Li Huowang had some other ideas after he managed to conjure Zhuge Yuan. Since he could do it with Zhuge Yuan, he should be able to conjure others too.
But he was looking for someone only slightly weaker than Zhuge Yuan, and he didn't know many people who fit that bill.
He wasn't sure if it would work, but he would rather give it a try than give up.
Even if his attacks only bought some time, it would still give others hope that reinforcements would arrive later.
Li Huowang took a deep breath and recalled the moment when Dan Yangzi took over his body. It was a memory that he had tried to hide in the past, but now, he was digging it up.
Li Huowang's charred skin grew back, but instead of his original skin, it was skin and flesh covered in wrinkles.
His skin turned into a tar-like substance as feathers protruded out. Li Huowang's head also split into three, forming the three heads of Dan Yangzi. The youthful, middle-aged, and elderly faces of Dan Yangzi appeared as a white shawl swiftly grew on his shoulder.
All three mouths opened at the same time. "Hahaha! I'm alive! I knew I would have the same lifespan as the Heavens themselves! Li Huowang was fake! He's just part of my Three Corpses!"
As he shouted, Dan Yangzi's organs swiftly grew outside of his body. He ignored everything and floated upwards.
The invisible being that had been decimating the soldiers was immediately transfixed on Dan Yangzi the moment he appeared. The aura of a Half-Immortal was special.
It started moving as the soldiers hung onto its body for dear life. The being charged towards Dan Yangzi in an attempt to ram him.
"What is this stupid beast that's trying to stop me from becoming an Immortal?" Dan Yangzi thrust his hands into his organs and pulled out a fleshy bronze coin sword.
Dan Yangzi blocked the being with his sword, but he was still knocked backward by the massive impact. Luckily, he remained unharmed from the attack.
Dan Yangzi steadied himself in the air and bit into the three fingers on his right hand. He started writing several runes on his bronze coin sword using his black blood.
"Supreme Heavenly Star of the Altar, respond to me with haste! Expel all evils and bind all demons for me to achieve peace of mind. The Three Souls endure for all eternity while the spirit remains unscattered. Respond to my command with haste and urgency!"
As he finished his rune, the eyeballs on the bronze coin sword exploded, forming a dense red mist. Dan Yangzi swung his sword, and the red mist flew towards the being.
Even though it was powerful, it was still ineffective against the invisible being. No matter what kind of technique Dan Yangzi used, they all landed ineffectively on the being.
Dan Yangzi had used all of his techniques, but he was still outmatched. An invisible tail slapped Dan Yangzi, dispersing his body. The weakened Li Huowang fell downwards.
"I guess it was useless?" Li Huowang fell onto the ground. His breath was ragged, and he was on the verge of death.
The being wanted to kill Li Huowang to stop any future threats against it. Suddenly, the hundreds and thousands of soldiers adopted a martial arts stance and raised three incense sticks in their hands.
The unusual movement of the soldiers caused the being to ignore Li Huowang, charging back toward the soldiers.
Just as the being was about to crash into the soldiers, they all opened their eyes in unison. They stabbed the incense sticks into the ground at the same time.
"We soldiers are machines! The realm of life and death, the path of survival and extinction! Jiang Xiangshou is above us! Jiang Xiangshou is in our heart! Jiang Xiangshou is under us! Annihilate the Gods! Annihilate the Immortals! Annihilate the Buddhas! Annihilate the Daos!"
An enormous amount of murderous aura surged into all of their bodies. All of their bodies were barely able to contain the murderous aura as they suppressed their bodies from exploding. Veins bulged and blood trickled out from their orifices.
The soldiers in formation and the being crashed into each other, but neither side gave away.
The sound of the horrific crash came again, and Li Huowang was affected by the feeling bubbling off from the being's body. He felt the unending barbarity in the air and the ambition that could never be satisfied.
Regardless of what the being was, Li Huowang sensed that it was holding onto two different Heavenly Daos.
Wait, barbarity? Li Huowang realized something and stood up shakily. He looked towards the being and sensed the change in the air. The Heavenly Dao also visibly affected the soldiers as their strength waned.
The closer Li Huowang got, the more familiar the feeling got. He sensed a familiar feeling before, one that was very warm.
Ambition was an offspring of greed.
"Wait, answer me! Are you holding onto the Heavenly Dao of Greed?!" Li Huowang shouted angrily.
But the being ignored him, continuing to clash with the soldiers.
The being did not answer him, but Li Huowang was sure now. He remembered that greed used to be paired with rot, but something had changed. Now, greed was paired with barbarity instead. One of the Siming's Heavenly Daos had been plundered.
The only Natural Disaster that happened recently that involved rot was the day when the Benevolent Nunnery was destroyed.
"You?! YOU KILLED ABBESS JING XIN? YOU KILLED THEM ALL?"
Li Huowang's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at the being. His anger continued to grow until it threatened to swallow him whole.
Li Huowang embedded the spine sword onto the ground as he howled in anger. A ribcage slowly grew on the spine sword.
Li Huowang's head expanded continuously as veins covered his scalp.
Zhuge Yuan's body was only halfway materialized when he slumped onto the ground with blood flowing out from all of his orifices.
He could cultivate the 'Truth,' but using it to materialize Zhuge Yuan, the Twisted One of the Three Ancient Ones, strained his body too much.
Zhuge Yuan's body was slowly crumbling away when Li Sui tunneled into Li Huowang's body. "Dad, let me help you! I will help you! Zhuge Yuan is real!"
Their thoughts linked together. Li Sui, who had been eating Li Huowang's flesh and blood, finally showed her usefulness. Zhuge Yuan's body swiftly materialized.
But even with Li Sui's help, Zhuge Yuan's body was still incomplete.
"A little more! Just a little more!" Li Huowang fell onto the ground in pain. "MATERIALIZE!"
Pop! Li Huowang's head exploded, leaving only the stump of his neck exposed in the air.
At the same time, Zhuge Yuan materialized.
Zhuge Yuan stared at the being fighting against the soldiers and frowned. "The ritual had been interrupted, so how did Ma Tuo get summoned here?"
Chapter 761 - Change
Zhuge Yuan's question was destined to remain unanswered. He was the only one who knew the being's name: Ma Tuo.
Li Huowang's head was missing, so he didn't answer Zhuge Yuan's question either.
Still, Li Huowang's head exploding finally allowed him to catch a glimpse of the being's actual body. It looked just like the statue from earlier—the one with the bamboo hat.
However, the statue was but an interpretation of Ma Tuo. Its actual body couldn't be captured by mortals and chiseled in stone.
The bamboo hat was not its head—it was its heart! Furthermore, the various red ribbons were actually its blood vessels.
The other interesting feature of the Ma Tuo was its head. Ma Tuo's head was an ever-changing amalgamation of beasts. The beasts disappeared and reappeared, with some detaching and flowing on the red ribbons towards the heart. It was a horrifying sight.
