None of them dared to disobey the orders of the Imperial Preceptor even though they had received orders from Ji Lin.
"Yes, we obey." All of them dispersed. None of them dared to stay here for a moment longer.
Seeing how much respect he commanded, Li Huowang's heart started pounding wildly against his chest. He was thinking about what he could do if the Imperial Preceptor actually wanted to kill him.
If that were to happen, he would have to materialize Zhuge Yuan to even stand a chance against Huangfu Tiangang.
Just then, Huangfu Tiangang put away his Constellation Sword in his sleeves and approached Li Huowang without a weapon.
"I'm afraid you would have to wait for a very long time till the Chief is done with his errands. What if we did this instead? I help you deal with Shai Zi, and you give me the illusion."
"Hm?!"
Both Li Huowang and Shangguan Yuting were shocked. They never thought Huangfu Tiangang could do that.
That means the Imperial Preceptor wants to betray the Chief? Are they secretly fighting against each other?
"What? You don't think I can't deal with Shai Zi and only the Chief could? What a joke. Shai Zi is only good at running and hiding. As long as we can expose his location, I could kill him with a single hand!"
Li Huowang slowly thought about it and managed to glean some info. Firstly, rather than taking Shangguan Yuting directly, he offered a trade instead. That meant he didn't want to completely break the relationship he had with the Surveillance Bureau.
Secondly, both the Imperial Preceptor and the Chief were extremely interested in the secrets of Shangji Guankou.
After weighing his options, Li Huowang looked at the Imperial Preceptor. "The Chief has helped me a lot. I don't think I feel right doing so."
Huangfu Tiangang looked at him strangely. "Are you that loyal to him? I remember that you don't even have an official position in the Bureau."
Li Huowang pointed at Shangguan Yuting's eyes. "There's so many of them. If you give some to me, I might feel better about doing it."
If he had two secrets, he could find Shai Zi and Miaomiao at the same time.
Since the Imperial Preceptor offered the trade, there was no reason for him to get some benefits.
Hearing his words, Huangfu Tiangang understood what was going on. "I see. Fine, I can't just let a soldier go hungry. The food doesn't belong to me in the first place."
Huangfu Tiangang made a seal and chanted something. He walked around Shangguan Yuting before pointing at Li Huowang. One of her eyeballs shot out and entered Li Huowang's shadow.
He then waved his robes and Shangguan Yuting disappeared just like that.
He was very satisfied with his haul and patted Li Huowang on the shoulder.
"Since you've taken what I've given, you should know what to say to the Chief upon his return."
Li Huowang nodded slowly. "I understand."
Li Huowang didn't really care what the Chief would think about him the moment he saw that Shangguan Yuting had disappeared and that he wouldn't obtain the secrets from Shangji Guankou.
Ji Lin was about to ascend to the throne, but Miaomiao was still missing. He was just too anxious to wait.
"Em~ Not bad. You are still teachable, at least." Huangfu Tiangang nodded in satisfaction.
"Imperial Preceptor, when are we hunting down Shai Zi?" Li Huowang wanted it done as soon as possible.
"We can do it now."
Hearing how confident he was, Li Huowang immediately ran down the mountain toward a river.
He needed his reflection to use Shangji Guankou's secret.
When he reached the river, he saw the Imperial Preceptor appear out of nowhere on his side. "Imperial Preceptor, Shai Zi is evil, so how come he's not your top priority to hunt?"
Li Huowang had finally managed to ask one of the many burning questions in his mind.
"Hmm... The Shai Zi who had plotted to rob the Sacred Mountain Ghost's Eye is dead. What good is killing another? The Sitting Oblivion Dao is like the grass of Qing Qiu. You burn them, but they'll still grow back. It's fine as long as we wound them enough. There are even more pressing matters in this world."
"You mean they'll come back even after getting annihilated?"
He had never heard of it before. He didn't even know that despite his memories as Hong Zhong.
"The Sitting Oblivion Dao exists so long as liars exist."
Li Huowang realized something and looked up at the sunny skies.
This world was much more bizarre than he had thought. He still didn't know about a lot of things.
A meandering small creek appeared in front of him. Li Huowang's breathing grew heavier, knowing that he was about to hunt down a Shai Zi.
He looked into the water and saw his own reflection. The eye on his forehead was shifting in the water.
Li Huowang took a deep breath and thought about Shai Zi's location. He then gently popped the eyeball on the forehead of his reflection.
He felt cold water splashing on his body the next moment. The sounds around him disappeared. There was no flowing water, no bird chirping, and no heartbeat of the Imperial Preceptor.
At the same time, Li Huowang saw that he was looking through another person's eyes. It was through the eyes of an eunuch.
It was a younger eunuch. After placing the incense inside his stepfather's room, he carefully and respectfully exited the room.
Li Huowang realized where Shai Zi was after he saw the grand palace! It was the palace of the Liang Kingdom! The young eunuch was Shai Zi!
Li Huowang opened his eyes, and his vision swam. The eunuch's vision and his vision had fused together!
With two different perspectives, Li Huowang felt confused and nauseous, but he couldn't care less. "Shai Zi is in the palace! He's one of the younger eunuchs preparing for the crowning ceremony!"
"Haha! This is such a wondrous object. To think that it's so useful."
Huangfu Tiangang was overjoyed. He unsheathed his Constellation Sword out from his sleeves.
"Go!" He threw the sword into the air before kicking it. The sword flew towards the north.
But it was not over. Huangfu Tiangang grabbed Li Huowang's collars before jumping onto a tree and leaping into the air. He somehow managed to catch up to the sword as he stood on it to fly in the air.
He was carrying Li Huowang as they flew towards Shangjing.
Li Huowang's vision was swimming, and he felt his head becoming heavier. His breathing became irregular as well.
But the symptoms slowly lessened as he got used to it gradually.
Both of them reached Shangjing soon enough.
"Imperial Preceptor! Shai Zi knows you are here. He's running away!"
"Hmph! He can't run!" The Imperial Preceptor stomped on his sword, and it took to the air to eventually land in his hands.
Then, he pointed the sword at the sky. A thunderous boom echoed throughout the kingdom.
Lightning bolts struck several altars around the palace. The sutras written on pieces of purple paper inside the wooden bowls were set ablaze by the lightning strikes.
"Five heavenly lightning, countless troops. Drive the thunder and lightning to illuminate the universe!"
There was a deafening roar of thunder, and five purple lightning descended from the sky and fiercely struck the rooftop of a palace.
The magnificent palace was enveloped by purple thunder and soon turned into a pile of charcoal.
He happened to be absent when they were in a full-scale battle with the Sitting Oblivion Dao. This was the first time Li Huowang realized the true strength of the Imperial Preceptor from Great Liang.
The pile of charcoal began to collapse under the weight of the roof tiles. A figure emerged from the falling debris and fled. It was a dying eunuch, and his charred face was filled with despair.
When he reached the plaza with its crumbling tiles, the Great Liang Imperial Preceptor descended from the sky and blocked his path while holding the Constellation Sword.
The eunuch stammered as he tried to say something. His figure twisted in a strange fashion as he dodged a rift that flew from behind.
His face lit up when he saw Li Huowang, who had a grim expression and was holding the spine sword. "So it's you! I was wondering what happened. You did a good job this time. I'll treat you to a meal when I have time."
Li Huowang swept his sword across again, then turned to Huangfu Tiangang and said, "Imperial Preceptor! Don't believe the nonsense of the Sitting Oblivion Dao! He's trying to sow discord between us!"
Huangfu Tiangang was unusually indifferent, and his gaze was fixed on Shai Zi, "Do you really think that you can come and go in the Great Liang palace as you please? You are going to die today!"
The eunuch peeled off his face, revealing a dice with constantly changing numbers, "When it's time, it's time. People will die inevitably. Dying later or today is the same. But... hehehe, I've already accomplished my task."
Shai Zi looked at Li Huowang, "Hong Zhong, Hong Zhong, did you really think you found me? It was all me leading you to find me. Every step you took was within my calculations."
"Don't give me that! I'm specialized in killing the Sitting Oblivion Dao! I've seen enough of these tricks! Who's Hong Zhong? You can't fool me!" Li Huowang charged forward with his sword.
