Chapter 393
Chapter 393
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 393
>Chapter Title: Zhuge Yuan
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Brother Zhuge, these Sitting Oblivion Daoists really seem to think they’re me.”
With a grave expression, Li Huowang turned his head to look at Zhuge Yuan beside him.
He never imagined that the Sitting Oblivion Daoists had stolen his spindle and his weapon, disguising themselves as him from head to toe.
“That guy must’ve done it when I fell into that hallucination in the water. Hell, maybe even that sudden hallucination before was their doing!”
Thinking back carefully, right when he’d woken up from that so-called White Pagoda Prison, there had been a Fool right beside him. That person just might’ve been a projection of this Sitting Oblivion Daoist.
“And hey! I saw someone in your belly before too! Maybe that one’s just hanging out in there waiting for you.”
The Monk reminded him with great concern.
“Tsk tsk tsk.”
Hong Zhong walked over and circled the corpse a few times before clasping his hands together, mimicking the Monk performing a deliverance rite.
Now that everything was settled, the whole affair wasn’t hard to piece together. What Li Huowang couldn’t figure out was why they’d impersonate him. If they were after him, then showing up looking just like him would give the game away instantly.
Whoosh.
Zhuge Yuan snapped open the folding fan in his hand, revealing the four large characters “Heaven-Born Talent” before Li Huowang.
“No need to worry. They’re after me. On this Apricot Island, they wouldn’t dare clash with me head-on, so they borrowed your identity to get close.”
“It was a decent opportunity at first, but they probably didn’t expect you to reach the island so quickly.”
Seeing Zhuge Yuan start walking, Li Huowang bent down to retrieve his things from the Sitting Oblivion Daoist’s corpse and hurried to catch up.
“That’s my fault then. If I hadn’t come, Brother Zhuge wouldn’t have run into this trouble.”
He truly hadn’t expected the Sitting Oblivion Daoists not to target him this time. It felt strangely off, since whenever they’d spotted him before, they’d come at him like starving wolves scenting meat, fighting to the death.
Hearing the apology in Li Huowang’s words, Zhuge Yuan smiled faintly.
“No harm done. I’m used to it. This isn’t the first time. Ever since I killed that Fortune Sitting Oblivion Daoist, these incidents haven’t let up.”
Li Huowang turned to gaze at the Sitting Oblivion Daoist’s corpse gradually vanishing into the morning mist. The thought of the entire Sitting Oblivion Daoist organization gunning for him, with anyone close by potentially being one of their lunatics in disguise, filled him with a suffocating dread.
He turned back, looking at Zhuge Yuan with a complicated expression. Despite the fierce retaliation from the Sitting Oblivion Daoists, the man handled it with such ease. His strength must be extraordinary.
“Way stronger than Danyangzi back then. No! He might even be stronger than Danyangzi after ascension!”
As Li Huowang pondered this, Zhuge Yuan frowned slightly, scrutinizing Li Huowang’s body.
“Brother Li, is there some living thing inside you? Want me to help get it out?”
No sooner had he spoken than Li Sui’s tentacles, wrapped around the double-pupiled eyeball, poked out from Li Huowang’s navel and peered curiously at Zhuge Yuan.
Li Huowang hooked it back in with his finger.
“It’s fine. Just Black Tai Sui. It’s slowly eroding my body, but it’s the only thing that can suppress the hallucinations from the heart essence.”
“I see. I read about this method in some miscellaneous book. First time seeing it in person, though.”
Zhuge Yuan nodded in understanding, took a step, then paused.
“You haven’t vomited out the accumulated Black Tai Sui in your gut and swallowed a fresh one yet, have you?”
Li Huowang blinked in surprise at the question.
“I’ve thought about it. Planning to try once the one inside can’t hold out anymore.”
“Absolutely don’t. Back when I read that book, it said if you do that, the heart essence ends up in a pretty miserable state.”
Hearing the warning, Li Huowang felt a surge of gratitude. Without it, he might’ve actually tried it someday.
After this little exchange, the two grew much more at ease with each other. Li Huowang rarely met anyone who didn’t pry into his secrets, and it felt incredibly relaxing.
They walked for nearly half an hour before a serene and elegant two-story bamboo building appeared before them.
The entire structure was verdant bamboo, perfectly blended with the surrounding grove, as if the building had sprouted from the earth just like the bamboo itself.
“My humble abode is simple. I hope Brother Li doesn’t mind.”
Zhuge Yuan pushed open the bamboo door and led Li Huowang inside.
There wasn’t a single lock on the bamboo building, but it was clear no thief would dare touch the place.
Inside, the air was thick with scholarly refinement. The walls were covered in calligraphy and paintings, though Li Huowang couldn’t judge their quality.
One painting stood out: not some landscape or figure, but a white sedan chair borne high by four skeletal figures with sallow, bony frames. Leading the way was a white weasel holding a white lantern.
Aside from that one, portraits dominated the rest—men and women, young and old. Zhuge Yuan clearly excelled at painting people; the likenesses were strikingly lifelike.
Zhuge Yuan was already seated cross-legged on a cushion, deftly brewing tea.
“Brother Li, what tea do you prefer? Ding Mountain Plain-Wrapped, or Gentleman Silver Needle?”
“Either’s fine.”
Li Huowang sat on the cushion opposite the low tea table, watching Zhuge Yuan brew.
Though he had a bellyful of questions, seeing the man’s intense focus, he decided to politely wait until he was done.
He couldn’t quite follow what the man was doing pouring water between the various cups, but it was obvious Zhuge Yuan was a true master of the tea ceremony.
“Third steep of Gentleman Silver Needle. Apricot Island tea is excellent, though the water is rather ordinary. Please don’t mind.”
Li Huowang took a sip of the pale green tea, and no sooner had he opened his mouth than the tea set was cleared away. A square chessboard was placed before him.
Without waiting for an invitation, Li Huowang picked up a black stone, placed it randomly on the board, and eagerly asked,
“Brother Zhuge, why did you help me before? Are you a heart essence like me?”
His heart pounded as he watched for the answer.
Snap.
A white stone fell, and an unexpected reply came.
“Not at all. Though we’re both of the ‘heart’ generation, I’m not a heart essence. I’m a heart coil.”
“Heart coil?”
Disappointment welled up in Li Huowang. He’d wondered on the boat if Zhuge Yuan had helped because they were the same kind.
In this chaotic, bizarre world, having a powerful senior to guide him would make everything so much easier. But things didn’t always go his way.
Li Huowang gathered his thoughts and asked again,
“Which ‘coil’? Like in coiling peach?”
Zhuge Yuan cradled his teacup in his left hand, using the lid to brush aside the leaves as he took a light sip with eyes closed.
“‘Clear window, washed inkstone seated; snakes and worms slightly coiled’—that coil. Your turn, Brother Li. Place your stone.”
(End of chapter)