Mutated Tao

“Senior Zhuge, I think that Sitting Oblivion Dao member really thought he was me.” Li Huowang said, looking up at Zhuge Yuan. He truly didn't expect that the Sitting Oblivion Dao member could steal his black spindle and weapon. To make matters worse, he had perfectly impersonated Li Huowang.

He must’ve made his move when I was stuck in the hallucination underwater. Perhaps he was the one who wanted to make sure that I'd get stuck in the hallucination!

Li Huowang recalled seeing a childish middle-aged man inside the White Tower Prison. Li Huowang was convinced that the childish middle-aged man was the persona of the Sitting Oblividion Dao, who had imitated him in real life.

“I also saw someone else while we were inside the belly of that monster! Perhaps that man had been waiting for you in the belly of that monster,” the monk said, reminding Li Huowang of what he had seen.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Hong Zhong clicked his tongue as he walked up to the corpse. Then, he imitated the old monk's prayer to corpses and walked in circles around the corpse.

Everything was over, and Li Huowang had an explanation as to how the Sitting Oblivion Dao member had managed to impersonate him.

However, why did he decide to impersonate Li Huowang? Wouldn't his plan fail if Li Huowang had encountered "Li Huowang"?

Zhuge Yuan unfurled his fan, attracting Li Huowang's attention.

Li Huowang saw the same four words on the paper fan—"everyone has their values."

“No need to worry. They're here for me. They don't dare to approach me without any disguises, so they decided to use your identity to get close to me. Their plan would have worked if you hadn't arrived here in time," Zhuge Yuan said.

Zhuge Yuan then turned around to leave.

Li Huowang picked up his belongings and followed behind Zhuge Yuan. “I’m sorry. If it hadn't been for me, you wouldn't be facing such issues right now.”

Li Huowang was truly caught off guard by Zhuge Yuan's revelation. The fact that the Sitting Oblivion Dao's target wasn't Li Huowang himself was a bit of a hard pill to swallow for the latter, as both the Sitting Oblivion Dao and he had always butted heads whenever they stumbled upon each other.

Zhuge Yuan smiled faintly at Li Huowang's apology and replied, “Don't worry. This isn't the first time, so I've gotten used to it. They've been harassing me nonstop since I killed Fa Cai."

Li Huowang looked and saw the corpse vanishing in the morning fog. He imagined the entire Sitting Oblivion Dao chasing after him, and he instantly felt suffocated. The Sitting Oblivion Dao members could replace anyone around him, after all.

Li Huowang turned around and looked at Zhuge Yuan. Zhuge Yuan seemed to be doing fine despite the Sitting Oblivion Dao's quest for revenge. In other words, Zhuge Yuan was exceptionally strong.

He must be stronger than Dan Yangzi! No, he must be even stronger than Dan Yangzi, even though the latter has become a half-immortal.

While Li Huowang was deep in contemplation, Zhuge Yuan frowned at Li Huowang's torso and said, “Junior Li, there seems to be something alive inside you. Should I take it out for you?”

Li Sui’s tentacles riddled with eyeballs poked out from Li Huowang’s belly button and cast a curious look at Zhuge Yuan.

Li Huowang shoved the tentacles back into his belly button and said, “Don’t worry. It’s just a Black Taisui. He's taking over my body, but he's the only one capable of suppressing my hallucination.”

“I see. I think I’ve read about that once, but it's my first time seeing someone actually employ such a method," Zhuge Yuan said, nodding. Then, he recalled something and asked, “Wait, did you remove the first Black Taisui in your stomach and eat another one?”

Li Huowang was confused by the question, but he still responded, “I did think of doing that, but I want to keep it as a last resort."

“Don’t ever do it. I’ve read that you will suffer a miserable death if you do that.”

Li Huowang was delighted by Zhuge Yuan's news. Otherwise, Li Huowang would have perished without knowing how he had perished. The incident had allowed the two to become even closer to each other.

Their stroll became one of the rare moments in Li Huowang's life when he didn't have to worry about someone trying to kill him. The two strolled for an hour before they arrived at an elegant two-story building. The building was completely green, and the dark green bamboo forest provided a great camouflage for it.

In addition, the entire building was sticking out of the ground, which meant its pillars were hidden underground.

“I hope you don't mind stepping into my simple abode,” Zhuge Yuan said, pushing the door open and gesturing to Li Huowang to come in.

The building had no locks, but Li Huowang knew that there was no way a thief could come in here. The interior also emitted a scholarly vibe; there were caricatures, paintings, and poems hanging on the walls.

Li Huowang could tell that every single painting was one of a kind. A certain painting caught Li Huowang's eyes: a painting depicting a white sedan chair being carried by four yellow skeletons. A white weasel holding a white lantern was standing at the helm and was guiding the sedan bearers down the right path.

The majority of the paintings were portraits of human beings, and there were portraits of men, women, elderly people, and children.

It seems that Zhuge Yuan enjoys painting portraits of other people; the paintings are very realistic as well.

Zhuge Yuan sat on a cushion and prepared some tea. “Junior Li, what type of tea would you like? Mountain’s Essence? How about Gentleman’s Silver?”

“I’m fine with either,” Li Huowang said as he sat across from Zhuge Yuan to watch him prepare tea.

Li Huowang had many burning questions, but he didn’t want to interrupt Zhuge Yuan.

Li Huowang decided to wait patiently and watch. Of course, he had no idea what Zhuge Yuan was doing, but Li Huowang could feel that Zhuge Yuan was doing something that required focus and true skill.

“Thrice-brewed Gentlemen’s Silver. The tea leaves on Xing Island are excellent, but the water here is ordinary, so I hope you won’t mind the taste.”

Li Huowang took a sip and realized that Zhuge Yuan had put away the utensils he had used to make tea, replacing them with a game board. The board was for a game called Go[1].

Li Huowang didn't even bother waiting for Zhuge Yuan's explanation as he placed a black stone on the board. “Senior Zhuge, why did you help me? Are you a Strayed One like me?”

Li Huowang's heart beat wildly against his chest as he waited for Zhuge Yuan's reply.

Zhuge Yuan placed a white stone on the board and answered, “No, even though both of us have the word ‘One,' I am not a Strayed One. I'm a Twisted One.”

“You're a Twisted One?” Li Huowang asked, sounding disappointed. While he was on the passenger ship to Xing Island, Li Huowang had pondered over the matter and concluded that Zhuge Yuan was a Strayed One.

Li Huowang was disappointed, as he knew his life would become much easier if there were a powerful senior guiding him in this crazy world. At the very least, he wouldn't have to risk his life so often.

Li Huowang sighed, but he was still curious, so he asked, “Twisted? What does that mean?”

Zhuge Yuan made sure that the tea leaves wouldn't enter his mouth as he took a sip of his tea before replying, “Washing the windowsill during a good day; one will find the snake and the earthworm twisted together in the soil. The Twisted One’s character is using the very same character as the 'Twisted' snake and earthworm[2]. Junior Li, it’s your turn.”

1. A game where players have to surround the pieces of others using their own pieces ☜

2. He’s basically flexing by reciting a poem and telling Li Huowang what character of ‘Twisted’ was it. Man, this guy would be best friends with Jin Shanzhao ☜

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