Li Huowang looked up and saw a black pigeon perched up high, looking down at him. This was the messenger pigeon that Tuoba Danqing had sent for him.
When he removed the letter from the pigeon's leg and read its contents, he immediately forgot about his meal and turned to head out of the door.
Li Huowang hadn't expected that Ji Xiang was still in Yinling City! Not only that, he had specifically requested to see Li Huowang by name. This was his opportunity.
What surprised Li Huowang was that the appointed meeting place was not any grand location, but a simple study. It seemed that he had a rather different style from the way Tuoba Danqing did things.
Upon entering, his attention was immediately drawn to a withered tongue. The human tongue was somewhat shriveled, and it was nailed to a decaying piece of wood. At the sight of this, Li Huowang instantly remembered how Tuoba Danqing boasted that this artifact was made with a Strayed One's tongue[1].
After taking a slow and deep breath, Li Huowang respectfully bowed to the pale-faced old eunuch before him, who was busy with an abacus. "Greetings, Lord Ji Xiang."
"Hehehe~ This isn't the palace, we're all family here. Please, have a seat," said Ji Xiang.
Li Huowang followed Ji Xiang's finger and noticed that tea had already been poured for him on the table.
However, rather than sitting down, Li Huowang directly asked, "Lord Ji Xiang, do you have any important instructions for me?"
He remembered how the eunuch had left in a panicked hurry before this. However, he was now sitting comfortably, suggesting that some things must have happened in the meantime.
"Hehehe~ No rush. I heard that you're quite capable?" commented Ji Xiang as he eyed Li Huowang.
Faced with the old eunuch's scrutiny, Li Huowang suddenly felt uneasy.
"Hong Da said that when the three of them faced off with you, you even managed to escape? Seems like being a mere Ninth Troop is a waste of your talents," continued Ji Xiang.
However, Li Huowang did not feel like the other party was praising him, and he felt tense instead. "Lord Ji Xiang, please get to the point."
"Alright, it's refreshing to have someone so straightforward. I reckon that you've already guessed what we were trying to do previously?" asked Ji Xiang.
Seeing him remain silent, Ji Xiang continued, "That's right, our task was to retrieve the hidden Muddled One in the Buddha's Skeleton Temple. But the mission failed! What do you say we should do now? Returning directly and accepting punishment is not an option. So, we need to make up for it!"
At that moment, Ji Xiang suddenly stood up. "Let me be frank with you. This matter is not trivial. We cannot afford to fail again!"
He placed his finger on the mahogany table and forcefully drew a line. "If we are unable to complete this task, then all the blame will fall on us!"
Having listened to so much, Li Huowang finally understood what he was trying to say. "Lord Ji Xiang, are you saying... that we should find another Muddled One as a replacement?"
"Smart! This is the type of talent that we need in our Surveillance Bureau!" Ji Xiang's round face broke into a smile. "Since they want a Muddled One, we'll provide them with a Muddled One. It doesn't matter where the Muddled One comes from. It's just that back then, the one in Buddha's Skeleton Temple was dead, and so now we need to capture a live one."
Li Huowang's heartbeat quickened.
A live Muddled One? Is that similar to an existence like myself, a live Strayed One?
For some reason, even though he didn't even know the other party's name, Li Huowang began to feel a sense of sympathy for that Muddled One.
While Li Huowang was still contemplating, Ji Xiang's words hit him like a bomb. "We also understand that this is not a proper task for those within the Bureau. There is no reward, and it's dangerous to deal with a live Muddled One. If you're unwilling to, then we will understand. Danqing said that you've always wanted to read the records in our Four Repositories that are related to the Sitting Oblivion Dao. Isn't that right? As long as you can handle this matter smoothly, I will personally go there and memorize all of it for you, even at the risk of my own dismissal!"
Hearing this, Li Huowang's breathing turned heavier. On one side was a Muddled One that he had never met, and on the other was information that might allow him to break free of the status of a Strayed One. The choice was easy. ๐ป๐ณโฏโฏ๐คโฏ๐ท๐ฏโด๐โฏ๐ญ.๐โด๐
Li Huowang once again bowed to Ji Xiang. "Yes, Lord Ji Xiang!"
Seeing Li Huowang agree, Ji Xiang once again laughed like a flower blooming. He could only tempt him at this point. If he had refused, then there was nothing else he could have done. After all, this young man was said to have a bad temper. If threatened, it might even backfire on him. Fortunately, he had agreed, and this gave him a lot more confidence now.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang's heart quivered slightly as he looked at the eunuch before him and asked, "Lord Ji Xiang, back in the Buddha's Skeleton Temple, the Muddled One was intercepted by someone. Then this time, won't that person come again? What was that person's origin for them to even dare to intercept things from our Surveillance Bureau?"
However, Ji Xiang's face remained indifferent as he said, "A Muddled One isn't much, and one is enough. Zhuge Yuan will not dare snatch it again. If one live and one dead Muddled Ones are merged together, that might be too much for him to handle. Also, don't worry. The Sitting Oblivion Dao has lost Fa Cai this time. Before a new Fa Cai has been appointed, they will definitely not dare to make a scene. So this time, there's nothing else to worry about other than the live Muddled One."
Ji Xiang chuckled as he patted Li Huowang's shoulder.
However, that only made Li Huowang frown slightly. After all that talk, Ji Xiang had simply disregarded his inquiry. He still could not determine whether Zhuge Yuan was good or bad.
"Lord Ji Xiang, can you tell me more about the background of Zhuge Yuan? I'm afraid of encountering such a strange person again in future. Please enlighten me." Li Huowang looked up at Ji Xiang, his eyes filled with determination.
Since the other party had specifically requested for him, he may not have a better opportunity to ask about this in future.
At the same time, since Li Huowang had asked the question like that, Ji Xiang could not pretend to not have heard it.
After a moment, Ji Xiang sighed. "It's inauspicious to bring up this person. But since you insist, let me tell you. Do you know his nickname? Others often call him the Storyteller."
Ji Xiang slowly sat down and used his hand to pinch his jade ring. "He is a very strange character. Despite dressing like a scholar, he never takes the imperial examinations. Instead, he likes to go to busy places and tell stories. Also, his stories don't involve romance or military accomplishments. He only speaks about historical records."
"Historical records?" Li Huowang was puzzled.
"Yes, historical records. Moreover, he fabricates his own records. He claims that 900 years ago, there was no internal strife in the Qi Kingdom, and that the Qi Emperor unified the world. Today, as a new emperor ascends the throne, proclaiming the era of intelligence, auspicious signs appear from the heavens, and birds flock to the young ruler, while the palace is illuminated with a red radiance. However, it's pure nonsense. If Qi Kingdom did not fall into chaos, then where did the present Liang Kingdom come from? Where did the kingdom of Si Qi come from?"
1. C297. It mentions that the artifact is made of a Strayed One's Wealth Attraction, which Tuoba Danqing mentions is a person's tongue. ?
Chapter 351 - Gather
Faced with Ji Xiang's endless chatter, Li Huowang did not speak and just continued to listen. If this person only spoke about fabricated historical records, then it wouldn't have been enough to scare Ji Xiang so much. There must be some other reasons.
"This person is easy to recognize. He has a fan with the words 'Everyone has their values' written on it. If you encounter him, remember to stay far away. He's not a good person."
Li Huowang thought for a moment and probed, "Lord Ji Xiang, when we came out from the Buddha's Skeleton Temple that day, did you ask me that question because Zhuge Yuan's abilities are strange?"
"Yes," Ji Xiang nodded. "This person can somehow change fate."
"Change fate?"
"Not change a person's fate, but change destiny itself. He has an old almanac. Whatever he says is auspicious will definitely happen. If he says otherwise, then it will definitely bring bad luck."
"Words creating reality?" Li Huowang was stunned. Although he had seen a lot on his journey so far, this kind of supernatural ability was still a first for him.
