Qiu Chibao held the baby in her hands as she swallowed her saliva. She stared at the Daoist in red robes munching on his rations while she pleaded, "Please. Sir Daoist, please give me some food. I haven't eaten in three days. I'm too hungry."
Li Huowang took out another bun when he looked at the poor woman. He soaked the bun in his blood and threw it to her.
Qiu Chibao's eyes lit up, and she pounced toward the bun. She wanted to eat it.
But it was useless. Her hands phased through the bun again and again. She could not pick it up. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Qiu Chibao looked up at Li Huowang with despair in her eyes and howled, "What are you doing?! You don't want the bun any more, so why don't you let me pick it up?! A mere bun can save someone's life! Huhuhu, I've gotten used to being hungry, but I need to eat to produce breast milk. Without breast milk, my son will die! Please find it in your conscience to feed me!"
Qiu Chibao bit her finger open and placed it near her baby's mouth.
Li Huowang sighed in frustration while staring at Qiu Chibao. He decided to ignore her as he looked east.
It had been a while since he had new illusions. Li Huowang had completely forgotten that he still had the ability to spawn illusions.
What's happening? Why did she become my illusion? Why was she the only one who became an illusion even though so many people had died in front of me?
Neither he nor Zhuge Yuan knew the answer to that question.
"Why don't you let me eat it?! You villain!" Qiu Chibao roared. She grabbed her rusted knife and thrust it toward Li Huowang's left eye.
Li Huowang stepped forward, and Qiu Chibao phased through him.
He had tried communicating with her but soon gave up after a few attempts.
He told her many different things, either she was dead, her baby was dead, or she had become an illusion. However, she refused to listen to any of his explanations.
It seemed that Qiu Chibao was still a lunatic despite becoming an illusion.
Li Huowang sympathized with her, but he could not help her until she acknowledged her condition.
Thankfully, it was easy enough to keep her quiet.
Li Huowang took out his last ration and threw it to her. She immediately became quiet and tried to eat it.
Peng Longteng, Jin Shanzhao, Zhuge Yuan, Monk, Qiu Chibao, Sitting Oblivion Dao, and Jiang Yingzi... Li Huowang tried to find something in common with them, as he believed he'd know the prerequisites to spawning illusions by learning that.
Li Huowang soon discovered that his emotions were particularly tumultuous while these people were dying, and perhaps that was the reason they became his illusions.
If he didn't want more illusions, he had to be a bit calmer in the future.
However, Li Huowang soon dismissed the idea. Not all of his illusions were spawned the same.
He didn't even know whether the old monk had actually died or not.
Some of them didn't even have a close relationship with him, such as Qiu Chibao. She had never talked to him in real life, but she still became his illusion.
"Unless... There's more than one way to become my illusion?" Li Huowang mumbled.
"Junior Li... this isn't the time to think about that. It's best to focus on locating Shangji Guankou. Great Qi is extremely unstable at the moment, so we need to go back as soon as possible."
Li Huowang nodded. Indeed, Shai Zi was his biggest headache. He already had quite a few illusions, so having another one wouldn't really matter.
He might be able to materialize all of them once he was done with his cultivation, and he could then allow them to live in peace.
"No... No..." Jin Shanzhao's words interrupted Li Huowang's train of thought.
Jin Shanzhao was smiling while staring at Li Huowang.
"Good... Good!" Jin Shanzhao said before dragging himself to Qiu Chibao and consoling her by tapping on her legs.
Li Huowang said nothing as he ran in the direction that Zhuge Yuan had pointed out.
The sun rose higher and higher, and Li Huowang was fast approaching Shangji Guankou. He started focusing more and more on his surroundings.
The trees grew sparser, and he realized almost all of the tree bark had been stripped away. Li Huowang walked along a dry riverbank, and he reached the source of the river at nightfall.
Li Huowang looked down and saw a deep pool of water; however, the drought had made the overall water level quite low.
Li Huowang frowned. "Am I staring at Shangji Guankou right now?"
"No. We're in the middle of the hour of the rat. Shangji Guankou must be underwater right now. Once the hour of the rat passes, they'd move somewhere else."
"So there's a time constraint; why does it sound like I'm refining pills?" Li Huowang asked, but he dared not wait any longer. He picked up a large stone and jumped into the pool.
The pool was very cold, to the point that his limbs were numb. It was completely dark, and Li Huowang felt something smooth gliding past his neck. He wasn't sure what it was, though.
He took out a small piece of luminescent stone from within his robes.
The glowing green stone illuminated the surroundings, and a few creatures in the dark water receded like a tide.
Li Huowang plummeted to the bottom of the river, all thanks to the heavy stone in his arms.
However, the river was deeper than he initially thought.
Li Huowang turned to Zhuge Yuan, wanting to ask a question, but the latter guessed his question and said, "Junior Li, don't worry. Shangji Guankou is an isolationist. Evil beings cannot find them so easily, so there shouldn't be any danger here."
Li Huowang relaxed as he sank to the bottom of the river.
It was silent, and there weren't any noises except for Qiu Chibao's screams.
"AAAHHH! I'm drowning! I'm going to drown!" Qiu Chibao desperately tried to swim upward with her baby up above her head to try and get him to the surface first.
Chapter 541 - Secret
It had been ten minutes since Li Huowang had started sinking in the cold river. His face had already become red from trying to hold his breath, and his lips were becoming purple from the lack of air.
However, he was still sinking as if the river had infinite depth.
Li Huowang cast a worried look at Li Sui with worry but saw that she was enjoying it. She was swimming around with her swaying tentacles as if she were a fish.
"Junior Li, hold on! We're almost there!" Zhuge Yuan looked around in the darkness.
Li Huowang was just about to run out of air when a temple appeared in the dark.
"There!"
Li Sui grabbed Li Huowang and used her tentacles to swim toward the temple.
When Li Huowang crashed into the temple, the temple disappeared and was replaced by a black rift.
He threw the stone in his arms away and entered the rift. He swam up and popped out from the water. He panted and looked around to realize that there was air in the underwater cave.
"Cough, cough~!" Li Huowang coughed out water and pulled himself out of the water.
He didn't even rest as he raised a stone and examined the cave.
He saw nothing but gray walls.
"Junior Li, turn around."
He turned around and saw the ripples on the surface of the water where he had come from. The water reflected himself, but...
That's not my reflection! Li Huowang felt a shiver down his spine.
His reflection looked similar to him. It wore the same red Daoist robes and the bronze coin veil, but the surface of the color looked strange. If he had to describe it, the reflection looked like painted pottery.
"Throw a stone at it," Zhuge Yuan said.
Li Huowang followed Zhuge Yuan's instructions, and a ripple appeared from where the stone landed.
A cracking sound echoed, and his reflection's forehead cracked open. The crack spread across the reflection, and a single eye popped out from the hole in the forehead.
Is that Shangji Guankou? Li Huowang wasn't sure what he was looking at.
Without waiting for him to speak, his reflection within the third eye spoke, "A secret for another secret."
A secret to trade for another secret?
Shangji Guankou required nothing else but more secrets. As long as Li Huowang had enough secrets, he could exchange them for any secrets, including Shai Zi's location.
There was no reason for him to be that wary of the Great Qi, so he immediately exclaimed, "I'm a Strayed One!"