Instead of dodging, Shai Zi rushed towards Li Huowang and even bared his chest to meet the blade, which emerged from Shai Zi's back.
As they were very close, Li Huowang could even smell the scent of charred flesh from Shai Zi.
"Die!" Li Huowang pushed the hilt of the sword and forced Shai Zi backward. He bared his teeth and fiercely bit off a chunk of Shai Zi's face.
Then, he exerted force with both hands to grab the hilt of the sword and lifted it upward to split Shai Zi's upper body in half.
The panting Li Huowang looked down at the corpse on the ground with trembling hands.
Just as he hadn't yet reacted to what had happened, a chilling voice sounded in his ear, "Child..."
Dan Yangzi is back? As Li Huowang momentarily lost consciousness, the three-flowered Dan Yangzi appeared intermittently before him.
No! This is fake! Shai Zi is still alive! He has attached himself to me! As Li Huowang realized this, he took out the purple-tasseled sword and started stabbing himself.
"Hehehe, Hong Zhong. You play well. You're quite naughty." Li Huowang's mouth began to speak involuntarily.
"You want my body, huh? Fine! I'll let you have it!" Li Huowang took out a hook from his bag of torture instruments. He hooked his own collarbone and yanked on it forcefully.
"Pfft, Hong Zhong, be gentle. You're hurting me."
Compared to Li Huowang's methods of forcing out Shai Zi with pain, the methods of the Great Liang Imperial Preceptor were obviously much more simple and violent.
"Clouds fly with urgency! Mysterious thunder dragon, pass rain! Immortal fire, urgently bestowed! Lightning to the rescue!"
Thunder rolled above Li Huowang's head. He didn't show any mercy as he intended to split Shai Zi in half.
Shai Zi didn't dare to mess around upon seeing that Huangfu Tiangang was serious. The corpse that was cut in half and was on the ground suddenly stood up by itself and ran toward the east gate.
The voice in Li Huowang's ear had disappeared completely as well.
As the eunuch's two legs moved quickly, Shai Zi's head was cut in half, and they swayed up and down like fruits on a tree.
Each side only had half a mouth left, and they began to speak one word alternately at a time, "Ah, old fellow, you're really serious, huh? Don't forget that I have a share of the credit in you obtaining your current position."
Huangfu Tiangang sensed Li Huowang looking over, and he casually replied, "It's like what he told you just now. It's all lies from the Sitting Oblivion Dao. Don't fall for it."
He began to hold the Constellation Sword and perform a spell. Strong winds blew past, and thunder rolled in the sky.
Snap!
A purple lightning bolt struck Shai Zi, splitting his upper and lower body split in half.
However, Shai Zi could still move. His two halves, one left and one right, bounced up and down.
The Great Liang Imperial Preceptor didn't pay attention to the left half and attacked the right half instead.
Li Huowang saw what was going on and chased after the other half. He didn't want to let Shai Zi escape.
"Hong Zhong, you're here? I went to Fengyang Tower the other day, and their signature dishes there are truly exquisite. You must bring Bai Lingmiao to try them next time."
"Die!" Li Huowang swung the spine sword forcefully, and a rift flew toward Shai Zi.
Shai Zi's figure twisted, and he easily dodged the rift. "This isn't right, you know? Open a bit of a wider rift, and I can use it to escape to the Great Qi. If that happens, won't all your previous efforts be in vain?"
Shai Zi's words had just come out of his mouth when he abruptly screamed in pain and fell to the ground. There was an intense pain radiating from his chest.
"Hey, why are you using those crazy Ao Jing tricks again? Isn't it going to hurt for you as well? I really don't like playing with people like you."
Shai Zi trembled and stood up. He used his lone eye to look at Li Huowang, who was holding his ribs and had stabbed them into his chest.
"What? Do you really think you can kill me? Even if I'm only half myself, you can't."
"How would I know if I don't try? And I don't need to kill you; I just need to stop you!" Peng Longteng's headless body materialized slowly beside Li Huowang.
Right as things were about to break out, a dark gold arrow suddenly appeared on Shai Zi's head, which sent him flying away.
Shai Zi landed heavily on the ground, and the fierce wind behind almost blew Li Huowang off his feet.
Five more arrows shot out from all directions and pinned Shai Zi to the ground. "The audacity to do something like this in the palace in broad daylight... Do you really think that my Liang Kingdom has no one to defend it? Hmph?"
Chapter 562 - Scheme
"The audacity to do something like this in the palace in broad daylight... Do you really think that my Liang Kingdom has no one to defend it? Hmph?" A rough voice sounded from Li Huowang's left. He turned and saw an elderly warrior clad in heavy armor on horseback.
Li Huowang felt like the wind itself was moving with the elderly warrior. Undoubtedly, the elderly warrior was from a military family and not from a mid-tier family like Peng Longteng!
His aura was perhaps the strongest among the Great Liang's forces!
He wasn't alone. Six people in total were charging toward Shai Zi in all directions, and all of them were on horseback. It seemed that the commotion in the palace had attracted these monsters.
Li Huowang suddenly found himself experiencing auditory hallucinations. He could hear agonized screams, and he could also smell the rusty stench of blood. He suddenly felt annoyed.
When they gathered around Shai Zi, the oppressive aura that they carried pervaded the air; it was so thick that it was palpable.
Li Huowang even felt like there was an invisible wall ahead of him. The smell of blood on them was much heavier than the smell of blood on Li Huowang.
"When you reach the Yama[1] Temple, remember to say your Grandpa Zhang was your murderer !"
A veteran general with three deep scars on his face raised his heavy mace with lingering afterimages, ready to smash the immobilized Shai Zi on the ground.
"Hold on!" The heavy mace paused. The six veteran generals and Li Huowang looked toward the Imperial Preceptor
"Let me ask a few questions first before we kill him," Huangfu Tiangang said, walking over with his hands behind his back.
Li Huowang's heart tensed as he heard that the Imperial Preceptor wanted to talk to Shai Zi.
He knew too well the strengths and weaknesses of the Sitting Oblivion Dao. Everyone knew that they weren't that great at fighting, but they excelled at manipulation and deceit. A conversation was a Shai Zi's home ground!
"Imperial Preceptor, it's better to kill Shai Zi quickly to prevent any further complications!"
"I'm way more experienced than you. Do I really need you to lecture me?" Huangfu Tiangang glared at Li Huowang before walking toward the trapped Shai Zi.
The Sitting Oblivion Dao illusion came to Li Huowang's side again and winked. "Brother, don't you think something's fishy about this? What if that old man owes our boss a favor? He might be taking advantage of this opportunity to repay the favor."
Li Huowang looked at him coldly. "Even at this point, you still want to help Shai Zi trick me? Fine, get ready to be tortured tonight!"
"Hey! What's wrong with you? I'm just helping you think it through. You're misinterpreting my kindness as malice."
Li Huowang couldn't be bothered to listen to his explanation. He turned to Zhuge Yuan and said, "Brother Zhuge, can you take care of Shai Zi if I materialize you for a short while?"
"Brother Li, we're almost at the goal. Stay patient. There's no need to risk exposing your Strayed One identity. Come, let's go see what questions the Imperial Preceptor has for Shai Zi."
With that, Zhuge Yuan followed Huangfu Tiangang toward Shai Zi. The Imperial Preceptor seemed to have sensed something. He glanced to his left before walking forward.
Li Huowang's expression changed rapidly as he watched the two figures.
"Boss Hong Zhong, this kid is definitely hiding something from you," The Sitting Oblivion Dao illusion came to Li Huowang's side again.
"Shut up! What do you know? Is being tortured and dismembered not enough for you?" Li Huowang tightened his grip on the spine sword and followed them towards Shai Zi.
As Li Huowang finally arrived next to them, the Imperial Preceptor had already started his questioning, "Tell me, why are you hiding in the palace? I've been watching you for a long time. I thought I could lure out the remaining Sitting Oblivion Dao, but you've remained quiet all along."
"Hehehe," Shai Zi was calm despite being pinned to the ground. He even had the audacity to raise his chin at Li Huowang.