If this person had goodwill towards him, that would give him great support. But if he harbored ill intentions...
After some contemplation, Li Huowang asked again, "Lord Ji Xiang, does this person use his abilities more for good or for evil?"
"How would I know? I only know that whenever he appears, something bad is bound to happen. He is like a jinx," replied Ji Xiang as he picked up a cup of tea and took a sip. Then, he continued, "Alright, I've told you enough. It's already a rare exception. Do your job well, and if you succeed this time, then I'll put in a good word for you when I return to the Bureau."
"Thank you, Lord Ji Xiang." Li Huowang turned to leave.
His expression remained serious as he looked at the wrapped spindle. Although he had learnt some information about Zhuge Yuan from Ji Xiang, he still did not know if Zhuge Yuan's goodwill toward him was genuine or not. ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ท๐๐ฟ๐๐ก.๐๐ธ๐
If it was, that didn't make sense. But if it was false... that made even less sense! What was his objective?
Asking directly like this won't work. I must think of a way from this spindle, and I need to figure out what this thing is first.
But for now, I should set this matter aside and help Ji Xiang find a Muddled One. It's the most crucial step to get information regarding Bei Feng.
Shortly after Li Huowang left the simple study, an elderly woman with graying hair walked out from behind a folding screen. Although her face was covered with wrinkles, one could tell that she was quite beautiful in her youth.
The elderly woman asked Ji Xiang with a concerned expression, "Lord, is this person reliable?"
"Ah, I can't be sure either. He came from a faraway place to Great Liang, so who knows where he originated from. In any case, whether or not he's reliable, we have to use him. We cannot let those in the capital know, or it'll mess everything up!" said Ji Xiang.
Still sporting the same worried expression, the woman walked over to Ji Xiang's side, and held Ji Xiang's bejeweled hand. "Ah, Lord, if it doesn't work out, can't we just resign? We live in constant fear every day. What's the point of living a few more decades like this?"
"That's easier said than done. How could it possibly be so simple?" Ji Xiang had an agonized look on his face. He took out a red handkerchief from his left sleeve and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "This matter involves many high-ranking figures. It's a task from the Imperial Preceptor, and might even have the emperor's intentions behind it. If we small fry get entangled in such a big matter, the best we can hope for is to escape with our lives."
The elderly woman gently embraced Ji Xiang, her voice filled with a hint of pleading as she said, "Brother, when we're done with this, let's go back to Liu Pan, and grow old under the mulberry tree where we used to play when we were young. When we left the village, you said that you wanted me to enjoy life. But no matter where we are, I'm the happiest as long as I'm with you."
Ji Xiang patted the old woman with his red handkerchief, but didn't say anything.
Feeling anxious, he notified all of them to gather at Yinling City gates the next day at the fifth section of the night.
It was still too dark, but Li Huowang had already gotten up. He first came to the stable and pulled apart the curtains. After that, he cut off a piece of meat from the tentacles of the beast squirming inside, and then wrapped it up for the journey ahead. Next, he threw some dried meat into the carriage before starting to nail up a wooden plank.
He did not know how long he would be gone this time. Thus, it was better to nail up everything to prevent any mishaps.
Before long, under Li Huowang's hammering, this carriage had become a large coffin.
After finishing all this, he placed his belongings onto the horse, mounted it, and rode toward the city gates.
"Woof woof!" Unexpectedly, Bun followed after him.
"Go and watch the carriage! When I return, if I hear you've been out fighting other dogs, I'm going to stew you in a pot!" said Li Huowang before leaving.
It was dawn. Aside from a few vendors setting up their stalls, there were not many people on the streets. Thus, Li Huowang reached the city gates quite quickly.
Hong Da and Tuoba Danqing also appeared as expected, but there were two new faces that he hadn't anticipated.
Including Ji Xiang and himself, there were a total of six people. This was enough to show the other party's determination.
From the two newcomers, one was a Moongate kid with the surname Liu, and the other was a Shaman.
Li Huowang carefully observed the drum hanging on his waist, and was rather certain that this was a Shaman's drum. It was identical to the one that he had previously seen on Li Zhi's waist.
However, compared to the beggar-like Li Zhi, this man was obviously very different. He wore a black fur coat, and he seemed quite fierce with two diagonal black knife scars across his face. It seemed that a machete would fit him better than the drum on his waist.
He greeted those who he knew, then turned to the man with the scarred face and asked, "Are you a Shaman? Where's your Second Deity?"
The scar face crossed his arms and glared at him. "Who the hell are you? Why are you prying into my business?"
At that moment, the kid from Moongate, Liu Zongyuan, saw that Li Huowang had unsheathed his sword by half an inch and quickly stepped forward to block Li Huowang, trying to mediate. "Ah ah. Brother Er, there's no need for this. Consider it as giving me some face, alright?"
Li Huowang looked at Liu Zongyuan before turning to them, and then pressed down slightly, the killing intent immediately vanishing.
"Come, let's go over there. Don't make things difficult for Ji Xiang," said Liu Zongyuan.
Li Huowang may not give face to others, but since it was Liu Zongyuan who had helped him once, Li Huowang decided not to confront this person.
He glanced at the wooden mask on Liu Zongyuan's face, and then asked, "Brother Liu, how have you been lately?"
"Still the same. Let's help Ji Xiang through this difficult time first. If he's not doing well, then we won't either," said Liu Zongyuan.
This was true. They were like grasshoppers strung together with a string. If Ji Xiang fell, whatever he promised would also go up in smoke.
"What's the background of that person? Why does Ji Xiang want to find a Shaman as a companion? From what I know, they aren't usually very capable," asked Li Huowang.
"Ah, your words are rather subjective. There are talented people in every profession, and the Shamans are no exception," said Liu Zongyuan.
Chapter 352 - Spouse
The strong horses pulled the large carriage as they quickly ran down the road. But the carriage man was still unsatisfied with the speed and kept whipping the horses to go faster.
Li Huowang was resting his arm as he stared outside the window and saw the lush green forest.
This place is near Cowheart Mountain. I wonder how they are all doing. Since Bai Lingmiao still has the Second Deity and Gao Zhijian is also there, normal bandits shouldn't be able to defeat them.
At that moment, Li Huowang suddenly felt a pair of eyes looking at him from within the forest. However, when he turned his head, he didn't see anything.
"Cough~ We are reaching our destination soon, and so let me explain to you the details of the mission."
Ji Xiang's voice pulled Li Huowang's attention back as he turned to look at the old eunuch. Ji Xiang was holding onto the wish wood.
"I've called all of you over since this will be a difficult mission. I also know that many of you have probably already guessed what's going on. We are here to capture a Muddled One, dead or alive."
No one said anything as Ji Xiang continued explaining.
"I'm not sure if you've heard of the powers of a Muddled One, but since we have time I will explain it again for everyone." Ji Xiang looked at Li Huowang purposefully. "The Muddled One is similar to the Strayed One and the Twisted One. All of them are people with certain qualities in their body. As the name suggests, the Muddled Ones are afflicted with a sense of unclearness. Not only are their inner selves unclear, but they could also muddle everything around them with their karmic obstacle."
At that moment, Ji Xiang's explanation was suddenly interrupted by someone, causing Li Huowang to feel displeased, and as expected it was the Shaman.
"Feng Erniu, no need to tell what everyone already knows. Just let us know what to do later on. Also, let me get this clear first. No matter what happens, the debt I owe you will be cleared after this."
Ji Xiang scoffed unhappily when he heard someone calling out his true name, but he didn't dare offend that man and swallowed his anger. "Shen Tugang, at least give me some face. There's no need to rush since we have some time. You can rest first while I continue explaining."
Hearing this, the Shaman hugged his chest and closed his eyes.
On the other hand, Ji Xiang continued with his explanation. "I will try to make my explanation short then. The Muddled One and the Strayed One are opposites. If a Strayed One is likened to a star in the dark sky that everyone can see from afar, then a Muddled One can be likened to a black cloth hidden in the night. Normal people could never hope to find them."