The cracks on Shangji Guankou healed slightly.
This is great! Li Huowang was thrilled. "I'm not from this world! I'm from another world!"
However, nothing happened. The cracks didn't heal. Shangji Guankou stared at Li Huowang as if he was a weird person.
Huh? That's not a secret? Li Huowang wanted to try once again when Zhuge Yuan raised his hand.
"Junior Li, don't worry. Let me handle it," Zhuge Yuan said.
Li Huowang looked at him with a complicated expression. "I already owe you a lot. If I still need to rely on you even though you're already dead, I fear that I won't be able to repay you in this lifetime."
"Junior Li, no need to be so sentimental. We're sworn brothers, aren't we?"
Li Huowang decided not to waste any more time and tried to materialize Zhuge Yuan again.
"No need. You can just materialize my fan. I've used some of Peng Longteng's blood to write some secrets on it." Zhuge Yuan passed the fan to Li Huowang.
"Only the fan?" Li Huowang was confused, but he decided to do it anyway.
And he was stupefied to find that it took almost all of his strength to materialize just Zhuge Yuan's fan.
Zhuge Yuan's fan fell to the ground, and he was covered in his own sweat as he picked it up.
He looked at the fan, and a thought popped into his mind. What kind of secret was it that required so much of my energy?
He opened the fan and looked at the first two words when Zhuge Yuan stopped him. "Don't look at it!"
Li Huowang hurriedly looked away.
Zhuge Yuan sighed in relief and said, "Junior Li, I can't let you read it because the karma of the Simings would stick to you if you do so."
Even the secrets of a Siming actually hold so much power? Li Huowang closed the fan and dared not to take a peek. He already had enough issues on his plate.
He threw the fan into the water, and Shangji Guankou's cracks healed rapidly.
Once the cracks had healed, everything became normal once again. Li Huowang's true reflection appeared in the water, but his reflection had a third eye for some reason.
"Junior Li, if you want to know Shai Zi's location, just take the eye out from your reflection and place it on your forehead."
"Is that the secret that Shangji Guankou had left for me?" Li Huowang was thrilled upon realizing that he finally had a reasonable method to deal with Shai Zi.
It wasn't good enough for him to be satisfied, but at least he now had a chance.
"Li Sui, let's go back!" Li Huowang dove into the water once again.
He could use the spine sword to return to the Liang Kingdom, but he was currently underwater, so who knew where he'd pop out on the other side? What if he was somehow transported beneath the ground on the other side? Wouldn't that be a laughable death? Li Huowang entered the cold water once again. He took a deep breath this time and got ready to swim all the way up to the surface.
While he was on his way to the surface, the cogs in his mind turned rapidly, thinking of a way to use the secret that Shangji Guankou had left behind for him. Now that I can find that Shai Zi, I just need to find someone to deal with him. They must also be stronger than him. I can go and look for the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau, but would he even trust me if I tell him that I can find Shai Zi? Of course, there's the Imperial Preceptor, too! I remember him standing his ground against four Shai Zis.
Just then, something white floated past Li Huowang.
What was that?! Li Huowang grabbed his sword and saw the fan that he had thrown earlier into the water. To make matters worse, the fan was open!
Chapter 542 - Finding
Li Huowang suddenly felt cold, but it wasn't because of the frigid water. He felt cold, as he had realized that he was in extreme danger.
The fan contained the secrets of the Siming, and just a mere glance at those secrets was enough to put him in danger.
Li Huowang closed his eyes, but it was too late. He had already clapped his eyes on the first line of words on the fan, and his mind had captured those words clearly, even though the letters were dissolving in water.
"The Greater Siming has no future, no past. The heralds of the Simings come into existence as the Simings come into existence, and they get erased as the Simings are erased."
Greater Siming? What is that? No, I can't remember it! I need to forget about it! Li Huowang clenched his fist and shouted in his heart.
He took out a long needle from his pouch of torture tools before stabbing it into his fingernails and tearing them off. The pain from the wounds made him forget about what he had read.
He broke the surface of the water and panted and laid down on the floor of the cave. "Senior Zhuge, I've accidentally read the first line of words on the fan."
"Really?!" Zhuge Yuan's eyes went wide. However, he was confused when he looked at Li Huowang. "Wait, how come their karma hasn't stuck to you if you've already read it? That's strange."
"Nothing?" Li Huowang felt hope in his heart. "Perhaps because I couldn't understand it? You wrote it in a way that was very confusing to me."
Zhuge Yuan's worries went away as he sighed. "Thank goodness. It was great that you did not heed my advice about reading more books. I didn't expect that your illiteracy would end up helping you inadvertently today. I guess you won't get their karma without understanding their secrets."
Li Huowang was glad that he had no idea how to read classical texts. He recalled the first two words, "Greater Siming." He didn't know what the full sentence meant, but he still knew what these two words meant.
Greater Siming? Siming? But it's called Greater Siming. Is it stronger than Ba-Hui? A normal Siming is already so strong, so what kind of being a Greater Siming is? Li Huowang couldn't even begin to imagine it. He couldn't even see Ba-Hui's true form without his perception melding into one, so how was he supposed to perceive a Greater Siming?
The Greater Siming has no future and past? Li Huowang felt that he was learning something taboo. He was about to decipher the next sentence when he realized what he was doing. "No! I can't think about that! I cannot kill myself just like that!"
He stabbed his fingernails and gouged them out again. The intense pain distracted him from thinking about the contents of the fan.
Li Huowang endured the pain and looked at Zhuge Yuan, "It seems that I have no choice but to avoid reading classical texts throughout my life."
"Classical texts? What are those, Junior Li?"
Li Huowang shook his head and decided not to explain it. He then signaled at Li Sui to swim upward once again.
He wouldn't make the same mistake twice. This time, he made sure that the fan was gone before making a beeline for the surface.
He spent a lot of energy before he finally crawled out of the deep water. He took his spine sword and was ready to go back when Li Sui asked, "Dad, what's that over there?"
Li Huowang looked at where she was pointing with her tentacles. He saw three columns of black smoke rising in the distance.
He didn't know what it was, but Qiu Chibao knew what it was. She held her baby tighter and looked at the smoke with fear on her face. "That's the signal for war. My dear, can you not go there? I'm afraid many people will die."
Staring at the crazy Qiu Chibao, Li Huowang said nothing and swung his spine sword.
A few days later, Li Huowang made his way to Shangjing.
Even though he felt tired from the journey, he knew that it was worth it. He no longer felt as helpless as before, after all.
Li Huowang was about to enter his home when he realized that the door was half open. A thief?
He entered his home with his carriage and was surprised to find someone sitting in the living room. He was even more surprised when he discovered the identity of his visitor—Hong Da.
Li Huowang instinctively held his spine sword. Hong Da's appearance here meant only one thing. However, Li Huowang was surprised that they still managed to track him down despite his concealment.
However, Li Huowang knew that he couldn't fight them right now. He'd be burning bridges with the Surveillance Bureau if he were to do that.
Wait, things are different now. I don't have a deep grudge with them. In fact, this is a chance.
He came up with a plan as he smiled and greeted Hong Da.
"Oh? Brother Hong, long time no see! I thought you were no longer here?"