"You think you've been watching me, but I wanted you to watch me. I'm here to provide cover for others. I'm not the one doing the job this time, but it's someone else," Shai Zi said and blinked at Li Huowang.
"You better spit it out quickly! I have more important matters to attend to!" The Imperial Preceptor's tone grew more serious.
"Hehehe~ Why don't you guess how big of a scheme I have pulled off this time?" Shai Zi showed no signs of fear even when faced with the weapons around him.
"Oh, I won't guess." The Imperial Preceptor had no intention of indulging him. He drew his Constellation Sword and prepared to strike Shai Zi.
"Hey, what's the hurry? You're so impatient. I'll talk, I'll talk. After years of hard work, it's all for this moment."
"Hehehe, do you guys think that we, Sitting Oblivion Dao, can't play with the Dragon Vein? We don't believe in such nonsense! Our goal is the Emperor of the Great Liang."
"Since we can't touch the Dragon Vein, we'll dig up the roots of the Dragon Vein! Hehehe, do you really think that the Emperor of the Great Liang is a chosen one? Seriously? That kid named Ji Lin is a chosen one? Do you really think so?"
"Hmm?" The Imperial Preceptor frowned as if recalling something.
"Isn't Ji Lin of royal blood? Impossible! You must be playing some shoddy trick! I've calculated his eight characters[2] with Xuan Pin! He's of the Ji family bloodline!"
"Hahaha!" Shai Zi laughed hysterically.
"That's right~ Hahaha; he is of the Ji family bloodline! But I had Ji Lin's genitals replaced! He's actually a girl! And she's infertile[3]! The Dragon Vein of Great Liang has been severed at her section! Hahaha!"
Shai Zi laughed until he ran out of breath, and there was a thrilled gleam in his eyes. He looked like he had been waiting for this very day.
Li Huowang's heart trembled at the revelation. This lunatic had actually given him the task of helping Ji Lin ascend to the throne, all for the sake of deceiving everyone.
"Which one of you wants to tell the emperor this good news? Help me ask him how he feels about suddenly finding out that he's a girl after being a man for more than ten years. Hahaha!"
Huangfu Tiangang looked coldly at Shai Zi, showing no surprise. "So this is Shai Zi's scheme? If you think the Great Liang Dragon Vein is so easily severed, then you've miscalculated. We knew something like this was going to happen, so we've decided to hide some hidden dragons[4] among the people."
"Hehehe~ There's no more. We've cleaned them all up. What's their token? Is it a white round jade pendant? Hehehe~"
A white round jade pendant? Li Huowang felt like he had seen such a thing before.
"Those people are just ordinary people with no bodyguards around them. We don't even need to do anything against them; we just have to provoke them a little, and they'll seek death by themselves. Isn't that right, Hong Zhong?" Shai Zi asked.
1. King of Hell ☜
2. birth date and time ☜
3. the term used was 'stone girl', which refers to a congenitally missing vagina ☜
4. secret descendants hidden amongst the people ☜
Chapter 563 - Shai Zi
"Those people are just ordinary people with no bodyguards around them. We don't even need to do anything against them; we just have to provoke them a little, and they'll seek death by themselves. Isn't that right, Hong Zhong?"
Shai Zi's words seemed directed at Li Huowang, but they were actually more like a reminder.
A white round jade pendant? Li Huowang immediately recalled the jade pendant that he had stolen from his late Senior Xuan Yang's residence inside the Zephyr Temple!
He had used that jade pendant to trade for a horse not too long ago.
Xuan Yang... was actually of the royal bloodline of the Great Liang? Shock dawned on Li Huowang's face as he recalled the youth who had attempted to escape from Zephyr Temple, only to be fed to the Black Taisui by Dan Yangzi.
He actually died because of the Sitting Oblivion Dao? The Sitting Oblivion Dao had already infiltrated Zephyr Temple while he was still there?!
Li Huowang knew that the sacred text Dan Yangzi had given to him was from the Sitting Oblivion Dao, but it seemed that was another member of the Sitting Oblivion Dao within the Zephyr Temple at the time!
Who is it? Who did they impersonate? Xiaoman, Gao Zhijian, Bai Lingmiao, Yang Xiaohai—the faces of those people flashed rapidly through Li Huowang's mind.
Pop!
Li Huowang suddenly heard a noise reminiscent of a popping bubble, and his own face appeared in his own mind. He began to recall a few old memories, which had been sealed using the Sitting Oblivion Dao's methods.
Was it me? Did I hint to Xuan Yang to escape? Was I the Sitting Oblivion Dao inside Zephyr Temple? Li Huowang's body began to twitch uncontrollably, and he clutched his head in agony.
He suddenly recalled the preceding events, the period before he transmigrated to this world. He had pretended to encounter Dan Yangzi and pretended to be captured by him. It was all to deal with Xuan Yang, the hidden dragon of Great Liang.
Even Taishang Laojun, who had given Dan Yangzi those sacred texts, was actually himself in a disguise! He was a Hong Zhong, and he had deceived everyone!
No! This isn't right! Doulao Taiyin has tampered with my memories! These aren't my memories. I'm not a Hong Zhong, I'm Li Huowang! Don't let the Sitting Oblivion Dao deceive you! Li Huowang roared to himself.
No matter how much he tried to suggest otherwise, his memories as a Hong Zhong became increasingly vivid in his head.
Those memories of Hong Zhong began to accumulate more and more, and they gradually encroached on Li Huowang's own memories.
When his memories as a Hong Zhong began to outnumber his memories as Li Huowang, he started to find it difficult to differentiate whether he was a Hong Zhong or Li Huowang. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
If this were any other time, Li Huowang's unusual reaction wouldn't have escaped the Imperial Preceptor's notice.
However, Huangfu Tiangang's attention was on Shai Zi alone; he didn't notice what was going on with Li Huowang.
"Don't even think about deceiving me! Do you think you can disturb my mind with these lies alone? Do you think I don't have other tricks up my sleeve?" A purple lightning bolt struck down, burning Shai Zi's remaining arm and leg to a crisp.
He was on the brink of death, but Shai Zi became even more invigorated rather than the opposite.
"Hahaha! Lies? Tiangang, it seems you still don't understand the Sitting Oblivion Dao. Using lies to deceive people is just a trick used by the pawns within the Sitting Oblivion Dao! I am Shai Zi, I only use the truth to deceive people!"
"It's alright, even if you don't believe it. Anyway, the Dragon Vein of Great Liang has been severed. The god Yu'er has arrived, and all you have to do next is sit back and enjoy the show! Hehehe~"
One of the veteran generals nearby couldn't bear Shai Zi's arrogant act anymore. He raised his sword and pressed it against Shai Zi's half-charred neck.
"You scoundrel! What benefit do you get from severing the Dragon Vein of Great Liang? When the whole world falls into chaos, you'll die too!"
"Hehehe, so be it. Do you really think that the leader of the Sitting Oblivion Dao is going to be afraid of that?" Shai Zi curled up. He stretched his neck, tearing apart what remained of his head, which promptly rolled on the ground. "Farewell, everyone! I'm leaving first! Oh, Hong Zhong, you don't need to burn paper money for me on Qingming Festival[1]; it's not our Sitting Oblivion Dao's custom."
With that, the head in a pool of blood lost all signs of life.
"Want to die? It's not that easy! I'll make your soul scatter into nothingness!"
Huangfu Tiangang pointed his Constellation Sword at the sky, and the sword quivered violently in mid-air. Purple lighting bolts struck down one after another, mercilessly scorching Shai Zi's corpse.
After a dozen lightning bolts, Shai Zi's corpse had been reduced to basically meat scraps.
The Imperial Preceptor's face twitched slightly, and he snorted in disdain while staring at the charred ground. Then, he turned around and started walking toward the palace.
"Sob! Boss Shai Zi~~~ You've met such a tragic end! How am I supposed to live without you! Sob!" The Sitting Oblivion Dao illusion lay on the scorched ground and cried inconsolably without tears.
"Monk! Monk! Aren't you supposed to be a good person? Didn't you see my boss die? Hurry up and help him ascend to the other side!"
