Steamed Bun

Li Huowang curled up in a corner of the Material Room, motionless like an unborn fetus, sealed off from the world.

The other Medicinal Guides neither dared nor wanted to disturb him; they quietly went about their own work.

Night fell without notice. The oil lamps on the walls all went out, and darkness draped over Li Huowang like a quilt.

He lay there like a corpse, utterly unresponsive to the changes around him.

At the Third Watch of the Night, the faint light of a candle flickered from the doorway, illuminating the shelves nearby and driving away the darkness from Li Huowang.

Timid Bai Lingmiao, clutching a bundle of dry straw, crept over to Li Huowang and carefully spread the straw over him.

Then she pulled a coarse grain bun from her bosom and placed it by his mouth.

Seeing that Li Huowang still didn't move, she bit her lip and gently nudged him. "Senior Brother, please eat something. You haven't eaten all day."

Li Huowang's eyes were open. For hours, he hadn't blinked, staring numbly at the cold ground without shifting his gaze toward Bai Lingmiao even a little.

Bai Lingmiao wanted to leave, but after hesitating for a moment, she finally took a jade pendant from her bosom and set it beside Li Huowang's hand.

"Senior Brother, this is yours. Take it back."

This time, Li Huowang finally reacted. He looked at the object and recognized it as the Round Jade Pendant he had stolen from the previous Xuan Yang.

Li Huowang remembered giving that thing to Yang Na to exchange for money. The thought of Yang Na made his already shattered heart bleed again. "How did this end up with you?"

"You gave it to me, Senior Brother Li. I said I didn't want it, but you insisted on shoving it into my hands."

Li Huowang slowly sat up. By the dim candlelight, he carefully examined the cloud-patterned Round Jade Pendant.

At that moment, he had never felt anything so real. Yet within that reality, there was only genuine despair and genuine pain.

If he had a choice, how he wished he could stay trapped in that beautiful illusion forever.

Seeing that Li Huowang had responded, Bai Lingmiao asked softly, "Senior Brother Li, where did Master capture you from? I'm from the Liang Kingdom. Where are you from?"

Li Huowang was stunned for a moment, then shook his head dejectedly. "I don't know."

He truly didn't know. 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 was real and how much was illusion.

Even here, he was still a madman—a madman who couldn't distinguish reality from hallucination.

As he shook his head, Li Huowang suddenly felt something strange on his scalp. He touched it and found that his hair was matted with blood scabs. He had been injured before.

Seeing Li Huowang touch his head, Bai Lingmiao explained, "That was Senior Brother Wang's doing."

Li Huowang knew that this Senior Brother Wang was the harelipped fatty who had tried to lay hands on Bai Lingmiao earlier. "Where is that surnamed Wang now?"

"You... you kicked him to death."

Hearing this, a flash of memory crossed Li Huowang's mind—Old Liu, whom he had kicked flying in his hallucination. He lowered his head and let out a silent laugh. He really was crazy enough.

Li Huowang reached into his bosom and pulled out a Golden Anklet wrapped in red thread, holding it out to Bai Lingmiao. "This is yours, isn't it? Take it back."

Bai Lingmiao looked at her anklet, then pushed his hands back with both palms. "Senior Brother Li, you were right earlier. This thing is useless here. You keep it."

Li Huowang stared blankly at the golden ring, but it was just as useless to him now. Everything he cared about was gone.

"Um, Senior Brother Li, could I use this as payment and ask you for a favor?" Bai Lingmiao's words made Li Huowang turn his gaze toward her.

"If you manage to get out of here alive, could you take a message to my parents? They live at the foot of Oxheart Mountain in the Liang Kingdom. Tell them their daughter is unfilial and can't give them a proper Final Send-off." As she spoke of her sorrow, Bai Lingmiao's voice choked up.

"Senior Brother Li, I really don't want to trouble you, but I have no other choice. They'll probably take me to the Pill Refining Room soon. I..."

Li Huowang, his face full of dejection and numbness, felt a jolt in his heart at these words. The light returned to his lifeless eyes.

He looked at the straw covering him, then at the bun beside him. He pulled the Red Thread Golden Anklet back and stuffed it into his own bosom.

"I keep my word. Since I took your things before, I'll help you."

Bai Lingmiao's sorrowful eyes lit up instantly, but they soon dimmed again. "Senior Brother Li, that won't work. It'll get you into trouble too."

"Heh... Do you think I'm afraid of that now?" At this moment, Li Huowang had let go. He was completely reckless. Since everything he cared about was gone, what was there to fear?

"Good! Senior Brother Li, mighty!" A male voice suddenly rang out from outside the Material Room door, startling both people inside.

As the candlelight illuminated the speaker, a face appeared—grinning, sharp-featured, with a weaselly look. His skin was patchy yellow and white, as if afflicted by some vitiligo-like disease.

The man pulled out two coarse grain buns and placed them ingratiatingly beside Li Huowang.

"Hehehe, Senior Brother Li, eat some buns. When I was having dinner, I thought you hadn't eaten yet, so I specially saved two for you."

"You probably don't know me, little brother. I was born of heaven and earth, no real name. Just call me Gouwa, hehehe. Just yesterday, I even offered you seventeen coppers as a tribute."

Gouwa fidgeted nervously, his ingratiating demeanor plastered all over his face. Clearly, he wanted to latch onto Li Huowang as a backer to avoid being sent off as a Medicinal Guide. Smart people could be found anywhere.

Li Huowang said nothing. He grabbed the three somewhat hard buns and wolfed them down. He had been starving all day.

Eating too fast, he started to choke. Gouwa immediately understood and ran out to fetch Li Huowang a cup of water.

Washed down by the cold groundwater, Li Huowang stuffed the three coarse grain buns into his stomach.

He staggered and struggled to his feet. Having lain on the ground for so long, his legs had gone numb.

Bai Lingmiao reached out to help him, but Li Huowang pushed her away.

His gaze fixed on the dark exit of the Material Room in the distance, he swayed as he walked out.

Now, his enemy was no longer his own sudden illness, but that leprous-headed Daoist, Danyangzi, who used people to refine pills.

When Danyangzi's ugly, disgusting face appeared in his mind, a thick malevolence gradually surfaced in Li Huowang's eyes. His teeth began to grind audibly.

Just moments ago, he had been utterly hopeless. Now, he was filled with drive. The only thing left to do was find a way to kill that bastard!