"The Surveillance Bureau is looking for you," Hong Da said, standing up to return the greeting.
Li Huowang feigned surprise. "Is this related to Prince Ren? Did he manage to escape the Surveillance Bureau's hunt?"
Hong Da smiled bitterly and shook his head. "No, Prince Ren is dead. This is about you stealing Fo Yulu's Ancient Sword."
The living room abruptly turned dark, and the same group of people that Li Huowang had fought before to obtain Zhuge Yuan's spine sword appeared by the door.
Miniature golden Buddhas crawled out from every nook and cranny of the room to surround Li Huowang.
The spine sword's previous owner, Fo Yulu, glared at Li Huowang with hatred. She pointed her black fingernails at him and roared, "How dare you deceive us with your illusions? We've checked, so we know that even the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau isn't strong enough to make a Twisted One come back to life!"
Hong Da revealed his rusted knives in his robes, but Li Huowang didn't panic. Instead, he retorted, "That's just an excuse. I'm helping the emperor at the moment. Are you trying to reduce the emperor's influence by killing me because you've accepted the request of someone in the palace?"
"Don't even try to twist the truth! You've stolen my weapon, and you're actually feigning ignorance?!" The woman was so angry at Li Huowang's attempt to twist the truth.
Li Huowang pulled one of the stools and sat on it calmly. "I don't know what you're talking bout. All I know is that my death would benefit the princes, so tell me... who told you to come here and kill me?"
Chapter 543 - Deal
Everyone around Li Huowang hesitated at his words.
While they were more than happy to help Ji Xiang deal with Li Huowang, it didn't mean that they were willing to dive into the muddy waters of politics.
"You!" Fo Yulu was furious, but she didn't do anything in the end. The higher-ups of the Surveillance Bureau were cautious and had never gotten involved with the palace.
There wasn't any punishment for getting involved with the palace; their career would most likely stay stagnant afterward. It was a difficult pill to swallow for everyone here.
Fo Yulu was no longer threatening him, but Li Huowang realized that they were still wary of him.
However, Li Huowang now had the initiative.
An hour later, they decided to disperse.
"Don't you even dare think about running away! You'll be under surveillance from now on! I'm going to kill you on the day the prince becomes the emperor! Let's go!"
Fo Yulu stomped her way out of Li Huowang's residence.
Hong Da was about to leave as well.
However, Li Huowang said, "Brother Hong, it's been a while since we saw each other, and you're leaving already? How about we have some drinks? My treat."
Li Huowang understood that it was easy to force her to leave right now, but he still needed to find a way to deal with the problem permanently.
A big table of food was placed in the first room of the Yangquan Inn. Li Huowang filled the cups with wine.
"Come, let me toast three cups to Brother Hong."
Upon holding one of the cups, Li Huowang stared into the content of the cup and inwardly muttered, This is water! This is water!
After the drinks, Li Huowang ate some vegetables to wash the liquor down.
"Brother Hong, don't just sit there; come and eat as well. If it weren't for your recommendation, I wouldn't become a part of the Surveillance Bureau, after all."
Hong Da sighed. He was not an idiot. There was a reason Li Huowang had treated him to a meal. As someone stuck in the middle, he had the riskiest position. Of course, he preferred it if both parties stopped fighting each other.
"Fine. I will help you just this once and become your mediator. Return her sword to her, and I will try and convince them to not do anything to you. We can then consider this issue as resolved by then."
"Return the sword?" Li Huowang touched the spine sword and shook his head. He would never return such a good weapon. He also didn't want anyone desecrating Zhuge Yuan's corpse. "Can you pass a message to her from me? We're all from the Surveillance Bureau, and I don't want to burn bridges, too. Tell her that I can't return her sword, but I can trade it for something of equal value."
Hong Da frowned and put down his chopsticks. "Trade it for something of equal value? The sword is made from a Twisted One's corpse! Do you know how valuable that sword is even when compared to the treasures in the vault? You can borrow it, but you have to return it! If you don't return it, then don't blame me for not taking care of you. The Surveillance Bureau already knows about the issue, so you cannot escape this!"
Li Huowang took another cup of wine and gave it to Hong Da. "A weapon made from a Twisted One's corpse? How about I exchange it with a Strayed One?"
"A Strayed One's corpse?" Hong Da reeled backward, and his expression returned to normal. He drank his wine calmly and asked, "A Strayed One? Dead or alive?"
Hearing that, Li Huowang knew that the deal was secured.
"Hoho, let's eat first, or the food will get cold." Li Huowang relaxed and ate with relish.
They ate and drank while probing each other. Finally, Hong Da agreed to go back and pass Li Huowang's message.
This was a grudge between Li Huowang and Fo Yulu. He couldn't make any decisions as he was just stuck in the middle.
However, Li Huowang knew that it was considered resolved, and it was all because of Hong Da's reaction. If one Strayed One wasn't enough, then he could just add another one.
The business talks were over, so the two chattered leisurely.
They weren't really on extremely good terms, as they only worked together once, but under the influence of alcohol, the two became pretty friendly with each other.
"Er Jiu, how did you get involved with the imperial family? You should have asked me before getting involved with them. You're walking on a difficult path. Otherwise, everyone would be fighting for the same opportunity as yours. He's today's emperor, but he could die the next day. Promises will mean nothing once he's dead. You should have just focused on the Surveillance Bureau."
Li Huowang smiled and said nothing. If Shai Zi hadn't forced him, he wouldn't have come back to Shangjing.
"It's too late for that. Having said that, what have you been up to recently?"
"Hoh, what else? There have been so many missions to do ever since the Dharma Sect rose up. Thankfully, the rewards are pretty good, so I've been running here and there for the past few months. If it wasn't because of you, I would still be outside getting rid of the Dharma Sect."
"Have they really grown so much? Can't the Surveillance Bureau just deal with them outright?" Li Huowang asked nervously as he glanced at Qiu Chibao.
Hong Da ate a chunk of chicken and said in a stupor, "It's probably fine now that Si Qi's Surveillance Bureau has decided to join us. We now have more people to work with."
"Si Qi's Surveillance Bureau has joined us?" Li Huowang was surprised to hear that.
"Hehe, you don't know that Si Qi has fallen?"
Li Huowang woke up from his stupor. He arrived at the Liang Kingdom via Si Qi. It was a tiny place, but Li Huowang didn't expect it to fall.
He recalled the Abbess and the Righteous Monastery residing in Si Qi. "How did it fall? Weren't they at peace?"
"Who said that? They've been at war for a long time now. The Liang Kingdom has been stable for the past few years while the other nations have been fighting each other for so long. We just don't know the details due to the distance."
"But why did the new imperial family get rid of the Surveillance Bureau? Aren't Surveillance Bureaus necessary?"
The Surveillance Bureau was there to deal with Natural Disasters. As long as they weren't idiots, they ought to know that a Surveillance Bureau was necessary.
Without anyone dealing with Natural Disasters, a kingdom would fall like paper mache; their strength didn't matter at all.
Hong Da shook his head and drank another cup of wine. "I don't know anything about that. If I knew more about the details, I wouldn't be here right now. Anyway, times are tough, and everyone is at war with each other."
