Chapter 554
Chapter 554
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 554
>Chapter Title: Departure
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On a dirt road nestled in a dense forest, Li Sui padded anxiously in circles on all fours, as if searching for something.
The ground was covered in his paw prints, making it look like he had been searching for quite a while.
Yet after all that time, there was still no sign of Li Huowang.
As time ticked by, Li Sui grew more and more frantic.
She had always stayed by Li Huowang’s side before and was thoroughly used to it.
The very thought that Li Huowang might never show up again had her on the verge of tears.
Just as tears began welling up in the corners of her eyes, a rift tore open in the air to her left. Li Huowang crawled out, his body charred and covered in wounds.
“Dad!!”
Li Sui lunged at him without a second’s hesitation, her tentacled tongue eagerly lapping at his chin.
“You’re crushing me! I’m still hurt! Let go!” It took Li Huowang some serious shoving to finally pry Li Sui off him.
“Dad, why’d you toss me out? I thought I’d never see you again. It hurt so bad.”
“You were inside me—I couldn’t move freely, and that huge fire could’ve burned your tentacles. It’s fine now. Don’t be scared. It’s all over.”
Li Huowang reached out and patted her head reassuringly.
Feeling safe at last, Li Sui nuzzled her white skull gently against his palm, her voice full of attachment as she asked,
“Dad, can we go home now?”
“Not yet. We still haven’t found Shangji Guankou. I’m planning to head back to Great Liang first to recover.”
With that, Li Huowang scanned the thick woods around them. He then looked up at the pristine sunset slowly sinking toward the west.
It was an incredibly bizarre sensation. Great Qi had been utterly devastated, yet Great Liang remained totally serene, perfectly peaceful.
It was hard to fathom that the two places were so close.
Li Huowang had no answer for what it all meant, nor did he care. This mad world was full of baffling things—he didn’t need to chase down every mystery.
Back in familiar Great Liang, Li Huowang’s mind finally unwound completely, and he instantly sensed his battered body on the verge of giving out.
“Dad, you okay?”
Li Sui steadied him with her tentacles.
“You hungry? Thirsty?”
“It’s nothing. I can tough out these scratches. Help me over to the side to sit.”
Li Huowang gritted his teeth against the pain and glanced down at his exposed midsection. He pressed the spilled innards back inside.
Li Sui’s tentacles slipped in after them. Soon, the Li Sui on the ground vanished, and she had patched up Li Huowang’s ruined body.
“Dad, better now?”
Hearing the voice from within his body, Li Huowang stroked one of the tentacles.
“Thanks. No need to waste time healing now. Let’s get moving—back to Great Qi to find Shangji Guankou.”
“You sure you’re up for this? Not scared of dying there?”
Shangguan Yuting eyed the disheveled Li Huowang with concern etched on her refined features.
“No need! Better to wrap this up quick!”
Li Huowang unwound the cloth strip from his spine sword and bound it tightly around himself.
“Great Qi’s finally free of disasters. I’ve gotta hurry—God knows how long it’ll hold together. If it falls apart, it’s all over.”
With a deep breath, Li Huowang gripped his spine sword tight and swung. He plunged into the chasing rift.
Moments after he vanished, a galloping carriage barreled through the spot where he’d stood, bound for the capital.
The driver glanced at the paw prints riddling the ground and called into the carriage,
“We’ll rest once we’re home. These marks—this area’s got a big tiger prowling.”
A woman’s irritated voice rang out from within.
“Why the change of plans again? Ouch, ease up—this ride’s jarring my butt numb.”
“You’re so ungrateful. This brother’s a good soul—saw our plight and loaned us his cart. You wouldn’t get the chance otherwise.”
No sooner had he spoken than the curtain flew open. A hand adorned with a silver bracelet shot out and pinched his ear hard.
“Say that again! Think you rule the roost now that I’m married?”
“Ouch ouch ouch!! Sis, I’m driving here! Cut it out—people are staring.”
Meanwhile, Gao Zhijian sat hunched and silent at the carriage’s rear, quietly watching the siblings bicker.
His eyes were on them, but his mind was wholly occupied with what he’d do once he reached the capital.
True or not, Gao Zhijian hadn’t planned to dwell on his past.
He loved Niuxin Village and meant to spend his life there. Marrying Xiaoman would make it perfect.
Yet he’d witnessed all the ordeals Li Shixiong endured protecting them on this journey. With Li Shixiong in trouble now, he couldn’t just sit idle.
Two grown men—Gouwa couldn’t find them, but the emperor’s power surely could. After all, the whole world was the emperor’s.
Truth be told, Gao Zhijian wasn’t entirely sure about his past. Those hazy memories could be real or fabricated. Either way, he had to try.
“I’m the emperor. They’ll recognize me in the palace, right?”
“If I was emperor before, the current one’s kin. He’ll help out, no sweat.”
“Even if not emperor, I’ve got general memories. Maybe I was one once—generals can track people down easy.”
Gao Zhijian’s head began to throb as he pondered. His recollections were a jumbled mess, scattered fragments that refused to align.
When he snapped back to reality, the carriage had stopped. The siblings had already climbed down.
“Uh, brother—we’re here. Thanks for the lift. Village is just ahead. Care for a quick bite?”
The former driver clasped his hands politely toward Gao Zhijian inside.
Gao Zhijian returned the gesture, then shook his head. He moved to the front, seized the reins, and urged the carriage slowly along the dirt road.
“What a guy—huge and solid. If I weren’t hitched, I’d snap him up.”
The woman sighed wistfully.
Her brother let out a regretful sigh beside her.
“Yeah. So sturdy—he’d outpull two oxen in the fields. Shame, though. Mute and all.”