The Unruly Immortals

Upon hearing Li Huowang's response, the bifurcated tongue slowly retracted into the bloodied maw hidden beneath the red veil, and the mouth full of sharp teeth curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile.

Lying in bed, Second God edged closer to Li Huowang, who was holding Bai Lingmiao.

The three people lying in one bed remained silent, and finally the room quieted down.

As expected, Li Huowang overslept the next day, but fortunately, no one was pursuing them now.

"Brother Li, here." A bowl of milky white liquid was brought in front of Li Huowang who was incapacitated.

"What's this?" Li Huowang noticed that there were some white things floating in it.

"Sheep milk with soaked tofu, I heard Baolu say, in Qingqiu, it's good for quick recovery to drink a lot of sheep milk when injured."

Li Huowang took a big gulp from the bowl, it was neither tasty nor unpleasant, just simply not to his usual taste.

However, Li Huowang wasn't fussy about food and drink as long as it wasn't too salty or spicy.

After he finished drinking, Bai Lingmiao reached out with a towel and gently wiped away the milk mustache from Li Huowang's mouth.

"How's Sun Baolu's preparation of food supplies going?"

"He went out early in the morning, saying that the sheep at that household weren't well, looking weak, so he decided to choose from a few more families."

"What? Sheep? I clearly asked him to buy food. What does he need sheep for?"

Bai Lingmiao laughed, "I asked him the same thing earlier, but he said that in Qingqiu, living sheep are considered food. Sheep's milk and manure, which can be used as fuel when dried, and besides, living sheep can walk, which is much more convenient than carrying dry food."

"I see... alright then," When it came to such matters, Li Huowang decided to listen to the local.

After setting the bowl down, Bai Lingmiao gently cradled Li Huowang's calf in her arms, pulling up the pant leg and carefully observed the healing of the severed limb.

"Brother Li, look, it's grown up to the ankle now, and in a few more days, it will be completely healed." Seeing Li Huowang getting better, Bai Lingmiao radiated joy from inside out.

Gazing at her exquisite face, Li Huowang was stunned, involuntarily recalling everything that had happened the previous night.

"Miaomiao, have you been keeping anything from me lately?"

"Hmm? What's wrong? No, I haven't." Bai Lingmiao looked at Li Huowang, tilting her head in confusion.

No matter if she truly knew or pretended not to know, Li Huowang got straight to the point. "I mean, about Second God."

"Has she influenced you? Or have the Immortal Sects threatened you?"

"Not at all, how could she... threaten me? Our lives are bound together. If I die, she can't live either."

"Is that so?" Li Huowang pondered while sizing up Bai Lingmiao. "Remember, I'm right beside you. Whatever trouble you have, make sure to come to me, understand?"

Bai Lingmiao nodded. Then she asked with a bit of caution, "Brother Li, we're not busy today, can we go out for a walk?"

"Go out? Why?"

"Just... to have some fun. I've never been to Qingqiu before, and when I came in yesterday, it looked very bustling outside." Bai Lingmiao's face revealed a rare slyness.

Li Huowang took another look at the Bai Lingmiao in front of him, her appearance overlapping with that of Yang Na who once watched a movie with him.

Suddenly, he realized the girl before him wasn't that old; she too longed for some relaxation.

All this time she had been so sensible, he had almost forgotten that Bai Lingmiao was still just a young girl.

Li Huowang suddenly felt a twinge of guilt for not considering this.

"Okay, let's go then, today we'll have enough fun." Li Huowang picked up his crutch, and with her help, he walked out of the simple inn.

As soon as they stepped out the door, the sun shone down and Bai Lingmiao immediately frowned, squinting her pink eyes, "The sun's really strong today."

Li Huowang hastily untied the white silk ribbon from her wrist and covered her eyes with it. "No, we must tie it up, otherwise it will hurt your eyes too much."

"But...like this...I won't be able to see." The mood of Bai Lingmiao had dropped, finally having the opportunity present today.

"Then you hold onto me, and I'll tell you what I see, how about that?"

"Um...okay!" A hint of a smile appeared on Bai Lingmiao's face as she grabbed hold of Li Huowang's clothes with both hands.

"Miaomiao, there are people buying lambs in front of you, come on, stretch out your hand and feel."

Bai Lingmiao reached out her hand and immediately touched a furry little head; the lamb's tongue licked her from beneath, startling her greatly. She quickly withdrew her hand.

After a while, she hesitantly reached out again.

"Let's go, we'll continue to look around."

Li Huowang, with a single eye and a single leg, was hobbling along slowly, guiding the blindfolded Bai Lingmiao through the market.

Through Li Huowang's descriptions, Bai Lingmiao gradually learned about the ins and outs of the entire marketplace; she was really happy now.

Even though she couldn't see anything, she could still feel that Brother Li cared for her, that he was accompanying her.

Suddenly, Li Huowang halted. Bai Lingmiao, unable to stop in time, bumped into his back. "Brother Li, why have we stopped? What do you see?"

"Oh, ahead there's a group doing tricks, they're breathing fire, and the flames are soaring really high, even burning a man's hair. He's jumping around like crazy."

The scene described by Li Huowang made Bai Lingmiao chuckle with laughter. She even couldn't help wanting to take off her blindfold to sneak a peek, but Li Huowang stopped her.

"And that man, he's amazing too, he can actually swallow swords. Three knives went straight down his throat, and he didn't even blink an eye."

Li Huowang, accompanied by the beaming smile on Bai Lingmiao's face, continued to narrate as they walked past a row of people bound in chains.

The slaves, in tattered garments, displayed vacant stares, having long since become completely numb.

Clearly, the specialties of Qingqiu were not limited to green noodles and tent inns; its shady aspect was different from other places too—they were selling people!

"Next to the tricksters, there's a monkey performing, and that monkey is really smart, actually whipping its own master." Li Huowang, looking at a body with its head severed, continued to relay the story.

"Quick, the monkey is running towards us, we should hurry away."

Li Huowang, limping along, led the sightless Bai Lingmiao away from that spot.

As he continued accompanying Bai Lingmiao around the market, having thought it was already quite an experience, he didn't expect that not much later, he would see a dead body on the marketplace's stage, a corpse that was being disemboweled with a dagger.

"Brother Li, what's over there?"

"Over there...someone is wrestling, that fat man is really heavy, definitely twice your weight."

"Brother Li, I'm not that heavy," Bai Lingmiao said shyly, gently punching Li Huowang's arm.

"Then I misspoke, let me rephrase it, that wrestler is four times your weight."

All of a sudden, Li Huowang looked up at the sky; something had just covered it.

It was vultures, dozens of pitch-black vultures swooping down, completely enveloping the corpse as they frenziedly tore at it.

There was much flesh for the vultures but little to go around; the scuffle for it was intense. Once they were sated and dispersed like flies, only scattered bones and hair were left on the ground.

Those who had been waiting approached with hammers, gently tapping the remaining bones.

When they finished shaping them, they adorned their hair and clothes with the pieces.

All at once, Li Huowang realized how these Qingqiu People came by their bone ornaments.

"Brother Li, what do you see? Hurry up and tell me," Bai Lingmiao urged, tugging at Li Huowang's clothes incessantly.

"Da da da"—just then, Mantou trotted through the crowd and arrived in front of Li Huowang.

It placed half a human skull from its mouth at his feet, and then sat down, wagging its tail and panting continuously.