The Unruly Immortals

"Fire Coat True Scripture?" Li Huowang, feeling greatly astonished, reached out to take the bizarre book wrapped in a semi-transparent wax.

Through the solid wax, Li Huowang could make out the title on the cover.

He immediately realized he had been mistaken; what Jiang Yingzi had mentioned was not the True Scripture, but the Canon.

"Fire Coat Canon" was the name of the book.

Although the healing process had been extremely painful, Li Huowang was equally aware of the tremendous utility of this object.

"Why give this to me?" Li Huowang asked in surprise.

"I thought you might want it, so I specially brought it to you. Mind you, this book is not so easy to practice. You need to learn a kind of unusual script to do it right," she explained.

With a stretch of her hand, Yingzi broke the wax shell on the book, revealing its contents.

"This is..." Li Huowang frowned increasingly.

It was a text made up of various circles, larger circles enclosing smaller ones, and within the smaller circles, there were dots. Each circle was different from the others.

He couldn't understand a single character, it was a writing system Li Huowang had never seen before.

"If you want to comprehend this Canon, you'll need to start from the beginning. Only by mastering the Heavenly Fire Pattern in its entirety can you make better use of it."

Then she pulled out a hand-copied picture book. "This is a comparison between the Heavenly Fire Pattern and the common vernacular. You can go over it," she offered.

Li Huowang quickly flipped it open and found that it was very detailed. The handwriting was neat and elegant, looking as though Yingzi had written it herself.

Seeing that she had gone to such lengths, Li Huowang no longer demurred. In fact, he really needed it now.

But there was no time to look at it now. After getting out of this accursed place, he'd have time to study it slowly.

After storing both books away, Li Huowang turned to Yingzi and asked, "Won't there be trouble if they find out you gave me these books without permission?"

Yingzi lowered her head slightly and shook it gently without saying a word.

Li Huowang nodded in understanding and looked at her very seriously.

"I won't pry into your difficulties. If someone shows me an inch of respect, I'll give them a foot in return."

"I still mean what I say. As long as you help me wholeheartedly, I can still take you away from this Demon's Cave."

"Mm!" Upon hearing this, Yingzi couldn't help but nod her head in secret delight.

"My lord, what do you need me to do? I can help you with anything," Yingzi asked eagerly, her face showing a trace of urgency.

After glancing around vigilantly, Li Huowang continued in a lowered voice, "Yingzi, since our goals align, you are now one of us. I truly do need your help right now."

Having said that, Li Huowang whispered something into her ear, with Yingzi nodding from time to time to show she understood.

Half a stick of incense later, the two of them walked out of the cave, one after the other.

In the next two days, with Yingzi's company, Li Huowang roamed the entire cavern, sparing none of the secret places.

Shou San didn't break his promise; during this time, no one really came to trouble Li Huowang. Even when encountered, they did nothing more than look on or pass by.

By the third day of his exploration, Li Huowang had completely memorized the entire layout of the cavern in his head.

"My lord, we have got it all down. What shall we do next?" the silently following Yingzi asked quietly from behind him.

With a resolute expression, Li Huowang stared at the cave in front of him for a while, then turned around to head back the way they had come.

"Let's go back for now and talk. Be aware that walls have ears."

Yingzi, like an attendant student, followed silently behind Li Huowang at this moment.

The walking Li Huowang was full of worries; his expression alternated between grave and fierce, as though he were contemplating something important.

Just as they reached the halfway point, they were stopped by someone, none other than Shou San, whose body was charred black.

With an incredibly intrusive smile stretching across his face, bits of charred skin fell from his face to the ground.

"Xuanyang, my friend, it is already the third day. Have you found any clues?"

"Do you need my assistance? If you think the previous method won't work, I must confess I thought of another one today."

Before the other party could finish speaking, Li Huowang immediately stopped them, afraid their words would pollute his ears.

"I don't need it, I said! I will find the solution on my own!"

Li Huowang, pulling Yingzi, strode towards their residence.

Seeing this, Shou San did not stop them. He stood still, eyes shimmering as he watched their retreating figures.

Only when that frail wooden door closed again, shutting out everything outside, did Li Huowang finally take a breath of relief.

Living in this Dragon Pool and Tiger's Den was truly torturous, as if dancing on the edge of someone else's lips.

"Master, what shall we do next?"

As Li Huowang was about to respond to Yingzi's question from behind, his expression suddenly froze.

"Damn it, here it comes again!" Leaning against the wooden door behind him, Li Huowang gradually slid to the ground.

"Master? Master, are you alright?" Yingzi rushed over cautiously.

At this moment, Li Huowang, staring blankly at the young girl in front of him, struggled with his expression before saying softly, "Mom? You're here? I don't want to eat oranges; can you go out for a while? I have some matters to attend to."

"I know, of course I understand, that over there is an illusion. Don't worry about my illness, I'm a little thirsty. Could you fetch me some water from the water room?"

"I don't want water from the thermos; I just want boiling water.

"Master...?" Watching the crazed Li Huowang, Yingzi asked hesitantly.

A moment later, Li Huowang's once smiling face suddenly turned severe.

His eyes, lacking any focus, darted around. "Yingzi, quick, tie me up, to the bed!! I'll explain after I come to my senses!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than his expression quickly changed again. "Dad, how come you are here too? Don't you have to work today?"

Yingzi stood still, watching the red-robed Taoist spouting nonsense to the air, yet she didn't bind him as he had instructed.

"Mom, thank you, don't feed me; I can drink by myself." Li Huowang cupped his hands toward thin air and poured toward his mouth.

Watching Li Huowang open his mouth wide, Yingzi's trembling right hand drew a bundle of rusty iron nails twisted into Iron Thorns from within her robe.

Looking at Li Huowang, Yingzi hesitated for a moment, then put the Iron Thorns back.

"Alright, alright, I can peel the oranges myself; don't come over."

When Yingzi's only arm reemerged from her robe, she held a vial in her hand.

The rust-laden Iron Thorns were thrown in, corroding with a hissing noise.

Soon, the corroding Iron Thorns, continuously emitting black smoke, were brought in front of Li Huowang by Yingzi.

"Woof woof~" Mantou curiously ran over, puzzled at the scene before it, one it could not comprehend.

"Bang!" Yingzi's right foot lashed out fiercely, sending Mantou flying.

The blood-spitting Mantou struggled to stand, wobbled a few times, and then stumbled back to the ground.

"Mom, stop peeling; I've had enough oranges."

Li Huowang took the smoking Iron Thorns into his hand.

At that moment, Yingzi stood still, watching as Li Huowang approached death, her body trembling with excitement.

As the Iron Thorns neared Li Huowang's mouth, just at the moment of contact, they suddenly stopped.

The three corroded fingers grasping the Iron Thorns relaxed slightly, and the item glided past Li Huowang's cheek, rolling on the ground and then coming to a halt.

At this moment, Li Huowang showed no signs of madness; his gaze was as cold as ice as he stared at the one-armed girl before him. "Why?"