Zhuge Yuan's expression was solemn as he walked past the wailing illusion to reach Li Huowang. "Brother Li! Brother Li! Hold on! Things aren't over yet!"
"I..." Li Huowang was scratching his head in confusion, "Who am I? Am I Hong Zhong, or am I Li Huowang?"
"Regardless of who you are, do you really want the Great Liang to suffer the same fate as the Great Qi? Think about your Cowheart Village! Think about your fellow disciples, your daughter Li Sui, and your Bai Lingmiao! Do you really want them to end up like the denizens of the Great Qi?"
Zhuge Yuan's words were like a bucket of cold water that was poured over Li Huowang's head, and they made him snap back to reality.
"Shai Zi's plan isn't flawless! Catch up with the Great Liang's Imperial Preceptor; there's still a way to connect Great Liang's roots!"
When Li Huowang felt his inner turmoil growing once more, he slapped himself and chased after the Imperial Preceptor of the Great Liang.
He was nearby; he was at the main hall where Ji Lin had summoned Li Huowang long ago.
Upon entering the hall, Li Huowang saw a group of eunuchs staggering away from Huangfu Tiangang.
Meanwhile, Huangfu Tiangang himself was walking toward Ji Lin with a dark expression.
"Preceptor... how dare you! I am the emperor! How dare you defy me!" Ji Lin's fierce face showed panic. After all, it was the Imperial Preceptor who challenged him.
However, Huangfu Tiangang remained silent in the face of the questioning. He walked directly to the side of the throne and roughly pulled him down to the ground.
"Guards, protect the emperor!" Ji Lin shouted desperately as he struggled to prop himself up on the golden bricks with his remaining two fingers.
Just as he was about to stand up, the Imperial Preceptor lifted him up. Then, the Imperial Preceptor bit his fingertip and drew symbols on Ji Lin's body.
"Imperial Preceptor! Huangfu Tiangang! How dare you! I am the emperor! I'm the one and only remaining member of the Ji family! How dare you disrespect me! Aren't you afraid there'll be no one left to bear the Great Liang's luck?"
The Imperial Preceptor was soon finished drawing, and he slapped Ji Lin in the face.
The next moment, the red talismans on Ji Lin came alive. They slid rapidly across Ji Lin as if they were flying dragons.
Soon, the talismans seemed to have noticed something, and they picked up the pace.
A clear and distinct voice echoed from beneath Ji Lin's dragon robe. "Oh dear, so you've found out? How clever~ How did you know that I'm the one who implanted this little girl's manhood?"
Something rolled out from beneath the dragon robe, and it rolled in Li Huowang's direction. "Hong Zhong! Hong Zhong! Hey! What are you doing standing there in a daze? Come here and help me!"
Before it could roll far away, Huangfu Tiangang's large foot came down and crushed it to pieces.
1. also known as tomb-sweeping day where people burn incense amidst other customs ☜
Chapter 564 - Schemes Within Schemes
Ji Lin began to feel uneasy; he noticed something strange happening to his body.
"What's going on..." Ji Lin trailed off as he froze. His voice was no longer that of a young man but had transformed into a delicate young woman's voice.
Multiple changes occurred one after another. Her skin softened, and his Adam's apple sank. More and more changes occurred until he finally became a bonafide woman.
Huangfu Tiangang walked towards the exit with a grim expression but was stopped by Li Huowang, who was holding his head in pain. "Imperial Preceptor, don't panic, there's still a solution! The root of Great Liang's Dragon Vein has yet to be severed!"
"You don't even know what's happening. This matter concerns not just the Dragon Vein! Hmph! You don't know anything at all!"
Huangfu Tiangang suppressed his anger and walked briskly towards the hall's exit.
Li Huowang wanted to speak, but he hesitated. His thoughts were a bit sluggish as he looked at Zhuge Yuan. "What method is it, Brother Zhuge?"
Zhuge Yuan closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening his eyes once again, "The Great Qi! We can use the royal bloodline of the Great Qi to connect with the Dragon Vein of Great Liang, which will ensure that the Dragon Vein will remain linked."
"Brother Zhuge, what nonsense are you talking about? The bloodline of the Great Qi no longer exists! Have you already forgotten how I beheaded the final emperor of the Great Qi?"
"He can't die The Empress Dowager of the Great Qi had done everything possible to ensure her son's ascension to the throne. She even defied fate to refine him the Hundred Souls Layered Body! You actually sent him to the Great Liang. We just have to find him, and Shai Zi's scheme will become meaningless!"
"Really?! That's great!" Li Huowang clutched his head and was about to chase after the Imperial Preceptor when he came to a halt and muttered, "Brother Zhuge... Did you already know about Shai Zi's scheme?"
"Brother Li, let's talk about that later. Hurry up and tell the Great Liang's Imperial Preceptor what I said to you!"
However, Li Huowang added, "Brother Zhuge, we're in Great Liang, so is it really necessary for us to go and look for him right now? Or are you trying to change the subject? I've been feeling something amiss for a while now, but I thought I was just overthinking it. I mean, how can I doubt you? I was convinced that I was just overthinking it. After all, you're such a good person, Zhuge Yuan. We're even sworn brothers!
"Unfortunately, my doubts only grew since my memories as a Hong Zhong were unlocked. Like how you told me to go to Great Qi to look for Shangji Guankou, which ended up in me stumbling upon the Emperor of the Great Qi? Then I actually brought him to the Great Liang?"
"Coincidentally, Shai Zi's scheme is to sever the Great Liang's roots. However, the Emperor of the Great Qi can actually destroy that scheme? What kind of a coincidence is that? it feels like I'm dancing to someone else's palm."
Zhuge Yuan sighed and admitted it. "Indeed, I saw through Shai Zi's scheme earlier."
"Then why didn't you stop it? You could have mentioned it to me earlier. There had been eight other contenders for the throne! We wouldn't have found ourselves in this situation if we had spared just one or maybe two of them!"
"Because I wanted to save Great Qi!" Zhuge Yuan roared. This was the first time that Zhuge Yuan raised his voice at Li Huowang, and his lips trembled ever so slightly as he added, "Do you know how many people are still alive in the Great Qi? Do you know how many are going to die once the Great Qi is annihilated thoroughly? Think about that little girl, the one crying noiselessly while tugging at your clothes. She's alive, and everyone there is alive!"
"You have good friends, and you have people you care about. How about me? Do you really think that I don't have any beloved ones in the Great Qi?
"Yes, I did all this! When I said I wanted to leave a message for my good friend, I was talking about that Xu Nian! She's my good friend! She's my confidante. I made it so that she'll bring the Emperor of Great Qi with her. She helped you with the scene, and she ultimately found a way to bring the Great Qi Emperor to the Great Liang, just as Shai Zi was setting up his scheme. That little emperor can break Shai Zi's scheme and save Great Qi at the same time. Don't worry; the Great Liang will remain unharmed, even if the Emperor of the Great Qi establishes a connection with it.
"The current Great Qi is done for, but... I want to give the survivors of the Great Qi a way out..." Zhuge Yuan trailed off, and his voice sounded so low at the end of his sentence that Li Huowang barely heard him.
After a while, Li Huowang smiled bitterly and asked, "Why? Why did you not tell me? Why did it have to be like this? Do you really think that I wouldn't have helped you if you had told me about it? Wrong! I would have risked my life to help you! You're the only one whom I truly trust in this crazy world, Zhuge Yuan! I truly consider you as my good friend!"
Zhuge Yuan was silent.
Li Huowang could guess the answer. He approached Zhuge Yuan step by step, glaring at him with bloodshot eyes. "Is it because you suspected that I was a Hong Zhong? Or was it because you thought that I was a lunatic? Did you not say anything to me because you couldn't trust me?"
"Yes."
Zhuge Yuan's succinct reply made Li Huowang feel like his chest was struck by a sledgehammer. His emotional pain then transformed into extreme anger. "I'm a lunatic! I'm a Hong Zhong! But what about you? You might not even be Zhuge Yuan! You're nothing but a mere illusion!"
