Chapter 1026: The Grand Finale

It was another Qingming Festival evening in Niuxin Village.

People continuously burned joss paper by the roadside. Since most villagers had relocated from elsewhere and had no ancestral graves to commemorate, they would draw a circle on the ground, leaving a gap directed towards their ancestral homes, and burn offerings there.

White smoke filled the air, combined with the faint moonlight, making Niuxin Village seem shrouded in mist, like an earthly paradise. A lone red figure emerged from the smoke.

It was Li Huowang, carrying a large amount of joss paper and golden ingots.

He walked through the village to the entrance of the Bai Family Courtyard, where he lived alone.

Li Huowang stood motionless at the entrance, looking at the white gauze lanterns by the gate and the yellow couplets on either side. He suddenly chuckled wryly.

"Heh heh... I really am in a state now... The moon waxes and wanes, a few cold stars surround the crescent, gauze lanterns hang high at the gate, while inside, my pockets are empty as years pass..."

As Li Huowang stepped inside, the heavy gate closed behind him. He drew a circle on the ground, but left a gap in every direction.

Li Huowang threw the joss paper and golden ingots into the circle, then took out a flint and lit them.

"Qingming... come get your money... everyone, come get your money!"

Li Huowang's hoarse voice echoed like a crow's wail through the lonely Bai Family Courtyard.

Li Huowang kept burning, mumbling things he wanted to say to his deceased loved ones.

"Suisui, buy whatever you want with this money. If there are toys you want that aren't there, send me a dream, and I'll find paper craftsmen to make them for you."

"Miaomiao, are you doing well down there? I miss you..."

As the joss paper continued to burn, the flames grew larger. When about half of it had burned, Li Huowang suddenly broke down.

He abruptly stood up and furiously cursed his own shadow. "Jisai! You lied! You promised me! You said you could bring them back! You promised me, why?!"

The world still exists, all evil spirits have vanished, there are no more natural disasters, and the day has returned to sixteen hours. The world is no longer mad; everything is normal again.

Li Huowang had achieved his original goal of changing the world, but there was one exception: the dead had not come back to life. Those who died remained dead forever.

"All abnormalities have disappeared, so many difficult things have been accomplished, so why can't a few people be resurrected? What kind of thing are you?!"

Although he desperately didn't want to admit it, Li Huowang knew deep down that resurrecting them inherently defied natural laws. Since the world was no longer mad, abnormal events would absolutely not occur, unless he intervened again to drive the world back into madness.

As he cursed, Li Huowang slowly knelt on the ground and began to wail, utterly broken.

"Why?! Why?! Why me, of all people?! Why am I the one who's still alive?!"

Despair surged over him like a tide, pressing down like a mountain, suffocating his chest. This feeling was worse than death.

After a long time, Li Huowang reached into the tool bag at the hem of his clothing, pulled out a dagger, cut open his abdomen, and tore off the three Heart-Root skin puppets, casually throwing them to the ground.

He then aimed the dagger at his own neck and numbly hacked down, blow after blow.

With a forceful tug, his entire head was ripped off. He clutched his head and violently slammed it to the ground, but it was useless; Li Huowang did not die.

Ever since Jisai had taken everything from him through the mirror, not only his identity as a Heart-Root but also his very ability to die had been stolen.

Li Huowang understood that he had become Jisai's Heart Knot, destined to become Jisai at some point. The world was no longer mad; all futures and pasts were now anchored and could no longer be changed.

Just as Li Huowang was in despair and breaking down, his keen hearing suddenly picked up the sound of the stool he had just been sitting on moving.

Li Huowang, his face covered in tears, froze. He walked over and seemed to see something near the stool.

He approached and carefully reached out, touching the empty space above the stool as if confirming something. "Is that you? Is it really you?"

Then Li Huowang looked at the swirling, burning joss paper in the circle on the ground. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He rushed into the house, immediately opened an umbrella, then bent down and looked at the stool from between his legs.

At that moment, Li Huowang saw Suisui's joyful face. His own expression shifted from happiness and excitement to ecstatic joy, and the despair and death wish in his heart quickly dissipated.

"Hahahaha! You're all here! This is great! Don't leave! Please don't reincarnate! I know you've become ghosts, but it doesn't matter, ghosts can cultivate immortality too! I'll go to the Bureau of Celestial Observation's archives right now to find cultivation methods for ghost cultivators for you!"

Li Huowang put his head back on his neck and, roaring with laughter, rushed out of the Bai Family Courtyard.

"There are ghosts! Hahahaha, Jisai, I misjudged you! The moon waxes and wanes, a few cold stars surround the crescent! Hahahaha! Ghosts are fine too! Ghosts are fine! Hahahaha!"

Hearing the commotion, Gouwa, holding his daughter's hand, opened his door and poked his head out. Seeing the scene, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

"Ah, after all these years of struggle, Senior Brother Li has finally gone mad."

"Dad, what's wrong with Uncle Li?"

"Nothing's wrong, really. From now on, when you see Uncle Li, don't laugh at him or scold him. If any children in the village throw stones or spit at him, tell me. He'll be our village guardian from now on."

"Dad, what's a village guardian?"

"A village guardian is someone who helps our village avert disaster and hardship. It's thanks to them that the people of Niuxin Village can live good lives, free from illness and misfortune."

After saying this, Gouwa was about to close his door and go back inside, when he suddenly noticed a light at the head of the village. It was difficult to see clearly because of the drifting smoke.

A moment later, Gouwa saw Lu Xiucai, with his single arm, excitedly running out of the white smoke, holding his nephew Lu Tongsheng.

When Lu Xiucai saw Gouwa, his eyes lit up, and he giddily pointed towards the head of the village. "Gouwa! Come! Come quickly and see! Master has become an immortal!"

The Strange Immortal (End)