Chapter 222
Chapter 222
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 222
>Chapter Title: The Market (Part 2)
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Looking at the human skull that Mantou had fetched over on the ground, Li Huowang immediately realized that the other bone Mantou had brought earlier must also have been human.
“Could Mantou have been fed enough of my human skin that it’s started to like eating people?”
Feeling deeply regretful, Li Huowang stared with an extremely unpleasant expression at Mantou, which was squatting there.
“Woof?” Seeing that its owner showed no reaction, the puzzled Mantou tilted its head and nudged the skull toward Li Huowang’s feet again with its black nose.
Li Huowang reached out and stroked Mantou’s head again and again.
“Shing!” Li Huowang raised a dagger and swiftly sliced off a small piece of flesh from his own body, flinging it in front of Mantou.
He then held the bloody dagger pointed steadily at Mantou’s neck.
If the dog made any move toward that flesh, he would stab down in an instant.
Though they had grown attached from spending every day together, he absolutely could not keep a dog that loved eating human flesh by his side—not only for his own safety, but for everyone else’s as well.
Only after watching Mantou, tongue lolling out, remain immersed in the petting without showing the slightest interest in that piece of flesh did Li Huowang slowly put the dagger away.
Mantou had not turned into a rabid dog that craved human flesh. It simply liked fetching things from all over to please him.
Mantou was just a beast. Compared to it, there was clearly someone far more suspicious.
It had obviously been a human skull, yet Sun Baolu had claimed it was a horse bone. There was something seriously wrong here.
“Why did that kid lie to me?” Li Huowang’s brows gradually furrowed. All their dealings with the Qingqiu people had gone through that kid. If he truly had a problem, it was a major one.
“Senior Brother Li, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you starting to feel annoyed? If you are, then let’s head back.”
Sensing that the atmosphere had turned strange, the considerate Bai Lingmiao spoke up.
“No, Mantou just brought over a donkey hoof a moment ago. It was right in front of you—not believe me, go ahead and touch its head.”
When Bai Lingmiao touched Mantou’s familiar head, a smile rose once more on her face.
“So it really was Mantou. I’ve noticed it’s been fetching things home a lot lately. No idea where it picked up the habit.”
When Mantou tried to lick Bai Lingmiao’s hand with its tongue, Li Huowang pulled her hand away.
“It really is a bad habit. Mantou, go on. Let’s keep walking.”
Li Huowang kicked the half-skull flying away and said this to the girl beside him.
This little incident did not interrupt Li Huowang’s interest in strolling around with Bai Lingmiao. They continued wandering through the entire market.
Tomorrow they would set off again. He could not let some irrelevant matter ruin Bai Lingmiao’s good mood.
As for his suspicions toward Sun Baolu, he set those aside as well.
To prevent Bai Lingmiao from accidentally glimpsing anything chilling, Li Huowang led her as far away from those areas as possible from then on. Because of this, their route through the market was quite restricted.
Afterward, many Qingqiu people watched as this cripple led a blind girl, circling and repeating the same spots in the market over and over—but the words coming from the cripple’s mouth were never the same.
Under Li Huowang’s vivid and colorful narration, Bai Lingmiao saw a market far more interesting than reality, even without her eyes.
The two of them wandered like this for the entire day. As the sun gradually set, the sky darkened and the temperature began to drop.
“Miaomiao, it’s getting dark. It’s about time we head back.”
Li Huowang reached out and removed the silk ribbon from Bai Lingmiao’s face.
Bai Lingmiao’s long white eyelashes blinked a few times as she looked around expectantly, but she was disappointed to discover that none of the vivid spectacles Li Huowang had described were there.
“It’s dark now, so it’s normal for the stalls to be closing up. Let’s head back.”
Li Huowang explained gently to the girl beside him.
Bai Lingmiao looked up at the sky and nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, that makes sense. Alright then, let’s go. Today was really fun.”
Seeing the radiant smile on Bai Lingmiao’s face, Li Huowang felt a twinge of heartache. Was this enough to satisfy her?
“Senior Brother Li, look—Mantou’s following us.”
Li Huowang said to Bai Lingmiao, who was scratching Mantou’s chin,
“Don’t touch it. Dogs are filthy.”
“No, Mantou’s really clean. Every time there’s a river, it jumps right in to wash.”
Looking at the clueless Bai Lingmiao and the equally clueless Mantou, Li Huowang ultimately said nothing. Propped on his crutch, he limped onward.
Seeing this, Bai Lingmiao hurriedly let go of Mantou, helped prop up Li Huowang once more, leaned against him, and shared some of his weight.
“Woof!” Mantou barked once, tongue lolling as it lightly wagged its tail and circled around Li Huowang and Bai Lingmiao.
The quiet atmosphere did not last long. Soon, Li Huowang and Bai Lingmiao spotted a familiar face on the deserted street: Sun Baolu, herding several dozen sheep.
When he saw Li Huowang, he clearly looked very happy and drove the sheep right over.
“Senior Brother Li, look at these sheep—how plump and sturdy! I spent the whole day picking before finally selecting such fine ones.”
“Right, Sister Bai, here’s the silver left over from buying the sheep.”
Li Huowang gave Sun Baolu, who still showed no abnormalities, another look over. Pretending he had noticed nothing, he spoke calmly.
“In that case, herd the sheep back. We set out tomorrow—move quickly, and you can reunite with your family sooner.”
“Mhm!!”
Sun Baolu failed to notice the oddity in Li Huowang’s expression and turned to start herding the sheep.
There was no further talk along the way. After reaching the tent inn, Sun Baolu hurriedly drove the sheep carefully over to the ox carts.
He boasted nonstop to Zhao Wu, who was watching the carts, about how well he had selected the sheep and how he had bargained the price down to the lowest possible.
“Old Sun, you’re almost home—do you really need to be this thrilled?”
Zhao Wu, who was gnawing on a yellow pancake, looked astonished at the animated Sun Baolu before him. That was not how he remembered him.
“I’m really baffled. You’re the only one here with nothing wrong with you at all. Why on earth did that baldhead grab you?”
Sun Baolu’s expression stiffened slightly as he tugged his sleeve down a bit.
“The baldhead grabs people for no reason whatsoever. The sheep are all here—count them. This is our food supply for the road ahead, so be careful.”
With Zhao Wu’s hearty assurances, Sun Baolu turned and walked toward his lodgings.
Just as his face broke into an involuntary beaming smile and he began fantasizing about reuniting with his family after so many days apart, his light steps suddenly halted.
Sun Baolu looked ahead at Li Huowang, who was leaning against a wooden post. The way he was staring at him felt off.
(End of chapter)