Li Huowang grumbled when he heard that.
If I was a Muddled One rather than a Strayed One then I wouldn't have to suffer so much.
Ji Xiang continued his explanation. "Also, the Muddled Ones can use their karmic obstacles to hide themselves as well as other items, both dead and alive. As an example, if you fight against a Muddled One, you might suddenly forget where your weapons are, and then suddenly find out that you've lost the Muddled One."
Li Huowang slowly noted down everything that he heard and remembered his own situation. At the same time, a question popped into his mind.
That sounds dangerous. Can a Muddled One control their techniques as they wish?
"But be careful! Don't think that this is the extent of their abilities otherwise I never would've asked all of you to come here. Out of the three of them, the Muddled One and the Strayed One are the toughest to fight against. Do not look into a Muddled One's eyes or else your soul would be immediately tarnished by their karmic obstacle, and then you would be hidden by them. Once you are hidden by them, no one else can find you again, forever! Another thing to note is that some of them who grow old enough can use different techniques and you need to adapt on the fly. Still, since their powers mostly revolve around using their karmic obstacle, their techniques should be similar," continued Ji Xiang.
Everyone was listening to his explanation seriously but Li Huowang sighed secretly.
To think that the Muddled Ones can't even look at people directly. They must've accidentally hidden many of their close friends and family members.
Li Huowang felt pity for them.
The Muddled Ones and the Strayed Ones both led difficult lives.
As the sound of horse hoofs grew slower, Ji Xiang started talking faster, "Once we are there, Little Liu and Danqing will surround the perimeter to prevent the Muddled One from escaping. Me and Shen Tugang will force her out while Er Jiu will kill her immediately. Since the Ao Jing Sect doesn't need weapons to kill people, the Muddled One's karmic obstacle should not work on you. Disembark now!"
The carriage's tarp opened and the six of them stood beside the road. A very special secluded village appeared in front of them.
It was similar to the mountain villages that Li Huowang had seen before, but the village in front of him seemed to be abandoned. The ground, walls, and roofs were all covered in ivy.
"Little Liu, go. Remember that this mission will determine whether I die or not so you must be careful," said Ji Xiang.
Liu Zhongyuan nodded with his wooden mask. Then, he leaped off the ground and entered the forest like a monkey. Soon, a faint mist appeared and covered the entire area. At the same time, the white impermanence with its red tongue flickered within the mist.
Then, without waiting for Ji Xiang's order, Shen Tugang walked into the village.
Seeing this, Ji Xiang sighed and carried his golden abacus as he too walked into the village.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang cautiously scanned his surroundings.
It was too quiet. Except for the sound of the clicking abacus, there were no other noises. The birds and insects had also gone silent.
Just as they had entered the village, they saw a single flower appearing in front of them. It was clear that the flower was well taken care of since there were no weeds surrounding it.
"Who's there? Come out!" Li Huowang unsheathed his sword halfway and the murderous aura instantly enveloped his body.
At the same time, everyone else also took out their weapons and pointed at a short wall.
Suddenly, a pair of feet wearing red shoes appeared from the darkness.
Remembering Ji Xiang's advice, Li Huowang instantly lowered his eyes.
But when he saw those feet again, he hesitated. They looked familiar.
Wait! Those are Miaomiao's feet!
Li Huowang raised his head and saw the familiar red veil.
At the same time, Hong Da had already thrown his rusted blade toward her.
Chapter 353 - Muddled One
Seeing that the blade was about to hit the Second Deity, Li Huowang elongated his bronze coin sword into a whip and hit it away.
"Wait!" Li Huowang ran up and stood between them. "Wait, she's not the Muddled One. She's my wife!"
Hearing this, Ji Xiang placed down the wish wood and asked, feeling confused, "Your wife? I don't believe it! Ask her to remove her red veil. I don't want the Muddled One to try and trick us."
At that moment, without waiting for Li Huowang's approval, Shen Tugang gently hit the drum on his waist. In response, the Second Deity's drum rang out as well, almost as if they were conversing.
Once the sound of the drums stopped, the Second Deity removed the red veil on her face.
"Aiya! What is that? Junior Er, is she really your wife?" Everyone was shocked to see the Second Deity's half-human half-beast face.
Li Huowang just ignored them and pulled the Second Deity a distance away. "Why are you here? Where is Miaomiao? Did she follow us?"
The Second Deity shook her head and trembled as she hugged Li Huowang's waist. She had three feline eyes, and all of them contained her love for him. "Husband... I miss you."
Her sharp fang bit Li Huowang's neck shallowly as two tongues came out and licked his neck.
"Enough!" Li Huowang held her properly and looked at her seriously. "I don't have time for this. This place is very dangerous and you must leave now!"
"Husband, are you worried about me?" The Second Deity smiled, her mouth opening all the way to her ears.
Li Huowang approached her and held her head before looking into her largest eye. "Leave here, now!"
"Alright." A long tongue licked his face. Then, she left with a mysterious smile.
"Mother?"
At that moment, a voice rang inside his ears that caused him to feel even more sullen as he said, "Shh! She's not your mother!"
"Junior Er, is she really your wife?" Tuoba Danqing was so shocked that he completely stopped playing with the walnuts in his hand.
In response, wIthout waiting for Li Huowang to explain, Shen Tugang said in an unfriendly voice, "Why? Do you have a problem with it?"
Then, he turned toward Li Huowang and nodded approvingly, "She's a good girl. Don't mess up."
"Alright alright, that's enough. Let's continue our mission. We are here to get a Muddled One and not on a date." Ji Xiang said anxiously.
Li Huowang looked at where the Second Deity disappeared before continuing their journey into the village. He was afraid that the Second Deity would ignore his warning and bring Miaomiao into the village.
Meanwhile, Ji Xiang's golden abacus once again started clicking while Tuoba Danqing started playing with his walnuts. The sounds they generated covered the entire village.
At the same time, Li Huowang also raised his awareness, afraid of the Muddled One suddenly appearing.
They kept walking until they saw a collapsed wall. Through it, they saw several shadows standing underneath the guava trees.
After looking carefully, Li Huowang saw that those weren't humans but were instead human dolls made from straw and other plant materials. Their surroundings were also very clean.
Just as Li Huowang was wondering whether the Muddled One was the one who did that, Hong Da threw out two small rusty knives toward it, destroying those effigies in an instant.
"Aaaaaa..." A sharp voice rang out from the depths of the village.
"Let's go!" Shen Tugang, who had been bored until now, immediately leaped into action as he hit the drum on his waist while running toward the source of the voice.
For some reason, his chants were much different than Li Zhi's and Bai Lingmiao's. His chants were exceedingly domineering.
"Hear me out for there are monsters in the city! Swallow them whole so peace befalls us! I call for the Immortals and they must come! I call for the Gods and they must listen!"
Li Huowang suddenly felt as if all of the colors around him were being drained, leaving behind a world of monotonous gray.
He felt goosebumps on his skin. He knew that something was here, but he didn't know what.
Shen Tugang's was visibly different from the other Shamans.
He might be as strong as Dan Yangzi. I wonder where Ji Xiang found him.
"Er Jiu, borrow my blade!" Hong Da passed a rusted blade to Li Huowang.
Seeing this, Li Huowang nodded and accepted the blade.
The shouting in the distance meant that Shen Tugang and Ji Xiang had found the Muddled One. The sound of drums and abacus encompassed the entire village, causing their surroundings to start shivering and twisting.
Even though the Muddled One hadn't revealed herself, it was clear that they were already fighting.
Li Huowang had many killing techniques but none of them would work for now.
However, rather than just waiting, Li Huowang decided to use what he could. He bit his finger and used his blood to draw a talisman.
He didn't know if it would work, but there was no harm in trying.
After remembering the pattern on the skull that he had brought here, he started looking around to find a similar pattern.
