms into deity, deity transforms into body, transforming mountains and rivers, opening the path of light, every step guiding, every inch supporting the child, supporting the spirit child to emit spiritual light, opening the golden mouth to speak clearly!"

As he shouted the last words, he abruptly lifted his right foot and stomped it fiercely on the ground three times. Everything fell silent.

Gazing at Lu Xiucai, who now stood there like a statue, eyes wide with fury, Bai Lingmiao frowned slightly and thought. With a "clink," she single-handedly drew the long sword from Chun Xiaoman's waist and struck directly at Lu Xiucai's waist.

But when the blade collided with Lu Xiucai's body, it unexpectedly emitted a clear metallic clang. Bai Lingmiao, still uneasy, tried a few more times, but could only leave a shallow scratch on Lu Xiucai's body.

One must know that Chun Xiaoman's sword was a gift from Li Huowang; while it couldn't slay evil spirits or demons, it could cut metal like mud. Yet, this sharp sword could only achieve such an effect on Lu Xiucai, indicating that Lu Xiucai was now impervious to blades and spears. The highly agitated Lu Xiucai lowered his head, examining his body, his heart overflowing with indescribable excitement.

How much suffering and beatings had he endured to master this divine skill! But as this moment arrived, he immediately felt it was all worth it. Suddenly, his expression turned grim, and the short sword and triangular white lotus banner in his hands trembled uncontrollably.

"Damn it! That rotten old geezer! You dared to hang me up and beat me! Don't you dare stop me! I'll get my revenge today! I'll tear that old geezer apart alive!"

"How could you—" Chun Xiaoman was about to step forward, but Bai Lingmiao stopped her with a hand. "We won't stop you. Go ahead, your father drank a lot tonight, so he should be sleeping soundly."

Lu Xiucai roared, continuously swinging the short sword in his hand, and enthusiastically charged towards the secret door.

But as he neared the door, his pace slowed, and his shouts suddenly grew louder. "Don't you all stop me! I'll slaughter that old turtle today!"