A group of soldiers was in the middle of training on a flat field used for drying rice in Cowheart Village. Gao Zhijian was sitting on a boulder, frowning while staring at the soldiers before him.
His mind was still busy pondering over what had happened not too long ago.
The other disciples... they don't believe me at all. Gao Zhijian thought. Logically, he ought to feel angry, but surprisingly, Gao Zhijian was not angry at all. Even he couldn't believe the chaotic scenes that had been popping up in his head recently. It was highly likely that he was once an emperor. He once lived in a palace and was surrounded by many people who catered to his every whim.
However, his memories of those times were incomplete. There were large gaps filled with many different bizarre deaths and events; he had lived multiple lives with drastically different lifestyles compared to when he was an emperor.
Gao Zhijian felt like his memories weren't his own but were a confused mixture of many people's memories in a variety of sizes. Gao Zhijian became suspicious. Were the chaotic memories fake? What if he had become a lunatic like Senior Li?
Gao Zhijian knew that he had to know his past and find his true self amidst the chaotic memories. However, he did not want to go back unless it was absolutely necessary. He wanted to stay here, as he had decided that things were going well.
He liked Cowheart Village, and he liked the name Gao Zhijian—he was Gao Zhijian.
A hazy figure flashed across his mind, and his lips unconsciously parted to reveal a sincere smile. Living together with everyone was the freest he had ever been; he had lived a life of luxury within a magnificent palace. He ate well, and he had warm clothes to wear, but the air within the palace was cold and uncomfortable.
He disliked living in that palace.
Moreover, was it really necessary for him to know more about his past? Living in the moment was good enough for him. It wasn't like he had someone worth searching for amidst his chaotic memories.
Gao Zhijian thought about many things while sitting on the boulder. When he came back to his senses, he found that the dozen or so soldiers were flailing their wooden halberds in a disorderly manner. This group was taking advantage of his distraction to slack off.
Gao Zhijian picked up a small stick and walked over to them. He struck the soldiers on their backs, correcting their postures. The attack contained just enough strength to hurt but not injure the soldiers. Clearly, Gao Zhijian was an expert at controlling his strength.
The soldiers were too skinny. They needed more muscles to become even stronger for the sake of cultivating martial arts. Gao Zhijian's job was to train troops for Cowheart Village, and it was all according to Senior Li's instructions.
The soldiers sighed and groaned, and time ticked by just like that. The demanding physical training session had increased their appetites, and they wolfed down their food during dinner.
They were enduring such hardship not because they wanted to do so. It was all for the sake of a salary, which was a hundred cents on top of their daily rations.
Today's dinner was soy sauce fried rice. It was salty and oily, thanks to the lard. It was a perfect meal to replenish their lost energy, and the dish itself was rather easy to cook.
Chun Xiaoman wasn't in the crowd, so Gao Zhijian discreetly kept an eye out for her.
After dinner, Gao Zhijian went to the kitchen. He fried two eggs and covered the soy sauce fried rice with them. He then walked out and carried a bowl and chopsticks with him toward the Bai Family's Ancestral Hall.
More specifically, Gao Zhijian made a beeline for the hall just in front of the ancestral hall, where Chun Xiaoman led a group of people to recite the chants of the White Lotus Sect.
"Eat," Gao Zhijian said, placing down a bowl of fried rice before Chun Xiaoman.
"Hey! Big guy, you really are something, huh? Why did you bring food for only one person? We haven't yet, you know?!" Lu Xiucai said, sounding dissatisfied.
Gao Zhijian didn't even bother to look at Lu Xiucai.
Chun Xiaoman's chanting came to a halt. He looked up at the others and said, "Let's stop here for today and have dinner."
The four girls nodded respectfully. Lu Xiucai cast a look of disdain at Gao Zhijian before following the four girls up the stairs.
Chun Xiaoman proceeded to eat the bowl of fried rice. "How are things on your side? Were they also obedient today?"
"Still... still... still... okay!"
"Ah, I'm struggling here. Only a few people have been able to memorize these chants so far, which makes sense because a high level of comprehension is necessary to memorize these chants. Those with low comprehension will have no accomplishments, no matter how many times they recite.
"We're all human beings, so I don't know why there's such a big difference between each of us. I wonder when we'll finally learn everything.
"Oh, I have something to tell you, and you may not believe me, but that bum Lu Xiucai has the highest comprehension level among the people here. You have no idea how smug he was when he learned that."
Gao Zhijian stood quietly, listening to Chun Xiaoman without saying anything. Once Chun Xiaoman had finished venting her frustrations, the bowl of soy sauce fried rice that Gao Zhijian had prepared for her had also been polished clean.
Gao Zhijian picked up the empty bowl and was going to leave when Chun Xiaoman called out to him. "Zhijian, you no longer have to bring me food. Xiaohai will leave some for me in the kitchen."
Chun Xiaoman then pursed her lips with a complex expression. "I've sworn to never marry, and I have no intention of breaking my oath. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"
"Hmm..."
"Hey, I'm being straightforward here. We're all brothers and sisters forever, so I've got to tell you the truth. I don't want to lose you as my brother. Of course, I'll tell Zhao Wu the same thing."
Gao Zhijian was quiet. He was the only one aware of the pain that pierced his heart the moment he heard Chun Xiaoman's words. However, he had inadvertently failed to suppress some of his anguish as the empty bowl in his hand fractured with a crack.
Chun Xiaoman walked up to Gao Zhijian and stared intently into the latter's eyes. "A place to call home is rare for us with disabilities. We must cherish what we have, for many people wish to have what is ours."
"I'm sure you know, but people like us can only be sold, beaten, and treated like garbage. We're not even human in their eyes, which is why I want you to focus on what matters, Zhijian. We must also work hard to protect our home."
"Mmhm." Gao Zhijian nodded and cut a desolate figure as he turned around and walked toward the stairs with the empty bowl in his hand.
Chun Xiaoman felt a little guilty as she stared at his departing figure. However, she was still convinced that he had to make a decision sooner rather than later. With that, she sat back down and picked up the books on the ground before reciting the chants.
These chants weren't comparable to Li Huowang's supernatural powers, but she dared not underestimate them and was ravenous in her studies. Her comprehension wasn't as high as Lu Xiucai's comprehension, but diligence could make up for a lack of talent. If studying for six hours a day wasn't enough, then she'd study for even longer.
Even gold and stones could be split with hard work, and she had a lot of work to do, as she could barely use a few simple divine chants. She'd never want a repeat of her harrowing experience long ago when her own father had sold her away, and she had no choice but to acquiesce.
Before Chun Xiaoman could become engrossed in her studies, rapid footsteps echoed from the staircase. A panicking Lu Xiucai rushed down the stairs and exclaimed, "A group of bandits have entered our village and are killing people on sight! We already have a few casualties!"
Chapter 491 - Dharma Sect
"Hah!" Gao Zhijian exclaimed. He was topless and was having the halberd around at the entrance of the village. He looked like a giant capable of plowing through an entire army.
Red mist shrouded him as veins bulged all over him. A group of people wearing black cloth on their shoulders stood before him, and they looked like normal civilians except they were unusually agitated.
The people fearlessly charged at Gao Zhijian with their farming tools in hand.
"Do not be afraid of him! Chaaarge! We are the people of God Yu'er. Even if we die, we'll only become ghosts of God Yu'er! We'll reincarnate into emperors in our next life!"
