Upon hearing those words, Li Huowang held his burning shoulder and looked at Li Zhi, who lay on the ground.
Is he… apologizing to… ?
“You are on the verge of death. No need to fake it and try to gain my rcy. After all, it was you, not soone else, who wanted to kill , right?” asked Li Huowang.
Li Zhi’s face slowly turned pale as he smiled bitterly. “I had no choice. I really didn’t. They forced to do it. You can run, but I can’t do that. The mont I beca a Shaman, it was destined that I would never be able to run away anymore,” said Li Zhi weakly.
Crimson blood continued to flow from Li Zhi’s body, dyeing the ground a deep shade of red. His ti was almost up.
Li Huowang stood there with a complicated expression. He wasn’t even sure if the Li Zhi in front of him was real or fake.
“This… This ain’t too bad. At the very least, my mind is finally quiet now,” Li Zhi lanted.
“Just now, did the Immortals force you to do everything?” Li Huowang asked.
“Hoho… It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to believe . Ever since I beca a Shaman, I have been nothing more than their puppet. I tried to fight back, but it was useless. A human could never hope to win against Immortals,” explained Li Zhi.
At this point, Li Huowang had stopped caring about whether it was the truth or not. He walked toward Li Zhi and tried to pull his sword out from Li Zhi’s abdon. But no matter how hard he pulled, it didn’t co out. He then saw that Li Zhi was tightly holding onto the sword with his hands. So of his fingers were already sliced off.
Li Zhi flashed a bloody smile. “Taoist Li, if you happen to et soone like in the future, do be careful. You are a Strayed One and that quite literally makes you a walking treasure in the eyes of others. The people who don’t have bad intentions toward you will be few and far between.”
Hearing him say that, Li Huowang’s heart skipped a beat. He had never thought that he would get such information from Li Zhi, but now the man himself was telling him all of it.
Looking at the dying man in front of him, Li Huowang spoke slowly, “What exactly is a Strayed One?”
“Strayed Ones. In the beginning, everything starts to take form, and when there is form, there is essence, and yet, it is not complete. That is a Strayed One; one who has both form and essence, but at the sa ti is still incomplete,” explained Li Zhi.
“What?” Li Huowang did not understand what he was trying to say.
“This was all that the Immortals told . I am just an uneducated man, and so I do not understand what it ans either. But this was the first ti I had seen them this happy, and that’s why I thought… I thought that it must be sothing good.”
Li Huowang raised his hands, staring at them in shock.
When he thought back to what happened with the monks at the Righteous Monastery, he was certain that Li Zhi was not lying to him.
Am I sothing precious in this world? But I’m no different from the others except for my hallucinations. What does it an for to be a Strayed One?
Li Huowang silently morized what Li Zhi had said. He had a feeling that this was sothing important.
At the sa ti, he rembered his dead Master, Dan Yangzi.
Li Huowang realized that there had always been hints ever since the beginning. Dan Yangzi, that cheapskate, would never simply find soone random to be used as a guiding drug ingredient.
Once he realized that the cultivation thods of the others he had t were just as bizarre as Dan Yangzi’s, he could deduce that they too would likely need sothing akin to a guiding drug ingredient on their path of cultivation.
Li Zhi’s voice slowly beca softer and softer, his eyes starting to glaze over.
“Taoist Li, can you do sothing for ?” asked Li Zhi.
Li Huowang turned to the dying Li Zhi. “What is it?”
“The 22nd day of the next month happens to be the Qingming Festival. On that day, can you burn so extra money for ? I’ve been poor throughout my life, but I don’t want to die and beco a poor ghost,” said Li Zhi.
After saying that, Li Zhi smiled as blood flowed out of his mouth.
“If I am to be reincarnated, then I would rather be livestock than beco a Shaman. It’s way too suffocating and… tiring. It’s even worse than becoming the manager of a brothel. Taoist Li, whatever you do, don’t ever beco a Shaman. This is not sothing that a normal person should do. It’s way too hard and suffocating.” Tears stread down Li Zhi’s eyes.
Li Huowang looked at him with complicated feelings. But then, everything that Li Zhi had done before flashed through his mind. Li Huowang might think of himself as virtuous, but in the end, it was not sothing that he could define himself with.
Li Zhi was just soone unlucky who was controlled by the Immortals.
This cruel world had taught him that those who used supernatural powers might not just be skilled people like Abbot Xin Hui or Dan Yangzi—they could also be people who were just pawns of supernatural beings.
“Thank you for your reminder, Li Zhi,” thanked Li Huowang.
Li Zhi was on his last breaths. He took one last deep breath as he said his final words, “One more thing. You asked before that you needed help with repelling sothing evil, right? Go south. Find the nuns in black. They can be… counted… as… nice… people. They… should… be able to help you.”
Li Huowang had never thought that he would be able to get hold of such precious information today. This was closely related to the matter of getting rid of Dan Yangzi, who was sohow possessing him. He quickly asked, “Nuns? What is the na of their sect? Are they specialized in repelling or exorcizing evil beings?”
Li Huowang waited for Li Zhi’s reply, but to no avail.
Soon, he realized that the light in Li Zhi’s eyes was gone. He was dead.
Staring at Li Zhi, who had died with his eyes wide open, Li Huowang felt bitter in his heart.
If Li Zhi hadn’t been a Shaman, they could’ve beco friends.
Just then, the rest of them ca over. “Senior Li, once the drum beats stopped, that weird thing stopped moving as well. Oh? What happened to him?”
Puppy and the rest looked quite disheveled after fighting the Second Deity for so long. However, at the very least, they had only suffered minor injuries.
Li Huowang sighed as he pulled his sword out from Li Zhi’s body and returned it to the sheath. “Find a place and dig a grave for both of them. We don’t want the animals to nibble on their flesh.”
“Why should we do that, Senior? He’s just a cold-blooded murderer!” Puppy did not understand Li Huowang’s intention.
Li Huowang did not explain, rely gently closing Li Zhi’s eyes.
Li Huowang did not erect a gravestone for Li Zhi. After all, no one would be coming to pay their respects to him anyway. At the sa ti, if he did erect gravestones for them, there might be even more trouble down the road.
The roosters were already crowing by the ti they dealt with the aftermath and returned to the village.
They had just arrived at the door when they saw a thin figure by the well. It was Bai Lingmiao. Previously confined to the bed due to her fatigue, she was now fetching water from the well.
“Senior Li! Where did you go? Why are all of you injured? Is everything ok?” Bai Lingmiao asked anxiously.
anwhile, Li Huowang frowned as he grabbed the bucket from her hand and threw it aside, “You have a fever. Why are you out here fetching water from the well? Quickly go back to your room and rest.”
“I’m fine. Here, feel my forehead,” said Bai Lingmiao.
When Li Huowang touched her forehead and realized her fever had dissipated, he was surprised. “The pills I made weren’t that potent. Are you sure you are alright?”
Bai Lingmiao’s looked stunned for a mont before she hurriedly smiled. “Yes, I am fine. My illness is gone. Isn’t that good news?”
“You should still rest even if you are healed. You’ve just recovered from the illness, so don’t touch the water unless necessary!” said Li Huowang.
Chacha and Char's Thoughts
So Li Zhi was essentially forced into slavery by the Immortals. It's really a sad life to lead
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