"You want me to lie to her!" Li Huowang spat out his words from the gaps of his teeth.
"And what's wrong with that? Do you dare to look down on lying? We can use it for both evil and good! If you do as I say, then at most, you would just be telling a little white lie," said Hong Zhong.
Seeing this, Monk sighed and pulled the excited Hong Zhong away from Li Huowang.
On the other hand, when she sensed that something was wrong, Bai Lingmiao's voice became a lot more gentle, "Senior Li?"
She extended her soft white palm and carefully caressed Li Huowang's charred fingers. "Senior Li, don't think about it too much. You must be tired after traveling for so long. Rest now. We can talk tomorrow."
After saying that, Bai Lingmiao carefully held Li Huowang's hands until he reached the bed. She was not the slightest bit afraid of his horrifying looks and just let him sleep in her bed.
As he lay down, Li Huowang took a light breath. The smooth silk sheets and the rice husk pillow were both filled with Bai Lingmiao's scent. ๐๐๐๐๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ป๐๐๐๐น.๐๐จ๐
"Senior Li, you were completely soaked in the rain earlier. Let me make some ginger soup for you to stave off the chills," said Bai Lingmiao as she stood up and headed to the kitchen.
However, at that moment, Li Huowang raised his hand and caught her wrist. "Miaomiao, can I ask you a question? What were the members of Bai family like in your eyes?"
"My family? All of them were good. They all helped each other and never argued with each other," said Bai Lingmiao matter-of-factly. Then, she suddenly asked, "Senior Li, why are you asking me this?"
"Was there anything weird going on with your family?" continued Li Huowang.
"No, but for some reason all my family members would enter the ancestral hall quite frequently. When I was younger, I wanted to take a look at what it looked like on the inside. Back then, I kept pestering my grandfather to let me see it, but he said that I can't go inside because I'm a girl," explained Bai Lingmiao.
As she spoke, Bai Lingmiao suddenly caught on to something and covered her mouth with her hands. "Senior Li, did you find them? Where are they? Are my parents still fine?"
Li Huowang tried to take deep breaths, but the pressure within his heart was still there. He really wanted to do as Hong Zhong told him so that nothing would change, but he just couldn't do it.
"Miaomiao, I'm sorry. They are all dead. I killed all of them," said Li Huowang.
Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao immediately froze up like a statue.
Li Huowang continued to lay on the bed as he carefully and slowly told her everything that had happened.
As she continued to listen, Bai Lingmiao remained silent, but her hands grew colder and colder.
When Li Huowang finished telling her the truth, the room turned silent. Only the sound of rain could be heard.
After a while, Bai Lingmiao's white lashes fluttered and tears started streaming down her eyes. Her voice trembled as she spoke, "Senior Li, did I do something wrong? Why did you murder my entire village?"
Li Huowang recalled everything Bai Lingmiao had done for him and everyone, how she sold her gold anklet to secure money for their travels, how she cried every time he got hurt, and how she looked forward to getting back home.
"I don't know why. I just felt cold and wanted to start a fire. I really just wanted to start a fire to warm myself up..." Li Huowang kept repeating over and over.
Bai Lingmiao's face showed fear as she suddenly pulled her hand from his and slowly backed away.
She suddenly sprinted toward the door, but Li Huowang caught her and hugged her from behind.
With this, Bai Lingmiao finally broke down. She cried and struggled, her fists landing on Li Huowang's body as she screamed. She even turned around and bit into his charred body, ripping off some scabs.
However, when she saw the blood flowing out from Li Huowang's body, she clasped her hands over her face and cried loudly as she slowly slid onto the ground.
Soon, both of them turned silent. One of them was standing still while the other was crying on the ground.
As Li Huowang silently looked at Bai Lingmiao's white hair, no one knew what he was thinking about.
They remained there for a long time until the room slowly became dark.
Still sobbing, Bai Lingmiao finally stood up when it was night. She didn't even look at Li Huowang as she headed for the exit.
Li Huowang stopped her again. "No, this is Cowheart Village, your home. The one who should leave is me."
After that, Li Huowang didn't say anything as he directly left. He didn't even want to defend his actions.
"You already knew that your relationship with her would be over once you told her the truth. Why do you still do that?"
Li Huowang's face was as still as a wooden doll as he ignored the illusions.
"Do you regret not telling her a white lie instead?"
"A lie is a lie! There's nothing like a kind lie or an evil lie! I will take responsibility for my actions! I will not lie to her!" shouted Li Huowang, his sudden outburst scaring the others.
"Senior Li, why are you leaving when you just got back? Miaomiao is worried about you. At the very least, you should consider her feelings, right?" asked Chun Xiaoman.
"Take care of her. Live a stable life here. This world is too chaotic, and you all should just stay here and not move anywhere," said Li Huowang before moving toward the exit.
As Li Huowang passed through the village, more and more people gathered around him. By the time he finally arrived at the entrance of the village, their entire group was gathered around him.
"Senior Li, where are you going? Should we follow you?" asked someone.
"Stand there! Don't follow me!" shouted Li Huowang, causing all of them to be rooted in place.
Drenched in the still falling rain, he turned around. He looked at everyone before taking a deep breath and shouted, "Scram! Don't come any closer! We are done sending everyone's ashes back to their homes! Even the final words that all of them entrusted to me have been sent to their families! I've fulfilled all of the promises, so what else do you want me to do?! Do all of you see the wounds on my body? I've already done enough for all of you! I'm tired! Do you bunch of freaks want to drag me down for the rest of my entire life?!"
When he saw the pained expressions on all of their faces, Li Huowang turned around and ran away. He wasn't sure whether his face was wet from the rain or due to his tears. He had already made his decision while on the way back to the village.
He couldn't stay with them. The closer he was to them, the more afraid he was that he would burn all of them down like he did the Bai family.
A lunatic who didn't know what he would do was fearsome enough, but a lunatic with supernatural powers was even worse.
Chapter 311 - Lunatic
After departing from the Cowheart Village, Li Huowang silently walked down a muddy path.
As he walked through the rain, the paper clothes and skin became damp from the rain and slowly fell onto the ground in a mush.
Currently, Li Huowang has buds of fleshy growth growing from his burnt skin. As the rain fell onto these buds, it caused Li Huowang intense pain. Even so, he did not try to avoid it. He just took it all.
Soon, the rain stopped and the skies gradually grew brighter.
Finally, Li Huowang stopped when he saw an abandoned temple. He hadn't slept for a few days and was really tired.
Standing in front of the temple, he looked at the broken sign and the couplets covered in moss. Even though the couplets were faded, he could faintly read the words inscribed on it.
"Nothing is set in stone, everything is done by another man; your state of mind is within your control, take a step back and feel it expand."
After reading the couplet, Li Huowang entered without a word. The temple wasn't all that large. Other than a clay statue that was cut in half, everything else had been taken away from inside it.
The roof was leaking and there was water everywhere. Li Huowang stood at the only corner without a leak and stared at the rain that was dripping into the temple.
"See, you didn't listen to me and now you are alone. You should have just listened to me," said Hong Zhong as he circled around Li Huowang with a face full of glee.
On the other hand, Monk walked over and consoled Li Huowang. "Don't be too sad. This was not your fault. You didn't want to kill them. You can just do more good deeds and pray to Amitabha. Buddha will not blame you."
However, Li Huowang completely ignored the two illusions. He kept thinking about how he had become a beggar within the hallucination as well as Bai Lingmiao's cold eyes.
Not only did his family abandon him, but he was also the one who caused Bai Lingmiao to no longer have a family. He was nothing but a walking disaster.
Jiang~
After a while, he unsheathed his sword and stared at his reflection.
At that moment, a question popped within his mind.
Why do people live? Since my life is already so miserable, what use is it for me to remain alive?
In an instant, everything turned quiet as Jin Shanzhao, Peng Longteng, Monk, and Hong Zhong all surrounded Li Huowang.
"Hey hey hey, what are you thinking? Li, calm down," said Hong Zhong as he tried to calm Li Huowang down in a panic.
"Yeah. Daoist, why are you doing this? If you really think that there's no meaning to life anymore, then you can become a monk instead. Why do you seek death?" said Monk.
Meanwhile, the silent Peng Longteng moved as she gestured at him with her headless body, trying to show that she really looked down on him.
