Mutated Tao

Does that mean Bei Feng is different from the other Sitting Oblivion Dao members? And why can't I control my hallucinations? Is it because I can’t control the primordial breath? Did Bei Feng manage to control his hallucination because he learned how to control his primordial breath?

Li Huowang slowly analyzed Sima Lan's words while calmly listening to the latter's explanation. After all, Sima Lan's words were the words of his deceased family head.

What if the family head was wrong? Li Huowang had gone through so many things that he had learned to doubt the veracity of the stories told by others in this world.

Li Huowang hesitated but did not question Sima Lan’s explanation out loud, as questioning the words of the Mo Family Head was both impolite and borderline insulting.

“Are you trying to find Bei Feng? What did he do to you?” Sima Lan asked, sensing that Li Huowang and the Sitting Oblivion Dao had a long history with each other.

Li Huowang grimaced as he clenched his fist, and his voice sounded deep as he said, “It’s not just Bei Feng! I detest everyone in the Sitting Oblivion Dao! They had disguised themselves as our six elders in the Ao Jing Sect!”

Sima Lan nodded calmly as if it was a common occurrence.

“Do not be too fixated on revenge. You'll be an easy target to trick once they discover your obsession," Sima Lan advised.

“Thank you for your advice. I understand.”

“Take your time to read the books here. If you don’t understand anything, go and find Nangong. I have some matters to do, so I will leave now,” said Sima Lan. Then, he turned around to leave, but he had just taken two steps when he came to a halt and said, “Oh, you might be out of luck if you're looking for the Sitting Oblivion Dao.

"The Storyteller had just killed Fa Cai, so the Sitting Oblivion Dao must be looking for the Storyteller to avenge Fa Cai. You might find it difficult to find them.”

Sima Lan’s casual remark made Li Huowang’s heart beat even faster. The Storyteller? Zhuge Yuan?

“Senior Sima, is that true?” Li Huowang asked urgently.

“Of course. The Storyteller just killed one of the Three Officials, and the rest of the Sitting Oblivion Dao is definitely not going to just stand by and let him go. Two days ago, there were reports of people spotting the Storyteller fighting against the Sitting Oblivion Dao. You don’t have to worry about your revenge for now since someone’s taking care of it for you. Isn’t that great?” Sima Lan said before finally stepping out of the screen.

Left all alone, Li Huowang turned to the pale-looking eunuch.

“Please find all the records you can about Zhuge Yuan, as well as anything that has the word Storyteller in it!”

The pale-looking eunuch soon returned, but rather than a stack of documents, he was only carrying a single, thin book.

“Do we only have a book about Zhuge Yuan?” Li Huowang asked, sounding confused.

“There are more in the sixth archive, sir, but you need to be a Third General to read them.”

Li Huowang sighed. Why is the Surveillance Bureau doing this? Hiding information here and there. Are they not worried that someone will end up destroying an entire nation because they failed to get certain information?

Li Huowang picked up the book and focused on reading. The information in the book was roughly the same as what he already knew, aside from a few details.

According to the Surveillance Bureau, there were numerous Storytellers, and Zhuge Yuan was just one of them.

Whenever they appeared, a massive change would occur in that place. The Storytellers would appear haphazardly, and no one knew their headquarters.

The Surveillance Bureau usually doesn't bother with those who aren't threats to the existence of the Liang Kingdom.

However, it wasn't the same for Zhuge Yuan.

Storyteller Zhuge Yuan has been spreading rumors and propaganda. Kill on sight.

The Emperor of the Liang Kingdom had passed down such an order. Of course, Zhuge Yuan would be fine so long as he stayed out of the Surveillance Bureau's radar, but the Surveillance Bureau would definitely do everything in its power to kill Zhuge Yuan once he was found.

Li Huowang was certain that the Surveillance Bureau had more records of Zhuge Yuan, but he couldn’t read them with his current rank.

I think the Surveillance Bureau knows more about Zhuge Yuan's personality. Is he really that kind? Why did he become a Storyteller? What if he's a storyteller in the literal sense of the word? Why did he snatch away that Muddled One last time?

Li Huowang carefully pondered over those questions. Then, he pressed his abdomen and felt the spindle underneath it.

Zhuge Yuan had given him a helping hand. If it hadn't been for him, Li Huowang would have been in grave danger.

“We will meet again in the future, Er Jiu. My name is Zhuge Yuan. If you have problems that you can’t resolve, come and find me at Xing Island in the Western Seas. My powers are limited, but I will help you as much as I can.”

Zhuge Yuan had said such words to Li Huowang, but Li Huowang knew that he couldn't trust others so easily in this world. Moreover, whether Zhuge Yuan was truly a kind person or not was still debatable.

Li Huowang thought for a long time before shaking his head and walking out from the screen. Whether he trusted Zhuge Yuan or not didn't really matter to him. Li Huowang would have to find him anyway if he wanted to uncover Bei Feng's whereabouts.

“This is your first time here, so let me show you the way out.”

“Do you have a map of the Liang Kingdom? The more detailed it is, the better.”

Under the pale-looking eunuch’s guidance, Li Huowang arrived back at the plaza with the celestial globe. Li Huowang sighed as he stared at the massive globe.

Li Huowang was holding a map in hand, and the location of the Western Seas had been marked on the map—he had marked exactly where Zhuge Yuan had told him to go if he ever needed help.

Unfortunately, it was a pretty distant place. Li Huowang wanted to leave the same day, but it was already dusk by the time he finished purchasing the rations and the items he would need for the trip.

Li Huowang sat at a roadside stall and stared at the sunset. The streets of Shangjing dimmed as the sun vanished into the horizon.

I need to rest properly today because I'll depart tomorrow. Regardless of what Zhuge Yuan thinks of me, I'm sure I'll have to risk my life on this journey.

“Sir, your noodles and meat buns are here. I'll place your vinegar on this saucer.”

Li Huowang pushed the vinegar away. Meat buns are desserts; why are they dipping their desserts in vinegar? The people here are crazy, too, not just the world itself.

Bun caught a whiff of the fragrant food, and it nudged Li Huowang’s leg with its nose.

Li Huowang gave Bun some noodles and a few meat buns before ignoring it outright.

Bun needs to lose some weight.

The stall owner approached Li Huowang while wiping his hands on his apron. “Dear customer, you can take it slow today. The sun is setting, but we don’t have a curfew today. It’s the week before the New Year, after all.”

Li Huowang nodded and continued with his meal. So it has been another year…

On that night, Li Huowang lay on his bed and listened to the din outside. The people were celebrating outside, creating a festive atmosphere. However, Li Huowang wasn't interested in them at all, as he was too worried about the dangers he would soon face. He couldn't get his heart to calm down.

Li Huowang knew that it would be dangerous, but there was no way he could increase his strength drastically in such a short period of time. He couldn't even refine artifacts using the body of a Strayed One. After all, how could he use his own body as a material?

Hm? Wait a minute…

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