Chapter 383
Chapter 383
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 383
>Chapter Title: New Year
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When Li Huowang woke up again, it was still nighttime. From the monk, he learned that he had been out cold for a full three days.
Although his stomach felt incredibly hungry, his spirits were much better than when he had just peeled off his skin.
He pulled out some dry rations and a water flask, eating and drinking heartily while heading toward his own skin. To his surprise, Mantou was there.
It lay curled up in a big yellow ball, head tucked over tail, steadfastly guarding Li Huowang's skin even in sleep. Beside it were two large rats it had killed.
Smelling the aroma of food, Mantou woke up immediately and sat there, wagging its tail furiously at Li Huowang.
"The more people I meet, the more I like dogs." Li Huowang stroked Mantou's head and tossed the half-piece of naan in his hand far away for it to fetch.
Seeing it gnawing on the naan, Li Huowang crouched down and carefully extracted his skin from the dirt.
Li Huowang had considered other ways to peel his own skin, but without any other helpers, this was the most convenient method.
Moreover, the skin peeled this way was undamaged and perfectly intact.
Li Huowang first poured out the mercury, then took out the *Great Thousand Record*. Next, he carried it to the carriage and stuffed it with the dry straw he had prepared earlier.
He had to admit, looking at "himself" right in front of him felt extremely strange.
He then lit six incense sticks, inserting three into each eye socket. After that, he clipped off a few strands of his own hair, gathered some cinnabar, and swiftly drew a talisman on it.
"Primeval Lord of Heaven, Root of All Qi! Extensive cultivation through billions of kalpas, Dhāraṇī of Dry Networks! Within and without the Three Realms, I alone am supreme. My body is clothed in golden light, enveloping and protecting me!"
As Li Huowang finished reciting, the talisman in his hand was complete.
Seeing this, Li Huowang grew tense. "Did it work? It should have worked, right? I've practiced this for so long."
No sooner had he spoken than white smoke began billowing from all seven orifices of the skin. The incense had ignited the freshly stuffed straw.
As the thick smoke grew denser, the entire human skin rapidly shrank inward. When the white smoke finally dissipated, a palm-sized human figure lay before Li Huowang.
"Success!" Li Huowang picked up the human skin and examined it closely. Now shrunken, the facial features were much blurrier, and the skin had turned waxy yellow, resembling a little paper doll cut from turmeric paper.
According to the book's records, as long as he carried this refined ritual tool on him, it could ward off disasters and evil influences, turn his luck around during unlucky years, and most crucially, swap his life for him in moments of certain death.
Li Huowang didn't know exactly how the life-swapping worked, but he was certain this was a life-saving artifact.
And this wasn't a one-off deal. As long as he recovered, he could produce these almost indefinitely.
With this in hand, facing the dangers ahead, Li Huowang finally felt a bit more secure.
The pity was that other heart elemental ritual tools weren't so easy to refine. Either he couldn't find the required heavenly materials and earthly treasures to refine together, or he simply couldn't understand what was written. This one was by far the simplest and easiest to make.
"Does this mean... I have a golden finger now too?" Li Huowang looked at the human skin in his hand and muttered a self-mocking remark.
"Dad? What's a golden finger?"
Li Huowang shook his head without answering Li Sui's question. He held the human skin, looking for a place to store it.
Such an important item couldn't be left lying around. After pondering, Li Huowang held it up to his navel.
A tentacle extended, wrapped around the skin, and retracted. "Thanks, Dad."
"Let's go." Li Huowang turned and climbed onto the carriage.
Driving the carriage, Li Huowang took a bite of the cold dry rations and washed it down with icy water. "By the way, it should be New Year's by now, right?"
"Hey, sure is New Year's! I've been looking forward to this day since a month ago."
Dressed in a satin robe, Gouwa chatted idly with Zhao Wu for a bit before sitting down to gnaw on a drumstick with his hands.
Before he could even swallow, Gouwa's eyes darted to the other dishes on the New Year's Eve dinner table.
Braised carp, lion's head meatballs, stewed pork belly with preserved vegetables, dressed sheep stomach with rice peppers, four joy meatballs, spicy pig trotters, stir-fried bacon with dandelion greens, and white-cut three-yellow chicken.
Though Yang Xiaohai couldn't make anything fancy, every dish was substantial and hearty.
It was New Year's today—normally, you couldn't eat this many goodies. This was the time of year he loved most in his life.
He used his chopsticks to pick up the tenderest bits from the fish belly and placed them in his wife's bowl. "Eat up! Let's out-eat that tall fool, you and me together!"
Gouwa wasn't the only one; everyone else was much the same, especially the new apprentices from the Lv Family Troupe—their heads were practically buried in the plates.
"Sigh, I wonder where Miao Miao is right now, and what she's eating." Chun Xiaoman ate without tasting, prodding the bone in her bowl with her chopstick tip.
Zhao Wu beside her picked up a meatball with his chopsticks and placed it in her bowl. "She's got her abilities, and Senior Brother Li's with her. Don't worry—we'll celebrate this New Year nice and steady first."
"Eat." A lion's head meatball plopped straight into Chun Xiaoman's bowl, courtesy of Gao Zhijian.
Just as the hall buzzed with cheerful warmth, a figure appeared at the gate of the Bai family courtyard. "Oh my, you've all started on the New Year's Eve dinner? Smells good, doesn't it? I can smell it from out here."
That voice made everyone turn toward the door at once. Seeing Bai Lingmiao smiling there, Chun Xiaoman was the first to react.
She rushed over, patting her up and down. Seeing that she had returned safe and sound, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She then grumbled reproachfully, "You've had me worried sick this whole time. Next time you go anywhere, you have to tell me first, got it?"
Bai Lingmiao patted her shoulder and brushed past, striding straight into the hall.
Three tables had been set up in the hall, but she didn't head for the two smaller ones. Instead, she went toward the largest table, right to the seat of honor facing the door.
The one sitting there was the eldest, Lv Zhuangyuan. His left cheek bulged high from half a pig trotter as he stared in astonishment at Bai Lingmiao approaching.
Bai Lingmiao stood there without a word, but the shrewd Lv Zhuangyuan clearly got her meaning. He chuckled, grabbed his pipe from the table, shifted his butt, and squeezed his son right off the bench.
"Heh heh heh, Miss Bai, you're back? Oh dear, everyone was so worried about you while you were gone. Uh, that little Daoist didn't come back with you?"
Bai Lingmiao lifted a cup of wine and raised it high to the whole table, declaring with great boldness, "Come on, it's New Year's—here's to all of you!"
(End of chapter)