A cold glint flashed, and three people standing in front of Gao Zhijian were cleaved in half; their insides splattered on the white wall. However, there were too many enemies, and Gao Zhijian could not handle all of them.
They had attacked in the middle of the night, so Gao Zhijian had no time to wear Peng Longteng's armor before defending the village.
A stone flew across the air and struck Gao Zhijian on the head, injuring him.
"AAAAAAAH!" Gao Zhijian bent down, lowering his stance before throwing the halberd in his hands with all his might. The halberd flew toward where the stone had come from. The halberd spun like a boomerang and cleaved through the crowd. A kaleidoscope of blood and entrails exploded in the air like crimson fireworks.
Gao Zhijian followed the trail of blood to reach his halberd. However, the crowd behind him seemed mad. Despite facing Gao Zhijian's killing intent, none of them stepped backward. They charged at Gao Zhijian in a frenzy.
Amidst the chaos, a needle tied to a white thread flew over and struck a man's face. The man's facial features melted as he screamed, but his scream was soon muffled as his mouth fell into his clothes down below. The man had become faceless!
"You can do it, musclehead! We're here to help!" Puppy shouted.
The Dharma Sect turned to look in the direction of Cowheart Village, and they laughed upon seeing a group of disabled people charging at them. Chun Xiaoman was furious upon seeing the corpses on the ground. She took out the bell that Li Huowang had given to her and shook it vigorously.
Then, she stuffed her mouth with dirt before commanding the two Wandering Gods in the air. The Wandering Gods nodded and pounced on the members of the Dharma Sect. Those unlucky enough collapsed to the ground upon getting hit by the Wandering Gods' attacks.
However, it was not enough. Chun Xiaoman placed the bell on her waist before taking off her shirt and revealing her innerwear covered in yellow paper. She took out a serrated short sword and tapped her forehead with it before chanting, "The disciple opens the third eye to stare at the heavens. May the masters' guard look upon us!
"Bestow upon us skin of bronze, bones of steel, and bestow upon us helmets and armor to protect ourselves! We turn the bronze bag thrice, and the steel bag is now thrice as heavy!"
Lu Xiucai and five other people did the same thing behind her. They used a serrated short sword to slice their skin open, allowing their blood to drip down their faces and finally onto the ground.
"Turn swords into feathers, rods into grass, and stones into bubbles! May the masters and the Heavenly Mater help the disciples!"
Chun Xiaoman, Lu Xiucai, and the five others finished their chant. Their eyes were large and unblinking as they charged toward the Dharma Sect members with their serrated short swords in hand.
Clang, clang, clang!
Lu Xiucai and Chun Xiaoman grew confident when they remained unscathed despite suffering a few attacks. The weapons of the enemies bounced off of their skin as if their skin were made of steel.
Chun Xiaoman and the others raised their weapons and fought back fiercely.
They could cut down others, but their enemies could not do the same to them. At this point, they were conducting a slaughter. With their help, the burden on Gao Zhijian dropped drastically. Soon, they turned the tides against such a large group of enemies with just so few of them.
The villagers of Cowheart Village gained courage upon seeing that the enemies were getting pushed back. They took up their farming tools and fought back as well.
Soon, the entrance to the village became incredibly chaotic.
More and more Dharma Sect members perished as time ticked by, and that was when an old dwarf woman wearing a tattered monk's robe appeared from Gao Zhijian's shadow and thrust a dagger made of black jade toward his waist.
Gao Zhijian endured the pain and looked down to see that the old woman's face was covered with a black cloth. A massive word was written on the black cloth, and it said, "Witch."
An eerie aged chuckle came from the other side of the black cloth. "Hehehe~ Fold the paper money, burn the golden papers, pour the ceremonial wine, and burn the incense sticks. The year ends as the spring of the new year beckons at us."
Puppy was hiding among the crowd, but when he saw Gao Zhijian's plight, he did not hesitate and waved the wish wood at the old woman. However, the old woman was unusually agile. She ran deeper into the chaotic battlefield with her weapon drawn.
"Care... care... careful! There's..." Gao Zhijian couldn't even finish his sentence when the old woman emerged from the shadow of a young lady fighting with her enhanced figure. The old woman easily slit the young lady's throat with her dagger.
The young lady's neck was easily sliced open, even though her skin was supposed to be immune to swords and daggers. She collapsed to the ground while desperately trying to hold back the blood gushing out of her neck.
"Hahaha! Praise be to God Yu'er! The golden bricks on the ground lay three feet high, and the tree of money is riddled with jewelry!"
"Nan'er!" Chun Xiaoman roared the young lady's name out of despair.
Just then, a shiver went down her spine—someone was behind her!
Before the old woman could kill Chun Xiaoman, the Wandering Gods in the air flew down to force the old woman away.
However, the Wandering Gods' attacks had merely forced her back. The old woman's bizarre ability to seemingly change positions instantaneously forced Chun Xiaoman and the others to fight with their backs against each other.
They couldn't allow another sneak attack.
Cowheart Village is done for at this rate! I have to kill her, even if I have to pay a steep price! Chun Xiaoman took out the bell and shook it again. She followed Li Huowang's instructions and shook her head vigorously to see the Wandering Gods in the air splitting into them.
Chun Xiaoman ordered them to attack the old woman, and they complied. A cold wind infused with yin energy engulfed Cowheart Village as the Wandering Gods flew into the sky and burrowed underground to search for the old woman.
Chun Xiaoman used three years of her lifespan, and her gamble had paid off. Against the encirclement of the Wandering Gods, the old woman was soon forced out of hiding and had no choice but to retreat.
The old woman was about to jump into her shadow once again when Puppy waved the wish wood. This time, the spell hit her; the Strayed One's tongue on the wood moved slightly, confounding the old man.
Gao Zhijian took advantage of that opportunity, swinging his halberd. The heavy halberd split the old woman into a pile of meat and bones.
Chapter 492 - Fear
The Dharma Sect members came to a screeching halt and awakened from their frenzy. They seemed groggy, as if they had just woken up from a dream. The next moment, they roared in fright and dispersed, running into the dark woods.
The stench of blood and feces filled the air.
Everyone dazedly for a while before realizing that they had emerged victorious, but none of them cheered; the majority of them slumped to the ground. Then, they started panting as the adrenaline wore off before sobbing and vomiting at the gory sight.
Those who had traveled with Li Huowang from Zephyr Temple were fine because they had gotten used to such a sight.
Chun Xiaoman wiped away the blood on her face before slumping to the ground and realizing that she was covered in cold sweat. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"It's fine. The masters that we've invited into our body have simply left; this is the aftereffect of that."
Yang Xiaohai and Gao Zhijian sighed upon seeing that it wasn't just Chun Xiaoman.
"Goodness, Xiucai. You really are useless. The treasure that Li Huowang gave me is so much better. Luckily, I don't have to learn what you guys are trying to learn right now," Puppy said, revealing the wish wood in his hands.
"Fuck off! That was the easiest divine chant. Do you really think that you can match up with us? Just wait until I learn the second and third divine chants; we're going to fight and see who is stronger between us!"
"Oh? Look at you. Let's fight, then! Let's even bet on it!"
"Puppy, are you done? You really think this is the time to be bickering? Support us back the estate! Can't you see that Gao Zhijian is hurt?"
Those lucky enough to sustain only a few injuries helped those with heavier injuries into the Bai Family Estate. They placed quite a few torches on the wall to prevent any ambushes.
