Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 105
>Chapter Title: Two Gods
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The clattering of chopsticks never stopped as everyone shoveled the porridge into their mouths.
Today was a travel day, so they needed to eat more. Otherwise, they'd be starving by noon, and an empty stomach was pure misery.
But that clearly wasn't what Li Huowang was thinking about right now. He turned his head to glance at Bai Lingmiao beside him.
The girl's face was sullen because he hadn't let her into his room last night. Instead, he'd made her sleep with Chun Xiaoman.
He'd used that brief time to scour the room of every last bit of red, just in case she noticed that he'd inexplicably gotten married without knowing it.
Though the aftermath was dealt with, only one question remained in his mind. "What was that thing? What exactly did I sleep with last night?"
The bite marks on his fingers made it clear—it was no ordinary person.
In hindsight, Li Huowang realized there had been plenty of suspicious signs.
Why had she insisted on blowing out the candle before lifting the red veil? Why had "she" felt so different from Bai Lingmiao in bed?
And that hairpin in her hair amid the darkness—maybe it wasn't a hairpin at all. Maybe it was just part of her head.
"Why did she do that? What did she gain from it?" Li Huowang couldn't figure it out.
He'd barely slept last night, staying vigilant against her return, but she never showed up again.
As for who she was, the red veil had already planted a vague suspicion in his heart when he recalled it. But he wanted confirmation.
Li Huowang watched quietly as Bai Lingmiao washed down five flatbreads with the thin porridge.
He'd noticed before, but when had this petite girl's appetite grown so huge?
Once she was nearly done eating, Li Huowang nudged her foot with his toe and headed toward the bedroom.
Bai Lingmiao wiped her mouth, set down her bowl, and followed.
As she entered the room, she saw her Senior Brother Li standing there with a grave expression, staring right at her.
"Senior Brother Li, what's wrong? Is something the matter?" She sensed the off atmosphere and lowered her voice.
"Sit down. I have some questions for you." Li Huowang pressed her onto a stool.
After a moment's consideration, Li Huowang spoke up.
"I heard from Li Zhi that jumping great god usually takes two people—one great god to summon the immortal, and one second god to impersonate it. Since you can use jumping great god to treat me, that means there's a second god besides you, right?
The same red veil made it impossible for Li Huowang not to suspect Bai Lingmiao's second god.
"Mm." Bai Lingmiao nodded.
"Is she a living person? An immortal family? Or something else?"
"She's a living person. She's not an immortal family—those have to be summoned."
"When did Li Zhi's wife crawl out? Didn't Gao Zhijian smash her head in, and wasn't she buried with Li Zhi?"
At those words, Bai Lingmiao froze for a moment. "Senior Brother Li, the second god isn't Li Zhi's wife."
"What? It's not? Do second gods vary?" Li Huowang was genuinely surprised by this.
"Mm. They told me the second god is connected to the great god. You can't just use someone else's."
Li Huowang recalled Li Zhi's second god. Aside from the heavy makeup and those horrifying growths on her face, she had been the spitting image of Li Zhi.
"Could it be..." Connecting it to the familiar voice of Bai Lingmiao last night, Li Huowang suddenly understood.
"If she removes those things growing on her face, your second god looks just like you?"
Hearing Li Huowang's words, Bai Lingmiao hesitated for a moment before finally nodding.
"Mm, she looks just like me. Other second gods look like their great gods too."
"So how does she come out? How do the immortal families turn a living person into something like that?" Li Huowang cut to the key question.
This time, Bai Lingmiao didn't answer right away. Her expression twisted in conflict as her hands wrung the hem of her top.
"Senior Brother Li, I really want to tell you. I really want to explain it clearly. But I just don't know how. That night when I came out of the horse, she appeared in my dream. And then... and then..."
Seeing how she was on the verge of tears from frustration, Li Huowang stopped pressing. He knew that in this damned place, some things just couldn't be explained clearly.
"Alright, forget it. Call her out. I need to ask her something." His eyes burned with clear malice right now.
Bai Lingmiao glanced cautiously at Li Huowang before turning to shut the door. A woman topped with a red veil and wearing bright red embroidered shoes now stood there.
Li Huowang tamped down his rage and approached, staring at the second god through the veil.
He could clearly sense the thing inside watching him back. His perception of being watched had sharpened lately.
Examining the folds in her clothes and her figure closely, Li Huowang confirmed once more: it had been her in his bed last night.
"Senior Brother Li, what's wrong with her? What exactly happened?" Bai Lingmiao asked, her face full of worry.
Li Huowang, his heart aflame with fury, opened his mouth to speak—but Bai Lingmiao's face made him stop short.
He desperately wanted to demand why the second god had done what she did last night, but he couldn't say it in front of Bai Lingmiao.
He could hardly admit that he'd slept with this freakish thing that might not even have a soul, could he?
"Senior Brother Li, what is it? Say something! What did she do to you?"
Bai Lingmiao's repeated questions finally forced Li Huowang to swallow his rage. He jabbed a finger at the second god's face, shooting her a threatening glare.
Then he shoved open the other door and left. "Forget it. Let's head out."
Li Huowang resolved then and there: no matter if this second god acted on his own will or the immortal families' orders, if there was a next time, he wouldn't let her off easy.
Meanwhile, Bai Lingmiao stood there utterly baffled. She turned to the second god beside her and asked again, "What exactly happened?"
But the second god stood there like a zombie, utterly motionless.
"Weird. What's going on here?" Bai Lingmiao was completely confused.
Two carriages were led out from the backyard, carrying everyone as they left Wu Family Village—which was on the verge of turning into a beggars' den—and passed through the withered bamboo grove on the original path back.
Over two hundred li wasn't short or long, but rushing as fast as they could, they soon returned to the base of Heng Hua Mountain.
Compared to before, the town at the mountain's foot was noticeably more "lively," with more beggars lining the roadside.
Li Huowang opened the lacquered box and glanced once more at the pair of blood-red eyes glaring back before heading down toward the mountain.
But this time, Bai Lingmiao blocked him. "Senior Brother Li, let me come with you this time. I can jump great god now. I'm not a burden anymore."
(End of chapter)