Mutated Tao

Chapter 565: Zhuge Yuan

Li Huowang’s eyes trembled slightly as he stood before the dragon pillar within the brightly lit palace hall.

He glanced at the spine sword, which was moving by itself, before turning to Zhuge Yuan beside him.

Li Huowang had suffered many injuries before, but none of them could compare to the pain he was feeling at the moment.

“So you had a backup plan all along! You never trusted me! Are you really the Zhuge Yuan who was willing to sacrifice even your life just to save me?!" Li Huowang roared, "You want me to stay steadfast to my true intentions? But you've always treated me as a Hong Zhong of the Sitting Oblivion Dao! How am I supposed to do that?”

Li Huowang’s lips twitched slightly; he raised his fist and pounded his own head.

“Brother Li, I had no choice. There are so many lives in Great Qi, and I really couldn’t risk everything for you. I can sacrifice my own life for you, but I can’t sacrifice the lives of everyone in Great Qi for you!”

Li Huowang glared at Zhuge Yuan, and he was filled with rage as he rushed toward the latter.

Li Huowang clenched his right hand and swung it toward Zhuge Yuan's head, which became tangible as soon as his fist swept across it.

Zhuge Yuan's head whipped upward upon getting hit by Li Huowang’s fist, and he staggered backward as well. A large bruise appeared on Zhuge Yuan’s face. When he found his footing again, he sighed lightly and said, “I have always acted with a clear conscience, except for this time when I concealed the truth from you, my sworn brother, for the sake of the Great Qi. It was indeed ungentlemanly of me. I have made a mistake, and I must be punished for it; I am willing to atone for my sin with death.”

“What... what are you talking about?! I’m not done with you! You still owe me an explanation! You’re not going anywhere!” Li Huowang clutched his head again with an agonized look.

Zhuge Yuan’s figure stabilized almost immediately.

“Brother Li, illusions are only going to bring you harm as a Strayed One. It’s best to get rid of them as soon as possible. If you want the illusions around you to disappear, perhaps you may do so by eliminating their obsessions. Once their obsessions are eliminated, the illusions will naturally vanish, just like me and like Jiang Yingzi,” Zhuge Yuan said, his figure becoming extremely blurry.

Li Huowang tried to solidify him again but to no avail.

"Brother Li, if you can’t distinguish whether you are Hong Zhong or Li Huowang, you must go to where Li Huowang should be and gather more memories as Li Huowang. This might help suppress your memories as a Hong Zhong. Brother Li, I once wanted to help you find out why Doulao Taiyin had decided to modify your past. But forgive me for my incompetence, as I couldn’t figure out the reason why. It would be best for you to delay cultivating the ‘Truth’ until you've learned why.”

Zhuge Yuan’s figure became almost completely transparent.

“Wait! You better wait for me!” Li Huowang unconsciously bent slightly; fresh blood dripped from his nose and landed on the floor.

Zhuge Yuan carefully adjusted his robes and leaned forward. He cupped his fists together and bowed to Li Huowang. “Brother Li, take care!”

Zhuge Yuan's figure vanished, and he left not even a single trace behind.

Li Huowang put down his hands and stared blankly at where Zhuge Yuan had vanished.

After a while, he started crying and cursing at the same time. Eventually, he stopped cursing and simply stood like a frozen statue. His indescribable face obfuscated his thoughts, making it impossible for anyone to decipher.

After some time, Li Huowang suddenly moved. He turned and walked back toward the spine sword.

The purple talisman on the sword had been reattached, and the peach patterns protruding from the sword as well as the flesh and blood had vanished; it had become nothing more than an ordinary spine sword.

Li Huowang trembled, and he tore the purple talisman apart. However, the spine sword was quiet; it seemed that it had died along with the illusion of Zhuge Yuan.

Loud footsteps entered Li Huowang's ears just then, and a group of people with the Surveillance Bureau's identity tokens hanging at their waists appeared. Each and every one of them had grim expressions, and they all had a variety of weapons in hand.

“Er Jiu! Er Jiu!” Fo Yulu exclaimed with an ugly look. She led a group of people to surround Li Huowang before asking, "What’s going on?! Where’s the Imperial Preceptor? Why did His Majesty become a girl? Who killed the spy among the eunuchs?”

Li Huowang remained silent and shook his head indifferently. He bent down to pick up his sword, and then he pushed past the group of people to head out of the palace.

The others wanted to block him, but Li Huowang swung his spine sword and dove into the spacetime rift.

Boom!

A loud thunderclap startled Gao Zhijian, who was in the middle of eating a bowl of noodles in an inn. He walked out of the inn with the bowl of noodles in hand and saw dark clouds gathering over the Great Liang palace.

He also saw multiple purple lightning bolts raining down on the palace.

What’s happening? Gao Zhijian had no idea, but there was something strange with the lightning bolts.

Loud hoofbeats echoed, and soldiers carrying military banners rushed down the streets, hitting their bronze gongs with urgent looks.

“The Imperial Preceptor’s orders are here! Daytime curfew in Shangjing! Daytime curfew in Shangjing! Those who are still outside after two incense sticks' worth of time will be executed!"

Their words immediately caused a commotion; the people strolling down the streets acted like ants on a hot pan as they frantically ran away.

The vendors on the streets abandoned their stalls and rushed home as fast as possible.

Gao Zhijian didn't understand what was happening, but he followed the bandwagon and returned to the inn with a bowl of noodles in hand.

The frightened waiter hurriedly locked the door and barricaded it with the tables before gossiping with the other anxious customers in low voices

“What’s going on? What's up with this sudden daytime curfew? Has Qing Qiu attacked us?”

“No way. However, I saw lightning bolts descending upon the palace. Is His Majesty performing a ritual?”

“Hey, kid, do you want to die? How dare you say such things?!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Our Majesty doesn’t punish people for their words.”

The people of Shangjing moved frantically, rushing to their homes in the proverbial blink of an eye.

Before an incense stick's worth of time was over, the streets were already empty.

Amidst the tense atmosphere, Gao Zhijian peered outside through a hole in the paper window. Is this daytime curfew related to Senior Li? Should I go out and take a look?

He was rather hesitant at the idea. He'd most likely run into the soldiers of the Great Liang before he could find Senior Li if he were to go out there without any clues about the latter's whereabouts.

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