Zhuge Yuan's figure flickered at Li Huowang's remark. However, Zhuge Yuan's gaze became even more resolute, "Does it matter whether I'm the real Zhuge Yuan or not? So what if I'm an illusion? Even if one is poor, they'll still be able to achieve something by persevering and never giving up on their ambitions!"
Li Huowang gnashed his teeth and swung his hand toward Zhuge Yuan's face. "Stop the nonsense! I've never really understood your nonsense! I've just been pretending all this while!"
"Brother Li!" Zhuge Yuan took a step forward and looked seriously at Li Huowang's face, "Brother Li, does it really matter who we are? So what if I am an illusion? So what if you are Hong Zhong? What matters is our true intentions!"
"True intentions... Haha... True intentions..." Li Huowang shook his head with a bitter smile. He staggered backward until he collided with a massive dragon pillar. After a moment of silence, he looked at Zhuge Yuan again. His voice was tinged with indifference as he asked, "Brother Zhuge, what if I really am a Hong Zong? I mean, there must be a reason behind your suspicions, right? if I'm a Hong Zong, do you really think that this Hong Zhong of the Sitting Oblivion Dao would help you foil Shai Zi's plan?"
The spine sword on Li Huowang's back started moving on its own. The spine sword tore off the purple talisman on its head and used its bone-white fingers to carve some words into the stone tiles. After a brief pause, the spine sword slapped the words carved in the stone tiles, and the words took to the sky, leaving behind an afterimage as they made a beeline for the Imperial Preceptor of the Great Liang.
Chapter 565 - Zhuge Yuan
Li Huowang's eyes trembled slightly as he stood before the dragon pillar within the brightly lit palace hall. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
He glanced at the spine sword, which was moving by itself, before turning to Zhuge Yuan beside him.
Li Huowang had suffered many injuries before, but none of them could compare to the pain he was feeling at the moment.
"So you had a backup plan all along! You never trusted me! Are you really the Zhuge Yuan who was willing to sacrifice even your life just to save me?!" Li Huowang roared, "You want me to stay steadfast to my true intentions? But you've always treated me as a Hong Zhong of the Sitting Oblivion Dao! How am I supposed to do that?"
Li Huowang's lips twitched slightly; he raised his fist and pounded his own head.
"Brother Li, I had no choice. There are so many lives in Great Qi, and I really couldn't risk everything for you. I can sacrifice my own life for you, but I can't sacrifice the lives of everyone in Great Qi for you!"
Li Huowang glared at Zhuge Yuan, and he was filled with rage as he rushed toward the latter.
Li Huowang clenched his right hand and swung it toward Zhuge Yuan's head, which became tangible as soon as his fist swept across it.
Zhuge Yuan's head whipped upward upon getting hit by Li Huowang's fist, and he staggered backward as well. A large bruise appeared on Zhuge Yuan's face. When he found his footing again, he sighed lightly and said, "I have always acted with a clear conscience, except for this time when I concealed the truth from you, my sworn brother, for the sake of the Great Qi. It was indeed ungentlemanly of me. I have made a mistake, and I must be punished for it; I am willing to atone for my sin with death."
Li Huowang froze just then. Zhuge Yuan's figure started flickering.
"What... what are you talking about?! I'm not done with you! You still owe me an explanation! You're not going anywhere!" Li Huowang clutched his head again with an agonized look.
Zhuge Yuan's figure stabilized almost immediately.
"Brother Li, illusions are only going to bring you harm as a Strayed One. It's best to get rid of them as soon as possible. If you want the illusions around you to disappear, perhaps you may do so by eliminating their obsessions. Once their obsessions are eliminated, the illusions will naturally vanish, just like me and like Jiang Yingzi," Zhuge Yuan said, his figure becoming extremely blurry.
Li Huowang tried to solidify him again but to no avail.
"Brother Li, if you can't distinguish whether you are Hong Zhong or Li Huowang, you must go to where Li Huowang should be and gather more memories as Li Huowang. This might help suppress your memories as a Hong Zhong. Brother Li, I once wanted to help you find out why Doulao Taiyin had decided to modify your past. But forgive me for my incompetence, as I couldn't figure out the reason why. It would be best for you to delay cultivating the 'Truth' until you've learned why."
Zhuge Yuan's figure became almost completely transparent.
"Wait! You better wait for me!" Li Huowang unconsciously bent slightly; fresh blood dripped from his nose and landed on the floor.
Zhuge Yuan carefully adjusted his robes and leaned forward. He cupped his fists together and bowed to Li Huowang. "Brother Li, take care!"
Zhuge Yuan's figure vanished, and he left not even a single trace behind.
Li Huowang put down his hands and stared blankly at where Zhuge Yuan had vanished.
After a while, he started crying and cursing at the same time. Eventually, he stopped cursing and simply stood like a frozen statue. His indescribable face obfuscated his thoughts, making it impossible for anyone to decipher.
After some time, Li Huowang suddenly moved. He turned and walked back toward the spine sword.
The purple talisman on the sword had been reattached, and the peach patterns protruding from the sword as well as the flesh and blood had vanished; it had become nothing more than an ordinary spine sword.
Li Huowang trembled, and he tore the purple talisman apart. However, the spine sword was quiet; it seemed that it had died along with the illusion of Zhuge Yuan.
Loud footsteps entered Li Huowang's ears just then, and a group of people with the Surveillance Bureau's identity tokens hanging at their waists appeared. Each and every one of them had grim expressions, and they all had a variety of weapons in hand.
"Er Jiu! Er Jiu!" Fo Yulu exclaimed with an ugly look. She led a group of people to surround Li Huowang before asking, "What's going on?! Where's the Imperial Preceptor? Why did His Majesty become a girl? Who killed the spy among the eunuchs?"
Li Huowang remained silent and shook his head indifferently. He bent down to pick up his sword, and then he pushed past the group of people to head out of the palace.
The others wanted to block him, but Li Huowang swung his spine sword and dove into the spacetime rift.
Boom!
A loud thunderclap startled Gao Zhijian, who was in the middle of eating a bowl of noodles in an inn. He walked out of the inn with the bowl of noodles in hand and saw dark clouds gathering over the Great Liang palace.
He also saw multiple purple lightning bolts raining down on the palace.
What's happening? Gao Zhijian had no idea, but there was something strange with the lightning bolts.
Loud hoofbeats echoed, and soldiers carrying military banners rushed down the streets, hitting their bronze gongs with urgent looks.
"The Imperial Preceptor's orders are here! Daytime curfew in Shangjing! Daytime curfew in Shangjing! Those who are still outside after two incense sticks' worth of time will be executed!"
Their words immediately caused a commotion; the people strolling down the streets acted like ants on a hot pan as they frantically ran away.
The vendors on the streets abandoned their stalls and rushed home as fast as possible.
Gao Zhijian didn't understand what was happening, but he followed the bandwagon and returned to the inn with a bowl of noodles in hand.
The frightened waiter hurriedly locked the door and barricaded it with the tables before gossiping with the other anxious customers in low voices
"What's going on? What's up with this sudden daytime curfew? Has Qing Qiu attacked us?"
"No way. However, I saw lightning bolts descending upon the palace. Is His Majesty performing a ritual?"
"Hey, kid, do you want to die? How dare you say such things?!"
"It's fine, it's fine. Our Majesty doesn't punish people for their words."
The people of Shangjing moved frantically, rushing to their homes in the proverbial blink of an eye.
Before an incense stick's worth of time was over, the streets were already empty.
Amidst the tense atmosphere, Gao Zhijian peered outside through a hole in the paper window. Is this daytime curfew related to Senior Li? Should I go out and take a look?
He was rather hesitant at the idea. He'd most likely run into the soldiers of the Great Liang before he could find Senior Li if he were to go out there without any clues about the latter's whereabouts.
Chapter 566 - Curfew
The skies over Shangjing darkened slowly amidst the ongoing curfew. Gao Zhijian didn't see anyone else outside except for soldiers enforcing the curfew.
"Everyone!" someone shouted.
Gao Zhijian turned around in confusion and saw the innkeeper standing on the table. The innkeeper got everyone's attention by smacking the bottom of a bowl using a pair of chopsticks. The innkeeper grinned as he swept his gaze across everyone before saying, "Everyone, it seems that no one can go back today and have no choice but to stay here tonight. We have three rooms of the highest quality and six regular rooms available. I'd love to give it to you for free, but I'm certain that many of you will find it unfair if were to give it to everyone via lottery.
