Chapter 396
Chapter 396
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 396
>Chapter Title: The Storyteller
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Chapter 396: The Storyteller
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> After listening for a while, Li Huowang finally understood what the other party meant.
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> In short, Zhuge Yuan had told him about this precisely to say that there was a righteous path to choose, so there was no need for him to stick around and ambush North Wind, risking the danger.
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> “But right now, only I know I have this ability, and I have no clue how to make use of it. I don’t even have the slightest hint on how to find cultivation techniques. How am I supposed to go about it next?”
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> Seeing Li Huowang’s sour expression, Zhuge Yuan comforted him. “Brother Li, don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye out for you as well. If I hear any news, I’ll definitely let you know.”
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> Seeing the other party’s unhurried demeanor, Li Huowang grew anxious in his heart. He knew that if Zhuge Yuan didn’t understand his predicament, he wouldn’t agree.
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> He immediately rolled up his sleeve, revealing his forearm crusted with dried blood. He drew his purple-tasseled sword and shaved off a layer of flesh like peeling sugarcane. The blood and knotted veins were laid bare before Zhuge Yuan.
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> And within every large and small vein, black tentacles of varying sizes writhed. Some tentacles even poked out from weak spots, wriggling like maggots.
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> “Brother Zhuge, I want to take it slow too, but look—I really don’t have time. Black Tai Sui may suppress my hallucinations, but it’s eroding my body every moment.”
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> “I don’t know how much longer I have, but I’m afraid it’s not much. If I keep dragging my feet looking for those so-called cultivation techniques, Black Tai Sui will have seized my body long before then!”
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> “Wah wah wah.” Li Age’s aggrieved crying echoed in Li Huowang’s mind. It had learned to express sadness with tears.
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> Though it pained him a little, at a time like this, he had to make things clear to Zhuge Yuan. Cultivation techniques were tempting, sure, but North Wind was right in front of him. He couldn’t just give up so easily.
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> While comforting Li Age in his heart, Li Huowang watched Zhuge Yuan’s expression with bated breath.
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> “And besides, Brother Zhuge, isn’t it possible that North Wind is using the exact same cultivation technique?”
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> Zhuge Yuan seemed torn, gently fanning himself with his paper fan.
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> “Are you really set on this? Without Black Tai Sui to suppress it, Brother Li, you’d just have hallucinations at worst—you wouldn’t die. Why rush into this?”
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> Just thinking of that scene made Li Huowang’s pupils dilate and his breathing quicken. “You don’t know what I do over there! I know it’s hallucinations, but I’d rather die than fall back into them! I really don’t want to lose myself again.”
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> The bamboo building fell utterly silent in an instant. The two of them stood there like statues, unmoving. A kingfisher alighted on the windowsill, pecked lightly at the bamboo frame with its beak, then turned and swiftly flew away.
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> “Sigh. Since this is causing Brother Li such distress, alright then, alright. When Sitting Oblivion Dao comes for revenge, just stick close to me.”
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> “Thank you, Brother Zhuge, for your help!” Li Huowang was overjoyed. Regardless, he had achieved his goal in coming to Apricot Island!
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> What’s more, he now had a powerful ally by his side. Even if North Wind was strong, he now had some confidence.
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> Since the other party had a way to escape the hallucinations, he wouldn’t rest until he figured it out.
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> Looking at Li Huowang’s ecstatic expression, Zhuge Yuan sighed inwardly. He suspected that even if he refused, Brother Li would follow in secret anyway.
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> In that case, better to agree outright. It would be easier to watch over him in the open. They were both from the Xin generation, both pitiable souls—he’d help where he could.
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> “Brother Li, stay calm. Since you insist on coming along, I’ll let you in on what we’re doing next, so you’re not caught off guard later.”
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> “Great! Tell me!” Li Huowang perked up immediately. He was very curious why Zhuge Yuan had snatched the heart impurity from the Monitor Sky Division.
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> Zhuge Yuan took a light sip of his tea. “Lately, things have been unsettled in the Eight Wastelands. Brother Li, you must have sensed it too, right?”
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> Thinking of Ji Xiang’s departure and the massive warships on the sea earlier, even though it wasn’t his business, Li Huowang could feel a storm brewing.
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> “Indeed, but since it doesn’t concern me, I haven’t pried.”
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> “Sigh~” Zhuge Yuan let out a light sigh. “In the end, it all boils down to the royal family. That Empress Dowager of Great Qi, in order to hold the regency, actually revived the six-year-old emperor who died young. Heh, for the mighty Great Qi to have a walking corpse without three souls and seven poises as emperor—how tragic and laughable.”
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> “Great Qi? Didn’t Great Qi fall centuries ago? Isn’t it Great Liang now? Does he think Great Liang inherited Great Qi, so he’s calling it out of habit?” Li Huowang’s mind filled with more confusion the more he heard.
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> Unaware of Li Huowang’s bewilderment, Zhuge Yuan continued at his leisurely pace.
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> “If that were all, a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse. Great Qi may be in decline, but it’s not for just anyone to touch. The problem is those eunuchs clinging to imperial power.”
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> “For some reason, they’ve given that corpse emperor a mind, and he’s started issuing false edicts to select consorts.”
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> “Never mind that the little emperor is dead—even if he were alive, he’s only six. Why select consorts? And they’re all women born in yin year, yin month, yin hour, no less.”
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> “I asked around with some old friends recently. Not just consorts—plenty of men across Great Qi have been called up for corvée labor too.”
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> “Think about it: when have we ever seen so much corvée labor in all these years? Even repairing the Great Wall of the nation wouldn’t demand this much. I reckon they’re being conscripted to build a tomb!”
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> “Build a tomb?” Li Huowang’s mind blanked for a moment. This clearly didn’t match up—he’d been in Great Liang for a while now and never heard of any large-scale corvée.
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> Ignoring Li Huowang, Zhuge Yuan pressed on. “A corpse emperor, yin-year yin-month yin-hour consorts, plus tomb-building—put it together. This is no small matter.”
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> Zhuge Yuan picked up the tea in front of Li Huowang, dumped it out, and poured him a fresh cup steaming hot.
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> “Though the eunuchs hold all the power, with connections everywhere, and they’ve tangled with the Zhengde Temple monks, turning the whole capital into a smog of corruption, thankfully the court still has men of resolve.”
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> “As an ordinary storyteller, I didn’t want to get involved. But seeing how things are headed toward catastrophe for the people, I can’t stand by any longer.”
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> “That’s why I prepared the heart impurity ahead of time and asked an old friend to refine it into a scroll artifact that erases memories, all in preparation for heading to the capital.”
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> Li Huowang stared at the eloquent Zhuge Yuan, his words going in one ear and out the other—his mind was already elsewhere.
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> “I thought heart anchors might be different, but now it seems heart elements, heart anchors, and heart impurities may differ vastly in power, yet in some ways, they’re completely identical.”
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> (End of Chapter)