Chapter 251
Chapter 251
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 251
>Chapter Title: Inquiry
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“Pleased to meet you. Allow me to introduce myself: I’m Li Huowang.”
“For the matter of you trying to ambush me earlier, I actually got over it a long time ago. After all, I’m a heart elemental, just like a long-legged ginseng fruit. It’s only natural that you’d want to snatch me.”
“The reason I’ve brought you here this time is for something else. To sum it up in one sentence: I’m very unfamiliar with this world and want to learn more knowledge through you.”
“Of course, there’s another reason. You know I’m a Heart-Su, and I’m searching for a way to free myself from it. If you know anything and tell me, I would be truly grateful.”
Li Huowang sat on the chair, speaking earnestly to the person in front of him.
The two bloody, mangled heads dangling in front weren’t Li Huowang’s target for conversation. He was speaking to the fist-sized little head at Han Fu’s neck.
Bai Sui’s abilities hadn’t spared it either. Its face was completely unrecognizable now. Calling it a head, it was more like a tumor with distorted features.
This thing was truly bizarre. The main body was dead as could be, yet it was still alive and kicking. Who knew how the Luo teachings cultivated their techniques.
“What’s your name? Han Fu too?”
Facing Li Huowang’s question, the little head sneered mockingly, not saying a word.
Clang. A row of gleaming, sharpened torture instruments was laid out in front of it.
Li Huowang picked out an iron hemispherical tool, carefully cradling the little head as he extended the instrument toward it.
“Aaahhh~!!” The shrill scream was piercingly ear-grating.
Lifting the nearby tent flap, Li Huowang tossed the little eyeball in his hand onto the Black Tai Sui.
“Still not willing to talk?”
The little head’s single eye glanced at the row of bizarre torture tools, a flicker of fear appearing before it was swiftly replaced by resolve.
“You mad Ao Jing freak! Even if I talk, are you going to let me go?”
“I’m not going to let you go, but dying outright versus being slowly tortured to death? Those are two different things.”
“You know, I’m not actually that skilled at torture, but I’ve endured all sorts of pain—many different kinds of torment. Do you want me to recreate everything I’ve suffered on you?”
Seeing Li Huowang wipe the blood from his hands with a nearby towel and pick up a barbed curved hook, the little head began struggling desperately. But with its limbs completely shattered, it was all in vain.
“I don’t know! I really don’t know anything!! We haven’t been out of the mountains for long!”
“Really? If you’ve only just come down from the mountains, does that mean those nineteen Yangshou Pills were travel money from your master?”
The barbed hook pierced into flesh and slowly pulled out some bits. Then Li Huowang took the coarse salt borrowed from Sun Baolu and smeared it evenly on.
The little head convulsed nonstop in agony, white foam mixed with blood bubbling from its mouth.
Li Huowang set aside the torture tool and pulled out the *True Scripture of the Fire Robes* from his robes. With a look of pity on his face, he began chanting the obscure and difficult incantation.
The congealed white candle wax ignited into flames, transforming into a wriggling fire centipede that crawled onto Han Fu’s body. Accompanied by the crackling of roasting flesh, it healed the previous wounds.
“Aaahhh!!!”
The screams carried far, frightening many of the Qingqiu children in the tents to tears and making the jittery adults back away even further.
After several rounds, it finally cracked. “I’ll talk! I’ll talk!!”
“Very good. Let’s start with the small questions. I ask, you answer.”
“This Yangshou Pill—can it be used like money to buy things?”
Li Huowang took out a pill wrapped in yellow talisman paper and asked.
Seeing the other nod numbly, Li Huowang stuffed the pill into his gourd. “How valuable is it? Any reference standard?”
“One Yangshou Pill can hire someone like Han Fu to help out once.”
Li Huowang nodded in understanding. That was a much clearer benchmark.
“How do you obtain Yangshou Pills?”
“By killing people, but ordinary folks won’t do. They have to be born on a yang year, yang month, yang day. If you want to hear it, I can tell you the refining method.”
“No need. Next question. That previous Han Fu said you’re from the Luo teachings? Where’s your temple?”
“Snakebone Mountain in Liang Kingdom.”
“How many people in your temple?”
“Fifty-seven people.”
“How many heads?”
“Two hundred and twenty-four heads.”
“What are you?”
“I’m Han Fu’s nascent soul.”
Li Huowang kept firing off various small questions at the thing one after another. Some he already knew the answers to, just to test if it was lying to him.
Once he confirmed it wasn’t deceiving him, Li Huowang started on the key questions.
“What is a heart elemental? How is it formed? How many are there in the world?”
“I really don’t know about that. Whatever I know about heart elementals, I only heard master mention a few things offhand.”
When he saw Li Huowang’s hand slowly reaching for the torture tools again, it burst into frightened tears.
Snot and tears streamed down the little head’s face. “I really don’t know! Master just told us that heart elementals are extremely rare heavenly treasures of spirit and earth! He said if we ever encounter one, don’t miss it no matter what!”
“Then how did you identify a heart elemental?” Li Huowang had wondered about this for a long time. Why could everyone he met spot his identity at a glance?
“I don’t know how others do it, but master said everyone has three fires on their shoulders. Some big, some small—that’s normal. Only heart elementals’ fires flicker on and off.”
Li Huowang looked down at his own shoulders but saw no so-called fires.
“That’s about it. Time to ask the most crucial question.” Li Huowang stared at the little figure, furrowing his brows as he pondered his words before speaking again.
“Along your journey, or from your master’s mouth—have you ever heard of a heart elemental who escaped bewilderment?”
“No, you’re the first heart elemental we’ve ever seen.”
Li Huowang carefully scrutinized the malformed little head. He believed this nine times out of ten. Han Fu was a newborn calf. Even if there really was a heart elemental who escaped bewilderment, he might not know.
“Then what do you know about the Sitting Oblivion Dao?”
“That I know. They’re a bunch of swindlers who especially love deceiving people.”
“What are their names?”
“I heard their names are all mahjong tiles, like Eight of Dots or Three of Bamboos. But I heard those are just codenames. If one Eight of Dots dies, another Eight of Dots takes its place.”
“In the Sitting Oblivion Dao, there’s one called North Wind. What do you know about him? How strong is he?”
This was the one who could escape bewilderment. If Li Huowang wanted to completely break free from bewilderment, he was extremely important.
“I don’t know. I’ve never dealt with the Sitting Oblivion Dao.”
Next, Li Huowang asked the little head some more questions about the Sitting Oblivion Dao, but it knew very little.
Looking at the little head before him, Li Huowang placed both hands on his knees and stood up with a creak of the stool.
“Very good. I’m done asking. Next, to verify the truth of what you’ve said, I need to confirm once more.”
With that, Li Huowang reached for the torture tools again.
(End of chapter)