"Boss Hong Zhong, stop resisting. They sent me here because they knew my ability would work on you. You lose this time," Bei Feng said triumphantly from Li Huowang's body.
Li Huowang was pissed when he saw Bei Feng acting flirtatiously in his own body.
He raised his right arm and splayed it towards the single-eyed man. "Give me the sword!"
The single-eyed man hesitated briefly, and then Bei Feng took over his body. She jumped away from Li Huowang and chuckled.
Li Huowang ignored Bei Feng and immediately grabbed a sword before running towards his original body.
"Quick! I'm controlling Li Huowang right now! Kill him! He's Ji Zai's Twisted One! We cannot let him live for even a moment longer! He could kill all of us with his cultivation of the 'Truth'!"
Just then, Li Huowang stabbed the sword into his original body's abdomen and tore it in half.
Bei Feng was stunned and unsure what Li Huowang was trying to do.
Li Huowang then dug out the eyes from his original body to prevent Bei Feng from switching back into his body. He lowered his head and tried to wear his original body like a jumpsuit.
It wasn't easy. He wasn't Li Sui, and there were many things inside his abdomen. It wasn't easy to slip inside his original body.
He heard footsteps approaching. Li Huowang wasted no time and started eating his own flesh and blood, which contained the powers of a Strayed One.
I am Li Huowang! I am Li Huowang! Li Huowang chanted furiously in his own heart.
While Bei Feng didn't know what Hong Zhong was trying to achieve, she still wanted to stop him.
She piloted the single-eyed man's body, but it was too late. A plume of fire exploded towards the sky and burned everything around Li Huowang.
"Fire!" An explosion reverberated and the fire burned brighter. The forest began to burn down.
Li Huowang slapped the single-eyed man with his fiery palms.
Under the attack, the single-eyed man's body disintegrated like paper, revealing the spine sword within it. Li Huowang grabbed onto the spine sword tightly.
But this wasn't enough to quell his anger. He thrust his hands into his body and tore off his own heart before placing it on the Profound Records.
"Fire heart!"
Li Huowang used the Five Element Intercalation. The moment he did, the entire battlefield shifted in his favor. Bei Feng switched bodies numerous times, but it was futile.
The battlefield finally became quiet after the final tree burned down.
Li Huowang slumped down. The doll enlarged and ate his shadow before reviving him back to life.
"Benefactor Li, we won!" Chan Du excitedly said.
He got back the spine sword. That meant he could continue to send food to the Qi Kingdom, and the people wouldn't starve. Still, Li Huowang felt worried when he looked at the corpses. "Bei Feng escaped."
"What? Escaped?"
"She can swap bodies with anyone she makes eye contact with. None of you could've stopped her if she wanted to run."
"What should we do?" Chan Du turned in a circle before saying, "Benefactor Li, don't worry. The Gan family is still here. We can locate Bei Feng as long as she's in the Qi Kingdom!"
Li Huowang sighed, his voice low. "No need. Killing her won't amount to anything. What's more important is the people backing her."
Li Huowang didn't want to explain much to Chan Du. "Bring everyone else back. I will go talk to him."
Li Huowang swung the spine sword and returned to the Liang Kingdom.
Once he returned, he ignored the voices of the busy surroundings and instead ran towards Shangjing.
Once he was there, he was informed that the Emperor wasn't there. It was the Spring Equinox, so the Emperor was in the fields to conduct the ceremony of plowing the fields.[1]
It wasn't difficult to find him. Li Huowang ran towards the black soil at the edges of the city and saw the grand scene. The officials, the consorts, the Emperor's wives, and the princes were present. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
There were circles upon circles of guards protecting them. Li Huowang barely even got close when they noticed his presence.
They refrained from taking action when they saw that it was Li Huowang. Only the older eunuchs circled Gao Zhijian more tightly to protect him. Gao Zhijian was currently raising the hoe high up to plow the field.
Li Huowang did not approach him. Instead, he stood on the sidelines and looked at the scene.
The massive Gao Zhijian was showing his wives and sons how to plow the field. As a former soldier, he was used to physical labor.
He brought down the glittering golden hoe so fast that afterimages appeared. His consorts and wives grumbled in pain as they worked, unable to keep up with Gao Zhijian's pace.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! You only need to do it as a gesture of respect! Don't make your esteemed body tired!" Several eunuchs chased after Gao Zhijian.
"You think mere physical work like this would tire me out? Are you looking down on me?" Gao Zhijian plowed the fields even faster.
He only stopped after an entire field had been completely plowed.
It wasn't over yet. Gao Zhijian had to whip a plowing cow several times with a multicolored ribbon before the ceremony ended.
Gao Zhijian threw the golden hoe to the eunuchs before approaching Li Huowang.
"Senior Li, look!" Gao Zhijian pointed at the field in front of him.
"This is my land. I never thought that the Emperor would have his own personal land. One mu and a third, no less."[2]
"What are you doing?" Li Huowang asked lazily.
"I'm conducting the ceremony to plow the field. It's the Spring Equinox. I need to set an example for the people so that they start working on the fields today."
"There's so few divisions in a day now. I'm surprised you can calculate the time now."
"Well, we can't stand idly by just because we can't calculate time."
Gao Zhijian showed no hint of his regalness as he sat on the ground. He felt better outside than cooped up in the palace.
"Sigh, it feels much better to work my body a bit. I felt like I was getting moldy just from staying in the palace all day."
Gao Zhijian talked for a bit before he turned and looked at Li Huowang with confusion. "Senior Li, why aren't you talking?"
Li Huowang smiled and sat beside Gao Zhijian. He picked up a piece of stone and fidgeted with it in his palm.
"Yeah, what should I talk about?"
1. A ceremony in which the Emperor personally plows the field to show respect to agriculture and the farmer during spring, when the first seeds are planted. ☜
2. A mu is a traditional Chinese unit of area, which is approximately 666.67 square meters. ☜
Chapter 841 - Answer
"You can talk about anything. Just think of it as a casual conversation. Since becoming the Emperor, I haven't had anyone I can converse casually with." Gao Zhijian said, expressing his complaints to Li Huowang.
Li Huowang threw the stone and dusted his palms. "Heh, you think I'm here just to talk."
"No, but you can think of it as just talking to me before we enter the main conversation. After all, I have to watch what I say when I'm in the palace."
"You are the Emperor. Who's controlling you?"
"As I am the Emperor, there are rules that I need to follow. How I eat, how I speak, and how I greet someone."
As he talked, his consorts and wives approached him and complained flirtatiously about how tired they were.
Gao Zhijian shooed them off. He pointed his rough fingers at the women walking away and said, "I don't like them. All they want is to sleep with me. I feel like puking when I look at them."
"You are going to make every man in the world mad with that statement."
"Senior Li, you don't understand. You would probably understand me if I threw you into their hands for three months."
"Ahem!" An old eunuch coughed, holding onto his horsetail whisk.
"Gao Zhijian, it's best if you talk like an Emperor now. Otherwise, the old eunuch will cough his lungs out."
"Hahaha!" Gao Zhijian laughed as if it was the best joke he had heard. He slapped his knees and raised his head as he laughed.
His laughter faded and he became serious again. With a wave of his arm, everyone around him took several steps back.
Li Huowang sighed and took out two spine swords from his back before throwing them onto the ground.
