Chapter 742
Chapter 742
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 742
>Chapter Title: The Art of Self-Deception
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“Kid, don’t just bury your nose in books. If you learn from that swindler’s scripture, you won’t learn a damn thing. Let me teach you—our Sitting Oblivion Dao doesn’t swindle people.”
Li Huowang sat in the teahouse, sipping his tea as he listened to Liuwan spout these outrageous words right in front of him.
“Swindling is always the lowest form. If you want to deceive, make them deceive themselves.” A shifty-eyed man with a mustache leaned toward the young man in front of him and explained further.
“As long as they fool themselves, even the most absurd lies will feel like the gospel truth to them.”
Just then, a haggard old woman carrying a vegetable basket shuffled past the teahouse.
“Take a look at this Widow Liu. Her husband was conscripted as a foot soldier over a decade ago and never came back. Anyone with half a brain knows he’s gone for good, but she refuses to believe it. She’s convinced he’ll return one day.”
“That’s self-deception. You don’t even need to know what her husband looks like. People who can’t let go like her are the easiest marks. Watch this.”
Liuwan finished speaking and wiped his hand across his face. In an instant, a white-haired, ragged old beggar appeared before Li Huowang.
With a “clang,” Liuwan cracked his begging bowl and shambled trembling toward the old woman.
Too far away to hear, Li Huowang could only watch as Liuwan tentatively said something to her. The woman’s hand went slack, her basket hitting the ground. She lunged forward in tears, sobbing uncontrollably.
After their tearful reunion, the emotional pair clung to each other as they headed home.
Before long, Liuwan returned—still in the guise of the old beggar.
“See? That simple.”
“You didn’t even deceive her.” Li Huowang shelled some peanuts and popped them into his mouth.
“Who says I didn’t? If I want, she’ll wait on me hand and foot for life. Even after she dies, her son won’t dare kick me out for fear of the neighbors calling him unfilial—he’ll take care of me till the end.”
“This trick’s called ‘pigeon occupies magpie’s nest.’ Worn-out old swindlers with no family use it to coast into their golden years.”
Li Huowang took a sip of tea. “Living together day in, day out—you’re not worried she’ll notice something’s off? It’s her husband, after all.”
“Ha~ That’s the beauty of it. Say she does catch on—what then? Dare she speak up?”
“Under the Three Bonds and Five Constants, would she tell anyone that after waiting over a decade, the man who’s shared her bed for months is a fraud?”
“Not only did she fail to wait faithfully for her husband, but she let a stranger sully her chastity and shame her family. If word got out, the neighbors would talk her to death. Would she even want to live?”
“Compared to that despair, convincing herself it’s just her imagination is far easier to swallow, right?”
“Heh, senior, you’re a real beast.”
“Beast? Humans and beasts are both made of flesh. People are beasts—benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, all that crap is bullshit. It’s precisely because folks buy into it that our Sitting Oblivion Dao can toy with them so easily.”
Liuwan set down his tea and continued, “When we Sitting Oblivion Dao swindle, we go big. The bigger the con, the greater the change we inflict on others, the more Feigang we get from the Heavenly Venerable.”
“Feigang?” Li Huowang asked, visibly puzzled.
“Call it whatever you like—it’s just this stuff. I call it Feigang. With it, we can use Sitting Oblivion Dao’s divine abilities and techniques.”
“Simple ones like disguise illusions work fine. The advanced stuff? Planting sleeper agents, living puppets. And the more you deceive, the more addictive it gets, the more fun—the better your swindling naturally becomes!”
“So that’s how it works. Thanks for the lesson, senior.” A flicker of desire for these powers crossed Li Huowang’s face at his words.
“But remember, our Sitting Oblivion Dao has principles. Don’t swindle just for Feigang—that’s tacky. In this life, we deceive for the joy! For the thrill! Swindle well, and the Feigang flows endlessly!”
“Earning a bit of Feigang off people is small potatoes. Making yourself grin from ear to ear with delight? That’s real skill.”
“Exactly, Brother Liuwan. I was born to toy with folks—that’s why I joined the Sitting Oblivion Dao.”
“Hey now, kid, you’re quick on the uptake! But not quite quick enough to fool me. I know your story—you didn’t join us of your own accord.”
“Our Sitting Oblivion Dao recruits by deception. You were tricked into becoming one of us.”
Seeing Li Huowang fall silent, Liuwan pressed on, “No big deal. That’s how I got in back in the day. Even our current Dice Boss started that way.”
Li Huowang chuckled. “That con was pretty clumsy. I wasn’t trying anything—just testing how much Feigang I’d get for fooling you.”
“Oh~~ Gotcha. Need Feigang? Should’ve said so. I’ve got a job lined up—wanna team up?”
“Pull it off, and you’ll have more Feigang than you can handle.”
Liuwan took a sip of tea, then tilted his head thoughtfully at Li Huowang. “When I conned that guy earlier, did you poison my tea?”
“Nope.” Li Huowang replied calmly.
The two exchanged grins, clinked their teacups hard—tea splashing high into each other’s cups—then drained them in unison.
Liuwan smacked his lips a few times. “That poison’s weak sauce. The gals back at the village are the real pros.”
Li Huowang ignored the remark and bowed to Liuwan. “Alright, I’m in. Thanks for the opportunity, Senior Liuwan. So how do we pull off this job?”
“How’s this a con? We’re helping folks~ Let’s go~~”
As Liuwan rose from the table, Li Huowang followed.
The pair strolled one behind the other down the clean street, blending seamlessly with the bustling crowd.
“Senior, who are we helping?” Li Huowang asked.
“We’re helping good people, of course. Listen, this Feigang varies by mark. The least comes from regular folk.”
“Next are the literate ones who’ve opened their minds. Then officials. After that, those crooked cults.”
“The bigger the impact, the more Feigang you get.”
“Oh~ I see. So, senior, if we conned the emperor, we’d get the most?”
“Of course. You know how our Dice Boss claimed his dice?”
(End of chapter)