Upon hearing Li Huowang's question, Bai Lingmiao's eyes widened. "Yes, there are quite a few more stories my grandfather told me. He told me not to run out of the village; otherwise, I would be captured. He said the people outside the village are ruthless and would strip me of my skin, forcing me to wear flayed dog skin instead. After that, they would use us to perform on the streets, fooling people into thinking the 'dogs' are smart and can follow orders. He also said that children would never grow up after that because the dog skin would fuse to their bodies."
Li Huowang shook his head. "No, I meant stories used to scare children—something like the Wandering Gods."
"Wandering Gods? Hmm..." Bai Lingmiao furrowed her brows, trying to recall. "My grandfather used to tell me random stories from time to time, mostly about giant man-eating insects living in the hills. He didn't really tell me anything similar to the Wandering Gods."
"Who told your grandfather about the Wandering Gods?"
Bai Lingmiao's eyes shone with innocence as she replied, "It was his grandfather who told him. And I will pass down the story to my grandchildren one day."
Li Huowang shook his head. From the looks of it, he might need to revise his plan a little.
"Senior Li, I know a story." A frail teenager suddenly spoke up.
His joints were twisted abnormally, with one shoulder higher than the other. He was propping himself against the wall. Even within the Preparation Room, he was one of the more "abnormal" ones.
"Senior Li, my surname is Zhao. I'm usually called Wu at home, but you can call me Zhao Wu."
Li Huowang was desperate for ideas, so he didn't care who was talking. "Sure, tell me your stories."
Zhao Wu looked around and whispered to Li Huowang. "You wanted something vile and evil, right? I've heard my elders tell stories about something known as the Mountain Grandma."
"Mountain Grandma? What do they look like?" Li Huowang tried to recall if he had ever seen anything like it, but nothing came to mind. In fact, he had never even heard the term before.
"Shh! Senior Li, don't talk too loudly. This thing is very dangerous. I've heard the Mountain Grandma has very keen hearing. If you keep talking about her, she'll definitely come and find you."
"Oh?" Li Huowang was intrigued.
"I've heard my uncle say the Mountain Grandma appears in different forms to different people. Some see her as a monster with long ears, while others see her as an older family member who died long ago. But in all the stories, one thing stays the same—those who stay with the Mountain Grandma for a certain amount of time will turn into one too!"
Li Huowang rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "What a weird world we live in. So many crazy things. Alright, this should do. Anything else?"
"Yeah! There's something called the Companion Fish. It's also very vile."
Li Huowang learned many strange names from Zhao Wu. He decided that most of them would become ingredients in the fake pills he would use to kill Dan Yangzi.
"Looks like you're quite knowledgeable. Thank you. I think all this will help me a lot," said Li Huowang.
If Li Huowang listed only poisonous ingredients, Dan Yangzi might discover the plot. But if he added ingredients that Dan Yangzi might not even know about, the plan would have a better chance of succeeding.
He needed to use ingredients even Dan Yangzi hadn't heard of. The more unfamiliar they were, the more likely Dan Yangzi would believe the pills could make him Immortal.
Hearing Li Huowang's praise, Zhao Wu chuckled. "I heard these from my uncle. He used to be a wanderer, so he traveled a lot and learned a lot about the world."
"Alright. Thanks! It's almost time now, so I need to go back. Just wait for my news," Li Huowang said, taking a deep breath as he walked back to his room.
He had just taken two steps when a giant blocked his path. The man was at least 1.9 meters tall. "I...I...I..."
Li Huowang recognized him. Everyone in the Preparation Room simply called him Simpleton. He was cross-eyed and drooling.
He wasn't truly a simpleton—he just had difficulty processing information and responded slowly. "I... I know some too!"
Li Huowang sighed and patted his bald head before leaving.
---
The next day arrived.
Li Huowang was called to Dan Yangzi's room early in the morning. "I've more or less mastered the Internal and External Heavenly Circulation technique. Now tell me the ingredients used to refine the pills."
"Yes, Master." Li Huowang approached the stone tablet and began inspecting it again. He tried to make his words sound as believable as possible. "Hmm... Take two hearts of the Mountain Grandma and extract their essence? Master, what is this?"
Meanwhile, Dan Yangzi was pacing around the room, his face full of uncertainty. "Is that so? I need something this vile to become an Immortal?"
"Master, what is a Mountain Grandma?"
"Ignore it. Keep reading."
"One Companion Fish. Take its gills and soak it in 100g of Asadin..."
Li Huowang combined his own knowledge with Zhao Wu's to create an extremely believable pill recipe. It had taken him all night to consolidate the information.
After Li Huowang finished reading the ingredients aloud, Dan Yangzi was surprisingly excited and kept muttering to himself.
When Dan Yangzi finally analyzed the ingredients in his mind, he was deeply shocked.
"Yes... That's right. Asadin is a cold ingredient by nature, so it would require something with hot properties, like the Companion Fish, to balance it out. This is amazing! And to think we need to use the hearts of Mountain Grandmas to refine a pill. Why didn't I think of it before? Since humans can be refined into pills, then naturally evil beings like these should be usable too!" Dan Yangzi reasoned with himself as he tried to justify the ingredients.
Li Huowang realized that Dan Yangzi could be incredibly smart at times, yet downright foolish at others. He never trusted anyone but himself.
It all boiled down to superstitions. In a world without gods or demons, being superstitious was foolish—but even in a world filled with supernatural beings, being overly superstitious was still foolish.
Just then, Dan Yangzi reached into his sleeves and pulled out a dented bronze handbell. Li Huowang noticed it looked similar to the ones used to control zombies in old movies he had seen.
Dan Yangzi shook the bell violently, and a screeching sound filled the room.
The sound was so loud it made Li Huowang feel like his head was going to split open. He barely managed to cover his ears and grit his teeth.
At the same time, he noticed the bell affected more than just his hearing—it warped his vision too.
Everything around him began to twist and ripple, as if the entire world were shaking.
What is this? What is Dan Yangzi doing? Did I make a mistake? Have I been found out?
Just as Li Huowang thought he had failed, he saw the edges of everything—tables, Dan Yangzi's sleeves, even the sacred text—start to twist and gather in front of Dan Yangzi.
He couldn't see clearly what it was, but he was certain it was formed from the edges of everything around him—and that it was alive.
For a moment, Li Huowang thought he was hallucinating and shook his head. But then, that thing split into two—right before his very eyes.