Without his head, Li Huowang could finally see Ma Tuo's invisible features. He was certain that if he still had his head, he wouldn't be able to look at it for even a single second.
"Senior Zhuge!"
Zhuge Yuan heard the voice and took out his almanac before looking at the ground. In the middle of a pool of blood, he saw half of Li Huowang's mouth.
"That thing! Its left leg is injured! That's its weakness! Attack there!"
Zhuge Yuan leaped into action. He flew towards Ma Tuo and pointed his brush at Ma Tuo's left leg.
Zhuge Yuan was not the only one who heard Li Huowang's words—Peng Longteng and the other soldiers also did. They moved in unison.
"Junior Li! Hold on! Give me a little bit of time!"
Zhuge Yuan suddenly jumped behind Peng Longteng and began drawing on her back. "General Peng, do you have the courage for this gambit?"
Peng Longteng saw the massive being in front of her and laughed. "What do you mean courage? We kill the Gods, Immortals, and the Daos! Kill them all!"
Just as she finished shouting, Zhuge Yuan had also finished drawing. It was a drawing of a demon filled with a murderous aura. The demon had a belt made out of skulls, green skin, and large fangs. It was eating the viscera of a poor man.
For the final touches, Zhuge Yuan painted the demon's eyes, which were filled with bloodlust and glee.
And so, the drawing came to life. The demon laughed, crawling out from Peng Longteng's back and superimposing itself on her. The demon's face was perfectly layered with her face, making her look even more menacing.
Zhuge Yuan never stopped, continuing to wave his brush around. Peng Longteng's massive frame slowly became thinner, and she eventually became a flat piece of art.
Ma Tuo tried to cover its injured leg, but the soldiers coordinated their efforts, sending two cavalries to protect Zhuge Yuan with their very lives.
"Open!" Zhuge Yuan waved his brush on Ma Tuo's injured leg. The flat Peng Longteng easily slipped into its wounds, hurting Ma Tuo and making its attacks less frequent.
The other soldiers finally saw hope when a blood-red liquid flowed out from the injury. They sent a small group of soldiers to pierce the wounds like a lance and attack from the inside.
Ma Tuo wanted to retaliate, but Zhuge Yuan threw his almanac into the air. "Prohibited: Siming descending onto this world!"
The old almanac only burned halfway. Li Huowang's current cultivation wasn't strong enough for it to elicit its complete effect.
But it was enough. Zhuge Yuan saw Ma Tuo's body flickering and smiled. He then changed back into his spine sword. He had done his best.
The soldiers continued to pour into Ma Tuo's wounds before tearing the wound wide open. Ma Tuo finally lost balance and fell onto the ground.
Li Huowang struggled to stand up as he held onto his sharpened rebar. He struggled for breath, staring at the large lorry burning after crashing into the wall.
The others looked at Li Huowang with shock. Wu Qi gave him a thumbs up. "What a badass." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
"See? What did I tell you? Your chemical doesn't work!"
Li Huowang touched his head but found that it wasn't there. He then collapsed onto the ground. Soon, a palm-sized skin doll appeared from his abdomen. It grew into Li Huowang's size.
However, it was as flat as a leaf that could be blown away by the slightest wind. The doll ate Li Huowang's shadow before expanding.
Li Huowang sighed in relief after he was revived. A smile spread across his face as he looked at the unmoving Ma Tuo.
The Dharma Sect's plan had failed. Ma Tuo was dead, and Li Huowang had won.
Ma Tuo's body crumbled to dust, leaving nothing behind. The only thing that remained was Peng Longteng's flattened body.
Li Huowang felt tired. He had just changed into a new body, but the fatigue remained—mental fatigue.
He wanted to sleep forever.
"Father, are you alright?" Li Sui carefully helped him up.
"I'm fine." Li Huowang's eyes were unfocused when he said that.
"Father, look! The people are coming here! Someone is here to help us."
"Reinforcements? Why are they only coming now?!" Li Huowang suddenly had a surge of strength as he got up and approached the sound of the horses' hooves.
Li Huowang was dizzy, and everything kept changing form in front of him. It took him a long time to recognize that there was a horse in front of him.
Li Huowang gritted his teeth, stabbing his own feet with the purple-tassel sword to wake himself up.
"Xuan Pin?! Where is Xuan Pin?!" Li Huowang shouted at the reinforcement. "Xuan Pin, get over here!"
Li Huowang had lost all of his trust in that old fox.
A familiar voice called out to him. "Senior Li."
Li Huowang looked up and saw that it was Gao Zhijian, the Emperor of the Liang Kingdom. He was holding a wooden plate with a grim expression.
"Why are you here? Where is Xuan Pin? Get him over here!"
Gao Zhijian was devastated when he passed the wooden plate to Li Huowang. "Senior Li, Xuan Pin is dead."
On the wooden plate were Xuan Pin's red robes. Li Huowang was stunned and only recognized what it was after a long time.
"Senior Li, Xuan Pin really is dead. Just as you were having trouble, he had unforeseen circumstances there too..."
Li Huowang took a deep breath and paced around as he got angrier.
"You... Mother fuckers!" Li Huowang suddenly slapped the wooden plate away, causing Xuan Pin's red robes to fall to the ground.
"Why?! Why is everyone the same?!"
Chapter 762 - Fatigue
"I believed you were strong! I believed you were cunning! Didn't you use me like a chess piece? I thought you could summon the dead! You even successfully summoned a dead Siming, the Divine Mountain Ghost Eye! And this is how your life ends? Just like that? Are you kidding me?!"
Li Huowang shouted and vented his frustration towards everyone. He didn't care if Xuan Pin heard him. He just needed to let it all out before his bottled emotions drove him crazy again.
"Weren't you arrogant? Didn't you say you were strong? You said you could help the Simings and uncover their secrets! I had thought you were someone amazing. But now? You're dead, just like that? Embarrassing! Xuan Pin, you are a disgrace!"
Li Huowang's angry face abruptly transformed into one of laughter. "Hehehe, you're trying to trick me, aren't you? You're faking your death, right? Bullshit! I don't believe that you are dead! You won't trick me! Xuan Pin! Get over here! The Sitting Oblivion Dao has used this technique for ages!"
"Senior Li!" Gao Zhijian held onto Li Huowang's shoulders, his grief evident in his voice. "Senior Li, don't be like this. Calm down, I know you're sad, but—"
"Hah! I'm sad? Who do you think he is? I won't be sad because of his death! In fact, he's just playing tricks on me again! This isn't the first time he has done this. I had yet to make him pay for everything he had done, and now you're telling me he's dead?"
Li Huowang stood still as he laughed. "Do you think that's plausible, Gao Zhijian? Do you think that's plausible?! Why? Why do they keep throwing all the problems at me while they just kick the bucket?! Why?!"