Amidst the chaos, Li Huowang looked everywhere before suddenly looking down at the rusted blade in his hand. The rusted blade that he had loaned from Hong Da was pointing at an abandoned well. There was a spider web at the top of the well.
The spider web was torn, and the pattern on it looked similar to what he had seen on the skull.
Does Hong Da's rusted blade amplify fortune-telling powers?
Li Huowang unsheathed his weapon and slowly approached the well. Once at the well, he carefully cut off the vines and looked down, only to find someone standing in the well, leaving him shocked.
When the person inside felt the light coming from above and raised their head, Li Huowang instinctively looked away to prevent himself from looking into their eyes.
At the same time, Li Huowang shouted at everyone, "Quick! There's ..."
However, he suddenly stopped.
"Wait, what did I want to say? Why am I here?"
When the others heard his voice, they looked at Li Huowang. Feeling puzzled, Tuoba Danqing asked him, "Junior Er, why are you holding the rusted blade while standing at the side of that well?"
"Rusted blade?" Li Huowang looked at Tuoba Danqing, Ji Xiang, and Shen Tugang. "Wait, where did the rusted blade come from? Why is it in my hands?"
Chapter 354 - Appear
"Hm?" Li Huowang looked at the rusted blade in his hands with confusion.
Where did this blade come from? I already have two weapons so why do I have another?
Li Huowang threw the rusted blade onto the ground and used his own sword to poke at it. He was confused by the sudden appearance of the rusted blade.
Is this the power of the Muddled One? Is she using her power?
Li Huowang stared at the rusted blade carefully while slowly retreating to where everyone else was.
"Junior Er, is everything alright?" Tuoba Danqing looked at the anxious Li Huowang.
"I don't know why I suddenly had a rusted blade in my hands," explained Li Huowang.
"But the karmic obstacles of the Muddled One are used to hide objects. How could it give you something?"
Li Huowang checked his entire body and shook his head when he found nothing. He then looked at Shen Tugang who was currently beating his drum.
"May the God of Venus command his army, and order them to stand in a row of fifty-five thousand. They shall wear black armor and hold the black flag. Those in shiny armor are the rookies. Don't call them to join the war or I will chase them away myself!"
As Shen Tugang continued to beat his drum, the atmosphere around them slowly shifted. Something condensed and then disappeared within the mist.
Looking at how Shen Tugang was sure of victory, Li Huowang did nothing and waited for them to chase out the Muddled One.
He would rather sit back and not interrupt them.
The sound of the drumbeats, walnuts clacking, and the abacus never stopped.
Just then, Shen Tugang suddenly shouted, "The Muddled One we are facing is an old one! She made one of us disappear! Erniu, stop conserving your strength and go all out!"
Hearing those words, Ji Xiang forcefully smacked his golden abacus.
Immediately, Li Huowang saw his surroundings start shimmering.
When Li Huowang looked at his sword, he suddenly saw it multiply. Sometimes there were two and sometimes there were three. The concept of 'numbers' around them seemed to have been affected and rendered useless. One could be five and could be nine at the same time.
Just then, Shen Tugang used all six of his hands to beat the drum forcefully. Rather than sounding like a chant, his voice was now a bellow. "A rainbow cloud descends upon us! I summon all of the Immortals of the Southern Palace! I call for the Eight Immortals and Eight Barbarians to take their post, protect the Eight Gates and Eight Doors!"
In response, dark clouds above the heavens descended and stopped just above their heads. Something seemed to be moving within the dark clouds. ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ธ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ต.๐ฌ๐ค๐ข
Just then, Li Huowang saw a figure appearing from a distance away. Her body seemed to be shimmering as she phased in and out of reality from time to time. She was wearing a blue robe and black markings covered her face. Her trousers were also caked in mud.
"Er Jiu! She's the Muddled One! Attack now!"
The moment Ji Xiang shouted, Li Huowang cut off half of his sixteen fingers. Then, while the Muddled One was busy with his fingers, Li Huowang tore off a large chunk of his flesh and skin before throwing it at the Muddled One.
However, when Li Huowang turned around, he saw his finger bullets and flesh net slowly disappear under the Muddled One's power.
He had to do something!
Li Huowang looked down at the feet of the Muddled One and whipped his bronze coin sword toward it.
When she saw that she wouldn't be able to dodge it, a beggar suddenly appeared beside the Muddled One. before being used as a meat shield to block the bronze coin sword.
It was Hong Da who had previously disappeared! He had now been unhidden by the Muddled One!
The sound of metal screeching rang out as the bronze coins impacted Hong Da's body and shot out sparks.
Li Huowang was mad when he saw his attacks being blocked so many times and instantly used his own sword to slice open his abdomen.
"You motherfucker, do you think you can hide all the time? Let's see how you hide this!" shouted Li Huowang as he stabbed both of his arms into his abdomen and forcefully tore out two of his rib bones. He then stabbed his rib bones into his own torso.
At that moment, Li Huowang took a deep breath from the shock of the pain, while the Muddled One also cried out as both of them fell to the ground at the same time.
Despite the pain, Li Huowang laughed maniacally. His sense of pain was currently being shared with the Muddled One. With her being crippled, it would now be much easier to capture her.
At this point, Li Huowang used a pike to rip one of his fingernails, using the impact to shoot himself upward.
The Muddled One's entire body was cramping from the pain. She wanted to attack again, but when she saw Li Huowang about to rip off more of his fingernails, she was finally afraid and ran away.
However, Li Huowang would never let her go. He immediately placed two talismans onto his knees. Veins started bulging throughout his body as he ran toward the Muddled One, leaving behind many afterimages.
As he used various torture methods, the distance between Li Huowang and the Muddled One was slowly getting shorter and shorter.
But when he crashed into a dusty house, the Muddled One once again disappeared.
"What's happening? Where is she?" Li Huowang refused to give up. He was extremely close!
When he looked back at the rest, Ji Xiang answered his question. "Let us rest first. It's not easy to force the Muddled One out."
Ji Xiang's face was pale and his fingers were trembling. Shen Tugang was equally tired too. Both of them had used up a lot of their powers to force out the Muddled One.
"You've already wounded her. One more time and she will no longer be able to run away again. Erniu specifically found people who can counter the Muddled One's power this time around," said Shen Tugang.
Compared to their initial meeting, Shen Tugang was now much more friendly with Li Huowang. He wasn't sure if it had anything to do with Miaomiao's Second Deity.
Li Huowang nodded his head. "Fine. Once we catch the Muddled One, we can... Hm? What was I trying to say again?"
As Li Huowang's anger cooled down, he looked around feeling confused.
It was not a large house, and there were even some sweet potatoes in a corner of the house. There was also a patch of dried grass with an indentation on it. It was clear this place was recently inhabited by someone.
Did someone live here?
As Li Huowang touched the rib bone on his torso, the intense pain made him remember again. "Yes! That's right! It's the Muddled One! She's hiding my memories!"
Realizing this, Li Huowang took out some yellow talisman papers. Just as he was about to write something, he stopped. Then, he recalled her powers and used a small pike to start writing on his left forearm.
He quickly wrote their mission as well as the dangers of facing the Muddled One on his own flesh and then sighed.
"Look, there are writings on the wall!"
Tuoba Danqing's sudden shout made all of them look at the walls.
Chapter 355 - Hidden
Li Huowang turned around and saw there were indeed some words written on the wall covered by the ivy vines. As he looked at the wall, he used his bronze coin sword like a whip and cleared off the vines.
Why me? And when will it end? Such a bizarre fate.
I don't want to kill! I want to look people straight in the eyes!
They couldn't see me the moment they turned around. I hate that!
"These things seem to have been written by the Muddled One. But... it doesn't seem to have been written by just one person," spoke Tuoba Danqing as he looked carefully.
"Danqing, stop looking. Also, give me some of your Gu poison. I need to use it with some of my lifespan pills." Ji Xiang took out some lifespan pills and ate them. At the same time, Li Huowang saw the white hair on Ji Xiang's head reduce significantly.
