Chapter 220 - The Marketplace
Upon hearing Li Huowang's response, the bifurcated tongue slowly retracted back into the blood-red veil and its mouth that was adorned with pointed teeth curved slightly upward into a faint smile. Then, the Second Deity, who was lying on the bed, carefully leaned toward Li Huowang, with Bai Lingmiao by his side.
The three of them lay quietly on the bed, not saying anything. The room finally fell silent.
As expected, Li Huowang once again overslept the next day. Thankfully, no one was on his case this time around.
“Senior Li, here you go.” A bowl of white liquid was placed in front of the incapacitated Li Huowang.
"What is this?" asked Li Huowang; he noticed some white substances floating inside.
“Sheep milk curdled with tofu. I heard from Baolu that a saying in Qing Qiu suggests that drinking sheep milk helps wounds heal faster,” said Bai Lingmiao.
Hearing this, Li Huowang took a big sip from the bowl. It wasn't particularly tasty or unpleasant. He was just not used to it. Nevertheless, as long as it wasn’t overly salty or spicy, he wasn't picky when it came to food and drinks.
After he finished his bowl, Bai Lingmiao picked up a towel and reached over to Li Huowang’s mouth, gently wiping away the milk mustache from the corners of his mouth.
“How's Sun Baolu's progress with the supplies?” asked Li Huowang.
“He left early this morning. He said that the sheep from the first store were in poor condition, and so he planned to visit a few more places,” replied Bai Lingmiao.
“What? Sheep? I told him to buy food stocks. Why is he buying sheep?” asked Li Huowang.
Bai Lingmiao chuckled. “I asked him the same thing earlier. He explained that in Qing Qiu, live sheep are considered provisions. Sheep's milk is suitable for consumption. And when the sheep's dung dries, it can serve as a source of fuel. Plus, live sheep can move on their own, which is more convenient than carrying around dry rations.”
“Ah, I see. Well, alright.” Li Huowang decided to follow local norms in this instance.
After keeping away the bowl, Bai Lingmiao went over to Li Huowang and softly held his calf and pulled back his pants, carefully observing the healing progress of his severed leg.
“Senior Li, look! It has grown down to your ankle. It should be fully healed in the next few days,” exclaimed Bai Lingmiao joyfully.
As he stared at Bai Lingmiao’s delicate face, Li Huowang momentarily got lost in his thoughts. He couldn’t help but recall the happenings of the night before.
“Miaomiao, have you been keeping something from me recently?” asked Li Huowang.
“Hmm? What's wrong? I haven't kept anything from you,” said Bai Lingmiao, tilting her head with a puzzled expression.
Li Huowang went straight to the point, completely disregarding whether she really knew what was going on. “It is concerning your Second Deity. Has she been affecting you? Or have the Immortal families threatened you?”
“No, why would she threaten me? Our lives are connected. If I die, then she will die too,” replied Bai Lingmiao.
“Is that so?” Li Huowang thoughtfully regarded Bai Lingmiao. “Remember, I'm right here. If there’s ever any trouble, make sure to come to me, alright?”
Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao nodded. Then, with a hint of caution, she asked, “Senior Li, there is nothing much to do today. Can we go out for a walk?”
“A walk? Why?”
“Just... to go out and have some fun. After all, I haven't been to Qing Qiu before. It seemed quite lively outside when we came here yesterday,” Bai Lingmiao replied with a rare mischievous grin on her face.
Li Huowang re-evaluated the girl before him. Her current demeanor reminded him of the time he watched a movie with Yang Na. At that moment, it suddenly dawned on him that this young girl, despite all her maturity, was still just a teenager.
Li Huowang suddenly felt a pang of guilt. He hadn't considered this aspect before.
“Alright then, let's go. Let’s have a good time today,” said Li Huowang as he picked up his crutch and walked out of the rudimentary inn with her support.
Once outside, the glaring sun made Bai Lingmiao scrunch up her pink eyes. "The sun is so bright today."
Li Huowang quickly untied the white ribbon on her wrist and used it to cover her eyes. “No, your eyes must be covered up. Otherwise, the sun will hurt your eyes.”