He was not only referring to Xuan Pin.
Gao Zhijian didn't know how to answer. He stood there and just looked at Li Huowang.
As Li Huowang slowly accepted the news, Gao Zhijian said, "Senior Li, I know you have reservations about Xuan Pin, but he was working really hard without rest. He did everything he could in places where you couldn't see. You didn't know this, but he was actually heavily injured. He didn't even get to recover, and he refused to let you know because he was afraid of your powers."
Gao Zhijian slowly explained, "When the Dharma Sect invaded us, their true goal was to destroy Xuan Pin. They had laid down plan after plan, ambush after ambush, all for Xuan Pin. Aiming for you was just a distraction. They knew you weren't an easy target, but they didn't care because their true goal was Xuan Pin.
"Xuan Pin was the one who unified all the soldiers and the other kingdoms to push back the Dharma Sect. He was the key individual in pushing the Dharma Sect back. That's why the Dharma Sect paid a heavy price to kill Xuan Pin and the others."
"Others?" Li Huowang slowly raised his head. "People other than Xuan Pin died?"
Gao Zhijian's lips quivered, seemingly afraid to utter the words, but he explained nonetheless. "The Liang Kingdom's Imperial Preceptor, Hou Shu's Imperial Preceptor, Qing Qiu's Chief, and the Liang Kingdom's Chief are all gone."
Li Huowang thought he had misheard. "They are all dead?"
"Yes."
Li Huowang refused to believe it, making his head buzz. No matter how much they had schemed and lied to him, they were still allies.
But now, they were all dead, just like that. The few remaining competent fighters had died.
Li Huowang felt a growing emptiness in his heart. He had always thought someone would stand and hold the Heavens up when they fell.
Now, he found himself alone as the tallest one.
Li Huowang might need to face the Dharma Sect by himself now.
He suddenly felt fatigued, more than he had been in ages. He sat down on the bloody battlefield and sighed when he looked at the sky.
Li Huowang didn't want to do anything. He just wanted to return to Cowheart Village to live out the rest of his life. Why must the fate of the world be in his hands? He was tired.
He closed his eyes to try to forget everything. A long time passed before he took another breath.
"Since Xuan Pin is dead, who will inherit his position?" Li Huowang said, lying in a pool of blood.
"The Chief of Hou Shu is temporarily holding it. I haven't told the others yet because it would demoralize them."
Li Huowang opened his eyes and struggled to sit up.
He picked up a broken blade on the ground and stabbed into his abdomen. He shouted angrily as he twisted up his insides.
He only stopped when he felt his intestines had been cut into pieces. He dragged his bloody body up and looked at Gao Zhijian.
He had no choice. They were all dead, and he was the only living person that could handle it.
Thunder rumbled in the skies as they noticed someone was running towards them. It was a messenger on horseback.
"Report! Victory from Xu Zhong! Victory from Xian Yang! Victory from Hu Laoguan!"
An old eunuch took the scroll and read it before whispering to Gao Zhijian.
Gao Zhijian revealed a victorious expression. He turned and looked at Li Huowang. "Senior Li! Xuan Pin's sacrifice was not in vain! Their sacrifices were not in vain! After you defeated that being, the Dharma Sect realized their defeat and retreated from Si Qi! We have reclaimed Si Qi!"
Anything that would demoralize the soldiers should naturally be kept hidden, but anything that would bolster their morale should be spread out far and wide! Soon enough, word of their triumph reached every soldier's ears.
The soldiers who had fought against Ma Tuo shouted and cheered happily, regardless of their ranks. Their cheers came in waves.
Everyone thought that they were winning and could soon return home. This large battle was ending soon.
They were filled with confidence in the outcome of the war, but none of them knew that their leaders had been killed by the Dharma Sect.
Li Huowang just stood there, his body covered in blood, as if he didn't belong among them.
Chapter 763 - Prisoners of War
Li Huowang carefully pulled open his curtain and checked for suspicious gazes.
He ensured everything was clear outside before nodding at Yang Na. "It's safe now. Let's go!"
"Mom, I'm going out to have a meal with Nana. You don't have to cook for us," Li Huowang shouted.
"You're going out again?" Sun Xiaoqin was practicing a dance with her phone on a stand. She rolled her sleeves and looked out the hall to see Li Huowang and Yang Na leaving.
She sighed. "To think you would forget your mother after getting a wife."
Still, she was secretly happy because her son was finally acting like someone his age. He was finally taking time to go out and play.
Both Li Huowang and Yang Na hopped on their rental bikes and departed for their destination.
They were still headed for Orange Isle, but they wouldn't meet the others in the unfinished building this time. Instead, they were going to an underground room of an unfinished mansion.
They chose an underground room because they had managed to capture some of the assailants after winning last time.
Chen Hongyu was guarding the entrance when Li Huowang and Yang Na arrived. They spoke briefly before heading into the underground room.
As they entered, they saw Qing Wanglai talking to one of the prisoners.
"Osankodinakinatikokinaravu?"
"Eioiko?"
"Eseganiduanoau, nakaeakaseeibibieiokio..."
Yang Na whispered to Li Huowang as she recorded the conversation with her phone, "It's not English. I don't think it's an Indo-European language..."
Li Huowang approached Qing Wanglai as he glared at the bearded man tied to the chair. "How's the interrogation going?"
"Not that well. They are very guarded against us. They wouldn't open their hearts to accept us, much less talk to us."
Wu Qi rummaged through the prisoner's belongings as she said, "These guys bought some passports from a poor island nation. Even their identities are fake. I don't have any leads on them."
"What about you? Is there anyone watching you at your home?" Qing Wanglai asked.
Li Huowang was visibly calmer and less anxious than before.
"None. No one came to stalk me after we destroyed their base last time, so I think they really were the ones who had been stalking me!"
Li Huowang looked at the guy tied to the chair with hatred. It was because of them that others wrongly believed Li Huowang had a relapse of his illness. He wasn't sick at all!
"Where's the woman with the umbrella, though? Everyone we saw was a man. We didn't get to catch her."
"It can't be helped if someone did manage to escape. Don't worry, since most of them are in our hands. They will become our bargaining chips," Qing Wanglai said before continuing to talk to the prisoner.
Li Huowang approached the other prisoners and looked at their faces. He wanted to find the people that kidnapped him in the first place.
However, since it had been some time since that happened, Li Huowang had forgotten what his kidnappers looked like. It didn't help that most of them were foreigners, making it harder for him to distinguish them.
The prisoners didn't know what Li Huowang wanted to do, but they all shrank in fear when he approached them.
They were horrified by what Li Huowang had done last time.
"Hey, someone is here!" Chen Hongyu's voice alerted everyone in the basement.
A familiar face soon appeared. It was Zhao Lei.
He averted his gaze a lot and seemed somewhat awkward. Despite this, he stood there without any intention of walking away.
"You're back?"