"Lord Ji Xiang, you've already used so many lifespan pills. Any more and it would be dangerous." said Tuoba Danqing.
"Sigh~ Do you think I don't know that? For now, let's finish the mission or I won't even have the chance to live long enough to become a Human Xiao," replied Ji Xiang.
Li Huowang ignored their bickering as he surveyed his environment while enduring the pain from the wounds he had inflicted on himself.
Now that the situation was under control, he wanted it to end as soon as possible to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.
"Hehe."
Hearing the sudden laughter, Li Huowang raised his head. At that moment, he was eye to eye with a woman with a dirty face!
Her hair was long and her face looked pretty even though it was caked in filth. As she appeared in front of him, she looked into his eyes excitedly.
She's the Muddled One!
Li Huowang suddenly realized who it was didn't hesitate in the slightest as he stabbed the woman's abdomen!
The Muddled One coughed up blood and fell onto the ground. She looked at Li Huowang with shock as she muttered to herself, "You are fine? Nothing's happening to you?"
However, Li Huowang was too excited and shocked to care about such details. He quickly approached her and raised a metal spoon, ready to gouge out her eyes that were capable of making people disappear.
"Er Jiu! Don't gouge out her eyes! Even if you kill her you must not gouge out her eyes."
Hearing this, Li Huowang dropped the spoon and immediately snapped all of her joints. By the time he was done with her, she could do nothing but move her eyes.
Even though Li Huowang wasn't sure what was happening, since the Muddled One appeared in front of him just like that, there was no way he was going to let her go.
After that, he cut out a strip of cloth from his red Daoist robe and used it to cover her eyes.
Surprisingly, when Li Huowang was covering her eyes, she did not try to struggle. Instead, all she did was stare at the words on the wall while screaming in fear.
"No! I didn't kill them! I don't know what happened to them, but I didn't kill them!"
Li Huowang used three strips of cloth to cover her eyes. He only let out a sigh of relief after he was done.
Li Huowang relaxed a bit before looking at Ji Xiang and the others. All of them were looking at him in surprise.
"Junior Er, how did you not get hidden by the Muddled One? Why did she just appear in front of you and allow herself to be captured?"
Li Huowang thought about Tuoba Danqing's question for a moment, and then replied vaguely, "I don't know. Probably luck."
He actually knew that it might've been something to do with his status as a Strayed One, but he couldn't really tell them that.
On the other hand, while Tuoba Danqing didn't question it any further, he was still feeling puzzled.
What do you mean it was luck?!
At that moment, the Muddled One cried out once again, "NO! I didn't kill them! I don't know what happened to them, but I didn't kill them!"
Li Huowng turned around and his pupils shrank from the shock.
The blindfold on the Muddled One's eyes had disappeared and she was looking at the texts on the walls again.
Damn! Inanimate objects can't cover her eyes! I need living objects.
"Li Sui, come out and help me!"
Following his call, two wriggling tentacles sprouted out from the wound on Li Huowang's abdomen and wrapped around the Muddled One's eyes. With this, everything finally quieted down.
Seeing that the Muddled One had really been captured this time around, Ji Xiang ran over and excitedly shook Li Huowang's hands. "Er Jiu! Thank you so much! You've helped us a lot this time! Come and find me anytime you need help from me!"
"Lord Ji Xiang, there's no need for that." Li Huowang knew what Ji Xiang was talking about. Essentially Ji Xiang owed him one.
Even though it was unexpected, their objectives had been fulfilled and mission was finally over.
"It's time to leave. The Surveillance Bureau is in urgent need of the Muddled One," said Ji Xiang. He was much more anxious than the others.
Li Huowang nodded and carried the Muddled One on his back. As he did, he took one more glance at the wall.
My wife died. I threw her to the edge of the wall. Why are there so many corpses there?
As he read this, Li Huowang was puzzled and moved the pile of straw near the corner of the wall, only to reveal numerous corpses underneath the pile of straw.
"Why are there so many corpses? And all of them are women." Even Shen Tugang was put off by what he saw.
Faced with this new discovery, everyone stopped.
"There are more texts on the wall," said Tuoba Danqing as he read the texts aloud.
"These... These are all the Muddled One's wives. There are more of them, but most of them were hidden away by him."
"Wait, the Muddled One is a woman, so how could she have wives?"
"Let's go, who cares if she had a wife or a husband," said Ji Xiang, itching to go. Only when the Muddled One was delivered back to the capital would he be able to calm down. He couldn't be bothered with figuring out whether the Muddled One was a guy or a girl.
But at that moment, Li Huowang, whose awareness was heightened, suddenly had a thought that caused his heart to drop. "Wait, what if there's more than one Muddled One?"
As soon as he said that, everyone felt the atmosphere suddenly become heavier.
"Fuck! Why should we be afraid? Do you think I'm afraid of them? If it weren't for the fact that they are very hard to find, I would've fought three of them at once!" Shen Tugang's bellows snapped all of them back to reality.
"That's right! Even if we can't fight anymore, we still have junior Er Jiu. The Muddled One's power is useless against him!" Tuoba Danqing chuckled and patted Li Huowang's shoulder.
Soon, they made their way out of the village. However, even as they passed through the entrance, the other Muddled One still didn't make an appearance.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang took notice of Hong Da and realized that the man had been very quiet after he reappeared. "What's wrong, Hong Da? You've barely escaped death so why aren't you smiling?"
If it weren't for the fact that the Muddled One wanted to use him as a meat shield, Hong Da might've really been hidden away until the end of time.
Hong Da's lips were white as he tried to smile, but couldn't.
"There were so many people... So many of them..." His voice was hoarse.
"What do you mean 'a lot of people'?" asked Li Huowang.
Hong Da stared at the Muddled One on Li Huowang's back and said, "A Muddled One's karmic obstacle affect themselves even more than it affects the others. When I was hidden away by the Muddled One, I saw many of her enemies, but also a lot of her friends and family. They all told me that the Muddled One had hidden them away when they were facing danger. She hid all of them within her karmic obstacle.[1] The Muddled One wanted to let them all out once it was safe, but... she forgot. She forgot everything. At first the Muddled One could still control her powers, but the older she got, the more she lost control of it. She hid her memories, her age, and even her gender. You could say that the Muddled One could become someone entirely different in just the next hour!"
1. It seems that Muddled Ones can hide people within a pocket dimension of their karmic obstacle. ?
Chapter 356 - Man
"It's too horrible to be stuck inside..." Hong Da continued his story, "Those stuck within the karmic obstacle are neither alive nor dead. Even if they want to, they can't change their condition. They can't starve, and they can't die from fatigue, but they still have to suffer the pain of hunger and fatigue. They are tormented by it at all times. You know, when I was hidden away by her karmic obstacle, her father told me that he didn't hate his daughter. At the very least, the torture he felt was proof that his daughter was still alive."
Hong Da sighed as he recalled his experience inside the Muddled One's karmic obstacle; it had made him realize a lot of things.
Having heard all that, Li Huowang's heart couldn't remain calm either. He moved the Muddled One from his back to his arms and looked at her with a complicated look on his face.
"If only she could just remember... I'm sure that she wouldn't want to torment her family and friends..."
The Muddled One's life was pitiful. Her actions subjected those she saw to an eternal life of torment. Compared to her, Li Huowang's status as a Strayed One was marginally better.
"Daoist, she's so pitiful. We should let her go." Monk's illusion took pity on the Muddled One.
However Li Huowang sighed and shook his head. "No. Disregarding the fact that we need her to obtain information on the Sitting Oblivion Dao, if we let her go now, she would harm even more people. Do you want to do that?"
Even if she didn't want to hurt people, a single glance from her was all it took to harm others. If his guess was right, the village had once been filled with people, but now, everyone was gone, and it was most likely because of her.
