Chapter 232
Chapter 232
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 232
>Chapter Title: Baolu's Secret
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“It's dangerous inside. You all stay out here. I can go in alone.”
Li Huowang turned his head to Bai Lingmiao and the others before heading in by himself.
This time, it was the others who weren't having it. Gouwa spoke up.
“Senior Brother Li, how can we do that? If there's real trouble, we can help you out.”
Li Huowang eyed his scrawny frame with clear impatience.
“What help could you possibly provide? You're not even as useful as a steamed bun! If you come in, I'll have to spare a hand to look after you!”
Gouwa hung his head guiltily.
“How can you say that about me? It took a lot of effort for me to say that. Besides, I've been practicing with a knife. At the very least, if you have one of your episodes, I can lend a hand tying you down.”
“Senior Brother Li, Gouwa might be useless, but we're not. You can go in, but we have to come with you!”
Bai Lingmiao's expression was unusually grave as she gripped her whip in one hand and her drum in the other.
Though Bai Lingmiao always seemed soft and delicate, she was firm on the inside. On certain matters, she always stuck to her own decisions.
At that moment, Gao Zhijian stepped forward as well. The burly, simple-minded man said nothing, but his clenched fists clearly expressed his resolve.
“Senior Brother Li, since Black Tai Sui can help you shake off your hysteria, we'd be glad to assist. There's safety in numbers, and we're not like Gouwa.”
Chun Xiaoman, holding her Dao bell, made her case logically.
Looking at their earnest faces, Li Huowang felt a faint warmth in his heart.
“Alright, then. We'll be careful. If anything seems off, we pull out immediately.”
With that, he led the others into the cave. But once again, Sun Baolu blocked his path.
“Have you had enough? Get out of the way.”
Li Huowang's face grew cold.
Sun Baolu's eyes trembled with agitation as he stood there, hands shaking as he loosened his belt and began unbuttoning his shirt.
“Senior Brother Li, I've been inside. If you think turning into something like me is no big deal, then I won't stop you!!”
“Senior Brother Li, you asked before why I was hiding it when everyone else is so freakish. It's because I'm not like you all! No matter what, you're still human! But I'm a complete monster!”
With his shirt partially undone, Li Huowang spotted a thumb-sized indentation just below his neck.
“What... is that? It looks kind of like a belly button. Wait, it is a belly button. But why is Sun Baolu's belly button on his neck?”
With a “whoosh,” Sun Baolu flung open his clothes, baring himself completely before Li Huowang.
Chun Xiaoman and Bai Lingmiao averted their eyes out of propriety, but everyone else who saw Sun Baolu's body gasped in unison.
“Old Sun, what... what happened to you? How'd you end up all jumbled like that?” Gouwa blurted out, eyes wide.
Staring at Sun Baolu's body beneath his clothes, Li Huowang finally understood why he always hid himself during bathroom breaks or baths. Sun Baolu's body was utterly chaotic—organs sprouting in random places.
His buttocks were where his belly button should be. His belly button had shifted to his neck. Hairs sprouted wildly in places they had no business being.
His body was like a botched clay figure crudely slapped together by a child.
Seeing their horrified expressions, shame, repression, and sorrow crushed down on Sun Baolu.
He had dreamed countless times of his defects being exposed, so he hid and hid and hid some more. Yet in the end, he was the one revealing it all to them.
Li Huowang exhaled slowly, limping over to pull up Sun Baolu's pants and button his shirt.
“How'd this happen?” Li Huowang whispered in his ear.
“Something inside the cave touched me, and I turned into this. It was too dark—I couldn’t see what it was. It just felt like a huge, bristled brush.”
Recalling those past events, fear etched across Sun Baolu's face. His trembling hands instinctively hugged his shoulders.
“I was little then, only seven. Some sheep wandered in while I was herding them. The grown-ups said it was dangerous here, but I followed four other kids thinking we'd just poke around outside. Out of the five of us, I was the only one who came out alive.”
With that, the terrified Sun Baolu looked pleadingly at Li Huowang once more.
“Senior Brother Li, you saved my life and took me home. You have my gratitude. I can't just stand by and watch you leap into a pit of fire!”
Even now, Sun Baolu kept trying to dissuade him.
Li Huowang let out a soft sigh. He could feel the man's concern.
“You know, there's a good chance Black Tai Sui is inside. Do you have any idea what that means to me right now?”
In a calm tone, he explained to Sun Baolu why he needed to enter the cave.
“So I have to go in. Otherwise, those hallucinations are going to drive me completely insane. It's my only medicine.”
“I appreciate everything you've done for me, and I'm grateful. But Baolu, if you really want what's best for someone, don't force your good intentions on them. Let them choose for themselves.”
“And thank you for the information. It's very helpful.”
Li Huowang patted his shoulder and, leaning on his crutch, headed into the cave. A glint of resolve entered his eyes.
The others exchanged glances before hurrying after him.
Sun Baolu watched their figures vanish into the pitch-black cave mouth. He fought to steady his shaking legs, his face twisting in hesitation and struggle. Finally, gritting his teeth, he followed.
“If you're dead set on going, then I'll come too! I've been inside before—I can guide you!”
With their glowstones in hand, the group entered the round cave one by one. Everything around them fell silent in an instant.
The winds of Qingqiu, along with the warm sunlight from above, vanished completely.
“Hoo~”
Li Huowang exhaled softly, and a puff of white mist emerged from his mouth.
“Baolu, is it always this cold in here?”
His voice startled Sun Baolu, who had been on high alert.
He nodded rapidly.
“Yeah, it was this cold last time. It gets hotter the deeper you go.”
With that, he quickened his pace to the front.
“I'll lead. Stick close—my playmate vanished just up ahead not far from here.”
Sun Baolu's words put everyone on edge. They all gripped their weapons tightly.
The cave was deathly quiet, save for the sound of their footsteps. No other noises echoed.
This wasn't a karst cave but some kind of rock cavern. The entrance sloped downward, and the deeper they went, the farther they descended from the surface.
(End of chapter)