Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 22
>Chapter Title: Exit
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In the Pill Refinery Room of Clear Wind Temple, Li Huowang stood frozen in place, his entire body covered in his master's blood, clearly still processing what had happened.
"This batch of pills had that much power? Were Danyangzi and I refining pills or explosives?"
He lay on the ground for quite a while before crawling back up. He wiped his face with his hand and bent down to sift through the debris on the floor.
After picking through it for a long time without finding a single twitching chunk of flesh—and even Danyangzi's copper bell had been crushed flat—Li Huowang finally let out a breath of relief. Danyangzi was truly and utterly dead.
"But now that he's dead, what do I do next?"
Li Huowang stood there, unsure which way to go.
He had thought avenging himself would bring joy, but when the moment actually arrived, he found himself lost in confusion.
All his plans these past days had revolved around killing Danyangzi. He hadn't even considered the possibility of surviving.
Now Danyangzi was dead, Bai Lingmiao was safe, and he'd fulfilled his promises. So what came next?
As he pondered this, the door to the Pill Refinery Room suddenly burst open. Changren and Changming entered warily, each holding a longsword in one hand.
They glanced around and, seeing no sign of Danyangzi, turned their guarded stares toward the bloodied and battered Li Huowang.
"Hey! What demon are you? Speak! Where's our master?"
"Master? You're standing on him right now. And I'm Xuanyang, Senior Brothers."
At his words, Changren and Changming instinctively looked down and lifted their feet. Some entrails came into view, and their pupils shrank to pinpoints.
Li Huowang looked around and picked up half of Danyangzi's face from the ground.
"See? He's really dead."
"I killed him."
Li Huowang muttered to himself as he spoke to them.
"Strictly speaking, he deserved to die a thousand times over for all the lives he took, but that's not why I did it. This was personal."
Just as Li Huowang was about to explain his reasons to the two men before him, Changming and Changren exchanged a glance. Without a word, they sheathed their swords and bolted for the door.
"Hey, wait till I finish talking!"
Li Huowang shouted helplessly after them.
After yelling for a while with no response, he gave a wry smile, clutched his still-aching belly, and headed for the door.
"Baldy's dead! He's dead! Come out, everyone—you can all go home now!!"
Li Huowang shook the dented copper bell vigorously as he shouted loudly to those around him.
It was New Year's Day, and the shrill bell didn't summon any Wandering Lords. Instead, it drew the boys and the medicine primers.
When they saw the half-face in Li Huowang's hand, they erupted in wild joy and dropped to the ground, kowtowing in all directions.
Li Huowang slowly made his way along the tunnel of the cavern, determined to spread the news to every ear in Clear Wind Temple.
More and more people joined his group, shouting along with him: "Baldy's dead! He's dead! We can all go home now!"
At that moment, Li Huowang felt someone reach out to support him. He turned to see Bai Lingmiao, tears streaming down her face in elation.
Li Huowang smiled at her and waved Danyangzi's half-face vigorously.
"Baldy's dead! You can all go home now—it's the New Year! You can all go home!"
"Mm! Senior Brother Li! You can go home too! We can all go home now!"
Li Huowang's expression froze for a moment before he shook the copper bell with all his might and bellowed at the top of his lungs: "Danyangzi's dead! Everyone come out! You can all go home now!!"
Not everyone in Clear Wind Temple shared the joy, though. As Li Huowang reached the area near Danyangzi's quarters, he heard the clang of metal striking metal in the distance.
Li Huowang led the crowd over and saw Xuanyuan facing off against Changming and Changren in Danyangzi's filthy dwelling. Both sides had drawn their weapons, and the tension was thick enough to cut.
Li Huowang's gaze fell on the so-called Heavenly Book, wrapped in black threads and copper coins. He knew exactly what they were fighting over.
"Junior Brother Xuanyang! Come quick! Help us take down these two accomplices of Danyangzi's! We'll share the immortality-granting Heavenly Book together!"
Xuanyuan called out to Li Huowang, his usual amiability gone.
Changming stepped forward with his right foot in a sweeping motion, pointing his longsword straight at Li Huowang in the doorway.
"If you don't want to die, get lost! Master taught you the way of pills! In a situation like this, do you really think you can handle the two of us, who practice swordsmanship?"
Li Huowang let out a soft sigh, looking helplessly at the scene before him.
"That's not some immortality Heavenly Book at all. It's just an ancient scripture. Everything I said before was made up to fool Baldy."
"Don't buy into Baldy's lies. That guy's full of crap—claiming it was personally delivered by Lord Laozi himself. Knowing his personality, he probably just murdered someone and stole it. Let's go, Senior Brothers."
Changming and Changren pinched black talismans between the fingers of their left hands and swept them across their longswords. A gust of demonic wind surged through the room.
"Junior Brother Xuanyang, if you don't want to get involved, then shut up and leave."
"Junior Brother Xuanyang, if you don't want to get involved, then shut up and leave."
Changming and Changren lifted their swords and spoke in unison.
Feeling Bai Lingmiao timidly tugging at his Daoist robe with her fingers, Li Huowang cupped his hands toward both sides and led everyone toward the cave mouth of Clear Wind Temple.
"Then carry on, Senior Brothers. Until we meet again."
The moment Li Huowang considerately closed the door behind them, the sounds of fighting erupted from within.
In the dark tunnel, the group of people heading home walked with fervent excitement, their oil lamps trembling in their hands.
The tunnel was unfamiliar and rugged, requiring ropes to climb in places. Li Huowang had no memory of ever traversing it.
Yet he knew without a doubt that this was the exit from Clear Wind Temple, judging by how fiercely the hands of those around him were shaking.
After walking for about the time it takes to burn two incense sticks, a light appeared in the distance of the cavern tunnel. The moment they saw it, everyone's steps grew erratic—they went from walking to running.
As they ran, the light grew larger until it encompassed their entire field of vision.
The instant they emerged from the cave mouth, nearly everyone squinted against the brightness. After so long in the dim cave, the outside world was blinding.
As their eyes adjusted to the light, the scenery beyond Clear Wind Temple unfolded before them.
The sky in the distance was just turning white with the dawn, the distant mountains and forests pure and refreshing, like a faint ink wash painting.
And at that moment, the first ray of morning light on New Year's Day pierced the thin mist and shone upon everyone's faces.
Li Huowang squinted up at the sunrise and murmured to himself:
"Did Baldy and I spend the whole night in the Pill Refinery Room? The sun's already out. Nice weather today."
Suddenly, someone beside him moved—a boy, tears streaming down his face as he bolted headlong down a small path vanishing into the woods.
His flight triggered the rest, and more and more people rushed after him. They wanted to run far away, far from this heartbreaking place.
Soon, only seven or eight people from the Material Room remained at the cave mouth, their gazes all fixed on Li Huowang.
"Senior Brother Li, let's go too."
Bai Lingmiao, tear-streaked but beaming, said.
"Wait a bit."
Li Huowang pulled some scraps of paper from his pocket and stuffed them into Bai Lingmiao's arms.
"These are the last words and addresses left by the medicine primers who died. Once you're out, find an escort agency on the way and have them delivered."
Bai Lingmiao clutched the papers in both hands, standing there stunned and at a loss.
Li Huowang smiled at the remaining group one last time, hoisted his oil lamp, turned, and walked alone back into the pitch-black depths of Clear Wind Temple.
(End of chapter)