Chapter 755
Chapter 755
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 755
>Chapter Title: Helpers
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"Clop clop clop." The sound of hooves rang out nonstop as Li Huowang rode his horse through the mountains. Bones and corpses appeared here and there around him, proving that this place was anything but peaceful.
Both sides treated Si Qi like a battlefield. As for the common folk living amid that battlefield, whether they lived or died was up to their own luck.
Li Huowang headed toward the spot Xuanyin had mentioned. He still only half-believed everything the guy had told him earlier.
If he really wanted to know what they were up to, he had to check everything himself one by one to confirm it was real.
Even though he'd forced some information out of him, anything from that guy's mouth was distorted—it could all be lies.
No matter what, though, Xuanyin was right about one thing. He had to lend this help. The Fa Cult's plan had to be destroyed.
Suddenly, dense footsteps came from ahead. A surging mass of Fa Cult followers, black cloths draped over their shoulders, rushed toward them.
Li Huowang glanced at them and spurred his horse faster, galloping past. Yet the Fa Cult followers acted like they hadn't seen him at all, marching on their own way.
This wasn't the first time he'd run into Fa Cult people. Now that he was back in the clash zone between both sides, exposure could mean an ambush at any moment.
After the trouble last time, Li Huowang stayed on high alert, not daring to let his guard down even slightly.
When Li Huowang saw his position overlap with the red dot on the Spinning Light Mirror, he reined in. He'd arrived at a battlefield littered with corpses.
Corpse-eating dogs infested with ticks and pus boils, all sorts of vultures and black crows, plus wriggling white maggots and flies enjoyed this feast. To humans, it was death. To them, it was life.
The beasts devoured however they liked, ripping corpses apart and scattering them everywhere. The place looked like a living hell.
The stench here was naturally vile, but Li Huowang had no time for that.
He calmed his spooked horse. Li Huowang scanned the surroundings, puzzled why Xuanyin had picked such a spot to meet.
As Li Huowang waited with what patience he had, the sky grew dark. No moon tonight—pure blackness all around. The only thing Li Huowang sensed in the dark was the creepy crunch of bones snapping and marrow being slurped.
Days these days had fewer hours, so Li Huowang had no clue what time it was. He only knew that when the black overhead hit its deepest, footsteps approached from his left. Someone had come.
Li Huowang drew a sickly green glowing stone from his robe and tossed it toward the sound. A bizarre figure appeared before him.
It was a strangely attired man—pale skin, effeminate expression. Most striking was the braid tied behind his watermelon hat. His vibe reminded Li Huowang of palace eunuchs.
Nothing special about his outfit: just a plain gray robe topped with a mismatched waxy yellow cloak.
Then Li Huowang spotted a clue from behind him. He'd heard footsteps, but the ground back there showed no prints. As if the man had floated in.
"Hou Shu Si Tian Lesser Supervisor Zhao Jiabao pays respects to True Person Li."
The odd man bowed deeply and respectfully to Li Huowang. The gesture only confirmed it for Li Huowang: eunuch for sure. The royals had sent someone too.
"Why pick a place like this to meet?"
Li Huowang asked, brows furrowed.
"Because other things have filled this place up. Fa Cult scouts can't cross. They can't see us here or hear what we say."
An aged voice spoke up.
Soon three old lamas, like triplets, stepped into the green glow. They pressed palms together in unison and bowed to Li Huowang.
These three differed from Middle Yin Temple lamas in one way: dense Buddhist scriptures tattooed over their wrinkled faces and hands.
Seeing their gold- and jade-inlaid bone ornaments, Li Huowang knew these three ranked high in the Middle Yin. The mummies he'd met at the temple back then dressed the same.
As they emerged, others stepped out of the dark one after another.
Not many—just dozens. But the distinct auras from them told Li Huowang plainly none were to be trifled with. Xuanyin had really invested this time.
"Greetings, True Person Li!"
The variously dressed group spoke to Li Huowang in unison.
Li Huowang eyed the men, women, elderly, and youths before him. Aside from the Zhengde Temple monks he recognized, he'd never seen the others' garb. Must be from unfamiliar sects.
"Xuanyin said you know where the Fa Cult's Heaven Sacrificial Rite is?"
Li Huowang questioned them.
"Yes, True Person Li."
Zhao Jiabao pulled a map from his robe and spread it before Li Huowang.
Li Huowang glanced at the ever-shifting map and looked away.
"Since you're all here, Xuanyin must've told you what we're up against this time, right?"
"I know you're all powerhouses, but are you sure you can handle that thing?"
Li Huowang pressed them again.
Even an idiot could guess: diversion or not, the Fa Cult's trump card spot would be locked down tight.
"We can't compare to True Person Li, of course. But Supervisor Si Tian said we just need to assist you with all we've got. Your divine powers will handle this mission effortlessly."
Definitely Xuanyin's words. Only he'd butter Li Huowang up like that among those he'd dealt with.
"Enough. We'll talk details on the move. No time for chit-chat now."
Li Huowang said as he swung onto his horse.
As Li Huowang tugged the reins, a plump woman with a mole at her lip's corner offered a black-headed zongzi bound in red cord with both hands.
"True Person Li, this lets you slip away unseen. Keeps them from learning ahead of time we're spoiling their plans."
Li Huowang took it, eyed it a moment, and tucked it at his waist.
"Which sect and school?"
"Oh my, this little lady's from nowhere special. Just a humble matchmaker—not worth mentioning."
The woman grinned at Li Huowang, a touch fawning.
"Matchmaker? Joy God follower?"
Li Huowang glanced down. Sure enough, bound feet. Coincidence or not?
"You wouldn't be some mouth-sealed evil thing that got hitched and turned human-ish, would you?"
Li Huowang half-joked.
The fat-faced woman drew a red kerchief from her sleeve, pinched a corner over her mouth, and giggled.
"Hee hee hee~ True Person Li, such a joker! I figured all you Daoists were total sticks-in-the-mud."
Li Huowang wiped the expression from his face, yanked the reins hard. His horse reared and bolted from the stinking battlefield.
(End of chapter)