"So I've decided to give the rooms to the highest bidder! However, I'm not trying to take advantage of you here! Those without a room can just sleep here in the hall. We're a well-respected establishment with competitive rates, so sleeping on the floor in this hall will only cost you a hundred!"
The crowd was in an uproar at the innkeeper's announcement.
Seeing that it wasn't important, Gao Zhijian turned around and stared at the streets.
This time, he saw something unexpected—there was an extremely pretty lady walking on the streets!
Gao Zhijian had seen a lot of the world after traveling with Senior Li for so long, but he had never seen such a pretty young lady before.
Why is she outside? The curfew's still ongoing. Is she not afraid of encountering the soldiers?
Gao Zhijian was confused.
"Dad! Dad, where are you?! Don't leave me alone!" the young lady exclaimed.
Wait, why is her voice so familiar?
The young lady's beauty had astonished him, which made sense, but how come even her voice had astonished him as well? She sounded so familiar that Gao Zhijian felt disturbed.
The young lady's voice grew softer and softer as she walked away.
"Ah!" Gao Zhijian abruptly exclaimed. He had finally recalled the reason the young lady's voice sounded familiar. She had the same voice as that evil entity that Li Huowang had been rearing—the evil entity that always wore a veil and a straw robe. She's looking for her father? Her father must be Senior Li!
Gao Zhijian pushed away the tables that were blocking the entrance and twisted the doorknob with enough strength to destroy it.
Before the people inside the inn could react, Gao Zhijian ran out and chased after Li Sui.
The streets were empty, so he found her in no time.
"Ah! It's you! Have you seen my dad? He was following someone with a white beard who was calling himself the Imperial Preceptor. They rode a sword and flew away, leaving me behind," Li Sui said. This was her first time talking to Gao Zhijian, but this wasn't her first time seeing Gao Zhijian, as she recognized him as someone from Cowheart Village.
"Your... your dad.... your dad is..." Gao Zhijian stammered.
Before he could finish his sentence, however, several horses appeared at the end of the street.
The soldiers lightly kicked the bellies of their horses, urging them to charge at Gao Zhijian and Li Sui standing on the street.
Gao Zhijian tensed up when he saw the soldiers raising their weapons. Then, he grabbed Li Sui and ran away.
Gao Zhijian had a towering statue that allowed him to cover a ton of ground with his strides, but he was not as fast as a horse.
The gap between them and the soldiers narrowed swiftly. Soon, the hoofbeats were just behind them. Hearing that, Gao Zhijian knew that he could not run anymore.
Gao Zhijian made a split-second decision, throwing Li Sui into an alleyway before turning around and standing his ground.
The soldiers never thought that Gao Zhijian would stand his ground. One of them couldn't swing their weapon, but their horse crashed against the sturdy-looking Gao Zhijian.
Veins bulged all over Gao Zhijian as he howled and lifted the horse before throwing it and its rider onto a nearby roof.
The other soldiers were shocked by Gao Zhijian's strength, and they dared not get too close to him.
One of them took out a long tube from under his armor and pulled on the string at the bottom.
Swoosh!
Boom!
A red firework painted the skies.
Gao Zhijian unleashed his killing intent upon seeing the red firework before turning around and running into an alleyway. He grabbed Li Sui, who was hiding in the alleyway, before running toward another street.
Gao Zhijian had barely taken two steps when a large-framed man holding two maces appeared before him.
The man wore heavy armor, and he blocked Gao Zhijian the moment he noticed the latter's killing intent.
"How dare you train in the techniques of the army?! Who do you think you are? Die!" the large-framed man roared, raising his maces and charging at Gao Zhijian.
Gao Zhijian wanted to retreat, but there was nowhere else to go. He had no choice but to fight head-on.
Gao Zhijian caught one of the maces with his bare arms. However, the large-framed man took to the sky up and smashed the ground in front of Gao Zhijian. "Moon-Pursuing Meteor!"
Gao Zhijian staggered backward; he managed to stabilize himself in the blink of an eye, but he didn't manage to escape unscathed; his hands were bleeding.
"Where's your weapon?" the large-framed man asked, staring arrogantly at Gao Zhijian.
Gao Zhijian used his pants to wipe away the blood on his bloody hand. "In... in the inn!"
Boom!
The ground cracked as the large-framed man threw one of the heavy maces in front of Gao Zhijian.
"Come! I don't want you to say that I, Ma Wu, had bullied you by fighting you with my weapons when you're unarmed!" Ma Wu let go of his remaining mace and charged at Gao Zhijian with his bare fist.
Li Sui stood between the two, but Gao Zhijian pushed her away.
Ma Wu and Gao Zhijian then crashed into each other; their fists buried into each other's figures.
Ma Wu was clearly trained on how to fight with his bare fist, but Gao Zhijian obviously didn't have any proper training.
Soon, Gao Zhijian's face was full of bruises.
Despite his injuries, he remained powerful and domineering. When Gao Zhijian thought he was going to lose, his body moved on itself, hooking Ma Wu's leg with his right leg, causing the latter to stumble.
Taking advantage of that opportunity, Gao Zhijian swung his elbow toward Ma Wu's throat, but his elbow came to an abrupt halt just a few inches away from Ma Wu's throat.
The two stopped and retreated.
Gao Zhijian was injured, while Ma Wu was virtually unscathed, but the two of them knew that Gao Zhijian was the winner.
"Good! You are a true man! You have the qualifications to learn the army's techniques!" Ma Wu nodded and retrieved his weapons. "There is an ongoing curfew, so stay indoors. We have no idea what our superior is thinking, so you're lucky that you've encountered me. Otherwise, you would have died today."
Gao Zhijian stood in front of Li Sui behind him and nodded. "Thanks."
"But your technique isn't as good as the Ma family's technique! If you want to join the army next time, come and find me. I will make sure that you'll get a good position beneath me!" Ma Wu said. Then, he left with his maces.
The other soldiers left after Ma Wu, and the streets were empty once again.
Gao Zhijian looked around and sighed in relief before pulling Li Sui toward the inn.
Chapter 567 - Death
Li Huowang held the golden fries and examined them carefully. The crystalline salt glittered beneath the morning sunlight. He looked at it for a moment before dipping it in the tomato sauce and eating it. His eyes narrowed as he savored the explosion of flavor in his mouth. Afterward, he proceeded to take a few mouthfuls of the cold soda in his hand before chomping down on his burger. The cheese from the burger oozed out from the corner of his mouth and dripped onto his hospital gown.
"Son, take it slow and easy. I can buy more if you want more," Sun Xiaoqin said, wiping away the cheese on Li Huowang's gown and eating it herself. She patted Li Huowang's head and stepped away to speak to the doctor.
"Doctor, what's going on with my son? He suddenly has a great appetite, and he's no longer speaking nonsense. Is he recovering?" Sun Xiaqin asked Yi Donglai, who was writing notes on his observation of Li Huowang.
Yi Donglai frowned at Li Huowang, who was eating voraciously and shook his head. "Miss Sun, please give the two of us some time alone. I have to observe him even further."
"All right, I'm leaving now. Please take care of him! Treat him, and I will even kneel down to you and give you a pennant!"[1]
Hearing the door close behind him, Yi Donglai approached Li Huowang and sat down on a stool. "What's wrong with you? Did something happen on the other side?"
Li Huowang ignored Yi Donglai. He finished his meal and grabbed the portable gaming console on the side to immerse himself in gaming.
"Is Zhuge Yuan dead?"
Bam!
The gaming console broke into pieces as Li Huowang smashed it to the ground and grabbed Yi Donglai by the collar. He shook Yi Donglai violently and roared, "Do you wanna die?! I can tear apart the artery in your neck with just my teeth!"
Yi Donglai waved his hand at the guards, stopping them in their approach. "Li Huowang, you're a kind person. You're not going to do something like that."
"Me? Kind?!" Li Huowang roared and smashed his forehead into Yi Donglai's face.
