Chapter 600
Chapter 600
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 600
>Chapter Title: Face to Face
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Lv Juren knew what the theater meant to his father. Even when he was just born, his father had whispered that word in his ear. It was so much that his first words weren’t “Daddy” or “Mommy,” but “theater.”
Suddenly being handed a grand theater for free, his father’s life lost all direction. It felt like the next step was just waiting to be buried.
Hearing her husband’s explanation, Luo Jinhua pursed her lips.
“Sigh, your dad’s just got a cheap fate. Even fortune delivered to his doorstep, he won’t enjoy it. Fine, send him back to live those hard days. That’ll make him comfortable.”
Lv Juren didn’t reply. Instead, he pondered silently in his heart—what kind of work should he find for his dad? To keep him from getting sick from boredom.
“Come on, Xiu’er, stop eating rice. Eat meat. Big fatty meat will fill you up just the same.”
As Luo Jinhua instructed her eldest daughter beside her, he suddenly spotted a familiar face charging in through the front door. It was her brother-in-law, Lv Xiucai.
Lv Xiucai burst into the main hall without even greeting his older brother or sister-in-law. He snatched the bowl and chopsticks from his four-year-old niece and started devouring the food.
“Xiucai? How come you’re back? Didn’t you take your wife and follow the little Daoist back to Oxheart Village to cultivate immortality?”
Lv Juren was quite surprised by Xiucai’s arrival.
Just before he’d left the capital, no matter how he’d tried to persuade him, this guy was dead set on learning supernatural arts from the little Daoist. Not a shred of hesitation.
Lv Xiucai gulped down some egg drop soup to wash the meat from his mouth, then gasped out,
“Master’s been kidnapped! I came back to get the big fool to rally some reinforcements.”
“What?! What kind of person could kidnap the little Daoist?”
Somehow, Lv Zhuangyuan had reappeared in the main hall, a look of shock on his face as he chewed on his pipe.
“Sigh, I wouldn’t expect you to understand. Anyway, the other side’s arts were incredibly powerful. Six of them formed a ritual array, and one was even a half-immortal. Looked like two groups conspiring together. Plus, they had all sorts of treasures I’d never seen. Master let his guard down and fell for it.”
“I’ll eat and then go. In a bit, I’ll head out with the help that Gao Zhijian found to rescue my master!”
Lv Xiucai said this as he grabbed a piece of white-cut chicken drizzled with sesame oil and shoved it into his mouth.
“You’re not going! If the little Daoist couldn’t handle them, what are you gonna do? Charge ahead just to beat him to the seventh day mourning?!”
Lv Zhuangyuan’s pipe nearly blurred from how wildly he waved it.
But Lv Zhuangyuan’s objections had no effect. Lv Xiucai slammed his hand on the table and stuck out his neck.
“What do you know! I’m his disciple! If Master’s in trouble and I step up now, he’ll remember my loyalty later and teach me those divine arts!”
“I’m his only disciple! Once he achieves the Dao and becomes immortal, who else would he pass them to if not me?”
“And anyway! Don’t underestimate me! I’ve been cultivating for so long—I’m pretty powerful now!”
Just then, Lv Xiucai heard the thunderous sound of horse hooves on the street outside. His face lit up with joy. He snatched a braised goose and bolted for the door.
“Good grief! The big fool’s reinforcements are here so fast!!”
“If you dare step out that door, you’re no longer part of the Lv family!”
An anxious Lv Zhuangyuan stood there, gesturing wildly.
Lv Xiucai charged out the gate without a second thought, giving Lv Zhuangyuan no face at all.
“Hmph! Acting like some low-class actor’s such a big deal. When I ascend to immortality with Master someday, don’t expect me to bring you all along for the ride!!”
—
> “Li Huowang? Li Huowang?”
Fingers snapped in front of his eyes, pulling Li Huowang’s unfocused gaze back into focus.
Once he regained his senses, as expected, Li Huowang found himself wrapped head to toe in a restraint suit. Even his mouth was fitted with an iron muzzle to prevent biting.
“Calmed down now? Can we talk properly?”
Wu Cheng stood before him, holding a tablet.
Li Huowang stared at him for a long moment before slowly speaking.
“You’re just a lackey like Wang Wei, right? Who’s the one behind you?”
“Why does he want the Lifespan Pill? Is he dying? So he wants to gamble on getting it from me?”
“Or is the Lifespan Pill just a test? Do you want something even more dangerous and powerful from me?”
Wu Cheng didn’t respond. Instead, he pressed the Bluetooth earpiece in his ear and spoke softly into the tablet.
“Dean, this seems like a new development. It doesn’t match Yi Donglai’s paper. Mm-hmm, got it. I’ll handle it.”
After a video call with the person on the tablet, Wu Cheng hung up and met Li Huowang’s gaze.
“Li Huowang, you know Yi Donglai’s just been using you as an experiment subject? Keep going like this, and you’ll go completely mad one day.”
Wu Cheng tapped his own chest.
“Trust me. For someone like you, working with us is the only way you’ll have a better future.”
“Heh, finally dropping the act?”
“Why should I? How many times have you deceived me? I don’t trust Yi Donglai’s nonsense, so why trust you?”
Li Huowang sneered.
“Because you have no choice. Because you’re in our hands right now. Because Yi Donglai’s not here.”
As the red light of the surveillance camera in the upper left corner of the ward dimmed, Wu Cheng pulled a stun gun from his pocket and jabbed it into Li Huowang.
“Hiss hiss hiss~”
Electricity crackled. Li Huowang’s body convulsed uncontrollably, but he laughed.
“Using this on me? Who are you looking down on?”
The current intensified suddenly, and Li Huowang laughed even louder. It kept going until the battery died, and only then did the smile fade from his face.
“Come on, keep going. Kill me if you’ve got the guts. Otherwise, once I’m free, I’ll skin you all alive!”
Li Huowang knew these people wouldn’t kill him. They still wanted his Lifespan Pill.
A flash of anger crossed Wu Cheng’s face, but he quickly suppressed it. He tapped the tablet, and a video played before Li Huowang.
It was footage from a subway station. A girl with a somewhat weary face, backpack slung over one shoulder, scrolled on her phone as she walked toward a university gate.
When Li Huowang saw the jade earrings she wore—ones he’d given her—his pupils trembled slightly.
“This girl’s Yang Na, right? Your childhood sweetheart? I know you’re crazy. You don’t fear pain. But what if she had to endure what you just felt?”
Seeing Li Huowang fall silent, Wu Cheng smiled faintly.
“Actually, cooperating with us is leagues better than buying into Yi Donglai’s lies. You’ve got a once-in-a-millennium talent. Hiding it away is such a waste.”
“Besides, you lose nothing. You gain so much more.”
“No more being locked in a mental hospital, treated like a lunatic. Women, money, fame—you can have as much as you want. You’ll stand at the pinnacle of this world.”
After a long silence, Li Huowang slowly raised his head. His expression was unnaturally calm now.
“I don’t negotiate with pawns. I want to talk face-to-face with the one behind you.”