Chapter 302
Chapter 302
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 302
>Chapter Title: Voices in the Mist
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“But the people from Oxheart Village were precisely taken away by the Bureau of Surveillance.”
Constable Cao’s words sent a jolt through Li Huowang’s heart. “How could that be? Why would the Bureau of Surveillance take Bai Lingmiao’s family?”
But he quickly collected himself. “Wait, maybe it wasn’t the real Bureau of Surveillance. Maybe it was someone else disguised as them!”
Yet whether it was real or impostors, it was no good news for Bai Lingmiao’s family.
Li Huowang had already seen it firsthand with Hong Da—these Bureau of Surveillance folks didn’t care how many extra people they killed as long as the job got done.
As for impostors, that was even worse; the outcome would be choosing between bad and worse.
“Which way did they go!” Li Huowang asked Constable Cao, his expression grave. Right now, all he could do was chase after them as fast as possible, not knowing if he could catch up.
“They seemed to head toward the capital. I don’t know how far they’ve gone.”
Seeing Constable Cao shakily point westward with his hand, Li Huowang planted one foot on the saddle, vaulted onto his horse, and charged off in that direction.
Watching Li Huowang’s receding figure, County Magistrate Wang let out a long breath of relief. At that moment, his advisor sidled up beside him.
“Sir, if I may say, there’s something fishy about this. Do you think something’s off between these two groups?”
County Magistrate Wang looked annoyed. “Fishy or not, what does the Bureau of Surveillance have to do with me? Let’s head back to the yamen! Lift the sedan!”
The rhythmic clatter of hooves rang out nonstop as Li Huowang bobbed steadily on horseback, his mind a chaotic jumble of code, wild guesses bubbling up from within.
“What if it wasn’t the Bureau of Surveillance? Could it be them again...”
“Heh, don’t jump to conclusions. From what I see, this doesn’t look like the work of the other side.”
Li Huowang whipped his head toward Red Zhong beside him, who was floating midair, yawning boredly.
“From what you see? Is a single word out of your mouth ever true? Now that you say that, I’m even more suspicious that the Bureau of Surveillance were disguised by the Sitting Oblivion Dao.”
“Don’t believe me then. We of the Sitting Oblivion Dao play our games openly and aboveboard—never heard of switching venues mid-game.”
Red Zhong sat up, stretching lazily. “Heh heh heh, besides, who says we never tell the truth? Lying’s all about nine parts false to one part true. All lies, and who’re you fooling?”
Li Huowang ignored him and kept riding, his mind already steeling itself for whatever might lie ahead.
He rode on for days. Though Li Huowang’s body could endure, the horse was mere flesh and blood and needed rest.
One evening, Li Huowang tied the horse to a tree, then leaped up into its branches and closed his eyes.
He didn’t know how long he slept before Black Tai Sui’s murmurs woke him. When he opened his eyes again, night had fully fallen.
Shaking his groggy head vigorously, Li Huowang dropped from the tree and patted the neck of the horse, which had been dozing standing up.
The hooves clopped onward, carrying them far down the desolate dirt road.
Just as Li Huowang wondered how long this life of wind, dew, and open skies would last, and whether he could find them at all, he spotted something.
By the hazy moonlight, Li Huowang crouched at the roadside, eyeing the dense cluster of shoeprints on the ground.
Judging by the number and the varying sizes and shapes, his gut told him these were the tracks of the people he sought!
Spotting flecks of blood amid the prints, an excited Li Huowang yanked the reins. “Hyah!”
Perhaps because there were so many of them, the group wasn’t moving fast. After an hour of hard riding, the shoeprints grew fresher and more distinct.
To avoid alerting them prematurely, Li Huowang dismounted, cloaking his body’s color with the earth as he crept forward stealthily.
The pitch-black sky gradually shifted to deep blue. As dawn neared, Li Huowang finally spotted them in a thicket: a cluster of prisoners huddled together, dozing fitfully.
Men and women, young and old—all wore wooden collars around their necks, looking every bit like serious convicts being transported.
At first, Li Huowang wasn’t sure if these were his targets, but when he saw the beautiful woman who bore seven or eight parts resemblance to Bai Lingmiao, he knew he’d found the right group.
Seeing that though their faces were gaunt and clothes ragged, their limbs were all intact, Li Huowang’s suspended heart eased a fraction.
“Good. As long as they’re still alive, there’s a chance to turn this around.”
Rather than reveal himself immediately, Li Huowang circled the group, searching for their escorts.
If they were enemies, he’d fight. If Bureau of Surveillance, he’d negotiate. Either way, he was saving these people!
Li Huowang circled slowly several times, yet saw not a single soul.
“No way they’re unguarded. Without guards, the Bai family would’ve scattered long ago.”
As Li Huowang puzzled over this, a bizarre rattling sound came from behind—like something shaking inside a bamboo tube.
He turned slowly. The dim woods were now shrouded in hazy white morning mist, and the rattling emanated from within it.
The sound drew nearer. The slumbering Bai family stirred awake, eyes filling with fear at the noise. Some children began to whimper instinctively.
Li Huowang even caught a whiff of pungent fishy stench. He clearly sensed movement in the white mist, but couldn’t make it out.
No use dodging fate. Unwilling to sit idle, Li Huowang gripped his sword hilt with one hand, held his breath, and ventured cautiously into the mist.
Deeper in, the rattling grew louder. Li Huowang followed the sound.
“Rattle, rattle. Rattle, rattle.” Amid the thick white mist, a wooden head topped with a black melon skin hat, rouged cheeks aglow, bobbed and swayed into view.
“Rattle, rattle.” With each sway, the grotesque noise issued from within the wooden head.
The instant he saw it, Li Huowang’s hairs stood on end, but he held back from striking—it wasn’t focused on him.
“What the hell is this thing!”
Clenching his teeth, Li Huowang watched warily as the round wooden head drifted closer. Then a piercing gaze descended from above, slamming down on him like a weight, squeezing the breath from his lungs.
Li Huowang jerked his head up. A massive pale face, twisted in a bitter grin with a hint of wicked charm, slowly pressed down through the hazy mist.
Only when it loomed fully before him did Li Huowang finally see what it truly was.
(End of chapter)