"Senior Li, will you still send food to the Qi Kingdom?"
"Yes," Li Huowang said frankly.
"Wait, listen to me first," Li Huowang interjected before Gao Zhijian could say anything. "Do you still remember how the Qi Kingdom and the Liang Kingdom lived prosperously even though both of them existed simultaneously?
"I don't want the Qi Kingdom or the Liang Kingdom to disappear. Can't they exist at the same time? They coexisted for a thousand years. Were there any negative effects on the Liang Kingdom? I don't want much. I simply want things to return to how they were before."
Gao Zhijian remained silent, and Li Huowang continued, "Who told you that only one of the kingdoms could exist at a single given time?"
"My ancestors of the Dragon Vein."
"Are you sure what they say is always the truth? Could they not lie? I had a friend who was a gentleman and a storyteller. He wanted to tell the Liang Kingdom that the Qi Kingdom existed. If what you're saying is true, that they cannot exist simultaneously and one of them must fall, then there must be something wrong with him! He wouldn't be a storyteller!"
Gao Zhijian looked at the fields and then at the eunuchs cleaning up after him. He slowly opened his mouth. "Senior Li, you said that the Dragon Vein can lie to me. But would your friend not lie to you? Is everything that he told you the truth?"
"You!" Li Huowang clenched his fists, causing the eunuchs to prepare for action. The tension in the air was palpable, but ultimately, Li Huowang released his grip.
"He's dead. My friend is dead. He could trick me, and I can't verify his claims, but," Li Huowang's tone became serious, "I know he wouldn't trick me about this. He would never do something that would result in the death of an entire timeline! He wouldn't have tricked me for the sake of the world, nor would he have sacrificed his life for me! So!"
Li Huowang was panting at this point. "Could you just give me some time? Think of it as me begging you. You've starved before. Do you know how many people are starving in the Qi Kingdom? Do you know that even a child at just six years old had to eat her mother's flesh to survive? Do you know how tragic that was? She didn't even know that her mother had died. I had to use my techniques of the Sitting Oblivion Dao to trick her into thinking that her mother was alive!"
Gao Zhijian was silent for a very long time. "Senior Li, if something were to threaten the Liang Kingdom, as a good Emperor, I must do my best to stop it."
"I know, I know, but there's still time for things to change. The Qi Kingdom might not threaten the Liang Kingdom. Don't worry about the food I've sent there. Once the Qi Kingdom is self-sufficient, I will slowly return the food, catty by catty. I won't let the Liang Kingdom lose a single penny! In fact, the Qi Kingdom might even help the Liang Kingdom in the future! We could establish trade between the two kingdoms!"
Gao Zhijian stood up and patted the dirt on his butt. "Senior Li, your friend is not a god. What he thought might not be true."
"Then is the Dragon Vein always right? They were humans when they were alive! They weren't gods either!"
Gao Zhijian shook his head and left.
Everyone slowly left the place, leaving Li Huowang alone in the unsown field.
A familiar voice came from behind Li Huowang. "Don't worry, I'm still here."
He knew who the owner of the voice was without even needing to turn back. "I doubt that the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau could stop the Emperor. No need to butt in. This is a fight between adults."
Li Huowang didn't want Li Sui to get involved. If the Liang Kingdom's Surveillance Bureau and the Liang Kingdom's palace were to fight, no one would gain anything.
Li Huowang stood up and patted Li Sui's head, concealed within her red robes. "Don't worry. This is my own problem and I will handle it myself. No need to involve yourself."
"Even if he wants to kill you?"
"Even if he wants to kill me."
Li Huowang swung the spine sword and returned to the Qi Kingdom through the rift. The fields of the Liang Kingdom were where the Qi Kingdom's Righteous Monastery was. The monks recognized him, so there was no commotion when he returned.
However, what Li Huowang had said just before leaving caused them to worry. Once Chan Du learned that Li Huowang was back, he immediately rushed over. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
"Benefactor, how was it? Did you manage to talk with them and learn why they are attacking you?"
Li Huowang answered bitterly, "We talked. As for why, the Liang Kingdom's Emperor thought that once you guys are prosperous again, you would threaten them instead."
"The Liang Kingdom's Emperor? Benefactor Li, is it really him?!"
Li Huowang didn't understand why Chan Du was confused. "Didn't you already know that? Why are you reacting so loudly?"
Chan Du clasped his hands and turned the prayer beads in his palm. "Amitabha. I have never once suspected him. I thought that the assailants came from another world."
"What? Other worlds?" It was Li Huowang's turn to be confused. He felt that a bomb had just gone off in his head. "Why didn't you tell me this important?"
"Uh... did we really need to tell you? Didn't you already know about it?" Chan Du pointed at the five glittering Buddha statues in the hall.
"Vaicorana from Vajradhatu, the Diamond Realm. Akshobhya from Abhirati, the Eastern Pure Land. Ratnasambhava from ?rimat, the Southern Pure Land. Amitābha from Sukhavati, the Western Pure Land. Amoghasiddhi from Prakuta, the Northern Pure Land. Together, they form the Five Dhyani Buddhas because they control the five different worlds."
Li Huowang stood there, his mouth hanging open in shock at Chan Du's words.
"Benefactor Li, why are you so surprised? I thought you knew about it?"
Li Huowang was practically fuming with anger. "You sects and your fucking contradicting worlds! How would I know which is real and which is fake?!"
Chapter 842 - Five Worlds of Buddhism
"The five worlds of Buddhism." Li Huowang remembered having heard the term before. It wasn't just the monks of the Righteous Monastery who had mentioned it—even Abbess Jingxin had told him about it before.
Back then, he didn't couldn't even deal with Dan Yangzi. His life had been in danger, so he hadn't given any thought to it.
He had also interacted with the other sects and realized that each sect's worldview contradicted the others, so he completely ignored the concept of the five worlds of Buddhism.
"No, wait, you are wrong!" Li Huowang's words made Chan Du speechless. He wasn't sure about how to continue the conversation, as it was something supposed to be common knowledge. Chan Du hadn't expected such an intense reaction from Li Huowang.
"No... you're wrong..." Li Huowang's pupils trembled as he paced around the area.
Li Huowang combined his experience to figure out what the five worlds were.
"It's not five worlds—it's five different histories! They all lead down to a different future!" Li Huowang revealed what he thought.
The Liang Kingdom had been formed after the Qi Kingdom fell a thousand years ago, while the Qi Kingdom maintained itself as if it didn't fall a thousand years ago!
Li Huowang followed the same thought process to determine the three remaining histories and what had gone wrong in the past.
The people were still the same, but the world had split into five different possibilities, and all five histories existed simultaneously. This was only possible in this crazy world.
"Wait, Benefactor Li, you have to listen to me." Chan Du naturally disagreed with what Li Huowang said. He had to correct him, or all the years he dedicated to memorizing the scriptures would be meaningless.
"Benefactor Li, the five worlds of Buddhism existed since ancient times, not as you said. According to the Yiqiejing Yinyi, Vairocana Buddha, the Tathagata of the world, is described as 'Vairocana,' where 'Vai' means 'pervade' and 'rocana' means 'illuminating.' This means that the Buddha, through his body and wisdom, is unobstructed in his radiant light, illuminating and pervading the entire Dharma realm without obstruction.