Monk felt conflicted. He wanted to do good deeds, but when he was presented with a pair of choices that contradicted each other, he didn't know what to do.
At the same time, Li Huowang realized something. He had always questioned why the Surveillance Bureau would hunt down Strayed Ones with such prejudice, but after he saw the Muddled One's powers, he understood why.
Disregarding their ethics, by hunting down the Muddled One, they were indeed protecting the country and the life of everyone in it.
Just the existence of a Muddled One and a Strayed One was more than enough to wipe out an entire kingdom, and so it was natural for the Surveillance Bureau to hunt them down.
"Junior Er, who are you talking to?" Tuoba Danqing looked at Li Huowang, feeling puzzled.
Li Huowang blinked and patted his abdomen. "I'm talking to my Nascent Soul."
No one else spoke. All of them kept away their weapons and let down their guard. Shen Tugang even yawned and stretched his body.
Just as Li Huowang was about to leave the village, Tuoba Danqing, who was playing with two large walnuts, approached him before pulling him slightly backward and whispering anxiously, "Junior Er, let me give you a warning. Once Ji Xiang returns to the capital, if he doesn't summon us for a period of time, then we should run to Qing Qiu and hide there for a while. We could technically work there too."
Li Huowang was shocked.
Is he asking me to run?
"Senior Tuoba, do you know something?" asked Li Huowang.
Hearing this question, Tuoba Danqing sighed before pulling him to keep up with the others.
We already obtained the Muddled one, so Ji Xiang should be fine. If something happens to him, what about the information that he promised me as the reward?
Thinking back on the Muddled One's power, as well as Ji Xiang's anxiety, Li Huowang had a feeling that the reason why the Surveillance Bureau needed the Muddled One so badly was because they wanted to use her power for something grand.
But Li Huowang was just a rookie who had joined the Surveillance Bureau only recently. He had absolutely no idea what was happening with the higher-ups.
There was no reason for him to know that either; his rank was just way too low.
Li Huowang looked at Hong Da who was still in shock, before following Tuoba Danqing.
They continued to move swiftly and soon reached the entrance. At that moment, the white mist surrounding the village slowly dissipated and Liu Zongyuan appeared in front of them, still wearing the same wooden mask.
"Lord Ji Xiang, how is it? Did you succeed?" Liu Zongyuan looked at them excitedly.
"Little Liu, go and call for the horse carriage. I want to rest." said Ji Xiang. His pale face was disheveled and his voice weak.
"Since you guys are going back now, we will part ways here. I won't be returning to Yinling City. Erniu, remember that my debt to you has been cleared off now. Next time, I won't help you even if you grovel in front of me." Shen Tugang turned to leave.
When Li Huowang saw that he was leaving, he immediately stopped him. "Senior Shen, could I ask you a question?"
Shen Tugang frowned slightly as his thick eyebrows quivered but this time, he wasn't cussing. "Ask quickly. I still have urgent work to do."
Li Huowang looked at his drum and asked, "I've heard that Shamans are the slaves of the Immortal families, and that can never be free. However, you seemed to be free of them. Could you tell me why?"
Li Huowang had already noticed that Shen Tugang's chants was extremely different from Bai Lingmiao's. His chant did not respect the Immortal families but instead had a slightly threatening tone to them.
"Are you asking this for that girl from just now?" Shen Tugang instantly knew the reason behind his question.
Li Huowang nodded. He wanted to help Bai Lingmiao change her situation. Even if she could not escape their control, he wanted her to at the very least secure the initiative and not let Immortal families control the reins. ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ง๐ผ๐๐๐.๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ
Shen Tugang nodded and whispered something to Li Huowang.
As he heard the secret, Li Huowang's eyes grew wide; it was as if it was extremely impossible. "Is that how you do it?"
"Time for me to leave. I will treat you to a meal if I meet you again." Shen Tugang smacked the wound on Li Huowang's torso before leaving.
Just then, the horse carriage also arrived. Li Huowang snapped back to reality and rode the carriage.
Just as Li Huowang was thinking about the method Shen Tugang had just told him, Hong Zhong's words shook him awake. "Li Huowang, wake up. Stop thinking about that for now. Why do you have an extra person in front of you?"
Hearing those words, Li Huowang looked up and saw a skinny man. As he looked at the skinny man, Li Huowang was on the verge of thinking he was not part of their crew.
However, Hong Da's reaction was the strongest when he saw the skinny man, his eyes wide from shock. "HOW DID YOU GET OUT?!"
The skinny man looked at them and quietly said, "I suddenly remembered that I'm a Muddled One. I had asked that woman to hide me in her karmic obstacle so that I can find my family, but then she forgot about me."
Chapter 357 - Hidden
"KILL HIM!"
Everyone's killing intent flared up as numerous weapons were hurled toward the skinny man.
Li Huowang was the first to react, and he was also the one that the skinny man took notice of first. The man looked at Li Huowang before disappearing.
The moment he disappeared, Li Huowang felt his chin go cold.
His bronze coin veil has been hidden by the Muddled One!
Li Huowang reacted to it but now was not the time for him to think about it. He was in an extremely dangerous situation right now!
Blood surged into his brain as his body trembled. He looked at everyone around him. Ji Xiang, Hong Da, Tuoba Danqing, and Liu Zongyuan.
Fwoosh~
As he used his flint, Li Huowang felt his body being engulfed in flames, and a burning pain enveloped his body.
Kill them! They know that I'm a Strayed One now! I need to kill all of them and I must not let any of them escape!
Just as Li Huowang's body started burning, Liu Zongyuan's body shriveled up into a ball and escaped into the forest.
He wasn't sure who did it, but at that moment, Li Huowang felt a strong force sending him flying backward.
As he was flying through the air, the burning Li Huowang bellowed and crushed his left eye, instantly covering everyone in an eerie light.
Seeing this, Ji Xiang grabbed the wish wood and pointed it at Li Huowang, only to realize that there was no effect.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang took out his sword as he prepared to chop off his own left arm.
"Er Jiu! What are you doing?!" A giant white impermanence shouted from within the forest.
"Stop wasting your breath! He's being controlled!" Hong Da was very haggard as he stabbed himself with a rusted blade.
However, his words were enough to snap Li Huowang out of it. He looked at them in disbelief.
Wait, they can't see that I'm a Strayed One?
At that moment, Li Huowang suddenly recalled one specific item. ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ท๐๐ฟ๐๐ก.๐๐ธ๐
He remembered the spindle that Zhuge Yuan had given him. Back then, Zhuge Yuan had pointed at his bronze coin veil and said that the spindle would be much more effective compared to his bronze coin veil.
It was only now that Li Huowang understood what he had meant at that point in time.
The reason why they didn't know he was a Strayed One was because of the spindle that Zhuge Yuan had given to him.
Li Huowang looked down and saw that his bag of torture tools was also burning. The bag had almost been destroyed by the fire.
I can't let it drop from my body.
With this in mind, Li Huowang quickly took the spindle out of the bag.
But then he realized a problem. He needed to place it somewhere safe on him, but he didn't even have his own skin, much less a pocket.
After a moment of thought, he finally decided to tear open a section of his flesh before placing the spindle inside his abdomen.
Once done, he slowly approached everyone. "Guys, it's fine. I just defeated the Daoist that tried to take control of me."
"Stop there!" Ji Xiang was still in shock as he pointed his golden abacus at the fiery Li Huowang. "I don't care if you are awake or not, just stand there!"
When they saw Li Huowang just standing there quietly as told, Ji Xiang discussed something with Liu Zongyuan and Hong Da.
Li Huowang wasn't sure what they were discussing, and so he grew more and more concerned about how to put out the fire on his body.
He suddenly thought about a method and pulled out the Profound Records that was embedded within his body.
Once the Profound Record was thrown onto the ground, the raging fire on Li Huowang's body was soon snuffed out.
At this point, since it had only been a short time since he set himself on fire, Li Huowang still had some of his skin remaining intact. Even so, Li Huowang looked like a candle that had just started to melt.