“But... this way... I can't see anything...” Bai Lingmiao's enthusiasm waned, realizing that she would have to miss this rare opportunity.
“In that case, you can hold onto me, and I'll describe everything I see to you. How does that sound?” suggested Li Huowang.
“Okay... that works!” The smile on Bai Lingmiao's face immediately returned as she clasped Li Huowang's clothing with both her hands.
“Miaomiao, there's someone in front of us, buying a baby lamb. Here, reach out and feel it,” started describing Li Huowang.
Bai Lingmiao reached out and stroked the lamb’s furry head. In response, the lamb stuck out its tongue and licked her palm from below, startling her into withdrawing her hand swiftly.
After a while, she carefully reached her hand out again.
“Come on, let’s continue,” said Li Huowang.
Then, the one-eyed and one-legged Li Huowang started hobbling around with the support of his crutch. Bai Lingmiao walked slowly by his side in the bustling marketplace, her eyes still covered.
Through Li Huowang's descriptions, Bai Lingmiao gradually learned about the ins and outs of the entire marketplace. At the same time, she felt genuinely happy now. Although she could not see anything, she could still feel that Senior Li genuinely cared for her and was there for her.
After a while, Li Huowang suddenly came to a halt, causing Bai Lingmiao to accidentally bump into him. She asked, “Senior Li, why did we stop walking? What do you see?”
“Oh, there's a group performing tricks up ahead. They're spitting fire. The fire was so high that it ended up burning someone’s hair, and now that person is jumping around in a frenzy,” replied Li Huowang.
Li Huowang's description of the scene amused Bai Lingmiao, to the point that she even felt like taking off her blindfold to sneak a peek. However, Li Huowang stopped her.
“Another person is swallowing knives. He just shoved three knives down his throat without even blinking,” continued Li Huowang.
As he continued to describe the scenes of the people around them, Li Huowang and Bai Lingmiao both wore smiles.
Meanwhile, the ragged slaves had lifeless expressions, having long become completely numb to their situation.
The kingdom of Qing Qiu had more to offer than its green noodles and tent-like inns. There was a darker side to it all. They were involved in human trafficking!
“There's a monkey act next to the fire-breathing show. That monkey is very intelligent, even to the point of being able to whip its owner,” Li Huowang continued to relay. “Quick, the monkey is heading our way. Let's go.”
Li Huowang limped while guiding the blindfolded Bai Lingmiao away from that area.
Li Huowang continued to accompany Bai Lingmiao through the marketplace, thinking that they had seen enough for the day. However, they soon encountered an unsettling sight on the market platform.
There was a dead body being disemboweled with a dagger.
“Senior Li, what's happening over there?” asked Bai Lingmiao.
“People are wrestling over there. The guy looks enormous, and is probably twice as heavy as you,” lied Li Huowang.
“Senior Li, I’m not that heavy!” Bai Lingmiao blushed and nudged Li Huowang's arm.
“That was my mistake, let me correct that. The wrestler is probably four times as heavy as you,” said Li Huowang.
At that moment, Li Huowang abruptly lifted his head to gaze at the sky. The sky had suddenly been obscured by something.
It was a flock of vultures.
At that moment, dozens of pitch-black vultures swooped down and covered the corpse, going wild as they tore at it savagely.
The vultures competed fiercely over their scarce meal. After gorging themselves, they scattered like flies, leaving behind only a pile of scattered bones and some hair on the ground.
Then, the people who had been waiting on the side approached the pile of scattered bones while carrying small hammers, and gently started tapping the bones. Once the bones had been properly fashioned into trinkets, they decked themselves with these trinkets, adorning their hair and garments with them.
As he saw this, Li Huowang finally understood how the people of Qing Qiu got their bone ornaments.
“Senior Li, what do you see? I want to know!” Bai Lingmiao tugged at Li Huowang's clothes, asking repeatedly.
Da da da~
Just then, Bun skipped through the crowd and arrived by Li Huowang's side, carrying half a human skull in its mouth. Then, it dropped the skull by his feet while wagging its tail and sitting there, panting continuously.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l