Chapter 412
Chapter 412
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 412
>Chapter Title: Departure
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Chapter 412: Departure
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> After hearing North Wind’s half-threatening, half-joking words, Li Huowang glanced at him before turning directly to Zhuge Yuan beside him.
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> “Brother Zhuge, could you trouble yourself to use that ritual tool to prohibit this man from lying?”
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> He had figured it out. Before he cultivated that so-called cultivation method, Zhuge Yuan’s yellow almanac that forbade all lies was the true nemesis of the Sitting Oblivion Dao.
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> With him around, the Sitting Oblivion Dao’s little mind games had no place to play.
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> “The effect of the yellow almanac hasn’t worn off yet. Brother Li, ask away. He can’t lie right now.”
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> Hearing this, Li Huowang crouched down and stared into the man’s eyes with a playful tone.
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> “How about it? Still unwilling to talk? Should I ask Brother Zhuge to write another taboo against speech?”
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> “I’m not a three-year-old child. You don’t need to scare me. They’ve entered the city. The other three North Winds have all entered the city.”
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> “Don’t skip details! Which city did they enter!”
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> “Heh, which one else? The capital, of course.”
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> “Then where are they now?”
Li Huowang pressed further.
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> “We split up at noon yesterday, at the City God Temple in the east city. As for where they are now, I don’t know.”
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> “What is the Sitting Oblivion Dao doing in the capital at a time like this? This is the Surveillance Bureau’s headquarters. Aren’t you afraid of total annihilation?”
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>
> “Heh, afraid? The Sitting Oblivion Dao toys with heaven, earth, and itself. We’ve never feared anyone. We didn’t come before because we thought this dump was boring, that’s all.”
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> “Stop changing the subject. Tell me your purpose in coming to the capital!”
Li Huowang’s tone grew heavier.
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> Looking at Li Huowang’s utterly distorted face, North Wind’s expression was one of utter contempt. His tone was light as he spoke.
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> “Dice Boss told us to come. He said the Emperor of Great Liang is up to something shady behind the scenes, so we came to check it out and see if there’s any fun to be had.”
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> “As for what the Emperor of Great Liang is up to, heh heh, you should know more about that than we do. I just got here myself. I might not know as much as you.”
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> The Emperor of Great Liang? Li Huowang recalled the Minister of Rites hunting for heart turmoils, the scarred warships at sea, and the previous emperor beheaded at the crossroads.
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> He had long known that the entire Great Liang was stirring, as if something was brewing in the shadows. But no matter what the Emperor of Great Liang was planning now, the Sitting Oblivion Dao must have caught wind of it and gotten involved.
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> “Who else is with those three North Winds from the Sitting Oblivion Dao?”
Li Huowang asked patiently, holding back his impatience.
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> North Wind didn’t resist at all. He listed them off for Li Huowang like prized treasures.
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> “In this batch of ours, there are three Eights, two Nines, four North Winds, and... two Red Middles. Heh heh.”
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> When he mentioned the Red Middles, a strange smile crept onto North Wind’s face as he stared straight at Li Huowang.
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> “Smack!” Li Huowang slapped him hard across the face.
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> “Cut that out! The other Sitting Oblivion Daoists have already tried that on me. It doesn’t work!”
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> Only after Li Huowang could extract no more useful information did he finally stand up.
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> “Brother Li, are you done asking? No more use for this guy, right?”
Zhuge Yuan approached Li Huowang, fanning his folding fan as he asked.
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> Seeing Li Huowang nod slightly in thought, Zhuge Yuan shook the painted canvas in his hand sharply toward the air. The corpse of the heart turmoil amid the mountains and rivers appeared in the sky.
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> The long painted paper circled above North Wind’s head a few times. North Wind’s expression on the ground grew dazed and confused as memories of Great Liang rapidly vanished from his mind.
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> At the same time, his facial features and age began to change. The man, who should have been tall and sturdy, shrank back bit by bit until he became a tiny-footed old woman.
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> She shakily rose from the ground, completely forgetting everything that had happened before. She glanced panicked at the strangers before her and waved her hands frantically as she bolted for the door.
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> “Where is this? Old man, come quick!”
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> “Hey hey, easy there, old lady. No one’s going to eat you.”
Zhuge Yuan supported her as he led her toward the gate of the Liang manor.
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> When he returned after his good deed, he saw Li Huowang still standing there, frowning in thought. He couldn’t help but ask curiously,
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> “Brother Li, how did it go? Was what North Wind said useful to you?”
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> Li Huowang nodded and spoke.
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> “It’s useful, but I can’t believe it all. I know the Sitting Oblivion Dao. Even if they tell the truth, they can still deceive.”
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> “What he just said is definitely all true, but I suspect some details were deliberately omitted.”
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> “Or maybe some truths were phrased with misleading wording.”
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> After pondering for a moment, Li Huowang glanced at the people from Great Qi inside the room and lowered his voice to Zhuge Yuan.
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> “Brother Zhuge, please forgive me. I have something to attend to and must leave for a bit.”
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> Seeming afraid Zhuge Yuan might misunderstand, Li Huowang quickly added,
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> “I’m not going back on my word. This matter is of utmost importance. Once I handle it, I’ll definitely return to help you.”
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> “No worries at all.”
Zhuge Yuan seemed exceptionally magnanimous.
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> “Since we know the North Wind is in Youdu now, what’s your next plan?”
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> “This time, the entire Sitting Oblivion Dao might have come. I can’t handle them alone, so I’ve thought of a method. Whether it works or not, I plan to try it first.”
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> Zhuge Yuan nodded.
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> “Alright, handle your business. If you run into any trouble, remember to come find me anytime.”
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> Hearing this, Li Huowang felt a warmth in his heart. Zhuge Yuan was one of the rare good people in this chaotic world.
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> “Alright.”
He gave Zhuge Yuan a solemn daoist bow before turning and rushing out into the pitch-black Liang manor.
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> Li Huowang didn’t head anywhere else. Instead, he leaped from rooftop to rooftop, constantly shifting positions as he dashed straight toward the southwest.
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> Such a high-profile move immediately drew some eyes, but when Li Huowang held up his own badge high, no one stepped forward to stop him.
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> After swiftly weaving through the buildings for the time it takes two incense sticks to burn, he finally arrived at the Surveillance Bureau. The night guard wasn’t the Mohist with the bird on his shoulder anymore. Instead, it was a bony woman in a hemp skirt with a black talisman pasted on her forehead.
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> All seven of her orifices seemed plugged with something like yellow mud, her skin dark. Her presence in the empty room made for an especially eerie sight.
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> “Let me in quick! Urgent business!”
Li Huowang urgently shouted at the strange woman.
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> She didn’t move. With a “whoosh,” the hidden door appeared on its own from the wall.
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> Li Huowang rushed inside in a hurry, searching for that room based on his memory.
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> When he reached the hall filled with screens again, he found far fewer people inside. Only sporadic candlelight flickered from screens in the corners.
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> Ignoring everything else, Li Huowang pushed straight through the screens and came before the steward he had met once before. Pretending extreme urgency, he said,
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> “Brother Nangong, big trouble! The entire Sitting Oblivion Dao has come to the capital!”
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>
> (End of chapter)