Mutated Tao

“Senior Li, look! There’s lanterns in the sky!”

Hearing this, everyone raised their heads and saw the lanterns floating in the skies. They looked akin to luminescent jellyfish.

“Those are just lanterns. Nothing to be in awe about,” said Li Huowang as he brought the bowl close to his mouth and drank the best shrimp soup he had ever had.

The lanterns had numerous surnames written on them as they slowly floated into the skies and merged with the stars. The people who released the lanterns were all crying; it was as if they were conducting a ritual.

“It’s not just the skies. Look, someone is doing the same to the river too!”

There was a river that ran through Yinling City. Currently, the people were lighting candles on boats and sending them down the river.

“The Liang Kingdom sure is busy.” Li Huowang muttered as he looked at the sea of lanterns. He could feel that the Liang Kingdom was very different from the other places they had been too. Their wealth was immense.

“Miaomiao, we’ve passed through the kingdom of Si Qi, Hou Shu, Qing Qiu, and now the Liang Kingdom. Are there any more countries beyond the border of the Liang Kingdom?” asked Li Huowang.

“I don’t think so. If we traveled any further, then we would arrive at the sea,” replied Bai Lingmiao.

So the Liang Kingdom is bordered by the sea? I wonder if there are island countries beyond that.

Even if there are island countries, they probably are…

Just as Li Huowang was busy thinking about it, he suddenly heard an extremely faint voice mixed within the crowd’s chatter.

“Hungry. Mouth. Wood.”

As soon as he heard the voice, Li Huowang felt all of his hair stand on end. He suddenly stood up and looked around in a panic.

Li Huowang’s movements were so sudden and jolting that even the soup on the table spilled a little, causing everyone to turn and stare at him. This caused the atmosphere to become very embarrassing. The people at his table and those around him all stared at him as if he was a psycho.

“Senior Li?”

Sensing the worried gazes of his group, Li Huowang sat back down as tried to calm himself. “It’s nothing. You know me. It’s an old problem. Continue eating.”

Hearing this, everyone continued eating. Only Bai Lingmiao noticed that Li Huowang’s hands were trembling.

After finishing their meal, they walked back to the inn. All the while, Lu Zhuangyuan was busy calculating how many pigs they could’ve bought with the money they had paid for the meal just now. While they might have enjoyed the meal, Lu Zhuangyuan was heartbroken to see all the money he had worked so hard to earn being spent just like that.

“Senior Li, are you alright?” Bai Lingmiao approached Li Huowang and held his calloused hands. His hands had long since grown rough from handling the sword for so long.

“No worries. I’m feeling much better now after eating the Black Taisui,” assured Li Huowang.

Once they reached the inn, all of them headed back to their room and discussed the things they saw before washing up.

Nothing happened even after the inn closed and they blew out all the candles.

Late into the night, Li Huowang was sleeping on the bed when he suddenly woke up. He looked at Bai Lingmiao before slowly extracting his hands from around her neck. He then walked out of the room and into the courtyard of the inn.

As it sensed its owner, Bun crawled out from under the horse carriage. It was on duty to guard the carriage housing the Black Taisui.

Li Huowang approached the carriage and opened the tarp before looking inside it. There, he saw the Black Taisui that was still being bound by the cow tendons.

Li Huowang’s face was gloomy as he looked at the Black Taisui and remembered the voice he had heard just now.

Ever since he ate the Black Taisui, everything had been normal. In fact, all of it had been too normal, to the point that he nearly forgot that he was a Strayed One. Now, he had heard the voices once again.

Li Huowang looked at the Black Taisui in front of him before calling out in a trembling voice, “Mom, could you call Dr. Wang here? I need to talk to him.”

After some time, Li Huowang looked calmly at the Black Taisui. “Wang Wei, is that you? Did you give me some medications a few hours ago?”

However, the Black Taisui did not react. All it did was shift around the dirty slime on its body and make some bubbles.

“If that’s you, then increase the dosage and try again,” said Li Huowang.

Li Huowang waited for the illusion to come, but nothing happened.

After a while, Li Huowang’s breathing became ragged as he glared at the tentacled monster. Then, he growled at it, “Stop fucking around! If you want me to think that the other side is real, then pull me back there if you can!”

Amidst his whisper-shouting, the Black Taisui continued wriggling bit by bit. It tried to extend its tentacles, but the hardened cow tendons bound it tightly.

Pant pant~

Li Huowang took deep breaths as he tried to calm his heart. Then, he continued to stand within the stable, waiting for the world around him to crumble away.

A long time passed before he suddenly heard someone shouting outside while smacking together pieces of bamboo, “Duo~ The weather is hot~ Be careful of the open fire~”

Based on that announcement, Li Huowang knew that it was the fourth section of the night. He had been waiting here for a few hours already, but nothing had happened. With this, he finally calmed down a little.

After that, Li Huowang took out a dagger from his pouch of torture tools and shaved off a piece of the Black Taisui to eat.

He kept munching on the rubbery flesh until he suddenly paused; a feeling of sadness suddenly appeared within his heart.

He had thought that he had let it go, but his reaction even in the face of such a faint hope made him realize that he had just been lying to himself.

He realized that he could never forget about the place where he grew up.

He yearned for it. He wanted the other side to be real and this side to be fake.

Maybe I really am sick. Maybe that side is fake. I have to stop being so suspicious. It was just a fake voice. There’s nothing to worry about. That’s right… everything is fine.

Just as Li Huowang was lost in his thoughts, the feeling of a foreign gaze instantly made him calm down.

“Who are you?” Li Huowang quickly closed the tarp and looked around only to find a man wearing a doll head standing within the stables.

“Someone told me to come and find you. I heard that you want to work with the Surveillance Bureau. Is that true?” At that moment, a voice as hoarse as Li Huowang’s came from underneath the doll’s head.

Chacha and Char's Thoughts

Here's a fanart for Hong Da, the Creditor! Credits to 格子的乱七八糟 on douyin

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