Chapter 486
Chapter 486
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 486
>Chapter Title: Relic
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Chapter 486: Relic
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>> “Mm.” Facing Li Huowang’s explanation, the Great Liang National Advisor turned around, lightly stroking his white beard while nodding in approval.
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>> Li Huowang felt a bit uneasy at that moment, unsure whether the man believed him or not. The other’s strength was formidable—if it came to blows, he might not escape.
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>> Just as he was brewing other excuses in his mind, the man spoke again. “Since His Majesty favors you so much, being connected to the imperial family is a great fortune for you. Seize it well.”
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>> “Yes!” But in his heart, Li Huowang didn’t see it as any great fortune. With others vying for it, how many more days could that hotheaded Ji Lin even sit on the throne?
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>> “Go on, do your job well. Great Liang needs people like you.” As the Great Liang National Advisor spoke, he patted Li Huowang on the shoulder.
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>> Li Huowang keenly sensed something burrowing from his shoulder into the root of his tongue. He immediately understood that even after the veiled threat, the man still wasn’t fully at ease and had placed a restriction on him.
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>> But Li Huowang didn’t care. He hadn’t planned to tell anyone anyway—revealing something like this would only invite trouble.
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>> “Understood. I shall take my leave.” After bowing once more in the Daoist manner, Li Huowang turned and walked out of the imperial temple.
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>> Once he followed Lian Zhinbei out of the towering reddish-brown imperial city with the Lifespan Pills in hand, Li Huowang glanced back at the oppressive palace and let out a breath of relief.
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>> He still didn’t like this place. It felt like the entire city was alive, devouring people at every moment.
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>> Though there had been some hiccups along the way, at least it had ended smoothly.
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>> But now that he knew the princes were fighting over the throne, the capital was bound to churn with undercurrents again. He needed to finish his business quickly and leave.
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>> As for helping Ji Lin stabilize his rule, that wasn’t even on Li Huowang’s mind. Though the young man seemed like a good friend prospect and had shown him kindness,
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>> they’d only met once. That scant acquaintance wasn’t worth risking his life for. Besides, the kid didn’t seem like emperor material anyway.
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>> “Now it’s your turn to keep your promise.” Li Huowang turned to Lian Zhinbei, who was excitedly staring at the jade token in her hand.
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>> Pure Lifespan couldn’t be condensed into pills; it had to be personally granted by a specialist. That jade token was the voucher to obtain it.
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>> “Don’t worry, don’t worry, of course.” Lian Zhinbei started to leave but was stopped dead by Li Huowang. Now it was his turn to be wary. “Where are you going?”
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>> “What do you mean? To fetch my mom and transfer the lifespan, of course! That’s what we agreed on.”
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>> Li Huowang reached out and snatched the jade token right back. “Once you’ve fetched your mom, come find me. You’d better hurry—a month from now, if you haven’t shown up, I’ll just use this Pure Lifespan on my wife.”
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>> “You can’t be serious? We’re already in the capital, and you still don’t trust me? How about I leave my Celestial Surveillance Division badge as collateral?” Lian Zhinbei pleaded bitterly.
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>> But Li Huowang didn’t bother arguing with her. He dangled the jade token in front of her and turned toward the Celestial Surveillance Division yamen.
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>> No rabbit, no hawk. Trying to pull a fast one on him? Fat chance.
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>> At the inner treasury, Li Huowang didn’t waste words with the eunuch sporting two copper coins on his head. He simply poured out the four hundred Lifespan Pills from his gourd. “Swap them for that relic I asked about earlier! Hurry up!”
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>> The relic was housed within a seven-layered pagoda. As the eunuchs disassembled the nested towers layer by layer, the final one revealed a faintly glowing red agate box before Li Huowang.
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>> The red agate box was so transparent that Li Huowang could see the relic inside right away, bathed in Buddhist light. It was a human bone—a crystalline little finger bone.
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>> “The relic is a human bone? And the way to gain the Heavenly Eye is to eat a human bone?” Li Huowang eyed the money-eyed eunuch suspiciously. This method didn’t seem remotely proper.
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>> “Rest assured, sir. This is the last one. The previous six were all used up, and those who used them turned out just fine. But I must remind you once more: you absolutely must harbor kind intentions! Kind intentions are key!”
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>> “Enough—how many times are you going to repeat yourself? This is it.” Now Li Huowang was starting to worry about how to persuade Bai Lingmiao to swallow this human bone once they got back.
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>> Perhaps due to the trauma from Clear Wind Temple, she was extremely averse to human flesh and bones. She even avoided ordinary pills when she could.
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>> But when Li Huowang returned home with the agate pagoda containing the relic and two roast geese, and saw Bai Lingmiao groping around in the pitch-black room, he realized he’d been overthinking. She couldn’t see at all right now.
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>> “Senior Brother Li, you’re back?” The somewhat haggard Bai Lingmiao tilted her head, listening toward him.
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>> “How’d you know it was me?” Li Huowang set the lotus-leaf-wrapped roast geese on the table nearby.
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>> “I can tell. I recognize your footsteps. Senior Brother Li, ever since my eyes started failing more, my ears have gotten sharper.”
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>> Li Huowang walked over, gently helping her to the Zen chair nearby. “Miaomiao, don’t worry. There’s a way to cure your eyes.”
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>> With that, he pulled out a water gourd and the fist-sized agate pagoda from his robes. “Here, open your mouth.”
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>> “Senior Brother Li, what miraculous elixir is this? It can even cure blindness?” Bai Lingmiao opened her little mouth, her face half-curious, half-expectant.
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>> Li Huowang didn’t answer. He pinched the relic between his fingers and placed it at the root of her tongue. “Don’t chew. Swallow it with some pure water.”
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>> As the rainwater from the gourd poured into Bai Lingmiao’s mouth, she choked and coughed violently. Li Huowang patted her back repeatedly. Neither noticed the golden swastika flash across her chest.
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>> Once Bai Lingmiao finally caught her breath, she said with a bitter face, “Senior Brother Li, what was that? How come—”
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>> At that moment, Bai Lingmiao froze. She suddenly realized she could perceive things again.
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>> To be precise, it wasn’t seeing—it was sensing the qi emanating from them.
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>> The table, the chairs, Li Sui, even the two short trees in the yard outside—all were crystal clear to her senses.
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>> The sensation was truly unique, as if everything around her was vividly imprinted in her heart.
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>> “Senior Brother Li?”
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>> Bai Lingmiao looked puzzled at the bizarre mass before her. It was utterly unlike anything else.
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>> It seemed like a person, yet it flickered in and out of existence, accompanied by intense trembling.
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>> And around it hovered shifting afterimages that coalesced and dispersed.
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>>(End of chapter)