Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 91
>Chapter Title: Li Huowang
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Chapter 91: Li Huowang
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> On the way back, the surroundings were frighteningly quiet, with nothing but the sound of footsteps.
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> Walking in a place like this, everyone's heart was on edge.
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> However, they hadn't gone far when the footsteps suddenly stopped. Li Huowang and the others stared intently at the surrounding darkness, and the pairs of glowing green eyes that suddenly emerged from it.
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> It wasn't just one pair, but a whole group. The things in the darkness didn't do anything; they just stared at them intently with those green eyes of varying sizes.
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> In Li Huowang and the others' eyes, it was as if a monster covered entirely in eyes had spawned in the darkness.
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> "Fuck!" Toyed with repeatedly, Li Huowang's irritated expression turned ferocious. With a fierce yank of his right hand backward, the red bamboo slips unfurled rapidly in front of him.
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> Li Huowang raised his right index finger, bringing it close to the sharp edge of the bamboo slip.
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> With another pry from Li Huowang, his fingernail detached from its owner, spinning away into the surrounding darkness with a spray of blood.
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> Not long after, accompanied by a miserable cry. One pair of those glowing green eyes in the darkness vanished.
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> Li Huowang felt this wasn't enough. After three fingernails, all the eyes in the darkness disappeared entirely, and a fishy stench began to fill the air.
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> When they walked over holding their lanterns, the light revealed the gruesome, bloodied mess inside.
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> Only then did Li Huowang and the others realize that those eyes didn't belong to any evil spirits, but to the animals in the woods—lynxes, hedgehogs, foxes, and more. But now they were all dead, their corpses shattered into pieces without a single intact one.
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> "Senior Brother Li, didn't we break the rules again? Didn't they say not to mess with these beasts?" Xiaoman's words sent a chill through everyone present.
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> But Li Huowang didn't think so. He lifted his right foot and stomped down hard, smashing a nearby fox head into pulp.
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> "Bullshit rules! They're just putting on a mystique. If these things could beat us head-on, why bother with all this? Don't let others lead you by the nose on stuff like this. Back to the courtyard!"
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> After walking for another half a stick of incense, they saw the lights of the Wu family estate again.
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> "Li Huowang!" A shout that seemed to come from a great distance made them all stop.
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> "Who's there!" Li Huowang spun around, peering into the darkness, but still found nothing.
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> "Keep fooling yourself! One day you won't be able to fool anymore! On the eighteenth of the twelfth month, I'm telling you! Those eyes of yours are mine!"
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> After hurling that threat, he led the others back to the brightly lit Wu family estate.
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> The goateed village head, sprawled on the ground, was tied to a pillar. A bowl of cold vegetable soup was picked up from the table and splashed right in his face.
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> "Cough cough~!" As Wu Qing groggily opened his eyes, he immediately saw the murderous-faced Li Huowang. He shuddered in fright. "So you're bandits!!"
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> "Slap!" A slap sent across, and half of Wu Qing's face visibly swelled. He was utterly dazed.
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> "Talk!! Where's the eighteenth of the twelfth month? What's your connection to it?"
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> "What are you talking about? I... I'm telling you, this is Wu Family Village—everyone here is surnamed Wu! If you really want to make a move, think it over carefully!"
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> Seeing Wu Qing still pretending to know nothing, he bared his teeth, revealing his gleaming white fangs.
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> "Old man, I've tried courtesy first. The eighteenth of the twelfth month is tied to whether I live or die. If you keep stonewalling to protect it, don't blame me for going hard."
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> With that, he raised his bleeding right hand, missing its fingernail, and patted the torture instruments spread out on the hem of his robe.
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> "These aren't just for me. At key moments, they're keys too—keys that can unlock anyone's heart!"
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> Hearing this, the worried Bai Lingmiao took a step forward, but Xiaoman yanked her back and shook her head gently.
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> "You... what exactly do you want? What's this eighteenth of the twelfth month? Qingming just passed; the twelfth month is still far off. Young man, spare me, have pity on this old fellow." Wu Qing's face had gone pale with fear.
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> Seeing him still clamming up, Li Huowang hooked his right hand, and a small awl covered in barbs appeared in his grip.
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> With a cruel smile, Li Huowang gripped the terrifying awl and slowly pressed it toward Wu Qing's collarbone.
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> Wu Qing was clearly panicked. He shouted frantically, struggling desperately, but refused to say anything about the eighteenth of the twelfth month.
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> Just as the blade tip pierced his clothes, a large hand pressed down on his wrist from behind. "Enough. Looks like he really doesn't know anything."
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> "How do we know without trying? This guy's off—talking about rules the moment we entered the village. He's definitely connected to the eighteenth of the twelfth month!"
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> "Calm down. That's not how you used to be. This way, you'll just become more and more like Danyangzi."
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> Hearing this, his heart skipped a beat. Unknowingly, he really had started treating others less like people, just like that bald cultivator who refined pills from humans.
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> He quickly withdrew the awl in his hand and turned his head. "Thanks for the reminder, Senior Brother Li. If you hadn't said something, I might not have realized."
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> Right then, he saw Li Huowang, clad in his blood-red Daoist robe, flashing that familiar faint smile.
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> "Fellow disciples don't need formalities. Now we need to think—what to do next without other leads."
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> He furrowed his brows, staring at the old man on the verge of passing out, pondering the question deeply.
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> Though his heavy hand earlier might have been influenced by Danyangzi, he also knew it was inseparable from the mounting urgency of time.
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> Without finding the eighteenth of the twelfth month, he couldn't deal with the Danyangzi attached to him and could only watch himself become more like Danyangzi. He really couldn't wait any longer.
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> "How about we wait till dawn and ask the other villagers? Maybe someone else knows." Gouwa suggested.
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> "Alright. After everything tonight, everyone's exhausted. That's all we can do for now. At dawn, I'll go talk."
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> Since Li Huowang had said so, he said no more and turned toward the west wing room.
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> When dawn broke and he woke, he found his fellow disciples already out of the room.
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> Stepping out, he was surprised to see his senior brothers and sisters acting as if nothing had happened, eating porridge with the Wu family—despite how he'd just treated Wu Qing.
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> "Come eat. I explained your hardship to Village Head Wu. He's not a petty man." Li Huowang called out to him.
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> (End of chapter)