"The term 'pervade' refers to the universal coverage of the Dharma realm, while 'light' indicates the unobstructed nature of dependent origination, shining away the darkness of ignorance..."
Li Huowang abruptly grabbed Chan Du's collar. "Shut up! I'm not here to listen to you preach. This isn't important right now. What's more important is to figure out which history is trying to kill us and why!"
He let go of Chan Du's robes and scratched his scalp anxiously. Li Huowang paced around before laughing. "Hahaha! Gao Zhijian was not the culprit! He didn't want to kill me!"
Li Huowang's heart sank. Gao Zhijian might've changed, but perhaps I didn't change much.
He was still the same Gao Zhijian who had previously traveled with him!
Once Li Huowang knew that Gao Zhijian was not the culprit, he felt like everything had suddenly become uncertain.
Since there were five histories, his suspicions of Gao Zhijian were naturally the lowest.
Sui Sui is still watching him. She would've let me know if he were trying to do anything.
However, Li Huowang was still confused. Who's trying to kill me, then?
If there were three other histories, who would be the culprit? Li Huowang had only just learned about the other three, so he couldn't have offended anyone from there.
Who's trying to harm me for no reason? Did I accidentally make them my enemy while escaping the Zephyr Temple?
Li Huowang didn't have the answers and looked at Chan Du. "Abbot, why do you think they are attacking us?"
Chan Du frowned and turned the prayer beads in his hands before shaking his head. "I do not know. In Buddhist teachings, the Five Dhyani Buddhas are considered the Primordial Buddha of Dharma Nature. The term 'Primordial Buddha' refers to the essence of the mind. Aksobhya, Vajrapani, and Vajrasattva represent the three manifestations of the Tathagata Garbha, which are essentially the mind manifested as three bodies..."
Li Huowang sighed. "And who's asking you about that?"
Li Huowang had to figure it out himself since the Abbot didn't know either. He suspected Bei Feng's superior.
Shai Zi had once said that to defeat Doulao, he had cleaned up all of the Sitting Oblivion Dao in the Liang Kingdom. In a sense, he was correct. The Sitting Oblivion Dao of the Liang Kingdom had been destroyed, but Bei Feng survived. She escaped to another history to avoid Shai Zi.
Is she tricking people from other countries to kill me? Li Huowang considered the possibility, although it seemed a bit unrealistic.
He had never heard of masterminds who risked their lives by running to the front lines.
The members of the Sitting Oblivion Dao weren't idiots—they would trick others into making risky moves instead. The Sitting Oblivion Dao also didn't usually go to the front lines.
They might do so if it was to trick others, but they would never do it just for the sake of fighting.
There must be someone else behind Bei Feng. Whether they are forcing or collaborating with her, they are ultimately using Bei Feng's unique powers.
"Benefactor Li, have you fought with other Twisted Ones?" Chan Du tentatively asked.
"Hm?" Li Huowang frowned. "What do you mean?"
Chan Du looked at the spine sword on Li Huowang's back. "The five worlds have always been independent, without intertwining connections. Aside from the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the only ones who can travel freely are the Twisted Ones. The Twisted Ones are beyond the five worlds. They each hold the karma, merits, cause, and effects of the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas, placing them between two worlds. They can travel freely between the two worlds."
"What are you talking about? I'm a Twisted One too. Why can't I travel between two worlds? Also, I never fought any of them before. The only Twisted One I know of is Zhuge Yuan, which you are also familiar with. He was stuck between the Liang Kingdom and the Qi Kingdom. He didn't have any connections with the other three histories."
Chan Du nodded silently and said nothing. It appeared that it wasn't as he had thought. After eliminating all other factors, Li Huowang finally thought of a final possibility.
"Am I obstructing them by saving the Qi Kingdom?" Li Huowang muttered.
He recalled what Gao Zhijian had said. What if it wasn't just the Qi Kingdom that the Liang Kingdom had to contest against? What if it's a competition between all five histories? What if they sent someone to stop Li Huowang from saving the Qi Kingdom?
Li Huowang thought it was a bit far-fetched but realized it was possible.
Chan Du shook his head when Li Huowang told him about his theory. "No, Benefactor Li, the five worlds of Buddhism exist in harmony. They help each other and do not compete. The Five Dhyani Buddhas protect the five worlds. They would never let one of the worlds disappear without a trace."
Li Huowang chuckled. "Oh? Then what happened to the Qi Kingdom when you had no food? Did one of the Five Dhyani Buddhas come down and help you?"
Chapter 843 - Method
"Where were your Five Dhyani Buddhas? I thought they were guarding the five worlds. Why didn't they show up when the Qi Kingdom was on the brink of destruction?"
Li Huowang's tone was nothing short of offensive towards the Buddhas of the Righteous Monastery, but Chan Du wasn't angry. In fact, he felt nothing.
He clasped his hands and prayed earnestly to the five Buddha statues. "Amitabha. Mercy on this one. As a disciple, I dare not talk in the stead of the Buddha. However, did the Five Dhyani Buddhas truly refrain from taking any action? If they did, would you have come to the Qi Kingdom to help us? Maybe your desire to save the Qi Kingdom was part of the Buddha's cause and effect." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
Li Huowang became furious when he heard that. "What do you mean? I'm putting in a lot of effort, working tirelessly to bring food and revive the Qi Kingdom. Yet now you're saying all the credit should go to the Five Dhyani Buddhas?"
Chan Du shook his head rapidly. "No, the credit naturally belongs to you, but the Five Dhyani Buddhas are the ones who take care of the five worlds, which are within their all-encompassing wisdom. While the credit is yours, the merits belong to the Buddhas."
Li Huowang naturally would not accept that—it was an explanation without an explanation. "Come here and tell me directly! What do you mean by the merits belonging to the Five Dhyani Buddhas? What is the 'all-encompassing wisdom'? Call for your Five Dhyani Buddhas to come and deal with this, then!
"Aren't they the ones taking care of the five worlds? Now, another world wants to attack the Qi Kingdom, so why aren't they showing up? I won't bring food anymore if you can't give me a satisfactory answer!"
Chan Du felt a headache coming when he realized that Li Huowang was going to argue with him, but he didn't want to preach to Li Huowang, who was not a disciple of Buddhism. Winning or losing the argument brought no benefits.
Also, Chan Du was confident that it would be useless for him to talk about it since Li Huowang never read any scriptures.
Chan Du had no choice but to admit defeat. "Benefactor Li, I was wrong. Since you were the one who accomplished it, the credit and merits are all yours. No one can dispute that."
Li Huowang became even angrier. If they hadn't been allies, he would have really liked to kill Chan Du.
"Let's stop talking about unrelated things. We need to focus on figuring out who they are and which world they come from. I doubt that they will stop after today. Their attacks will only become fiercer," Li Huowang said, clenching his fists tightly.
He didn't care who was trying to murder him. He was determined to exact revenge on them, vowing to repay them a hundred times over!
Chan Du nodded and agreed.
"Stop nodding and say something useful!"
Chan Du shook his head. "I don't know. Still, I am certain that one of them must be a Twisted One. If they weren't, they wouldn't have been able to make their way into the Qi Kingdom."
"Twisted One... Twisted One..." Li Huowang muttered and recalled what had happened when he tried to take back his sword.
