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"Senior Brother Li!" Bai Lingmiao's tearful cry made Li Huowang, lantern in hand, turn around in the darkness and look at the others standing outside in the sunlight.

He waved to them again. "Go on. All of you, go home."

"Senior Brother Li, come with us. It'll be safer if we travel together. Did you forget to take something?" Zhao Wu asked from where he lay sprawled across Fool's back. He looked nervous, as though he had sensed that something was wrong.

"Heh heh, come along to where?" Li Huowang turned around, hiding his face in the darkness once more.

"Go home for the New Year together, Senior Brother Li. Where's your home?"

Li Huowang smiled soundlessly in the darkness and began walking back the way he had come, lantern in hand. "Home? How could I have a home now? I could never go back to my home. Never go back!"

Li Huowang walked silently through the darkness. Qingfeng Temple was very quiet at that moment; only the sound of his footsteps kept him company.

Suddenly, Li Huowang began humming a tune. His steps grew lighter, and the oil lamp in his hand swung rhythmically from side to side.

Accompanied by his own singing, Li Huowang returned to his quarters. He shut the door and set the oil lamp on the table. Too lazy even to wipe the blood from his face and body, he slowly lay down on the stone bed and closed his eyes.

"Today's the first of the month. I haven't eaten that disgusting Black Tai Sui this month. I should be able to see Yang Na again soon, right?" Thinking of this, the corners of Li Huowang's mouth lifted slightly.

He waited quietly for his best childhood friend to take him back to the world that belonged to him.

Having gone all night without sleep, Li Huowang's consciousness gradually began to fade. But just as he was about to sink into a beautiful dream, the door suddenly opened.

Li Huowang sat up, rubbing his eyes, and found Gouwa, Zhao Wu, and the others standing in the doorway.

Bai Lingmiao stood there uneasily. Her gaze darted about for a while before finally growing firm.

"Senior Brother Li, if you can't go home, then come to my home. My house is very spacious, and the East Wing is empty too."

Li Huowang looked at the kind-hearted girl before him and shook his head slightly. "It's pretty good here too. I'm used to staying here."

A madman who muttered to himself and gesticulated wildly could only stay in a dark place like this, so he would not frighten others,

Bai Lingmiao's lips trembled slightly. She seemed unable to believe Li Huowang's words.

"I used to have a home. I used to have family too. But..." Li Huowang raised his head to look at the pitch-black ceiling, his expression complicated as he began recalling something.

After thinking for a while, Gouwa winked at the others and whispered, "Since Senior Brother Li says he wants to stay here, how about we leave?"

"Shut up!" Bai Lingmiao's words gave Gouwa such a fright that he jumped. This was nothing like the timid little girl she had been before.

Bai Lingmiao quickly stepped forward, her expression utterly stubborn. "Can you face your family like this? If your family from before knew what you were like now, what would they think?"

A bitter smile appeared on Li Huowang's face. "What they think? How would I know? I can't even be sure whether they really exist!!"

"Maybe I'm just a madman with nothing at all. I have nothing. Everything, every last thing, was completely imagined by me." Li Huowang's expression became agonized.

Bai Lingmiao's pale, almost translucent hands reached out and clasped Li Huowang's hand. "Senior Brother Li, you're not left with nothing. You still have us."

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

For an instant, he realized that he knew very, very little about this girl before him. Why is she so good to me?

Suddenly, everything around him began to shift. The Karst Cave and the hospital's white walls flickered back and forth.

Bai Lingmiao's features began to melt, then gathered again into Yang Na's appearance. Tears streamed down her face, and she was filled with worry.

"Na Na!" Li Huowang lunged forward and hugged her tightly, his expression twisted with pain.

"Huowang, you can't give up on yourself. You have to live. No matter what happens, you must live well, okay?" Yang Na's voice trembled.

"You have to hold on. No matter what you go through, never collapse."

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

That face changed rapidly and without pause. It became all sorts of people Li Huowang knew, each one cheering him on.

All at once, everything around him froze. The bright hospital room swiftly dimmed.

Li Huowang slowly loosened his embrace and discovered that he was holding Bai Lingmiao.

The girl in his arms was clearly somewhat shy, but her gaze did not evade his. "Senior Brother Li, let's go. Staying in this place makes me miserable."

Then she took out those slips of paper from the pouch at her waist and put them in his arms. "Senior Brother Li, there's no use giving these to me. None of us can read."

"That's right, Senior Brother Li. This is something you have to do. No one else can." The others also chimed in from the doorway.

"I... I can rea—" As soon as Fool spoke, Zhao Wu covered his mouth. Leaning close to Fool's ear, he said, "Even if you can read, you have to pretend you can't right now!"

Li Huowang silently looked at the last words the others had written, not knowing what he was thinking.

Bai Lingmiao pushed both hands forward, nudging the slips of paper closer to him. "Senior Brother Li, you personally promised them. A true man cannot go back on his word."

Reality and illusion kept shifting in his mind. In the end, Li Huowang reached out and accepted the papers. "Let's go."

Li Huowang had made up his mind. No matter where he was, he would do his utmost to live well. This was not only for himself, but also for those family members who might exist—or might not.

As soon as he said this, everyone smiled in relief.

They did not know what Li Huowang was thinking. As long as he did not keep staying in this godforsaken place, that was enough.

The group crowded around Li Huowang and led him out of the dim room, about to head for the cave entrance. But after only a few steps, Li Huowang called them to a halt.

"Wait. Since we've decided to leave, we need to thoroughly loot this place first. Fool, carry Zhao Wu and take the others to the kitchen. Get some food for the road. We can't travel without anything to eat."

Then Li Huowang took Bai Lingmiao to the Pill Refining Room to collect some pills he recognized. He had practiced the Pill Dao for some time now; with these things, he could count as half a doctor. He had no idea how far away their homes were, so it was better to be prepared.

But he only took the ones he recognized. As for the pills Danyangzi had refined that he did not recognize, Li Huowang did not dare touch them, much less take them.

After the group met up at Zhengyi Hall, Li Huowang spoke again. "Wait a moment. There's one more thing I need to take." As he spoke, Li Huowang carried the lamp oil in his hand and carefully headed toward the Karst Cave where the Black Tai Sui was imprisoned.