Chapter 16: The Head

Zhengkun's assault had left Li Huowang with two broken ribs and several deep bruises, his body covered in painful welts. But with the help of pills, these injuries were manageable.

What concerned Li more than his physical wounds was his strategy.

Taking advantage of their recent conflict, Li had "accidentally" let slip the information about "Old Lord You," something he had learned from Bai Lingmiao.

When he noticed a subtle change in Zhengkun's expression, Li felt a flicker of hope.

Li had no idea what Zhengkun would do with the information, but he wanted to test him. It was a shot in the dark, but now it seemed to be paying off—Zhengkun clearly had his own agenda.

The days in the cave passed without distinction between night and day. When the first day of the lunar month arrived, it was the perfect time for Dan Yangzi to refine his pills. He would spend the entire morning in the alchemy room, and it was also the day when "Old Lord You" would be absent.

Li had spent enough time in Qingfeng Temple to know Zhengkun's habits. He observed him carefully but refrained from taking any immediate action, waiting for the right moment.

For the next fifteen days, Zhengkun's behavior didn't change.

But on the fifteenth of the second lunar month, Zhengkun was noticeably absent from the Zhengyi Hall, his usual haunt. It seemed he couldn't resist temptation any longer.

When Li saw Dan Yangzi open the furnace for alchemy, he knew it was time. He hurried toward Dan Yangzi's quarters, sticking to his plan.

As he neared the entrance, Li stopped in his tracks.

There, standing guard near the entrance, was Zhengkun, keeping a close watch on the area. He hadn't gone inside.

Li immediately realized Zhengkun had someone else doing the dirty work for him. Suspicious and cautious as ever, Zhengkun was merely acting as a lookout.

Half an hour later, Li saw Xuanyin sneak out of the room, looking around nervously.

Zhengkun handed Xuanyin a black talisman, which they pressed to their knees. Then, like a gust of wind, they vanished.

The door to Dan Yangzi's quarters was left ajar, an open invitation—or perhaps a trap.

Realizing Zhengkun had already tested the waters, Li decided to take the risk. Whatever traps had been set inside were likely disarmed by Zhengkun.

Dan Yangzi's quarters were spacious, but they were filthy and smelled of decay, like a nest of dead rats.

Despite the squalor, one item stood out immediately: a stone tablet covered with intricate carvings, encased in a web of black-threaded copper coins.

This had to be the "heavenly book" Dan Yangzi had mentioned.

Li carefully approached the tablet, examining the carvings through the protective netting.

It was clear Zhengkun had tried to decipher the contents, but judging by the state of the room, he hadn't succeeded.

Li squinted at the carvings. The text was written in ancient, pictographic script—far older than even the most archaic Chinese characters he'd ever seen.

Although the evolution of Chinese characters had been minimal over thousands of years, the symbols on the stone were still incredibly difficult to interpret.

The more Li studied the tablet, the more something felt off.

Dan Yangzi had claimed that immortality required mastering both external and internal alchemy. But judging from this text, it didn't seem like Dan Yangzi was following the instructions at all.

"'Joyful steps... heavenly music... Gandharvas... spreading clouds of blessings and relief... enlightening all beings to find peace and liberation...'"

Li muttered parts of the text aloud, his suspicion growing.

This wasn't a manual for immortality. It read more like a Buddhist sutra.

A sharp giggle suddenly echoed through the room, sending a chill down Li's spine. He spun around, but there was no one there.

On the wall, a recess held a narrow blue-and-white porcelain vase, no wider than a child's arm.

Something was very wrong.

"Don't move!" a sharp, high-pitched female voice commanded from behind him.

Li turned slowly, and his blood ran cold at what he saw.

Emerging from the narrow mouth of the vase was a pale, ghostly girl's head, her lifeless skin painted with grotesquely bright blush on her cheeks.

Her wide eyes stared directly at him, and a crimson dot sat unnaturally in the center of her forehead.

The girl's face, though childlike, exuded an aura of death. Li couldn't move, his back pressed against the wall as the grotesque figure swayed slightly within the confines of the vase.

In that moment, everything clicked. This is how Dan Yangzi reads the heavenly book. This thing... she's the one reading it to him.

"Are you working with the man who was just here? Hehe... you're in big trouble. If I shake my bells, my father will come," the girl threatened, her head adorned with a red string tied to several copper bells.

Li's mind raced as he saw her reach for the bells. But then, in a moment of clarity, he spoke calmly:

"Go ahead. Call him. Let him find out you've been lying to him."

The girl froze, her expression flickering with panic. Li smirked inwardly—he had guessed correctly. This thing had been deceiving Dan Yangzi as much as he had.

"I... I didn't mean to lie! It's not my fault! Those characters are impossible to read! My father forced me to read them to him!" The girl's voice cracked, and she looked on the verge of tears.

Her fear confirmed everything for Li. No one in Qingfeng Temple is loyal. Everyone has their own secrets.

"Alright, let's make a deal," Li said, feigning sympathy. "I'll leave quietly, and you pretend you never saw me. That way, we both stay safe."

The girl hesitated, then nodded. "Fine. Just leave quickly. I'll act like this never happened."

Li took a step back, inching toward the door. "By the way, if the heavenly book is fake, does that mean the recipes for his pills are your inventions?"

A guilty smile spread across the girl's face. "Hehe... yeah, I made them up. They're based on things I remembered. Don't worry—they won't kill anyone. I don't want my father dead. I just... I don't want him to throw me away. I mean, look at me! No arms, no legs..."

As she rambled, Li struck without hesitation.

He raised the jade pendant high and smashed it down onto the vase.

The pendant struck with a sharp crack, and the porcelain shattered.

The girl let out a blood-curdling scream as her head hit the ground. The vase broke open, spilling its horrifying contents—blackened intestines tangled with beads of feces and urine, tied together with dark prayer beads.

"Father! It hurts! Father, it hurts so much!" she wailed, her cries growing weaker and weaker.

Li stood over her, breathing heavily, his heart pounding as he watched her die.