A forest sprung up in the middle of the field of grass. He thought they had used the powers of the spine sword to reenter the Qi Kingdom, but it now seemed more similar to a Twisted One using their powers to enter the Qi Kingdom instead. More importantly, it differed from Zhuge Yuan's case—they could control their powers freely.
Li Huowang thought long and hard. He ultimately decided what to do based on his understanding of Bei Feng.
"It's useless if we just sit still and think the whole day. If we want to know where they came from, we need to capture one of them alive. I'm sure that they will come here again.
"Since they dare to enter the Qi Kingdom, we need to ambush them. Call everyone and think of a plan to ambush them! We will eat them alive if they dare enter the Qi Kingdom again! Do not let them go back!"
Chan Du nodded and tapped his prayer beads lightly. A skinny monk near the door clasped his hands and left.
Li Huowang didn't have any time to waste while the others gathered. "Wait here. I need to settle something in the Liang Kingdom. I will return as soon as I can."
He had to explain to Gao Zhijian what might've really happened.
He returned to the Liang Kingdom and ran towards the palace, but was soon stopped by a familiar face—Xuan Pin.
"Father, where are you going?" Li Sui cocked her head to the side and asked Li Huowang.
Li Huowang wasn't sure how to explain to Li Sui. Do I tell her that I misunderstood Gao Zhijian and thought he had sent someone to kill me?
Li Sui didn't press on after seeing that Li Huowang remained silent. Instead, she gave him something. It was clad in red cloth. "Father, this is for you. I made it myself."
Li Huowang took it and saw that it was a red Daoist robe. It was intricate, with cloud motifs embroidered on the collars and sleeves. Li Huowang could tell by touch that the fabric used to make it was not ordinary.
He put it on and found that it fit him perfectly. "This is...?"
"I made it myself. It's fireproof. Also, you can open up this place." Li Sui extended her tentacles and pulled on the front, revealing Li Huowang's abdomen. "With this, it's easier for you to use the Profound Records."
Li Huowang fell in love with the robes, especially since they were a gift from his daughter.
"Do you like it?" Li Sui asked.
Li Huowang nodded. A young girl's face peeked out from Li Sui's robes and smiled happily.
"As long as you like it."
As Li Sui was about to leave, Li Huowang stopped her and said, "Since you're the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau, there are some things that I need to let you know, even though they're not related to the Liang Kingdom."
Li Huowang brought Li Sui to a nearby tea shop and sat down. After reviewing all the evidence, Li Huowang explained what had happened.
"I misunderstood Gao Zhijian, so please apologize to him in my stead," Li Huowang said sheepishly.
Li Sui sat quietly as if thinking about what was happening. After a long period of silence, she said, "Alright. I understand."
"Thank you. I wanted to go, but I think everyone in the Qi Kingdom has gathered together by now. I need your help for this."
Li Huowang drank a cup of tea. The bitterness made his body tremble a bit.
"Wait." Li Huowang finally realized something and looked at Li Sui. "Since you're the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau, you already knew about the five parallel histories, right?"
Li Sui nodded. "It's not exactly a secret."
Chapter 844 - Voices
Li Huowang asked again after hearing Li Sui's answer, "Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Father, you never asked. It's also not like I could talk to you about it casually during the New Year. Also, why are you asking me this? Did you not know about it?"
"I did. Of course, I knew," Li Huowang said, drinking the bitter tea again.
"What I meant is that we could talk more about the information of this world. You've lived here for a hundred and sixty years and should know more than me about this place."
Li Sui held onto her girl's head and used eight tentacles to snuggle the head against Li Huowang.
"Father, I think it's best if I don't talk to you about this easily. You know how dangerous it could be. The more you know about this world, the more dangerous it gets. It's generally better to be kept in the dark.
"And since you're a Strayed One, it might be dangerous for you to learn about it, especially since you've achieved a high degree of proficiency in cultivating the 'Truth.'"
Li Huowang patted her head and sighed. He knew what Li Sui was hinting at. Xuan Pin had said it once, but it felt different when Li Sui said it.
A stern voice suddenly came from Li Huowang's side. "Li Huowang, do you think that this is fun?"
Li Huowang closed his eyes and reopened them to see the white LED light tube above him. He completely ignored the voice outside of the door.
He was wearing two straitjackets and was completely tied up. Still, this was only temporary. He had won, and Qing Wanglai would soon send someone to rescue him.
While he only had a single eye left, it was still a great price to pay for ending the war.
Everything was over. No one would be stalking him again, and no one would harm his family anymore. He was free and could finally rest.
Yi Donglai's voice came from outside the room. He was angry. "Li Huowang, what are you thinking? Stop playing dumb! You are not crazy—I know I treated you!"
It was understandable because when Li Huowang became crazy again, Yi Donglai had become a laughing stock for the others. His thesis, which he had worked hard on, was now worthless.
He refused to believe that Li Huowang would defeat him. Yi Donglai had treated many patients before, and even if they weren't completely cured, they still managed to become somewhat normal.
Li Huowang ignored Yi Donglai and didn't move.
Twenty minutes later, Yi Donglai left. Li Huowang blinked with his single remaining eye.
The room was utterly silent. Half an hour later, Li Huowang heard something and began to slowly move on the ground.
He said nothing as he worked his way towards the left wall. It was difficult to move in two straitjackets. After moving a couple of inches, he was sweating, but he never stopped.
He plastered his ear on the soft leather wall and heard the faint murmur of a woman's voice. He remembered the voice. It was Zhao Ting, the patient in his group who had slight depression.
"Li... wang, are you...?" Her voice was hazy, but Li Huowang could more or less guess what she meant through the fragmented words.
He smiled and nodded. "I'm fine. I'm just locked up for now. They have done this before. It's nothing to me."
Another voice could be heard, this time belonging to a man. However, his stammering and the thick walls made it unintelligible.
The particular tone of the voice was distinct enough for Li Huowang to recognize it. The man was Gao Jingyun, the slightly mentally challenged patient.
Another voice came. Li Huowang managed to guess who it was based on the identity of the first two patients. It was Zhang Shuier, the woman with OCD.
They were all part of the same team at one point. Despite the others considering him a crazy patient, they still extended their friendship to Li Huowang. Their willingness to become friends had touched him.
Many would eagerly befriend the rich and famous, but only a few would extend a helping hand to the poor and nameless.
Li Huowang was sure that almost everyone outside thought of him as a crazed murderer.
After conversing with them for a bit, Li Huowang heard Zhao Ting's voice again. "Re... we... will... save... out."
Li Huowang's heart froze because Zhao Ting was different than usual. He tentatively asked, "Did Qing Wanglai ask you to contact me?"
"Yes..."
Li Huowang's heart sank. "Go back and tell him to find another way. Don't drag innocent people in!"
While Li Huowang wanted to escape, he didn't want anyone, especially the people he knew, to become his accomplice.
They were all patients who already led a hard life. Receiving treatment to live out the rest of their lives was the best possible outcome for them.
Who knew what would happen to them if he dragged them into his fight with the Simings?
Li Huowang also recalled how Qing Wanglai treated the others. He would discard useless people like tools.
"No... we... talk..." Zhao Ting's voice gradually grew faint. Li Huowang moved to try to continue listening, yet no further voices could be heard.
"What did you say?" Li Huowang stopped moving, focusing on one spot.
Immediately after, someone opened the door to his room. It was Yi Donglai.