They had won, but Cowheart Village was clouded in sadness. It was all because twelve people had perished tonight, and their bodies were covered in white cloth and were lined up in the hall The village didn't have many villagers, so the twelve people whom they had lost were both their friends and family members.
Lu Zhuangyuan smoked his pipe with a frown. Out of the twelve who died, two of them were his disciples, and one of them was even the disciple who had the most potential.
What a shame, Lu Zhuangyuan thought.
"Sigh, I thought things were going swimmingly for us, and I thought the Liang Kingdom was a peaceful place, so how come we just got attacked by bandits?"
"They weren't bandits." Chun Xiaoman said. She was in the middle of treating Yang Xiaohai. "They were talking about some God Yu'er or something. They seem to be worshiping some deity."
"I agree. Bandits once came to my village, and they charged into the largest house to rob the food and money in there. They'd never kill mere serfs like us," said one of the militia members.
Lu Zhuangyuan knocked his smoke pipe on the pillar and took out some fresh tobacco from his pouch before asking, "Why are they going around murdering people? Isn't working hard for a peaceful life hard enough?"
"If you want to know why they attacked us, you can just ask them yourself," Puppy said, dragging "something" into the hall.
The others were shocked at the sight. Puppy had just dragged a human being into the hall, but the latter looked barely human; his limbs were twisted, and some of his facial features were missing.
"How's my divine needles? My needles have paralyzed him. He can't run away nor die, so it's nice that we get to interrogate him."
No one said anything as they looked at the twisted human in front of them.
"How should we interrogate him? Senior Li is the best at doing it, but he's not here."
"Let me do it!" Chun Xiaoman exclaimed. She was still furious about Nan'er's death, so she wasted no time and grabbed a bamboo broom from the corner of the wall before smacking the man's face with it. She did not stop until the man's twisted figure was bruised. "Talk! Why did you come here to kill us?"
"Fucking bitch! Kill me if you can! I'm just going to become God Yu'er's ghost when I die! I will become an emperor in my next life. You fools who do not worship him will reincarnate into pigs and dogs—destined to eat shit all day!" the man's mouth, which was resting on his elbow, taunted Chun Xiaoman.
"You really think that I wouldn't dare to kill you?!" Chun Xiaoman took out her sword and placed it on the man's neck. Chun Xiaoman glared at the man as the latter smiled at her.
"No, this won't work. My turn." Puppy walked out of the hall. When he returned, he was wearing a red robe and was carrying a bag full of many different knives.
"Senior Puppy, why are you wearing Senior Li's clothes? And why did you bring my butchering knives with you?" Yang Xiaohai was curious.
"Stop talking and just look!" Puppy squatted next to the man and coughed. He imitated Li Huowang's tone of voice as he said, "I know that you are not afraid of death, but how about I make you wish that you were dead?"
With that, he placed the knives and implements neatly on the ground. There were hooks used to hang the pig, a sharp knife used to stab the pig's heart, a broad cleaver used to cut the bones, and even a small knife used to shave the pig's fur.
The man's eyes twitched at the sight. "You motherfucker! Kill me if you dare!"
"Oh? You have guts. I wonder where I should start?"
Rather than a knife, Puppy picked up an ordinary yet thick hemp rope. "Hehe, you did not expect me to take this, did you? I should use this as an appetizer. I'm sure you know that hemp ropes aren't as smooth as silk, right?
"Look at how rough it is, hehehe..." Puppy rubbed the hemp rope on the man's skin, and the man's skin turned red due to friction. "I'll place this rope between your crotch and rub it back and forth like a saw. It's not a knife, but it's so rough that it would grind your skin and flesh into pulp."
The man's eyes flashed in a fearful light, and he trembled at Puppy's remark.
"Oh, and because I will be rubbing it over your crotch..." Puppy proceeded to describe in great, graphic detail what was going to happen to the man. The man broke down and cried before Puppy could finish his explanation.
"Stop! Stop! I'll speak! Just kill me afterward!" the man roared, his face covered in snot and tears.
Puppy clapped his hands in excitement and turned around. "See? Did you see that?"
Rather than worship and praise, everyone stared at him with wary eyes.
"Why are you looking at me like that? I didn't do anything. I was just mimicking Li Huowang..."
Chapter 493 - Night Visit
"Stop boasting and move away."
Chun Xiaoman used a bamboo pole to shove Puppy away before standing in front of the cowering man. "Why did you come to our village? And why do you want to kill us? How did we offend you?"
The man told her everything, as he was afraid that Puppy would use the hemp rope on him if he didn't answer fast enough.
"We were chased out by the military, and we ran out of food soon after we were chased away. The witch told us to find a village far away from the city and pillage that village for food. Your village is the farthest from any city."
"The military?" Chun Xiaoman was confused. Was that really all? "Who are you guys? And why did the military chase you away?"
"We're members of the Dharma Sect!" the man exclaimed, raising his chin. The words "Dharma Sect" had somehow boosted his confidence as if it was supporting him mentally.
"The kingdom is unfair to us! There are many others worshiping many gods, but they've been deliberately targeting only us, who are worshiping God Yu'er! Hmph! The witch who can talk to God Yu'er had told us that the Liang Kingdom was on its last legs and wouldn't last long, just like the grasshoppers after autumn that will die in just a few days!
"God Yu'er had even shown itself to us a few days ago! The dark skies were the doing of God Yu'er! God Yu'er would soon manifest in the mortal world! By then, the Dharma Sect would be the official religion of the kingdom!
"We will become emperors! We no longer have to give up our food, and we no longer have to work by then while enjoying the taste of meat every day!"
"Is he crazy? He's been spouting nonsense all this while," Puppy asked, sounding confused.
Puppy had no idea what was happening, but Lu Zhuangyuan knew what was going on. His travels had allowed him to learn a ton about the world outside.
"Ah... They're not bandits but rebels! We ran all the way here to avoid the war, but things are going to become chaotic for us again, even though we're just starting to enjoy our peace!"
"Rebel? They're rebels?" Lu Xiucai scoffed, but his smile disappeared when he remembered that strange old lady.
The majority of the people in the hall had no idea what was going on, but they knew the implications of the word "rebel." Rebellions signified death, war, and hunger.
Chun Xiaoman crouched and questioned the man, "Does your Dharma Sect have many members?"
"Of course! We have millions of members! We're all children of God Yu'er... it's just that some of us were enlightened much quicker than others! You guys are the same, too! Hurry up and surrender to God Yu'er!"
The man was clearly spouting nonsense, but everyone in the village was shocked by what they heard from him.
Zhao Wu had a bad feeling about this, and he expressed it, saying, "We killed so many of them. Don't you think they'll come and avenge their members?"
No one knew the answer to that question, but everyone felt as if a boulder had landed on their chests.
"Don't worry. It's been a while since Senior Li and Miaomiao have departed, so they should be coming back soon."
Everyone felt much better at that remark, and it made sense.
Li Huowang was like a god to them, after all.
The Dharma Sect was nothing to Li Huowang.
"Miss Chun, I think we can't wait for the autumn harvest to stock up on food anymore. Once the kingdom is embroiled in chaos, our stockpile will be our lifeblood," Lu Zhuangyuan said. His rich experience was exhibiting its usefulness right now.
