Mutated Tao

Staring at the Abbess, Li Huowang held the sword before kowtowing toward her. “Thank you for giving me this sword, Abbess! As long as I live, I will graciously repay you for this favor!”

Li Huowang was not someone good with words. Compared to using words, he preferred to use his actions to show his intentions.

He knew who had treated him well and who had not.

However, the Abbess was not satisfied with his answer. “Who said that I am gifting it to you? I am selling it. Don’t try to skip out on the payment. 30,000 pieces with interest. You need to return it to me without missing even a single piece. I know that you can’t give me the money right now, and so you should just use the escort service to send over whatever excess money you have in the future, regardless of the amount. We will accept it all, regardless if it's a thousand pieces of gold or just half a string of copper coins. Now that everything’s over, just leave this place. I won’t ask you to stay for dinner, nor do I think you will be able to eat it. Just bring some more snacks when you come over next time.”

After saying her piece, Abbess Jingxin slowly moved her fat body back into the depths of her house.

However, Li Huowang immediately stopped her. He still had some questions. “Wait, Abbess, I still have some questions.”

“Sigh. Why are you so annoying? Tell me quickly. I need to sleep after I finish eating.” Abbess Jingxin was visibly annoyed.

Li Huowang stood there for a few seconds before asking his question. “Abbess, I’m a newcomer to Jianghu and do not know much about the various factions of the world, much less their strengths and taboos. Could you please describe some of them to me?”

“No need to fret over it.” Abbess Jingzin scratched her stomach, annoyed. “You are a Strayed One. If you encounter another sect, then just run.”

“Of course, or do you want to go and converse with them? Weren’t you lied to by the monks of the Righteous Monastery? You are a Strayed One. In the eyes of others, you are no different than a piece of gold. Who cares what sect they come from. Fight if you can, run if you can’t. And don’t even think about joining any of them. There are no sects that recruit Strayed Ones as their disciples, not even the Benevolent Nunnery. If they say that they do, then they are lying.”

These words were a kind of wake-up call for Li Huowang. “So I can trust no one besides you?”

“Nope. Who would help you out without a cause?” The Abbess’s triple chin trembled as she shook her head.

Even if he had already expected the answer, hearing the truth from her mouth still caused Li Huowang to feel depressed.

He realized that his journey was destined to be a rocky one.

Li Huowang slowly digested what she had said before asking another question. “Abbess, can I ask about how the nuns of the Benevolent Nunnery obtain their powers?”

Except for the members of the Ao Jing Sect who gained their powers through offering their mental and physical pain to Ba-Hui, Li Huowang had absolutely no idea how the people of this world obtained their powers.

“Yawn~” The Abbess yawned, “Why do you ask this? It’s not like you will even be able to cultivate it. Can’t you see everyone here is a nun?”

“That’s not an issue. I just want to know.”

“Sigh. It’s not like I don’t want to tell you, but we can’t pronounce it with our mouths. We have to write out the method using Women’s Script. And you are a guy…”

Since she had already said so much, Li Huowang knew not to trouble her anymore. “Thank you for your guidance. I hope to meet you again soon.”

After saying that, Li Huowang kowtowed toward her once more before turning toward the door.

Just as he was leaving the house while inspecting the sword in his hands, the Abbess called for him. “Wait a minute, I almost forgot what I needed to say when you interrupted me just now. There is one particular group of people that you need to be extra careful with,” said Jingxin.

As he heard this, Li Huowang’s ears perked up. “Please tell me.”

“Remember their name. They are called the Sitting Oblivion Dao.”

“Sitting Oblivion Dao?” Li Huowang furrowed his brow. He had heard those three words before. He tried to recall where he had heard them, but nothing came up.

“Sigh, why do you keep spacing out? I’m still talking to you. Or do you not need my explanation?” asked the Abbess, exasperated.

“Abbess, please explain to me. Why did you mention them specifically? By any chance, are the members of the Sitting Oblivion Dao friendly toward Strayed Ones?”

“Nope. The other sects will try to capture or kill you for their own benefit, but the Sitting Oblivion Dao is a whole different matter. They are a group of liars that love to fool others.”

“Hmm?” Li Huowang was visibly confused.

“The Sitting Oblivion Dao is not a group of bandits that occupies a mountain, nor is it a sect that cultivates. No one knows what they are. All we know about them is that they like to fool others without any limitations. While they do like fooling others for money, more than anything else, they absolutely love fooling people for their own amusement. Here’s an example. There was a time when one of them disguised himself as the Emperor’s eunuch before proceeding to fool all of the men in a town to castrate themselves. The reason? He was bored and wanted to have some fun.”

Li Huowang still had no idea what the Abbess was trying to tell him.

He asked hesitantly. “A group of swindlers who like to fool others? But… Is this somehow related to me?”

Out of all the sects who wanted to capture him, why did the Abbess tell him about this group of people specifically?

“Sigh. Did you forget that you are a Strayed One and that you can’t differentiate between hallucination and reality? What do you think will happen if you meet someone from the Sitting Oblivion Dao? If they know that you are a Strayed One, the issue will become complicated.”

“Even then, why would you think that I would be fooled by a group of swindlers? Why are you so nervous about this?”

The Abbess shut her eyelids and shook her head. “They are not just a simple group of swindlers. We don’t know where they came from nor how they obtained it, but they have some powers that are ridiculously hard to shake off. They are also extremely well versed in illusions. There was even a time when I was fooled by them. At that time, a member of the Sitting Oblivion Dao snuck into our nunnery and wanted to fool us into breaking our taboo. Thankfully we managed to catch on to his plans and forced him into the path of Buddhism. Remember this, the members of the Sitting Oblivion Dao do not fear death. Never get entangled with one of them, or you will find yourself dealing with more and more of their members.”

“They even tried to fool you?”

“Yeah! Not only did they want to fool me, they even wanted to fool the Gods themselves! I’ve heard that a group of people within the Sitting Oblivion Dao waited thirty years to fool the God of Prosperity.”

“The God of Happiness? The one that appeared above the ancestral hall of the Hu family?” Li Huowang was visibly shaken.

“No, it’s the God of Prosperity, not the God of Happiness.” said Abbess Jingxin as she used her blackened fingernails to write the character on her skin.

Chacha and Char's Thoughts

Here's a rendition of the God of Happiness. Credits to 格子的乱七八糟 on douyin

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