On the other hand, Jin Shanzhao, who always had his mouth open but couldn't speak, had shut his mouth as he stared at Li Huowang worriedly.
However, Li Huowang ignored all of them and examined the blade of his sword. He had never looked back on his life as intensely as he had right now.
"Aiya, it's just a girl. There's no need to worry about anything; even if you don't have all of them, you still have us!" Hong Zhong smiled and pointed at himself.
Hearing this, Li Huowang finally snapped. He snarled and slashed Hong Zhong's body, causing the clay statue behind Hong Zhong to be split in half.
Cold steel flashed within the abandoned temple as Li Huowang sliced mercilessly and wildly at the faceless Hong Zhong, the headless Peng Longteng, the bodiless Jin Shanzhao, and the merciful Monk.
But no matter how sharp the blade was and no matter how hard Li Huowang swung it, he still couldn't hurt them.
"You guys! It's because of you! What are you!? Why do you keep following me!?" Li Huowang roared in anger.
"WHY AM I A STRAYED ONE?! WHY AM I THE ONE WHO IS ILL?! WHY ME?! WHAT DID I DO WRONG? WHY COULDN'T IT BE THE OTHERS? I JUST WANT TO LIVE PEACEFULLY! WHY IS THIS SO HARD?!!"
He swung his sword again and again until he stumbled, sending the sword flying away.
He fell onto the ground and stopped moving. He was tired, too tired.
He was sleepy, but he couldn't fall asleep. His head kept pulsing nonstop.
At that moment, Hong Zhong slowly approached and consoled him, "Don't worry. All you need to do is listen to me and I will be able to trick many women for you."
However, Li Huowang did not react to him. All he did was lay on the ground without even blinking his eyes. ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐๐จ๐๐ฏ๐๐๐ง๐๐น.๐ฐ๐ผ๐
Soon, his surroundings started to distort and shift. When Li Huowang snapped back to reality, he saw that he was lying face down underneath the bridge. It was extremely humid and cold.
When he realized what was happening, Li Huowang chuckled bitterly. "Hehe... Heh."
He chuckled and laughed until he felt very thirsty. At that point, he stood up and started walking toward the river.
Due to the rain, the water level had risen. After reaching the river bank, he lay down on the ground and dunked his head into the water to drink some of it. When he had drunk his fill, he felt very hungry. He stood up, wiped his face, and walked out from under the bridge.
After the rain, the sky was clear and the air was crisp. There were many people walking around on the streets too.
However, when Li Huowang appeared on the streets, no one walked within a radius of five meters around him. His clothes were in tatters and he was very dirty.
"It's that lunatic again. What are the urban management officers doing?"
"Shh. Don't let him hear you. His ears are very sharp."
"He's also someone pitiable."
Li Huowang just ignored all of them as he continued to search for something on the streets. After a while, he stopped beside a trash can. Then, he opened the lid and looked inside, trying to find some food.
People nowadays were quite wasteful. Soon, Li Huowang found two cups of unfinished boba tea and a single vegetarian bun with a chunk bitten off from it.
Snap!
At that moment, a sudden flash of light occurred as a man put his phone down from beside Li Huowang. The man was smoking as he uploaded the photo he had just taken. "Hey, look! It's the new beggar model."
Meanwhile, Li Huowang, after finding several cold skewers in the trash can, started walking back toward the area underneath the bridge while eating them.
Several youths ran past him. All of them were laughing and pointing at him when suddenly one of them threw a pebble and shouted, "Hahaha! Hey you crazy bastard. Do you want a smoke?"
Seeing this, Li Huowang suddenly grinned and started laughing. "Hahaha! You are right! I'm indeed crazy! I'm just a lunatic!"
Chapter 312 - Li Huowang
Li Huowang waved his food as he leaped onto a parked car. Immediately the car's alarm started blaring.
"I'm a lunatic! I'm mentally ill!" shouted Li Huowang, his voice spreading out far and wide.
Li Huowang's behavior soon attracted everyone's attention. When the owner of the car ran over with a broom to brush Li Huowang away from his car, more and more people started gathering around them.
On the other hand, Li Huowang just kept laughing maniacally, stopping only when he spotted a cute little girl. He saw that the girl's mother was dragging her far away from him.
The little girl was wearing a cherry hair clip.
When he saw her, the maniacal expression on Li Huowang's face slowly dulled down, gradually replaced by pain.
After a while, he jumped down from the car and left with his food, completely ignoring the car owner who was beating him with the broom.
Back underneath the bridge, Li Huowang refilled the cup of boba tea with some river water and drank it. Then, he ate the bun. It tasted weird from being spoiled, but he didn't care. He didn't want to know what he was eating on the other side either.
Li Huowang ate the bun quite slowly, savoring its taste.
"Uncle?"
Hearing the voice, Li Huowang turned around and saw a little girl in a white dress standing beside the bridge. The sunlight reflected off her dress and made her look like she was glowing.
As Li Huowang looked at her face, he unconsciously called out, "Eighteenth Lunar?"
The little girl was visibly afraid and hesitantly said, "I'm... I'm not Eighteenth Lunar. My name is Liu Yuhuan, and my mother calls me Huanhuan."
When Liu Yuhuan saw Li Huowang stand up, she took a few steps back. Then, she hastily opened her bag, took out a piece of paper, placed it on the ground, and then placed something else on the paper. After that, she took one hurried glance at Li Huowang and ran away.
Li Huowang approached the paper and saw that it was a bag of buns. The buns were shaped like the faces of pigs, something that would be quite appealing to children.
After a moment, Li Huowang smiled, took the bag, opened it up, and started eating the buns.
The buns were warm, a clear indication that they were freshly baked. These weren't her leftovers but something she bought specially for him.
Li Huowang sat down and carefully ate the meat-filled buns. They were delicious.
As Li Huowang munched on the buns, his surroundings once again started shimmering. He soon found himself sitting on the side of a muddy road while eating a mudball.
"Hehe..." Li Huowang shook his head in defeat as he finished the mud ball.
After finishing his meal, Li Huowang returned to the temple and picked up his sword under the gaze of the four illusions.
Just then, Li Huowang heard the sound of footsteps and a horse-carriage. He was quite familiar with those footsteps.
"Miaomiao?!" Li Huowang ran out with his sword, only to see someone unexpected.
It was the Second Deity.
Even though the rain had stopped at this point, the Second Deity's red veil was wet. Tears were streaming down from underneath the red veil.
Li Huowang stood in front of the temple with a complicated look on his face. He stared at the horse carriage for a moment and then turned to the Second Deity and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Woof woof!"
At that moment, Bun squeezed out from the back of the horse carriage, shook the rain water off its fur, and happily ran over to Li Huowang. As it excitedly jumped on Li Huowang, it left behind many muddy pawprints on his shirt.
Just then, the Second Deity removed the tarp covering the horse carriage, allowing Li Huowang to see the Black Taisui that was being bound inside the carriage. Then, she took the horse carriage and held Li Huowang with her cold hands before leading him into the temple.
Once they were back at the only dry spot within the temple, the Second Deity used a towel to wipe Li Huowang dry. Then, she took out new clothes and shoes from within the horse carriage and handed them to him.
After the Second Deity waited for Li Huowang to wear his shirt, she took out his old red Daoist robe and donned it on Li Huowang.
Just as the Second Deity lowered her head to help Li Huowang tie his belt, Li Huowang extended his hands and pulled off the red veil.
At that moment, Li Huowang saw the Second Deity's face blossom like a flower.
The Second Deity's face was like a flower covered in snake scales, porcupine quills, and many other animalistic features. And in the middle of the flower was a face, half of which resembled Bai Lingmiao's face. She was crying as she looked at Li Huowang. The other half resembled a fox-like creature. With time, her face shifted and her facial organs twisted and turned. Sometimes, the face would look more human-like, while at other times it looked more like a beast. Even the number of eyes changed.
The Second Deity hugged Li Huowang lightly, but eventually tightened her grip. "Husband."
As she spoke, the Second Deity reached behind Li Huowang and carefully pried open his palm to let the sword fall from his grip. She then removed the white cloth wrapped around her wrist and used it to carefully cover Li Huowang's eyes which didn't have any eyelids.
"Husband, we will wait for you. We will wait until you've been treated," said the Second Deity.
