Chapter 411
Chapter 411
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 411
>Chapter Title: Mahjong
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"This is North Wind? The North Wind I've been desperately searching for all this time?"
Looking at the man lying on the ground before him, barely clinging to life, Li Huowang felt like he was trapped in a dream. His mind buzzed like he'd had too much to drink.
Ever since learning that North Wind possessed a method to escape the hallucinations and control the innate one-qi within his body, Li Huowang had spent countless days and nights imagining what it would be like when he finally tracked him down.
But he never imagined that when North Wind appeared right in front of him, it would be under these circumstances.
"He? He's really North Wind?! Brother Zhuge, are you absolutely sure you didn't make a mistake?"
Li Huowang stared at Zhuge Yuan in shock.
"Yes, no mistake at all. This is North Wind. He was hiding among those eunuchs, and I spotted him. However..."
Li Huowang's hands trembled as he clasped his fists toward Zhuge Yuan and declared gravely, "Great kindness needs no words of thanks!"
With that, he immediately crouched down and carefully propped up North Wind. He drew his dagger and peeled back layers of the man's skin.
After flipping through several layers, the bloody mahjong tile inscribed with "North Wind" appeared before Li Huowang. He was so overcome with emotion that tears nearly welled up in his eyes.
As Li Huowang's trembling fingers brushed over the fleshy surface of the tile, the spliced-together characters "North Wind" began to writhe and speak.
"Heh heh heh, look how thrilled you are. What, are you my long-lost son or something?"
North Wind's voice was aged and raspy.
Li Huowang drew a deep breath to steady his surging emotions. His voice quivered as he said, "North Wind, oh North Wind, I've searched so hard for you."
"Oh? Searched so hard for me? Then it looks like I won't die for now—not until you've emptied my guts."
Li Huowang ignored him completely. He gripped his blood-dripping dagger tighter, leaned in close, stared into North Wind's eyes, and continued speaking on his own.
"Brother North Wind, could you do me a favor? Please tell me how you, as a heart elemental, escaped those hallucinations. If you share the method, we can even talk about letting you go outright!"
Whether the man agreed or refused, Li Huowang was already prepared for his next move. But the response caught him completely off guard.
"Heart elemental? Heh heh heh, who told you I'm a heart elemental? Sure, I'm North Wind, but I'm just impersonating him. Only Old Four counts as the real heart elemental. I'm not."
The instant those words hit him, Li Huowang's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
"Old Four?"
That simple nickname slithered through him like a ghost, sending the heart he'd been holding in suspense plummeting into an unseen abyss.
Seeing Li Huowang's expression, a smug glint crossed North Wind's face.
"What's the matter, young fella? Never played mahjong before? A set has four North Wind tiles—perfectly normal."
"Four North Winds? That means there are four Prosperity tiles? Four White Dragons? Four Red Dragons?!"
Li Huowang's mind exploded with a deafening roar.
In the next instant, his face twisted as he yanked North Wind up into the air. The dagger was already buried in the man's gut, slowly twisting.
"Impossible! Even now, you're still trying to trick me! Let me tell you something—now that you're in my hands, if you don't hand over that method, death will be a luxury you can't afford!"
Just as Li Huowang prepared to inflict every torment he'd ever endured onto North Wind, Zhuge Yuan spoke up from the side. His tone carried a hint of awkwardness.
"Um, Brother Li, he's not lying. I actually didn't finish what I was saying earlier. This guy is North Wind, but he's not the heart elemental. He was pretending to be one, but I saw right through it."
Zhuge Yuan's words hit Li Huowang like a spine being ripped out. His face drained to a ghostly white in an instant.
He turned to Zhuge Yuan, utterly speechless for the moment.
Li Huowang nearly choked on his own breath. If there was anything worse than not having something at all, it was glimpsing it within reach only to have it snatched away again.
"You love your storytelling so much—why didn't you tell me sooner about there being four North Winds? That's crucial information!"
Zhuge Yuan gripped his folded fan and regretfully tapped his forehead.
"Ah, I thought you already knew, Brother Li. I had no idea you didn't. It's not too late to tell you now."
"Actually, as you know, the Sitting and Forgetting Dao excel at disguise and impersonation. To outsiders, they always present just one face. But in truth, behind the scenes, that single face is shared by four people. So everyone else assumes each suit in the Sitting and Forgetting Dao belongs to only one person."
"Those identical suits keep swapping positions—that's how the Sitting and Forgetting Dao have fooled so many people."
The North Wind he'd finally captured lost all value in that single instant. A rush of hot blood surged to Li Huowang's head. He raised the dagger embedded in North Wind's abdomen, his hand shaking as he aimed it toward the man's heart.
Blood streamed from the corners of North Wind's mouth, his features contorted in agony. Yet he showed no concern—instead, he looked at Li Huowang with utter disdain.
"Heh heh heh, the Ao Jing Sect, right? Bunch of self-important fools."
"Brother Li, you can't kill him. I left him alive for you—maybe he knows something useful."
North Wind's arrogant grin fueled the fire raging in Li Huowang's chest, impossible to extinguish. But in the end, he forced that unholy rage back down.
Li Huowang picked the [Fire Robe True Scripture] up off the ground and began treating North Wind's wounds.
Seeing this, North Wind's laughter grew even louder.
"Oh? Not killing me anymore? Guess you need something from me after all. Hahaha!"
Once the wound in North Wind's abdomen was sealed over with a layer of burn scar, Li Huowang examined his captive once more. North Wind looked like nothing more than an ordinary old man.
What was done was done—further disappointment or fury wouldn't change a thing. Better to focus on damage control than waste time wallowing in it.
"Since you're one of the North Winds, and you four all share the same face, you must know where the other three are, right?"
Li Huowang finally spoke up.
"Heh heh heh, looks like I was right. You're hunting down Old Four, so you must be a heart elemental yourself. Want him to tell you how to break free of heart elemental confusion?"
This North Wind had already pieced together Li Huowang's goal.
When the man still refused to talk, Li Huowang neatly laid out the torture tools one by one in front of him.
"I despise you Ao Jing Sect types the most. Same old trick every time. Not an ounce of brains between you. Fine, I can tell you what you want to know, but..."
At this point, North Wind's lips curled upward. He slanted his eyes toward Li Huowang.
"Dare I say it? Do you even dare believe me? Don't forget—I'm Sitting and Forgetting Dao. Heh~ heh~ heh~"
(End of chapter)