Li Huowang felt restless after knowing that Si Qi had fallen and the new imperial family did not want the Surveillance Bureau. He felt a sense of foreboding at the revelation. He glanced at Qiu Chibao and saw that she was trying to eat a piece of the chicken. Are these changes related to the Qi Kingdom somehow? I hope that whatever happened to the Qi Kingdom won't happen to the Liang Kingdom.
Chapter 544 - Transaction
Clink~
Li Huowang and Hong Da toasted before emptying the contents of their cup.
The table was a mess after their meal, and Li Sui had contributed a lot to the mess.
Li Sui ate with relish and to her heart's content.
"Er Jiu, do you know why I'm helping you?" Hong Da asked with a flushed face.
"Because we are brothers in the Surveillance Bureau." Li Huowang toasted him again.
"Hehe, but we were also on good terms with Xinchi. What happened to him now? I actually knew that you were someone genuine and sincere after you saved us from the Muddled One. I've decided to befriend you from that moment onward because it's very rare to find someone like you these days." Hong Da sighed and revealed a hint of sadness in his eyes. "But since you've decided to get close to the imperial family, I fear that we will be meeting less and less. Once you've become successful, you better not forget about me, all right?"
Li Huowang looked at Hong Da's Ten Emotions and Eight Sufferings before answering, "That might not be the case. Once I'm done here, I will still go back to the Surveillance Bureau."
"Hm? Why are you going back?"
Li Huowang looked at the tattered rags of Qiu Chibao.
"I have time to kill, and it would be a waste if I just left my techniques to rot. It'd be great to lend my power to the world."
Li Huowang wasn't sure whether the events in the Qi Kingdom would happen in the Liang Kingdom. No matter what, he decided to deal with it on his own accord because he didn't feel safe letting anyone else do it. He didn't mind becoming a true Surveillance Bureau member if necessary.
"Hoho, I had no idea that you were so kind. I thought youngsters like you loved power and money, so you helped the imperial family."
Staring at the drunk Hong Da, Li Huowang decided it was time to ask something important, "Brother Hong, is the Chief inside the Surveillance Bureau right now?"
He wasn't asking out of curiosity. Now that he had the means to locate Shai Zi, he needed to find someone strong enough to defeat one.
Of course, Li Huowang's first candidate was the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau.
Time was running out. The faster the Shai Zi was dealt with, the better it'd be for him.
Hong Da was already here, so he saw no harm in asking.
"Which Chief? We have two now because the Si Qi's Surveillance Bureau has decided to join us."
Li Huowang was secretly happy to learn that. He now had another person to help him kill Shai Zi.
"The Liang Kingdom's Chief."
"Why do you want to know their whereabouts? I haven't been here for long, so I don't know either. But you can ask Liu Zongyuan if you want that information. Even if he's not in Shangjing, the Moongate, which he joined, has a ton of information."
Li Huowang nodded. "Of course, how could I forget him? Come, let me toast you another cup."
The two chatted until it was late.
While Li Huowang and Li Sui were on their way home, Li Huowang found himself thinking about the issues he was facing on the way back home. He looked at Zhuge Yuan and asked, "Senior Zhuge, should I use Shangji Guankou to find where Miaomiao is? Is it better to save her first? I fear that I might not be able to find her even after killing Shai Zi."
Zhuge Yuan shook his head. "No. You have to kill Shai Zi, or you will not be able to save her. Even if you somehow managed to save her, you would still have to worry about Shai Zi taking her away again. You can't keep your guard up all the time. Also, Shai Zi already has his sights on you, and he's stronger than you. If you don't get rid of him now, you will never know peace."
"Sigh, you are right." Li Huowang pushed the door open and brought Li Sui into the house.
Even though Hong Da said he'd try, Fo Yulu and the others were clearly interested in the deal because they visited Li Huowang the next day.
"Ten years," said Fo Yulu.
Hong Da could only shake his head at Fo Yulu's decision.
"You mean I can only use the sword for ten years in exchange for a Strayed One's corpse? Are you crazy?" Li Huowang frowned, patting the big jar next to him.
"What? Do you really think that a Strayed One's corpse is enough to trade for a Twisted One's corpse? A Twisted One is even rarer than a Strayed One! Also, don't forget that you stole that sword from me! You have no right to haggle with me!"
"And why can't I haggle with you? A hundred years..."
"You fucker!" Several thumb-sized golden Buddhas crawled out of Fo Yulu's robes.
"Lord Ji Xiang, we must not fight here. We are here to negotiate. We can talk it out."
Hong Da became the mediator and stood in between them.
Both parties respected Hong Da and never fought even though it was tense.
Under his mediation, they both compromised, and a deal was made. Li Huowang was going to borrow the spine sword for twenty years in exchange for a Strayed One's corpse.
Fo Yulu had used the Surveillance Bureau as the witness to make sure that Li Huowang would return the weapon.
Back in the hall of screens of the Surveillance Bureau, Li Huowang stamped his thumb on the red ink before stamping on several papers.
Fo Yulu smiled at the sight, and Li Huowang instantly realized that she had profited more from this deal than him.
However, Li Huowang didn't really care. Twenty years was more than enough time for him to complete his cultivation.
He took his copy of the papers and thanked Hong Da. "Thanks, may we meet again soon."
Hong Da smiled bitterly and followed Fo Yulu out.
Li Huowang was the only one left behind the screen. He took the spine sword from his back and inspected it.
Good, now I can use it officially. No need to hide it any longer.
He was about to remove the strips of cloth when he felt someone near him.
Li Huowang swung his sword toward the left. However, two long fingernails clamped the tip of the sword, stopping it.
Li Huowang frowned. "How's everything?"
It was the old eunuch from the palace; he was Ji Lin's helper as well.
The old eunuch let go of the sword and said, "Ah... you've become important to our Lord, so how could you just disappear like that? We've been looking for you, but we haven't been able to find you at all until now."
"Ji Lin is looking for me?"
Chapter 545 - East Gate
Li Huowang stood in the large hall and stared at the throne hidden in the shadow. He was thinking about how to answer Ji Lin.
"Er Jiu, where have you been?" Ji Lin asked lazily, his voice rolling from the darkness.
"There was some urgent business on my side."
"Heh. You are working for me, and you dare say you were dealing with your own business?"
"Prince Ren is dead. Who should I kill next?" Li Huowang changed the topic deliberately.
Ji Lin used his two remaining fingers to tap the throne. "Fine. You are a straightforward person, so I will be one too. I have one last remaining sister. Go ahead and kill her."
Last remaining sister?! Li Huowang's eyes shrunk from shock.
Ji Lin somehow sensed his surprise and chuckled, "Er Jiu, it's all thanks to you creating chaos in the palace. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have gotten this far. While you are a sharp sword, there's no reason for me not to have a few more sharp swords, so don't get cocky."
His voice faltered, and someone stood out from behind the throne. There were some unfamiliar faces behind the throne.
Li Huowang didn't recognize most of them, but he saw a familiar face holding a gold ingot. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
He was none other than Prince Ren's Scholar God of Wealth! He had defected to Ji Lin!
Staring at Ji Lin in the darkness, Li Huowang felt pressure mounting in his heart. Ji Lin had changed too fast and had expanded his influence to the limits using the space that Li Huowang had made for him.
"Er Jiu, do you accept? Say something, or do you have other private matters to attend to?"