"Who are you talking to?" Yi Donglai asked.
Li Huowang remained silent. He soon saw Yi Donglai's shoes appearing in front of him.
Yi Donglai reached for the straps of Li Huowang's straitjackets before dragging him out of the room.
"Come here and look! Look carefully with your single remaining eye!"
Yi Donglai showed Li Huowang the exterior of the left wall. Other than the art on the wall, there was nothing else.
"Look at that! There's no one near this room! Everything's an illusion! Li Huowang, you are sick!"
Li Huowang opened his mouth and repeated what he had told Yi Donglai before. "No, I'm not sick. I just learned the truth of the world."
Chapter 845 - Mental
Yi Donglai laughed out of anger. In fact, he almost gave up on Li Huowang. Yi Donglai thought Li Huowang was the craziest person he had met in the medical field.
"Really? You learned about the truth of this world?"
Yi Donglai opened Li Huowang's straitjacket before placing his phone into Li Huowang's hands. Yi Donglai swiped on the phone's screen swiftly.
"This is your mother's WeChat! Talk to her on a video call. Look at her with your single remaining eye and tell her you're not crazy! Tell her that you've learned the truth of the world! Do that if you have the guts!"
With a slight tremble on his face, Li Huowang slammed Yi Donglai's phone onto the ground. "You don't know anything! Everything's over! All of the problems have been resolved! Yi Donglai, I know I was sick, but I also know you cured me."
Yi Donglai was not afraid of Li Huowang's snarling face. Instead, he took a step forward and glared at Li Huowang.
"Then tell me what you meant! I can only help you if you tell me!"
Li Huowang slowly calmed down and shook his head lightly. He went back into the room and sat facing the walls. "Doctor Yi, I'm not ill. You can perform as many tests as you like. I assure you that the results will confirm I'm fine."
Since everything was over, any further interactions with Yi Donglai would only make him think that Li Huowang's condition had worsened. It was useless to converse with Yi Donglai right now.
Moreover, Li Huowang wasn't sure what Yi Donglai's projection was. He was, however, certain that Yi Donglai was not his ally. If Yi Donglai were an ally, he would've saved Li Huowang when he was fighting god Yu'er instead of sending people to catch him.
Now that the danger was over, all Li Huowang needed to do was wait. Even if Qing Wanglai didn't save him, Li Huowang was sure that as long as he followed the rules of the projections in this world, he would pass the examinations and get discharged again.
Though the process might be long and arduous, Li Huowang wasn't worried. As long as the people around him were safe, he didn't mind what was happening to him.
Li Huowang sat there for a very long time, yet he did not hear the door close. He turned and saw the metal door was wide open.
"Come out. The doctor said that you don't have to stay inside anymore," the nurse guarding the entrance said.
Li Huowang was confused. He had just killed a lot of people, but now they were allowing him to interact with the other patients.
Li Huowang was sure that this was a trick from Yi Donglai. It couldn't be that simple.
Despite that, he walked outside after pondering for a moment.
It didn't matter what Yi Donglai wanted to do. He would continue to live and act normally, as they couldn't do anything to a regular person during the examinations. The only thing he had to do was not bring up anything about the Simings.
"Wait," Li Huowang had just stepped outside when several burly nurses stopped him, "we still need to put preventive measures on you. Wait here."
They put on heavy handcuffs and leg cuffs onto Li Huowang. They also placed a special helmet on Li Huowang's head, which would prevent him from gouging out his one remaining eye.
Li Huowang was okay with it, although he felt like a serial murderer walking into a park while wearing all that equipment.
Li Huowang gazed upwards, enjoying the pleasant sun. He sat on the bench and basked in the sunlight.
He felt peculiar gazes from every direction, but he was already used to them. Sitting there, he exchanged greetings with some of the familiar faces. He even raised his hand to wave at the guards holding guns atop the guard towers.
He didn't see the people who had talked to him before this. Li Huowang thought it would be too obvious for them to approach him now, considering that Yi Donglai had just released him.
Li Huowang stretched lazily. Compared to the restrictive room, he felt much better outside right now. At the very least, he could scratch the itches on his body and move around if he felt sore.
He felt the wind blowing through the wire fence. It blew his hair apart and revealed his bloody eye socket. "It's a good day today..."
Li Huowang relaxed and closed his eyes. He slumped onto the bench, his body slowly tilting to the left as his head bobbed. In the end, he lay down and fell asleep.
The room he was kept in was not a good place to sleep. It was a place to prevent the patients from killing themselves. To avoid any accidents, they never turned off the lights, so Li Huowang barely got any sleep at night.
He felt his body relax as he fell asleep. He slowly curled up on the bench like a baby in a mother's womb. It was peaceful.
However, the peace was short-lived, as he soon frowned and snarled.
"No! Wait!" Li Huowang opened his eyes with shock, his body drenched in sweat. His sudden shout startled the others around him.
He wiped off the sweat on his forehead and sighed in relief. It had only been a bad dream.
"Are you alright?" Zhao Ting tried to help Li Huowang up. She stretched out her arms and revealed the scars on her wrist.
"I'm fine. It was just a nightmare," Li Huowang whispered as he slowly retracted his hands. "You guys have to leave. Don't talk to me for a while—Yi Donglai must be observing us right now."
Zhao Ting nodded and left the area.
Li Huowang sighed. The nightmare had felt incredibly real, leaving him with a lingering sense of fear. Thankfully, it was only a creation of his imagination that hadn't actually occurred.
Li Huowang scratched his head. "It's fine. It was just a nightmare. It's all over now, and I can live a normal life.
Suddenly, a troubling realization crossed his mind. "Wait a minute, why is Qing Wanglai a graduate student while I'm stuck here, treated like some deranged mental patient? We're in the same situation."
Li Huowang swore to himself before walking back into the building. "Damn it. If I get out, I will enjoy my life to the fullest! I cannot let them be afraid of me anymore! I need to make them proud! I don't care who their projections are. At least they are not illusions! Definitely not!"
Chapter 846 - Hospitalization
Once Li Huowang was granted permission to leave the confines of his room, life became tranquil for him. His daily routine remained unchanged: taking his medications, indulging in television shows, and drifting off to sleep. Other than the absence of a treatment plan or a doctor, he was the same as the other patients.
Yi Donglai no longer looked for him and made him use the sand table. In fact, Li Huowang did not see Yi Donglai at all.
He wasn't sure what Yi Donglai was trying to do, but he didn't care. He would just live normally like this, one day after another.
Li Huowang walked into the canteen with his handcuffs and leg cuffs. The chains rattled on the ground loudly.
The other patients knew Li Huowang was coming and stood aside to open a path for him. He was being treated as a murderer again.
Li Huowang could have been the only person in White Tower Prison walking around with cuffs.
He picked up a plastic tray and grabbed his food from the canteen—a meat dish, a vegetable dish, a soup, and rice. The meat dish consisted of stir-fried tofu with pork skin, while the vegetable dish included blanched vegetables. The soup was egg-drop seaweed soup.
Li Huowang picked up the oily tofu and ate it. The soft yet firm texture of the bouncy tofu had absorbed the sauce from the meal. He enjoyed the delectable flavor with delight.
Li Huowang then looked at the kitchen and found that the people responsible for the meal had changed. Their meals this time were much better than before.
