Mutated Tao

Ji Xiang munched on the guokui while explaining, “It seems that you don't understand just how special he is. I rummaged through all of the books from the first to the fourth archive before finding out how he had saved us all. He used the Ao Jing Sect’s secret technique, Cang-Qiang Ascension!”

“What is that?” the old woman's tone of voice lowered upon sensing the severity in Ji Xiang's voice.

“I don’t know. I couldn't check any further than the fourth archive. All I know is that the majority of the people who had used it had perished, while the survivors became extraordinary cultivators.

"Now that I think about it, it makes sense. Why does the technique have the word Ascension? In its name? Ascension to where? Those who had used that technique are no longer humans. Do you really think we can offend someone like that?”

The old woman nodded. “I think you did the right thing, Brother. We can't afford to owe him a favor.”

“I think there's another reason why he decided to join the Surveillance Bureau. I don’t think he simply wants to take revenge on the Sitting Oblivion Dao," Ji Xiang said.

The old woman took out her handkerchief and wiped the beaded sweat that had formed on Ji Xiang’s forehead. “It’s fine. Let’s just forget about these. They're no longer of concern to us, and we should just go home.”

Ji Xiang nodded and stared at the city gates with a pensive gaze. Ji Xiang revealed his identity token, and the city gates opened, allowing them to leave.

Soon, the towering city gates closed once more.

Li Huowang woke up the next day and prepared everything he needed before he embarked on a journey to the prison.

However, Li Huowang was surprised to find out that he wasn't alone.

There was a child guiding a blind man toward the prison.

Does he need that many people to escort a prisoner? Li Huowang pondered and waited silently.

Soon, a man sitting on a cow arrived, and he was dressed in clothes that Li Huowang had never seen before. A four-armed statue of a female Buddha was on the man's lap, and the man’s head was lowered while his mouth fluttered open with inscrutable chanting.

Li Huowang reckoned that the people in Shangjing seemed to have an idea as to what was to happen, as they dared not approach the prison. The shops near the prison were all closed, and the entrance to the prison was desolate.

The heavy doors of the prison soon opened, and a metallic cart carrying a cage with a prisoner inside of it appeared before everyone's eyes.

The man in the cage was different from what Li Huowang had imagined, and a golden face mask covered the prisoner's face. The mask was unique and special; it was rectangular in shape with two circular holes for eyes, a triangular nose, and large ears.

If it hadn't been for the patterns and carvings on it, Li Huowang would have thought that it was a Three Star Mound mask[1].

“You just have to escort the prisoner to the main gate where he will be executed; that's all you have to do," said the prison guard to the three escorts, which included Li Huowang.

“The main gate? We're not even leaving the city?” Li Huowang thought that he had misheard. It would only take them four hours to reach the main gate at the slowest, so Li Huowang couldn't help but be surprised.

“Yes, that's right,” the prison guard replied, sounding anxious. He turned around and immediately retreated.

The prison guard had pushed the cart over to the three escorts, and it rolled slowly toward them. Li Huowang glanced at the other two escorts before walking over to the cart and pushing it outside.

Regardless of what was going on here, he had to complete this task for the sake of Bai Lingmiao's treatment.

As the cart moved slowly in the city, more and more people gathered nearby, creating an uproarious din. The majority of the people were pointing and smiling at the prisoner; none of them seemed shocked by the golden mask.

Li Huowang reckoned that they had long gotten used to it.

The noises awakened the prisoner in the cage, and the prisoner immediately smashed his head on the beams of the cage, shouting, “How dare you people treat me like this?! I’m the Emperor—the Emperor of the Liang Kingdom!”

Li Huowang's heart tightened at the remark. He looked around but was surprised to find that the crowd didn't listen to the prisoner at all.

The blind man next to Li Huowang chanted, “Blame those involved; don’t blame those working. Blame those involved; don’t blame those working.”

Li Huowang decided to ignore the prisoner and focused on his job. Li Huowang finally knew why the military wanted outsiders like him to do this job and why it might affect him if he ever wanted to become an official or minister.

The cart traveled slowly, and they eventually reached a huge road next to the large red walls of the palace.

Li Huowang felt numerous gazes landing on him from above the palace wall, but he didn’t dare to look back, afraid of raising any suspicions. Li Huowang focused entirely on his job.

“Ji Song! You think you’ve won? We'll see about that! One day, you'll end up like me!” the prisoner roared toward the palace walls.

The people on the palace walls didn't reply as they stared quietly at the prisoner

The cart moved slowly, but it reached its destination without any accidents. The executioner was already waiting for them. It was already noon, and a crowd had formed at the execution site.

“Ji Man has been sentenced to death for treason, and there is no pardon for such a crime!”

A red token was thrown to the ground, and the prisoner was dragged out of the cage.

The prisoner was limp, and a yellow stain had marred his trousers.

The executioner promptly shackled the prisoner.

Li Huowang stared at the prisoner and found the latter's body to be a bit weird. His stomach was large, while his limbs were skinny. It didn’t look like a bulging stomach from excess fat. From what Li Huowang could see, there seemed to be countless tiny orbs trying to burst out of him beneath his skin.

The executioner sprayed the wine in his mouth onto his blade before raising it up high and decapitating the prisoner in one swing. Blood haphazardly scattered in the air, drenching the ground.

The executioner took off the prisoner's golden mask before presenting it with both hands to the minister.

The minister wrapped the mask with golden silk before running back into the palace with haste. The other ministers left as well, abandoning the corpse to grow cold on muddy ground.

The crowd rushed over to dip their white buns in the blood that had pooled beneath the corpse, and they ate the buns with relish. Two women even fought each other, as they had failed to dip their buns evenly into the blood.

Li Huowang scoffed at them.

Is that it? Is it really this easy? Li Huowang thought with a frown. He was about to leave when he turned around upon recalling something and approached the headless corpse.

Li Huowang took a dagger and sliced open the prisoner's abdomen. Numerous small orbs popped out of the corpse.

Hm? Li Huowang picked up one of the fist-sized orbs. The body of the "Emperor" is stuffed with pills. He was engorged by all the pills that had been forcefully stuffed into his stomach and intestines.

1. Sanxingdui, an archaeological site in China that has many bronze age artifacts. The types of masks found there are quite unique ☜

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