Hearing those words, Li Huowang finally hugged her back. He looked at her feline eyes and hugged her even tighter.
This bizarre world was a pit of despair to many. Li Huowang's life thus far had been steeped in pain.
Even so, no one truly wanted to die. Sometimes, all it took was one pull from someone to save a person's life.
The Second Deity eventually left, but not before handing over the horse carriage with the Black Taisui and Bun to Li Huowang.
After the Second Deity left, Li Huowang sat on the ground as he stared at the ceiling. A long time passed before he once again picked up his sword.
Looking at his face through the reflection on his sword, he snarled and stabbed it into the air, aiming right at a black pigeon.
"Wait, a pigeon?"
Just as Li Huowang was thinking about what it was, the pigeon flew down and landed on Li Huowang's shoulder. He then saw that there was a small letter tied to the leg of the black pigeon.
When he opened the letter, he saw that there was a symbol at the top. Li Huowang thought that the symbol looked like an eye under the character of Heaven. As he read its contents, he was shocked and quickly rode the horse carriage away from the temple.
The letter was from Tuoba Danqing. He was telling Li Huowang to once again meet him at Yinling City, at the same place.
Li Huowang then remembered his plan. He needed to find out more about Bei Feng through the Surveillance Bureau.
At that moment, a strong sense of unwillingness surged up from deep within his heart and suppressed all his pain.
"Bun, let's go! This fucking place won't kill me that easily! Since I have nothing to lose, I'm not afraid of anything! Even if I die, I'm going to gouge a chunk of flesh out of death itself before going down! Iย willย get rid of my status as a Strayed One! And then... And then I will finally..."
Chapter 313 - Yinling City
Still wearing his veil, Li Huowang controlled the horse carriage while walking amongst the crowd. Yinling City was still just as prosperous as he remembered. No one paid attention to him.
On the other hand, Bun, who was afraid of the crowd, was currently hiding under the horse carriage as it slowly moved forward.
Once Li Huowang arrived at the inn from before, he took some of the broken pieces of silver from the horse carriage and paid for a room.
The horse carriage had everything he might have needed. This included not only silver and clothes, but even dry rations.
After a while, Li Huowang opened the tarp and checked on the bound Black Taisui. He then took a piece of jerky and shoved it into the Black Taisui's sticky body. After that, he took out a knife and cut a portion of the Black Taisui and ate it. While it was disgusting, he was used to it.
By now, he had eaten a lot, but the Black Taisui's size remained almost the same.
After inspecting the cow tendons that were tying the Black Taisui down, Li Huowang talked to it, "Can you hear me? Can you repeat what I'm saying?"
However, the Black Taisui did not respond to his questions and just continued to undulate its disgusting body, expelling gunks out from within its body. There wasn't even a reaction.
Lost in thought, Li Huowang patted his own abdomen.
Maybe only the piece of Black Taisui inside my stomach can talk? Or maybe it's only because my hearing is so sharp that I can hear it?
He didn't know whether it was normal or not because he hadn't encountered anyone else who had eaten a Black Taisui.
After a while, he covered the horse carriage and talked to Bun instead, "Make sure you guard it well. If the Black Taisui moves or if someone gets close to it, you have to bark loudly. I can hear you even from my room."
"Woof woof!" Bun shook its tail.
Li Huowang patted Bun's head and walked into the inn.
Once inside, Li Huowang opened the window and looked down at the prosperous city before taking a book out from within his clothes.
Li Huowang didn't know whether the Black Taisui inside his stomach could learn from him like this, but he felt that there was no harm in trying.
In fact, if the Black Taisui could talk to him, then he might even be able to benefit from it. Even if it couldn't help Li Huowang directly, it would already be very helpful if it didn't do anything else and just sat quietly inside his stomach.
"All humans are kind in the beginning, but their behavior changes according to their environment..."
As he spoke, a black tentacle sprouted out from his belly button, shook around, and then retreated back.
"Lychee, this is a lychee," said Li Huowang as he peeled the fruit, "Eat."
He then placed the translucent fruit into his mouth.
"No, it's not kill, but eat."
When the other houses lit up their lights, Li Huowang finally felt that the time was right and walked out. He came to where he previously drank with Tuoba Danqing. When he walked in, he was immediately guided by a server.
It was clear that Tuoba Danqing had instructed the server beforehand as the moment Li Huowang sat down, delicious food was served.
Li Huowang waited in the room for a while before he heard Tuoba Danqing's unique laughter.
"Hehe~ Junior Er, long time no see." The door opened with a creak and Tuoba Danqing walked in. He was wearing a robe made from brocade silk. "No need to stand up. Please sit. We are all brothers here, and so there's no need to be courteous."
As Tuoba Danqing walked in and closed the door, Li Huowang removed his veil.
Tuoba Danqing's eyes revealed a myriad of emotions when he saw Li Huowang's charred skin behind the bronze coil veil. Even so, he managed to hold it all in and didn't say anything. He just laughed and poured a cup for himself. "Come, drink with me."
However, after learning how Tuoba Danqing did stuff, Li Huowang was no longer hasty. Slowly, Li Huowang drank his fill of wine. Thankfully, he had drunk a lot of water beforehand, and thus didn't get drunk that easily.
After drinking and eating, Tuoba Danqing coughed lightly, signaling that he was about to start talking about business. "Junior Er, about the mirror you asked... I managed to find the owner. The member of the Sitting Oblivion Dao fooled a blind person to acquire it from him."
"Oh? Is he a blind old man with the surname Chen?" asked Li Huowang.
"Huh? How did you know?" questioned Tuoba Danqing, puzzled.
Seeing the man's response, Li Huowang took a quick glance at Hong Zhong's illusion. As he had thought, that member of the Sitting Oblivion Dao had even used the fake identity he stole from someone.
"Junior Er, the man in question said that he can't teach you how to use the mirror, but if you return to him, then he can trade it back with a talisman guidebook," said Tuoba Danqing.
"What kind of talisman guidebook?" asked Li Huowang.
"He told me that the guidebook contains various chants and methods to draw different talismans. If you are able to master it completely, then you would be able to do many things related to fortune-telling and healing," Tuoba Danqing chuckled slyly as he explained, "But I have a feeling that he's lying. The book might be useful, but it's probably not as good as he is making it out to be."
After a moment of thought, Li Huowang took out the mirror. He had no idea what to do because he was inexperienced in these matters.
Thus, he looked at Tuoba Danqing. "Senior Tuoba, could you guide me about what I should do?"
Tuoba Danqing was someone who was experienced in dealing with the Jianghu, and so he sought out the man's advice.
Hearing Li Huowang's request, Tuoba Dangqing picked up a piece of glistening fish and placed it in his mouth. "Hmm... I think you should agree to the exchange. Even though he didn't tell me, it was clear to me that the mirror was something precious to him. If you don't give it to him, then he might come and look for you himself. Plus, even though the mirror is good, it's useless to you as a member of the Ao Jing Sect. As long as you have the resolution to harm yourself and use the Profound Records, you don't even need it. On the other hand, there might be some unique talismans recorded in the guidebook that could cover the weaknesses of the Ao Jing Sect's methods. Additionally, in these chaotic times, it's always good to have an extra ally. Maybe the blind man could even help you out next time."
Li Huowang carefully considered the advice and found that it was indeed quite helpful. "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Tuoba."
"No need to be so courteous. If you want to thank me, then you can just let me in on some good stuff in the future," said Tuoba as he raised his cup for a toast. ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐๐จ๐๐ฏ๐๐๐ง๐๐น.๐ฐ๐ผ๐
After that, both of them drank, the distance between them gradually shortening.
When they almost finished with their meal, Tuoba Danqing's drunk face suddenly turned serious. "Junior Er, now that the trivial matters have been discussed, we should talk about official matters. If you want to climb the ranks, then you need to work hard. Thankfully there's something you could do down toward the South."
Chapter 314 - Matters
As soon as Li Huowang heard Tuoba Danqing's words, he perked up. The whole reason he had even joined the Surveillance Bureau was to earn their trust and to find out more about Bei Feng. Since he was this close to getting the information that he needed, he was more than happy to play the part of a good subordinate. "Oh? Senior Tuoba? What is the mission this time?"