"Good call. Zhao Wu, pawn the gold and stockpile some food! We'll discuss the details once Senior Li is back. Zhijian, arrange for some militia to stand guard during the night and make it a shifting schedule, just like what we did during our travels.
"Tell them to bring some dogs during their patrols. Dogs can detect things we can't."
Without Li Huowang, Chun Xiaoman assumed the role of a leader. Gao Zhijian would have been better as a leader if it weren't for his speech impediment.
While Cowheart Village was buzzing with activity, Li Huowang had a visitor in Shangjing. Someone knocked on his door and asked, "Is Sir Er here?"
Li Huowang was jolted out of his nightmare, and he instinctively grabbed his weapon beneath his pillow.
"Is Sir Er here? Please open the door. Our master is waiting for you."
Li Huowang tried his best to listen to the timekeeper's voice and realized that it was already the third section of the night. He didn't really have many acquaintances in Shangjing, so who could be waiting for him?
"Senior Li, there are twelve people outside, and there's a sedan..." Miaomiao whispered.
"Dress up and prepare the luggage. Wait for me on the second floor. I will kill them if they are enemies, and we'll run away from Shangjing immediately afterward!" Li Huowang said. He wore his red Daoist robes and placed the purple-tassel sword on his back before walking toward the entrance.
Li Huowang got ready to fight the moment his hands touched the wooden door. And that was when the fake Hong Zhong's illusion appeared next to him. "I checked. A eunuch is looking for you."
Li Huowang's eyes twitched as his hand passed through the illusion to open the door. His sharp sense of smell immediately caught the scent of a fragrance mixed with urine. The fake Hong Zhong's illusion was right. The other party was a eunuch.
Li Huowang's curiosity was piqued upon seeing a familiar jade cat in the eunuch's arms.
"Hehehe~ I greet Sir Er." The old eunuch bowed. "Please enter the sedan. Our master is waiting for you in his residence."
It seems that the emperor has finally remembered me. Li Huowang thought. Then, he entered the sedan that was the size of a small room. Soon, eight strong men carried him toward the palace.
The eight men carried the sedan carefully, making Li Huowang feel as if were sitting in a car. He was inside the highest-grade sedan that the Liang Kingdom had to offer.
The sedan passed through the red palace walls and continued until it arrived at the entrance of the emperor's bed chamber, where they finally allowed Li Huowang to exit the sedan.
The bed chamber had a golden roof and a red door. Moonlight was being reflected off the shiny, silver roof that had several statues of a beast wearing a mask unique to the Liang Kingdom.
Chapter 494 - Leader
Li Huowang was about to keep walking when a large-framed guard towering three meters tall stopped him.
"No weapons!" the large-framed guard exclaimed. He had a huge torso, but his lower half was comically small. The guard's face was also covered with a rusted bronze mask. Li Huowang couldn't see through the mask.
The guard took away Li Huowang's purple-tasseled sword and his bronze coin sword before retreating into a corner and standing motionlessly like a statue.
Li Huowang soon saw the bed chamber with numerous red pillars that had engravings of golden dragons.
The place was more like a hall rather than a bed chamber.
Li Huowang barely had time to look around when a surprised voice entered his ears.
"Come here, quick!" It was the young emperor of the Liang Kingdom. He was wearing a red and black robe and was waving at Li Huowang. If it weren't for the eunuch holding him back, he would have run over to Li Huowang.
Li Huowang stopped a few meters away from the young emperor and greeted, "Er Jiu greets the emperor!"
Ji Lin ignored the eunuchs and approached Li Huowang. "Er Jiu, you must help me!"
Li Huowang stood silently. He had no idea what to say, as the request was too sudden.
"My father was right! My brothers are scheming to take the throne!"
Ji Lin's eyes revealed thick fear. "I didn't want to become the emperor, and I would've been fine with living somewhere else without any pressure. However, they still want to kill me even though I wanted to offer them the throne!"
Of course. Do you really think that they'd let you live even though you're brothers with them? Li Huowang thought. He was not worried at all, as this issue wasn't his problem to handle.
"Your Highness, Er Jiu is a Surveillance Bureau member and cannot take part in the matters of the palace."
"Liar! Why did my third brother have people from the Surveillance Bureau, then?!" Ji Lin exclaimed. Then, he lowered his voice as he said, "The officials told me that you're strong. You came back with the corpse of a spiritual sin, and you also have a respectable rank in the bureau, right?
"You know that I can't trust anyone anymore, right? Everyone is scheming for their own profit, and I don't even know who is on whose side!" Ji Lin's voice trembled in fear. You helped me see through that scam during that festival, so I'm sure you're a good man. Please help me! I have no one else to help me!
"Do you know anyone from the Surveillance Bureau? If they can help me, I'll make sure that they become officials!"
Li Huowang frowned. He wasn't well versed in the politics of the palace, but he knew that the current emperor was too useless.
Li Huowang truly did not expect that Ji Lin didn't have a group of loyal officials by his side and had to start looking for external support. It was certain that Ji Lin would most likely die in the midst of this succession war.
"Your Highness, I'm afraid that I might not be able to help you."
Ji Lin was furious at Li Huowang's rejection. "I am the emperor, so you must listen to me! Otherwise, I will have you executed!"
Li Huowang was enraged. Should I swear allegiance to his brothers and kill him with them?
Just as Li Huowang was entertaining the idea, Ji Lin grabbed Li Huowang's hands and begged in a low voice, "Er Jiu, please help me... I really don't know what to do! I don't want to die!"
In the face of the emperor's begging and crying, Li Huowang had no choice but to give in for now. Li Huowang knew that a succession war was a dangerous event that would kill him if he made the wrong move. More importantly, Li Huowang was using a fake identity, so he'd certainly die if he ended up revealing his true self.
"Your Highness, this is an important matter. Please let me go back and think about it."
Ji Lin sighed in relief upon seeing that Li Huowang did not reject him outright. "Okay! Go back and think about it. I'm not going to rush you. Help me become the emperor, and I will give you as much gold as you want."
Li Huowang walked out from the bed chambers and saw the emperor talking to the old eunuch. The latter nodded and drew a circle on a book. It seems that I'm not the only one on his list of possible supporters. I guess he's very desperate.
Of course, Li Huowang didn't want to participate in the succession war. He had simply compromised to get out of the place. Ji Lin could take revenge on him, but he had to survive the succession war first.
Li Huowang felt that Ji Lin would most likely die and that he'd barely have any supporters.
When Li Huowang found his way to his house, it was already daybreak. He decided to find a beggar on the streets and placed his face on the beggar. He then tossed the beggar into his house to masquerade as himself before leaving Shangjing with Miaomiao.
Li Huowang was still pretty confident in his methods as a Sitting Oblivion Dao member.
As expected, nothing untoward happened as they approached the city gate.
"Sit here, and I will buy breakfast. We will eat along the way," Li Huowang said, approaching one of the breakfast stalls.
The cook was frying thin strips of dough in oil. The dough expanded and quickly became golden brown. The chubby cook was also making mochi balls. He rolled them in black sesame and coarse sugar, coating them in the mixture.
The crispy fried dough sticks and the sticky sweet mochi gave rise to a pleasant combination—the soft mochi covered the crispy fried dough stick, and the delicious scent of the sesame combined with the salty dough stick to create a flavor bomb.
"Give me six." Li Huowang threw some coins into the bamboo basket.
The chubby middle-aged man smiled at the sight. The next moment, his eyes abruptly sunk into his face.
