Chapter 330 - Taisui
Just as she was suffocating, Bai Lingmiao suddenly found herself floating above the ancestral hall’s beams. When she looked down, she saw herself with her whitened eyes as well as the red-veiled Second Deity.
Is this what it's like to be dead?
Bai Lingmiao lowered her head to check her ‘body’, only to find that it was empty and devoid of any substance. Seeing this, she recalled something and felt a surge of joy.
My parents must not have gone too far. I can still catch up with them!
However, as she raised her head to look for her family, she noticed incomprehensible masses obscuring the entire night sky.
When she saw their ever-changing appearances, Bai Lingmiao was positive that they were the Immortal families. They appeared to be from the Bei family, because of her emotions that they had just absorbed.
“I’m already dead, so what more do you want from me?” asked Bai Lingmiao as she attempted to move right through them, only to be bounced back and end up face-to-face with her suspended body hanging from the rope.
As she looked at her current self, she noticed a drastic change. The originally pink eyes had been completely replaced by a red pair of long and menacing beast-like eyes. Even more peculiar was the fact that her own face also had several cracks, revealing several beast-like eyes staring right back at her.
At that moment, Bai Lingmiao saw herself raising her nail-covered hand and aggressively clutching at her own head as she opened her mouth to swallow herself whole. At the same time, flipping snake scales pierced through Bai Lingmiao’s skin, effortlessly cutting through the tightly stretched rope.
Bai Lingmiao fell heavily to the ground. However, even before she could recover, an intense pain erupted from the depths of her brain, causing her to scream while holding her head. The pain was excruciating, completely unlike anything she had ever experienced before.
Immediately after that, a number “two” appeared in Bai Lingmiao’s mind.
This was the number of tasks she had to do for the month. If she couldn’t complete it, then she would have to figure out the consequences on her own. It could also be foreseen that this number would only gradually increase in the future.
Bai Lingmiao felt her bruised neck as she hopelessly looked up at the pitch-black beams above.
Ever since the day she became a Shaman, she knew that her life no longer belonged to her. Even death was not an option.
Her previous experiences had made her really pleased because she was able to help Senior Li. However, the Immortal families had finally exposed their true colors this time around.
Bai Lingmiao recalled what Li Zhi had said before he died.
It was too suffocating to be a Shaman, and he wouldn’t even want to be reincarnated as one[1].
At this moment, she finally understood the meaning behind his words. As a Shaman, she was nothing but a slave to those Immortals, devoid of any freedom.
“Wu wu wu...” Bai Lingmiao covered her face with both hands as she crouched within the pitch-black ancestral hall and started sobbing uncontrollably. Her cries echoed continuously within the hall.
Upon hearing the sobbing, the Second Deity, who had been admiring the moon, appeared to recall something. With its three mouths beneath the red veil, it let out a deep sigh and retrieved a jade pendant from within its robe and started examining it closely.
——————————————
“Daddy?”
“I’m not your Dad, I am your master.”
“Daddy?”
Li Huowang had been working quite hard to control his temper. He now deeply regretted going to that stall to eat noodles. How could he have imagined that trouble would arise simply from having a bowl of noodles?
Gaga, gaga!
The ducks in a nearby cage were making a racket, adding to his annoyance. He couldn’t understand why there were so many people heading to the Yinling City to sell goods today, causing the normally spacious road to feel so congested today.
“...Daddy?”
“Alright, shut up,” said Li Huowang as he stuffed two more wads of cotton into his ears, making sure that they were tightly sealed.
After sitting in the carriage for half the day, Li Huowang finally arrived at his destination. Once here, as soon as he presented his Surveillance Bureau badge, he was promptly granted passage into the city.
Finally back inside the bustling Yinling City, Li Huowang breathed a sigh of relief. He drove the carriage toward the inn from before. After such a long journey, he had finally arrived.
When Li Huowang saw the makeshift earthen kiln at the crossroad, he felt puzzled and asked, “What is this?”
Monk quickly explained, “Daoist, today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Don’t you know that building earthen kilns is a tradition for celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival?”
Li Huowang shook his head as he flicked the reins. “We didn’t have this custom where I come from.”
“Then what customs do you practice?” asked Monk.
“Nothing much. We just eat mooncakes,” replied Li Huowang.
After Li Huowang settled into the inn, it gradually darkened outside. The curfew had been lifted in the bustling Yinling City. The brightly lit market had many children carrying pomelos and lanterns. All this had turned the entire Yinling City into a city that did not sleep.
Throughout all this, Li Huowang waited in the inn, hoping for Tuoba Danqing to come. However, after waiting for a long time, all he got was a messenger pigeon delivering a letter.
“Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and I need to return home to reunite with my wife and children. Let’s discuss matters in detail tomorrow evening.”
Seeing this note, Li Huowang felt a little disheartened. Did the Surveillance Bureau also celebrate festivals? This new piece of information allowed Li Huowang to gain an entirely new perspective of this enormous organization.
With nothing to do, he sat inside the room, a little confused. What should he do next?
“What else can we do? Let’s celebrate the festival. Besides welcoming the New Year, I love the Mid-Autumn Festival the most,” said Monk.
“Celebrate? With whom?” asked Li Huowang.
“With us,” Hong Zhong chimed in.
Hearing this, Li Huowang glanced at the four illusions in front of him. Then, he walked over to the window, and whistled toward the stable where Bun was guarding the carriage, causing it to bark happily as it rushed over while wagging its tongue.
Then, he summoned the waiter to book a feast from the kitchen before requesting for it to be delivered to their room.
Once the adequate amount of silver had been handed over, the table was filled with a variety of delicacies made with chicken, duck, fish, and meat. After Li Huowang watched Bun devour the food under the table, he too picked up his chopsticks and began to eat.
The chicken tasted quite good, but Li Huowang always felt that it lacked flavor. He picked up a ceramic pot filled with wine and poured a large mouthful directly into his mouth. Overwhelmed by the alcohol, he gradually became drunk. In a tipsy state, Li Huowang raised his wine cup. As he swayed, he toasted the full moon in the sky. “I would have much preferred the time when we were cooking noodles out in the wild. That had much more flavor compared to this.”
“Daddy?”
“Yeah! Son!” Li Huowang kicked Bun with his foot. “The three of us are celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival!”
Li Huowang fell asleep at some point. When he woke up again, he saw Bun crouching in front of him. It was snarling and growling as it faced the black tentacles that were emerging from within his body.
Seeing this, Li Huowang curved his fingers and flicked the tentacle, causing it to instantly retract back into his belly.
Can the Black Taisui come out on its own now?
This might be bad news, but Li Huowang didn’t really care about it right now.
“Go down and watch the carriage.” As Li Huowang pointed toward the door, Bun slinked away with its tail between its legs.
After Li Huowang sat up, he once again picked up his chopsticks as he started eating the now cold feast on the table.
After eating and drinking to his heart’s content, Li Huowang sat by the window and took out a book, this time opting for a much more advanced one.
“...The sword is named Giant Que, the pearl is called Night Light. Exquisite fruits like plum and pear, rich vegetables like mustard and ginger. The sea is salty, the river is fresh, scales dive, feathers soar...”
As he continued to recite, Li Huowang felt a vague echo in his ears. At first, it was chaotic, but gradually, it started becoming clearer.
“...Singing and music are highly esteemed, humble rites distinguish between honor and inferiority. Harmony between the upper and lower, husband sings, and the wife follows...”
1. This happened back in C66, for anyone who wants a refresher. ?
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