Mutated Tao

“The Fiery Sutra?” Li Huowang grabbed the wax-covered book. Through the translucent wax, he could see the title of the book.

He noticed that a different character had been used to replace the character for the word “Sutra”. Rather than Fiery Sutra, it was more accurate to call it the Fiery Scripture.

Even though the treatment process was immensely painful, Li Huowang knew that it was very effective.

“Why give me the book?” Li Huowang was puzzled.

“I gave it to you because you need it more than me. But it’s not easy to learn how to use it; you need to learn how to read another language in order to use it,” said Yingzi as she opened the wax-covered book and revealed its content.

“This…” Li Huowang furrowed his brow. The words were circular in nature. Larger circles encircled smaller ones while the smaller ones had dots within them. The various sizes and combinations among them were almost endless.

He had no idea what language it was nor had he seen a similar linguistic system.

“If you want to understand the sutra, then you need to learn from scratch. You can only use that book after you’ve learned how to read the Heavenly Fire Mark and its five tones,” explained Yingzi as she passed her notebook to him. “This is a translation of the Heavenly Fire Mark to the common language. You can use it as a reference.”

Li Huowang opened the notes and saw that they were quite detailed. It seemed that Yingzi had written them herself.

Since she had already given him so much, there was no reason for Li Huowang to decline. After all, he needed the Fiery Scripture.

But he didn’t have any time to research it right now—he needed to get out of this wretched place before doing anything else.

Li Huowang kept both books and asked, “You gave both these books to me on your own accord. Will you end up getting into trouble if they find out?”

In response, Yingzi lowered her head and shook it.

Li Huowang nodded and stared at her seriously. “I won’t pry into your past, but I am a man who definitely pays back the generosity of others. As long as you help me, I will help you escape from this place.”

“Em!” Yingzi nodded excitedly. “Sir, what do you need me to do? I can help you with anything.”

It was clear that Yingzi was desperate.

After staring at his surroundings alertly, Li Huowang whispered. “Yingzi, since you and I have the same goal, I consider you an ally. I actually do need your help quite desperately as well.”

Then, Li Huowang whispered something to her and she nodded.

Fifteen minutes later, both of them exited their cave.

During the next two days, with Yingzi’s guidance, Li Huowang scoured the entire cave, not missing even a single spot.

At the same time, Shou San did not go back on his words either; no one tried to find trouble with Li Huowang. The most they did was to stare at him before letting him pass if they encountered Li Huowang.

By the third day, Li Huowang had grasped the entire structure of the cave system and etched it into his memories.

“Sir, now that we have memorized the layout of this place, what do we do?” Yingzi whispered from behind.

Li Huowang stared ahead for a moment before turning back toward their room. “Let’s go back first. I’m afraid there might be someone listening in on us over here.”

Hearing this, Yingzi silently followed him like an assistant.

On the other hand, Li Huowang was worried, his expression occasionally turning gnarly as he recalled something.

They were halfway back when they encountered the burnt looking Shou San. He revealed a ghastly smile as bits of burnt skin flaked off his body. “Little Xuan Yang, it is already the third day. Do you have any idea how to do it? Do you need my help? If you thought that the previous method was too harsh, then I have another idea.”

However, Li Huowang refused without even hearing his proposal; he was very repulsed by their methods. “No need! I’ve said that I will deal with it myself!”

After saying that, Li Huowang pulled Yingzi away, bringing them back to their cave.

Shou San did not try to stop them. He just stood there silently, a strange glint in his eyes as he stared at their departing backs.

When the wooden door closed and isolated them from the outside world, Li Huowang finally heaved a sigh of relief. Living in a place that belonged to others was way too stressful; he had no choice but to abide by their rules and cater to their whims.

“Sir, what should we do next?” asked Yingzi.

Hearing Yingzi’s question, Li Huowang took a breath. Just as he was about to say something, his expression froze.

“Damn! It’s here again!” Li Huowang placed his back against the wooden door and slowly slid down onto the floor.

“Sir? Sir, are you alright?” Yingzi carefully approached him.

However, Li Huowang just stared at the girl blankly, his expression conflicted as he whispered, “Mom? You are here again? No, I don’t want to eat oranges. Could you please step outside? I have some business to attend to. I know, I understand that the other side is a hallucination. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m a little thirsty, so could you help me get some water? No, I don’t want the water in the thermos. I just want some regular water.”

“Sir… ?” Yingzi carefully said as she saw Li Huowang hallucinating.

In the next instant, Li Huowang once again became serious. His eyes were unfocused as they darted around. “Yingzi, quick, tie me up! Tie me up on the bed! I will explain everything to you when I come back to my senses!”

Just as he had said those words, his expression changed again. “Dad, why are you here? Don’t you need to go to work?”

Meanwhile, Yingzi just stood there, motionless as she stared at the red Taoist speaking toward empty space—she did not obey his command about tying him to the bed.

“Thanks, Mom. No need to feed me, I will just drink it on my own.” Li Huowang placed both hands together and made a motion of drinking water.

Staring at Li Huowang’s opened mouth, Yingzi carefully took out a ball of rusted nails that were bound together. Her hands were trembling from nervousness. She hesitated for a while, before placing the ball of nails back into her robes.

“Alright, alright. I will peel the oranges on my own. There’s no need to feed me,” said Li Huowang.

This time around, Yingzi took out a bottle of acid. Then, she threw the ball of nails into the bottle of acid, causing the metal to start sizzling.

Soon, the mixture of corroded nails and the acid was placed in front of Li Huowang, black smoke coming out from it.

“Uuu~” At that moment, Bun slowly approached them, not comprehending what was happening.

BAM!

When she saw Bun, Yingzi kicked it away.

The kick sent Bun flying as it started spitting out blood; it struggled to get up for a while before falling down due to the pain.

“Mom, no need to peel anymore. I’ve eaten too many oranges already,” said Li Huowang. Then, he grabbed the smoking ball of nails.

As this was happening, Yingzi stood there, her body trembling from excitement as she saw Li Huowang about to die.

However, just as the ball of nails reached his mouth, Li Huowang’s hand stopped. By the time he dropped the ball of nails, his fingers were already bloody from the corrosive liquid. The ball of nails barely brushed past his face and fell onto the ground, rolling a few times before stopping.

At this moment, there was no sign of Li Huowang hallucinating, and his eyes were deathly cold and sharp as he stared at her. “Why?”

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