Li Huowang was handed a piece of paper. It recorded an incident that happened within one of the counties of the Liang Kingdom. As he read through the details of the bizarre case, Li Huowang frowned.
Is this... Related to the Sitting Oblivion Dao?
Just as this thought occurred to him, Hong Zhong stood up and spat at him. "Oi oi oi, who said that it's the Sitting Oblivion Dao behind it? Since when did it say that the Sitting Oblivion Dao was responsible for this incident? At this point, you might as well say that every single incident out there was caused by the Sitting Oblivion Dao. Heck, you might as well just say that the Sitting Oblivion Dao is the one responsible for the Natural Disasters that happen every ten years or so."
Li Huowang ignored him and quickly finished reading through the letter. After he kept it away, he affirmed Tuoba Danqing, "Don't worry. You can leave this to me. I have been prepared to do my best for the Surveillance Bureau ever since I decided to join you!"
Tuoba Danqing's eyes revealed a bizarre emotion upon seeing how Li Huowang agreed to the task so easily. "Junior Er, why did you agree to it so fast? Aren't you afraid that I will take some of your lifespan pills?"
"Of course not. I trust you. Plus, the reward is nothing compared to being able to serve the Surveillance Bureau," said Li Huowang.
Hearing Li Huowang's righteous words, Tuoba Danqing grabbed his cup and smiled eerily at him.
Bam!
He slammed the cup onto the table and said, "To be frank, we don't care who the emperor is. We, who joined the Surveillance Bureau are all the same: we want to be able to feed ourselves and our families, as well as find allies. Junior Er, I really do look at you as a true brother, but I fear that the reason you joined the Surveillance Bureau is different from ours."
The relaxed atmosphere turned cold in an instant.
"Stay calm. You agreed too fast, and so he's suspecting you." Hong Zhong tried to help by explaining the situation.
The sudden turn in the situation caused the drunk Li Huowang to snap out of his stupor and calm down. He needed to give the correct answer or he might lose his chance at gaining further access to the Surveillance Bureau!
Various thoughts flashed past his mind until he remembered something.
The Liar's Scripture!
"Why did I join the Surveillance Bureau?" Li Huowang's breathing became faster and his eyes were suddenly filled with hate. "That's because I want to kill all the members of the Sitting Oblivion Dao!"
"They tricked me and the rest of us at the Cross Temple! They even killed everyone except for me. I hate them! I've heard that the Surveillance Bureau actively hunts down the Sitting Oblivion Dao, and that's why I've joined! As long as they exist, I will never rest!" said Li Huowang as he smashed the wine cup in his palm.
His reasoning was fake, but his hatred was real.
When Tuoba Danqing saw how agitated Li Huowang was, he sighed. "Is that so? I've heard about what happened back in the kingdom of Si Qi, but to think that you were involved in it. Sorry, I've made you remember such an unfortunate incident. This is my fault, and so I will punish myself by drinking three more cups."
Tuoba Danqing emptied his cup of wine in one go.
After drinking all three cups, the drunken Tuoba Danqing consoled Li Huowang, "Don't worry. I will be sure to help you in your journey of revenge. Since you want to fight against them so much, then I will send any missions related to them toward you first."
Li Huowang's reasoning hadn't just been decided randomly. It also included his objective of finding out more information on Bei Feng.
After getting Tuoba Danqing's acknowledgement, Li Huowang leaned forward and said agitatedly, "Senior Tuoba, I've heard that there is confidential information about the Sitting Oblivion Dao within the Surveillance Bureau? Could I obtain it since I'm already a member of the Surveillance Bureau?"
Li Huowang needed that information. If he could obtain it today, then it would be the best possible scenario.
However, Tuoba Danqing sighed when he heard Li Huowang's request. "Aiya, Junior Er, even though I know that you have a grudge against the Sitting Oblivion Dao, I still can't give it to you. You can't just gain access to the Heavenly grade information while you are merely a Tenth Pawn. Even if I were to help you, you would at least have to climb and become the Seventh Banner."
"Does that mean that I can read it once I reach the Seventh Banner rank?" asked Li Huowang.
"Of course. The reason why they safeguard the information about the Sitting Oblivion Dao so seriously is because we were afraid that a bunch of lunatics would infiltrate us and change the information or burn it all down," explained Tuoba Danqing.
Hearing this, Li Huowang nodded. With this, he had found his next goal: to reach the Seventh Banner rank and obtain the information about Sitting Oblivion Dao.
Having identified his new goal, Li Huowang asked once again, "May I ask how you can rise up the ranks within the Surveillance Bureau?" ๐๐ฃ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ง๐๐.๐๐๐บ
Tuoba Dangqing picked up a tender piece of chicken and smiled as he ate it. "I knew that you were going to ask this. I know that you want revenge, but you can't rush it. All changes in the ranks are individually approved by Lord Jixiang's master, Lord Qin Tianjian. Usually, they would record how many missions you've done and once they think that you've contributed enough they would promote you to the next rank. But this doesn't mean those at the highest ranks are particularly strong. Sometimes those who are strong, but don't contribute all that much to the Surveillance Bureau would be confined to the Tenth Pawn ranking. Initially, most people see their ranking increase in a short amount of time, but each promotion would be slower than the last. You did a good job the last time around and if you continue to do so, then you should be able to reach the rank of Ninth Troop in half a year. Even though it's only one rank, your position would be vastly different, and the benefits you would get from the Surveillance Bureau would improve a lot, and so you shouldn't underestimate it! Many people even join the Surveillance Bureau solely for the rewards."
"Half a year?" Li Huowang couldn't afford to wait for half a year. Who knew how long he had to wait until he obtained the rank of Seventh Banner? "Senior Tuoba, half a year is too long. Are there any methods to speed up the process? I don't mind even if the reward is little. I can't even sleep in peace knowing that the Sitting Oblivion Dao has not been eradicated!"
"Hmm..." Tuoba Danqing thought about it. "Alright. I will make an exception just this once. I do have a problematic case. I should be the one going there, but if you can deal with it, then I will recommend you to Lord Jixiang. Then, you should be able to quickly rise to the rank of Ninth Troop."
After saying that, Tuoba Danqing revealed a peculiar smile. "Once you return, I will show you someplace that will allow you to realize just how important status is."
Seeing that his goals had been achieved, Li Huowang revealed a smile and toasted Tuoba Danqing. "Thank you, Senior Tuoba, for your help! I dedicate this toast to you!"
After that, they kept drinking and eating. Half an hour later, Tuoba Danqing drunkenly walked out of the room.
"Alright~ Remember to go to the place I told you about soon. Don't waste any time. Also, the blind man is waiting at the City God Temple[1] in Yinling City. Go find him to return the mirror."
1. A tutelary deity that was believed to protect cities. Also called God of the Moat and the Walls or God of the Boundary ?
Chapter 315 - City God Temple
Once Tuoba Danqing left, Li Huowang naturally left the restaurant as well; there was no reason for him to stay there all by himself.
At the same time, he needed to slowly sort out all the information that he had learned today.
Just then, Hong Zhong clapped, applauding him. "Not bad, not bad. You are indeed one of the Three Officials. To think that you managed to add a bit of the truth into your lies. Even if they went and investigated, they might not be able to discover it's a lie."
Hearing this, Li Huowang glared at him. Just as he was about to snap back at him, the waiter from before walked out of the restaurant.
The waiter bowed down toward Li Huowang, only to be ignored by him. Just as Li Huowang was about to walk away, the waiter called out to him, "Dear customer, quite a lot of the dishes are still untouched. Do you want to pack them up like last time?"
Li Huowang's face was sullen as he snapped back, "No need! I don't need them anymore!"
Li Huowang's sudden outburst left the waiter feeling taken aback.
But... but you wanted to pack all of it up the last time around. Why is it different today?
On the second day, Li Huowang sat in his carriage as he traveled across the wide street. Given that his destination was the City God Temple in one of the most prosperous cities of the kingdom, it was easy to find out where it was.
Thus, he soon found the City God Temple that was located at a busy crossroad.
Sitting within the horse carriage, Li Huowang saw the entire temple and its beauty. It was surrounded by lush trees and flowers. The temple wall was pale yellow and it had grayish-blue roof tiles. It was hard to imagine that such a beautiful and grand temple was not some large sect but just a City God Temple that could be found in any city.
