Chapter 404
Chapter 404
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 404
>Chapter Title: Heart Entanglement
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Take it. Brother Kun refined these.”
Zhuge Yuan handed ten pills to Li Huowang, who was gnawing on some dry rations.
“What are these?” Li Huowang took them and asked.
“Brother Li, don’t you know how to refine pills? How come you don’t even recognize fasting pills? These are better than rice, and they cut down on bathroom breaks a ton—perfect for long trips.”
Li Huowang held one up to the sun and examined it closely. It was a dark brown pill the size of a fingernail, with a strong herbal scent.
“Brother Zhuge, it’s best not to touch the Little Sitting Oblivion Dao for now. We can play the long game and hook a big fish.”
Even though he had no clue what was going on, it didn’t change Li Huowang’s goal: deal with North Wind.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got it.”
Li Huowang let go, and the fasting pill rolled to the cartwheel. Whoosh—the mantou dog charged over in an instant.
But it just licked the surface and showed no interest in eating. It squatted down and kept tilting its head at the dry rations in Li Huowang’s hand.
Li Huowang pocketed the rest of the fasting pills and straightened up, turning to Zhuge Yuan with utmost seriousness.
“Brother Zhuge, got a moment? There’s something that’s been bugging me for a while.”
Zhuge Yuan didn’t seem surprised by Li Huowang’s question at all. He’d seen it coming—there had just been too many outsiders around before to discuss it.
“I bet you want to know whether it’s Da Liang or Da Qi right now, huh?”
Li Huowang nodded slightly. When he’d checked Zhuge Yuan’s records at the Bureau of Foresight, there’d been no mention of any of this. It had caught him completely off guard.
Snap. Zhuge Yuan flicked open his white folding fan, his tone tinged with emotion.
“These matters tie into higher powers. For your own safety, I really shouldn’t tell you too much. But what I can say is: Da Qi has always been real. Da Liang is the fake one.”
“Da Liang is fake? Everything I’ve been through in Da Liang is fake?”
Li Huowang inexplicably wanted to laugh. So all the hardships he’d endured across this vast land were what—just illusions like in his hallucinations? Killing Bai Lingmiao’s whole family was fake too? If it was all fake, that’d actually be great.
Li Huowang held his temper and spoke slowly.
“Brother Zhuge, you’ve traveled everywhere. You’ve surely met people from Da Liang. Even your heart-turbid corpse was snatched from the Da Liang Bureau of Foresight. So how can you say Da Liang is fake?”
“Sigh, Brother Li, this fake isn’t that fake. Take that old noodle seller from before. In your eyes, he’s Da Liang. In mine, he’s Da Qi. If neither of us looks, what country do you think he’s from?”
“But he’s Da Liang! Not Da Qi at all!”
“How do you know?”
“Because he was born in Da Liang, grew up in Da Liang, and he’ll die in Da Liang. That makes him Da Liang.”
“Wrong. In my eyes, he was born in Da Qi, grew up in Da Qi, and he’ll die in Da Qi. That makes him Da Qi.”
“Brother Zhuge, are you saying everything you see is Da Qi? But why are you the only one who sees Da Qi, while everyone else sees Da Liang? You’ve thought about that, right?”
“No. In my eyes, everyone else sees Da Qi too. I know what you all see, but you’re wrong. That error must be corrected.”
“Sigh, why can’t I get through to you? It’s obviously—” Li Huowang met Zhuge Yuan’s gaze and swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue. He suddenly felt like arguing was a massive waste of time.
“Fine, that old noodle guy is Da Qi. You win.”
“Sigh, you still don’t trust me. Whatever, I won’t argue. Wouldn’t want a fight. Just watch from here on out. See enough, and you’ll know if the Da Qi I speak of is real or fake.”
Zhuge Yuan walked away, clearly still in low spirits. He seemed disappointed that Li Huowang didn’t believe in Da Qi’s existence.
Li Huowang, meanwhile, furrowed his brow, pondering every possible explanation for the current situation.
Pure heart, entwined heart, turbid heart—none of them were harmless. No matter what this entwined heart had gained from that so-called “Threefold Ancient,” this bizarre shift was definitely caused by Zhuge Yuan.
He still couldn’t figure out how.
“Could Zhuge Yuan be dragging me across a thousand years, from ancient Da Qi to future Da Liang? But that doesn’t add up. Would a noodle-cooking old couple really exist in the same spots across a millennium?”
That noodle seller had swapped faces three times in a row, like there were always two different stalls side by side from start to finish. But Li Huowang had been right there, and he was dead certain the old man hadn’t changed.
It was as if the whole world was putting on a play with two different scripts: one for normal people like him, another for Zhuge Yuan.
Lost in these thoughts, Li Huowang recalled what the record-keeper had told him at Buddha Bone Temple.
“Is this the kind of thing he called strange yet reasonable? Does stuff like this happen all the time around an entwined heart?”
“The abbess’s si ming rules over rot, Ba Hui over pain. So what does this damn Threefold Ancient rule? Why does it cause changes like Zhuge Yuan’s?”
Li Huowang knew better than to dwell on such things—it might invite disaster. But with it right in front of him, he couldn’t help it.
“Whatever.” Li Huowang shook his pounding head. He’d just go with whatever Zhuge Yuan said. It didn’t concern him anyway.
His goal was singular: catch North Wind.
Zhuge Yuan had killed Fortune. The Sitting Oblivion Dao wouldn’t let that slide. Sticking close to Zhuge Yuan gave him a solid shot at nabbing North Wind.
Clip-clop-clip-clop came footsteps. Li Huowang looked up toward the sound and saw a young man in a white robe. He could already smell the faint blood on him.
“I’m Xia Risheng. Greetings, Lord Li.”
“Something you need?” Li Huowang asked. He remembered this guy as one of the Da Qi Bureau of Foresight members. No idea if he was scouting intel or what.
“Lord Li, I’m a follower of Ao Jing just like you!” The young man excitedly yanked open his robe, revealing his body hooked with barbs.
“Nothing else? Head back then. Road’s still long.”
Li Huowang wasn’t a real Ao Jing follower. He feared talking too much might give him away.
“Lord Zhuge says you’ve completed the Cang Qiang ascension three times already? Is that true?” The young man’s eyes shone with pure adoration as he gazed at Li Huowang.
(End of chapter)