Chapter 279
Chapter 279
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 279
>Chapter Title: Credit Knifeman
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Li Huowang's earlier guess had been right—there was no ghost stealing men's life roots at all. It was just that, in the face of the rumors spread by the Sitting Oblivion Dao, this beggar from the Surveillance Bureau had used a method completely different from Li Huowang's.
“Is it really necessary? Do you have to act so convincingly?” Li Huowang pointed at the corpses nearby that had been killed by the one-thick-eyebrow man.
“This was a trap set by the Sitting Oblivion Dao. How could it work if it wasn’t realistic? You think they’d believe it just because we say so? Besides, I was watching the whole time when we took action. Those who died were all ordinary folk.”
His words sent a chill through Li Huowang's heart. Why was he so casual about saying this? Were all the people in the Surveillance Bureau like this?
It wasn’t that Li Huowang was particularly outraged by the sight of these dead bodies. It was just that after seeing how this man operated, his wariness had grown considerably.
“In the future, I need to be extra careful dealing with this guy, or I might end up like those commoners today—reduced to props in his play.”
Seeing Li Huowang standing there silently, the one-thick-eyebrow beggar spoke first. “I’m Hong Da, the Credit Knifeman. Pleased to meet you.”
Credit Knifeman. This was the first time Li Huowang had heard the term. Taken literally, it meant someone who lent knives to others on credit.
But someone who could serve as a lowly officer in the Surveillance Bureau—this title couldn’t possibly mean just that. It had to carry some other meaning.
“Credit Knifeman?”
“That’s right. I am indeed a Credit Knifeman with no sect or school. Heh, Daoist, care to take a knife on credit?”
Hong Da pulled open his patched-over greatcoat, revealing all sorts of blades haphazardly tucked inside.
The knives were old, many rusted, with blades that were chipped and warped. That explained why Li Huowang’s violet-spiked sword hadn’t been able to harm him earlier.
Yet this also proved from the side that these knives weren’t as shabby as they looked. Rusty, battered blades couldn’t possibly block weapons forged by military cultivators.
“Heh, Daoist, care to take a knife on credit?”
As Hong Da asked again, he held out a broken blade, edge forward, right in front of Li Huowang, a hint of expectant smile on his face.
“If you lend me this knife on credit, when do I pay it back?”
“Since it’s on credit, when the time comes to repay, naturally it will be repaid.” Hong Da’s words seemed to say something while saying nothing at all.
Li Huowang thought for a moment, then slowly reached out toward the blade covered in red rust, his eyes fixed intently on the man’s expression.
Just before the red rust touched his hand, he pulled back. “No need. My weapons are sufficient.”
“Aw, forget it then. No credit, no credit. Since the matter in Pi County is settled, Immortal Erjiu, until we meet again.”
The regretful Hong Da withdrew the knife, cupped his hands toward Li Huowang, and headed for the door of the morgue.
Just as his hand grasped the copper pull-ring on the wooden door, a bloody nail cap flew over and embedded directly into the wood.
“Hold on a moment. I’ve heard the Surveillance Bureau pays handsomely for its work. Since I got involved in the Pi County matter too, I ought to get a share of the reward, right?”
Looking at the crescent-shaped gap in the door slowly oozing blood, Hong Da asked with a hint of surprise in his voice, “Oh? And what if I don’t give you any?”
With those words, the atmosphere in the morgue instantly grew tense, swords at the ready.
But Li Huowang’s next words instantly dispelled the stifling tension. “That’s fine too. I can do that kind of business. Take me into the Surveillance Bureau, and we’ll call it even.”
Hong Da turned to face him, seemingly surprised that he would say such a thing. “Really? Alright then. Come with me to the Ministry of Rites and register your name with Ji Xiang.”
“We have to go to the Ministry of Rites?” Li Huowang immediately rejected the idea. If he went to their headquarters, and they discovered something, he’d be utterly doomed.
“Too far. I have urgent business. Let’s do it another way. I’ve heard the Surveillance Bureau can be contacted directly?”
Hearing this, Hong Da pondered for a moment before finally nodding. “Alright, how about this: I’ll talk to the higher-ups. You don’t go looking for him. If he agrees, he’ll come find you.”
“Don’t worry. We’ve worked together once now. I’ll put in a good word for you.”
With that, Hong Da pushed open the door and walked out. When he reached the bustling street, he picked up a large ceramic big-head doll from the ground nearby and placed it over his own head.
Hong Da pulled a tattered fan from his waist—little more than a handle now—and fanned it toward his face as he strode out of Pi County.
After leaving the lively Pi County behind, the surroundings finally quieted. The chirping of summer insects reemerged.
He walked another half hour before tossing the big-head doll into the woods beside the road. “Immortal Erjiu, you don’t need to keep following me. If I were really from the Sitting Oblivion Dao, things wouldn’t have ended so easily today.”
Li Huowang emerged from the nearby woods, cupped his hands toward him, and turned back toward Pi County.
Only after Li Huowang’s silhouette vanished once more amid the scattered lights did Hong Da speak. “Well?”
The sound of dry leaves crunching came from the woods beside him. A pot-bellied figure with a red drum at his waist, dressed in bright green robes, and wearing a big-head doll with rouged cheeks stepped out.
On his shoulder, he carried the embroidered ball dragon pearl—topped by a stick wrapped in red cord—that had been used earlier to lead the dragon dance.
“Not right. This guy’s behavior is suspicious, origins unknown. When you mentioned taking him to see Ji Xiang, he wouldn’t go. He might very well be from the Sitting Oblivion Dao.”
The voice from under the ceramic big-head doll was unexpectedly young and gentle, completely at odds with his obese frame.
As Hong Da habitually squatted down to the ground, a clattering of metal collisions rang out from his body. “I think he might not be Sitting Oblivion Dao. Their scams aren’t this crude.”
The big-head doll, a size larger than a normal head, slowly turned, its black painted eyes looking toward Hong Da. “What if the Sitting Oblivion Dao guessed we’d think that and did it on purpose?”
“Besides, their leaders have died two in recent days. They shouldn’t be coming to stir trouble again.”
The big-head doll’s body didn’t move at all as its mouth repeated, “What if the Sitting Oblivion Dao guessed we’d think that and did it on purpose?”
Hong Da glanced at him impatiently. “Enough already. I’m not in the mood to play games with you.”
The big-head doll turned its head back, repeating its gaze toward distant Pi County. “He’s carrying a copper sword of the Luoism on his back. The other sword, wrapped in cloth around the hilt, radiates the baleful aura of military cultivators. And he used a secret art of the Ao Jing Teaching. Strange, very strange.”
Hong Da nodded, agreeing with his companion’s assessment. “The kid’s strange, sure, but his strength seems solid. Even if there’s a chance he’s Sitting Oblivion Dao, he can still be used as a blade.”
“And then?”
Faced with his comrade’s question, Hong Da narrowed his eyes slightly, scraping his chin repeatedly with his fingertip. “And then... we use him and see what happens.”
(End of chapter)