"Amitabha, Amitabha." Monk's illusion prayed to the temple earnestly.
The temple was cloaked in the scent of incense and that there was a steady group of people entering it.
As Li Huowang stood at the side for a while, he saw that most of the people entering the temple to pray were the ladies that worked within the Exquisite Pagoda. Their faces were covered in the markings akin to that of a porcelain vase. The girls were all very earnest. All of them placed their palms together and raised them over their heads before lying down on the ground to pray. Several generations of them praying toward the City God every day had contributed to the dents on the stone slab of the temple that could be seen.
As he observed them, Li Huowang's sharp sense of hearing allowed him to hear what they were praying for.
"Dear City God, please, I beg you. I wish for a man to buy me off and make me his wife."
"Dear City God, please take pity on me. Let me reincarnate as a man in my next life!"
Li Huowang stood outside the temple and stared at the interior. Inside, he saw the three statues of the City God situated in the middle of the temple. Beside the three statues, there were two imposing statues, one with an Ox-head and the other with a Horse-face. It didn't seem like the City God was a deity that would grant their wishes.
After a while, Li Huowang used the horse whip to guide the carriage toward a corner of the temple. There were several people setting up stalls there. All of them were either fortune tellers or people offering writing services.
Soon, Li Huowang found the man he had seen before, Blind Chen. Blind Chen was currently telling the fortune of a woman.
"Ai~ Your fortune is very bad~ It's terrible even. Not only will your husband turn out to be useless in his career, but there's nothing you will be able to do. You will either have to secretly get married to another man, or you will have to live off the charity of others."
However, when the woman started scolding him, Blind Chen just shook his head and sat there silently as he waited for her to finish scolding him.
Once the woman left, Blind Chen looked toward Li Huowang and said, "Don't look at me like that. I just tell others their fortune, not fix it for them."
Even though Blind Chen was blind, Li Huowang felt like he was being watched.
"Hoho, if I'm right, then you must be the man who is here to return the mirror," continued Blind Chen.
Li Huowang was anxious to leave, and so he didn't talk much. He just took out the mirror and placed it on the stall.
Blind Chen reached out toward the mirror with his wrinkled hands. When he touched the mirror, he revealed a rare smile. "Yes, this is the mirror I lost. Oh, and what happened to the member of the Sitting Oblivion Dao who pretended to be my granddaughter? Where is he?"
"He's dead. I killed him," replied Li Huowang.
Hearing this, Blind Chen laughed happily. "Hahaha~ Excellent! It's good that he's dead! How dare he bully me for being blind and trick me by pretending to be my granddaughter?! He got what he deserved!"
Hong Zhong's illusion scoffed at him. "Hmph! Nothing but the yappings of the dog who lost to me."
"Senior Chen, where is the reward that you promised to Tuoba Danqing? Please do not try to weasel your way out of it," asked Li Huowang.
"Of course. I would never dare to play tricks on the people of the Surveillance Bureau," said Blind Chen as he rummaged around inside his bamboo basket.
He soon procured a dark blue book from within and passed it to Li Huowang. "This used to be the technique that we would never show to outsiders. Unfortunately, after our Master went crazy, everyone else scattered and now, there is no one that would uphold the rules anymore."
Li Huowang opened the book and saw that it was indeed a guidebook on how to draw various talismans. The book detailed everything, ranging from how to chant, draw, use, and what type of materials to use when crafting each talisman. There were various talismans too. There were talismans that could be used to exorcize evil beings, to heal others, for fortune telling, and even for blessing a new house to ensure a good life. The book of talismans was very useful. Not only could it be used in a wide range of situations, but the materials used to make the talismans were simple as well, requiring only some blood and yellow papers. It was just that Li Huowang didn't know how effective the talismans were.
As he went through the book, Li Huowang did notice something bizarre with the talismansโthey were different from the one Han Fu had drawn. The talismans in this book were drawn with curved lines, and within each talisman, there was a distorted face hidden within.
Just as Li Huowang was about to ask about it, Blind Chen, as if predicting what he was about to ask explained first, "I have not lied to you. The thing I gave you is extremely useful, but there are some taboos to it. First of all, all of the talismans can only be used three times a day. Secondly, you must never look at them when you draw them or use the talisman."
"And what happens if I do end up looking at them?" asked Li Huowang, curious.
"If you see your talisman?" Blind Chen chuckled and used his milky white eyes to stare at Li Huowang. "If you did, then the talisman would come to life and set its sight on you. After that, if you want to live, then you would have to blind yourself just like me."
Li Huowang contemplated the benefits and caveats before nodding. "It's not too bad."
After saying that, Li Huowang slapped the horse. He was ready to move out.
"Hm? Are you fine with it?" Blind Chen was stunned. He had not expected Li Huowang to be so casual with it. "Wait, don't go so fast. Since you helped me exact revenge, I am indebted to you. I will repay you the favor right now as I hate to be indebted to others. Sit down, and I will tell your fortune!"
"No need!" Li Huowang touched his bronze coin veil out of reflex.
But at that moment, Blind Chen suddenly pounced forward and touched Li Huowang's shadow on the ground.
"Hmm..." Blind Chen carefully touched Li Huowang's shadow while thinking of something.
On the other hand, Li Huowang frowned when he saw how bizarre Blind Chen was acting. When he saw that the man was not moving, he warily walked away with the carriage.
Just as he was almost out of the area, he suddenly heard Blind Chen shout at him from behind.
"The moon is both full and empty. Several remaining stars circle around the incomplete moon. A bright lantern is lit in front of the house, but the house is empty throughout spring and autumn."
Chapter 316 - Talisman
The wheels of the horse carriage slowly rolled down the path. The weight of the Black Taisui and Li Huowang's belongings made the heavy carriage leave a trail on the muddy path.
Li Huowang carefully drove the carriage as he glanced at Bun who was walking beside the carriage. Then, he held Bun's neck and pulled it up onto the carriage.
Bonk bonk bonk bonk~
Bun's wagging tail was like a wooden stick that kept hitting the wooden carriage.
Seeing this, Li Huowang irritatedly pushed Bun and said, "Calm down!"
Then, he took out the letter that Tuoba Danqing had given him.
Just as before, there was an address written on it, but compared to last time, there was nothing else written on it about what had happened at the place. The only thing that was written on it was that two Yellow-ranked informants had died at the location, and so the person going there had to be extra cautious.
While Li Huowang didn't know how strong Yellow-ranked informants were, he knew that it was not a minor issue.
There was no way that Tuoba Danqing would be able to use this to help him get promoted to the next rank if this were a minor issue.
While he knew that it might be dangerous, Li Huowang wasn't afraid. He was already used to it after encountering so many deadly situations. After all, a man who had overcome the fear of death would be fearless.
After that, Li Huowang took out the talisman guidebook and read it once again. He read the first page which contained a brief introduction on talismans.
The introduction explained that there was either a Daoist by the surname He or someone called He Dao who discovered a method to use the power of the world through observing nature, either by listening to the calls of the bird or by looking at the patterns left behind by insect bites[1].
The method that was born through listening to the sound of bird calls and beast howls used sound as a medium. These were categorized as 'Chants'. On the other hand, the method that was born through the observation of the insect's bite marks and the constellations used drawings as a medium. These were categorized as 'Talismans'.
However, the introduction only said that the methods were derived through observation. Thus, Li Huowang didn't think that the power of the world would bite back at the user just by looking at it accidentally. Who knew what kind of power they'd borrowed from in this crazy world.
At the same time, he realized that everyone had their own logic in this crazy world, and that most of their viewpoints clashed with those of others.
However, Li Huowang didn't care about which one was correct; be it the power of the world, The Three Pure ones, the Three Corpses, or the Five Realms of Buddhism. The only thing he cared about was which one could help him, even if it meant summoning the Jade Emperor to the mortal realm.
"A single talisman has to be made in one stroke. First, draw the character for four, then diagonally move toward the left before going down vertically, then draw the character for 'ugly' before writing the two characters for fire. After that, draw four circles with an inverse stroke to form the lotus..."
Blind Chen had warned him before that it was risky to use the talismans and it wasn't easy either. Li Huowang had to chant while drawing the talisman. If he made a mistake in either the chant or the drawing, the entire talisman would become useless. Even more vexing was the fact that he couldn't confirm whether or not his talisman was drawn properly or not.
