Chapter 222 - Baolu
“Senior Li? Is something wrong?” Sun Baolu asked carefully.
Li Huowang used his chin to point toward the outside before placing his crutches underneath his armpit and hobbling out. “Let’s go and have a chat, just the two of us.”
Sun Baolu hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to walk out.
As it got darker, very few people could still be seen outside at this point.
The bone-chilling wind blew gently, tugging at Li Huowang’s and Sun Baolu’s sleeves.
Sun Baolu was not having a good time. He was trying to think about how to answer Senior Li’s question. After all, he had never thought that his lies would be seen through so quickly.
“No need to delay this anymore. We still need to resume our journey tomorrow. So tell me, why did you lie and say that the bone was from a horse, not a human? How many more things are you hiding from us?”
Sun Baolu hesitated for a moment, and then sighed. “Senior Li, it’s not that I wanted to intentionally hide it from all of you, but I just thought that there was no reason for me to explain the local traditions of Qing Qiu to you and everyone else; after all, we are just passing through this place. I was afraid that you would think we are weird.”
“Cutting up a human being, feeding them to the vultures, and then using their broken bones as decorations? I don’t think this is a tradition,” commented Li Huowang. He was still shocked by what he had seen today.
Hearing the doubt in Li Huowang’s voice, Sun Baolu explained as best as he could, “Maybe outsiders would think that this is crazy, but this really is one of the traditions followed by the people of Qing Qiu. Except for those who died from an illness, everyone else is given a sky burial. Since the dead would also rot underneath the ground, we might as well use them to feed the animals and then hunt them down for food. Regardless of what we do, everything is decided by the Immortal Heaven. All living beings would still go through reincarnation afterward.”
Li Huowang looked at Sun Baolu calmly. “Immortal Heaven? Do the people of Qing Qiu worship it as a God? Where does it usually reside?”
This was the second time Li Huowang had heard of that name.
Sun Baolu pointed at the moon. “It’s there. The Immortal Heaven cannot touch us, and we cannot see it, but it will always have something that we want.”
“Hm?” Hearing his words, Li Huowang looked at the moon as well.
“That’s the belly button of the Immortal Heaven while the entire night sky is its shadow. Its shadow is made from the two candles it holds during the night,” explained Sun Baolu.
“The entire night is its shadow? And what about the day?” Li Huowang asked.
“During the day, the sun represents the two candles it's holding! The Immortal Heaven will observe us behind the candles. Thanks to it, we can live a good life,” Sun Baolu said as if it was the truth.
Hearing those words, Li Huowang began to ponder.
The Five Realms of Buddha mentioned by the Righteous Monastery, the Nuo Opera performers that talked about Da Nuo, the Baiyu Capital that Li Huowang himself had seen, and now the Immortal Heaven described by Sun Baolu.
Everyone had their own views about the world. Some of them even contradicted the others.
However, Li Huowang had seen ‘it’ itself and knew that there was no Immortal heaven, nor was there any Da Nuo or the Five Realms of Buddha.
All Li Huowang had seen was a world gone crazy. The humans living within it and the beings living above it were all being tormented along with the world.
Li Huowang wanted to ignore all the other worldviews, but he tried his best not to do so.
Maybe the things I saw were mere illusions, and maybe what they said is true? No matter what, the world and Gods any of them described were much better than the crazy world I saw back then.
As he saw Li Huowang just standing there silently, Sun Baolu said with a bitter expression on his face, “Senior Li, you don’t believe me, do you?”
Li Huowang thought about it and finally gave his answer, “I trust you. But then, what about the people who took the pieces of bones as decorations?”
“That’s also one of the rules that has been passed down in Qing Qiu. Legends say that the bones contain a person’s bravery and strength. If we wear them on our body, it will not only increase our bravery and strength, it could also repel evil. But only the bones of extremely talented individuals are highly sought after. The unpopular ones just have their bones buried under,” explained Sun Baolu.
“Why is the culture of Qing Qiu so... unauspicious?” questioned Li Huowang.
“Is it unauspicious? I think it’s normal,” said Sun Baolu matter of factly.
After Sun Baolu explained more about the culture of Qing Qiu as well as some of their myths, the scene Li Huowang had seen before started to make sense.
Even so, Li Huowang was still suspicious and did not let his guard down.
Sensing the suspicion in Li Huowang’s gaze, Sun Baolu revealed an unpleasant expression on his face. “Senior Li, we are all comrades that escaped from the Zephyr Temple. You’ve already sacrificed so much just so you could let us return home. I would never lie to you. Even if I wanted to hurt you, I would’ve done so when you were unconscious. After all, you are far too strong and a single hit from you would probably kill me.”
Li Huoawng nodded. “That’s indeed the case. Then, since you trust me so much, can you tell me why you wrap your clothes so tightly around your body?”
Something definitely happened to Sun Baolu’s body. Li Huowang had never really given it much thought before, but now he wanted to know what Sun Baolu was hiding.
Hearing those words, Sun Baolu paled and hugged his shirt tightly before taking a few steps back. He didn’t know why Li Huowang would suddenly ask about that.
“What are you afraid of? You can just show me. All of us have some kind of deformity one way or another. Do you think that any of us would laugh at you? Or do you think that your condition is worse than mine?” pressed Li Huowang.
Sun Baolu felt extremely humiliated by Li Huowang’s words. His eyes were red as he shouted, “Senior Li! I’m really different from all of you! Please, I beg you! If you keep pushing it, then I would rather just kill myself!”
When he saw just how big his reaction was, Li Huowang hobbled closer. “You are going to go home soon and we will most likely not meet each other again. Do you still want to hide it?”
Sun Baolu took a deep breath and shouted, “Fine! I will tell you and only you alone once I get back to my home! You must never tell anyone else or I will die right in front of you!”
Seeing how serious Sun Baolu was, Li Huowang realized that there was no reason to push him any further; they were comrades and not enemies.
At the same time, Li Huowang also realized he had become far too suspicious of everyone after being lied to by the members of the Sitting Oblivion Dao.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I’m just asking,” assured Li Huowang. He decided to temporarily trust Sun Baolu as he started hobbling back toward the inn.
Hearing those words, Sun Baolu wiped his tears with his sleeves and helped Li Huowang walk back to the inn.
Just as they had almost reached the inn, Li Huowang heard something from the right. He turned around and saw that something glowing was headed their way.
Li Huowang stopped at the entrance of the inn. “Wait, that light is weird. It’s too diffused.”
The light slowly came closer and closer causing Li Huowang’s eye to widen with shock.
“Baolu... Didn’t you say that there were no evil beings in Qing Qiu? What is that?” asked Li Huowang.
“That’s not an evil being, that’s a Lion Dance. Senior Li, don’t you know about Lion Dance?” asked Sun Baolu, confused.
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