Qing Wanglai approached Zhao Lei and patted his shoulder. He then turned around and announced, "Everyone, let's give a round of applause for our old comrade joining us again. If not for him, we would never have been able to capture them!"
Amidst the sparse applause, Zhao Lei's previous betrayal appeared to have been pardoned.
Li Huowang frowned. It was hard for him to think Zhao Lei would be loyal to them after betraying both sides.
Zhao Lei was visibly awkward since he was caught between two parties he had betrayed, but he ignored their gazes and stood in place.
"You worked with them before. How about you try talking to them?" Qing Wanglai pointed at the bearded man tied to the chair.
Zhao Lei nodded. He had barely said anything when the bearded man spat on him. The bearded man said something vehemently.
Li Huowang didn't know what the man was talking about, although it was clear that he was saying some nasty things.
Zhao Lei retreated and Li Huowang approached him. "See? This is the result of betrayal."
Zhao Lei disregarded Li Huowang's words as he looked around anxiously. "Where is Qian Fu?"
"We tied him up. His other personality came back."
Li Huowang thought Zhao Lei would talk more about Qian Fu, but then Zhao Lei whispered to him urgently, "Do you really think that's true? Do you think that everything that had happened was real? This is too strange!"
Hm? Why is he acting crazy again? 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Li Huowang distanced himself from Zhao Lei.
He had barely taken a single step when Zhao Lei grabbed his arms. "Think carefully! Do you really think everything is true? So many people died, and yet the police still haven't come and found us yet. Why is no one noticing what we are doing? Think about the details! You need to consider the details where the bizarreness is less noticeable!"
"Zhao Lei!" Qing Wanglai spoke in a strangely stern tone when he called for Zhao Lei.
Zhao Lei let go of Li Huowang and retreated a bit. While his eyes were still darting around, he didn't speak to Li Huowang again.
"We will take it from here. Li Huowang, why don't you go back and rest? I will message you if we have any new details." Qing Wanglai smiled lightly.
"Thank you, but I don't need to rest now. I have some time to help you now."
Li Huowang suddenly recalled something and started checking the hands of the prisoners one by one.
He remembered biting off two fingers from one of the individuals who had tried to kidnap him. He should be in this group of prisoners.
Chapter 764 - Weapons
Li Huowang was slowly checking the hands of the prisoners in the underground basement. He wanted to find the person who had tried to kidnap him.
He checked everyone's hands but was surprised to find that none of them were missing any fingers.
That's strange. This shouldn't be right. Li Huowang was still pondering it when he recalled what Zhao Lei had told him just now.
Li Huowang shook his head and looked at the tied-up prisoners again. He found it strange that they didn't seem afraid of him.
He had a sudden idea and rechecked the hands of the prisoners. This time, rather than just looking at them, he pressed on each of the prisoner's fingers.
This time, he discovered something new. Li Huowang was checking the fingers when he noticed that one of the prisoners had different textures on two of his fingers. He looked at the prisoner before lightly pulling the fingers to reveal they were fake! The kidnapper had attached fake fingers to his hands!
"So it was you." Li Huowang stared at the prisoner in front of him.
The prisoner started scolding Li Huowang after seeing that the latter had taken his fingers away, but Li Huowang didn't understand a single sentence from the man.
Li Huowang turned to Qing Wanglai. "What is he talking about? Could you translate it for me?"
Qing Wanglai had been talking to Zhao Lei when Li Huowang called him over. After listening to the prisoner briefly, Qing Wanglai explained, "He's cursing you. Do you really want me to translate that for you?"
"Nevermind." Li Huowang kicked the prisoner in his abdomen before speaking to Qing Wanglai. "Do you think it's fine to keep so many prisoners here? We also killed a lot of them last time."
"Don't worry, everything is fine. As I've said, I have a lot of connections, and these people don't have legal status to begin with. Just leave it to me to deal with them."
He continued, "Also, don't risk your life like last time. It was an entire truck! It's solid metal, and you're just flesh and bone. One wrong move and you would've been squished."
"I know. You don't have to tell me twice." Li Huowang frowned out of annoyance. "We captured so many of them, but we only have a few people on our side. What if they don't want to cooperate with us? It's not like we can keep them locked up for that long."
"Then we will use them as bargaining chips to talk to their leader. It would be best if we can determine what their goal is. Also, you should probably call them to ask about the thing on your ankle. It should've been removed already." Qing Wanglai said, concerned about Li Huowang's ankle monitor.
"I've already asked them about it. I need to wear it for two years and cannot approach any schools within these two years."
"Two years? That's not the protocol. Let me ask my lawyer friend about it."
Li Huowang was surprised. "I didn't know graduate students had such a wide network. I never thought you would know so many people."
"Hoho. Are you praising me?"
"Just continue to interrogate them. I want to see how Qian Fu is doing. Sister Wu Qi, give me the keys."
Li Huowang took the keychain, which was attached to a Swiss army knife. Afterward, he left the underground room and walked towards the RV parked beside the house.
Along the way, he saw Qing Wanglai's sports car and patted it.
He reached the RV and unlocked it. He opened the door, and the first thing he saw was the tied-up Qian Fu. Qian Fu was stretching his neck while trying to grab a dagger on the table near him with his mouth.
Li Huowang grabbed the dagger and threw it into the pile of weapons on another table in the distance. The weapons had been taken from the base of the kidnappers.
Qian Fu felt frustrated when he saw his escape plan had failed. "What do you guys want?! I beg you! Let me go!"
Li Huowang walked towards the pile of weapons and inspected them.
"Qian Fu, be quiet. I'm doing this for your own good. It's clear that they are targeting us. If you run now, they will capture you for sure."
Li Huowang was still uncertain whether they would send any more people even though they had destroyed one of their bases.
Qian Fu looked at Li Huowang as if he was a maniac before he took a few deep breaths. "What did Qing Wanglai tell you? You've been tricked! He's a liar!"
But Qian Fu's face became pale when he saw Li Huowang pick up a crossbow and point it directly at him.
"Don't be fooled by his appearance! He's faking it! I was once admitted to the same hospital as him. He always managed to fool the doctors into thinking that he was cured, but he would always get locked up again sooner or later due to his illness. Don't trust him!"
Li Huowang placed the crossbow down. "Who else should I believe, then? I definitely wouldn't believe you. It's best if you stay here for now. To be honest, we don't want to tie you up. Once this is over, you can go anywhere you like. I won't even care if you pick up garbage to eat on the streets."
Li Huowang then ignored Qian Fu and inspected the pile of weapons again as he picked some of them up.
Qing Wanglai couldn't get me a gun, but the kidnappers were kind enough to drop theirs for me. Li Huowang held the heavy lump of metal and played with it.
He felt much safer with it in his hands, although he had no clue about how to use it properly.
