Chapter 469
Chapter 469
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 469
>Chapter Title: Resolved
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Li Sui’s appearance was pretty much exactly as he’d imagined. The only difference was that she seemed even more terrifying and horrifying than he’d pictured.
Her body wasn’t particularly solid. Some parts were even somewhat hollowed out, leaving certain organs exposed on the outside.
Mantou’s body clearly wasn’t enough to support Li Sui. All the places where bones had broken were wrapped tightly in black tentacles.
Though it felt wrong to say this about his own daughter, she really was quite frightening right now.
Li Sui’s chest throbbed with each beat. Every time it pulsed, he could see a book wrapped in flesh and blood through the cracks.
Li Huowang remembered. That was the complete collection of talismans he’d given to Li Sui.
“Dad, what’s wrong?”
Li Sui didn’t quite understand why Li Huowang was staring at her like that.
“Nothing, just taking a look.”
Li Huowang reached out and patted her on the head.
“Go on. Go find the kid and have some egg custard. While you’re at it, call a few people over for me.”
In Niuxin Village, after dinner was rest time. Nobody wandered around randomly, so the people Li Huowang wanted to see soon arrived altogether.
The tall Gao Zhijian, the hairy Chun Xiaoman, Zhao Wu with one shoulder higher than the other leaning on his crutch, and Gouwa with patches of white and blue bruises on his face. These were all the fellow disciples who had lived and died alongside him.
Besides those four, there was also Yang Xiaohai, whose head was noticeably a whole head shorter than the others.
Li Huowang looked toward Niuxin Village’s cook.
“I didn’t call for you. What are you doing here?”
“Heh heh, I saw them all coming, so I figured I’d come take a peek. If you want, Senior Brother Li, I can leave right now?”
Yang Xiaohai scratched the back of his head sheepishly, grinning awkwardly.
After spending so much time together, they’d clearly grown familiar. If it had been before, he never would’ve dared to do this.
Li Huowang ignored him and turned his gaze to Gao Zhijian.
“How’s the recruitment of the village militia going? About how long until they’re combat-ready?”
Gao Zhijian wrinkled his nose and shook his head in some dissatisfaction.
“Long.”
Li Huowang soon learned from Gao Zhijian that there were hardly any suitable people in the village for martial training. Either they had some disability, or their constitutions were no good. After sifting through them for ages, they’d only found two that were barely acceptable.
That did seem reasonable, though. These people were all the damaged goods Bai Lingmiao had picked up from the slave traders.
But that didn’t align with Li Huowang’s expectations. He needed to speed this up.
“Zhao Wu, back when we were in Qingqiu, take all the gold that Sun Baolu’s mom gave me, split it up, and use the money to help Gao Zhijian buy more qualified house slaves. Even if it costs more, make sure to pick loyal ones.”
“We need to form the village militia as soon as possible. That way, even if I’m not around and some other natural disaster strikes again, you all can protect yourselves.”
“Got it, Senior Brother Li.”
Zhao Wu, who handled the money, nodded in acknowledgment.
“Senior Brother Li, you’re heading out again?”
“Yeah, there’s something I need to go take care of again. If all goes smoothly, it shouldn’t take too long this time.”
He then turned to Chun Xiaoman.
“I heard you’re practicing the White Lotus Cult’s techniques under the ancestral hall?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Keep it quiet. You can teach others if you want, but only teach our own people.”
“It’s not like the military school’s arts. That god-possession medium thing might seem kinda interesting, but the White Lotus Cult is on the wanted list. Their techniques and divine abilities are probably pretty recognizable too. Being too flashy will draw the Surveillance Division’s attention.”
When Li Huowang finished explaining the Surveillance Division in detail, along with what had happened to the Bai family before, Chun Xiaoman nodded solemnly, suddenly feeling the heavy weight on her shoulders.
Li Huowang then looked toward the last one, Gouwa. The once-noisy Gouwa had grown much quieter ever since he’d had a daughter.
“Gouwa, you okay?”
When Li Huowang asked, Gouwa immediately plastered on his signature cheeky grin.
“Hey, I’m fine, fine. What could be wrong with me? Eating and drinking as usual. Senior Brother Li, go ahead without worry. With me holding down Niuxin Village, nothing’s gonna go wrong.”
