Chapter 23 Home

"Brother Li!" Bai Lingmiao's cry, tinged with sobs, caused Li Huowang, who was holding a lantern in the darkness, to turn around and look towards the others standing in the sunlight outside the door.

He waved at them again, "Go on, all of you, go home."

"Brother Li, why don't you come with us? It's safer to walk together, and did you forget to take something?" Zhao Wu, perched on the back of an idiot, spoke with a nervous expression, as if sensing that something was amiss.

"Heh, come with you to where?" Li Huowang turned around, his face once again hidden in the darkness.

"To go home for the New Year, Brother Li. Where is your home?"

Li Huowang, in the darkness, silently smiled and began to walk back the way he had come, lantern in hand. "Home? Where do I have a home now? My home... I can't return anymore, can't return!"

Li Huowang walked silently through the darkness, and at that moment, Qingfeng Taoist Temple was very quiet, with only the sound of his footsteps for company.

Suddenly, Li Huowang began to hum a tune, his steps lightening, the oil lamp in his hand swaying rhythmically from side to side.

Accompanied by his own singing, Li Huowang returned to his abode. He shut the door, placed the oil lamp on the table, and without bothering to wipe the blood from his face or body, slowly lay down on the stone bed and closed his eyes.

"Today is the first day of the lunar month. I haven't eaten that disgusting Black Taishui this month, so I should be able to see Yang Na again soon, right?" At that thought, the corners of Li Huowang's mouth lifted slightly.

He waited quietly, waiting for his best childhood friend to take him back to his own world.

Having gone without sleep for the entire night, Li Huowang's consciousness began to fade, but just as he was about to fall into a beautiful dream, the door suddenly opened.

Li Huowang rubbed his eyes and sat up, only to see Zhao Wu and the others at the doorway.

Bai Lingmiao stood there anxiously, her gaze shifting before finally settling with determination.

"Brother Li, if you can't go home, then come to mine. My house is spacious, and the east wing is empty..."

Li Huowang looked at the kind girl in front of him and shook his head slightly, "I'm pretty comfortable here; I've got used to it."

A madman who talks and gesticulates to himself, belongs in this dark place, so he won't frighten others,

Bai Lingmiao's lips trembled slightly, as though she found Li Huowang's words hard to believe.

"I had a family, I had relatives, but... " Li Huowang looked up at the pitch-black ceiling, his expression complex as he began to reminisce about something.

After a moment of contemplation, Zhao Wu whispered to the others, making faces, "Since Brother Li said he wants to stay here, shall we leave?"

"Shut your mouth!" Bai Lingmiao's retort made Zhao Wu jump; this was unlike the always docile young girl from the past.

Quickly stepping forward, Bai Lingmiao's expression was resolute, "How can you let down your family like this? If the family of the past knew what you've become now, what would they think?"

A bitter smile appeared on Li Huowang's face, "How would I know what they think? I can't even be sure if they truly existed!!"

"Perhaps I'm just a madman with nothing at all. I have nothing, and everything could be completely imagined by me." Li Huowang's expression turned extremely painful.

Bai Lingmiao's pale and nearly transparent hands reached out and took hold of Li Huowang's hand. "Brother Li, you're not without anything. You still have us."

Li Huowang stared blankly at the girl before him, at her stubborn, exquisite face.

In an instant, he realized how little he knew about the girl before him. "Why does she treat me so well?"

Suddenly, everything around him began to change, the cave's walls transforming into the sterile white walls of a hospital.

Bai Lingmiao's features melted away only to coalesce once more into that of Yang Na, her face streaming with tears and filled with worry.

"Nana!" Li Huowang lunged forward, embracing her tightly with an expression of extreme agony.

"Huowang, you can't give up on yourself, you have to live, no matter what you encounter you must live well, alright?" Yang Na's voice trembled.

"You have to persevere, no matter what befalls you, never lie down."

Then that face once again turned into his mother's. "Son, you can't die, if you die, how are your father and I supposed to go on?!"

The face rapidly changed, morphing into various people Li Huowang knew, all of them offering their encouragement.

All at once, the surroundings froze in place, and the bright hospital room quickly faded into darkness.

Li Huowang slowly released his embrace and found that he was holding Bai Lingmiao.

The girl he held was clearly a bit embarrassed, but her eyes did not shy away. "Senior Brother Li, let's go, I feel uncomfortable staying here."

Then, she took out those slips of paper from her waist pouch and placed them into his embrace, "Senior Brother Li, these are of no use to me, we can't read."

"Yeah, Senior Brother Li, this is something only you can do, no one else can do it." Others also chimed in at the doorway.

"I... I... I recog..." The fool had barely spoken when Zhao Wu covered his mouth, whispering into his ear, "Even if you can read, right now you've got to pretend you can't!"

Li Huowang silently looked at the wills written by the people around him, his thoughts unknown.

Bai Lingmiao pushed her hands forward, nudging the slips of paper closer. "Senior Brother Li, you personally promised them, a man of his word can't go back on his promise."

Reality and illusion shifted relentlessly in his mind until Li Huowang finally reached out and took the papers. "Let's go."

Li Huowang had decided, regardless of where he was, he would try his best to live well, not just for himself but also for those family members who might or might not exist.

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately smiled with relief.

They didn't know what Li Huowang was thinking, but as long as he wasn't going to stay in this godforsaken place, that was good enough.

A group of people gathered around Li Huowang and walked out of the dimly lit room, heading towards the cave entrance. However, having only walked a few steps, Li Huowang called out to stop them.

"Wait, if we've decided to leave, we must properly scavenge this place first. Idiot, carry Zhao Wu on your back, take the others to the kitchen to grab some food for the road; we can't go without provisions."

Li Huowang then took Bai Lingmiao to the Alchemy Room to fetch some Elixirs he recognized. Having practiced the Alchemy Dao for a while now, with these items, he could consider himself half a doctor, and having them on hand was to be prepared for the unknown journey ahead to his family's home.

However, he only took the Elixirs he recognized; he dared not even touch, let alone take, the Elixirs that Master Danyang had concocted.

After regrouping in the Zhengyi Hall, Li Huowang spoke up again, "Wait a moment, there's one more thing I need to fetch." Carrying the lamp oil, Li Huowang cautiously made his way to the cave where Black Taisui was imprisoned.