Chapter 417
Chapter 417
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 417
>Chapter Title: Retreat
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“Hahaha! You want this Six-Yao Almanac too? Hah! Dream on! Something this good naturally belongs to our Sitting Oblivion Dao!”
Li Huowang mocked the other members of the Supervising Heaven Bureau.
As he spoke, the Red Center illusion beside him laughed like it was New Year’s, clapping wildly around him. Alive or dead, it had never been this happy.
Seeing the large red Red Center mark on Li Huowang’s face, everyone engaged in battle stopped at once, staring at him—and at the Bureau Magistrate in his hand.
Those from the Supervising Heaven Bureau who had been besieging Zhuge Yuan were the most shocked. They had never imagined that this supposed ally was a Sitting Oblivion Dao imposter—who had even killed the Bureau Magistrate outright.
The next moment, nearly all Bureau members abandoned their encirclement of Zhuge Yuan and charged toward Li Huowang. The Magistrate was dead—if they didn’t want to be punished and imprisoned, they had to capture this man to atone for their failure!
“Father, they’re here—they’re charging at you…”
In the pitch darkness, amid Li Huowang’s manic laughter, Li Sui’s voice sounded in his mind.
“Don’t panic. Squeeze out your eyeball—guide me!”
Holding aloft the blood-stained imperial almanac, Li Huowang leapt wildly toward the distant city wall under Li Sui’s guidance.
In this twisted, mad world, anything could happen. The Bureau Magistrate, one of the Bureau’s authorities, might not have been so easy to kill—but Li Huowang didn’t care whether he succeeded or failed.
Everything he had done was simply to send a message on behalf of the Sitting Oblivion Dao.
From beginning to end, he and the Supervising Heaven Bureau had never been able to coexist.
His true objective was still the Heart-Su, North Wind.
Since North Wind was still in Shangjing, then for his purpose, the Bureau and the Sitting Oblivion Dao had to clash. Even if they wouldn’t fight on their own—
He would fan the flames himself.
After being deceived by the Sitting Oblivion Dao so many times, why couldn’t he use them in return?
And he wasn’t worried the Bureau would verify whether there was truly an extra “Red Center” among the Sitting Oblivion Dao. They were like the boy who cried wolf—after shouting “wolf” too many times, even when they told the truth, no one believed them.
Now that the Bureau Magistrate had been killed under the name of “Red Center,” the Sitting Oblivion Dao was doomed—whether guilty or not.
This move, too, he had learned from them.
Leaping across rooftops, talismans pasted to his knees, Li Huowang leaned forward, enduring the searing pain on his face as he laughed madly, taunting behind him from time to time.
The flames had been successfully stoked. Now he just needed to escape the Bureau’s encirclement and reclaim his true identity as Erjiu.
As he vaulted over another rooftop, a sudden killing intent struck from nowhere, raising goosebumps across his body.
His body moved on its own, twisting midair. Though blind, he felt a gust of wind slice past him—something heavy narrowly missing.
“Father, someone on the wall is swinging a big staff at us,” Li Sui warned.
“Don’t panic—we’re not far from the city wall. We’ll be out soon—”
Before he could finish, a strange aura locked onto him from behind.
His heart tightened.
“Li Sui, what happened? What’s behind me?”
“Father, the one you killed stood back up. He’s looking at your head.”
“What?! The Bureau Magistrate isn’t dead?! No—he’s definitely dead! Whatever’s in his body now isn’t him!”
Even ordinary people possessed more hidden methods than Li Huowang had imagined.
He couldn’t tell what it was from Li Sui’s description—but one thing was certain.
This wasn’t over.
“Go!”
Manipulating his displacement blindly, Li Huowang entered invisibility and sprinted for Shangjing’s city gate with all his strength.
As he ran, he suddenly felt a chill atop his head—then heard something fall to the ground. The oppressive aura vanished.
In that critical moment, he didn’t dare pause. As long as his body could still move, he fled desperately.
“Come on, brothers! Let’s help Boss Red Center!”
“Boss Red Center, go! We’ll avenge you!”
“Boss Red Center, make sure that almanac gets delivered!”
Hearing the righteous shouts of the Sitting Oblivion Dao behind him, Li Huowang sneered inwardly.
“Liars like you—never thought you’d be deceived one day, did you?”
Whether those members had truly acted as a rear guard or not, the pressure around him lessened. He soon reached the city gate.
The heavy gates were shut—but that was no obstacle. Swinging his copper coin sword, he sliced through them as easily as paper.
After much effort, when his hands finally brushed against dense leaves beyond the walls, joy surged in his heart.
He had escaped the city.
“Li Sui! Watch carefully! Anyone still chasing us?” he asked inwardly.
“No. It looks like those in iron armor are blocking them.”
Though that was the best possible answer, Li Huowang didn’t relax. He continued darting through the forest—sometimes invisible, sometimes diving into water.
Hours later, when his body was nearly drained of all strength, he finally stopped, sitting heavily on a stone, sweat pouring like rain.
“With things like this, Shangjing must be in chaos and under doubled security. I’ll have to wait outside before going back.”
“But not too long—if the Bureau and the Sitting Oblivion Dao go to war, I can’t miss it.”
Just as he thought that, the sound of footsteps crunching dry leaves came from the left.
Before he could listen carefully, a terrified scream rang out:
“Ghost!!”
After the scream and the startled flight of birds, everything went silent.
Li Huowang, ready to fight to the death, was left puzzled.
“Li Sui, who was that?”
“An old man. He was carrying firewood. He’s lying on the ground and not moving.”
Feeling his way forward, Li Huowang soon touched an elderly man in coarse hemp clothing. The deep wrinkles on his face showed his age.
The bundle of firewood and chipped woodcutter’s knife confirmed he was just a common villager.
His pulse still beat—he had fainted from fright, not died.
Only then did Li Huowang realize—
The man must have been terrified by the Red Center face he wore.
Ordinary people had never seen such horror.
With that thought, Li Huowang pulled out a dagger from his torture pouch, preparing to restore his facial features.
But when he reached up to his head—
His hands found nothing.
Where his head should have been was empty.
Only several of Li Sui’s tendrils waved there—two of them wrapped around his eyeballs, rising and falling.
“Where’s my head?”
The question burst into his mind.
(End of Chapter)