Li Huowang curled up into a ball, like an unborn baby, motionless and autistic in a corner of the material room.
The other medicines did not dare or want to disturb him, and they were all doing their work quietly.
The night fell unnoticed, the oil lamps on the wall went out, and the darkness covered Li Huowang like a quilt.
He lay there like a corpse, without any reaction to the changes in the outside world.
At midnight, a faint candle light lit up from the door, illuminating the shelves next to it and dispelling the darkness on Li Huowang.
The timid Bai Lingmiao walked to Li Huowang with a ball of dry grass and carefully spread the dry grass on his body.
Then she took out a piece of mixed grain steamed bun from her arms and put it next to his mouth.
Seeing that Li Huowang was still motionless, she pursed her lips and gently pushed him. "Brother, eat something. You haven't eaten anything today."
Li Huowang's eyes were open. His eyes, which had not blinked for several hours, stared numbly at the cold ground, and did not move towards Bai Lingmiao at all.
Bai Lingmiao wanted to leave, but after hesitating for a moment, she finally took out a jade pendant from her arms and placed it next to Li Huowang's hand.
"Brother, this is your thing. Take it back."
This time Li Huowang finally reacted. He looked at the thing and found that it was the round jade pendant he had stolen from the previous Xuan Yang.
Li Huowang still remembered that he gave this thing to Yang Na and exchanged it for money. When he thought of Yang Na, his broken heart began to bleed again, "How could this thing... be here with you?"
"Yes... Brother Li, you gave it to me. I said no, but you insisted on giving it to me."
Li Huowang sat up slowly, and carefully looked at the cloud-patterned round jade pendant in the dim candlelight.
At this moment, he had never felt that everything was so real. But this reality only contained real despair and real pain.
If he could choose, how much he wanted to stay trapped in that beautiful illusion.
Seeing Li Huowang respond, Bai Lingmiao asked softly: "Brother Li, where were you captured by the master? I am from Liang State, where are you from?"
Li Huowang was stunned for a while and shook his head dejectedly, "I don't know."
He really didn't know. He did have memories of the past, but after what happened during the day, Li Huowang himself couldn't tell how much of those memories were real and how much were illusory.
Even if he came here, he was still a madman, a madman who couldn't tell reality from illusion.
Just when he shook his head, Li Huowang suddenly felt something strange in his head. He touched it with his hand and found that his hair was clotted with blood scabs. He had been injured before.
Seeing Li Huowang touching his head, Bai Lingmiao explained: "That was done by Brother Wang."
Li Huowang knew that this Brother Wang was the fat man with cleft lip who wanted to attack Bai Lingmiao before. "Where is the man surnamed Wang?"
"Kicked to death by you... by you."
Hearing this, Li Huowang's mind flashed back to the old Liu who was kicked away by him in the illusion. He lowered his head and smiled silently. He was really crazy.
Li Huowang reached out and took out a golden anklet with red thread from his arms and handed it to Bai Lingmiao. "This is your thing, take it back."
Bai Lingmiao looked at his anklet and pushed it back with both hands, "Brother Li, you were right before, this thing is useless here, take it."
Li Huowang stared at the golden ring in a daze, but this thing was of no use to him now, and everything he cared about disappeared.
"Um, Brother Li, I can use this thing as a reward, can you please do me a favor?" Bai Lingmiao's words made Li Huowang look at her.
"If you can get out of here alive, can you tell my parents a message for me? They live at the foot of Niuxin Mountain in Liang State. Tell them that I am an unfilial daughter and cannot take care of them in their old age." Bai Lingmiao's voice became choked with sobs when she spoke of the sad part.
"Brother Li, I really don't want to trouble you, but I really have no other way. I guess they will take me to the alchemy room soon. I..."
Li Huowang, who was decadent and numb, heard this, and his heart condensed, and his silent eyes lighted up again.
He looked at the dry grass covering his body, and then at the steamed buns beside him. With a pull, he put the red thread gold ring back into his arms.
"I keep my word. Since I took your things before, I will help you."
Bai Lingmiao's sad eyes lit up instantly, but soon dimmed again. "Brother Li, this won't work. It will put you in trouble."
"Hehe... Do you think I'm still afraid of this now?" At this moment, Li Huowang has let it go. He had given up completely. Since everything he cared about was gone, what was there to be afraid of?
"Good, Senior Brother Li is awesome!" A male voice suddenly sounded from outside the material room, startling the two people in the room.
As the candlelight illuminated the man, a face with a frivolous smile and a pointed face was seen. His face was yellow and white, and he looked like he had a skin disease similar to vitiligo.
The man took out two steamed buns of various grains and put them next to Li Huowang in a flattering manner.
"Hehehe, Senior Brother Li, eat steamed buns. When I was having dinner, I remembered that Senior Brother Li hadn't eaten yet, so I specially left two for you."
"You may not know me, Junior Brother. I was born and raised, and I don't have a big name. You can just call me Gou Wa. Hehehe, just yesterday, I gave you seventeen coins as a filial gift."
Gou Wa was fidgeting and rubbing his hands, almost showing flattery on his face. It was obvious that he wanted to use Li Huowang as a backer and not be sent to be a medicine guide. Smart people are everywhere.
Li Huowang didn't say anything. He grabbed the three hard buns and gobbled them up. He had been hungry for a day.
Because he ate too fast, he choked. Gou Wa immediately ran out to get Li Huowang a glass of water.
When the cold groundwater washed him, Li Huowang stuffed the three grain buns into his stomach.
He stood up with a shake and struggle. His legs were numb from lying on the ground for so long.
Bai Lingmiao reached out to help him, but Li Huowang pushed her away.
He stared at the dark exit of the material room in the distance and walked out staggeringly.
At this time, his enemy was no longer his mutated disease, but the Taoist Dan Yangzi who took people to make elixirs.
When Dan Yangzi's ugly and disgusting face appeared in his mind, Li Huowang's eyes gradually showed strong hostility, and his teeth began to creak.
He, who had felt hopeless just now, was now full of motivation. The only thing he had to do now was to find a way to kill him!