Mutated Tao

The sound of utensils hitting the bowl didn’t stop as everyone scarfed down the congee placed in front of them.

Since today was the day they had to resume traveling, they needed to eat a lot. If not, they might end up becoming hungry before lunch, and being hungry was the last thing they needed.

However, amidst all this, Li Huowang was not the slightest bit interested in the food. He glanced at Bai Lingmiao who was sitting beside him.

The girl was miffed ever since she was told to go sleep with Xiaoman last night; last night, he never opened the door for Bai Lingmiao.

After that, in just a short amount of time he disposed of any and all red colored items within the room. He didn’t want ‘Bai Lingmiao’ to find out that she was somehow married to him.

However, even though he destroyed all of the evidence, one question just wouldn’t get out of his head.

What was that? What the hell did I sleep with?

Based on the bite wound on his finger, he knew that it was not a normal human.

At the same time, he also realized there were quite a few other suspicious details.

For one, why did that thing ask him to extinguish the candles before removing the red veil? And why was ‘she’ different from the usual Bai Lingmiao?

He also realized that the ‘hair ornaments’ were not ornaments at all! They almost looked like they had grown out of her head.

Why did she do it? What’s there to gain?

Li Huowang was perplexed. Just in case ‘she’ appeared again, he didn’t sleep throughout the entire night.

But, she did not appear again.

Regarding her identity, Li Huowang more or less had an answer when he remembered the red veil; however, he needed to confirm it himself.

Li Huowang quietly watched as Bai Lingmiao ate her bowl of congee and five pieces of guokui. He had never realized that her appetite had grown so much despite her small body.

Sensing that she had almost eaten her fill, Li Huowang gently kicked her legs to notify her and then turned toward her room.

Immediately, Bai Lingmiao wiped her mouth, placed her bowl down, and followed him. Once inside the room, she saw that Senior Li was staring at her with a serious look on his face, just standing there menacingly.

“Senior Li, what’s wrong? Is something the matter?” She suddenly felt that the atmosphere was weird, her voice turning quieter than usual.

“Sit down, I have something to ask you.” Li Huowang sat her down on the stool.

After a moment, he finally opened his mouth. “I learnt from Li Zhi that summoning the Immortals from the Immortal Families required two people, one to play the drum while the other who acted as the vessel. Since you summoned the Immortals to heal me, that should mean that you have a Second Deity as well, correct?”

The Second Deity usually wore a red veil, and so Li Huowang was suspicious that it might’ve been Bai Lingmiao’s Second Deity.

“Mm.” Bai Lingmiao nodded.

“Then is she alive? Or is she an Immortal? Or is she something else entirely?” asked Li Huowang.

“She’s alive, but she’s not an Immortal. We have to summon one before an Immortal can appear,” replied Bai Lingmiao.

“When the heck did Li Zhi’s wife crawl out from her grave? Hadn’t Gao Zhijian caved her head in before we buried her together with Li Zhi?” aske Li Huowang.

Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao was surprised. “Senior Li, my Second Deity is not Li Zhi’s wife.”

“What? It’s not? There’s different Second Deities?” Li Huowang was surprised as well.

“Yes. They told me that the Main and Second Deity are deeply connected to each other. Usually, we cannot use someone else’s Second Deity,” replied Bai Lingmiao.

Hearing this, Li Huowang remembered Li Zhi’s Second Deity. Other than her heavy make-up and beast-like face, the Second Deity was quite literally a second Li Zhi.

“Don’t tell me…” Thinking about what had happened last night as well as Bai Lingmiao’s familiar voice, Li Huowang instantly realized who he had slept with. “…if we remove the beast-like features from her face, then the Second Deity looks exactly the same as you, right?”

Hearing his words, Bai Lingmiao hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Yes, she looks just like me. The other Second Deities would look just like their Main Deities as well.”

“Then how did she come to be? Did the Immortals from the Immortal Families create a living being just like that?” Li Huowang asked the most important question.

Bai Lingmiao did not answer, struggling visibly; she couldn’t stop her hands from twisting her shirt. “Senior Li, I really wanted to tell you and let you know the details. But I have no idea how to say it. On the night I became a Shaman, the Second Deity directly appeared in my dreams. And then… and then…”

Seeing how Bai Lingmiao was on the verge of breaking down and crying, Li Huowang did not press on. He knew that it was very hard to explain anything in detail in this bizarre world.

“That’s fine. No need to think about it. Now, can you call her out? I wanted to ask her about something.” Li Huowang’s eyes were filled with hostility.

Bai Lingmiao carefully stared into his eyes and then pulled the door open behind them. A woman with a red veil and red shoes was standing right there.

Li Huowang tried to suppress his emotions as he walked over and stared at the Second Deity that was covered in a red veil. At this moment, thanks to his heightened senses, he could sense that this thing was staring right back at him.

After looking at the wrinkles on her clothes as well as her body shape, Li Huowang confirmed that the one on the bed last night was indeed her!

“Senior Li, what’s wrong with her? Did something happen?” asked Bai Lingmiao, worried.

Li Huowang was just about to tell her about what had happened when he stopped. When he saw Bai Lingmiao’s worried face, he decided that he shouldn’t tell her.

He really wanted to ask the Second Deity why it did what it did last night, but he could only keep it quiet in front of Bai Lingmiao.

He really couldn’t bring himself to tell her that he had slept with… this weird thing,

“Senior Li, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you talking? What did she do to you?” asked Bai Lingmiao once more.

Bai Lingmiao’s question caused him to suppress his anger as he pointed his fingers at the Second Deity in a threatening gesture. Then, he opened the door and left. “Nevermind, let’s depart.”

Li Huowang had decided that if there was ever a second time, be it under commands from the Immortal Families or the Second Deity acting on its own, he wouldn’t let it go.

On the other hand, Bai Lingmiao was still confused as she asked her Second Deity, “What happened?”

However, the Second Deity did not move, standing unmoving, almost like a corpse.

“That’s strange. What happened?” muttered Bai Lingmiao, having been left in the dark.

Soon, two horse-drawn carriages were led out from the courtyard. Their group quickly left the place that was slowly transforming into a den of beggars and followed the road back.

Two hundred miles was neither short nor long. As they traveled at their fastest speed, they soon arrived back at the Henghua Mountain.

Compared to last time, the town at the base of the mountain had quite a lot more people; there were a lot more beggars on the street.

Li Huowang opened a box and checked the blood-red eyes stored within it before slowly making his way toward the mountain.

However, this time, Bai Lingmiao stopped him. “Senior Li, let me accompany you. Now, I can summon the Immortals and so I won’t drag you down.”