"All right~ Six dough sticks with mochi. Here, be careful because It's hot." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
Li Huowang turned around and walked away. Upon biting a dough stick, Li Huowang came to a halt. Then, he turned around and walked up to the chubby man. He spat the dice in his mouth and stared at the chubby stall owner busy serving customers.
"Is there something to do, leader?" asked Li Huowang.
The chubby man wiped away the sweat on his neck while nodding and talking to the customers.
"I just want you to do me a small favor."
"I just want you to do me a small favor," the chubby man said.
Li Huowang chuckled. "You think I'm omnipotent? What makes you think I can do something that you couldn't?"
The chubby man ignored Li Huowang as he served the other customers. It was only when the customers were gone that the chubby man took out two stools for him and Li Huowang to sit on.
"Come, sit. Don't stand and talk like that. Only you can do this because the Dragon Vein will detect my presence the moment I get close enough to it."
Li Huowang looked at the man's plump face and scoffed, "We've already angered the Surveillance Bureau. Are you not satisfied yet?"
Even though Li Huowang was putting up a nonchalant face, he was already very aware of what was going on around him.
The man in front of Li Huowang was none other than one of the Sitting Oblivion Dao's leaders, Shai Zi!
Li Huowang couldn't forget how terrifying Shai Zis were.
Shai Zis loved tricking other liars. It could even be said that Shai Zis had tricked the majority of the Sitting Oblivion Dao members into joining them.
"Don't say that. We're not even going after the Surveillance Bureau's treasure. Why would they be angry at us?" Shai Zi took out the two remaining unsold dough sticks and ate them.
"Hong Zhong, the emperor was trying to pull you to his side last night, right? Why are you running away from something so interesting? Just go back and agree to his demands. We will then help find a way to let him succeed to the throne." Shai Zi told Li Huowang what to do.
Li Huowang was not even surprised that the Sitting Oblivion Dao wanted to interfere in the succession war.
But no matter what they wanted, Li Huowang had no intentions of joining them. "Boss, I don't have time. Find someone else."
Shai Zi chuckled when he heard Li Huowang's rejection. "No need to do that. You are not a child anymore. Relax, once the emperor succeeds to the throne there would be nothing else for you to do. Hong Zhong, we have very few people in the palace, and most of them perished during that incident. You are the only one who can stay by the emperor's side, so it has to be you. Don't forget the favor you owe me."
Shai Zi patted Li Huowang's shoulder with his oily hands. "Look, it makes complete sense. Only you can do it."
Favor? Li Huowang had no recollection of Shai Zi helping him last time.
"I won't do it. Find someone else," Li Huowang said, rejecting the offer before standing up to leave. "Many of the Sitting Oblivion Dao members had died during our last battle with the Surveillance Bureau. I think it's best if you rest and recuperate instead of doing what you're thinking of doing."
Li Huowang was betting that Shai Zi would not fight him since the Surveillance Bureau was monitoring Shangjing.
Li Huowang had no plans of listening even further, as he knew that the best way to avoid getting deceived was to avoid listening to Sitting Oblivion Dao members in the first place.
Li Huowang had just taken a few steps away when Shai Zi's voice echoed behind him. "Are you really not doing it? Then don't blame me for being ruthless."
Li Huowang turned around and stared calmly at Shai Zi, asking, "Boss Shai Zi, what do you want to do? Do you want to fight me?"
"Look at you talking like that. We're the military. I would never fight our own people," Shai Zi said in a gentle voice.
Li Huowang merely smiled coldly.
"One month ago, you asked me for a favor to safeguard something. You can decline to work for us this time, but don't blame me if that thing somehow escaped."
Li Huowang frowned. He was certain that he did not meet any Sitting Oblivion Dao a month ago. Is he tricking me?
"Boss Shai Zi, must you do this? I'm tired from the previous ordeal, and I want to rest in the meantime. Find someone else." Li Huowang threw the cold food onto the ground before walking to his carriage.
Shai Zi did not chase after Li Huowang and busied himself with the customers.
Li Huowang sat on his carriage and headed to the western city gate when the chubby man turned around and stared at the horse carriage, shouting, "Brat! If you don't cultivate 'Lies' when you cultivate 'Truth,' you will become a demon!"
They managed to leave Shangjing in peace.
Shai Zi didn't do anything to them, but Li Huowang was not stupid enough to relax.
Once out of Shangjing, Li Huowang traveled non-stop with Li Sui and Bai Lingmiao in the carriage. They did not dare to talk to anyone on their way to avoid getting tricked.
They would hunt and fish whenever they were hungry, just like cavemen.
The fire scorched the skin of a fish that was roughly the size of her arm. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
After sprinkling some salt on the fish, Bai Lingmiao carried the fish over to Li Huowang.
Li Huowang was looking around warily. "You can eat first. I'm not hungry."
Bai Lingmiao shoved the fish into Li Huowang's arms before turning around to cook another fish.
"Senior Li, how far are we from Cowheart Village?" Bai Lingmiao asked.
"We're not going back for now. I don't want trouble to follow us back to the village."
"How much longer must we stay outside? Several years?" Bai Lingmiao was worried.
"No. Since the Sitting Oblivion Dao wants to interfere with the succession war, we only need to wait until the new emperor is crowned. By then, they won't trouble me anymore regardless of whether the Sitting Oblivion Dao had succeeded or not."
Li Huowang was more worried that Shai Zi would do something to him from the dark. Shai Zis were incredibly strong, and they were the type of entity to greet their victims only after they had ensnared their victims in their traps.
Li Huowang's clenched fists loosened, and he couldn't help but feel that he was still a bit too weak. There wouldn't have been no need to be so wary if he had just cultivated the "Truth."
Li Huowang wolfed down the fish and rested in the carriage, but he did not fall into a deep sleep. He'd wake up the moment he sensed something.
Late at night, Bai Lingmiao and Li Huowang opened their eyes in unison. "Senior Li, there's something on the eastern side of the forest."
"I heard it, too. Let's go see what it is together. I don't want any of us to get kidnapped."
The three of them carefully approached the location where they heard the noise. Soon, they heard people crying and shouting, along with the shrill clashing of weapons.
Li Huowang peered into a hole amidst the tree branches and saw what was happening.
The sparse forest was filled with a cacophonous din of screams and clashing weapons.
The Dharma Sect with black cloth slung over their shoulders were fighting six Surveillance Bureau members.
Li Huowang took one look and knew that the Surveillance Bureau was trying to get rid of as many members of the Dharma Sect as possible, and they were winning the fight.
The Dharma Sect members were unafraid of death, but the difference in strength was just too huge.
If it hadn't been for Hong Da, Li Huowang wouldn't have known that the six figures in the distance were Surveillance Bureau members.
Li Huowang sighed in relief at the blood flowing like a river on the ground. He was worried that the Sitting Oblivion Dao had chased after them, so it was a good thing that his assumption was wrong.
"Let's go. The Surveillance Bureau can easily deal with random people; they probably don't need me to do anything."
Li Huowang's attitude toward the Surveillance Bureau had gotten better when he discovered that they had been working hard to stop the Natural Disasters. He was about to walk away when he saw one of the Surveillance Bureau members using an unusual weapon, a brush.
More specifically, it was Zhuge Yuan's brush.
