Mutated Tao

“It’s too horrible to be stuck inside…” Hong Da continued his story, “Those stuck within the karmic obstacle are neither alive nor dead. Even if they want to, they can’t change their condition. They can’t starve, and they can’t die from fatigue, but they still have to suffer the pain of hunger and fatigue. They are tormented by it at all times. You know, when I was hidden away by her karmic obstacle, her father told me that he didn’t hate his daughter. At the very least, the torture he felt was proof that his daughter was still alive.”

Hong Da sighed as he recalled his experience inside the Muddled One’s karmic obstacle; it had made him realize a lot of things.

Having heard all that, Li Huowang’s heart couldn’t remain calm either. He moved the Muddled One from his back to his arms and looked at her with a complicated look on his face.

“If only she could just remember… I’m sure that she wouldn’t want to torment her family and friends…”

The Muddled One’s life was pitiful. Her actions subjected those she saw to an eternal life of torment. Compared to her, Li Huowang’s status as a Strayed One was marginally better.

“Daoist, she’s so pitiful. We should let her go.” Monk’s illusion took pity on the Muddled One.

However Li Huowang sighed and shook his head. “No. Disregarding the fact that we need her to obtain information on the Sitting Oblivion Dao, if we let her go now, she would harm even more people. Do you want to do that?”

Even if she didn’t want to hurt people, a single glance from her was all it took to harm others. If his guess was right, the village had once been filled with people, but now, everyone was gone, and it was most likely because of her.

Monk felt conflicted. He wanted to do good deeds, but when he was presented with a pair of choices that contradicted each other, he didn’t know what to do.

At the same time, Li Huowang realized something. He had always questioned why the Surveillance Bureau would hunt down Strayed Ones with such prejudice, but after he saw the Muddled One’s powers, he understood why.

Disregarding their ethics, by hunting down the Muddled One, they were indeed protecting the country and the life of everyone in it.

Just the existence of a Muddled One and a Strayed One was more than enough to wipe out an entire kingdom, and so it was natural for the Surveillance Bureau to hunt them down.

“Junior Er, who are you talking to?” Tuoba Danqing looked at Li Huowang, feeling puzzled.

Li Huowang blinked and patted his abdomen. “I’m talking to my Nascent Soul.”

No one else spoke. All of them kept away their weapons and let down their guard. Shen Tugang even yawned and stretched his body.

Just as Li Huowang was about to leave the village, Tuoba Danqing, who was playing with two large walnuts, approached him before pulling him slightly backward and whispering anxiously, “Junior Er, let me give you a warning. Once Ji Xiang returns to the capital, if he doesn’t summon us for a period of time, then we should run to Qing Qiu and hide there for a while. We could technically work there too.”

Li Huowang was shocked.

Is he asking me to run?

“Senior Tuoba, do you know something?” asked Li Huowang.

Hearing this question, Tuoba Danqing sighed before pulling him to keep up with the others.

We already obtained the Muddled one, so Ji Xiang should be fine. If something happens to him, what about the information that he promised me as the reward?

Thinking back on the Muddled One’s power, as well as Ji Xiang’s anxiety, Li Huowang had a feeling that the reason why the Surveillance Bureau needed the Muddled One so badly was because they wanted to use her power for something grand.

But Li Huowang was just a rookie who had joined the Surveillance Bureau only recently. He had absolutely no idea what was happening with the higher-ups.

There was no reason for him to know that either; his rank was just way too low.

Li Huowang looked at Hong Da who was still in shock, before following Tuoba Danqing.

They continued to move swiftly and soon reached the entrance. At that moment, the white mist surrounding the village slowly dissipated and Liu Zongyuan appeared in front of them, still wearing the same wooden mask.

“Lord Ji Xiang, how is it? Did you succeed?” Liu Zongyuan looked at them excitedly.

“Little Liu, go and call for the horse carriage. I want to rest.” said Ji Xiang. His pale face was disheveled and his voice weak.

“Since you guys are going back now, we will part ways here. I won’t be returning to Yinling City. Erniu, remember that my debt to you has been cleared off now. Next time, I won’t help you even if you grovel in front of me.” Shen Tugang turned to leave.

When Li Huowang saw that he was leaving, he immediately stopped him. “Senior Shen, could I ask you a question?”

Shen Tugang frowned slightly as his thick eyebrows quivered but this time, he wasn’t cussing. “Ask quickly. I still have urgent work to do.”

Li Huowang looked at his drum and asked, “I’ve heard that Shamans are the slaves of the Immortal families, and that can never be free. However, you seemed to be free of them. Could you tell me why?”

Li Huowang had already noticed that Shen Tugang’s chants was extremely different from Bai Lingmiao’s. His chant did not respect the Immortal families but instead had a slightly threatening tone to them.

“Are you asking this for that girl from just now?” Shen Tugang instantly knew the reason behind his question.

Li Huowang nodded. He wanted to help Bai Lingmiao change her situation. Even if she could not escape their control, he wanted her to at the very least secure the initiative and not let Immortal families control the reins.

Shen Tugang nodded and whispered something to Li Huowang.

As he heard the secret, Li Huowang's eyes grew wide; it was as if it was extremely impossible. “Is that how you do it?”

“Time for me to leave. I will treat you to a meal if I meet you again.” Shen Tugang smacked the wound on Li Huowang’s torso before leaving.

Just then, the horse carriage also arrived. Li Huowang snapped back to reality and rode the carriage.

Just as Li Huowang was thinking about the method Shen Tugang had just told him, Hong Zhong’s words shook him awake. “Li Huowang, wake up. Stop thinking about that for now. Why do you have an extra person in front of you?”

Hearing those words, Li Huowang looked up and saw a skinny man. As he looked at the skinny man, Li Huowang was on the verge of thinking he was not part of their crew.

However, Hong Da’s reaction was the strongest when he saw the skinny man, his eyes wide from shock. “HOW DID YOU GET OUT?!”

The skinny man looked at them and quietly said, “I suddenly remembered that I’m a Muddled One. I had asked that woman to hide me in her karmic obstacle so that I can find my family, but then she forgot about me.”

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