Chapter 203
Chapter 203
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 203
>Chapter Title: Harvest
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Chapter 203: Harvest
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> For a moment, the atmosphere felt extraordinarily heavy.
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> Just then, Chun Xiaoman noticed that Li Huowang showed no reaction at all. She was about to speak up.
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> “Shh.” Li Huowang placed a finger to his lips, signaling Chun Xiaoman to stay quiet. He tilted his head toward the south, listening intently.
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> After a while, a rare smile crept onto his face.
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> “No rush. The food problem is solved.”
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> Right after that, under everyone else’s gaze, Li Huowang’s body slowly shifted, gradually merging into the wall beside him.
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> “Wait here for me. I’ll be back soon.” Li Huowang’s voice echoed from thin air.
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> “Tsk tsk tsk, I know this one. It’s the wall-phasing technique my second uncle talked about. Masters really are something else—even sneaking around rooftops, they’re better than anyone.”
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> With his phantom form concealed inside the wall, Li Huowang’s true body entered a state of invisibility.
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> Li Huowang hugged the wall as he circled toward a house.
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> After passing through the outer courtyard with its chickens, he entered the building. The voices from before grew clearer.
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> “Son, you’re not cutting it. Your skills aren’t honed enough. Go read the Deception Scripture ten more times.”
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> “Yes……”
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> “Don’t blame your dad for being harsh. This is the foundation of our Wu family. All this wealth was swindled bit by bit by our ancestors.”
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> Li Huowang let out a soft sigh. Looks like there’s no such thing as a true paradise after all.
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> To think this rundown place even had a family that made its fortune through cons.
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> But that was even better. Now he could openly rob the robbers and solve their immediate crisis.
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> “Who would’ve thought my new ability’s first real use would be stealing.”
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> “I was even thinking of escorting caravans for traveling funds, but now I’m doing this instead. Maybe I’m just not cut out for honest work.”
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> As these random thoughts swirled in his mind, Li Huowang began rummaging through the entire house.
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> Soon, he found a hidden compartment. Opening it revealed piles of silver and gold—various shapes, some old and worn. Clearly ill-gotten gains.
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> Delight flashed across Li Huowang’s face. Now they had funds for the road. He quickly grabbed a bag, stuffed it full, and tucked it into his robes.
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> Meanwhile, the father and son in the next room continued discussing cons, their voices drifting into his ears.
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> “Son, you’re the only heir in our family. Study hard. If you don’t master it, the southern branch’s lineage ends with you.”
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> “Got it, Dad. I’ll study diligently and won’t let you down.”
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> Hearing this, a look of disdain crossed Li Huowang’s face. A nest of con artists, turning deceit into family pride.
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> After a quick sweep, Li Huowang found their cellar and stepped inside. It was packed with cured meats and jars of pickled vegetables.
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> Li Huowang hauled it all outside and tossed it over the wall to the others.
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> The sight was bizarre—a jar of vegetables floating up on its own, drifting to the wall’s base before vanishing.
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> Anyone seeing it would’ve been terrified.
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> The father and son’s conversation droned on in his ears.
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> “Son, next time you head down the mountain, con me a wife. Bring one back, and you’ll be graduated.”
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> “Dad, you can con a wife too?”
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> “Of course! Devote yourself to the con, and nothing’s off-limits. Your mom’s the one I conned—she still doesn’t suspect a thing.”
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> For some reason, the more Li Huowang listened, the angrier he got. He paused his looting. “Should I just kill them and be done with it?”
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> Ever since the Sitting Oblivion Dao, he harbored deep hostility toward con artists. Best if every last one dropped dead.
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> “Daoist, you can’t do that. They’ve done wrong, sure, but it’s not a capital crime.”
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> The sudden voice startled Li Huowang. That monk he hadn’t seen in a while had popped up again.
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> The monk circled Li Huowang, prattling on with his uplifting advice.
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> After much hesitation, Li Huowang finally dropped the idea.
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> The monk was right. He couldn’t kill them.
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> He couldn’t always resort to murder as his only tool. Otherwise, with a hammer in hand, everything looked like a nail—and he’d grow more extreme.
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> But while they escaped death, they wouldn’t escape punishment. He decided to clean the place out completely, let them savor the loss.
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> Next, Li Huowang stripped the house bare inside and out. Anything edible or valuable, he took.
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> “Son, you can’t make up lies willy-nilly. Mix some truth in with the falsehoods. That’s what makes people believe.”
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> “Dad, I get that, but how much truth and how much lie? The Deception Scripture doesn’t specify.”
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> “Idiot! It depends on the mark. Easy ones get more lies, less truth.”
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> “For tough ones, especially the stubborn types, feed them plenty of truth upfront. That way, when you pull the con, they’ll buy it.”
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> “Remember: a proper con man’s words must contain some truth!”
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> “Got it.”
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> Li Huowang, about to leave, looped back inside upon hearing that.
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> When he emerged again, a worn half-new book was in his hand. Scrawled crookedly on it: Deception Scripture.
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> “I’ll show you cons!”
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> “How’d it go? Get everything?” Li Huowang’s phantom and true body overlapped in front of the others.
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> “Got it all, got it all! We can’t carry any more. But Brother Li, where’d all this come from?” Gouwa asked, a hunk of cured meat already stuffed in his mouth.
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> “As long as we have it, we’re good. We’ll talk on the road.”
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> As they gradually left the village behind, the miserable wails faded from Li Huowang’s ears.
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> “Dad! Someone stole our Deception Scripture!”
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> “Dad! Someone stole our chickens!!”
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> “Dad! Someone even stole the pot off our stove!!!”
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> Hauling all this loot took quite some effort to bring down the rugged mountain path.
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> But with their hands full of the heavy haul, everyone’s faces lit up with joy. No more starving.
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> First thing after descending: find running water, build a fire, and cook up a feast.
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> Once bellies were full, the anxiety vanished from their faces. Even tempers improved.
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> “Sorry, little sis. What I said earlier was just talk.” Gouwa grinned as he sidled up to the women.
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> “Get lost! Who doesn’t know what’s on your mind? Full belly, dirty thoughts.”
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> “Xiaoman sis, come on, what I said before was for everyone’s sake. The food’s all of ours……”
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> As he listened to their bickering, Li Huowang reached into his robes and pulled out his earlier haul.
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> He handed the heavy bags to Bai Lingmiao. “This is that con man’s stash. Gold, silver—you count it.”
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> “Mm.”
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> Finally with some downtime, Li Huowang watched the others eat their fill. The knot in his heart eased.
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> Supplies sorted. As long as they crossed Hou Shu smoothly, this crisis would be over.
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> After a moment’s thought, he pulled out the Deception Scripture and started flipping through it.
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> “A whole book dedicated to cons. First time I’ve seen one.”
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> “Heh, even got scripted lines for cons.”
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> Li Huowang had only meant to browse idly to pass the time.
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> But as he kept turning pages, his expression grew grave. He sat up straighter.
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> He realized some of these lines were exactly what the Sitting Oblivion Dao had used on him.
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> Their words did mix lies with truth—some of it was real!
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> (End of chapter)