Chapter 156
Chapter 156
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 156
>Chapter Title: Innate Nature
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“Kill!” Li Huowang swept his sword forcefully along the ground, the blade seeming to ignite with a dark red saber aura.
The next moment, the black shadow puppet monster in front of him split in two and instantly let out a miserable scream before turning into black smoke.
Seizing the momentum, Li Huowang gritted his teeth and charged forward even faster, closing the distance between them rapidly.
Li Huowang had thought there was only one shadow puppet monster left, something he could handle easily. But unexpectedly, the bronze-masked figure’s armpits twitched a few times, and four more arms extended from them.
Each hand grasped a different shadow puppet.
As the slender fingers flicked, under the moonlight, Li Huowang was instantly surrounded by the group of monsters as thin as cicada wings.
“Senior Brother Li, we’ll help you!”
“All of you stay back! Get farther away! Miaomiao, stop beating the drum! I can handle these!”
Li Huowang swiftly executed Sweeping Across a Thousand Armies, forcing them back slightly.
With a clatter, the red bamboo slips rapidly unfurled.
As he performed the ritual, intense pain nearly made Li Huowang pass out.
But the effort paid off. The two fingers hadn’t even hit the ground before they swelled and tore open rapidly.
The bones inside grew wildly, bending and piercing through flesh as they spun like two long darts flying toward the bronze-masked figure.
The bronze-masked figure dodged to the side, but unexpectedly, the fingers shifted in sync with him.
With two soft thuds, the fingers embedded into his neck. The shadow puppets around Li Huowang instantly froze and reaffixed themselves to the ground.
“You…” The bronze-masked figure only uttered this one word before staggering to the ground.
Li Huowang strode over quickly and looked at the bizarre six-armed figure lying dead before him.
“That’s it? That easy?” Li Huowang was utterly astonished. Compared to what he’d encountered before, this was like child’s play.
Li Huowang stepped a bit closer and gently pried up the copper coin mask with his sword.
He wanted to see what this thing really looked like underneath.
As soon as the mask lifted, Li Huowang jolted in shock. Beneath it was a wooden mouth—this thing was a puppet!
“Watch out! That dwarf is still inside its belly. He’s about to ambush you!”
No sooner had the voice spoken from who-knows-where than the bronze-masked figure’s abdomen was stabbed open, and a flash of cold light thrust toward Li Huowang’s heart.
Thanks to the advance warning, Li Huowang swiftly blocked with his sword, parrying the sneak attack.
In the next instant, Li Huowang flicked his sword upward forcefully before plunging the ominous blade straight into the bronze-masked figure’s abdomen.
Accompanied by a miserable scream in a duck-like voice, blood poured from the bronze-masked figure’s gut.
A bald, right eye bulging larger than the left, skin sagging—a deformed dwarf—spewed blood with a pained expression as he tried to crawl out.
But it was futile. After a few agonized struggles and howls, his massive head slowly drooped.
Having just killed one foe, Li Huowang felt the sword in his hand hum like a dragon, nearly slipping from his grasp.
He yanked it out swiftly and sheathed it with blood still dripping; only then did the sword finally calm.
But Li Huowang had no time for the sword right now. He whipped his head toward the source of the voice that had warned him.
There, a monk in ragged, patch-covered robes stood smiling at him.
“You again? Who the hell are you!”
The monk lifted his toe-exposed monk shoe and stepped forward, passing the dead dwarf and not forgetting to pluck the copper coin mask from his face before stuffing it into his pocket.
“Hurry, let’s go while talking. Can’t you see those people are coming?”
Li Huowang glanced at the black dots swelling larger from all directions and quickly followed.
“Everyone, follow me! Run! Don’t fall behind!”
Li Huowang reached the monk’s side and asked him again, “Who are you, really? Why are you doing this?”
The monk smiled at Li Huowang. “Don’t be so aggressive. Let me ask you, Li Huowang—in all the time we’ve spent together, have I ever harmed you?”
Before Li Huowang could answer, the monk began answering himself.
“No, not only have I not harmed you, I’ve helped you everywhere—helped you uncover Zhengde Temple’s plot, warned you that those performing the Nuo ritual dance were off.”
Glancing back at the pursuers, Li Huowang took a deep breath to calm his irritation and asked again, “Thanks for your help those times, but I don’t like being kept in the dark.”
The usually cheerful monk suddenly looked gravely at Li Huowang. “Who I am doesn’t matter. What matters is who you are. Are you really Li Huowang?”
“What?!” Li Huowang’s pupils shrank to pinpricks. For a moment, he wanted to stop the monk from saying more.
“What I’m about to say might shock you to your core, but for the sake of saving you so many times, you have to believe me.”
“I’m not a monk, and you’re not Li Huowang. These are just identities we’ve temporarily taken on. In truth, you’re called Peng Zhi, I’m Peng Jiao. We’re not real people—our true identities are someone else’s three corpses!”
“What the hell does that even mean?!” Li Huowang’s mind was a tangled mess like a ball of glue. “I’m not Li Huowang? Then who is?”
Whoosh! A crossbow bolt shot over, and the monk yanked him aside, letting Li Huowang dodge it.
Sensing the urgency, the monk sped up his words.
“I don’t know if you know about the Taoist three corpses. Anyone seeking immortality must sever their own three corpses. We are those severed corpses!”
“Peng Hou, the upper corpse, is Danyangzi. The middle corpse, Peng Zhi, is you. And the lower corpse, Peng Jiao, is me!”
“Danyangzi’s already been severed. Next, it’s us two! So we must team up—we’re the only ones with a shot at survival!”
“This… this can’t be possible…” Li Huowang still refused to believe it. In just these few quarters of an hour, his world had flipped upside down.
“Daoist! Daoist, look at me! Look at me!”
When Li Huowang looked into the monk’s eyes, he saw utter sincerity staring back.
“The upper corpse worm, named Peng Hou, resides in the head, making one foolish, dull, and witless.”
“The middle corpse worm, named Peng Zhi, resides in the chest, filling one with worries, delusions, unrest.”
“The lower corpse worm, named Peng Jiao, resides in the abdomen, craving luxury, delighting in evil and debauchery.”
“Everyone has an inescapable innate nature. But look—I’ve completely overcome mine. My nature demands evil, so I do good instead!”
“My nature craves luxury and filth, so I became a penniless monk! My fate is mine, not heaven’s!”
“I know Peng Zhi’s nature is suspicion and delusion. But Daoist, that’s your innate nature. You must overcome it completely, just like me! Only then can we fight the one seeking immortality! Only then can we win our freedom!”
(End of chapter)