Chapter 231 - Sun Baolu’s Secret
“It’s very dangerous inside. All of you stay here. I can deal with this myself.” After Li Huowang instructed Bai Lingmiao and the rest, he walked into the cave on his own.
However, those words instantly displeased all of them. Puppy was the first to say something, “Senior Li, you can’t do that! We can help you if we end up meeting trouble.”
Li Huowang looked at Puppy’s skinny body and felt annoyed. “And what can you help with? Even Bun is more useful than you! If you come with me, then I would have to protect you instead!”
Hearing that, Puppy lowered his head in shame. “How could you say that?! I actually had to gather a lot of courage to bring myself to say that. I also trained myself with a blade, or at the very least, if your illness strikes again, then I could tie you up with the chains.”
“Senior Li, even if Puppy is useless, we can still be of use to you. You can enter, but you must bring us in!” Bai Lingmiao’s face was serious as she held her drum and whip in her hands. Even though she had always been meek, her heart had always been abnormally resolute in dire situations. She would always take charge in certain situations.
At the same time, Gao Zhijian stepped forward as well. Even though he didn’t say anything, his clenched fist already told everyone about his decision.
“Senior Li, since the Black Taisui can help suppress your illness, all of us are more than happy to help. The more people we have, the better. Also, we are different from Puppy,” said Chun Xiaoman as she held the bronze bell in her hand.
Staring at their serious faces, Li Huowang felt happy in his heart. “Fine, but be careful. If there’s anything wrong then we must immediately head back out.”
After saying that, Li Huowang turned around as he prepared to bring the rest of them into the cave.
However, at that moment, Sun Baolu ran forward and stopped all of them.
“Why are you so persistent? Get away,” snapped Li Huowang, finally getting annoyed.
Hearing those words, Sun Baolu’s eyes went wide with agitation and he started taking off his clothes. His hands continuously trembled while untying the knots. “Senior Li! Listen to me! I went in there once. If you think you are fine with becoming like me, then I won’t stop you! Senior Li, you once asked me why I hide my body, right? It’s because I’m different from everyone! No matter what deformities you have, at least all of you are still human! But me? I’m a monster!”
As Sun Baolu’s shirt started to slide off, Li Huowang saw a small pit the size of a thumb at the base of Sun Baolu’s neck.
“What’s that? Is that a belly button? Wait, that is a belly button! But why is Sun Baolu’s belly button at the base of his neck?”
At that moment, Sun Baolu removed his shirt and showed everyone his body. With the exception of Chun Xiaoman and Bai Lingmiao who had turned around, everyone who saw Sun Baolu’s body gasped.
“Sun... W-why are your or-organs messed up?” Puppy stammered.
At this point, Li Huowang finally understood why Sun Baolu had hidden his body from them all this time—it was because Sun Baolu’s body was completely messed up. To be more accurate, all of his organs were located in the wrong places.
Sun Baolu’s anus was located on his belly, while his belly button was at the base of his neck. His genitals were growing from where they shouldn’t be growing, while his nipples were nowhere to be seen.
It was almost as if a child had used some clay to make Sun Baolu’s body.
Meanwhile, as Sun Baolu saw their horrified faces, he felt more and more ashamed. He had always had nightmares about people finding out what his body looked like, and so he kept hiding it. To think that there would come a day when he would have to show it to everyone on his own.
After a moment, Li Huowang sighed and hobbled over before helping Sun Baolu wear his clothes.
“What happened to you?” whispered Li Huowang.
“Something touched me inside the cave and I became like this. Back then, it was too dark, and so I didn’t see what it was. I just felt a giant brush touch my body and then I became like this.” Sun Baolu trembled from fear as he recalled what had happened to him in the past. “Back then, I was still quite young. I was only seven when some of the lambs I was herding ran into this cave. Even though the adults had said that the caves were dangerous, me and my four friends thought that it would be fine. In the end, I was the only one who managed to escape.”
As he spoke, Sun Baolu stared at Li Huowang with agitation. “Senior Li, you’ve saved my life and allowed me to finally come back home. I’m deeply indebted to you and I cannot let you die in there!”
Even now, Sun Baolu was still trying his best to persuade him.
Li Huowang sighed. He could feel the concern in Sun Baolu’s voice. “You should know that there is probably a Black Taisui in there, right? Do you know what that means to me?”
As he spoke, Li Huowang calmly explained why he needed to enter the cave, “This is why I must enter the cave at all costs; if I don’t, then I will forever be haunted by my hallucinations. It’s the only cure that I know of. I know that you have good intentions and I appreciate it. But if you want the best for others, then you must never force your kindness on them. Instead, you should let them choose. Thank you for the information. It will be very useful to me.”
Li Huowang patted Sun Baolu’s shoulder before heading toward the cave; he was adamant about capturing a Black Taisui.
The others looked at each other before quickly following Li Huowang.
As Sun Baolu saw all of them disappear into the dark cave, he did his best to stop his legs from trembling. After hesitating for a while, he finally relented and followed after them. “Since all of you are entering the cave, then I will come as well! I’ve been here before and I can guide you!”
As they entered the cave, they took out the glowing green rocks. Everything around them had become eerily quiet. The sound of wind, as well as the warm sunlight had disappeared completely.
“Hu~” Li Huowang exhaled lightly and white mist came out from his mouth. “Baolu, has the cave always been this cold?”
Li Huowang’s voice startled the tense Sun Baolu, but he quickly nodded. “Yes. It was this cold before as well. The deeper we walk, the colder it will get.”
As he spoke, Sun Baolu quickly walked past them. “I will take the lead, but you guys must follow me closely. If we go slightly further ahead, then we will reach the point where I lost one of my friends.”
Sun Baolu’s warning immediately made everyone tense up as they held onto their weapons.
The cave was extremely silent. There were no other noises besides their footsteps.
It was not a limestone cave but a rocky one instead. The cave was slanted ever so slightly downward. This meant that the more they walked, the further away they were from the surface.
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