One of the eunuchs who had coins for eyes held the royal decree to Li Huowang.
"I will take it." Li Huowang took the decree and left.
Standing underneath the dark skies, he opened it and saw that it was information for his next target, Princess Anping.
Ji Lin even gave him a picture, as if he was afraid that Li Huowang wouldn't know what she looked like.
Princess Anping was just a budding lady; she was even younger than Yang Na.
The mole above the right side of her lip made her look even prettier.
However, Li Huowang dared not underestimate her. Out of the nine of them, only two were remaining, and Princess Anping was one of them, so she definitely had some tricks up her sleeves.
After coming out from the palace, Li Huowang bought a messenger pigeon and started rummaging through his body.
He found a bamboo slip with the full moon carved onto it. He scraped it out of his body.
It was used to communicate with Liu Zongyuan in the Moongate. Since he was good with information, he decided to ask Liu Zongyuan about the Chief's whereabouts.
He tied the bamboo slip onto the pigeon's legs. He then took his weapons and slowly made his way to Princess Anping's palace.
"What are your plans with the princess?" Zhuge Yuan asked.
"Nothing. I will drag for time. I might be able to help her reduce Ji Lin's authority, too. Ji Lin is growing too fast. I don't know if he would help me defeat Shai Zi like this."
Zhuge Yuan nodded his head with satisfaction and stepped back.
Li Huowang had never forgotten his original goal, which was to kill Shai Zi and save Bai Lingmiao.
He didn't care who would become the emperor. He only needed time to deal with Shai Zi.
Li Huowang entered her palace and felt relieved when he saw a substitute body of the princess.
Luckily, she was quite smart, which gave Li Huowang an excuse to fool Ji Lin for some time by saying that he was trying to locate her true body.
That was how he kept still in the princess's palace without doing anything. He even took care of some of the spies for her.
On the third day, Li Huowang received Liu Zongyuan's letter.
"Brother Er Jiu, you want to find the Chief? The Surveillance Bureau is not your house, and you don't have the qualifications to meet him, but you can wait at the East Gate on the twenty-third day of the month. I've heard that he would bring a lot of people out of the city. It's up to you whether you can find him or not. I can only help you this much."
Li Huowang kept the latter and immediately jumped down from the tree. He took Li Sui toward the east gate.
The Chief was much more important than some princesses.
There were now two Chiefs in the Liang Kingdom. Now that he can find where Shai Zi was, he only needed to convince the two Chiefs.
He soon reached the East Gate and waited anxiously beside a tea stall.
According to Liu Zongyuan's report, the Chief would bring a lot of people out of town. Li Huowang would definitely spot them easily due to the size of their party.
Time slowly passed, and the sun slowly set. Li Huowang became nervous.
Why is he still not here? Was Liu Zongyuan's information erroneous? Didn't they say that Moongate's information is very accurate?
"Senior Li! Is that you!? We finally found you!"
Li Huowang had almost stabbed the person who had hugged his leg, but Puppy was saved by his familiar voice.
It wasn't just Puppy, the entire Lu family was here as well, and it was all thanks to a beggar, who told them Li Huowang's whereabouts.
Lu Xiucai didn't want to appear heartless and hugged Li Huowang's other leg but was kicked away instead.
"Why are you here?" Li Huowang carried Puppy like a chick.
"Senior Li, we are here to find you. You've said that you'd treat Senior Bai's eyes, but it's been so long since you left that we got too worried. We were really anxious and depressed."
Puppy surreptitiously wiped a ginger on his eyes to force out some tears.
"Go back home!" Li Huowang pointed at the exit and urged, "You're not supposed to be here! Shangjing is very dangerous at the moment!"
"Yeah! Master, Shangjing is so dangerous! We got bullied here! You must avenge us, Master!"
Lu Xiucai hugged Li Huowang's leg again.
Chapter 546 - Pursuit
Li Huowang found it annoying that these familiar people just had to appear before him today. He didn't expect that they'd come here and kick up a fuss at a critical juncture.
All of a sudden, Li Huowang's expression changed when the sound of galloping hooves entered his ears. He turned and saw twelve sleek horses pulling a carriage the size of a small house. The horses were belching yellow smoke as they raced toward the East Gate.
From the tokens on the waists of the riders, Li Huowang could tell that the person he was looking for was inside of that carriage.
"Um, Daoist, there's something I need to discuss with you. Are you familiar with anyone in Shangjing? Someone influential with power and authority."
"I truly don't want to bother you, but I need to buy a theater in Shangjing. I need some connection to buy one. I also need some money but don't worry; you'll be the owner, and as for the sharing..." Lu Zhuangyuan trailed off upon seeing Li Huowang's odd expression. He then bent down to pull his shameless son up to the ground.
Li Huowang pinched Puppy, and his incessant talking transformed into a squeal. Then, he dared not talk anymore.
When the carriage entered the East Gate, Li Huowang let go of Puppy and grabbed the latter by the neck before saying, "Listen to me! Go back to Cowheart Village immediately! No one is to come looking for me again! If you don't want to listen to me, then you and your wife can leave the village!"
Li Huowang gave the Lu Family Troupe a cold glance. Everyone fell silent and dared not even breathe too loudly.
The former Daoist was usually reasonable, but it seemed he was truly angry today.
"Li Sui, let's go!" Li Huowang said. He rushed toward the dirt-scattered road and left behind the speechless group of people.
"What's wrong with Senior Li? Is he sick again? This shouldn't be. He never acted like this before. And what about Miaomiao? How come she disappeared when her eyes are already healed?" Puppy muttered in surprise while massaging his neck.
"Maybe the Daoist has something urgent to attend to. So what should we do next? Say something," Lu Zhuangyuan puffed on his tobacco pipe.
"He's so ruthless toward his own, but since Senior Li has spoken, what else can we do? Let's go back home."
The others were relieved at Puppy's words. In this place where even drinking water required money, they had had enough and wanted to leave as soon as possible.
The Lu Family Troupe and Puppy hastily grabbed bought dry rations and began to make their way back home.
Meanwhile, the letter that Puppy had commissioned some wandering merchants to deliver had finally arrived at Cowheart Village.
In the Bai family courtyard, everyone sat on stools and listened to Gao Zhijian stutter out the content of the letter.
When they heard that Puppy hadn't found Li Huowang and Bai Lingmiao in Shangjing, their faces didn't look good.
Chun Xiaoman especially was very anxious.
"It's been so long, but why is there no news at all? Could something have happened to Miaomiao?"
"It's impossible. Li Huowang is so powerful; who could defeat him? Maybe he's busy with something, and he'll come back soon."
Zhao Wu softly comforted Chun Xiaoman, but it didn't have much effect.
"I... I... I... I'll go!" Gao Zhijian stood up firmly.
"If Puppy can't even find him, how can you possibly find him? Senior Li is strong, so he must be fine."
However, Gao Zhijian seemed to have made up his mind, and he walked toward his house.
He didn't take much. He picked up his heavy armor, a halberd, some dried rations, and some money to buy more rations.
When he finished packing, he turned around and saw Chun Xiaoman standing with a carriage at the entrance to his courtyard.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to persuade you. I know you're not stupid, just a bit slow-witted. There must be a reason behind your decision to go out there."