It would take some time for him to learn how to use the talismans in the book.
Li Huowang suddenly felt that compared to using the Profound Records, it was much harder to use the talismans. Even though the price was much more steep, it was far easier to use the Profound Records.
As he continued chanting, Li Huowang placed a piece of yellow talisman paper on the horse carriage and bit his finger. Then, he used his bloody finger to draw the talisman.
"...The essence of the Heavens and Earth, the essence of the sun and moon. Combine the essence of the Heavens and Earth. Combine the brightness of the Sun and Moon!"
Li Huowang finished the chant in his heart and placed the talisman onto the rump of the horse.
At that moment, Li Huowang suddenly heard a faint whispering sound.
However, before he could hear what it was, the black horse pulling the horse carriage suddenly neighed as the veins throughout its body bulged and it suddenly started running much faster.
The sudden gust of wind blew Li Huowang's veil upward, revealing his face to the outside world.
However, when Li Huowang heard the creaking of the axle, he suddenly felt nervous.
I hope the carriage doesn't fall apart.
After running for some time, Li Huowang took the talisman off the horse, causing the beast to return to normal. But in just that short amount of time, the horse carriage managed to travel several miles. Despite his low expectations, the talisman was surprisingly useful.
Meanwhile, the black horse was sweating profusely as it drank water by the mouthful from the river. As Li Huowang scrubbed the sweat off the horse, he saw that it was an oily red liquid.
Are there really no other side effects to using the talisman?
"Woof woof!"
At that moment, Bun suddenly snarled as it ran toward the main path.
When Li Huowang raised his head, he saw that it was a peddler. As he saw the peddler walking into the distance, Li Huowang quickly chased after him with his horse carriage. He was quite close to the destination and he needed more information on the town.
"Hey! Wait up!"
When the peddler saw the bronze coin sword on Li Huowang's back and his red Daoist robes, he placed down his shoulder pole and rubbed the sweat on his face. Then, he stared warily at Li Huowang. "What do you need, Daoist?"
"Nothing much. I was just thinking that it would be safer to travel with others. No reason to lose our lives to the bandits," replied Li Huowang.
"Haha, Sir Daoist is quite the jokester. I don't know about the other places, but there are no bandits around here. Rather than bandits, we should be more wary about the beasts within the forest," replied the peddler.
"Really? But I've heard that this area is not very safe?" said Li Huowang, throwing out the hook as he waited for the fish to bite.
"That's just within the county, and has nothing to do with us. Besides, there's the merchant guild within the county and they don't really need peddlers like us."
"Oh? Is that so? This is my first time here and I don't know the place all that well," said Li Huowang, trying to dredge up some more information.
However, faced with his questions, the peddler kept his mouth sharp; it was as if he was wary of something.
Seeing this, Li Huowang did not ask any further but instead looked at the peddler's wares as he asked, "What do you have for sale?"
Seeing that there was business to be done, the peddler instantly perked up. "I'm a food peddler, so I naturally sell food. I have a lot of types of pastes, orange dumplings, maltose sweets, and other such knick-knacks."
After buying half of the peddler's wares, Li Huowang once again raised his earlier queries. This time, the peddler finally answered after much hesitation.
The peddler looked toward the forest warily before whispering to Li Huowang. "Remember; you mustn't tell this to others. I've heard that the Cangshui County has ghosts."
"Ghosts?" Li Huowang was shocked. He had never expected someone to tell him something like this.
"Yeah. Do you remember the Ghost Festival that we celebrated recently in July? It's said that the King of Hell forgot to close the gates, and now the beings of Hell have escaped."
However, Li Huowang did not believe any of it. The peddler would have to be a God to know that the King of Hell forgot to close the gates to Hell. "What has happened to Cangshui County? Don't exaggerate anything and tell me only the truth."
1. Bite marks refer to the path certain insects make when feeding, such as termites where you can see the hollow paths in the wood they chewed through ?
apter 317 - Fortune Telling
The peddler was embarrassed when Li Huowang did not believe him. "I've only heard all this from the village elder. He said that the ghosts wanted to be reborn, and so they stole many young babies that were less than a year old. Moreover, because they were stuck in Hell for so long without anything to entertain them, they are also targeting women."
"You mean that a lot of people have lost their babies and many women were raped within the Cangshui County?" asked Li Huowang.
"Yes! Wow, a Daoist sure is amazing. It only took you one word to explain everything that has happened," said the peddler.
Li Huowang frowned. If it was only babies being kidnapped and women getting raped, then the county could just send the guards instead of informing the Surveillance Bureau. There had to be something that the peddler didn't know.
After he finished talking to the peddler, Li Huowang urged his horse and the horse carriage continued moving.
Li Huowang managed to enter the city just before the gates closed. When the guards saw the identification token on Li Huowang's waist, they immediately called the town guards and had them escort him to the magistrate's office.
On the way to the magistrate's office, the sound of footsteps rang out incessantly. As Li Huowang saw several strong men running past his carriage while carrying a torch, he asked the guard that was escorting him, "Who are they?"
The guard clasped both of his hands together before answering, "My Lord! These are the men the magistrate has chosen to patrol during the night. Everyone within Cangshui County is very nervous right now, and so we have imposed a curfew. We will capture anyone who's loitering outside after curfew."
Hearing this, Li Huowang silently nodded.
Meanwhile, Bun felt quite uneasy in the new environment; it kept pushing its head into Li Huowang's body.
As they moved, Li Huowang scanned the streets but didn't find anything unusual.
Soon, they arrived at the magistrate's office. The people inside had already been informed of Li Huowang's arrival and were currently standing there, waiting to receive him near the two stone lions at the gate.
"We greet the Lord!" The magistrate bowed. He was wearing the robes of an official. Following his lead, his deputy, secretary, and the other officers bowed as well.
Li Huowang jumped down from the horse carriage and saw that the magistrate was around forty years old. He was shorter than the others, something that was made even more apparent when he was surrounded by the officers.
"Let's cut to the chase and talk about the official matters," said Li Huowang as he walked into the building. The others followed suit.
Inside the building, Li Huowang read parchment after parchment while everyone else looked at Li Huowang carefully. By the time Li Huowang finally placed down the parchments, the tea on the table was no longer hot.
"So you have lost nine babies and five women were raped?" asked Li Huowang.
The magistrate stepped forward. "My Lord, I think the number of women who were raped far exceeds that, but they did not report the matter to us out of shame."
"Is that it? Is this all?" Li Huowang looked at all of him, his penetrating gaze staring into the magistrate's eyes.
A single drop of sweat rolled down the magistrate's forehead. After a while, he bowed toward Li Huowang before he turned around and ordered, "All of you, disperse from this room. Guard Zhou, tell your team to surround the entire office."
With this, everyone left the room. Soon, only Li Huowang and the magistrate were left.
"My surname is Lou. Even though I was not born in Cangshui County, my hometown is nearby. As a magistrate, my heart hurts when I see my people in distress. Please save us all!" Magistrate Lou cried and kneeled on the ground.
However, this was a bit overwhelming for Li Huowang; he and the magistrate did not have a superior-subordinate relationship. There was no need for the man to beg and kneel.
However, Li Huowang still wasn't sure whether the magistrate was being sincere or just putting up a show.
"Let's just stick to the case. Other than these cases, did anything else happen in Cangshui County?" asked Li Huowang.
"Yes! There were some thefts; however, I don't think they were anything serious. Please look at this, my Lord!" Magistrate Lou took a map from the table and unfurled it in front of Li Huowang.
It was a map of the entire region. This region was called Jiang Nan. Beside the Jiang Nan region was the Zong Luo region. Yinling City and Cowheart Mountain were located within the Zong Luo region. The Liang Kingdom had a total of six regions, some larger than the others. Jiang Nan region was considered to be the smallest region.
"My Lord, look here," said Magistrate Lou as he pointed at several small dots on the map. "The incidents weren't contained within just the Cangshui County. The areas surrounding Cangshui County, including Ping Cheng, An Shan, Pan Shui, and fifteen other counties are all experiencing the same things!"
Li Huowang looked at the dots on the map and knew why Tuoba Danqing had been called for this mission even though the cases were mostly minor.
