Mutated Tao

“But it was the Surveillance Bureau who took the people of Cowheart Village away.”

Constable Cao’s words shocked Li Huowang.

How is that possible? Why would the Surveillance Bureau take away Bai Lingmiao's family?

But he recovered quite quickly.

Wait, maybe that wasn’t the real Surveillance Bureau. Maybe someone was impersonating them!

But whether it was genuine or an impersonation, it was not good news for Bai Lingmiao’s family.

Having witnessed this from Hong Da, Li Huowang knew that the Surveillance Bureau was quite ruthless and would not hesitate to take people’s lives to accomplish their mission. But, if it was an impersonation, then it would be even more complicated. The only possible outcomes were bad and worse.

“Which way did they go?” Li Huowang asked Constable Cao with a serious expression. At this point, they could only try chasing after them. It was uncertain whether they could even catch up.

“From the looks of it, they were headed toward the capital. I don’t know how far they’ve gone,” replied Constable Cao.

Seeing Constable Cao pointing toward the west with his trembling hands, Li Huowang swiftly stepped onto the saddle with one foot, mounted his horse and galloped in that direction.

Watching Li Huowang’s figure receding into the distance, County Magistrate Wang breathed a sigh of relief. At that moment, his assistant approached him from the side.

“Master, I think there’s something suspicious about this matter. Do you think that there might be some conflict between these two groups of people?” said Steward Hu.

County Magistrate Wang looked impatient as he replied, “If it’s suspicious, then so be it. What do the Surveillance Bureau’s matters have to do with the Magistrate’s office? Let’s head back!”

Clippity-clop.

Meanwhile, the sound of horse hooves echoed continuously as Li Huowang rode his horse to move in the direction pointed toward by Constable Cao. On the back of the horse, he swayed rhythmically, his mind a chaotic mess filled with various conjectures.

If it’s not the Surveillance Bureau, then, could it be…

“Hehe… don’t be so jumpy. From my perspective, this doesn’t seem like the work of any other faction besides the Surveillance Bureau.”

Hearing those words, Li Huowang immediately turned his head to look at Hong Zhong who was lying in mid-air, looking bored as he yawned. “From your perspective? Can I even trust half the things you say? With the way you put it, I’m even more inclined to suspect that the Surveillance Bureau is being impersonated by the Sitting Oblivion Dao.”

“If you don’t believe me, then so be it. But remember, the Sitting Oblivion Dao is known for pulling off their schemes openly. There’s never been a notion of changing locations,” said Hong Zhong as he sat up. Then, he stretched lazily, and chuckled before continuing, “Hehehe, besides, who says that we don’t speak the truth? The art of lying requires one to mix a single truth with nine lies. If all we did was tell lies, then who would fall for it?”

In the end, Li Huowang chose to ignore him and focus on the road ahead, mentally preparing for whatever challenges might lie ahead.

Riding for several days straight took its toll on both the horse and on Li Huowang. Although Li Huowang could endure it given his resilient body, the horse still needed sufficient rest.

One evening, Li Huowang tied the horse to a tree and promptly climbed up before closing his eyes to rest.

Li Huowang wasn’t sure how much time had passed when the whispers of the Black Taisui woke him up. When he opened his eyes again, the sky had already turned completely dark.

Shaking off the drowsiness, Li Huowang rolled down from the tree and gently patted the neck of the horse who was still sleeping. Soon, the sound of horse-hooves resumed, echoing through the empty dirt road and into the distance.

As Li Huowang was pondering how long he would be able to endure this life on the road and whether or not he would be able to find them, he noticed something.

Under the dim moonlight, Li Huowang crouched down by the roadside and studied the densely packed footprints on the ground. He observed the multitude of footprints that came in various sizes and instinctively felt that these must be the people he was looking for.

As Li Huowang noticed the specks of blood in some of these footprints, he pulled the reins and urged the horse forward. “Let’s go!”

Perhaps because they were traveling in a large group, these folks weren’t able to move all that fast. As Li Huowang relentlessly chased on horseback for an hour, the footprints on the ground became more and more pronounced.

At this point, Li Huowang decided to dismount from the horse to avoid arousing suspicion. He concealed his illusion in the soil before moving forward stealthily.

The pitch-black sky gradually gave way to a deep blue. Just as dawn was about to break, Li Huowang finally found a group of prisoners huddled together, dozing off in a nearby grove.

People of all ages and genders could be seen wearing wooden shackles around their necks, giving them the appearance of heinous criminals in custody.

Initially, Li Huowang hadn’t been sure whether these really were the people he was searching for. However, when he spotted a pretty woman who shared a strong resemblance with Bai Lingmiao, he realized that he was on the right track.

Despite their worn-out appearance and ragged clothes, all of them appeared to be healthy, and with all their limbs intact. This fact finally allowed Li Huowang to ease up slightly.

As long as these people are still alive, there is still room for redemption.

Li Huowang didn’t reveal himself immediately. Instead, he began to circle around these people, searching for those responsible for escorting them. If they were enemies, then he would confront them. If they were from the Surveillance Bureau, then negotiation was the way forward. Either way, Li Huowang was determined to rescue this group of people.

He circled around them for a while, but didn’t catch sight of a single person of authority.

There’s no way that nobody’s keeping an eye on them. If that really were the case, then the Bai family would have long since made a run for it.

While he was still confused, he heard an incredibly peculiar clattering sound from behind him. It was like the sound of something swaying in a bamboo tube.

Li Huowang slowly turned around and noticed that a faint white morning mist was starting to rise up from within the dim forest. The clattering sound was coming from within this mist.

As the clattering sound drew near, and the slumbering Bai family members began to wake up. Upon hearing the sound, fear emerged in all their eyes, and some of the children instinctively started crying.

Meanwhile, Li Huowang could catch the whiff of a pungent odor, and he clearly sensed that something was stirring within the white mist. Yet, he couldn’t quite make out what it was.

By now, Li Huowang no longer wanted to wait idly. Ignoring whether it was a blessing or a curse, he grabbed the hilt of his sword with one hand, and held his breath as he cautiously ventured into the white mist.

As he approached, the clattering sound slowly grew louder. Li Huowang slowly followed the sound to its source.

Clatter~ clatter~ clatter~

Along with this peculiar sound, a wooden figure, wearing a black watermelon hat with two rosy cheeks, swayed and floated out from within the thick and white morning mist.

Clatter~ clatter~

Each time the wooden figure’s head swayed, the peculiar clattering sound emanated from inside its head.

The instant Li Huowang laid eyes on this thing, every hair on his body stood on end. However, when he noticed that it wasn’t paying any attention to him, he didn’t act immediately.

What on earth is this thing?

As the wooden head slowly floated closer, Li Huowang clenched his teeth, and remained on high alert. Soon, a powerful gaze descended from above and pressed down on him, making every breath feel difficult.

At this point, Li Huowang suddenly looked up and saw a devilish and pale face slowly descend from within the hazy mist, with a wide, bitter smile.

Li Huowang finally grasped what it was as it fully presented itself before him.

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