Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 23
>Chapter Title: Home
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“Senior Brother Li!” Bai Lingmiao’s tearful shout made Li Huowang, lantern in hand amid the darkness, turn around to look at the others standing in the sunlight outside the door.
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> He waved to them once more. “Everyone, just go. Head home.”
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> “Senior Brother Li, come with us! It’s safer traveling together. Did you forget something?” Zhao Wu said from his perch on the Fool’s back, his expression tense, as if sensing something off.
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> “Heh, come with you where?” Li Huowang turned back around, hiding his face in the shadows once more.
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> “To go home for the New Year, Senior Brother Li! Where’s your home?”
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> Li Huowang chuckled silently in the darkness and began walking back the way he came, lantern in hand. “Home? I don’t have a home anymore. I can’t go back to it. I can’t go back!”
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> Li Huowang walked silently in the darkness. The Clear Wind Temple was very quiet at that moment, with only the sound of his footsteps for company.
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> Suddenly, Li Huowang started humming a tune, his steps growing lighter as the oil lamp in his hand swayed rhythmically from side to side.
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> Accompanied by his own singing, Li Huowang returned to his quarters. He shut the door, set the oil lamp on the table, didn’t even bother wiping the blood from his face and body, and simply lay down slowly on the stone bed, closing his eyes.
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> “It’s the first of the month. I didn’t eat that disgusting Black Tai Sui this time, so I should see Yang Na again pretty soon, right?” With that thought, the corners of Li Huowang’s mouth curved up slightly.
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> He waited quietly, waiting for his best childhood sweetheart to take him back to his own world.
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> Li Huowang, who hadn’t slept all night, felt his consciousness gradually fading. But just as he was about to slip into a pleasant dream, the door suddenly opened.
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> Rubbing his eyes, Li Huowang sat up and saw Gouwa, Zhao Wu, and the others standing in the doorway.
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> Bai Lingmiao stood there anxiously, her gaze flickering before finally hardening with resolve.
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> “Senior Brother Li, if you can’t go home, then come to my home. We have plenty of space, and the east wing is empty...”
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> Li Huowang looked at the kind girl before him and shook his head slightly. “It’s fine here. I’m used to it.”
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> A raving, gesticulating madman belonged only in this dark place, where he wouldn’t scare the others.
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> Bai Lingmiao’s lips trembled slightly, as if she could scarcely believe Li Huowang’s words.
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> “I’ve had a home before. I’ve had family too, but...” Li Huowang tilted his head toward the pitch-black ceiling, his expression complicated as he began recalling something.
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> After thinking for a moment, Gouwa winked at the others and whispered, “Since Senior Brother Li says he wants to stay here, should we just go?”
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> “Shut your mouth!” Bai Lingmiao’s sharp retort startled Gouwa—this was nothing like the timid girl from before.
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> Bai Lingmiao stepped forward quickly, her face full of stubborn determination. “Is this any way to honor your family? What would they think if they saw you like this?”
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> A bitter smile crossed Li Huowang’s face. “How should I know what they’d think? I can’t even be sure they really exist!!”
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> “Maybe I’m just a madman with nothing to his name. Maybe I have nothing at all, and everything is just a complete delusion of my own making.” Li Huowang’s expression twisted in agony.
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> Bai Lingmiao reached out with her pale, almost translucent hands and grasped Li Huowang’s. “Senior Brother Li, you’re not alone. You still have us.”
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> Li Huowang stared blankly at the girl before him, at her stubborn, delicate features.
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> In that instant, he realized how little he truly knew about this girl. “Why is she so good to me?”
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> Suddenly, everything around him began to shift. The cavern walls swapped with the hospital’s stark white ones.
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> Bai Lingmiao’s features melted away, reforming into Yang Na’s face, streaked with tears and filled with worry.
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> “Nana!” Li Huowang lunged forward, clinging to her desperately, his face contorted in pain.
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> “Huowang, you can’t give up on yourself. You have to keep living, no matter what happens. Promise me?” Yang Na’s voice trembled.
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> “Keep going, no matter what you face. Never give up.”
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> Then the face shifted again, becoming his mother’s. “Son, you can’t die! If you do, how are your father and I supposed to go on?!”
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> The face changed rapidly, cycling through everyone Li Huowang knew, all cheering him on.
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> Suddenly, everything froze. The bright hospital room dimmed swiftly.
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> Li Huowang slowly released his embrace and realized he was holding Bai Lingmiao.
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> The girl in his arms was visibly shy, but her eyes didn’t waver. “Senior Brother Li, let’s go. This place makes me uncomfortable.”
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> She then pulled some scraps of paper from the pouch at her waist and tucked them into his arms. “Senior Brother Li, these are no use to me. None of us can read.”
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> “Yeah, Senior Brother Li, this is your job. No one else can do it.” The others chimed in from the doorway.
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> “I-I... I can rea—” The Fool’s words were cut off as Zhao Wu clamped a hand over his mouth and whispered in his ear, “Even if you can read, pretend you can’t right now!”
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> Li Huowang silently gazed at the farewell notes the others had written, lost in thought.
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> Bai Lingmiao pushed the papers forward with both hands. “Senior Brother Li, you promised them yourself. A real man doesn’t go back on his word.”
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> Reality and hallucination flickered in his mind. Finally, Li Huowang reached out and took the papers. “Let’s go.”
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> Li Huowang had made up his mind: no matter where he was, he would live as best he could—not just for himself, but for those family members who might or might not exist.
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> Everyone broke into relieved smiles at his words.
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> They didn’t know what was going through Li Huowang’s head, but as long as he wasn’t staying in this hellhole, it was fine.
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> The group escorted Li Huowang out of the dim room and toward the cave mouth. But after just a few steps, Li Huowang called them back.
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> “Wait. Since we’re leaving, we should loot the place properly. Fool, carry Zhao Wu and take the others to the kitchen. Grab some food for the road—we can’t go without eating.”
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> Li Huowang then led Bai Lingmiao to the Pill Refinery Room to collect some pills he recognized. He’d been practicing pill-making for a while now, so with these, he’d be half a doctor. Who knew how far it was to their homes? Better safe than sorry.
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> He only took the ones he knew; he didn’t dare touch—let alone take—any of the unfamiliar pills Danyangzi had refined.
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> The group reconvened in Zhengyi Hall, and Li Huowang spoke up again. “Hold on, I have one more thing to get.” With that, he picked up the lamp oil and cautiously headed toward the cavern holding the Black Tai Sui.
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> (End of chapter)