Even though Qing Wanglai's chemical hadn't been that efficient, Li Huowang still recognized that it had been vital to them. Without it, it would've been difficult for them to capture so many people.
Li Huowang toyed with the gun until he realized that he didn't know how to replace the magazine or turn off the safety. He then gingerly placed the gun down.
He was hoping that Qing Wanglai would have the time to teach him.
Li Huowang then picked up a military knife. It was sharp and broad, but Li Huowang placed it down.
The knife was more suitable for slashing people rather than killing them. Unless he managed to cut a person's artery, the enemy would have a higher chance of running from the adrenaline rush instead.
Li Huowang rummaged around the pile until he found a narrower knife.
The knife was completely black, approximately thirty centimeters long, and razor sharp. The hilt was even wrapped in hemp rope to prevent the user's blood from making it slippery.
He picked it up and stabbed the table in front of him. The knife easily left a hole in it.
He checked the hole in the table and nodded with satisfaction before he picked up another knife to keep behind his back.
It was helpful to have a knife because it could be easily concealed and required no training to use.
Chapter 765 - Ba
Li Huowang chose the weapons he liked the best before leaving the RV.
Since they are our enemies, we should always be prepared for the worst-case scenario. We can't even be sure that Qing Wanglai will successfully negotiate with them.
Qian Fu panicked when he saw Li Huowang leaving the RV. "Li Huowang! It's fine if you don't trust me, but please go and ask the others! They all know what Qing Wanglai has done! They just didn't tell you!"
Li Huowang turned around as he held the door knob. "Then answer one question. If they already know what Qing Wanglai did in the past, why are they still following him?"
Qian Fu remained silent.
Li Huowang continued, "I don't care what Qing Wanglai did in the past. It's not my job to bring him to justice, even if he killed someone. I don't care what he did before.
"I can assure you that I do not think of them as a family. I am only working with them to take care of the external threats I'm facing. Do you understand? Do you really think I like mingling with mentally ill people like them?"
Li Huowang was about to leave the RV when Qian Fu shuddered and twitched.
"Hm?" Li Huowang stopped.
"Li Huowang? Where am I? Why am I tied up?" Qian Fu asked Li Huowang in confusion.
"Oh? You are back?" Li Huowang approached him to release the ropes.
"You have a really good time here. We did all the dirty work while you were staying here."
"Really? What did you do?" Qian Fu was surprised and asked Li Huowang for more details.
"We followed your instructions and destroyed the UFO of the aliens."
"Really? Aliens? What happened?"
Li Huowang stopped suddenly. He took two steps back and examined Qian Fu again. He then realized something was off.
"No, you're not the other Qian Fu. You're pretending to be him. It's a shame that you're not convincing enough. Just stay here quietly." Li Huowang left, ignoring Qian Fu's angry shouts.
He returned to the underground basement to tell the others about Qian Fu so that they wouldn't get tricked by him.
But then, he saw someone unfamiliar speaking with Qing Wanglai near the entrance to the basement.
The person was dressed strangely and had a buzz cut. His entire body, neck, and half of his face were tattooed with thorny vines. His ear lobes were pierced with a huge hole capable of fitting two fingers in. As he talked to Qing Wanglai, Li Huowang also saw a tongue piercing in his mouth.
Li Huowang observed Qing Wanglai's expression and deduced that the strange newcomer was someone they knew. His grip on the knife behind his back loosened slowly.
The man was very cautious, however. He shut up the moment he saw Li Huowang getting close to him.
"This is...?" Li Huowang wanted to ask who it was, but before he could, the man glared at Li Huowang warily and left.
Li Huowang looked at the man's back and saw that the hair on his head was also a tattoo. The man was originally bald and had a buzzcut tattooed on his head!
"Who is he?" Li Huowang asked.
"Do you remember when I said that there were other people who realized that we are mere projections? Other than us, there are others who couldn't be reasoned with, and others who wouldn't join us. He's the latter."
"Then why did he find you today? Does he want to work with us?"
"No. He was confident that he could deal with the problem alone. He just noticed we were taking action and came here to confirm it with us."
"That's strange. I never imagined someone would refuse to join us after learning about what had happened."
"Everyone has their own thoughts. He's almost like a hermit. We can't force him to join us."
"What's his name?"
"His surname is Ba. Ba Shengqing. He opened a tattoo shop and is quite skillful. You can find him if you need a tattoo."
"Ba Shengqing? What a stupid name."
"There are people with that surname, but it is very rare. I suspect he's from an indigenous tribe and doesn't want to tell us about it," Wu Qi said.[1]
Li Huowang committed the name to memory and checked the time. "I need to go back first. My family will be suspicious if I keep staying outside. Let me know immediately if you have any progress."
Li Huowang took one last at the prisoners before he left.
"Hey, remember to bring some snacks for us next time you come here. There's nothing at this dump," Chen Hongyu grumbled.
"I understand." Li Huowang hopped on his bike before realizing he had heard something familiar a long time ago.
Yang Na noticed Li Huowang's confusion. "Huowang?"
Li Huowang shook his head and left.
He had just exited Orange Isle when his phone rang. He saw the name and was surprised because it was none other than Yi Donglai.
"Doctor Yi? Is something wrong?"
—I just called to make sure you are fine. How is everything recently? Are there any new hallucinations? Or maybe new symptoms?
"No, I'm fine right now. I'm completely cured. Thank you for your help, Doctor Yi! It seems that my mom sent the brocade to the right person."
Just then, Li Huowang saw a motorbike parked just off the street. The person beside the motorbike was none other than Ba Shengqing.
They locked gazes, and Li Huowang noticed another interesting detail. It appeared that Ba Shengqing's eyeballs had tattoos too.
It was the first time Li Huowang had seen eye tattoos.
—Li Huowang? Can you hear me?"
"Oh, yes, I'm listening. Please continue."
—I'm asking if you are still taking your medicine on time.
"Yes, I'm still taking it on time." Li Huowang lied. He hadn't done so.
He stopped taking his medications after he captured the prisoners.
Now that it was certain that someone was stalking and trying to kidnap him, Li Huowang did not need to take his medicine. He thought that he was fine.
His medications had severe side effects. If he continued taking them, he could get a new disease soon.
—Then that's good. Remember to take it on time to avoid relapsing. More importantly, it will prevent you from hallucinating again.
Li Huowang saw Ba Shengqing approaching him and nodded. "Alright, I understand. Doctor Yi, I still have some things to do, so I need to hang up now."
1. The surname Ba has four possible origins. One hypothesis suggests that the surname Ba came from a place called Ba Shui, currently somewhere on the eastern side of Sichuan. Back then, there were five tribes, and the Ba tribe was one of them. ☜
Chapter 766 - Woman
"Li Huowang?" A black motorbike rumbled and stopped beside him.
Li Huowang looked at the tattooed man, Ba Shengqing. He gave Li Huowang a bad impression due to his tattoos.