There were too many! Even sand could pile up into a mountain if there was enough of it. ๐๐ง๐๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฃ๐ธ๐๐๐.๐๐๐
Li Huowang looked at the map. "This is serious. To think that there are so many cases. How many babies went missing?"
"Fifty-seven, and the numbers are still rising. Thankfully, we are dealing with this rather seriously and the number of cases in our County are not as serious. In some of the other places, the criminals are using this chance to commit heinous crimes before blaming the whole thing on supernatural beings[1]."
"Why are they stealing babies no older than one year?" muttered Li Huowang. Thinking about all that he had experienced in this world, Li Huowang had a feeling that those babies did not survive.
"My Lord! Please save the people in my county!" Magistrate Lou kneeled once more.
"There's no need for that. Didn't you say that the women were raped? Would you bring them in? I will investigate them," said Li Huowang. He needed to know what was going on. Why did the culprits steal babies and rape women at the same time throughout the entire surrounding region?
Soon, a serious-looking girl was brought in front of Li Huowang; however, she couldn't answer any of his questions.
She didn't know who it was that raped her nor did she know when it happened. If it weren't for her parents finding out that something was wrong, she wouldn't have even found out about it or reported it.
Having reached a dead end, Li Huowang didn't know what to do next. He wasn't really an expert on such matters.
No, maybe I have one more method.
Staring at the girl who was leaving, Li Huowang thought about it and took out the guidebook on making talismans. He flipped through it and turned to Magistrate Lou. "Do you have a human bone? I need the bone to be wide."
Blind Chen told him that there was a talisman that could be used to do fortune telling to guide him. He decided to try it out.
"A... human bone?" Even though the magistrate didn't know what Li Huowang was doing, he still told the guards to go and get one.
By the time the sky brightened up, the human bone that Li Huowang needed was brought in front of him. It was a skull.
"My Lord, please rest assured that it's a human bone. We dug it up from a wild grave," said the guard as he passed the skull, eager to be praised.
Li Huowang took the skull, pulled out a piece of yellow talisman paper, bit his finger, and used his blood to swiftly draw the talisman.
"As busy as you are, I summon the Impermanence of Yin! Heed my orders, tell my fortune, and guide me from desolation!"
He then placed a bronze coin on the talisman before pressing it onto the skull. Then, a sudden cracking sound rang out as cracks appeared on the skull.
When it was done, Li Huowang examined the cracks on the skull and compared it to the patterns described in the book. "Hmm... This pattern..."
1. This is referring to the unexplained cases of girls being raped. Some of the commoners likely raped the girls and blamed it on supernatural entities to escape blame. ?
"Hmm... This pattern..."
Li Huowang frowned as he looked at the cracks on the skull and compared them with the pattern marked in the book.
"The Heaven's at the top. The wind is situated below the Heavens, but just above the strong women. A mountain beneath Heaven, asking to be kind but strict to despicable people..."
These were the three patterns that Li Huowang identified with the help of the book. But surprisingly, the book did not explain them, nor did it tell what to expect. The only instructions about it that were written told the reader to burn the talisman and swallow the ashes.
Staring at Magistrate Lou who was waiting for an answer beside him, Li Huowang took out his flint and burned the talisman.
The talisman burned in an eerie green fire. As he stared at the flames, Li Huowang raised his chin with unease. He could hear something whispering around him, but he could not make out what it was talking about.
The talisman continued to burn, but rather than scattering to ashes, it slowly contorted and shrunk for a while before turning into a piece of burned paper, looking quite similar to his burnt skin.
As he stared at the thing in his hands, he hesitated for a while before dunking the burnt paper into his tea and drinking it whole.
Then, Li Huowang waited. He waited, but nothing happened.
Soon, the rooster was crowing outside but Li Huowang and Magistrate Lou just continued to stare at each other silently.
Wait, is it working? Isn't it supposed to guide me? What's going on?
Li Huowang stared at the book and started doubting it.
Sensing that something was wrong, Magistrate Lou read the room and tried to break the uncomfortable silence, "My Lord, you've worked hard through the night. How about you go back and rest first?"
However, Li Huowang was too awake to rest. He frowned and continued flipping through the book.
Just then, a youthful girl walked into the room and tugged at the magistrate's clothes. "Father, why are you still awake?"
Magistrate Lou was extremely kind to his daughter, to the point that he couldn't bear to scold her. Thus, he tried his best to persuade her to leave the room. "Aiya, my cute little daughter. Go ahead and have breakfast with your mother first. I will come soon."
"Hmm~ But I don't want to! You said the same thing last night," said the little girl, clearly showing just how close she was to her father.
Just then, a low shout startled the father and daughter duo. When Li Huowang approached them, Magistrate Lou paled and quickly hid his daughter behind his back. "My Lord, this is my daughter!"
However, Li Huowang pushed him away and approached the girl. Under her fearful eyes, Li Huowang tore off the cloth pouch hanging from her waist. When Li Huowang examined the patterns on the pouch, he had a revelation.
"Who made this?" asked Li Huowang. The patterns on the pouch were similar to a portion of the pattern on the skull!
The magistrate's daughter, feeling frightened by the fierce man, turned toward her father. However, when she saw that her father did not try to help her, she started trembling. "This... th-is was given to me by my seamstress..."
"Seamstress? Bring her in!" said Li Huowang. Coincidences did not exist in this world. He had a feeling that the talisman might be working, and this was the guide that Li Huowang needed!
Soon, the guards brought the seamstress in question and presented her in front of Li Huowang. She looked to be slightly older than the daughter of the magistrate, and was equally dainty, as if a wind could blow her off the ground.
"Did you make this pouch?" Li Huowang questioned the seamstress.
"Yes..." The seamstress answered in a small voice, not daring to raise her head.
"Why are the birds embroidered onto the pouch?" asked Li Huowang.
"These are Mandarin Ducks..." replied the seamstress.
"I'm asking you why did you embroider them onto the pouch?!" Li Huowang's angry shout startled everyone.
Scared by Li Huowang's sudden outburst, the seamstress was on the verge of tears. "Mandarin Ducks... That's how they are embroidered..."
Li Huowang stood up and approached the seamstress. His steps echoed loudly as he slowly unsheathed his sword. When he fully unsheathed the sword, the killing intent radiating from it suffocated everyone within the room. With this, Li Huowang looked even more menacing.
Now standing right in front of the seamstress, Li Huowang's pressure almost made her crumble and go crazy.
"I don't know! My grandmother taught me how to do it! The Mandarin Ducks have always been embroidered in this pattern since a long time ago!" The seamstress dropped to the ground and started crying.
However, the entire room was silent. Everyone was stunned by what they heard, regardless of whether they were the guard or the officers. All of them were staring at the seamstress.
Her voice had suddenly turned into a man's voice!
One of the guards was the first to react and immediately ran over to the 'seamstress'. Then, he touched the seamstress's chest and was surprised. "My Lord! These are fake!"
Hearing this, Magistrate Lou's face paled and he immediately turned to look at his daughter.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang grabbed the 'seamstress' by the neck and raised him up into the air. "Magistrate Lou, it seems that we have managed to find the man responsible for the rape cases."
"Lock him up in the prison! Interrogate him!" Magistrate Lou shouted in a fury. Both of his hands were trembling from anger.
Finally having found a clue, Li Huowang did not pass up on the chance to interrogate the culprit. He followed the guard into the prison while holding onto the culprit.
Soon, the culprit was crying out in pain within the prison.
"Talk! Where are your comrades? Where are they hiding? Why are you stealing the babies?!" asked the interrogator.
Li Huowang frowned when he saw the culprit's skin bubbling from the hot red brand, as well as the whip immersed in the salty water.
"Alright, step down for now," said Li Huowang as he stood up and approached the culprit. At this point, the culprit had already been beaten beyond recognition.
Li Huowang ignored the interrogator's branding iron. Instead, he approached the culprit directly and removed his veil.
The rate at which Li Huowang recovered was very fast. However, while his face was already halfway healed, he still looked monstrous.
When the culprit, who had already grown tired from the torture, saw Li Huowang's face, he felt a sudden surge of energy in his body. He quickly retreated, fearing that Li Huowang would eat him.
Ding ding ding~
The sound of metal clanking rang out as Li Huowang unfolded his bag of torture tools. "Talk."