"Senior Zhuge, is that your weapon?" Bai Lingmiao heard Li Huowang talking to himself. "So that really is your weapon. I guess the Surveillance Bureau took your stuff after you died. That said, what is the origin of your brush? Is it really that strong? I should've taken it with me instead. It's a shame I didn't think of that at the time."
Even though Bai Lingmiao knew that Li Huowang was talking to his invisible illusions, it was still a bizarre sight to see.
Bai Lingmiao grew curious. She was about to ask what Li Huowang was talking about when she saw him snarling at someone far away.
Bai Lingmiao "looked" in that direction and saw a woman with purple lips holding an unusual sword made out of bone. Bai Lingmiao took a closer look at the weapon and was horrified to see a person's head serving as the sword's pommel. To make matters worse, the sword was made out of a person's spine! The head seemed to have been dehydrated until it shrank to the size of a dried orange; the head's orifices were filled with black mud, and there was a purple talisman on its forehead.
The head had shrunk, contorting the head's features, but Bai Lingmiao still saw that the owner of the head had to have been a handsome man when he was still alive.
Crack, crack, crack.
Bai Lingmiao looked at Li Huowang upon hearing him grinding his teeth.
"They... they refined your body into a weapon?!" Li Huowang's anger couldn't be contained when he realized that his best friend's corpse was desecrated in such a manner.
"You do not have to be angry. That is normal. Even a Strayed One's body part is valuable, so how could the corpse of a Twisted One be any less valuable than a Strayed One's body part? Do you really think that the Surveillance Bureau would just leave that corpse to rot on the ground?" said the fake Hong Zhong. He then chuckled and sat on Peng Longteng's shoulder.
In contrast to Li Huowang's fury, Zhuge Yuan was relaxed. "I do not yearn for material things. My body is just a bag of flesh, and I do not need it. Junior Li, let's go."
"No!" Li Huowang exclaimed. It would have been a different story if Li Howang had remained clueless about what the Surveillance Bureau had done to Zhuge Yuan's corpse.
In addition, Zhuge Yuan had sacrificed himself to save Li Huowang. How could Li Huowang do nothing upon knowing that someone had desecrated his best friend's corpse?
Of course, Li Huowang was still rational enough to stay put for the time being to observe the woman's strength.
Based on how Hong Da was addressing her, it seemed that she was a new Ji Xiang.
However, Li Huowang didn't know which sect she had come from based on her clothes, which was a simple purple dress.
Li Huowang was also worried about the sword made from Zhuge Yuan's spine. A weapon crafted from a Twisted One's body part was by no means weak.
"Senior Zhuge, what do you think that sword can do? It's made from your spine, after all, so perhaps you know anything about it? Is there a way to counter it?" Li Huowang asked.
"Of course, I don't know. I'm a Twisted One and would never go and learn about myself by refining myself. Junior Li, let's just go. No need to cause trouble just because of me."
Even though Zhuge Yuan was telling him to stop, Li Huowang was adamant about getting the sword. He stared carefully at the woman with purple lips.
Just then, the woman raised the sword and waved it at the Dharma Sect members. The waists of the Dharma Sect members vanished; they were cut in half just like that!
Blood stained the ground crimson as the Dharma Sect members collapsed with agonized screams.
"Daoist, I think we should go. You might be too weak to defeat her," the old monk's illusion said, sounding worried.
However, Li Huowang became even more stubborn upon hearing their remarks.
"Junior Li, how strange. A rift opened in the air when she waved that sword, and I saw some fields and mountains beyond that rift."
"There are fields and mountains beyond a rift in the air?"
"Junior Li, I think I've figured it out. The world beyond that rift must be the Qi Kingdom."
Li Huowang immediately understood the powers of the sword after hearing Zhuge Yuan's analysis. The woman was using the sword to open up a small rift in space to send things into the Qi Kingdom.
The moment the rift in space closed up, the rift would sever whatever was trapped inside of it.
And that was how the Dharma Sect members were cut in half...
Rather than a sword, the weapon was like a key that allowed anyone to travel to an alternate dimension, the Qi Kingdom.
The Dharma Sect members were slowly getting pushed back. Li Huowang had already learned the power of the sword, so he chose not to wait any longer.
The Dharma Sect members were instrumental in distracting the Surveillance Bureau members. Once they were defeated, Li Huowang would have to face all six Surveillance Bureau members at the same time.
"Both of you, go back and wait for me at the valley where we stayed two days ago," Li Huowang said to Bai Lingmiao and Li Sui before taking off his red robe and handing it to them.
He then sent his body image into the ground and approached the woman slowly in an invisible state.
Once he was close enough, Li Huowang took off the bronze coin veil, and his face shifted. His face transformed into that of a stranger's face.
He flipped his palm, and a black cloth appeared. He slung it over his shoulder, and his disguise as a Dharma Sect member was complete.
Li Huowang did not make a move right away. The Dharma Sect members were collapsing one by one, but he bid his time, waiting for the golden opportunity to attack.
Just then, a black jade dagger rushed out of the woman's shadow and flew toward her back. At the sight, Li Huowang immediately made his move, pouncing on the woman like a tiger.
Before he could reach her, he saw cold glints flying toward him from every angle. An old robe with quite a few rusted swords and knives was making a beeline for Li Huowang.
Li Huowang felt the sharp knives cutting through the air. He looked up and saw that the robe covered with knives was like a chakram coming down on his head. He immediately cut off two of his fingers and threw them out.
His severed fingers deflected the robe, and Li Huowang took this chance to get close to the woman. Just then, Hong Da's familiar face appeared in front of him as his robe flew back and landed on his dirty body.
Even though Hong Da couldn't see Li Huowang, he somehow managed to sense the latter. "Who's there? Show yourself!"
Li Huowang didn't want to waste time and tore off his own face to slap it onto Hong Da's face.
At the same time, the Daoist in the rear pointed Zhuge Yuan's brush at Li Huowang, and the mask was torn in half. The Daoist then made a seal to reveal Li Huowang.
Li Huowang saw that the woman had already cut the being that rose from her shadow into four parts. The woman was about to swing the spine sword at Li Huowang when the latter sliced open his chest with a dagger and shattered his two lowermost ribs before stabbing it into himself. A wave of pain erupted from Li Huowang. Everyone let out agonized screams along with Li Huowang, and the woman's attack came to an abrupt halt.
Fortunately, Li Huowang had long gotten used to such extreme pain. He recovered quickly and skirted past Hong Da to reach the woman.
Li Huowang didn't want to kill her as she might be instrumental in stopping Natural Disasters. All he wanted was the weapon refined from Zhuge Yuan's corpse. Li Huowang swung his dagger at her slim fingers that were holding the spine sword.
Clang!
Li Huowang was stunned to see his dagger breaking in half.
A small golden Buddha that resembled the woman emerged from her sleeves. The small golden Buddha was roughly the size of only a fingertip, and it cried out at Li Huowang.
It had used its golden skull to break Li Huowang's weapon!
She's a Buddhist?! Li Huowang cursed under his breath and reached for his purple-tasseled sword.
A rusted blade suddenly appeared next to Li Huowang's torso, forcing him to stop. The next moment, his purple-tasseled sword transformed into a black tassel sword with several mahjong tiles hanging from it.
That was close! Hong Da is familiar with my weapon, so he would've discovered my identity if I had taken it out just now!
Li Huowang swiftly skirted around the battlefield to avoid Hong Da's attacks. When he was ready to deal the final blow to obtain the spine sword, he realized that the woman's body was covered in the small golden Buddhas.