Even so, Li Huowang extended his hand for a handshake. It wouldn't hurt to have another ally. "Nice to meet you."
Ba Shengqing did not shake his hand and instead stared at Yang Na.
Li Huowang frowned and took a side step to block his gaze. "What did you talk to Qing Wanglai about just now?"
Ba Shengqing ignored Li Huowang's question. "Were you involved in the recent events?"
Li Huowang naturally didn't answer him since Ba Shengqing never answered him either. He just glared at Ba Shengqing.
"You shouldn't get involved." Ba Shengqing understood something from Li Huowang's silence.
"Hoh. As if I could get away from this by ignoring them. They were the ones who attacked me first. You shouldn't give me any advice if you don't know my situation."
Ba Shengqing flicked his wrist, and his motorbike roared to life. "Come. My sister wants to see you."
"Your sister?" Li Huowang wasn't sure what was happening. Who is his sister? Why does it seem that they know a lot about me?
But Ba Shengqing had no intention of answering him. He just revved his motorbike and sped away.
Li Huowang was still hesitating when Yang Na whispered, "Huowang, it's best if we don't go. He doesn't seem like a good guy."
"I know, but..." Li Huowang couldn't tell her what he was thinking. Somehow, the gaze coming from Ba Shengqing was familiar to him.
"Let's just go and see what's happening. There's no reason for me to be afraid of his motorbike if I can destroy an entire truck." Li Huowang then followed Ba Shengqing with his rental bike.
But Li Huowang didn't trust Ba Shengqing completely, either. He decided he would turn back and leave the moment Ba Shengqing rode towards a remote location.
Li Huowang was surprised to see Ba Shengqing riding towards a busy street instead of a remote place.
Li Huowang followed him to the second floor of a row of shops, where he saw Ba Shengqing entering a tattoo shop called Bloody Bonfire. His name was strange, and so was the name of the shop.
Li Huowang was hesitating about bringing Yang Na into a potentially dangerous place when she took out her phone.
"Huowang, I won't stop you from entering. I will record from the outside and look out for you. The moment there's anything wrong, I will call the police and inform Qing Wanglai."
"Alright." Feeling the knife on his back, Li Huowang relaxed a bit before entering the shop.
Ba Shengqing's shop was the same as the other tattoo shops. It was decorated with photos of various tattoos.
The shop had numerous cubicles separated by black cloths. The sound of ominous buzzing came from some of them.
Ba Shengqing threw his motorbike keys onto the counter and entered one of the cubicles without waiting for Li Huowang.
The buzzing sound stopped for a moment before it resumed. A woman walked out from the cubicle with a cigarette in her mouth.
She looked just like Ba Shengqing, with her face and neck covered in tattoos of thorny vines. The difference was that her tattoo was on the left, while Ba Shengqing's was on the right.
Her hair, however, was real. Her dyed grey hair covered the tattoo, which extended all the way to the top left part of her head.
She had piercings on her left eyelid, and both of her ears were heavily gilded with accessories. Her eye shadow and lips were black too.
She looked pretty in her getup.
Li Huowang noticed some similarities with Ba Shengqing and thought that she was most likely Ba Shengqing's sister.
The two looked at each other and said nothing.
Li Huowang was certain that this was the first time they had met, but there was a familiar feeling coming from her too.
"Are you Ba Shengqing's sister? You wanted to see me? Do you know me? Have we met before?"
She took her cigarettes with two of her fingers and exhaled the smoke onto Li Huowang. "Fuck. You talk like you are trying to sleep with me."
The familiar feeling vanished. Li Huowang was disgusted by her mannerisms and tone.
"Why are you looking for me? I will take my leave if you have nothing to say." Li Huowang had just turned around when she blocked his path.
But before she could say anything, Li Huowang already had his knife on her neck.
Sensing the cold metal, she became serious as she placed the cigarette in her mouth. She slowly pushed the knife out of her neck. "Don't trust Qing Wanglai. He's not a good guy."
Li Huowang didn't react to her words. He wasn't someone stupid that would trust anyone that came to him. For now, Qing Wanglai had done nothing to harm him.
But he did notice that her tongue was forked like a snake.
Even though he knew he shouldn't judge someone based on their looks, her appearance was far too off-putting for her to make a good impression.
"Thank you for your warning. Did you ask your brother to bring me here just for this? I will keep that in mind. Thank you." Li Huowang sheathed his knife and turned to leave.
"One more thing. Qian Fu and Qing Wanglai are working together. Everything he's doing is most likely an order from Qing Wanglai."
Li Huowang was already at the door, with Yang Na waiting just outside of it. "And why are you telling me this? To stir up trouble between us?"
"Sit." The woman tapped her cigarette on a table filled with drawings of tattoos before tossing the cigarette butt into an ashtray. She then lit up another.
"I'm sure Qing Wanglai probably told you something about projections and parallel worlds? Don't trust him. He's crazy." She pointed at her temples.
"I don't care if he's crazy or not. It won't stop me from working with him to fight my enemy. As for you siblings... You guys were just sitting here and doing nothing." Li Huowang scoffed.
"Fuck. Who said we didn't do anything? This is the first time you have met us. Do you think you know us well?"
Li Huowang turned around and saw that the woman had already placed both of her legs up on the table. "Don't follow Qing Wanglai's plans. He will lure you into a trap. Since everyone has a different perspective, you should walk your own path. It would be bad if you got together just for the sake of working together. You can deal with anything if you follow your own path."
Li Huowang didn't understand what she was talking about. He had the feeling that she was going to talk about her views.
Chapter 767 - Awakening
"Are you guys really siblings? Is your surname Ba too?"
Li Huowang decided not to follow their conversation anymore. He was ready to leave if they didn't have any helpful information. There was no reason to listen to their baseless accusations.
The woman noticed that Li Huowang had changed the subject. "You're right. I am Ba Nanxu, and he is Ba Shengqing. We're twins."
"Twins? I don't see the similarity. He's quite tall while you're quite skinny."
"That's because we were conjoined twins. He took most of the nutrients, which caused me to be skinny."
Li Huowang was shocked by this revelation. Ba Nanxu then pointed at her tattoo of thorny vines.
"We were once joined here. The tattoos are used to cover up the scars."
Li Huowang recalled the tattoos on Ba Shengqing's face. He never thought the tattoos were used to cover up scars!
"Then the surgery must've been dangerous, right?"
"We didn't have the chance to undergo surgery. Our parents died early, and we had no money. We used a pair of scissors to separate ourselves."
Li Huowang recovered from his shock when he heard that. "I don't believe you. If you did that, the pain would've been unbearable. You would've passed out and even bled to death."
"Hahaha, yeah." Ba Nanxu took a deep drag on her cigarette.
Why is she not getting to the point?
Li Huowang looked around the tattoo shop and stood up to leave.
"Ji Zai, something was stolen from you."