Yi Donglai took out a napkin to wipe away the blood down his nose.
"Do you know how much I have suffered? I can't stand it anymore! Why is it always me?! Why is my life so tough?! I'm a human, too! I'm not made out of steel. Not a single good thing has ever happened to me over there! I've suffered tragedies over and over again! I've had enough of it!" Li Huowang roared. He stagged and placed a hand on the nearby wall before looking out of the window. "I don't want to go back to that world anymore. I don't want to look at that chaotic world filled with despair! It's fake! Everything is fake! It's just a hallucination! I'd rather die than go back there! Yi Donglai, just tell them that I'm cured! I want to go back to school! I want to save Yang Na!"
Yi Donglai pushed up his glasses and shook his head. "No, Li Huowang. You can't just avoid it. You need to go back. The Liang Kingdom's Dragon Vein is still incomplete. The life of everyone in the Great Qi is at stake here."
Li Huowang turned around and glared at Yi Donglai. "Are you crazy?"
Yi Donglai showed no fear as he approached Li Huowang. He looked out at the window and saw the other patients in the garden. "Huowang, did you know that there are some mental illnesses whose roots are their avoidance of a certain issue? I think it's useless to avoid the issue. You need to face it head-on."
"It's easier said than done!" Li Huowang's eyes were red as he clutched his chest tightly, and his voice was trembling as he said, "You have no idea what I went through. If you were in my shoes, you'd never say that—never!"
"What about Bai Lingmiao? You still don't know where she is, do you? Do you really not care about her? What about Li Sui? She's your daughter, isn't she? Look at how your mother is treating you and how you're treating Li Sui."
Li Huowang snarled. He grabbed the railing and smashed his head into it.
"Li Huowang! You need to calm down!" Yi Donglai and the guards exhausted a ton of their energy before they could finally wrap Li Huowang in a straitjacket. They placed him on the bed and injected him with a sedative.
Yi Donglai stared at Li Huowang while wiping away the sweat on his forehead. "Don't be discouraged. Shit happens; life's always been like that. What's done is done; there's nothing much you can do about it other than endure it. If you ever face any difficulties on that side, feel free to talk it out with me. If there are some things you want to know, I can help you look it up on the internet."
Li Huowang's mind buzzed as he stared at Yi Donglai, and he was slurring due to the effects of the sedative. "Is this what you meant with what you said at the time? Do you really want to stand in my shoes? Do you really think that it's going to work?"
Instead of answering, Yi Donglai took a syringe of medicine and injected it into Li Huowang. "You've been really stressed these days, and it's been two days since you last slept. Have a good rest first."
As the ice-cold medicine pervaded his veins, Li Huowang's vision darkened until he eventually lost consciousness.
When Li Huowang woke up once again, he realized that he was lying at the bottom of a well. There was a bitter taste in his mouth; it seemed that he had eaten something he couldn't recognize.
Wells were uncommon in the modern world, so Li Huowang instantly realized that he had returned to the other side. However, he didn't stand up immediately but stared at the white circle above him.
He was back, but he didn't want to come back.
Li Huowang looked at his illusions. He saw Peng Longteng, the old monk, the illusion of a Sitting Oblivion Dao member, Qiu Chibao's illusion, and Jin Shanzhao's illusion.
However, Zhuge Yuan was missing.
"Are you Er Jiu? I'm confused. Out of the five elements, you only have the fire and metal. Where are the other three elements?"
"We will meet again, Er Jiu. I am Zhuge Yuan. If you encounter any issues, you can come find me on Xing Island in the Western Seas. I am lacking in many ways, but I will do my best to help you!"
"It is important to know the hearts of people! I just want to do it, that's all! I forbid the appearance of the Simings today!"
"Because I want to save the Great Qi!"
Li Huowang shook his head and wiped away the tears dripping down his cheeks. After a while, he grabbed the rope and crawled out of the well.
He wanted to scold and give Zhuge Yuan a good beating to vent out his frustrations, but he couldn't do that, as Zhuge Yuan was no more.
Li Huowang could no longer revive him.
1. A pennant is something people give to express their gratitude. Usually given to people who achieved exemplary results. ☜
Chapter 568 - Locate
When Li Huowang crawled out of the well, he was surprised to see that the Great Qin's sun had gotten even worse. A huge chunk of the sun had been blotted out, and Li Huowang could only see the edge of it.
Just then, Li Huowang's mouth opened uncontrollably, and he started coughing, which slowly transformed into the cries of a stork. "God Yu'er!"
Li Huowang unsheathed his sword and swung it before launching himself into the spacetime rift to return to the Liang Kingdom.
On the other side, Li Huowang finally managed to fix his dislocated jaw. He was covered in cold sweat when he realized that the Great Qi was going through another Natural Disaster again.
Li Huowang had no idea whether the Natural Disaster would kill the survivors or not, but there was a high chance that it would happen as the previous one had lasted for such a long time.
Li Huowang could still remember what Zhuge Yuan had told him. He took a deep breath and punched the tree next to him. Then, he started moving toward where he had thrown the young emperor of the Qi Kingdom. He needed to find him!
Li Huowang rode his horse and reached the location where he had sent the Qi Kingdom's young emperor through the rift. He had mentioned this location to Li Sui and had decided to forget about it. He examined every nook and cranny to find not even a single trace of the young emperor, which baffled Li Huowang. His senses were heightened, but he still couldn't find anything.
"That's strange. I stabbed him, and he was bleeding so much. There should be some blood here even if beasts had devoured him."
Li Huowang increased the range of his search and found a set of faint footprints.
The Qi Kingdom's destruction was imminent, and Li Huowang had no time to waste.
He followed the set of footprints, and his sharp senses allowed him to track down the footprints until they became clearer.
Soon, Li Huowang found himself approaching the end of the footprints, and he gripped his sword tightly.
Li Huowang found a figure hunching over before a bush, and the figure belonged to an old man with a bed of white hair.
The old man stood there motionlessly like a statue, and his bizarre antics made Li Huowang immediately wary of the old man.
Li Huowang swung his bronze coin sword, which lashed out like a whip, cutting off a tuff of the old man's white hair.
"Ah!" the old man exclaimed, falling to the ground in surprise.
"He's alive?" Li Huowang ran forward and realized that the old man was just a regular old man, who had pissed his pants upon getting the shock of his life, courtesy of Li Huowang.
"Please spare me! Please!" The old man didn't even look at Li Huowang's face as he kowtowed toward the latter.
"Get up!" Li Huowang placed his sword against the old man's neck. "Did you pick up a baby around here recently?"
"Huh? A baby? I'm here to catch ginseng! What baby?"
"Ginseng?"
The old man pointed at the ground, but Li Huowang saw nothing. All he saw was a small hole as well as a red thread tied to some bells.
"Where's the ginseng?"
"It ran away. I've been tracking it here for half a year! I could have sold it in the city if I had caught it!" the old man exclaimed, and he soon began sobbing at his lost income. [1]
"What nonsense... anyway, are you familiar with this region?"
"Yes!" The old man nodded vigorously as if Li Huowang would cut him down if he answered even a beat slower.
"Is there anyone else here except for you?"
"I don't know, but I do know that only those in my village will come into this region."
Did someone in his village pick up the young emperor of the Qi Kingdom?
The young emperor of the Qi Kingdom was a palm-sized figure with translucent skin, so Li Huowang believed that the emperor couldn't possibly walk away in that condition.
"Bring me to your village!" Li Huowang demanded.
The old man dared not refuse him and brought Li Huowang out of the forest.
Li Huowang found himself walking on a familiar path. He recalled that it was the same village where he had exchanged that jade pendant for a horse. He had just reached the village entrance when he saw a naked young child around ten years of age hanging from a tree. The red streaks all over him proved that he had just been caned using a willow tree branch. The child was crying and howling in pain. Several villagers stood around the boy, and it looked like they weren't going to rescue him anytime soon.
"Ah! That's my grandson! What's happening?" The old man panicked and ran over. He grabbed the large man, who was in the middle of hitting the young boy, and exclaimed, "Son, have you gone mad?! Why are you hitting your own son so hard?"
