Chapter 738
Chapter 738
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 738
>Chapter Title: Red Zhong
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Beside a tilted massive pillar, Li Huowang looked at the Red Zhong before him, at the Sit-Forget Daoist before him, listening to him pour out his troubles.
After he finished spilling everything in his heart, the expressionless Li Huowang paused for a moment before speaking.
"You're faking it, right? At a time like this, is that even interesting?"
Hearing Li Huowang's words, Red Zhong froze for a few breaths. Then, with a swipe of his hand, that melted face reformed into Red Zhong's tile pattern, and the previously impassioned expression vanished without a trace.
"Not bad, Li Huowang. You actually saw through it. You're not dumb after all."
Everything Red Zhong had just said was an act, the same as tricking a child back then—just messing with him.
After all those prior experiences, Li Huowang hadn't forgotten this guy's identity: Sit-Forget Dao.
Even if he was also Li Huowang, he was Sit-Forget Dao. Anything from a Sit-Forget Daoist's mouth could be a lie.
"I saw through it because I just put myself in your shoes for a moment. If I were in your position, I wouldn't break down over something this minor. Besides, you repeat it every hour—would you really fear breaking down?"
"Haha, fair point. Tell me, what's going on outside? I'm dying of boredom trapped in here."
Hearing this, Li Huowang's brows gradually furrowed. The Red Zhong before him was still Li Huowang, but he was another strand of experience created by the Fighting Mother.
It seemed that once this strand had been peeled from his body and left without beginning or end, his personality had grown even more extreme.
Seeing Li Huowang not responding, Red Zhong spoke up on his own.
"Surprised to learn I still exist, huh? Even after the Fighting Mother's true and false Heavenly Dao got snatched away, I haven't vanished? Want to know how I pulled it off?"
Red Zhong's expression was especially smug as he said this.
"I was supposed to disappear, but I wasn't willing to. You get that, right?"
Red Zhong leaned even closer to Li Huowang.
Li Huowang took a step back.
"I don't want to know how you exist, and I'm not interested. Time's short, so let me cut to the chase—I came here because I've run into some trouble, and I need—"
"Wait, wait, wait a second. Can you let me finish first? You really think I'm some irrelevant NPC you can just skip? Is that your attitude when asking for help?"
Seeing Li Huowang look toward him without speaking further, Red Zhong nodded smugly.
"Good. Now come check out my story."
Red Zhong turned around and led Li Huowang to the other side of the pillar.
When they arrived at the pillar's other side, Li Huowang saw that the mountain-like massive cylinder was engraved with row after row of densely packed characters.
As Li Huowang drew closer, he realized it was his own handwriting. Clearly, Red Zhong used this method to record events beyond the one-hour loop in place of his brain.
Li Huowang leaned in and read carefully. Once finished, he turned back to Red Zhong.
"Your continued existence relies entirely on latching onto Kui Sui's Deathly Heavenly Dao?"
Red Zhong's face lit up with smugness.
"Exactly. The true and false Heavenly Dao are gone, but I've still got a chunk of Heavenly Dao inside me I can use: death. I can scrape by on this sliver of Heavenly Dao."
"Stuck here, sure, I can only loop within one hour, but that's better than nothing. And as long as I exist, opportunity will come. See? Didn't I just wait it out?"
"So, what do you want from me? And what are you offering in return?"
"I can get you out."
As Li Huowang said this, his eyes fixed on Red Zhong. Yet facing this massive temptation, the other's face showed no reaction—as if he were hearing about someone else's business.
"Get me out? Is this helping you or helping me?"
"It's helping both of us. Win-win."
The moment he gained Red Zhong's memories, he'd fully grasp Sit-Forget Dao's cultivation of falsehood.
"Why should I leave? I'm good right here. Doesn't feel like win-win to me."
Red Zhong answered with utter indifference.
Obviously, they were both Li Huowang—what one considered, the other had too.
"I have no fleshly body. Even outside, I'd just become one of your memories. How's that any different from here?"
"So you're just going to keep waiting forever? Generation after generation?"
"Whatever. I can wait. My memories reset every hour anyway—no risk of going mad in endless waiting."
Red Zhong eyed Li Huowang with mocking amusement.
"I can wait. Can you? You haven't spelled it out, but your problem seems urgent. Gonna cost extra."
"Cut it out! There's major trouble outside right now! Think about Bai Lingmiao and Li Sui! You really want them in danger?"
At these words, the playful smirk on Red Zhong's face slowly faded.
"What happened outside?"
Seeing him finally get serious, Li Huowang gave a quick rundown of everything that followed.
"Now I cultivate truth but not falsehood. It's like carrying a ticking time bomb—not only can I not protect anyone, I could harm them at any moment. I need to fix this fast."
Hearing Li Huowang out, Red Zhong fell silent, head bowed in thought.
"You're hesitating on something like this? What's there to hesitate about?"
"Hmph, why the rush? I'm not debating whether to leave. Cultivating truth without falsehood leads straight to qi deviation—that's straight from Dice. You gonna buy it without thinking twice?"
Red Zhong clearly harbored deep suspicion about it.
"I've considered it. Even the worst outcome from cultivating falsehood beats my current mess."
Li Huowang had despised Sit-Forget Dao in the past—even hated those liars to his core.
But everything's relative. Compared to the apocalyptic Law Sect, Sit-Forget Dao's lethal deceptions seemed far less loathsome.
Hearing this, Red Zhong shook his head.
"Hmph, you don't get Sit-Forget Dao. You don't get Dice. I'm Red Zhong—I know them."
"If this is really a setup from Dice Boss, what he's after from us goes way beyond this pittance. Don't drop your guard just 'cause he's dead."
"A Sit-Forget Daoist isn't truly gone as long as one of his scams lingers."
At this, Li Huowang's brows furrowed involuntarily.
"You suspect..."
"I suspect this is the hook. Know what a hook is? It's black slang from the Scam Scripture—the opener for a massive con."
"A scam's hook usually isn't the con itself. Hell, it even benefits the mark at first—like the sweet bait you feed a fresh lamb at the gambling table."
(End of chapter)