The Unruly Immortals

Such a visually shocking body laid before Li Huowang, leaving him feeling immensely shaken.

"These... did they do this to you?"

Trembling slightly, Li Huowang's voice carried an additional layer of disgust for the Ao Jing Sect.

"At first they did, but later some were by my own hand, because only then could I integrate into the sect and become one of them," Yingzi calmly redressed in her robe.

Then, a trace of scorn appeared on her face. "I always thought that after such sacrifices, I had completely assimilated, but it turned out to be not the case. In their eyes, I was never family, just something that could be discarded at any time."

Li Huowang wanted to say something, but in the end, he lay back down without a word.

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of this hellhole," "You can start over."

This time, Yingzi didn't reply.

Li Huowang understood that his light-hearted words couldn't solve anything, she couldn't start anew; her life was thoroughly wrecked.

"Thump~" A wet tongue suddenly licked Li Huowang's face, it was Mantou's tongue, tucked in his embrace.

Li Huowang held down its head, staring wordlessly at the darkness overhead with wide-open eyes.

When he woke up the next day, breakfast had already been served at the door, sweet potato porridge with mixed grain pancakes.

Li Huowang let Mantou eat some of the food they brought first, and after making sure it wasn't poisoned, he and Yingzi started eating together.

Today, Li Huowang didn't ask Yingzi anything. Her status within the Ao Jing Sect was low, and the things she knew were common knowledge; perhaps he would find more opportunities by going out to look himself.

If Shou San inquired, Li Huowang already had his excuse ready; he wanted to learn how these people inflicted pain.

Under Yingzi's guidance, Li Huowang began wandering throughout the entire cave.

Unsure whether they simply adhered to rules or the abbess's letter had taken effect.

As Li Huowang moved about freely, the members of the Ao Jing Sect did not stop him but watched him intently instead.

At this moment, Li Huowang's heightened sensitivity made him aware that the watchful eyes held not just caution and curiosity but also other indescribable emotions.

However, soon Li Huowang could no longer pay attention to the gazes of others; the scenes within the cave made his eyes twitch.

If Buddhism's Eighteen Levels of Hell truly existed, it would undoubtedly be here.

Flaying, bisecting at the waist, dismemberment, the full gamut of punishments, death by a thousand cuts – these unheard-of tortures made Li Huowang's breakfast churn in his stomach, and the strong scent of blood rushed into his nostrils.

Barely making it out of the area filled with screams and the sound of flesh ripping, Li Huowang hadn't even caught his breath.

A small figure holding a pinwheel ran past him; a little boy wearing tiger-head shoes and a cap, laughing with the paper pinwheel in his hand. "Dad, you're so slow!"

In his wake, a robed member of the Ao Jing Sect followed, his hands covered in scars reaching out as he chased, "Son, you run so fast."

Watching them depart together, Li Huowang's face turned extremely grim. "These madmen! Do they not have hearts?"

The leading Yingzi turned her head to glance at Li Huowang, said nothing, and continued walking ahead.

"Benefactor, last night you seemed interested in other scriptures of the Ao Jing Sect. If you want, I can give you my books. What do you think?"

Yingzi's words lingered, only to realize there was no response.

When she came to her senses, she found the red-clad Taoist grasping his head in agony.

"Damn it, not again!" Li Huowang could feel everything around him collapsing, and he knew that the hallucination was about to appear again.

"Benefactor? What's wrong with you, Benefactor?" Jiang Yingzi quickly turned back.

Li Huowang, gasping for breath, watched as Yingzi's face twisted into the appearance of a nurse.

"Tuck in your tongue, there, be good, don't bite it again," she instructed Li Huowang.

Seeing that Li Huowang was staring blankly at her and not spouting nonsense anymore, the nurse sadly shook her head and walked away.

Li Huowang turned to look at the sunny sky outside the window, his mind went blank for a moment, not knowing what to do next.

"Wait! Over there, I'm still outside, this is very dangerous!"

Becoming alert, Li Huowang hurriedly said in a rush, "Yingzi, listen to me, get me back inside the house right now, and tie me up with a rope—"

"Huowang."

Li Huowang instinctively looked up and saw Yang Na standing at the door with tearful eyes.

She was still dressed simply, a white sweater paired with jeans, and a small ladies' crossbody bag slung around her waist.

"Huowang, you reacted to my voice? You're awake, right? You recognize me, don't you?" Yang Na ran over and grabbed Li Huowang's hand.

Feeling the familiar touch, Li Huowang's mind was in turmoil, almost instinctively he froze, pretending to be having another episode.

After shouting several more times, Yang Na's gaze shifted from excitement to extreme disappointment.

Tears glistened on her long eyelashes, and her soft voice trembled slightly,

"Huowang, you big liar, we promised to go to college together! Why am I already in my first year and you're still not awake!"

On hearing this, Li Huowang felt a pang in his heart; he knew this was a hallucination, but he really couldn't remain indifferent. "Nana, I'm sorry."

Hearing this, Yang Na's look of extreme disappointment slowly turned into overwhelming excitement, and she threw herself onto Li Huowang, crying.

"I'm sorry, I really wanted to come see you, but since you were on TV, my parents forbade me from seeing you, it took so much for me to come today."

After hugging Yang Na gently, Li Huowang pushed her away.

"Nana, your dad is right, don't come anymore, I'm afraid I really can't resist..."

The rest of the sentence Li Huowang kept to himself, "I'm afraid I really can't resist mistaking this place for reality again."

Yang Na could hardly believe her ears, it was like a bolt from the blue, as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over her from head to toe, and she stood there stunned.

She never thought that Li Huowang, finally coming around, would say something like this as soon as he opened his mouth.

Suddenly, she snapped back to reality, raised her small crossbody bag with her phone in it, and started hitting Li Huowang with it, crying and shouting at the same time.

"Saying this, did you even consider my feelings? Why are you saying the same thing!"

"My parents urge me to give up! My brother urges me to give up! My best friend urges me to give up! And now even you are telling me to give up! It's really exhausting to keep holding on, why do you have to twist the knife, you said you liked me! I don't want to give up!"