"I'm going to cane him to death and make another one! Do you not have any idea what he had done? Three days ago, he pooped into our well!"
"What?!" The old man grabbed the willow stick and caned his own grandson.
Li Huowang swept his gaze across the people at the entrance of the village. He suddenly came up with an idea, and he jumped onto a tree branch, exclaiming, "Everyone! Please listen to me! Not long ago, my sister had an early birth. We thought the baby was dead, so we buried it in the eastern side of the forest, but an Immortal told me that my nephew was still alive! My sister sent me here to find him. I'll give ten catties of gold to those who'll help me find my nephew."
Everyone went into a frenzy at Li Huowang's remark, and even the old man stopped caning his grandson. He turned to his son, and the two started whispering to each other.
Li Huowang swiftly looked around to observe their emotions, as well as their Ten Emotions and Eight Sufferings.
Rather than relying on rewards, he decided to use the Sitting Oblivion Dao's methods to find the young emperor of the Qi Kingdom.
However, he was disappointed when he found nothing; the villagers hadn't found the young emperor in the forest. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
"Sigh. A child unattended in the forest will quickly be devoured by beasts..."
"Yeah. How can we possibly find that child?"
"The Daoist sure is quite attached to his earthly desires. To think that he still cares about his family, even though he's already cultivating."
"Hey, wasn't he the one who took the horse of the Song family? I've heard that it was a Daoist in red robes that took it."
Li Huowang was disappointed. The villagers truly hadn't accidentally picked up the young emperor of the Qi Kingdom.
"Sigh~ Maybe someone with a kind heart has taken the baby away. There are people who yearn for a child but can't pregnant, so I can't believe that there are people who'll throw their child away in such a ruthless way. Wait, I think something like that has happened before here," the old man said. However, the villagers retreated slowly from the old man as if they had enough of his story. "Why won't you listen to my story? Anyway, it happened thirty years ago. Old Yan really found a bloody baby on the eastern side of the forest. The baby looked like a skinned monkey with a wound on his chest. We told him to leave the baby alone, but what if the baby became a ghost and possessed him in retaliation?"
1. An old folklore that ginsengs can run away like a man since it resembles an energetic man ☜
Chapter 569 - The Young Emperor of Great Qi
Thirty years ago? How could that be? Li Huowang thought that he had misheard the old man. He couldn't believe it, but he had no choice but to believe, as the old man's description of the baby matched what he knew. It was too accurate to be called a mere coincidence.
Thirty years ago, a baby with a wound in its chest appeared. How could the baby appear thirty years ago rather than recently?
If that was true, then the baby was sent to the Liang Kingdom of thirty years ago rather than the present time Liang Kingdom.
But how? What's going on here? How can a human being travel back in time? Wait. Li Huowang recalled the circumstances when he was fighting the young emperor. Zhuge Yuan's friend, Xu Nian, was there, too, and she had a bizarre ability that allowed her to steal the lifespan of others. But what if rather than sucking away lifespan, she was actually changing the time of her targets?
Li Huowang recalled how his body had changed when he fought her and how the young emperor had regressed to a mere baby against her.
It's the red illusions of the Xu Nian! Li Huowang immediately understood what was going on.
When he sent the young emperor of the Qi Kingdom through the spacetime rift connected to the Liang Kingdom, the rift was within the red line made out of the Xu Nian's illusions!
Li Huowang jumped down the tree and landed in front of the old man. He grabbed the old man by the collar and shook the latter as he asked, "Does the baby really have a wound in its chest? Are you sure about it? And was it really thirty years ago?!"
If Li Huowang's assumption was correct, then the young emperor of the Qi Kingdom was a middle-aged man today!
Seeing that Li Huowang was eager to listen to his story, the old man nodded in excitement and exclaimed, "Yes! I was there, and I can still remember it. Old Yan was hesitating after hearing us out. He was ready to put the baby back into the forest when his wife ran out like a lunatic and snatched the baby away, refusing to let go of it.
"It was understandable, as she couldn't give birth. They fed the baby some porridge and treated his wounds. Afterward, the baby miraculously survived its injuries! What do you think? It was a bad omen, right? It was still alive despite having such a large hole in its chest. The villagers thought that the baby was an evil entity, but it was great news that the baby had survived. At the very least, the two elderly couple finally have someone who'd take care of them once they were old, but what do you think happened next?"
"Stop beating around the bush and get to the point!" Li Huowang exclaimed. He was clearly not in the mood to hype up the old man, as time wasn't on his side.
Just then, a lady walked past with her baby in her arms. "The baby was mentally challenged. You're still telling that story? You've repeated that story so many times now."
"Shh! Why are you talking when it's not your place to talk?" the old man said, chasing the woman away before continuing, "She's right; the baby was mentally challenged! His mouth and eyes were skewed, and his mind seemed extremely slow, too. He can't seem to memorize anything, and when he was three years old, he still couldn't walk straight. When he was six years old, he still couldn't speak."
Li Huowang looked around and didn't see anyone with such disability. "Where is that baby now?"
"Why are you in such a rush? I haven't gotten to that point yet. When he grew up, he slowly became smarter and could finally recognize people. However, he suddenly kicked up a fuss and ran into the forest without coming back home. Those were some crazy days, I'm telling you..." The old man sighed and patted his thighs, his eyes revealing a hint of fear.
Something's wrong. Li Huowang had been staring at the old man's Ten Emotions and Eight Sufferings. The old man had been telling the truth up until now. He's lying! The emperor did not run into the forest on his own.
Li Huowang pondered briefly over it before leaning closer to the old man and whispering, "Thank you. While I cannot give you ten catties of gold, I can still give you one or two. Please follow me to where the money is."
The old man was delighted. He had never seen someone obtaining money just from telling an old story.
"Gold is both valuable and heavy. I couldn't take it with me here, so please follow me to where I had stored it."
Li Huowang led the old man out of the village. When they got to a quiet spot, Li Huowang immediately swung the spine sword and grabbed the old man before running into the rift.
The old man panicked upon seeing the Great Qi's dark skies.
Li Huowang didn't even give the old man a chance to speak as he placed the purple-tasseled sword against the old man's neck and exclaimed, "You lied to me! What are you hiding?!"
The sudden and terrifying changes to the environment shocked the old man so much to the point that he couldn't even understand what was going on, so the old man easily told Li Huowang the truth.
"It wasn't us! A Daoist had taken him away! I didn't dare tell the truth because I feared that the Daoist would come and find me!"
Li Huowang frowned. A Daoist? Just who had discovered his true identity as the Qi Kingdom's emperor?
"What did that Daoist look like?"
"He was a man capable of flying. He's partially bald with leprosy on the scalp."
Wait, partially bald and with leprosy on the scalp? Li Huowang's pupils constricted as an unbelievable thought came up in his mind. He turned to the old man and said, "Is he dressed in ragged clothes? Were his lower teeth very pronounced?"
"Yes, yes, yes, that's right!" The old man nodded frantically.
Li Huowang understood everything just then. The Daoist in question was none other than the late Dan Yangzi.
Back in Zephyr Temple, he didn't take in many mentally challenged children, as he would have needed more people to take care of them.
The only one that suited the old man's description was none other than Gao Zhijian!
Li Huowang had always thought Gao Zhijian was very weird, and the latter had survived multiple fatal blows. Li Huowang could still remember Gao Zhijian's stuttering, and there was also that time when he had almost claimed that he was an emperor but was stopped by his speech impediment. Li Huowang pieced together these puzzle pieces and reached the conclusion that Gao Zhijian was the Emperor of the Qi Kingdom.
Li Huowang was shocked. He had never thought that the young emperor of the Qi Kingdom had been traveling with him all this while. Of course, Li Huowang still had many burning questions, but he couldn't spare enough time to investigate whether it was the truth or not. He needed to find Gao Zhijian as soon as possible, as the Qi Kingdom would perish if the Natural Disaster were allowed to rage on for much longer.
Li Huowang cleared his mind and brought the old man back to the Liang Kingdom before making haste to Cowheart Village.
"Son~ Come, eat this egg porridge. What a good boy~"
Li Huowang looked at Qiu Chibao's illusion and recalled that he had forgotten something.