The golden Buddhas were either crying or smiling as they wriggled on her face like golden maggots. Somehow, they resembled a man's face.
The woman looked at Li Huowang, and the golden Buddhas shouted, "Amitabha! Place down your sword and be enlightened."
Li Huowang suddenly had the impulse to put down all of his weapons.
He was about to remove both his swords from his back when he stabbed his own arm into his torso to take the two broken ribs before stabbing himself with those ribs once again.
The intense pain cleared his mind, and the situation was reversed.
"AAAAAHHH!" Li Huowang stabbed his chest for the third time before running toward the woman who was hugging herself due to the extreme pain.
While running towards her, Li Huowang removed the broken ribs and stabbed himself again and again. Except for Li Huowang, everyone crumpled to the ground from the pain.
Despite the extreme pain, Li Huowang managed to send a kick toward the woman's right hand to knock the spine sword out of her hand.
The golden Buddhas on her hands were about to block his kick when Li Huowang twisted his ribs once again; the Buddhas contorted in pain and messed up the timing.
Li Huowang kicked as hard as he could, and the golden Buddhas sunk into the woman's flesh.
The woman could no longer hold onto the spine sword and was forced to let it go.
Li Huowang immediately grabbed the weapon and felt the warmth on the hilt. He immediately felt better after recovering Zhuge Yuan's corpse.
He got ready to leave once he got what he wanted.
Just then, four triangular flags around the size of a palm flew from the depths of the forest and pinned Li Huowang's shadow to the ground.
Li Huowang felt like his legs were stuck to the ground; he could not move at all. He twisted his head and saw that the Surveillance Bureau members busy killing the Dharma Sect members earlier were coming to assist their fellow members.
The surviving Dharma Sect members had already fled.
What should I do? Li Huowang swept his gaze across everyone's faces. Do I really need to fight for real?
If he used all of his strength, Hong Da would definitely recognize him. If that happened, he would have to kill all of them to protect his identity.
However, the Surveillance Bureau had not done anything wrong, so he didn't want to do that at all. They were just doing their job by killing the evil Dharma Sect members.
Li Huowang wanted to explore his options before resorting to an all-out brawl.
Li Huowang's stomach expanded and contracted rapidly as a deep growling came from his belly.
"Step down before I get angry. I was just messing around with you just now," Li Huowang said.
However, his lie didn't even faze the Surveillance Bureau members. Two of them wearing a monk's robe covered Li Huowang's head with a net soaked in period blood to prevent him from escaping.
The Daoist then raised the brush with both of his hands and mustered all of his strength to point it at Li Huowang's body. The Daoist's hair transformed from black to white.
Li Huowang's color was about to get absorbed into the brush when Li Huowang closed his eyes.
Just then, a massive headless body appeared in front of him. It was none other than Peng Longteng!
"Careful! He has backup!"
The Surveillance Bureau members became wary and gripped their weapons tightly at the appearance of the headless woman.
However, the Daoist holding the brush was even more surprised than anyone. He stared at Peng Longteng in disbelief and exclaimed, "This is impossible! I'm wielding Zhuge Yuan's Kuixing Brush! How come she's still standing?!"
The remaining four became warier at the Daoist's remark.
Seeing that, Li Huowang suddenly had an idea.
Wait, maybe I don't need to fight them... perhaps I can just scare them away!
Li Huowang took a few deep breaths before thrusting the spine sword into the ground. The next moment, the surroundings shimmered as he muttered, "Hmph! Are you not curious why I'm still alive? Why don't you ask Zhuge Yuan himself? Untraceable silence, hidden in the highest mountains. Living is to avoid being obliviated! Surpass the realms of the Three Worlds! Resurrection!"
The Surveillance Bureau members found their hearts seized by a primal fear when they saw Zhuge Yuan flickering into existence before Li Huowang.
They knew the depths of Zhuge Yuan's strength, and he was definitely much stronger with his own spine sword in hand!
They wasted no time and turned around to run into the depths of the forest.
Moments later, Peng Longteng and Zhuge Yuan's figures disappeared. Li Huowang grabbed his aching head. Transforming two illusions into reality with his current cultivation was way beyond his limits.
This was the best he could do, and fortunately, it had scared them away.
Li Huowang felt like his head was splitting into two, but he endured it and staggered away with the spine sword in hand.
The Surveillance Bureau members had run away, but there was a chance that they'd come back to investigate.
Li Huowang felt his brain swelling to the point that it felt like his skull would explode from the pressure. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺
"Junior Li, are you alright?" Zhuge Yuan was worried.
"I'm fine. I'm fine." Li Huowang didn't actually know whether he was fine or not. This was the first time he had used his cultivation to transform illusions into reality. It was not as simple as the apple at the time.
Li Huowang's words had yet to finish echoing in the air when his Dantian trembled, and his surroundings peeled away. "Oh no! My inner sight can no longer contain the primordial breath!"
The moment he blinked, he found himself in the same old hallucination.
However, he was no longer in the ward but was being wheeled around by his mother in a small courtyard boxed in by wire fences.
The people in the prison were relieved to see Li Huowang's atrophied muscles.
Li Huowang recalled what the other side looked like and bit open the restraints on him before dragging his weakened self in a certain direction. He could still remember seeing a small bush in that direction; it was tiny, so it was the perfect place to seek refuge temporarily. He was so weak that even a wild boar could kill him on the other side.
"Son? Son, what are you doing? Get up!" Sun Xiaoqin rushed over to Li Huowang and dusted the dust off of him before attempting to hold him up.
"Mom, trust me! Mom, stop!" Li Huowang exclaimed, stopping her.
Sun Xiaoqin stopped at her son's frantic shouting.
"Mom, I can't get up for now! The Surveillance Bureau is still nearby. Wait, where is my sword?"
Li Huowang looked around and saw a broom near the wall. He took it and hugged it tightly.
He sighed in relief upon seeing the plastic broom handle. Then, he looked up and said weakly, "Mom, I can't explain this for now, but please calm down. I will become better again soon. Trust me!"
Sun Xiaoqin cried and nodded when she saw Li Huowang holding the broom like a madman while lying on the ground.
Li Huowang also felt sad seeing his mother crying. "Mom, don't be sad? I can't come back for now because I'm really busy here. Please endure it. Once things have died down, I can come back again."
"Mom isn't sad. Just lie down there, all right? I will go and look for the doctor."
Seeing his mother leave, Li Huowang cursed himself for making the situation even worse.
However, there was no choice. Of course, he wouldn't make the same mistake twice. He'd be more careful in the future now that he knew that his primordial breath could become unstable by going overboard.
Li Huowang looked around carefully and sighed in relief upon seeing that no one was approaching him. "Good. At least no one is approaching me. I think I'm safe for now."
His words had just come out of his mouth when he heard footsteps approaching from behind.
Li Huowang froze as many different thoughts flooded his mind. Then, he stood up shakily and placed the broom on his shoulder before walking out of his imaginary cover with his back facing the footsteps.
He walked forward two steps and pretended that he heard something before scoffing and asking, "What? Why did you guys come back? Do you really think that I'm too kind?"
"Huowang." A familiar voice echoed.
Li Huowang was stunned by the soft voice, but he turned around almost immediately and saw Yang Na looking at him with teary eyes from the other side of the wire fence.
