Chapter 413
Chapter 413
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 413
>Chapter Title: Supervising Heaven Department
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“You said what?”
Nangong looked incredulously at the horrifying man before him. Though the man’s skin was gone, the copper coin mask on his face and the token in his hand clearly marked his identity.
This guy had come once a few months ago and hadn’t been seen since. Nangong had thought something had happened to him.
To his surprise, the moment he returned today, he spouted something about the entire Sitting Oblivion Dao being in the capital.
“Ear Nine, you can’t just say things like that recklessly. Do you know how serious those words are? If it’s false, you could end up in prison!”
Nangong said vigilantly to Li Huowang.
“Of course! Brother Nangong, it’s absolutely true. Not long ago, I personally met North Wind!”
Li Huowang said with a very grave expression.
If what North Wind said was correct, then the entire Sitting Oblivion Dao had come to the capital. That meant, besides the ten thousand wan tiles, there were 108 ordinary tiles, plus the sixteen directional winds of the Four Joys—east, south, west, and north—and the twelve Zhong, Fa, Bai of the Three Pristines. Adding it all up, a total of 136 members of the Sitting Oblivion Dao!
Forget about dealing with the mysterious and unfathomable Three Pristines and Four Joys—even the most ordinary Sitting Oblivion Dao members would be incredibly tough to handle if they banded together.
More importantly, North Wind had said that the boss of the Sitting Oblivion Dao, Dice, had come too.
Li Huowang didn’t know much about mahjong, but he remembered watching his mother Sun Xiaoqin play it during Chinese New Year as a kid. As far as he knew, mahjong was usually played with two dice!
With so many powerful enemies, facing them alone would be a pipe dream. He had to pull the colossal Supervising Heaven Department to his side to stand a chance.
Only then, while they clashed, could a lone wolf like him reap the benefits.
After all the hardships he’d gone through to join the Supervising Heaven Department, it was finally time to reap the rewards.
“Brother Nangong, this is a huge matter—how could I make it up? The Sitting Oblivion Dao has all come to the capital; they’re not here just for a stroll. They must be plotting something! You know as well as I do that for their amusement, they’ve caused the downfall of entire nations!”
These words made up Nangong’s mind instantly. “This involves too much. I’ll report it. Wait here.”
With that, he emerged from behind the wooden cabinet, brows furrowed and expression grave, and hurried toward the side door on the left.
Watching Nangong leave, Li Huowang let out a slight sigh of relief. But the matter wasn’t over yet. He knew Nangong was just a messenger and couldn’t handle something this big. Whether the Supervising Heaven Department would step in depended on the higher-ups.
Li Huowang paced back and forth in the empty room, racking his brains for the best way to persuade them.
“The entire Sitting Oblivion Dao is here?”
A low voice suddenly came from behind the screen on the left.
Li Huowang turned his head toward the broad shadow projected on the screen but said nothing. He had no friends in the Supervising Heaven Department.
The voice behind the screen spoke again. “Heh. The capital is truly full of troubles these days. Looks like we all need to flee to Hou Shu to hide. Good thing it’s not too late.”
The tone reminded Li Huowang of Tuoba Danqing and Grand Secretary Ji’s actions. Thinking back now, those sly old foxes had sensed the omens beforehand.
When they captured Heart Turmoil, he’d said he planned to head to Qingqiu to lie low after that job. But he never returned.
As for that old eunuch Grand Secretary Ji, he’d simply given his capital house to Li Huowang and chosen to cut and run.
“Brother, do you know why the Sitting Oblivion Dao has mobilized in such force to the capital?”
Li Huowang asked toward the screen.
“Heh. Don’t you know what the imperial court is up to? Not knowing is even better. Ignorance is bliss in this world.”
With that, the voice behind the screen fell silent.
But Li Huowang wasn’t satisfied. With storm clouds gathering, he couldn’t stand not knowing what lay within them.
As he stepped toward the screen, he found no one inside—just a root carving on a low table, about the size of a human head: a jolly cloth-bag monk.
The monk’s upper body was all cheer, with a constant grin and a protruding belly that looked comical, but the lower half was uncarved, exposing twisted, thick, knotted black roots.
The orderly upper body juxtaposed with the chaotic lower half created a bizarre dissonance.
“Ear Nine!! Where is he?”
Hearing Nangong call from outside, Li Huowang glanced at the monk carving again and stepped out from behind the screen. “Brother Nangong, I’m here!”
“Come on, the Supervisor Minister wants to see you!”
Hearing the urgency in Nangong’s voice, Li Huowang perked up and quickly nodded, following him.
He didn’t know the Supervising Heaven Department’s hierarchy, but anyone who could handle the entire Sitting Oblivion Dao was no ordinary figure.
“Here, put this on. Meeting the Supervisor Minister like that is an eyesore.”
Nangong handed a gray robe to the still naked Li Huowang, whose clothes had been burned away.
Li Huowang took it and wrapped up his scarred body tightly.
“When you see the Supervisor Minister, just say what you know. Don’t make anything up—he can tell.”
This made Li Huowang’s heart skip. Could the man read minds directly? If so, wouldn’t random thoughts betray his heart elemental identity? “May I ask, which sect or school does this Supervisor Minister hail from?”
“The Supervisor Minister is different from us. He’s a Confucian disciple. Confucians revere but keep their distance from ghosts and gods; they don’t cultivate any supernatural arts.”
“Just an ordinary mortal?!”
Li Huowang nearly thought he’d misheard. The top brass overseeing the Supervising Heaven Department across all of Great Liang was just a regular person?
“You think those formless arts can solve everything? Too narrow-minded. Some are extraordinary from birth. Even without them, reading people’s hearts can resolve issues. The Supervisor Minister has even fooled the Sitting Oblivion Dao.”
Li Huowang had dealt with the Sitting Oblivion Dao many times and knew full well how formidable a group of near-demonic schemers they were. To deceive them was no small feat.
Facing such a man soon, Li Huowang grew tense, mentally rehearsing how to speak with him.
After winding through the wooden underground corridor with Nangong for a bit, they reached a grand door flanked by stone drums, guarded by two armored soldiers standing silently like door gods, one on each side.
The thick killing intent radiating from them confirmed their identities.
After passing through several more sternly guarded doors inside, they finally stopped at a study doorway.
“Reporting to the Supervisor Minister, Ear Nine has arrived.”
Nangong bowed respectfully to the wooden door.