A familiar gaze caused him to turn around and look at Ba Nanxu. "What did you say? Who were you calling?!"
"Hm?" Ba Nanxu looked at him, puzzled.
"What did you call me just now?!" Li Huowang grabbed her wrist as he shouted.
"Just now? I didn't say anything. Although this is quite a unique way to flirt with me."
"Ji Zai! You called me that just now! Why did both Qian Fu and you call me that?!"
Why does everyone know my name? How do they know the fake name that Zhuge Yuan had given me?
The memories started resurfacing against his own will.
Li Huowang tried to forget everything, but the memories crept up like a vine enveloping his brain. Zhao Lei's words echoed in his ears.
"Answer me! Why are you calling me Ji Zai?!"
"Let go." A cold voice came from his back. Ba Shengqing somehow appeared behind him, his tattoo gun on Li Huowang's back.
Li Huowang released Ba Nanxu and looked at Ba Shengqing seriously. He suddenly had a very disturbing thought.
"Both of you are conjoined twins. Why are your surnames Ba?"
"Because my father has the surname Ba. Is there a problem with that?" Ba Nanxu crossed her arms and looked at Li Huowang with confusion.
"No. Something's wrong." Li Huowang looked at their tattoos, forked tongues, and various piercings. His eyes lit up with a sudden epiphany.
"Pain! It's pain! I understand now! Both of you are..."
The words were just at the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't say them. That feeling drove him crazy.
Li Huowang stabbed his own palm with a knife.
The pain gave him clarity.
He pointed at the two and shouted, "I understand now! Both of you are Ba-Hui! You are a projection of Ba-Hui! Everything is fake!"
As he said that, Li Huowang felt his heart going empty.
Not only did he recognize Ba-Hui, but he also recognized Chen Hongyu, the one who had told him to get snacks for them. She was also a Siming—Abbess Jingxin's Siming!
The others are probably Simings too. I don't recognize them since I'm not familiar with the other Simings, but I am very familiar with Ba-Hui.
That was why he felt their gazes were very familiar.
The Ba siblings stepped back in unison when they saw Li Huowang acting strangely. The customer in the cubicle had already run out without his shirt because he was shocked by Li Huowang's actions and bloody hand.
"The two of you were originally one! No, the two of you should be a single Siming! I know you guys! No wonder you guys are so familiar! You are Ba-Hui!"
Then why are they calling me Ji Zai? Who is Ji Zai?
It was not just a simple fake name. It meant something more.
"If you are the projections of a Siming, then am I..." Li Huowang looked at his own body. "Am I a Siming too? Am I a projection? Impossible! When did I become a Siming? When? What kind of Siming am I?"
Li Huowang started recalling the things he had been suppressing.
"I was conjured with the cultivation of 'Truth'? I really am a Siming? Does that mean this world is fake? Is it all just a projection?"
Fear gripped his heart. He ignored Ba-Hui and bolted from the tattoo shop into the sunlit streets.
Yang Na followed him and anxiously asked, "Huowang? What's wrong? What happened just now?"
Li Huowang looked around while panting, unable to focus on her words.
He suddenly squatted down and touched the stone path. The surface was smooth and hard. He even rubbed his face over the stone.
"This is so real. How could it be fake? How could this be the projection?"
Li Huowang suddenly stood up and ran towards a pillar.
He looked at the poster pinned to the pillar before tearing it down. He shakily tore the poster in half.
He listened as the sound of paper being torn reached his ears, and then he saw the gradual tearing of the paper right before his very eyes.
The contradiction hurt him. Maybe I'm overthinking? Maybe everything is real?
He suddenly crouched onto the ground and picked up the paper strips before chewing on them. He tasted it and felt his saliva turning the torn poster into wads of damp paper.
He felt gazes coming from all directions. He looked up and saw the crowd pointing at him.
What are they? What are their projections? Other Simings or enemies? Why are they crowding around me?
Li Huowang snarled slowly as he held tightly onto the hilt of his sword.
Chapter 768 - Ba-Hui
Who are they? What do they want? I am a Siming, so are they Simings too? How many Simings are there in the Baiyu Capital? What do they want?!
Li Huowang couldn't differentiate between what was real and what was fake, so he was wary of everyone right now.
He was going to take out his knife to protect himself when he felt the cold press of metal on his back.
The cold metal crackled, and intense pain surged into his body from the electric shocks.
"Who's attacking me?!" Li Huowang turned around with difficulty from the pain.
What awaited him was Yang Na's crying face. She was crying as she took out another taser, pushed it into Li Huowang's clothes, and pressed the button.
"It's you?! Why?"
Yang Na bit her lips. She had to do this because Li Huowang was ill again. If she didn't stop him now, he could end up killing people on the streets.
If he did that, he would be locked up forever.
Yang Na originally got a taser not to fight enemies but to prevent Li Huowang from doing anything stupid if his illness were to strike again.
The two of them locked eyes. Li Huowang's lips trembled as the taser continued to shock him. "Wait, stop a moment."
Yang Na's sadness and the intense pain slowly pulled Li Huowang out of his bewilderment.
But she refused. She continued to press the buttons on both tasers to shock Li Huowang. She refused to stop until he was unconscious.
"I said stop!" Li Huowang grabbed Yang Na's hands for a brief moment. The electrical current surged into Yang Na briefly. She yelped and dropped the tasers.
Li Huowang picked up the tasers and held her in his embrace. She was already slumping over from the shock.
"I'm fine. I'm fine," Li Huowang repeated. It wasn't clear if he was trying to calm himself down or calm Yang Na down.
The two of them hugged. The crowds were disappointed by the lack of action, so they lowered their phones.
"Hey lady, are you alright? Is he threatening you? Do you know this scarred man? Do you want us to call the police?" Several youths came forward to check on her.
Yang Na cried as she placed her face into Li Huowang's embrace. "It's fine. I'm his girlfriend. We were just breaking up."
The crowd heard that it was just a lover's quarrel. They lost interest and scattered in a flash.
Li Huowang hugged Yang Na and stumbled towards the stairs. He entered the tattoo shop again to place her on the sofa.
The Ba siblings didn't chase them away. Instead, they temporarily closed their doors and stopped receiving customers.
Li Huowang's body was still twitching occasionally, a side effect of the electric shocks. But there was a bigger problem that he had to consider. He was still confused.
"Is everything fake? If you're fake, then whose projection are you? Why are you so real despite being fake?" Li Huowang looked at Yang Na's tearful eyes and felt his heart ache from seeing Yang Na's worried gaze.
He kissed her. He wanted to know what was real or fake.
He didn't want to care if he was a projection or not. He only cared about whether Yang Na was the same Yang Na that had stayed up late at night on the rooftop to look at the stars with him.
One of the Ba siblings kicked the sofa. "Why the hell are you kissing so passionately? Do you want to get naked and give us a good show? Do you need a condom?"
