Chapter 397
Chapter 397
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 397
>Chapter Title: Two Flowers Bloom
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> “Brother Zhuge, Brother Zhuge.” Li Huowang reached out to interrupt Zhuge Yuan’s endless stream of words. “I already know what you’re planning to do. No need to explain further.”
>
> Zhuge Yuan looked surprised. “Brother Li, you truly understand? Ordinary folks, when they hear me say this, think Great Qi doesn’t exist and argue with me endlessly.”
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> “Since Brother Zhuge says Great Qi exists, then it must exist.”
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> Perhaps his past experiences made Li Huowang particularly able to empathize with the other man’s feelings. Li Huowang’s tone was utterly calm as he readily accepted the man’s claims without any intention of debating them.
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> They were both in the same boat—why should one of the Heart-Pan ilk make things hard for another?
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> Sensing that Li Huowang didn’t truly believe him, Zhuge Yuan’s brows furrowed slightly in dissatisfaction. “Brother Li, we Heart-Pan are not the same as you Heart Elementals. Great Qi truly exists! That reality-swapping Great Liang is the mistaken one!”
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> “Yes, I know. Great Liang is wrong, and Great Qi is right.” Li Huowang had already figured it out. No matter whether Zhuge Yuan went to save that crumbling, long-vanished Great Qi or not, he would stick by his side.
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> Zhuge Yuan was a good man; he’d help where he could. But the troubles of the Heart-Pan involved the Si Ming in the White Jade Capital. No matter what that so-called “Three Corpse Old One” oversaw in the heavenly dao, there was probably little Li Huowang could do to assist.
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> His most important task was to follow Zhuge Yuan, ambush the Forgot Daoists around him, and hunt down that so-called North Wind.
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> “Sigh, why won’t you believe me? Back then, I learned about the Heart Elementals and that cultivation manual for true immortals from the Youdu Library in Great Qi. Come on, let me start from the beginning and tell you about the histories of Great Qi and Great Liang.”
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> Li Huowang quickly raised a hand to stop him. Starting from the beginning would take three days and nights. “Brother Zhuge, really, no need. Just tell me where we’re going next, what we’re doing, and who we need to kill. I’ll follow your lead.”
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> Seeing how firmly he resisted, Zhuge Yuan finally relented, though he looked somewhat regretful as he said: “Brother Li, you can’t keep avoiding learning like this. The sea of knowledge is vast, and the boat is made of hardship. As Master Zhong once said: The ancients’ scholarship knew no regrets—”
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> Li Huowang was starting to feel helpless. There’s no such thing as a wrong nickname. He finally understood why the man was called the Storyteller.
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> “Brother Zhuge, those eunuchs are still wreaking havoc on Great Qi’s court. Isn’t it inappropriate for us to linger here chatting leisurely?”
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> “Very well, very well. There’s plenty of time ahead. I’ll guide you properly on the road.” Zhuge Yuan rose from the meditation cushion and turned to take down the paintings and calligraphy from the wall. “For now, follow me to Youdu to meet with Grand Preceptor.”
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> “Got it!” Li Huowang stood and helped Zhuge Yuan take down the artwork.
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> “Brother Zhuge, since my master Danyangzi used my obsession with immortality to borrow my power and ascend, doesn’t that mean I could do the same with this innate primordial qi inside me?” Li Huowang asked as he worked.
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> “Of course you can. All Heart Elementals can. Why else do you think others trick and trap Heart Elementals? They’re afraid we’ll use it recklessly!”
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> “But using it without any method? Forget whether it even works—you might kill eight hundred enemies while losing a thousand of your own. Do you really want to end up a half-immortal like your master?”
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> The image of Danyangzi’s three heads flashed through Li Huowang’s mind, and he fell silent. No matter if that fate befell him, his loved ones, or his enemies, it was no good end.
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> Until he understood the powers of a Heart Elemental thoroughly, he’d stick to other methods in battle. At least the Great Thousand Record was reliable.
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> “Brother Li, you’d best find that so-called true cultivation method first. Think about the Heart-Tainted—we have choices, they don’t. Use it without method, and you’ll end up entering qi deviation just like them.”
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> ——————————————
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> “Damn it! I’m done! I bet one heads, one tails! I refuse to believe I can keep losing!”
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> “I bet two heads, ten copper coins!”
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> “Me too, two heads!”
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> “You bastard, get lost! Bet somewhere else—don’t steal my luck!”
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> In the smoky, reeking gambling den thick with foot and sweat stench, a pack of street toughs and local thugs gambled away.
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> Silver Tomb City might be grand, but the grander it was, the more filth it hid. Lord Kui’s den was still one of the cleaner ones.
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> “Any more bets? Last call! Place your wagers!”
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> Long-absent Lv Xiucai stood in the center of the table like a general on the battlefield, exuding confidence. The boyish innocence was gone from his face, replaced by things beyond his years.
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> He eyed the little piles of copper coins and silver scraps on the table, smirked coldly, pinched a hand seal with his right hand hidden in his long sleeve, then stomped his right foot. The covered coins rattled faintly.
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> When the bamboo dice cup lifted, groans filled the table. The two coins inside showed tails—the least bet-on side.
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> Reluctant gamblers picked up the coins for a close look but found nothing amiss. Just two ordinary, rusted old coppers.
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> “Damn it, I refuse to believe my luck’s this rotten all night! Come on! Let’s borrow some cash from Lord Kui!”
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> Amid the shouts, time ticked by. When the rooster crowed outside, the soulless gamblers yawned and shuffled out.
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> Lv Xiucai was divvying up the take with a fat man inked with floral tattoos. Just forty percent, but it was enough to dazzle his eyes.
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> “Here’s your share, Xiucai.”
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> “Thanks, Lord Kui!” Lv Xiucai grinned wide, spread his arms, and swept all the money on the table into his embrace, eyes gleaming with greed.
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> “I wish that old bag of bones could see this! All this cash could buy days of his backbreaking opera singing! Wasted his whole life on nothing. And he calls me the disgrace!”
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> As Lv Xiucai stuffed the money into two cloth sacks, the casino boss in front of him said: “Xiucai, next time, let those pigs win a little. Lose three, win one—that way they’ll come back.”
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> “Got it!”
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> The moment he stepped out with the money, a gang of crooked thugs swarmed him, grinning with congratulations.
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> Lv Xiucai, clearly thick as thieves with them, waved a grand hand. “Come on, brothers! Breakfast’s on me today! Drunken Immortal Pavilion!”
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> Cheers erupted at his words.
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> “Master Lv’s righteous! Generous!”
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> “Master Lv’s a real spender! Best hero around!”
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> “Damn right—who in Silver Tomb City doesn’t give Master Lv face?”
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> Amid the chorus of “Master Lv,” he felt like he was floating, his upturned lips refusing to come down.
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> *This* was living. What the hell had his old opera troupe days been?
>
> (End of chapter)