Yang Na had gotten so thin that Li Huowang could see her bones, and she didn't come here by herself. An old man wearing round glasses was standing behind her.
Li Huowang recognized the old man, as he was Yang Na's father.
He used to get along with her father well, and Yang Na's father always teased Li Huowang whenever he came over to Yang Na's house.
But that was all in the past; he was no longer as kind to Li Huowang as before. In fact, his gaze was filled with contempt as he glared at Li Huowang.
"Do you see that? He's the Li Huowang that you've been thinking about day and night! How much longer are you going to be stuck in your delusions?"
Yang Na bit her lips and cried.
Li Huowang's heart quivered. No, I cannot be distracted here. I'm still in danger on the other side. This is fake! How come Yang Na appeared the moment I found myself stuck in this hallucination? This is fake, and Yang Na is fake! But since there are two of them... Are they Bai Lingmiao and Li Sui?
"Miaomiao? Li Sui? Is that you? Give me a sign if it's you!" Li Huowang shouted at the two behind the wire fence.
Seeing that, Yang Na's father dragged Yang Na away, saying, "Now do you see how hopeless he is? Let's go! Forget about Li Huowang, and don't even think about seeing him again!"
As Li Huowang stared at Yang Na's distant figure, he suddenly thought of something. No! This side must be real, too! I'm going to make it real once I've cultivated the "Truth"! In other words, this Yang Na is real, too! I can't let her go.
Two conflicting thoughts split Li Huowang's mind into two parts. In the end, Li Huowang's face became bitter as he clenched his fist and smacked his head numerous times. "AAAAAAH!"
Chapter 499 - Yang Na
"What a crazy bastard!" Yang Na's father stared at the howling Li Huowang and hated him even more. Her daughter became depressed all because of him.
He then held Yang Na's skinny wrist and tried pulling her away forcefully.
Li Huowang looked at the two of them getting further and further away. His eyes were bloodshot when he collapsed in front of the wire fence. "They will turn back! Yes, that's right! They will turn back!"
Li Huowang stared at their back without blinking as he tried to control the primordial breath within his body that he couldn't detect in this world.
"Come back! Turn around! TURN AROUND!" Li Huowang pressed his face onto the wire fence, causing his face to have a checkered mark.
Yang Na suddenly shook off her father's hands and ran back to him with tears streaking down her face. Li Huowang smiled, "Hahaha! It worked! I can turn this hallucination into reality!"
Li Huowang could swear that he was the happiest he had ever been in his life when he saw Yang Na crying and running toward him. His cultivation was working!
Li Huowang extended his arms through the wire fence and grabbed Yang Na's hand; his voice was shaking with excitement as he said, "Yang Na, wait for me! Give me three years—no two! Two more years, and we can return to how we were back in school, just like the old times!"
Yang Na shook her head; her black hair was plastered to her face by her tears. Then, she suddenly felt weightless. Her father carried her and slung her over his shoulder to separate her from Li Huowang.
"How much longer are you going to live in this delusion of yours? Can't you see that he's a complete lunatic? You have to forget him to be cured! He is going to destroy your life, so forget about him!"
But no matter how hard he tried to pull her away, the two did not let go of each other.
Yang Na used the last of her energy to shove her face toward the wire fence and planted a heavy kiss on Li Huowang's cracked lips.
The moment Li Huowang felt her soft lips, he suddenly found himself transported back to the time when he first kissed her on the rooftop during that sunset.
He didn't want to think of anything else and hoped that time would stay still for now.
Unfortunately, time would never stop ticking. Li Huowang also saw Yang Na's hands becoming red, as she was getting pulled from two opposite directions, so he decided to let go of her.
"Nana! Go back and rest! Two years! I will come and get you in two years!" Li Huowang shouted with all his strength.
Yang Na cried out and screamed as she was carried away by her father.
Li Huowang stopped shouting only after Yang Na disappeared from his view.
He looked at where they had gone for a very long time before he gripped the wire fence and stood up.
He was about to pick up the broom again when he saw Sun Xiaoqin had brought a doctor and three nurses. They had seen what was happening. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎
"Five people?!" Li Huowang immediately reacted and took a step back as he held onto the broom. He took his stance and got ready to fight, "Don't come any closer! I will cut down if any of you take even a single step!"
Sun Xiaoqin was hurt by his words and was about to say something when the young doctor pulled her back. He whispered to her, and all of them retreated before the young doctor talked to Li Huowang.
"Li Huowang. Calm down. We won't approach you for now. Can you tell me why are you so wary of the five of us? What about the four of us?" The young doctor waved his hands, and the three nurses retreated to the building with Sun Xiaoqin.
"Are you in danger on the other side? Are there five people there trying to hurt you? You are not the only one with the same symptoms."
Li Huowang held his broom like a sword and glared at the doctor. "I just want peace for now. No one does anything to me. I just need some time alone."
"Of course. We can do so. See, I'm not doing anything to you. Are you waiting to return back to the other side? It's fine, as long as you don't lash out or do anything extreme."
The doctor removed the white coat as he calmed Li Huowang down. He then removed his wig like a hat, shook it off, and wore it back.
"Li Huowang, since I've complied with your request, could you help me then? I don't want to care about you, but I have no choice since I still need to write the report. Do you think you can answer some of my questions? It's so stressful trying to write a report about you that my hair is falling off."
The doctor pushed his glasses when he looked at the silent Li Huowang. "Do you not want to say? If you don't help me, then I won't help you. I will go and ask for five people to come and capture you."
"Wait!" Li Huowang looked at the doctor and tried thinking about what was happening on the other side. What was happening in the other world that would correspond to this situation? Is the doctor one of the Surveillance Bureau? No matter what, I should calm him down first and I would probably be safe once I get back to the other side.
Li Huowang hesitated before asking, "What do you want?"
"Nothing. It's just that I don't know what you are thinking after seeing how attached you were to that girl just now. Do you think this side is real or the other side?"
Li Huowang's eyes were shrouded in confusion. "Fake—no real! This is real!"
The doctor nodded and approached Li Huowang slightly, "We should first put away which side is real. Instead, let's talk about why you think this side is fake."
"No!" Li Huowang shook his head and exclaimed, "This side is real! Everything here is real!"
"I know you want to get better soon, but convincing yourself alone just won't work. Let me think... Is it because there had been too many coincidences? Are you unconvinced because every time you come back here, something unrealistic would happen, such as Yang Na's sudden appearance?"
Li Huowang's mind instantly calmed down the moment he heard that. "Did you read my case report? My past doctors are the only ones who are supposed to know that."
"That's not important. I just want you to know that it's not a coincidence. You've been stuck in your hallucination for a long time now, but it doesn't mean that your mind is empty while you're on the other side."
"What do you mean?" Li Huowang frowned.
The doctor approached Li Huowang slowly as he said, "Your subconscious is still gathering information even though you're stuck in your hallucination. If you learn any information that is important to you, your subconsciousness will call you back here. Do you understand what I mean? In other words, the coincidences that you see when you come back here are not entirely coincidences. Your inner self is craving for those events, and it calls you back here whenever you're anticipating something to happen. I did a small experiment once. I told your girlfriend to call your mother while she was feeding you. During the call, I instructed Yang Na to tell your mother that she will be coming to visit you. I was hoping that your subconsciousness would learn that she was coming. The goal of the experiment was to see if you'd 'awaken' due to your subconsciousness calling you back here."