Mutated Tao

Li Huowang saw the night sky when he opened his eyes once more, and the sight baffled him until the monk told him that he had slept for three days. Aside from being hungry, Li Huowang felt much better than before he had peeled off his own skin.

Li Huowang pulled out some dry rations and a water flask. Then, he ate and drank with relish. After his meal, he stood up and walked toward his own skin. He was surprised to see Bun curled up into a large yellow ball—from head to tail—on top of Li Huowang's skin.

Bun was asleep, but it dared not leave Li Huowang's skin.

Li Huowang even saw two large dead rats nearby, indicating that Bun had protected Li Huowang's skin while the former was still asleep.

Bun woke up immediately upon getting hit by the fragrance of food.

It wagged its tail incessantly at Li Huowang.

It's bizarre how I'm starting to like dogs more and more the more people I meet. Li Huowang patted Bun’s head. He threw half a piece of bread far away, letting Bun fetch it on its own.

Bun rushed toward the bread and chewed on it.

Li Huowang glanced at Bun before pulling his skin out of the soil.

He had considered other ways to peel off his skin, but this method was the best, and it required no help from any outsiders. Moreover, the skin was completely intact and without any damage.

Li Huowang disposed of the mercury before retrieving the Profound Records and walking toward the carriage. Li Huowang proceeded to wrap his skin around the dry straw dummy he had prepared beforehand.

Li Huowang cast a peculiar gaze upon his own skin. It was a bizarre sight, indeed. Li Huowang took out six incense sticks, lit them up, and then inserted three incense sticks in each eye socket of the dummy.

Li Huowang cut a few strands of his own hair.

Afterward, he drew a few symbols on his hand, which was holding a few cinnabars.

“Heaven and Earth, the root of all energy! Broadly cultivated through eons! Within and beyond the three realms, I alone am honored. The golden radiance inside of me shall reflect on my body!"

Just as the final syllable of the chant came out of Li Huowang's mouth, he finished drawing symbols on his hand. Li Huowang felt nervous just then. Did it work? It should work, right? I’ve been practicing it for a long time.

Li Huowang eventually saw white smoke rising from the seven orifices of his skin wrapped around the dry straw dummy. The incense he had inserted into the straw had caused it to burn.

The skin grew smaller as the smoke grew larger and thicker. The white smoke eventually dissipated, and a palm-sized humanoid figure appeared in front of Li Huowang.

Success! Li Huowang grabbed the humanoid figure and examined it closely. The humanoid figure's features were blurry, and the skin had turned wax yellow. The humanoid figure was like a tiny paper human being cut out from turmeric paper.

From what Li Huowang had read, the artifact in his hand would ward off disasters and turn his luck around during unfavorable moments. Most importantly, it would die in Li Huowang's stead.

Li Huowang had no idea how that worked, but one thing was for sure—the artifact was a life-saving artifact.

In addition, he could make more of this life-saving artifact once he had recovered enough strength, which meant Li Huowang had an "infinite" supply of this life-saving artifact.

Li Huowang finally felt confident in the face of upcoming dangers.

Unfortunately, the other Strayed One artifacts weren't so easy to refine. He had to find natural treasures that could only be stumbled upon, not bought to refine such artifacts, and there were even artifacts with materials written in characters he couldn't understand. Among those powerful artifacts, the life-saving artifact that he had just refined was the easiest and most straightforward artifact to refine.

“Do I.. have a golden finger[1] now?” Li Huowang muttered while staring at the humanoid figure in his hand. He then mocked himself inwardly.

“Dad? What’s a golden finger?” Li Sui asked.

Li Huowang shook his head and refused to answer Li Sui's question.

Li Huowang pondered over where he could hide the humanoid figure. It was a powerful artifact that couldn't be stored haphazardly. After a while, Li Huowang emerged from his thoughts and held the humanoid figure near his navel.

A tentacle reached out and wrapped around the humanoid figure before dragging it into Li Huowang's belly button.

“Thanks, Dad.”

Li Huowang nodded and hopped into the carriage. “Let's go."

Li Huowang took out some cold dry rations and took a bite. He then washed the food down with cold water.

***

“By the way, tonight is New Year’s Eve, right?”

“Yes, it's New Year's Eve. Actually, I’ve been looking forward to this night since last month.”

Puppy dressed in a silk robe chatted with Zhao Wu. Eventually, Puppy found a seat and sat down to eat. Puppy instantly zeroed in on a large chicken thigh, and he immediately devoured it.

Before he could swallow the food, Puppy’s eyes inadvertently landed on the other dishes on their New Year’s Eve dinner—braised carp, stewed meatballs, pickled mustard greens with pork belly, pickled peppers with lamb tripe, four-happiness meatballs, spicy pig trotters, stir-fried meat with poached eggs, and chopped chicken.

Yang Xiaohai couldn’t make anything fancy, but each dish was a hearty dish capable of satisfying the palate of just about anyone.

Of course, they could only eat so many delicious dishes during the New Year’s Eve dinner. Puppy was so moved by the delectable sight that he felt that tonight was the happiest New Year's Eve in his life so far.

Puppy picked up the tender pieces of the fish using his chopsticks and placed them into his wife’s bowl.

“Eat more! Let's work hard and eat more than that Gao fool!”

The others weren't much better than Puppy, especially those new disciples that the Lu Family Troupe had recruited recently. Those children were so eager to eat that they almost buried their heads into the plates.

“Ah... I wonder where Miaomiao is right now. Is she even eating properly?” Chun Xiaoman muttered absentmindedly. She stabbed the bones in her bowl with her chopsticks.

Zhao Wu was sitting next to her, and he picked up a meatball that he quickly placed into her bowl, saying, “She has divine powers, and Senior Li is with her. Don’t worry, let's enjoy the New Year and talk about it later.”

“Eat,” said Gao Zhijian as he placed another meatball into her bowl.

Everyone ate in delight, and that was when a figure appeared in the Bai Family’s large courtyard. “Oh, a New Year’s Eve dinner? The food must taste great, as I can smell it even from here.”

The familiar voice made everyone turn toward where it had come from at the same time.

Bai Lingmiao was standing there with a smile.

Chun Xiaoman reacted before anyone else; she stood up and rushed over to Bai Lingmiao. She touched Bai Lingmiao all over, and upon confirming that Bai Lingmiao had returned in one piece rather, Chun Xiaoman sighed in relief.

“You really worried me. The next time you leave, you better say goodbye to me before leaving, okay?” Chun Xiaoman said.

Bai Lingmiao patted Chun Xiaoman's shoulder, and then she walked past her to go straight to the hall. There were a total of three tables in the hall, and she headed straight for the largest one.

More specifically, she walked toward the main seat facing the entrance.

Lu Zhuangyuan was sitting in the main seat, as he was the eldest of the group. A spicy pig trotter in his mouth made his left cheek bulge, and he stopped chewing upon seeing Bai Lingmiao.

Bai Lingmiao merely stood in front of Lu Zhuangyuan.

However, Lu Zhuangyuan instantly realized what she was trying to say, so he laughed heartily and picked up the tobacco pouch on the table. Then, he moved aside and stole his son's seat by nudging the latter away from the table.

“Hehehe, Miss Bai, welcome back! Oh? That Daoist didn’t come back with you?” Lu Zhuangyuan said.

Bai Lingmiao lifted a cup of wine high up and exclaimed, “Let me give everyone a toast on this New Year’s Eve!"

1. can also be understood as being granted immense power by the author ☜

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