The Unruly Immortals

Li Huowang slowly sipped his tea, not because he enjoyed it, but simply because dinner had been too salty.

Using the lid to hold back the foam on the surface of the water, Li Huowang gently sucked in the tea, his mouth filling with a rich bitterness.

"I should've guessed it, Chief Wu's household definitely doesn't have good tea," Li Huowang spat out, setting down the tea cup and turning towards his bedroom.

He hadn't slept well last night because of that nightmare, so tonight he planned to go to bed as early as possible to conserve energy for tomorrow's journey.

Walking towards the bedroom, Li Huowang's mind wasn't idle, recalling last night's horrific dream, those two jade pendants.

"When the hallucinations appear again, should I try to bring something from there?" Li Huowang didn't hesitate too long on this question.

"Try it! But not bring the Jade Pendant, instead something that could absolutely not exist here, like an IV drip or handcuffs."

"If I can't bring anything back, that would prove the other world is fake, and I'd have nothing to long for there. But if I can bring something back..."

Lost in thought, Li Huowang found himself at the entrance to his bedroom without realizing it.

With a creak, the door opened, but what was inside disrupted his train of thought.

On the table red candles, red double happiness characters on the wall, and that red pillow and red quilt, everything was red, including Bai Lingmiao's red wedding veil sitting by the bed.

Seeing everything before him, Li Huowang's heartbeat sped up. Between the redness of the room and the night outside, he paused, his face showing a slight struggle.

Li Huowang knew what stepping inside meant; it was not just about gaining a wife, but also about taking on great responsibilities and commitments.

After a moment's hesitation, Li Huowang took a deep breath, stepped forward, and locked the door behind him.

He then approached the bride and said, "Are you sure you've thought this through? You should understand what's wrong with me. Can you truly accept marrying a madman?"

"Mhm..." A pair of small hands gently grasped Li Huowang's calloused palms.

"Brother Li, to follow one's husband is a wife's duty. Whatever the future holds, I am willing to spend my life with you."

Bai Lingmiao's voice was still soft, but it carried an unusual determination.

With the woman declaring so, if Li Huowang hesitated any longer, it would be unfair. He reached for the red veil but she coyly dodged away. "Brother Li... that kind of thing... I'm shy... could you blow out the candle first?"

Li Huowang turned and with a flick of his sleeve, snuffed out the red candles.

That night, amidst intimate embraces, Li Huowang finally understood why they say women are made of water.

Two hours later, in the pitch-black bridal chamber, Li Huowang collapsed onto the bed, gasping for air.

He gently stroked the hair of the girl lying on his chest, savoring the wonderful sensation just experienced.

"Husband~" That call of 'husband' sent tingles through Li Huowang's entire being. "You might as well call me Brother Li; I'm not used to 'husband.'

"Alright, as you wish. You're the head of the household, I'll do whatever you ask me to do."

Bai Lingmiao pressed her ear against Li Huowang's chest, listening to his rapidly beating heart.

Li Huowang took a deep breath, pulled the girl in his arms a bit closer, and kissed her hair, full of hairpins.

"Once Master Danyang's matter is resolved, we'll continue on home, to your place, where we'll formally complete the wedding ceremony."

"What about your hysteria? Is there really no cure?"

"I don't know, but I've heard. The An Ci Nunnery's Master has no reason to deceive me on this."

Li Huowang's hand glided over the smooth skin, "But it's fine, I have you now. I've taken root in this world completely. I refuse to be controlled by those fleeting hallucinations any longer."

"Hee..." Bai Lingmiao seemed extremely happy, her limbs firmly entwined around him, her head gently rubbing against Li Huowang's chest.

For some reason, Li Huowang found that the Bai Lingmiao in bed felt very different from the one beneath it.

She'd claimed to be shy before, but in reality, she wasn't shy at all.

"Are all women like this?" Li Huowang, facing this kind of situation for the first time, appeared a bit inexperienced.

Feeling her start to move again, Li Huowang pressed her down with his hand, "Wait a second, I just noticed something."

"What is it? I have my 'red'." Bai Lingmiao's words carried a hint of nervousness.

Li Huowang couldn't help but laugh, "I'm not talking about that, I mean my senses feel very different."

"Feeling? What kind of feeling?"

"It seems like all my senses have become much more sensitive, all of them." Li Huowang savored the heavenly sensation he had just experienced, which felt unsettlingly wrong.

It hadn't been obvious before, and Li Huowang thought he might have remembered wrong, but after what had just happened, he was certain his body had not just recovered, but his perception had been comprehensively enhanced as well.

Be it touch, smell, or even taste.

"Is this also Bahu's ability?" Li Huowang discovered that both of the abilities it had granted him were related to sacrifices.

As he was sharing his discovery with Bai Lingmiao, Li Huowang suddenly felt a piercing pain in his right index finger. "Hiss~! Why did you bite me?"

"Does it hurt? Does it hurt more than before?"

"Of course! It's bleeding, how could it not hurt."

"Then, Senior Brother Li, it looks like you guessed right, it indeed can intensify pain."

The next moment, Li Huowang felt his bitten finger enveloped in softness, as Bai Lingmiao gently sucked on it, causing the pain to quickly subside.

"Did you ever tell me about Lord You, or have you heard the legend of Bahu?" Li Huowang asked.

"Mhm mhm," Bai Lingmiao, with the finger still in her mouth, shook her head.

"Hmm..." Li Huowang opened his eyes, pondering in the pitch-dark room. "Why exactly did Bahu grant me these two abilities? What kind of existence is it?"

Li Huowang's mind involuntarily began to try to piece together Bahu's appearance, but he ultimately failed; with normal human perception, it was impossible to imagine what it looked like.

"Knock knock~!" In the middle of the night, the door suddenly was knocked on.

Startled, Li Huowang quickly rolled over, pulling Bai Lingmiao from his chest into his arms, and covered them both tightly with the blanket. "Who's there? If it's nothing urgent, let's talk tomorrow."

"Senior Brother Li, it's me, can I come in? I don't know why, but I ended up lying in the firewood shed."

The voice was very light and familiar; Li Huowang instantly realized that it was Bai Lingmiao's voice!

If Bai Lingmiao was outside the room, then who was in my arms?! Li Huowang felt a chill rush through his body.

"Heeheehee, my husband~" Li Huowang felt the thing in his arms shrink and quickly slip out from under the blanket.

Li Huowang threw off the blanket and lit a red candle as quickly as he could, yet in the small bedroom, there was no one else but him.

"Senior Brother Li, what's wrong? What happened?" Bai Lingmiao outside continued to call.

Meanwhile, Li Huowang's gaze had already shifted to his finger, pale from being sucked.

The turned-out, ferocious wound on it wasn't at all like one that human teeth could inflict, but more like it had been gnawed by some kind of sharp beastly fang!!