Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 124
>Chapter Title: Who Is It?
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These twisted iron nails that had been mashed together looked like some kind of hidden weapon.
When he saw these things coming out of his own mouth, Li Huowang immediately understood that the "wine-filled chocolates" he had just eaten were actually these.
As soon as he raised his right hand, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder.
Trembling, Li Huowang looked toward his arm and saw a wound there deep enough to expose the white bone beneath.
That spot was exactly where Yang Na had hit him with her bag earlier!
"Someone tried to kill me while I was lost in that hallucination!" Li Huowang realized in an instant.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Li Huowang glared with bloodshot eyes at his surroundings. He saw row after row of Ao Jing followers standing there like tombstones, silently watching him.
Li Huowang's expression twisted savagely as he reached back with one hand. The Great Thousand Records unfurled swiftly on the ground, and the blood dripping from his mouth splattered onto the red bamboo slips.
With a sharp "clang," Li Huowang drew his longsword and pointed it at the Ao Jing followers around him.
"What do you mean by this?! Is this how you keep your rules? Do you really think I'm some pushover you can squash at will?!" Li Huowang roared.
His voice echoed through the cave, but no one spoke up.
The Ao Jing followers remained standing in place, watching Li Huowang with mocking, curious, and puzzled gazes.
Just as Li Huowang thought they were about to fight him to the death, Yingzi came rushing out from the crowd, her eyes brimming with tears. She struggled to help him up.
"Benefactor, let's go! We need to leave now. Don't look them in the eye." Jiang Yingzi's voice was filled with urgency as she urged the blood-soaked Li Huowang.
Li Huowang turned his gaze to Yingzi beside him. Her eyes met his cold stare, showing no difference from the others.
He slowly poured a few Blood Nourishing Pills from the gourd at his waist and popped them into his mouth.
Supported by Yingzi, he passed through the stares of the others and returned to his own cave.
The pain inside his body showed no signs of fading. Li Huowang knew full well that after swallowing those things, his stomach and esophagus must be a total mess.
But there was nothing he could do about it right now. He could only lie on the bed and endure, waiting for his body—with its enhanced recovery abilities—to heal itself.
Once things quieted down, Li Huowang realized not only was his insides injured, but there were also knife wounds on his body. It looked like someone had slashed him.
Recalling the earlier hallucination, it matched perfectly with Yang Na hitting him with her bag.
Yingzi watched Li Huowang's wounds, her expression filled with hesitation. She pulled a book wrapped in wax from her robe. "Benefactor, bear with it. Let me heal your wounds."
As she moved closer, Li Huowang's right hand lashed out, sending the wax-sealed book flying.
"You were the only one beside me earlier. Tell me—what the hell happened?"
Yingzi's trembling hands clutched tightly at her robe, her face pale with panic. "I... I can't say... They'll kill me."
Li Huowang stared at Yingzi, who kept her head bowed. He realized then that from the moment they met, he had never once looked her in the eye.
"Look up. Look at me."
At Li Huowang's words, Yingzi grew even more uneasy.
She kept her head down, her gaze darting away, never meeting his eyes.
"What exactly are you afraid of? Are you actually a spy planted by those people beside me?"
"Those things you said last night—were they all just lies? What do you self-torturing monsters really want?!"
"No, it's not like that... It's not..." Yingzi's breathing grew erratic, as if she were holding something back.
"If you're not with them, then who the hell hurt me just now?! Speak! You people talk about rules— is this your idea of rules? Do you die if you don't do evil?!"
At those words, Yingzi's face twisted in agony, her lips bitten until they bled.
Just as she seemed about to say something, a knock came from the door.
Li Huowang and Yingzi both turned their heads to see two Ao Jing followers—one in black robes and one in white—standing there silently like door gods, each over two meters tall.
Yingzi clearly understood what these two giants meant better than Li Huowang did. Her body shaking, she walked toward the door.
"What the hell is this? Not even pretending anymore? We've torn the masks off completely?"
Li Huowang closed his eyes again, trying to recover as much as possible.
He couldn't let the wounds worsen any further. If they did, Danyangzi would come out.
Suddenly, he felt movement at his wound.
When he opened his eyes, he saw it was Mantou.
The dog, ears drooping, crept closer and gently licked at the wound on Li Huowang's body.
"Mantou, oh Mantou, next time don't stay home guarding. Just stick with me. I really need someone by my side." Li Huowang murmured as he stroked the dog's head.
Suddenly, Mantou's gaunt body tensed, its head snapping toward the door.
Seeing nothing there, it lowered its head again and continued licking Li Huowang's wound.
Li Huowang frowned and looked toward the door as well.
He knew what had spooked Mantou earlier—it had heard the scream.
Li Huowang's own hearing, now greatly enhanced, picked up the faint sound too. It sounded like a woman's scream.
Considering Yingzi had been taken away earlier, it wasn't hard to guess whose scream it was.
A flicker of hesitation crossed Li Huowang's eyes, but in the end, he pressed a hand to the dog's back. Gritting his teeth against the agony, he stood up.
"One damn thing after another all day! Can't I get a moment's peace?!"
Swaying like a ragged sack, Li Huowang shuffled slowly toward the outside.
The screams grew louder and louder until Li Huowang found them in a vast cavern that echoed with sound.
Two barbed hooks pierced through her collarbones, hoisting her naked body into the air.
The two-meter-tall white-robed Ao Jing follower was circling her with two blades as thin as cicada wings, slicing up and down.
"Swish~" One of Li Huowang's fingernails shot out, severing the chain holding Yingzi.
The bloodied girl crashed heavily to the ground.
Li Huowang stepped in front of her, blocking the others' view.
He then turned to the charred Hand Three beside him and demanded harshly, "How the hell do your Ao Jing people treat words like farts?! I just want to know—does our deal still stand or not?!"
Hand Three was clearly surprised to see Li Huowang there. A playful smile then crept onto his face.
"I still have to give the master some face. Of course we keep our word—the deal stands."