Mutated Tao

Chapter 590: Trouble

Li Huowang had been talking peacefully while basking in the sunlight amidst the beautiful garden when he suddenly looked up.

The cheerful atmosphere vanished in an instant.

Li Sui noticed Li Huowang’s strange behavior and asked, “Father[1], what’s wrong?”

Bai Lingmiao carefully asked, “Senior Li, is everything okay?”

They were inside one of the palace's gardens. It was winter solstice, but the eunuchs responsible for taking care of the garden used a secret technique to ensure that the flowers would remain blooming.

The eunuchs and consorts trembled and knelt down from afar upon seeing Li Huowang.

Li Huowang's entourage had been enjoying the beautiful scenery, but Li Huowang’s abrupt change in demeanor and behavior made everyone feel nervous.

Li Huowang looked down and replied, “Nothing. I just think that the weather is great today.”

Everyone sighed in relief, especially Puppy. He really thought that something was about to go wrong. “Senior Li, you scared us. We thought your illness had returned.”

“I’m already cured. Wait, I heard that the Lu family followed you to Shangjing. Is that true?” Li Huowang asked, changing the subject.

“Yes. Simpleton even gifted them a theater. Lu Zhuangyuan was so happy that his nose blew bubbles of snot.”

At first, Bai Lingmiao thought that the others would become uncomfortable staring at Li Huowang’s head made out of lotus roots, but she was mistaken.

Surprisingly, everyone accepted it quickly.

It wasn't really that surprising to them, who had seen Li Huowang suffering severe injuries during their travels. Unfortunately, the eunuchs and consorts were different, and they couldn't quite get used to it.

“Is that so? That’s great news. The dream that he had been working so hard for half of his life has finally been fulfilled,” Li Huowang said. He extended his hand toward Li Sui and patted her head.

Several tentacles plucked the nearby flowers, placing them on Li Huowang’s head.

However, Li Huowang took them away from his head and placed them on Li Sui’s head instead.

Since Li Huowang was fine, the innocent Li Sui happily sat on the former's lap without thinking too much about the bizarre situation.

“His theater is so large! I'm sure the Lu family's pink show will become popular with such a large theater. We have e to go and support them!”

“Are they still singing that? What a waste of a great theater.”

“Huh? What’s wrong with the pink show? Who doesn’t like it?”

The group laughed and chatted as they walked around the garden. They discovered many things during their stroll, including the fact that the palace had a special greenhouse that they were using to grow vegetables, even during winter.

Everyone was thrilled, and they plucked some vegetables for themselves. They were planning on using the vegetables to make dumpling fillings for the upcoming New Year's Eve.

Fresh vegetables were rare during winter, and the vegetables belonged to Gao Zhijian, so they were more than happy to pluck them. They all believed that what belonged to Gao Zhijian belonged to them as well.

After spending some more time in the garden, everyone to their quarters with smiles tugging at their lips.

Li Huowang needed more rest, so they didn’t want to disturb him. They followed him back to his residence before calling it a day.

Once everyone had walked out of the residence, Bai Lingmiao pushed Li Huowang into his bedroom.

“Senior Li, are you really fine?” Bai Lingmiao was technically blind, but the relic that she had consumed allowed her to see clearly.

Earlier, Li Huowang had looked up not because of the weather but because of something else.

“Don’t worry. It’s a small issue.”

Just as they were about to enter the bedroom, Li Huowang raised his hand and stopped her. “Miaomiao, can you call Chief Xuan Pin for me? I need to discuss something with him.”

Bai Lingmiao was surprised, but she still nodded and said, “All right, I will.”

When she left, she pulled Li Sui from Li Huowang’s body. But she was reluctant because she missed Li Huowang.

“Mother, let me stay with Father. I haven’t seen him for so long,” Li Sui begged. She looked like a pretty young woman right now, but she was still acting like a child.

“No. Your father’s head is very fragile. What are we going to do if you end up breaking it by accident? You have to come with me outside!” Bai Lingmiao replied sternly, frightening Li Sui.

In the end, she relented and followed Bai Lingmiao out while staring at Bai Lingmiao.

The room became incredibly quiet upon Bai Lingmiao and Li Sui's departure.

Li Huowang closed his eyes amidst the silence. Eventually, his right hand started tapping on the fine leather armrest, while his left hand started tapping on his wheelchair made out of bamboo strips.

Amidst the silence and darkness, the smell of disinfectant and flowers seemed to have been amplified.

“Li Huowang? You were looking for me?”

Li Huowang opened his eyes and saw Xuan Pin standing in front of him.

Xuan Pin's large frame and big red robes occupied Li Huowang's entire field of view.

Li Huowang stared deeply at Xuan Pin before asking, “Are there ropes that are still untied?”

“Who told you that?” Xuan Pin asked, taken aback by the revelation that Li Huowang knew about the ropes.

“No one. I sensed it myself,” Li Huowang asked. He could remember someone's piercing gaze on him from the hospital’s corridor.

Xuan Pin nodded. “Yes, but the Surveillance Bureau is going to deal with it. It's just a small matter, so don't worry about it and focus on recovering.”

“What’s going on?” Li Huowang asked once again. Anything related to the Dragon Vein was definitely not a small matter.

Xuan Pin remained silent and turned around to leave instead of answering Li Huowang’s question.

“You don’t trust me?” Li Huowang asked.

Xuan Pin came to a halt.

“I helped you deal with Shai Zi, and you still don’t trust me?” Li Huowang added.

“If you were in my shoes, would you trust yourself?”

Li Huowang said nothing. Their common enemy was dead, but their relationship seemed like it would never progress to the point that they could fully trust each other.

“Come find me anytime whenever you need help. I’m staying in the Liang Kingdom, so I definitely don't want it to fall.”

Xuan Pin's shadow beneath the robes stared deeply at Li Huowang.

“That's what you think, but what about the thoughts of the entity behind you? You're not yourself these days, too. Clearly, the plans of a Siming will never align with the plans of mortals. We're the Surveillance Bureau, and we intend to observe the Heavens at all cost.”

Xuan Pin's large figure disappeared into thin air, and the room became quiet once again.

Li Huowang became immersed in his own thoughts. Xuan Pin trusted him, but he had no trust in Li Huowang's future self.

Since Xuan Pin had no trust in him, there was no reason for him to trust the former.

Unfortunately, Xuan Pin was unwilling to talk about it, so he had no choice but to deal with it himself.

After all, Li Huowang had never been someone who'd merely sit down upon realizing that trouble was knocking on his door.

1. We've decided to use Father and Mother for this world, while Mom and Dad on the other side ☜

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