The Unruly Immortals

"I really can't tell... I really can't tell... I really can't tell."

Li Huowang knelt in the kindergarten courtyard, clutching the little girl tightly, his eyes filled with extreme confusion as he muttered to himself.

Was this reality or an illusion, true or false? Li Huowang found it hard to distinguish at that moment.

When Master Jingxin had said that every Xinsu was filled with confusion, Li Huowang had argued against it.

But it was only when he saw Sun Xiaoqin kneeling down behind the fence towards him that he understood the true meaning of Master Jingxin's words.

Xinsu is Xinsu, no matter which side they chose as reality, they were always wrapped in confusion.

It was the destiny of Xinsu, inescapable for anyone.

Just then, a small hand with a little handkerchief extended from Li Huowang's embrace.

Gently wiping away the tears on his face.

Li Huowang trembled as he looked down, only to see the cute little face of the girl, who was now concentrating on wiping his tears.

"Uncle, don't cry."

Looking at her adorable face, Li Huowang reflexively thought that this little girl might be alive.

The thought that he had almost harmed such a kind-hearted little girl filled Li Huowang with a sudden surge of dread.

"What if she's impersonated by someone on the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month? Kill her!"

As soon as this thought surfaced, Li Huowang immediately felt an extreme disgust towards himself.

"Shut up! Shut up!! Have you ever considered that this child might be alive! Is your life really more important than hers? She is at least a normal person! What about you? Li Huowang! You're just a madman!! A useless madman! What right do you have to trade her life for yours!!"

Li Huowang gripped the glass in his hand, which creaked ominously; he didn't let go even though the glass edges had already lacerated him to a bloody mess.

His roar frightened the people around, making them step back a few paces.

At that moment, it was as if two little men were fighting in Li Huowang's mind, the illusions and reality torturing his soul to such an excruciating degree that everything seemed to press down on him, leaving him gasping for breath.

Li Huowang even thought of death at one point, believing that dying would free him from this torment.

Such a madman as himself didn't need to live, dying would be a relief for everyone; his mother would be unburdened, and Master Danyang could no longer use his body to resurrect.

"Put your guns away, folks, young man, may I have a few words with you?" Another voice sounded from outside the kindergarten.

The speaker was a paunchy plainclothes middle-aged man holding a megaphone. Li Huowang did not know his identity, but as the police really began to lower their handguns, he guessed the man held significant rank.

As Li Huowang's gaze shifted towards him, the man with the megaphone slowly raised his right hand, "You see, young man, as the saying goes--"

Just as he was halfway through his sentence, the middle-aged man's raised right hand inexplicably bent slightly at the index finger.

"Whoosh~!" A high-speed spinning sniper bullet flew out of the chamber from a slightly ajar window in the distance, heading straight for the brainstem of Li Huowang.

Just at this moment, an extremely peculiar sensation enveloped Li Huowang's entire body; he suddenly tensed, instinctively tilting his head to one side.

With a "Bang!" Li Huowang's body violently shook once, his head jerked up heavily, then fell hard onto the ground.

"My son!!" Sun Xiaoqin's wretched voice carried far and wide.

The back of his head struck the ground hard, making Li Huowang's entire head buzz, stars exploding before his eyes.

"Am I going to die? If I'm already dead, why can I still think??"

Also, in this instant, all the bright surroundings rapidly dimmed, the buildings, the crowd, everything turned into murky, strangely shaped bamboo.

At this moment, Li Huowang felt a burning pain on his face—it looked like he suffered an injury.

But Li Huowang no longer had time to pay attention to these, because he heard that familiar voice, the Lunar December Eighteenth was still there; it was watching him from inside the bamboo forest right now.

He looked around and saw only bamboo; he was surrounded by bamboo, his lower body trapped in a mire of muddy, rotting bamboo leaves.

"Li Huowang~! Li Huowang!!" Various people's shouts came intermittently from within the bamboo forest, including Lingmiao's, Master Danyang's, and even Li Zhi's.

Li Huowang had always thought that over here, his fellow disciples were following his commands, attacking the Lunar December Eighteenth.

However, now it seemed that wasn't the case at all; the situation was exactly the opposite; for some unknown reason, he had become isolated.

Then a familiar voice came from within the forest. "Old man, as the saying goes, at seventy-three or eighty-four, King Yama won't call you himself, you're eighty-four this year, why haven't you gone yet?"

This typical neighborly voice continued to echo in the bamboo forest and became stronger and stronger, beginning to gradually take over Li Huowang's mind, attempting to transform his consciousness back into that of the dying elder.

And within the bamboo forest, rustling sounds began to emerge; Li Huowang saw the little girl from that night, as well as the Kitchen God she spoke of.

The Lunar December Eighteenth was not fighting alone; it even had allies.

At this moment, Li Huowang hadn't recovered from everything that had just occurred. His heart hurt as if it were being drilled into, yet faced with the crisis before him, he smiled.

"Do you know? It seems like you've already won, but you shouldn't have, of all things, failed to kill me just now. Do you know, my heart really hurts right now."

Li Huowang's expression was twisted as he arched his back, his trembling hand placed tightly over his heart, he yelled out through gritted teeth. "It hurts so much I even want to die!!"

Having said this, Li Huowang pulled at the red bamboo slip behind him, and as the bamboo slip unfolded, he felt the extreme sorrow within his heart come to life,

and this emotion resonated with the bamboo slip, the heartache that had begun to fade due to his return gradually intensified once again.

Subsequently, the red bamboo slip underwent a marvelous change; it started to grow roots, which burrowed through the bamboo leaves below, dying everything a bloody red.

Gradually, Li Huowang's emotions frayed at the edges; the pain in his heart returned to its peak just as it had moments ago.

However, this was still not enough; having rooted, it must now sprout, the pain in his heart was enough, and now only the physical pain remained.

While collapsing into a wailing fit, Li Huowang groped his hands towards the torture instruments below.

The Lunar December Eighteenth, it was clear, wanted to stop him, but now it was already too late.