Chapter 298
Chapter 298
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 298
>Chapter Title: Heart Elemental
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Chapter 298: Heart Elemental
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> “Hahahaha!!” The laughter from Red echoed endlessly around Li Huowang. “A heart elemental!! Li Huowang, hahahaha!!”
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> Li Huowang held his cup in hand, sitting there in stunned silence as he looked at the half-corpse in Tuoba Danqing’s grasp beside him, and at the severed head before him still attached to its dangling organs.
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> After a long pause, Li Huowang’s eyes gradually widened, a look of shock slowly spreading across his face. “So this is a heart elemental...”
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> At that moment, his fists clenched tightly under the table, though his face betrayed nothing.
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> The drunken Tuoba Danqing, seeing Li Huowang’s astonished expression, looked quite pleased, a hint of smugness in his voice as he spoke. “How about that? Never seen one before, right? To be honest with you, big brother here’s seeing a living heart elemental for the first time too!”
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> Li Huowang reached out a trembling hand, lightly touching the heart elemental’s face with his fingertip.
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> It was the face of a square-jawed middle-aged man, around forty years old, with a thick beard.
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> If judged by appearance alone, it was utterly ordinary, the face of any common man. Yet the features were grotesquely contorted, the eyes frozen in a moment of rage and despair at the instant of death.
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> Li Huowang knew agony of body and soul all too well. He understood that only death in excruciating torment could produce such an expression. This man, who shared his identity, had died a horrific death.
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> “Hey, hey, hey, that’s enough. One touch is plenty. Strictly speaking, you’re not even qualified to lay eyes on a treasure like this. Letting you glimpse it is already a special exception—this is a heaven-and-earth spiritual treasure destined for the national treasury.”
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> Like a wooden puppet, Li Huowang mechanically raised his arm, poured the wine from his cup into his mouth, and gradually relaxed his expression and posture. “Brother Tuoba, why is this heart elemental just a head and organs?”
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> His words struck a chord with Tuoba Danqing, who slapped the table in frustration.
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> “Argh! I wanted to keep it alive— a living heart elemental is worth way more than a dead one. But guess what? Just as I and Lord Grand Secretary were nearing the border, someone intercepted us! We fought with everything we had and barely snatched this much. What a damn shame.”
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> Li Huowang nodded, the heavy drunkenness gradually masking the shock on his face. “Ah, Brother Tuoba, what a pity. If only the heart elemental were alive. I’ve heard the bewilderment in its brain is incredibly useful.”
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> Tuoba Danqing continued to boast. “That’s not all! The heart elemental’s flesh and bones are treasures too! Even its heart and liver are rare materials!”
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> “Let me tell you, Ear Bro, Lord Grand Secretary has a powerful ritual artifact forged from a heart elemental’s tongue. It can catch someone’s divine sense off guard and plunge it into bewilderment. I hear people offer two hundred years of lifespan for it, and he still won’t sell!”
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> “Tongue?”
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> “Tongue is the wealth-summoner. Tongue means wealth-summoner. You don’t even know these elegant terms, Ear Bro? You’ve got a lot to learn.”
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> “I’ve only heard of heart elementals before but never seen one. I never imagined there were so many intricacies. Brother Tuoba, you’ve truly broadened my horizons.” Li Huowang raised his cup in a toast to Tuoba Danqing.
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> “Broadened your horizons, eh? Heh heh. Stick with me more in the future, and there’ll be plenty more eye-openers. Come on, drink up!” With that, he casually stuffed the heart elemental into a cloth sack and kept on drinking.
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> They drank from the second watch of the night straight through till dawn, until Tuoba Danqing passed out. Only then did the feast break up.
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> Li Huowang supported the mumbling Tuoba Danqing to the guest room and helped him onto the bed. Then he picked up the yellow cloth sack containing the heart elemental, gave it a shake, and placed it to the left of his ceramic pillow.
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> With a creak, as Li Huowang closed the door behind him, Tuoba Danqing—who had been snoring with his mouth agape—snapped his eyes open. Not a trace of sleepiness remained.
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> Propping himself up, he first glanced toward the door, then patted the yellow cloth sack beside his pillow. A look of approval crossed his face. “Not bad, not bad. The kid sees a heart elemental and shows no greed in his eyes at all. Hong Da’s recruit this time is way more reliable than the last one.”
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> Reeking of booze, Li Huowang staggered down the street. Besides the two swords on his back, he carried a large bundle in his hands.
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> Under the morning sun, Li Huowang’s face showed neither joy nor sorrow. He simply walked on in silence.
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> Passersby caught the pungent stench of alcohol on him and eyed his bizarre attire, so they pinched their noses and gave him a wide berth.
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> “What kind of drunkard is this? Boozing first thing in the morning.”
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> “Yeah, today’s young folks are getting more and more out of hand.”
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> Accompanied by these mutterings, Li Huowang reached his inn. The moment he pushed open the door, Bai Lingmiao—who had been anxiously pacing inside—rushed toward him.
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> “Senior Brother Li, why didn’t you say anything before heading out? You scared me to death! Have you been drinking?”
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> Li Huowang opened the bundle in his hands, revealing bamboo takeout boxes. “Went out for dinner last night. Let everyone try some—I packed it up. This stuff’s pricey; it’s a rare treat.”
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> With that, he flopped straight onto the bed and let out a deep sigh.
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> Seeing Li Huowang in low spirits, Bai Lingmiao had no appetite. She sat on the edge of the bed, gazing at his back. “Senior Brother Li, what’s really going on with you?”
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> Li Huowang sighed deeply once more. “Nothing. Just that some things aren’t what I thought they were. Miao Miao, I’ve suddenly realized that in this damned place, nothing can be relied on. Lean on a mountain and it crumbles; lean on water and it flows away. In the end, you can only rely on yourself.”
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> At these words, Li Huowang recalled that twisted face again. Excluding the Abbess’s son, this was the third heart elemental he’d seen—one torn brutally in half amid a struggle.
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> Seeing that face, Li Huowang instantly understood: the Celestial Surveillance Division, vast and powerful as it was, could never be his backer. Quite the opposite—they could become his enemies at any moment.
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> Fully throwing in with the Celestial Surveillance Division to gain a foothold in this perilous world was nothing but a fool’s dream.
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> With such dangerous people, he could only exploit them from afar—never approach with goodwill.
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> The moment he dropped his mask, the drinking buddy from one second could bind and sell him the next.
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> He was a heart elemental. That was his original sin. As long as that identity clung to him, he’d forever be Tang Monk flesh that everyone craved a bite of.
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> Sensing Li Huowang’s gloom, Bai Lingmiao knelt down and reached out, gently stroking his back again and again with her palm, hoping to ease him.
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> “Senior Brother Li, don’t worry. No matter what, you’ve still got us.”
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> (End of chapter)
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