Li Huowang drank a spoonful of soup before placing his rice into the meat dish, stirring it quickly before digging in.
Due to his handcuffs, it wasn't easy for him to eat his meal. He had only finished half of it by the time everyone else was almost done with theirs.
A sudden coldness came from his left, and someone sat beside him. Li Huowang turned and saw a spectacled middle-aged man sitting at his side.
The man wore the same hospital gown and appeared to be another patient. "Hello, Mr. Li. Let me introduce myself. I'm Hai Dongqing. Here is my business card."
Li Huowang did not accept the "business card," which really was tissue paper with words scrawled on it. Another mental patient, though this is the first time I've seen one of his kind.
However, Li Huowang was curious about why the doctors weren't doing anything and allowed Hai Dongqing man to roam freely.
Seeing that Li Huowang was ignoring him, Hai Dongqing rolled up the tissue paper and shoved it towards Li Huowang's mouth. "Do you have anything to say about your relapse this time?"
Li Huowang turned to the nurse and said, "Can you shoo him away? He's preventing me from eating my meal."
The nurse forcefully pulled Hai Dongqing away. Li Huowang thanked the nurse and continued his meal.
After having his meal, Li Huowang watched TV shows for a bit before heading out to get some sunlight. This was his only source of entertainment right now.
As he lay on the bench half asleep, a faint voice reached his ears—it was Zhang Shuier.
"We are ready... If you're also ready, we will move out in three days at midnight. The patients in ward seven will revolt, and we can leave during the chaos.
Li Huowang frowned without opening his eyes. "No, tell them to stop."
"Why?"
"If Qing Wanglai wants to help me, he must do it properly. I don't want to run out and become a fugitive. I would rather stay here if he intends to do it illegally. If you can't decide for yourself, send a message to him. Ask him to come and visit me personally, and I will tell him. Leave now. You are being too conspicuous."
Li Huowang said this, but there were no longer any voices. He opened his eyes to find that no one was around him.
He stretched and waved towards the sentries on the tower before heading back in.
If it weren't for the regular medication schedule, this place would be indistinguishable from an old person's home.
He had just entered the building when he saw the large Gao Jingyun squatting beside the toilet, startling everyone who exited the bathroom.
"What's wrong?"
Li Huowang asked patiently. Although Gao Jingyun had a large body, his mental capabilities were only those of a child.
"Apple... someone... took it."
Li Huowang wasn't surprised that it was the same question. "Bring me to them. Who took your apple?"
Gao Jingyun led the way, with Li Huowang following closely behind. Together, they arrived at the quarters and opened each door one by one.
"Was it him?" Li Huowang pointed at an apple in an old man's hands.
"Mmhm!" Gao Jingyun nodded as he twisted his own robes.
Li Huowang walked over and grabbed the apple. "You're so old, and yet you're stealing apples from a young patient?"
"Hey! What are you doing? My granddaughter bought that for me!" The old man protested, but Li Huowang pushed him back onto the bed.
"Your granddaughter bought it for you? Did your granddaughter also write someone else's name on the apple?" Li Huowang pointed at Gao Jingyun's name on the apple.
Another mortified patient held back the old man. Li Huowang turned and passed the apple to Gao Jingyun. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
"Take it. If they give you apples next time, just eat them immediately. No need to wait."
Gao Jingyun shook his hands, "I... I want to give it to you. You don't have an apple to eat."
Li Huowang tried to hand the apple back to Gao Jingyun. "I don't like apples. Don't give them to me next time."
But Gao Jingyun did not accept it. "You eat it."
After pushing and shoving the apples for a few rounds, Li Huowang gave up and ate the apple before leaving.
Li Huowang's daily life was really dull since he was different. While the other patients had to fight their illnesses, Li Huowang didn't face such struggles.
After taking a nap, he went to the canteen to eat. After his dinner, he would normally watch the news with the others before going to sleep.
Even though the nurse appeared to have an easy time monitoring him, Li Huowang knew that it was taxing on them. Their gazes only broke off once Li Huowang was back in his room.
Li Huowang naturally lived in a single room, which had been retrofitted from one of the isolated rooms. There wasn't even a toothbrush in it to prevent all chances of him committing suicide.
There was nothing he could do and nothing to do, so he just lay on the bed. After staying here for so long, his bad habit of staying up late into the night had also changed.
However, as he tried to fall asleep, he was abruptly awakened by the soft sound of footsteps.
Chapter 847 - So?
After hearing the noises outside, Li Huowang chose not to make a scene. Instead, he opened his eyes and moved slowly to the door.
He held onto his handcuffs and waited. He would use the handcuffs to strangle them if they were an enemy.
Li Huowang waited and frowned until a voice came from the other side of the door. "Uh... Li Huowang!"
He carefully looked through the peephole and saw Zhao Ting in her hospital robes. She was glancing around nervously.
She looked much better than before. Zhao Ting looked at Li Huowang, her eyes now large and crystal clear. Her face was also much healthier and more vibrant now.
"Why are you here?" Li Huowang questioned Zhao Ting.
"Didn't you ask me to come? You said it was too conspicuous outside, so I came while everyone was asleep."
Li Huowang looked at the empty corridors and said, "Keep it short. There are patrols and cameras around. You will be in trouble if they find you."
"Yes!" Zhao Ting shivered as she hugged herself. It was so cold that she was tapping her feet. "As you said, the boss knows about your intentions. He wants to get you out before making a false identity for you."
"Hah. He's a sly one, but tell him I said no. I would never escape from a prison like this."
He didn't want to involve Zhao Ting in this. Li Huowang knew what kind of person Qing Wanglai was. After Qian Fu's death, Li Huowang understood Qing Wanglai's personality well.
While Qing Wanglai appeared kind, he was actually a very cold and calculative psycho. He did things based on pros and cons rather than emotions.
If Li Huowang escaped from prison, Qing Wanglai could use it to keep him under control.
If that were the case, Li Huowang would be doomed to be Qing Wanglai's pawn for the rest of his life.
Li Huowang noticed that Zhao Ting was also conflicted. She didn't know what to do. "If you can't decide on your own, ask Qing Wanglai to come and talk to me personally!"
He had been itching to ask Qing Wanglai why he was the one who was fighting on the front lines, all while Qing Wanglai never showed up at all.
If Qing Wanglai was both cold and fearful of death, then Li Huowang had no intentions of allying himself with such a Siming.
To Li Huowang, Zhao Shuangdian was more friendly. He didn't mind contacting her instead.
Wait, if Qing Wanglai's projection is the Three Ancient Ones, then which Siming is Zhao Shuangdian?
Li Huowang clearly remembered that Ba-Hui's siblings followed her. What kind of Siming could give orders to Ba-Hui?
Li Huowang tried to recall, but none of the Simings really matched her.
"Um..." Zhao Ting's quiet voice pulled him back to reality. "I will have to go and ask. I can't decide on my own."
"Go. You never should've been involved in this to begin with."
As Zhao Ting turned to leave, Li Huowang called out and said, "Wait, I have one more thing to ask."
"Hm?"
He stared at her face and became solemn. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "I've been wondering... can depression be cured? I have a friend who has been battling it, and her condition recently became worse. I'm worried."
"How bad is it?"
"I..." Li Huowang grimaced as he remembered Yang Na. "I don't know. I haven't seen her in a long time. I only heard that she was trying to commit suicide."