While this was still painful, it was much better than when he had been nearly completely burnt into charcoal.
"Thankfully I brought some spare clothes."
Just as he thought this, Li Huowang looked back and saw that the carriage was on fire.
"Sigh." Li Huowang had nothing to say as he used the Fiery Scripture to heal himself.
As the wax crawled across his skin, Li Huowang remembered Zhuge Yuan.
Not only did he see through my identity and not capture me, he even gave me the spindle to help hide myself. Is his kindness real?
A warm feeling appeared in Li Huowang's heart.
Li Huowang suddenly felt like he wanted to meet Zhuge Yuan again. There were many things he wanted to discuss with him.
"Er Jiu."
Li Huowang turned around and saw the three of them approaching him. They had finished their discussion.
"Er Jiu, could you determine who it was that tried to take control of you just now?" Ji Xiang's tone was serious.
"Yeah, I saw a bald Daoist trying to harm me." Li Huowang flat out lied.
"Hmm..." Ji Xiang thought about it for a moment, before sighing. "FIne, let's go back. We can talk about it later."
Once everyone agreed all of them started walking on the dirt path.
However, they still didn't trust Li Huowang as they surrounded him.
They had just taken two steps when Li Huowang stopped and asked them. "Wait, do any of you remember what our mission was?"
Hong Da was also curious and looked at Ji Xiang. "I only remembered that Ji Xiang summoned us, but not anything else."
"I was also summoned by Ji Xiang. Lord Ji Xiang, what is our mission this time?" Liu Zongyuan asked.
Li Huowang also looked at Ji Xiang. He too remembered nothing else besides the fact that Ji Xiang had called for them. Ji Xiang had promised him that once the mission was over, he would give Li Huowang the information about the Sitting Oblivion Dao. Without such a reward, Li Huowang would have never accepted a mission with such vague details and rewards.
With the three of them staring at him, Ji Xiang became serious as he wiped the ashes off his face. He was thinking hard.
"I... I can't remember." Ji Xiang was unsure. "Why did I call the two of you again?"
Hearing this, Li Huowang and Hong Da looked at each other. They didn't know why either. Ji Xiang called both of them out, but forgot why he had even summoned them in the first place.
Are the superiors all this frivolous?
"Never mind that. Let's first find a village and we can discuss from there later on. Now that we don't have a carriage, we need to walk faster or we will have to camp outside tonight," said Ji Xiang.
Li Huowang and Hong Da also stopped hesitating and picked up their pace when they saw the weather.
Chapter 358 - Main Deity and Second Deity
"Wear this. You look ugly being naked." Hong Da gave Li Huowang his smelly robes.
Li Huowang thanked him and wore the robe with all of the rusted blades inside of it.
Just as he was about to put his arms into the sleeves, Li Huowang saw his own wounded forearm. There was something written on his skin, but the words were burned and had melted into each other.
"Hm? What is this?" Li Huowang placed his arm down as he wore the robe.
As he was about to catch up to them, Li Huowang suddenly stopped. "Wait! Something's not right!"
Li Huowang quickly rolled the sleeves up and looked at the melted wound. Then, he used a dagger and cut open the wound on his forearm.
He slowly pulled the skin away, revealing his muscles and tendons.
Because of how deeply he had etched the words into his forearm, the words were still visible on his muscles.
When he saw what he had written, he quickly shouted at Ji Xiang. "It's the Muddled One!"
As soon as he heard that, Ji Xiang's face also lit up. "I remember now! We were here to help me catch the Muddled One!"
The three of them immediately grew serious as the atmosphere became heavy.
"The Muddled One has escaped and they are hiding away our memories!" said Li Huowang as he unsheathed his black-tassel sword and looked around carefully.
"It might not just be our memories. The Muddled One may have hidden someone else too. It's just that we can't remember them anymore. Careful not to look into his eyes." Ji Xiang used his abacus as he started calculating something.
Soon, the sound of clicking stopped. Three out of the five beads had shot upward.
"Three people. The Muddled One has hidden three people."
Ji Xiang's words made Li Huowang and Hong Da's scalps go numb. They had already lost three people without them even knowing.
Li Huowang quickly etched the new information onto his arm so that he would not forget it again. That way, the Muddled One's powers would be less effective.
"Let me try to force them out of hiding. Protect me!" Ji Xiang placed his abacus onto the ground and started smacking on it.
Seeing this, Hong Da cautiously walked over and placed his rusted blades around Ji Xiang. The rusted blades were all pointed inward and resembled a lotus.
On the other hand, since Li Huowang could not do anything, he just waited there cautiously.
Time slowly passed and Ji Xiang used his powers again. Once again, the concept of 'numbers' was affected. However, it wasn't very effective this time around. Even though Ji Xiang was drenched in sweat, the Muddled One still didn't show up.
Suddenly, Li Huowang growled as he looked around. When he looked down, he realized that there were more sentences etched on his arm.
It was his own handwriting. It was just that thanks to the Muddled One, he had lost his memories of etching them onto his skin. He had forgotten when he wrote it.
Ji Xiang's method is working, but it's weak. We need to use our hearing and fast! The Muddled One has hidden not only Tuoba Danqing and Liu Zongyuan, but also Miaomiao! Earlier, the Second Deity hadn't left and secretly brought over Miaomiao to help us. We need to save them; we must not let them become like the Muddled One's family!
As he read the sentences etched into his own palm, Li Huowang's body trembled as goosebumps covered his skin.
Li Huowang didn't hesitate in the slightest as he took out the cotton from inside his ears and used his sharp hearing to scan the environment. At first, Li Huowang almost fainted from the explosive sounds. The sound of the abacus exploded incessantly in his ears.
"Daddy! It hurts! It's too loud!"
"Endure it! Just endure it! We need to save your mother!" Li Huowang gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. He needed to focus. ๐๐๐๐๐จ๐ฒ๐๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐.๐๐ผ๐บ
While it was very loud initially, he soon calmed himself down enough to be able to hear other voices.
"Uncle... Crazy..."
"No, not that," Li Huowang bit his lips and pressed onto his own head.
He continued to differentiate more and more sounds before he finally heard the sound of footsteps appearing and disappearing somewhere.
"It's... here!" Li Huowang opened his eyes and slashed at a tree behind him.
The massive tree was cut in half and a skinny man appeared from behind it.
At that moment, the Muddled One used his eyes and looked at Li Huowang, hiding away the black-tassel sword.
"Are you trying to pull off the same trick again?" asked Li Huowang as he stabbed his arms into his abdomen before breaking off two more ribs.
With the sound of Li Huowang stabbing his own ribs into his torso, both the Muddled One and Li Huowang bent over from the pain as they started howling in pain.
Enduring his pain, Li Huowang started running toward the Muddled One.
Seeing this, the Muddled One glared at Li Huowang. However, he realized too late that his ability did not work on the other party.
By the time the Muddled One realized what was happening, Li Huowang was just meters away from him. At the same time, Li Sui's tentacles were already wriggling in the air, ready to cover the Muddled One's eyes.
However, faced with this dangerous situation, the Muddled One did not panic and just waved his left arm.
Suddenly, a figure appeared and flew toward Li Huowang, it was Tuoba Danqing!
Then, another figure flew out as well. This time, it was Liu Zongyuan!
When the third person flew out, Li Huowang felt his heart become lighter, because he saw that it was Miaomiao.
Without waiting for the Muddled One to do anything else, Li Huowang stretched open his arms unconsciously and caught Bai Lingmiao.
As he caught her, they looked at each other. Even though they didn't exchange a single word, their eyes conveyed a lot of emotions.
After a moment, Li Huowang placed her down but she suddenly disappeared once again.
The Muddled One had hidden her once more!
"Muddled One!" Li Huowang roared and chased him down.
As Li Huowang once again closed in on him, the Muddled One threw another figure at Li Huowang. This time it was the Second Deity.