"I'll be in the village, and there are already seven people who know divine incantations. Your troops are here as well, so the village is well protected."
Gao Zhijian nodded silently, took the reins, and made his way toward the village.
After walking a few steps, he turned back and stammered to Chun Xiaoman, "I... I am... I am the emperor! I... I can... find... them!"
***
"I found them! They're right in front!" Li Huowang looked at the clear carriage marks on the ground. The tentacles on his body allowed him to move at breakneck speeds.
He had also pasted two talismans on his legs; Li Huowang moved so fast that his figure became blurry.
Just as he was about to climb over a hill, Li Huowang twisted instinctively to dodge a flying vajra[1].
Li Huowang pushed himself off the ground and took to the air before pulling out his Surveillance Bureau's identity token. "Wait! I have an urgent matter to report to the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau!"
The attacks stopped, but Li Huowang was instantly surrounded the moment he landed on the ground.
A black bird circling in the air landed on one of the people's shoulders.
Li Huowang swept his gaze across them, but he felt like the Chief wasn't among them. He pondered briefly before speaking slowly, "May I know where's the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau? I have an important matter to report, and it is about the Sitting Oblivion Dao."
"Just talk to me. You're not qualified to see the Chief," a gloomy-looking man said, stepping forward with his hands behind his back. The compass in his hand pointed straight at Li Huowang. A long braid was hanging from the back of his head all the way down to his calves.
"I have a method to locate Shai Zi! I'm here to ask the Chief to make a move against that evil beast!"
Li Huowang had no intentions of hiding anything, and the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau would surely hear his words.
"Er Jiu, true name Ji Zai, Grand Elder of the Ao Jing Sect having ascended thrice, Seventh Banner of the Surveillance Bureau, Commander of the Left and Right Jinwu Guards, accompanied by a dog-faced evil spirit. Forty-six days ago, you snatched Ji Xiang Fo Yulu's Ancient Sword. You lived for a long time at the foot of Cowheart Mountain. Is that correct?"
Li Huowang felt a shiver down his spine despite the gloomy-looking man's casual tone of voice. The latter knew more than Li Huowang had imagined.
"Yes, that's right! But there's one thing missing—the irreconcilable conflict between me and the Sitting Oblivion Dao!" Li Huowang roared with clenched fists.
Li Huowang took a deep breath and then narrated what he had experienced in the Great Qi, including everything about Shangji Guankou.
There was a saying about how one had to hide a tree in a forest, and Li Huowang was proving the legitimacy of that saying.
"Nonsense! I've lived for so long, but I've never heard of that so-called Shangji Guankou!!"
The gloomy-looking man's words made Zhuge Yuan frown. "Just because you haven't heard of it does not mean that it doesn't exist. These ignorant people are the reason why Shangji Guankou is becoming rare to come by."
Chapter 547 - Chief
Realizing that the people around him didn't immediately believe him, Li Huowang said, "Let me speak to the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau! He'll know whether I'm speaking the truth or not the moment he sees my reflection!"
The man with the whip was about to point his index finger sternly toward Li Huowang, but his expression suddenly changed.
He hesitated for a moment before taking two steps to the left, which created a path in the middle of the encirclement.
Great! Li Huowang felt refreshed. The Chief had definitely heard him. With his spirits lifted, he clenched his fists and walked down the path.
He passed through a small forested area and soon saw a huge carriage parked by a stream. The horses pulling the carriage were grazing and drinking water.
"Greetings, Chief of the Surveillance Bureau!" Li Huowang bowed to the carriage. The curtains lifted, and the Chief appeared before him.
This wasn't Li Huowang's first time seeing the Chief, but he had only seen the latter from afar.
Today, Li Huowang finally had a closer look at the highest authority of the Surveillance Bureau.
Li Huowang noticed that the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau's physique was taller and wider than an ordinary person; he appeared like he had been magnified by one.
A large red Daoist robe obscured the Chief's figure, which made him emit a mysterious air.
At first, Li Huowang thought that the robe just had one color, but he realized that the robe's color was actually a gradient of red. Crimson words flowed seamlessly along with the gradient. Li Huowang's eyes were keen enough to see the strokes of the characters, but he couldn't read them at all. It was more bizarre than the women's script, and each stroke had its own style, resembling both a drawing and strokes.
????????????????????????...
He dared not look too long at it, as though looking at it for too long would hollow out his soul.
He composed himself as he looked at the withered grass on the ground. Moments later, he began to speak about the matter at hand.
"Reporting to the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau, I have a way to find the hiding place of Shai Zi! Shai Zi is full of tricks, and I am truly incapable of dealing with them. I hope the Chief will exterminate the Shai Zi for the people's sake!"
"No need to explain; I heard what you said earlier. I just have one question; how did you discover the existence of Shangji Guankou? And how did you find them?" asked the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau in a bizarre voice that sounded neither male, female, young, nor old. However, Li Huowang couldn't care less about the Chief's voice, as he was focused on how he was supposed to answer.
He couldn't say that Zhuge Yuan's illusion had told him about Shangji Guankou's existence, as he couldn't risk exposing his true identity.
"It was through a stroke of luck. I stumbled upon them," Li Huowang explained.
"A stroke of luck? Heh, are the youngsters nowadays unable to fabricate lies anymore?"
Li Huowang immediately felt several sharp gazes landing on him, and they were concentrated on the spine sword behind him.
"Is it really necessary for you to know that, Chief?" Li Huowang said, "I'm not lying. I really have a way to find Shai Zi!"
"You seem very anxious. Why?"
"Chief!" Li Huowang's voice raised a notch, and he sounded agitated as he said, "The Sitting Oblivion Dao dared to treat us—the Surveillance Bureau—as if were nothing on that fateful day! I simply can't withstand the humiliation!
"In addition, many people have perished because of their machinations! Now that there's a chance for us to bring Shai Zi to justice, I'm naturally anxious to see that day! " 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
"So you want to make use of me?"
Li Huowang's heart turned cold. The other party was too wary of him. In the end, he decided to tell the truth. "I dare not make use of Chief. I just feel that we are on the same side of such a matter as big as killing Shai Zi."
"At least, you're straightforward. Well, I do want to kill Shai Zi."
Li Huowang relaxed, thinking that the matter was settled, but the Chief's following words made him feel anxious again.
"But, I have something to attend to at the moment. I can't spare any time for that right now, and it will take a while until I'm done with my matters."
I still need to wait? Li Huowang looked up at the Chief. He stared at the darkness above the Daoist robe and said, "Chief! What could be more important than killing Shai Zi?"
The Chief's strange robes trembled slightly as if the Chief was shaking his head, "You don't understand. There are many things in this world that are more important than Shai Zi."
"Enough. Even if I tell you, you won't understand it. In the meantime, I need you to perform that stroke of luck once again. Find Shangji Guankou, and help me obtain some secrets."
Li Huowang really wanted to refuse, but agreeing to the Chief's request meant that the Chief would also help him deal with Shai Zi.
A little wait wasn't that big of a big deal. Li Huowang also believed that he had gotten more than he had bargained.
Li Huowang didn't know what thoughts the other party had; all he wanted was Shai Zi's life.
"Rest assured, by the time you're back with the secrets that I need from Shangji Guankou, I should be ready to make a move by then."