"Then it should still be around the medium range of severity. It's not the worst." Zhao Ting explained. "If it were the severe kind, she wouldn't even think about suicide. Her mind would be in a perpetual haze."
Li Huowang sighed in relief and said, "Is your recovery going well? Is your depression getting better?"
Zhao Ting bit her lips as she pondered. "When it comes to people at the medium range of severity, their symptoms should alleviate as long as they take their medicine on time and have a competent doctor. However, the worst part of depression is that any pent-up negative emotions could trigger a relapse.
"As for the severe cases... I don't know anything about them. I've just heard the doctors mention that severe cases require the patients to rebuild their psyches, which sounds very difficult."
Li Huowang nodded after hearing Zhao Ting's explanation. If Yang Na's symptoms remained the same after he got out, then Li Huowang would have to find a way to transfer her to Yi Donglai's care.
Even though Yi Donglai was a pain to deal with, Li Huowang had to admit that Yi Donglai was a responsible doctor. If Yang Na could accept his treatment, she would be cured before long.
Having experienced mental illness himself, he didn't find it that scary. The thought of Yang Na relapsing didn't scare him either. If needed, he would be there for her and take care of her for the rest of his life.
Tap tap tap tap~ The sound of rapid footsteps came from the corridor and interrupted both of them. The sudden arrival of people surprised Zhao Ting.
"Quick! Hide!" Li Huowang hissed. "Don't go there! There are cameras over there!"
Zhao Ting had barely escaped when Li Huowang lay down on the bed. From his position, he observed Yi Donglai and the other nurses opening the door to his room. "Li Huowang, who were you talking to?"
Li Huowang rubbed his eyes and crawled out of his bed, annoyed. "What are you talking about? Why are you here so late at night instead of sleeping?"
Yi Donglai left the room and took out a recorder concealed above the door frame. Li Huowang's voice came out from the recorder with the press of a button. "Quick! Hide! Don't go there! There are cameras over there!"
Li Huowang remained silent.
"Did you really think I wouldn't know? Do you think I'm letting you roam freely just for the sake of it?"
Yi Donglai pressed a button on Li Huowang's leg cuffs. A small memory card popped out. "Zhao Ting, Gao Jingyun, and Zhang Shuier. Am I right? These are the three people who contacted you these last few days."
Li Huowang remained silent.
"You talked to them for quite some time. Didn't you realize something was wrong? Li Huowang!" Yi Donglai charged towards Li Huowang and glared at him. "Do you still not realize?
"You are ill, but you are not stupid! They are patients of Kangning Hospital, but we are in the White Tower Hospital! How could they possibly be here?"
Li Huowang's pupils widened with shock as a sudden realization struck him. "Wait... so Qing Wanglai didn't send anyone to rescue me? He actually gave up on me?"
Chapter 848 - Xiaoman
Chun Xiaoman took out three incense sticks and lit them using a candle.
She swung them to extinguish the fire before kneeling on a cushion. Then, raising the three incense sticks high up onto her head, she started praying to the statue in front of her.
The Heavenly Mater had completely changed. She was now an old lady with a cane, sitting on a conjoined lotus seat with a red dot on her forehead and a smile filled with mercy.
The statue was made of stone, but her devotees had colored it and given the Heavenly Mater some semblance of life.
"Oh great and merciful Heavenly Mater, may the disciples reach the Void Home after death to serve you forever..."
She prayed earnestly before placing the incense sticks into the incense burner and retreated from the hall.
Outside the prayer hall was naturally the large hall of the White Lotus Sect. Chun Xiaoman was covered from head to toe in long black hair, but none of them treated her as an outsider.
In the White Lotus Sect, every member was treated with equal respect, as if they were brothers and sisters. Making fun of someone's exterior was taboo in the White Lotus Sect.
Chun Xiaoman was also one of the bravest fighters of the White Lotus Sect. She fought on the front lines throughout the war with the Dharma Sect, and her unique appearance had left a strong impression on the other sect members.
Chun Xiaoman bowed and greeted everyone who was smiling at her.
When she began learning the techniques of the White Lotus Sect, she didn't give it much thought. She did it because she wanted to help Bai Lingmiao and have the strength to protect Cowheart Village.
However, her attitude changed after leaving the village and joining the White Lotus Sect.
Chun Xiaoman liked it here. It felt more like home to her. She had always doubted herself and thought she was a mistake born into this world. However, she had changed.
It wasn't just that her siblings and friends were here—she also had faith in the Heavenly Mater now.
Chun Xiaoman had long resolved to work diligently for the White Lotus Sect, forever.
She left the hall and walked towards the alleyway where the White Lotus Sect members lived. While they were poor, they weren't in shambles.
Even the houses without roofs were appropriately cleaned. No one locked their doors there because no one would steal from one another.
Everyone was kind and treated each other with respect. If anyone needed help, they would just shout, and everyone in the alley would help. It was like a perfect world.
"Sister Xiaoman! Sister Xiaoman!" Several children wearing tattered clothes ran and circled her.
Even though they were beggars, they were still the beggars of the White Lotus Sect. "Sister Xiaoman, where did you go? We didn't see you for days. We missed you."
"I just came from Si Qi. It's very far from here, and my journey got delayed," Xiaoman explained patiently.
She looked at them and recalled her past self. "Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? Let me get you something."
The children jumped with glee as they pulled Chun Xiaoman out of the alley. "Wait, let me grab my veil."
They arrived at the city's eastern section, which was bustling with people. Each child now held a scallion pancake in their hands, happily eating it. Chun Xiaoman scratched the back of the children's heads and told them to eat slowly.
Since she swore not to get married, she would naturally bear no children. Puppy's incident with his baby pushed this notion further. Still, she didn't mind it. Chun Xiaoman would treat the children in the White Lotus Sect as her own. The White Lotus Sect had everything she needed.
She saw one of the children biting on the scallion pancake while staring at a cart filled with several vases.
Chun Xiaoman approached and hugged the child even though the latter was dirty. "What's wrong? Do you want to eat that? Let me buy it for you."
The child looked at the eldest beggar before shaking her head. "No need. I just want a pancake."
"Don't worry. Even though I donated most of my assets to the White Lotus Sect, I still have enough money to buy some snacks for you all," Chun XIaoman said, bringing them to the cart.
She stood in front of the cart and addressed the seller, "Hey, what are you selling?"
The skinny man had a plaster on his forehead. He opened one of the jars and showed them its contents. "These are some rare items I bought from the Tianyi Pavilion."
Chun Xiaoman looked down and saw that the jars contained fruit peels soaked in water. "Fruit peels? Are you sure you didn't just pick them up from the trash cans in the Tianyi Pavilion? Why are you selling these?"
"Hey, what are you talking about? My friend is working there. He's responsible for cutting up all sorts of things, and these fruit peels are clean! Ten coins per bunch!"
Chun Xiaoman saw it as a scam. "Ten coins? I could buy a bowl of noodles with that money! Are you insane?"
"Can't you see that I'm soaking them in sugar water? Also, don't you know what season it is? These are more expensive than gold because they were planted in a greenhouse."
"Sister Xiaoman, let's go. I don't want to eat them anymore."
"Sister Xiaoman, let's go. A single pancake is enough."
Chun Xiaoman stared at their faces before taking out a piece of fragmented silver.
