Chapter 223
Chapter 223
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 223
>Chapter Title: Baolu
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“Senior Brother Li? Do you need something from me?”
Sun Baolu asked cautiously, his voice tentative.
Li Huowang jerked his chin toward the outside, propping his crutch back under his armpit as he limped in that direction.
“Come on, let’s talk alone, just the two of us.”
Sun Baolu stood there hesitantly for a moment, his expression uneasy, before finally lifting his feet to follow.
As night fell, the streets between the tents outside grew extremely dim, with very few figures moving about.
A biting cold wind rustled Li Huowang’s hem and the sleeves of Sun Baolu trailing behind him.
At this moment, Sun Baolu’s face looked rather unsightly as he pondered how to respond to Senior Brother Li’s question. He hadn’t expected that a casual lie he’d tossed out would be uncovered so quickly.
“Quit stalling. We’ve got to hit the road tomorrow. Why’d you say that chunk of human bone was horse bone? What else are you hiding from us?”
After hesitating for a moment, Sun Baolu let out a light sigh.
“Senior Brother Li, I didn’t mean to hide it from you all on purpose. Junior Brother just figured that since you’re all just passing through, there’s no need to explain too much about Qingqiu’s customs. Telling you might make you think too much.”
“Chopping people up to feed the vultures, then smashing their bones to wear as decorations. That’s really just a custom? I don’t buy it.”
The scene from that morning had shaken Li Huowang deeply.
Hearing the doubt in Li Huowang’s voice, Sun Baolu quickly explained,
“It might seem shocking to outsiders, but it really is a Qingqiu custom. Aside from those who die of illness, everyone in Qingqiu gets a sky burial after death.”
“Burying them in the dirt just lets them rot anyway. Better to let the creatures of the sky take them away—it feeds some folks too. We’re used to it.”
“Either way, it’s all up to the Eternal Heaven in the end. All beings return to the cycle of reincarnation.”
Li Huowang looked calmly at Sun Baolu as he spoke these words.
“The Eternal Heaven? That’s the god the people of Qingqiu worship? Where is He usually?”
This was the second time he’d heard that name.
Sun Baolu pointed at the moon in the sky.
“Right there. The Eternal Heaven can’t touch us or find us, but He always has what we desire most.”
“Hm?”
Li Huowang looked up with him at the full moon.
“That’s the navel of the Eternal Heaven. The entire Great Black Heaven is His shadow, cast by the light of two candles!”
“The whole night sky is His shadow? What about during the day?”
Li Huowang pressed.
“The sun by day is the two candles held in the Eternal Heaven’s hands! He watches us silently from behind the candles. We live only thanks to the Eternal Heaven.”
Sun Baolu spoke with absolute conviction, as if his words were undeniable truth.
Hearing this, Li Huowang’s expression turned pensive.
The Five Great Buddha Realms spoken of by the monks of Zhengde Temple, the Great Nuo from the Nuo opera earlier, the White Jade Capital he’d seen with his own eyes, and now this Eternal Heaven from Sun Baolu’s mouth.
In this world, everyone’s worldview was different—sometimes even contradictory.
Li Huowang had seen things with his own eyes. There was no Eternal Heaven, no Great Nuo, no Five Great Buddha Realms.
In his eyes, there was only a completely deranged world. Whether it was the humans living below or those unimaginable beings above, everything suffered torment along with the world itself.
He should firmly reject all those otherworldly views that made no sense. Yet he struggled to force himself to think that way.
“Maybe what I’ve seen is the illusion, and what they say is real. After all, no matter how you slice it, those worlds are far, far better than the deranged one I’ve witnessed.”
Seeing Li Huowang standing there unmoved, Sun Baolu spoke with a bitter expression.
“Senior Brother Li, you don’t believe me, do you?”
After a moment of contemplation, Li Huowang slowly replied,
“I believe you. Let’s say you’re right. Then what’s with decorating yourselves with dead people’s bones?”
“That’s another ancient Qingqiu tradition. Human bones store a person’s courage and strength. Wearing them boosts your own strength and bravery. They ward off evil too.”
“And only the remains of the mighty get fought over like that. The obscure ones just get buried.”
“Are all Qingqiu customs this twisted??”
“Not twisted at all. Isn’t that perfectly normal?”
Sun Baolu replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
After Sun Baolu’s explanations of Qingqiu’s customs and myths, the horrific scene from before almost seemed reasonable.
Yet Li Huowang eyed Sun Baolu with a trace of suspicion.
Sun Baolu sensed that sliver of doubt, and a hint of bitterness crossed his face.
“Senior Brother Li, we’re all fellow disciples who escaped Clear Wind Temple together. You went through so much to get me home. I’d never deceive you, no matter who else.”
“If I truly meant harm, wouldn’t it have been easier when you were still unconscious back then? You’re so powerful—even one finger from you would be the end of me.”
Li Huowang nodded.
“You’re right. Since you trust me that much, can you tell me why you bundle your clothes so tightly around yourself?”
There was definitely a story behind Sun Baolu’s outfit, and Li Huowang had never pried before. Now he wanted to know what Sun Baolu was hiding.
Sun Baolu’s face changed abruptly. He clutched his clothes tightly and backed away several steps, instantly on guard.
He had no idea how the conversation had suddenly veered onto this topic.
“What are you so afraid of? Showing it won’t hurt. We’re all riddled with flaws here. You really think we’d mock you for yours? How much worse could it be than me right now?”
Extreme humiliation twisted Sun Baolu’s face. His eyes reddened, and his voice trembled as he spoke.
“Senior Brother Li! I really am different from you all! I’m begging you—if you push me further, I’ll have no choice but to die!”
Seeing such a strong reaction, Li Huowang limped over to him on his crutch.
“You’re about to head home. We probably won’t meet again. And you still won’t show it?”
Sun Baolu took a deep breath and steeled himself.
“Fine! After I get home, I’ll tell you—just you! You swear you won’t breathe a word to anyone, or I’ll die right here in front of you!”
Seeing how deadly serious Sun Baolu was, Li Huowang came back to his senses. The guy wasn’t an enemy, but a companion. No need to make things this tense.
Ever since being tricked by the Sitting Oblivion Dao, Li Huowang realized he’d become overly suspicious.
“If you don’t want to say, forget it. I was just asking.”
For the time being believing Sun Baolu’s words, Li Huowang turned and limped back toward the tent inn.
Sun Baolu wiped the corner of his eye with his sleeve and came over to help support him as they walked inside.
Just as they neared the entrance, Li Huowang’s right ear twitched. He turned his head toward the dark street on the right, where a light was moving this way.
Li Huowang pulled back the foot he’d been about to step inside with and stood firm again.
“Wait, that light seems off. It’s too scattered.”
Gradually, as the distant light drew nearer, Li Huowang’s eyes widened more and more.
“Baolu, didn’t you say Qingqiu has no evil beings? Then tell me, what is that?”
“That’s not an evil being. That’s a lion dance, Senior Brother Li. Don’t you have lion dances where you’re from?”
Sun Baolu replied, utterly baffled.
(End of chapter)