"Chief, I can help you find Shangji Guankou, but it's a secret in exchange for a secret. Do you have enough secrets to exchange with Shangji Guankou?"
"Rest assured, I know much more than you do. You may withdraw now. It's time for you to wake up."
"Wait, Chief, how are you going to give those secrets—what... wake up?"
Just as the confused Li Huowang was trying to understand the meaning behind the Chief's words, the scenery around him dispersed like smoke, including the horses, the stream, and the people.
Li Huowang turned and saw a long line toward Shangjing's gates.
Li Huowang stood in place, unable to comprehend what he had just experienced. It was a surreal experience.
"A myriad of transformations, changing forms, rising, and disappearing. It is a transformation and an illusion. Truly worthy of the Great Liang's Chief. What an amazing illusion technique," Zhuge Yuan said, staring at the deep tread marks of a carriage on the ground with a rare look of admiration on his face.
Illusion technique? Li Huowang pondered. It turned out that everything he had experienced after stepping out of the city gates had all been an illusion. It was all fake.
Li Huowang felt a chill in his heart. He had unknowingly been deceived. If the other party had ill intent toward him, he would have died without being able to resist.
He wasn't one of the fighters on that fateful day, so he wasn't exactly sure about the Chief's strength. However, he was finally sure of it now. The highest authority of the Surveillance Bureau had terrifying power.
"Brother Li, calm down. Since he has agreed to help you, he wouldn't change his mind so easily."
Li Huowang nodded. Indeed, the Chief is already on my side, so the stronger he is, the better it'll be for me.
Li Huowang drew out the spine sword and said to a young and slim woman next to him with a beauty mark on her lips. "Let's not delay any longer. We'll go to the Great Qi and look for Shangji Guankou."
"All right." the young woman said, smiling sweetly.
Chapter 548 - Great Qi
"Brother Li!"
Li Huowang had just lifted his sword and was about to use it when Zhuge Yuan's unusually solemn voice gave him pause.
"Don't look at me, and don't talk to me! There's something wrong with the woman by your side! You can't let her know that you have an illusion beside you!"
Li Huowang asked Zhuge Yuan in his mind, "Brother Zhuge, what are you talking about? Isn't she Shangguan Yuting?"
"Think about it again. During this period, where did you ever encounter Shangguan Yuting? She's fake!" Zhuge Yuan said.
The old monk and the Sitting Oblivion Dao chimed in.
"Daoist, this woman suddenly appeared out of nowhere; there were no signs of her before."
"Hehe, Boss Hong Zhong, I really can't respect you if you're getting fooled so easily."
"Elder Er, what's wrong? Aren't we supposed to go to the Great Qi?" Shangguan Yuting asked, tilting her head in confusion. Her shiny hairpin swayed slightly as she looked at Li Huowang.
Li Huowang caught a whiff of her familiar fragrance as she carefully scrutinized his familiar-looking confidante.
He recalled everything clearly about this girl, especially when not reminded about it. However, when his other illusions prompted him, Li Huowang instantly realized the woman was full of flaws.
Moreover, she had Princess Anping's face, but he hadn't found it strange until now.
Is this the technique of the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau? Being able to transform one person into another before someone's eyes without them noticing it? Li Huowang had never expected that he would one day feel lucky as a Strayed One. If it hadn't been for his illusions, he would have fallen to the Chief's techniques. He added another layer of caution against the young woman. Now what? Everything was going well, so why did the Chief suddenly place her next to me?
"Li Sui, what's wrong with your father? Does he often daydream like this?" Shangguan Yuting asked Li Sui softly.
Li Huowang stepped forward and blocked Li Sui.
He didn't think continuing to conceal the truth would benefit him, so he decided to be direct. "Why are you doing this, Chief? Do you not trust me at all?"
Shangguan Yuting seemed unashamed and calmly asked, "Senior Er, what are you talking about? Didn't you say you need enough secrets to trade with Shangji Guankou?"
Shangguan Yuting pinched her dress and turned toward Li Huowang with a smile. "I'm the secret."
"You?!"
"Yes, after all, Elder Er may not have enough secrets to exchange, right? It'd be a pointless trip if I'm not there," Shangguan Yuting said in a matter-of-factly way. She made it sound like Li Huowang was overreacting.
However, Li Huowang understood that if he hadn't seen through the young woman's identity, he would have no idea what she would have done. She would have been able to twist her words as she pleased, after all.
If Li Huowang's strange behavior allowed her to deduce his true identity as a Strayed One, the consequences would be disastrous.
These people are all cunning old foxes. Dealing with them requires the utmost vigilance. Once distracted, we can fall easily into their traps.
"Elder Er, let's hurry to Great Qi. Let's finish the task for the Chief as soon as possible," Shangguan Yuting urged.
Li Huowang nodded silently and opened his mouth toward Li Sui.
Shangguan Yuting was shocked upon seeing Li Sui burrowing into Li Huowang's body.
"Try to keep up; I won't wait for you!" Li Huowang gripped his sword tightly.
"Elder Er, what are you saying? I'll be wherever you are. Look, I don't even leave footprints."
Shangguan Yuting said. She walked past him without leaving a trace. Li Huowang could not figure out exactly what she was and how the Chief managed to do something like this.
Forget it. I'll consider it a deal with the Chief. I'll help them exchange a secret for Shangji Guankou, and they'll help me deal with Shai Zi.
Li Huowang did not hesitate. He gripped his sword, activated the talismans on his legs, and dashed into the darkness.
The sky darkened the moment he entered the Great Qi. It was so dark that Li Huowang couldn't even see where he was right now. Why is it so dark in Great Qi?
He was about to look up when Zhuge Yuan exclaimed, "Don't look up! This darkness isn't because of the absence of light. It's because of a Natural Disaster! It's a solar eclipse!"
Li Huowang forced himself to stop looking up.
He was just about to repeat the same mistake as last time and would have had to gouge out his eyes.
Suddenly, a giant claw swiftly emerged from the left and swung toward Li Huowang.
Swoosh!
Li Huowang forcefully severed the giant claw, and a strange scream echoed in the darkness. The claw was then retracted.
Li Huowang didn't let his guard down, as he could feel many eyes staring at him from the dark.
The Natural Disaster had transformed the Great Qi into a world of evil spirits. The reason they weren't attacking was that Li Huowang had sufficiently intimidated them.
"Elder Er, what's going on with Great Qi? Should we go back to Great Liang and wait for the Natural Disaster to pass?"
Li Huowang gripped his spine sword as he stood still for a while, then spoke, "There's no need. It won't hinder me from finding Shangji Guankou. These evil spirits are not worth mentioning. How long is this Natural Disaster going to last? I can't wait for it to end!"
Li Huowang gripped his sword and sprinted through the dark world. He cut down any evil spirits that dared to stand in his way.
Rest was not optimal in this place, as there were dangers everywhere. Fortunately, Li Huowang could return to Great Liang for meals and to rest.
Days ticked by, but the Natural Disaster remained strong.
Li Huowang realized just than that this Natural Disaster in Great Qi was different from the recent Natural Disaster in Great Liang.
More and more evil spirits appeared in the Great Qi, and they weren't weak.
"Die!" Li Huowang's eyes were closed as he gripped his purple-tasseled sword and swung it forward.