Li Huowang nodded and pointed at the Rotten Wood Ruyi on the table.
“This magic artifact is for you. It can mess with people’s minds. Pair it with those white hair needles of yours.”
This had been a gift from that eunuch registrar back then, a special magic artifact refined from a heart element’s tongue. It could fill a person’s mind with confusion.
Li Huowang had never used it once since getting it. Might as well give it to Gouwa.
“Whoa, this, this, this—it’s an immortal artifact! Senior Brother Li, you’re too generous! Just giving it to me for free like that.”
Gouwa, beaming with delight, took it in hand and examined it from every angle, clicking his tongue in wonder.
“And here’s a pill recipe. I copied one down. It has the Blood Nourishing Pill and the Foundation-Building and Vitality Pill, along with some other pill-refining methods. The leper head at Clear Wind Temple taught me this back in the day.”
“There are also some talisman diagrams for medical use tucked inside. The village doesn’t have a doctor. Find someone who can read and have them make do as a half-decent physician.”
“Me, me, me! I know characters! The teacher praises my aptitude every day! I already recognize thirty characters now!”
Yang Xiaohai eagerly stepped forward and picked up the pill recipe booklet, flipping it over and over as he looked at it.
Li Huowang frowned slightly as he watched him.
“You’re holding it upside down.”
“Oh, oh, oh...”
Li Huowang looked over the five people in front of him once more.
“We’ve all been through life and death together. This world always feels unstable to me. If something really happens, you can’t rely on mountains or rivers—they collapse or dry up. Only yourselves are truly reliable.”
“Hey, no worries. Don’t we still have you, Senior Brother Li? You’re so powerful, who’d dare not give you face?”
Gouwa’s flattery only earned him a cold glare from Li Huowang.
“What if I die someday? What if I go mad again someday? What then?”
As soon as Li Huowang said this, the atmosphere in the room grew oppressive.
Gouwa opened his mouth, as if to lighten the mood, but said nothing.
“Alright. Everyone except Gao Zhijian, you can go.”
The other four glanced simultaneously at the towering Gao Zhijian before taking the things Li Huowang had given them and leaving.
Li Huowang looked at the massive Gao Zhijian in front of him, thought for a moment, and then spoke.
“Zhijian, you weren’t just anybody before, were you? Though they all say you’re a fool, I think you’re one of those ‘great wisdom appears foolish’ types.”
Gao Zhijian nodded silently.
“Want to go back?”
Gao Zhijian shook his head.
“Alright. Since you don’t want to go back, I won’t ask. This is your home from now on. After me and Miao, you’re the strongest. When I’m not here, help me guard this home.”
Li Huowang sliced open his abdomen with a knife and rummaged inside, pulling out a bloody human skin.
“Take this. It can save your life at a critical moment.”
As if aware of how precious it was, Gao Zhijian gasped and waved his hands frantically, trying to refuse.
“Take it!”
Li Huowang shoved it straight into his hand.
The words “My skin is almost ready” lingered in his mouth for a moment before he swallowed them back down.
Li Huowang patted Gao Zhijian on the shoulder.
“We’re brothers who’ve been through life and death together. Being this polite with me is just putting distance between us.”
Gao Zhijian looked at the human skin in his palm and carefully put it away.
He then reached into the bundle of torture tools hanging from Li Huowang’s waistband and pulled out a dagger. He sliced open his own palm, then Li Huowang’s.
He clasped their bleeding palms tightly together.
Li Huowang looked at the wound on his palm slowly clotting and chuckled softly.
“What custom is this?”
Once Gao Zhijian had left, he pulled a sheet of rice paper from his embrace. It was something he’d written when he’d been blind before. The four lines listed his current troubles.
/* This trouble doesn’t exist! */
With a trembling finger, Li Huowang pressed down on the second line and slowly dragged across it. The words on it vanished rapidly.
Two: The anomaly of the heavenly disaster. Since the Surveillance Division’s plan was ruined by the Sitting Oblivion Dao, there might be more after this one. He wasn’t afraid for himself, but how was he supposed to protect Niuxin Village?
(End of chapter)