Li Huowang curled up into a ball, like an unborn baby, huddled motionless in the corner of the material room.
The other Yaoyin didn't dare or want to disturb him, they were all doing their own work quietly.
Night fell unknowingly, all the oil lamps on the wall went out, and darkness covered Li Huowang's body like a quilt.
He was lying there like a corpse, showing no reaction to changes in the outside world.
At midnight, a faint candle light lit up from the door, illuminating the shelves next to it and dispersing the darkness on Li Huowang.
The timid Bai Lingmiao rolled up a ball of withered grass and walked to Li Huowang, and carefully spread the withered grass on him.
Then she took out a piece of multigrain steamed bun from her arms and put it to his mouth.
Seeing that Li Huowang was still motionless, she pursed her lips and pushed him gently. "Brother, eat something. You haven't eaten anything all day today."
Li Huowang's eyes were open. His eyes, which had not blinked for several hours, looked numbly at the cold ground, without moving the slightest bit toward Bai Lingmiao.
Bai Lingmiao wanted to leave, but after hesitating for a moment, she finally took out a jade pendant from her arms and placed it in Li Huowang's hand.
"Brother, this is your thing, take it back."
This time Li Huowang finally reacted. He looked at the thing and found that it was the round jade pendant he had stolen from the previous Xuanyang.
Li Huowang still remembered that he gave this thing to Yang Na and exchanged it for money. When he thought of Yang Na, his scarred heart began to bleed again, "Why is this thing... why is it here with you?"
"Yes...Senior Brother Li, you gave it to me. I told you not to come, but you insisted on giving it to me."
Li Huowang slowly sat up and looked carefully at the circular jade pendant with cloud patterns by the dim light of the candle.
At this moment, he had never felt that everything was so real. But in this reality there was only real despair and real pain.
If he had a choice, he would want to stay trapped in that beautiful illusion.
Seeing Li Huowang's response, Bai Lingmiao asked softly: "Brother Li, where were you captured by the master? I am from the Liang Kingdom, where are you from?"
Li Huowang was stunned for a while and then shook his head in despair, "I don't know."
He really didn't know anymore. He did have memories of the past, but after what happened during the day, Li Huowang himself couldn't tell how much of those memories were real and how much was illusory.
Even here, he is still a madman, a madman who cannot distinguish between reality and illusion.
Just as he was shaking his head, Li Huowang suddenly felt something strange in his head. He touched it with his hand and found that his hair was covered with blood scabs. He had been injured before.
Seeing Li Huowang touching his head, Bai Lingmiao explained: "Senior Brother Wang did that."
Li Huowang knew that this senior brother Wang was the fat man with hare lips who wanted to attack Bai Lingmiao before. "Where is the person named Wang?"
"Kicked to death by you...by you..."
Hearing this, Li Huowang's mind flashed to the old Liu who was kicked away by him in his hallucination. He lowered his head and smiled silently. He was really crazy.
Li Huowang reached out from his arms and took out a gold anklet wrapped with red thread and sent it to Bai Lingmiao. "This is your thing, take it back."
Bai Lingmiao looked at his anklet and pushed it back with his hands, "Senior Brother Li, what you said before is right. This thing is of no use here. Just take it."
Li Huowang stared at the golden ring in a daze, but this thing was of no use to him now, and everything he cared about had disappeared.
"Well, Senior Brother Li, can I use this as a reward? Can you please do me a favor?" Bai Lingmiao's words made Li Huowang turn his attention to her.
"If you can get out of here alive, can you give me a message to my parents? They live at the foot of Niuxin Mountain in Liangguo, so I told them that my daughter is unfilial and cannot support them until they die." Speaking of sadness, Bai Lingmiao's
His voice became choked.
"Senior Brother Li, I really don't want to trouble you, but I really have no other choice. I guess they will take me to the alchemy room soon. I..."
When Li Huowang, whose face was full of decadence and numbness, heard this, his heart condensed, and his silent eyes became bright again.
He looked at the withered grass covering his body, then at the steamed buns beside him, then pulled the red thread gold ring into his arms again.
"I keep my word. Since I took your things before, I will help you."
Bai Lingmiao's sad eyes lit up for an instant, but soon dimmed again. "Senior Brother Li, this won't work, it will get you into trouble too."
"Haha... Do you think I'm still afraid of this now?" Li Huowang has looked away at this moment. He has completely given up. Since everything he cares about is gone, what is there to be afraid of?
"Okay, Senior Brother Li is mighty!" A male voice suddenly sounded from outside the door of the cooking room, startling the two people in the room.
As the candlelight illuminated the man, he saw a playful face with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks. The yellow and white spots on his face looked like he was suffering from a skin disease similar to vitiligo.
The man took out two multi-grain steamed buns and placed them next to Li Huowang.
"Hehehe, Senior Brother Li was eating steamed buns. When we were having dinner, I thought that Senior Brother Li hadn't eaten yet, so I left two for you."
"You may not know me, junior brother. I am a gifted boy. I don't have a famous name. You can just call me Gou Wa. Hehehehe, just yesterday, I gave you seventeen cents as a filial piety."
Gouwa was fidgeting and rubbing his hands, almost showing his flattery on his face. It was obvious that he wanted to use Li Huowang as his backer and not be sent as a drug guide. There are smart people everywhere.
Li Huowang didn't say anything. He grabbed the three hard steamed buns and wolfed them down. He had been hungry all day.
Because he ate too fast and choked, Gouwa immediately ran out and brought Li Huowang a glass of water.
When washed by the cold underground water, Li Huowang stuffed three grain steamed buns into his stomach.
He staggered and struggled to stand up. His legs were numb after lying on the ground for so long.
Bai Lingmiao reached out to help, but Li Huowang pushed her away.
He stared at the dark exit of the material room in the distance and staggered out.
At this time, his enemy was no longer his mutated disease, but the leper-headed Taoist priest Danyangzi who took people to make elixirs.
When Danyangzi's ugly and disgusting face appeared in his mind, Li Huowang's eyes gradually showed a strong anger, and his teeth began to grind.
He, who was hopeless just now, is now full of motivation. The only thing he has to do now is to find a way to kill him!