He felt a slippery feedback. He thrust his left hand into the creature's body and severed his own left hand without any hesitation.
The next moment, the bone spikes burst out of the severed hand, killing the creature.
Li Huowang breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the heavy sound of something collapsing in the darkness. He had no idea what he had just encountered. He had also realized that some evil spirits were forbidden to look at. Li Huowang looked at one of them once, and his Ten Emotions and Eight Sufferings became tumultuous, exacerbating his internal conflict. The world had become extremely bizarre, and it was all thanks to the Natural Disaster.
Just as Li Huowang felt Li Sui picking up his severed hand with her tentacles, his expression stiffened. He sprawled out on the ground and pressed his ear to the ground.
Chapter 549 - Xu Nian
Thump, thump, thump!
Heavy and chaotic footsteps pierced Li Huowang's ears through the earth. The myriad of footsteps made Li Huowang's expression become serious.
It had been some time since he arrived in Great Qi, but he had never heard such a large commotion before. The wave of enemies this time couldn't be trifled with.
I must bypass this commotion first, no matter what it is! Li Huowang closed his eyes, then stood up without hesitation and rushed in the completely opposite direction.
Li Sui's tentacles emerged from her body and probed around rapidly like a white cane for the blind.
"Daoist, you can open your eyes now; there's nothing dirty around."
Li Huowang slightly opened one eye when he heard the monk's words. He found himself inexplicably in a chaotic graveyard.
Under the Natural Disaster, the entire graveyard looked anything but peaceful. Some things were crawling around aimlessly in the distance.
Li Huowang ignored the terrifying environment, then immediately crouched down again and listened intently.
When he felt that the sound had become almost inaudible, Li Huowang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn't come to Great Qi with the intention of killing evil spirits. Since Great Qi was becoming increasingly dangerous, he needed to find Shangji Guankou and leave as quickly as possible.
Li Huowang gathered his spirits and rushed toward the direction Zhuge Yuan had pointed out. He thought to himself, "Brother Zhuge, how far are we from Shangji Guankou? I'm afraid that we're running out of time."
However, Li Huowang realized that Zhuge Yuan hadn't responded. After asking a few times in a row, Zhuge Yuan finally reacted. He had one hand behind his back while he silently looked around the chaotic graveyard.
"Not far, almost there," Zhuge Yuan said in a deep voice and silently observed the scattered corpses.
Li Huowang seemed to understand what Zhuge Yuan was thinking.
As a Storyteller in the past, Zhuge Yuan had always been ready to share information about the Great Qi, and he had never been shy to advertise that he was from the Great Qi.
Upon seeing that the Great Qi had been reduced to such a state, Li Huowang believed that Zhuge Yuan definitely wasn't in the best mood right now.
More importantly, Li Huowang couldn't console him now, since the situation in Great Qi currently wasn't looking too optimistic. He didn't know what kind of more scary outcomes there would be in the future.
But Li Huowang couldn't afford to consider such major issues, since he was too busy handling his own affairs.
He had just prepared to continue on when a cold wind blew past, causing half of his body to lose sensation momentarily.
Here again?! Li Huowang took the bronze coin sword from Li Sui's tentacles and swung it toward the direction of the cold wind. It cut off a large chunk of darkness, revealing a piece of human skin floating in the air.
The piece of human skin immediately opened in the air when it saw that Li Huowang could still move. It resembled a big bird as it swooped toward him.
Just as Li Huowang tightened his grip on the sword hilt, prepared to cut the piece of human skin in half, it suddenly went limp and floated gently to the ground.
"Huh?" Li Huowang was extremely puzzled. He used the bronze coin sword in his hand to pick up the piece of human skin. Why did it suddenly stop moving?
When he saw that the piece of human skin was indeed dead, Li Huowang exerted some force with his wrist and split apart the skin on the bronze coin sword.
The white human skin shifted from Li Huowang's sight, and a strange face was revealed.
It was a woman's face with a red heart drawn on her brows. Her unblinking eyes made her appear extremely strange in the darkness.
However, that alone wouldn't have frightened Li Huowang. Her face was coated with rouge, and it was split apart to reveal white paper with messy calligraphy underneath the skin.
"Is it you?" The woman stared straight at Li Huowang, her voice delicate as she uttered this inexplicable question.
Li Huowang wouldn't waste any time conversing with such things. He tightened his grip on the spine sword and swung it toward the strange face without any hesitation.
"It's you; it's really you. Are you okay?" the large face shifted to the left, almost sticking to the crack while dodging the attack.
A pale green glowing stone was hurled into the distance, and the green light illuminated the darkness, allowing Li Huowang to see the woman clearly as the green light illuminated the darkness.
The only thing human about her was her face; she had a huge and sturdy four-footed beast body, which was covered in dark brown fur.
She had a fiery red mane, and her limbs had three claws; she also had a lion-like tail, which swayed from side to side as she moved.
A piece of rusty armor engraved with green fangs hung around her chest with chains. It made her look even more ferocious and terrifying.
What is this thing? Li Huowang's expression turned very ugly. Just from its appearance, it was clear that this thing was rather different from the ordinary evil spirits he had dealt with previously.
"What do you want? We can talk!" However, the other party did not respond to Li Huowang's negotiation at all.
What's going on? Could it be that she's just learning to speak and can't understand human speech?
Just as Li Huowang was thinking this, the creature had already rushed up, with its three sharp claws whistling toward Li Huowang.
Li Huowang's body flashed backward as he shifted ten feet in an instant to avoid the attack. The corpse on the ground took the blow for him.
Following that, Li Huowang witnessed a chilling scene. The semi-rotten middle-aged corpse aged rapidly at a rate visible to the naked eye, and it eventually turned into an old man.
Li Huowang swung his spine sword, but the opponent easily dodged the crack.
"Brother Li, be careful; this is a Nian."
"Nian?"
"Yes, not Wan Nian[1], but Xu Nian[2]. Don't have any physical contact with her, or she'll take away your lifespan."
Li Huowang found himself in a precarious situation, as he was unable to touch or hurt it.
Li Huowang had planned to retreat back to Great Liang using the crack, but Xu Nian seemed to have seen through his moves. Every time he cut open a spacetime rift in front of him, she'd rushed over immediately to disrupt him.
Li Huowang could only keep retreating under the constant pressure, and his expression became increasingly solemn. In the end, he grabbed two ribs from his belly button and thrust them forcefully into his own chest.
Xu Nian howled with her legs raised.
Li Huowang unleashed his killing intent and roared, "So you know what's pain, too!"
Taking advantage of his opponent's pain, he pulled out a dagger and opened his Daoist robes. He picked out a bloody piece of human skin, which flew up and landed on the Xu Nian's head.
Blurry facial features flashed intermittently on the human skin. Xu Nian shook her head but couldn't shake off the human skin.
1. The raws for this is 卍年. I found nothing about it ☜
2. The raws for this is 虚年. While the search came up empty, there is actually something called a Nian(年)beast and a nominal age(虚岁). The Nian beast is a mythological beast that barges into homes during the night of the New Years to eat people. The Nominal Age is when a person is counted as one year old on the day of birth, and becomes one year older, each year, on the day the Chinese New Year is celebrated. This means that, in China, nominal age is usually exaggerated by one to two years as compared with actual age. ☜