Li Huowang stood up suddenly and looked at Ba Nanxu. "Stop pretending! What did you mean just now? Who stole something from me? And is this world real or not? You wanted to turn me into your Twisted One, didn't you? Then tell me what is happening, and I will be your Twisted One!"
Li Huowang refused to accept this as reality because if it really was a projection, his parents, Yang Na, and even his experience of being discharged were all fake.
If he really transmigrated, he would never be able to get back. Everything he knew would be gone forever.
Ba Nanxu chuckled. "Well, it seems I was mistaken. You are much crazier than Qing Wanglai. It's a good thing you found him."
With a flash of steel, Li Huowang unsheathed both of his knives and snarled, "Tell me everything, Ba-Hui! I still haven't paid you back for all the suffering you caused me!"
Ba Nanxu scoffed and threw the cigarette onto the ground. "You want to threaten me with a knife? Do you even realize that when you were just a baby, I was already burying people? Your little tricks won't scare me."
"Stop pretending! I've already recognized your gaze! You are Ba-Hui!"
"Who said I'm pretending? Also, put down the knife! One, two, three!"
Li Huowang heard the sound of the wind whooshing and sensed the impending danger. He dropped to his knees, narrowly avoiding being hit in the head by a colossal glass cabinet. He would've died if that had hit him.
The person who swung the glass cabinet was none other than Ba Shengqing!
Li Huowang turned and stabbed towards Ba Shengqing's legs with his knife. Just then, he felt pain coming from his waist.
He didn't turn back since he knew it was Ba Nanxu's doing. Instead, he continued to stab his knife towards Ba Shengqing in an attempt to injure him. He wanted to wound them no matter what!
A sharp cry stopped both of them just as blood was about to be drawn. "AAAAA! Stop it!"
They turned around and saw Yang Na had sat up. She raised her phone high. "Qing Wanglai wants to talk to you! Stop fighting and just talk it out!"
Everyone slowly retreated.
Li Huowang touched his waist and pulled out a spike-like earring.
"Crazy bastard!" Ba Nanxu took the phone. "Hey, you've gotta be a fucking psycho to take in this lunatic. Did you know that I was going to find him, so you told him to cause some trouble for me?"
Chapter 769 - Projection
Li Huowang frowned and stared at Ba Nanxu talking on the phone. If they are Ba-Hui and Chen Hongyu is the Siming in control of rot, then what kind of Siming is Qing Wanglai? Does he know something about this world?
There are so many Simings. There must be one of them who knows about what is happening.
Ba Nanxu frowned and threw the phone at Li Huowang. "Get out of my shop once you finish your call! What a waste of my kindness!"
Li Huowang grabbed the phone as he looked at the two siblings, who were placing the cabinet back in its original location. "Hello?"
—It's me, Qing Wanglai. Yang Na told me about the situation. Don't panic, and slowly explain what happened. Why are you suddenly behaving like this?
Li Huowang hesitated. He decided to speak after considering that Qing Wanglai was the one who introduced him to the hypothesis of different projections. "I finally understand what is happening in this world. I always wondered why this place was weird. It's because this is not the world where I should be staying!"
Qing Wanglai paused when he heard Li Huowang's explanation.
—Li Huowang, I think I understand what happened. Is it because you think this world is fake? Do you think your real girlfriend and parents are somewhere else? Do you think that you've transmigrated and that everything here is fake?
Li Huowang was conflicted when he looked at how real Yang Na was. "Isn't it true? Didn't you tell me that everything is a projection?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
—I did tell you that the entire world is a projection, but that doesn't mean it's fake. We have flesh and our own thoughts. We are real. We are real projections, you understand? So why did you think that your past was not a projection?
—When I said that this world is a projection, I also meant that your past is a projection. You've always been here. The Yang Na you knew is the same. Your parents are the same. You are the same as us, so you don't need to be confused. We are just projections.
"They are all projections? Everything I've seen in the past is a projection?" Li Huowang pondered, reflecting on his memories from kindergarten, primary school, and high school. "They are all projections? Impossible!"
—Why not? Nothing is impossible. It's just that you never noticed it in the past.
Li Huowang fell into silence upon hearing this.
—Don't worry. You never got transmigrated. You're the same, and they have always been by your side. Nothing has changed. You just need to accept this hypothesis.
This hypothesis seemed much more reasonable compared to what he had previously thought and the despair it had caused him. It was easier for him to believe that everything had always been a projection.
Li Huowang remained silent as he took it all in. "And is there any proof? I need proof to believe that everything in the past was a projection. I won't just take your word for it."
—Do you have proof that your past was not a projection?
"I do!"
Li Huowang's certainty confused Qing Wanglai.
—You do? Then tell me.
"I might be a Siming, but I was materialized using the power to cultivate the 'Truth.' That means that my past is not a projection!"
Both sides of the phone remained silent.
—Li Huowang, maybe it's best if we're honest with each other. I fear that we won't get to the end of it if you continue to argue about this ceaselessly.
"Fine! I will have to prove it with my own methods!" Li Huowang hung up.
Even though he said that, his mood was already visibly better than before.
Qing Wanglai had given him a good hypothesis. If he was a projection in the past, then he didn't have to worry about what the projections of his family and Yang Na were.
It was bizarre, but Li Huowang was currently experiencing something even more bizarre. He set aside the hypothesis for now, focusing on finding answers instead.
He wiped the blood on the phone with his shirt before returning it to Yang Na.
The two of them looked at each other. Li Huowang pondered if he should ask her, but it would be a waste of time if she really was a projection.
"Let's go back. We can talk more later." Li Huowang held Yang Na and headed towards the exit.
He was already at the door when he turned around and looked at the Ba siblings.
"Ba-Hui, we are technically old acquaintances. If you can help me figure out what's happening, I will consider joining forces with you. That way, you won't be all alone if you're attacked. They are targeting the Simings, and some of them have already died. Are you sure you won't be next?"
"Crazy bastard." The two siblings ignored him and shut the door.
That's strange. Ba-Hui should've recognized me. We even met numerous times. Was I wrong? Li Huowang shook his head. No, they must be Ba-Hui! They even warned me just now. I must be right, but why aren't they talking to me?
"Is this because everything is a projection? Is the projection warping their meanings? What is this projection, then? How come there's a layer of projection after I've become a Siming?"
He recalled the people attacking him and frowned. I've been so focused on my own problems that I never really spent time figuring out who they were. If we are the Simings from the Baiyu Capital, then who are the attackers?
Li Huowang's frown deepened at the thought that so many figures could threaten a Siming.
"Li Huowang, let's go back. You should take your medicine. Did you become like this after you stopped taking it?"
"What medicine? I finally figured out what was wrong and who they really are! They must be the people from god Yu'er!"
Li Huowang took Yang Na away from the busy street, feeling like he had finally pieced everything together.