"I really don't know! I did rape the girls, but I didn't steal the babies!" The culprit's pants were already wet, but he still didn't say who stole the babies.
"Is that so?" Li Huowang picked up a small hacksaw and pressed the culprit's head onto the wall as he started sawing.
Immediately, the culprit howled out in pain and despair, far exceeding the cries of pain he was letting out before.
An hour later, Li Huowang started chanting the Fiery Sutra to heal the culprit who was on the verge of death.
That's strange. Does he really not know who did it?
Li Huowang was sure that the culprit was telling the truth after he interrogated him. There was no way the man wouldn't have cracked under so much pain.
Unless... there were two people responsible for the cases? One who did the raping while the other stole babies? Maybe the two cases were happening at the same time and everyone just thought that it was all done by a single culprit?
Realizing that he might have lost his only lead, Li Huowang suddenly felt frustrated.
Li Huowang hadn't felt this powerless in a long time. An enemy that refused to show itself was extremely irritating and hard to deal with. It was only now that he realized that the missions given out by the Surveillance Bureau were not as easy as he had thought.
Just then, Li Huowang heard his stomach rumbling. He hadn't eaten for quite some time and was hungry.
Li Huowang took one more look at the mutilated man before walking out of the prison.
The interrogator saw Li Huowang was leaving but didn't send him off. Instead, he kicked one of the prison guards beside him.
Left without a choice, the prison guard in question forced a smile as he escorted Li Huowang out of the prison. "My Lord, please have a safe trip and come visit us again if you have the time. My Lord's technique was quite exquisite!"
Chapter 319 - Fortune Telling Pattern
After exiting the prison, Li Huowang went to the backyard of the magistrate's office. There, he saw Bun who was drinking from the water trough along with the horses.
Catching a whiff of the familiar scent, Bun hurriedly approached Li Huowang. It was also hungry.
Li Huowang brought Bun out on the street. Because of the incidents with the babies being stolen, everyone within Cangshui County was still very anxious. Even so, there were still quite a few people doing business on the streets.
"Chili Oil Wontons?" Li Huowang saw some types of foods that he had never eaten, and then brought Bun to another stall. "Bitter lettuce noodles?"
The waiter served up two bowls of green noodles that were marked with black dots. The noodles were lightly coated in a layer of fragrant chili oil.
After seeing Bun eating them happily, Li Huowang finally started moving his chopsticks.
The noodles were quite peculiar. Even though they didn't have any peppercorns, eating them made his tongue go numb. He soon realized that the numbness was caused by the small hooks that were on the surface of the noodles. The noodles were made from bitter lettuce. However, its hooks and spines were surprisingly soft when he bit into them.
Just as Li Huowang was eating the noodles that were exclusive to the Liang Kingdom, two people walked into the stall. Both of them were whispering and laughing in a way that only other men would know what they were talking about.
"It's true! You know what kind of person I am, right? How could I lie to you? Not only did the male ghosts escape from Hell, but even the female ones did too! Hehe~ The female ghosts were quite pretty too~ She had been enduring her lust for far too long and I had no choice but to help her. When I woke up the second day, I'd lost at least eight taels![1]"
Li Huowang frowned when he heard what they were talking about. The people here were very superstitious and often liked spreading rumors. All of them just believed rumors without verifying whether they were real or not. They didn't even know whether what was happening was real.
Li Huowang continued eating his noodles while listening to the man continue talking about his 'fortunate' encounter.
Li Huowang quickly finished his noodles before recalling the talisman that he had used earlier. After a moment, he decided to try it again.
He once again burned the talisman and swallowed the ashes, but this time nothing happened.
Why is it so fickle? Do the talismans only work half the time? Did I draw it incorrectly?
Li Huowang read the book and tried to learn more about the talisman. This was only the second time he had used the talisman to guide him, and so he was still inexperienced with it.
"My Lord! The boss of the Wellness Hall is here to become an official!"
At that moment, one of the guards shouted, only to be quickly dragged away by Magistrate Lou. "Shh! Don't interrupt the Lord's work!"
I don't think capturing the one stealing the babies will be all that hard.
Since the talismans weren't working, he decided to do it the old-fashioned way, staking out.
Over the next couple of days, he staked out at numerous places, but nothing happened. It was as if the culprit knew that Li Huowang was here and had hidden himself away. For the next few days, none of the babies were stolen.
One day, Li Huowang was woken up from the sudden commotion. He opened the window, only to see the civilians running on the streets toward the East side of the town. Everyone was weirdly excited.
"What is happening?" Li Huowang quickly left the guest room and followed the people.
He followed them and soon realized where they were going. The people were all crowded at one of the crossroads. It was jam-packed with people! In the middle of the crossroad was the man who had disguised himself as the seamstress. At this moment, he was tied to a wooden pole.
"Start his execution!" Magistrate Lou threw the red sign onto the ground, causing everyone to burst into cheers.
When the man saw Li Huowang, Magistrate Lou stood up and vacated his seat for Li Huowang. "My Lord, you are here? It's thanks to you that we were able to capture this vile man!"
"You are killing him now? I thought you would want to interrogate him further," asked Li Huowang.
Magistrate Lou glared at the culprit with disgust and replied, "He's too vile and wicked! How could we just execute him like that? We are going to torture him first before killing him!"
Just as they were talking, the executioner, who was wearing a red robe, walked up to the man. Then, he drank a cup of wine and started his work. Every time he sliced a piece of meat from the culprit, the crowd cheered.
"Why are those people giving the executioner coins?" Li Huowang pointed at some of the people in the corner.
"Those people are members of the victims' families. They don't want the culprit to get reincarnated, and so they want to buy some of the culprit's flesh and bones. They will then feed that flesh to the dogs. If their grudge is big, then some of the people might even eat the flesh themselves. To be fair, this doesn't really align with the laws of the Liang Kingdom, but whenever I think about how my daughter was about to be raped by him, I myself want to bite off a chunk of that man's flesh! He's too despicable!" explained Magistrate Lou.
The culprit was slowly disassembled, looking more and more horrifying. Even so, the crowd just got more and more excited. It was a surreal sight.
Every time the executioner cut off some of the culprit's flesh and caused him to cry out in pain, everyone else cheered.
However, as more and more time passed, the culprit started glaring at everyone and cursed at them rather than crying out in pain. "Stop playing the victim! So what if I played with the girls? I've raped so many women but none of them were virgins! All of the women in this County are sluts! Useless! Prostitutes!"
When the crowd heard his remarks, all of them instantly became incensed, and if it wasn't for the guards, they would've gone up and killed the man themselves.
"Hm? Hold up!" Li Huowang noticed something and immediately ran over.
When he approached the man, he was surprised to see that the blood that was flowing down the culprit's body, as well as the wounds were quite similar to the pattern he saw when he used the talisman for fortune telling!
"Are you telling the truth?" questioned Li Huowang.
"I'm telling the truth! Hundreds of girls, but none of them were virgins! The women of Cangshui have all been raped by someone else!" said the culprit.
Everyone else might've thought that the man was just spouting lies, but Li Huowang did not. After all, the patterns shown by the fortune telling talisman were also appearing on the man's body.
"Virgins... Hymen..." Li Huowang suddenly remembered something and ran up to Magistrate Lou. "You had mentioned that other than the women being raped and the babies being stolen, there were also some cases of thefts?"
"Yes. Did my Lord discover something?" asked Magistrate Lou.
"Quick, show me the records of what was stolen! How much did they steal, and what did they steal? I need to know!" said Li Huowang.
When he saw how adamant Li Huowang was, Magistrate Lou immediately went and compiled the data.
While it was not easy to find stolen babies, it was quite easy to obtain the list of items that had been stolen. Soon, Li Huowang was presented with the list of stolen items.
"Dang Gui... Cinnabar..." Li Huowang read through the list and frowned.
He recalled the culprit saying that none of the women here were virgins, then he recalled the man at the noodle shop talking about the female ghosts, and finally the stolen babies.
Li Huowang picked up a brush and started writing down several words on the paper.
Red pills, nectar, baby flesh and bones...
By the time he finished writing the list, Li Huowang's eyes were wide with shock.
"This recipe... It's a pill recipe! Someone's refining pills!"
1. roughly 0.3kg, not a lot ?