The skinny vendor was elated as he carried one of the vases down from his cart.
Just then, the eldest beggar walked up and said thoughtfully, "Sister Xiaoman, we don't want them. These things are too expensive, and we are already fools. We cannot waste your money like this."
"It's alright. It's just some fruit peels."
Soon enough, the children received the strips of fruit peels. They were really happy, tasting the different types of fruit peels and comparing them to see which was more delicious.
Chun Xiaoman smiled happily when she saw how happy they were. "I always wanted to eat these when I was younger, but my father would only buy them for my brothers. My sister and I could only watch from the side."
Chun Xiaoman suddenly remembered something and laughed. "That said, my sister and I had to find a way to satisfy our cravings. We would fill two bamboo pieces with watermelon seeds that people spat out. They were delicious once we had dried them."
However, she felt solemn when she remembered something else.
Her train of thought was interrupted by one of the children. "Sister Xiaoman, have this. This is a watermelon peel. It's delicious."
She bit into the peel and felt a sweetness in her heart as she looked at the smiling child. Chun Xiaoman smiled again.
"Sister Xiaoman, try this! This is a persimmon peel!"
As they happily enjoyed these small treats, Chun Xiaoman noticed a group of Lamas. Chun Xiaoman remembered them. They were the mummified Lamas of the Antrabhara Temple.
However, she was confused about why they were headed towards the hall of the White Lotus Sect.
Chapter 849 - Invitation
"That's strange. Why is the Antrabhara Temple seeking out the White Lotus Sect?" Chun Xiaoman was worried, so she said goodbye to the children before quietly following the Lamas.
She quickened her pace when she saw that the Lamas were headed towards the residence of Bai Lingmiao. The Lamas probably wouldn't fight in the city, but Chun Xiaoman still felt uneasy.
As she was drawing nearer, a sense of dread washed over her, as though death itself was inching closer. Her scalp went numb, and her fingers froze in place.
Struggling, she attempted to draw her serrated sword from her waist so she could employ her techniques. However, her limbs remained frozen—she could not move at all.
At that moment, Chun Xiaoman caught sight of someone's head in front of her. At first, she assumed it belonged to one of the Lamas, but to her surprise, it was her own!
Is that me in front? Then who am I?
Chun Xiaoman shivered. She looked down and was shocked—there was nothing there!
I'm... dead? Is this my soul?
The feeling retreated as fast as it had come. When one of the Lamas walked past her. Xiaoman crashed into her own back uncontrollably, and she woke up.
She touched her body and stared at the Lamas with fear.
Their techniques are too bizarre! What are they doing here? Chun Xiaoman picked up her pace and ran towards Bai Lingmiao's residence. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
"Miaomiao, are you alright?" Chun Xiaoman urgently asked Bai Lingmiao, who was seated on her lotus throne.
Bai Lingmiao lightly shook her head and remained calm as if nothing unusual had happened.
"The Antrabhara Temple asked us to bring a statue of the Heavenly Mater to them. They needed a new deity after the death of Da Heitian, so I agreed."
Bai Lingmiao had no reason to stop another person from devoting to the Heavenly Mater, especially since it was also the latter's intention.
Besides, the Antrabhara Temple would also provide some of their techniques as payment.
In the future, the White Lotus Sect could use not only its own techniques but also part of the Heavenly Dao of Death, just like the Lamas from the Antrabhara Temple.
However, the techniques of the Antrabhara Temple were rumored to be extremely hard to learn. Thankfully, the White Lotus Sect had many devotees, so they could just pick from the large pool of devotees.
Chun Xiaoman sighed after learning that Bai Lingmiao was okay. She had almost called the other sect members to intercept the Lamas.
"But Miaomiao, why do they want a statue of the Heavenly Mater?"
No matter how Chun Xiaoman looked at it, the White Lotus Sect had nothing to lose and earned much more than expected from the negotiation. She believed that it was too good to be true.
As the Saintess, Bai Lingmiao naturally knew more than the others, especially since she learned a few things from Suisui. However, she didn't know how to explain it to Chun Xiaoman since it was related to the Heavenly Daos. Simply telling the truth to Chun Xiaoman could be bad.
"Hmm... How should I explain this to you..." As Bai Lingmiao was worrying over the matter, a devotee barged in.
"Saintess, the Emperor wishes to see you."
Both Bai Lingmiao and Chun Xiaoman were confused. They didn't know why Gao Zhijian was looking for them.
Nevertheless, they had to go. He had once traveled with them. Without any hesitation, Bai Lingmiao stepped outside.
"Let me accompany you." Chun Xiaoman was worried, so she followed Bai Lingmiao.
They got into an intricate carriage. The wheels, covered in bronze, started turning as they were ushered to the palace.
However, when they reached the gates, the carriage did not stop and continued inside. None of the guards stopped them. The carriage stopped in front of a grand palace before Bai Lingmiao disembarked.
Bai Lingmiao frowned when she looked at the building. It seemed like a place for discussing official matters rather than reminiscing about old memories.
"Let's go." Bai Lingmiao lifted her white skirt as her white shoes touched the smooth marble floor. She walked into the palace without fear.
The palace was empty, but Bai Lingmiao could clearly see with her mind's eye[1] that several people were having a meal in the middle of the hall.
She saw the Emperor of the Liang Kingdom, the Khan of Qing Qiu, the Emperor of Si Qi, the Emperor of Hou Shu, and the Emperor of Nan Ping. All five Emperors related to the Dragon Veins were gathered in the middle of the hall.
They turned their gazes toward Bai Lingmiao, and she felt a massive pressure on her.
Gao Zhijian placed his wine cup down and happily pointed at the space beside him. "Senior Bai, come. Let's talk and eat at the same time."
Gao Zhijian was slightly startled when he saw Chun Xiaoman. He raised his wine glass and toasted the Emperor of Hou Shu.
The meal of the Emperors was a stark difference from the outside world. It included steamed chicken soup, stir-fried bamboo shoots, Fotiaoqiang, winter melon fish balls, stir-fried crab yolk with shark fins and osmanthus, and braised scallops with mushrooms.
The dishes were unparalleled and couldn't be compared to the food outside. The best chefs of the Liang Kingdom were all hired by the palace.
When she looked at the delicious meals on the table, Chun Xiaoman remembered the beggars eating the fruit peels. She became upset.
Even the things thrown out from the palace were rare food the commoners could barely afford. And yet, the emperors didn't pay much attention to the meals, regardless of how delicious they were.
Bai Lingmiao sat down and recalled what she had seen when entering the hall. They were already eating before we arrived here. It doesn't seem like he wants to treat us to a meal.
"Here, let me give a toast to the Saintess. Your hard work was paramount in ending the Natural Disaster." Gao Zhijian and the other emperors raised their wine glasses in unison.
Bai Lingmiao raised her own glass and toasted each of them before sipping on her wine.
The bitter wine did not affect Bai Lingmiao at all. She placed down the cup and asked directly, "Gao Zhijian, just tell us what you need. We're all the same, and we traveled together for a long time."
"Hahaha!" Gao Zhijian laughed. "That's true. We did escape Zephyr Temple together in the past. I somehow miss the days when we were eating and camping outdoors. Since we are all friends here, I won't beat the bush around anymore. I'm here to treat you to a meal and talk about the White Lotus Sect."
1. The relic that restored her sight. ☜