Chapter 566
Chapter 566
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 566
>Chapter Title: Zhuge Yuan
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In the brightly lit palace, Li Huowang's pupils trembled slightly in front of the coiling dragon pillar.
He first glanced at the spinebone sword on the ground that had started moving on its own, then turned toward Zhuge Yuan beside him.
He had suffered many wounds before, but none had ever hurt as much as this one did right now.
"So you even prepared a backup plan! You never trusted me at all! Are you really that Zhuge Yuan who was willing to give up his life to save me?"
"You told me to stabilize my true heart? But you've always treated me like a Sitting Oblivion Dao red middle! How am I supposed to stabilize my true heart!"
With that, Li Huowang's mouth twitched slightly as his expression turned ferocious, and he raised his fist to smash it brutally against his own head.
"Brother Li, I had no choice. With so many lives in Da Qi at stake, I truly didn't dare bet on you. I could stake my own life for you, but I couldn't stake the lives of everyone in Da Qi!"
Li Huowang glared at him ferociously, the fury in his heart surging as he charged toward Zhuge Yuan with all his might.
The instant his right hand clenched and swung toward him, Zhuge Yuan's head solidified into substance.
"Bang!" Zhuge Yuan's head snapped up high, staggering back from Li Huowang's punch.
Once the bruised-faced Zhuge Yuan steadied himself again, he let out a soft sigh, his voice tinged with a somber undertone as he spoke.
"In my life, I've never done anything that pricked my conscience—except this once. For Da Qi, I deceived you, my sworn brother. That was no act of a gentleman. When one errs, one must accept the punishment, so Zhuge Yuan offers his death in atonement."
The fury on Li Huowang's face froze in an instant. He watched as Zhuge Yuan's body began flickering in and out of visibility.
"What do you mean by that! I'm telling you, this isn't over! You still owe me an explanation! You can't go anywhere!"
Li Huowang clutched his head in agony. Zhuge Yuan's body solidified once more.
"Brother Li, as a heart elemental, these illusions are no boon to you—they're pure harm. Best to deal with them sooner rather than later."
"If you want the illusions around you to vanish, perhaps help them resolve their obsessions. Once those obsessions fade from their hearts, the hallucinations will naturally dissipate as well—like with me, or like Jiang Yinger before."
With those words, Zhuge Yuan's body grew exceedingly faint. No matter how desperately Li Huowang tried to hold on to him, it was futile.
"Brother Li, if you can't tell whether you're the red middle or Li Huowang, remember to go where Li Huowang belongs. Build up more of Li Huowang's memories—that might suppress the red middle."
"Brother Li, I once tried to divine what Doumu Taiyin stood to gain by altering your past memories, but forgive my incompetence—I truly couldn't figure out why. Best to hold off on that cultivation method until you do."
After saying all this, Zhuge Yuan's body had turned nearly transparent, on the verge of vanishing completely.
"Wait! Wait for me!"
Li Huowang hunched over, fresh red nosebleed dripping steadily onto the floor.
Zhuge Yuan solemnly straightened the long scholar's robe draped over his body. He leaned forward, bent his arms, raised both hands in front, and bowed deeply to Li Huowang.
"Brother Li, take care!"
With that, Zhuge Yuan's body vanished entirely. Not a single trace remained.
Li Huowang blankly lowered the hand pressed to his head, staring unblinkingly at the spot where Zhuge Yuan had disappeared.
After a long daze, Li Huowang began cursing wildly at that empty spot, sobbing and shouting all the while.
Gradually, Li Huowang's furious ranting grew quieter. He stood motionless where Zhuge Yuan had been, lost in a stupor. Whatever thoughts churned in his mind at that moment, only he knew.
After the time it takes for half a incense stick to burn, Li Huowang suddenly stirred. He turned and walked toward the spinebone sword.
But when he reached it, he realized that the purple talisman on the sword's hilt skull had been reapplied. The peachwood talismans and flesh that had extended from the sword had all retracted inside, returning it to its ordinary spinebone sword form.
With trembling hands, Li Huowang peeled off the purple talisman. Yet this time, the spinebone sword showed no reaction whatsoever. It seemed to have died alongside the illusory Zhuge Yuan.
"Rush rush rush." Dense footsteps suddenly rang out as a group of people with Surveillance Division badges at their waists rushed in from outside the hall, weapons in hand and faces grim.
"Er Jiu! Er Jiu!!"
The woman who had traded the spinebone sword with Li Huowang earlier looked extremely grim as she led her group to surround him completely.
"What the hell happened here! Where's the National Advisor? Why has His Majesty turned into a woman? Who killed our eunuch spy?"
The silent Li Huowang numbly shook his head, bent down to pick up the sword, shoved her aside forcefully, and headed out of the hall.
Others moved to block him, but Li Huowang swung the spinebone sword viciously and vanished into a rift at extreme speed.
"Boom!!" A peal of thunder startled Gao Zhijian so badly that he jumped while slurping noodles in the inn's main hall.
When he stepped out of the inn with his bowl in hand, he saw the skies over the Great Liang imperial palace choked with dark clouds, violet lightning continually crashing down.
"What's going on at the Great Liang imperial palace?"
Even with his limited understanding, he could tell something was off about the color of those bolts.
As he pondered this, the thunder of hooves filled the air. Soldiers bearing military order flags galloped down the wide streets, frantically beating copper gongs as they rode.
"By order of the National Advisor Manor! Daytime curfew in the capital! Daytime curfew in the capital—anyone violating after two incense sticks, execution!"
"By order of the National Advisor Manor! Daytime curfew in the capital! Daytime curfew in the capital—anyone violating after two incense sticks, execution!"
The man's words instantly caused an uproar. Everyone who had been strolling leisurely on the streets turned into ants on a hot pan.
Street vendors didn't even bother packing up their stalls—they bolted straight for home.
Unsure of what had happened, Gao Zhijian hurriedly followed the crowd, bowl in hand, back into the inn.
The moment he entered, the terrified waiter locked the door and barricaded it with a table before joining the anxious patrons in hushed whispers.
"What's going on? A daytime curfew out of nowhere? Did Qingqiu attack?"
"No way, I just saw lightning over the palace. Is His Majesty performing some ritual?"
"Hey! You got a death wish? Don't spout off about stuff like that!"
"It's fine, it's fine. Our Majesty doesn't punish for words."
The capital's residents moved fast—not even one incense stick had burned before the streets were utterly deserted, not a soul in sight.
In this tense atmosphere, Gao Zhijian peered out through a hole in the paper window.
"Is this daytime curfew related to Senior Brother Li? Should I go check?"
But Gao Zhijian hesitated. Searching aimlessly like this, he'd likely run into Great Liang soldiers before finding Senior Brother Li.