Just like that, the items hidden by the Muddled One were thrown out again and again like stones.
Various items appeared and were hidden away over and over.
Compared to the female Muddled One, this male Muddled One was much more well versed in the use of his powers.
Li Huowang knew he couldn't drag this out any longer or Ji Xiang would collapse. Once Ji Xiang collapsed from fatigue, it would be extremely hard to flush out the Muddled One.
And so, Li Huowang needed a plan.
When he saw the two girls being thrown out once again, Li Huowang quickly winked at them.
When she saw this, Bai Lingmiao nodded.
Soon, Bai Lingmiao and the Second Deity disappeared again.
When the Muddled One once again started throwing out various items, they appeared once more.
At the same time, Li Huowang stabbed his arms into his torso and twisted his ribs, causing the Muddled One to bend down in pain.
At that moment, the Second Deity turned in the air and kicked Bai Lingmiao's feet, launching her toward the Muddled One.
Bai Lingmiao used the force and flew directly toward the Muddled One. Along the way, she reached out and grabbed the sword beside her.
"WAIT, DON'T TAKE THAT!" Li Huowang shouted to stop her.
That was his black-tassel sword!
Bai Lingmiao also knew she shouldn't take that, but there was no other choice.
Just as the Muddled One finally managed to resist the pain to raise his head, a sword pierced into his forehead.
Everything became quiet when the Muddled One died.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang's eyes were wide as he stared at Bai Lingmiao holding onto the black-tassel sword.
"Hehe."
Bai Lingmiao suddenly started chuckling, her body bent slightly forward. At the same time, the Second Deity also started laughing. Gradually, their laughter grew louder and louder.
"HAHAHAHA!"
Chapter 359 - Change
Bai Lingmiao laughed. She laughed hard, almost as if she was venting everything inside her heart.
Even after spending so much time with her, Li Huowang had never seen Bai Lingmiao act like that.
"Quick! Return the sword!" Li Huowang hobbled towards Bai Lingmiao.
But when Li Huowang approached her, he saw the white-haired girl suddenly raise her arm and stab the sword toward his torso. She tore open his torso and revealed Li Huowang's heart into the cold air.
Then, Bai Lingmiao walked over and hugged him, his blood staining her clothes red.
"Aaaa~" At that moment, Bai Lingmiao's face had an expression of relief.
Li Huowang wanted to say something to Bai Lingmiao, but she kissed him first.
After a few breaths, she moved backward and looked at him, her lips inching upward as she laughed.
On the other hand, Li Huowang's hands were trembling as he held her face. He felt extremely conflicted about the current situation. "Miaomiao, let's stop. Alright?"
It was just like what happened to Lu Xiucai; the black-tassel sword's murderous aura had transformed Bai Lingmiao's behavior.
Hearing Li Huowang's words, Bai Lingmiao slowly calmed down and returned back to the gentle girl she was as she spoke in a sheepish voice, "Senior Li, is this how you want me to be?"
However, when she saw the ray of hope in Li Huowang's eyes, Bai Lingmiao's shy expression immediately changed into one of excitement. "Hahaha! Impossible! Dream on! I will never return to my introverted self! I've seen many things and I don't want to take care of all of them! I finally feel free! If I knew how nice it was to be free of such thoughts, then I would've touched your sword much earlier! Plus, look at you and me! We are now much more compatible! Hahahaha!"
While she was shouting, some of the features of the Immortal families, such as hairy ears or snake scales, appeared intermittently on her face.
As he heard those words, Li Huowang trembled from the pain, both physical and mental. In the end, he just hugged her gently. "Miaomiao, I'm sorry."
Finally in his embrace, Bai Lingmiao closed her eyes and felt a sense of euphoria from smelling the stench of blood on him. "Li Huowang, you can return to the village now. Everyone's waiting for you."
Li Huowang released her and looked at her strange yet familiar face. He struggled a bit before saying, "Don't worry. I will find a way to turn you back. This is my fault."
However, as soon as he said that, Bai Lingmiao snarled and shoved her thin arm into his chest before grabbing his heart.
"Did you not hear what I said? I said that I love this feeling of freedom! How dare you try to dictate what kind of person I can or cannot be?" Bai Lingmiao raised one of her sharp fingernails as gently poked a hole in his heart.
At that moment, several tentacles sprouted out from within Li Huowang's abdomen and entangled Bai Lingmiao's arm, no longer letting her harm Li Huowang.
"Li Sui, don't do that."
Only after Li Huowang's command didLi Sui's tentacle retreat.
Bai Lingmiao chuckled as she removed her arm from his chest before using his robes to wipe off the blood of her hands. Once she's done with that, she hugged him tightly, almost like a long-lost lover.
Even though they looked like they were deeply in love, her words were anything but lovely. "Don't think that I will keep relying on you all my life. We aren't even married yet. I'm a living human, not an accessory to you."
Li Huowang looked at her with a complicated look in his eyes. He was not as easily startled as before. Since it had happened, he was thinking about how to reverse this change.
While they were talking and hugging each other, the others caught up to them. They saw the Muddled One's corpse on the ground and sighed before turning to look at Bai Lingmiao.
Bai Lingmiao was not afraid of them and glared right back.
"Junior Er, as the saying goes, one should get a kind and gentle wife. Your wife is very hot-tempered. If both of you stay together, then your house is bound to never get an ounce of peace," Tuoba Danqing advised Li Huowang based on his past experiences.
Hearing those words, Bai Lingmiao was about to say something but Li Huowang stopped her.
At the same time, Ji Xiang also felt that this was not a good time for this. "Danqing, now's not the time to talk about this. Let's go back. I'm very tired."
After using his power for so long, Ji Xiang was so weak that he could fall over at any moment. He could barely stand up, let alone walk.
Meanwhile, as Li Huowang was being supported by Bai Lingmiao, he recalled the past moments he had shared with her.
Since Bai Lingmiao became like this due to me, I will definitely find a way to bring her back!
Li Huowang swore adamantly in his heart. He was already doing what other Strayed Ones could only dream of achieving. By comparison, dispelling the murderous aura from her body was just a minor issue.
As his thoughts reached this point, Li Huowang looked at the people around him. Compared to the last time, when he was all alone and had to do everything by himself, this time around, he might be able to get some help from the people around him.
But right now, Bai Lingmiao was beside him, and so he couldn't ask for their help.
On the way back, no one spoke. All of them were busy thinking about their own issues. ๐๐ซ๐๐๐จ๐๐ฏ๐๐ ๐๐๐.๐๐ผ๐
Due to their fatigue and the accident from earlier, they failed to reach a village before nightfall. However, they didn't complain and just found some firewood to light up a bonfire and rest.
That night, Bai Lingmiao and Li Huowang slept while cuddling.
Li Huowang had not felt such comfort in a long time.
However, neither of them could fall asleep. Under the illumination of the bonfire, the two of them just stared at each other.
When she saw Li Huowang staring at her, Bai Lingmiao smirked as she slyly whispered into his ears, "Why are you staring at me like that? Are you still thinking about having sex even though you are injured so badly?"
Hearing this, Li Huowang sighed and hugged her closer.
In response, Bai Lingmiao tore open his torso and put her face into his chest cavity before kissing his heart. "Relax, I'm still the same Bai Lingmiao who will die fighting with you. I will never forget what you did for me throughout our travels. None of that will change. The only thing that has changed is the way I think."
"But you still changed." Li Huowang's voice was filled with self-loathing and defeat.
"Oh? Do you dare say that you did not change at all throughout our journey? In fact, weren't you the one who changed the most?"
"I changed?" Li Huowang shook his head. "No, I did not. I'm still Li Huowang."
"Are you lying to yourself?" Bai Lingmiao rolled her eyes. "You've changed much more than me. The past Li Huowang would never chop off his fingers or gouge out his eyeballs without hesitation."
"Are you saying that the past me is the real Li Huowang while the present me is not?" asked Li Huowang.