Mutated Tao

Li Huowang stared at the masked man in shock.

The black and white hair strands on the side of the masked man's face made it clear that he wasn't young at all. Regardless of his age, however, it was impossible for him to be a grandmaster from Great Qi!

If the masked man were from the Great Qi, then he would be over a thousand years old. Li Huowang stepped back and looked around. For some reason, he felt that he had unknowingly crossed into a weird place.

The others were surprised by Li Huowang’s reaction. “Lord Zhuge, he's…”

“Oh, he's fine. Brother Li is a good friend of mine, and he has his unique way of doing things.”

Zhuge Yuan turned to the masked man and asked, “Qin Lao, who were they? Why were they chasing you?”

Qin Lao seemed indignant as he cried out, “They are the lapdogs of the eunuchs! We were on our way to a secret meeting at the Three Kings’ Mansion, but they ambushed us. This is no coincidence! There's a traitor in the Bureau!"

Zhuge Yuan was surprised. “Oh? There are traitors among the eunuchs of the Bureau? I had no idea that the court was in such turmoil.”

“Yes, exactly! Our ancestral teachings say that imperial power should not interfere with the Surveillance Bureau. Considering those eunuchs' influence, no one cares about the rules anymore. Without rules, everything is in chaos!”

Li Huowang went back to the noodle stall, allowing Zhuge Yuan to talk with the members of the Surveillance Bureau. Li Huowang sighed in relief upon seeing that the customers were still eating noodles and the couple was still cooking noodles.

It seemed that Li Huowang hadn't inadvertently crossed into a weird world.

Li Huowang walked up to the old man cooking noodles and solemnly asked, “Old man, may I ask something? Are we in Great Qi or Great Liang?”

The old man looked confused and opened his mouth, revealing his few remaining teeth to respond, “What? Great Qi? Where is that? We’ve always been in the Great Liang Kingdom.”

The old man’s words confirmed Li Huowang’s assumption. He had traversed the entire Great Liang—from the border of Qing Qiu to Xing Island—Apart from what he had heard from Zhuge Yuan, he had never come across a place called Great Qi.

Right, we're in Great Liang. What's up with that Great Qi Grandmaster, then? Where is he from? I have to clarify this, thought Li Huowang. He turned around and walked toward the woods when a group of people emerged from the woods

Zhuge Yuan supported the so-called Great Qi Grandmaster, and they were walking at the helm of the group. Among the survivors, they seemed to hold the highest status. The Miao woman from the Sitting Oblivion Dao was among them as well.

“Brother Li, good thing I found you. Qin Lao is seriously injured. We'll go ahead and let him rest in your carriage,” Zhuge Yuan said.

“Brother Zhuge, I need to talk to you. Come to me later. There’s something I want to ask,” Li Huowang said.

Zhuge Yuan nodded and helped Qin Lao into the carriage. Then, he walked over to Li Huowang and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Li Huowang stared deeply at Zhuge Yuan's face. He wasn't convinced that Zhuge Yuan was deceiving him. If he were being deceived, it wouldn’t be for such a ridiculous reason.

“Brother Zhuge, tell me the truth. What’s going on?”

“Oh? Brother Li, I don’t understand what you're talking about. I’ve always been upright, and I have never lied to anyone.”

“All right, come with me, then,” Li Huowang said, bringing Zhuge Yuan to the noodle stall and asking the same question he had asked the old man earlier.

Li Huowang then turned to Zhuge Yuan with a questioning look.

“What? Great Liang? Where is that? We’ve always been in the Great Qi Kingdom,” replied the old man.

“What?!” Li Huowang looked at the old man in shock. If the old man weren’t just an ordinary person, Li Huowang would think that he was a member of the Sitting Oblivion Dao and was trying to lie to him.

“Old man, that wasn't what you said to me earlier.”

“Earlier? Sir, I'm sorry, but this is our first conversation."

“You...!” Li Huowang pointed at the old man and was about to say something when Zhuge Yuan’s folding fan blocked Li Huowang’s pointed finger.

“All right, all right, let’s discuss these trivial matters later, Brother Li. Qin Lao is seriously injured. Our priority is to get him to receive treatment,” Zhuge Yuan said. Then, he turned around and walked up to the carriage. "Qin Lao, don’t worry! The Black Taisui in the carriage is bound securely! It's not going to harm you!”

Li Huowang looked at Zhuge Yuan’s back with a puzzled expression as his suspicion grew even stronger. Everything appeared really strange to him. Moments later, Li Huowang emerged from his contemplation and turned to the old man beside him.

"Are we in Great Liang or Great Qi?”

“Great Liang. Why are you asking me that question again?"

Li Huowang was no longer surprised upon hearing the old man’s words. The changes had to be related to Zhuge Yuan's power as a Twisted One, but Li Huowang couldn't figure out how Zhuge Yuan was doing all this.

“Woof, woof!” Bun popped its head out from under the carriage, barking at Li Huowang. It seemed anxious that a group of strangers had taken the reins of its master’s carriage. Li Huowang picked up the pace and caught up with them. The matter wasn't over yet, and he was determined to ask Zhuge Yuan what was going on.

After a few hours, the group finally began tending to their injuries, convinced that their attackers were gone. Li Huowang observed them silently. Aside from the Great Qi Grandmaster and the Miao woman from the Sitting Oblivion Dao, everyone wore peculiar clothes. They seemed to be people from a variety of places, which made sense as they were members of the Surveillance Bureau, famous for its diverse members.

The group was also keeping a close eye on Li Huowang. If it hadn't been for Zhuge Yuan introducing Li Huowang as his friend, they wouldn’t have relaxed their guard around someone like Li Huowang.

It couldn't be helped as Li Huowang gave off an air of mystery and aloofness from his get-up, which consisted of a black bamboo hat, and a red Daoist robe stained with blood. To make matters worse, he also had a Black Taisui tied up in the carriage.

The air between the two groups was cold. Zhuge Yuan had been attempting to improve it, but the results weren't exactly that great.

The Great Qi Surveillance Bureau was wary of Li Huowang, and Li Huowang was similarly wary of them, who were allegedly from Great Qi. Just like that, the group continued their journey to the capital amidst the air of distrust so thick it was palpable.

Meanwhile, Li Huowang made sure to pay extra attention to the member of the Sitting Oblivion Dao in this group of people from the Great Qi Surveillance Bureau. Li Huowang wasn't sure why she had infiltrated the group, her motives were unclear as well.

Li Huowang was already aware of her identity as a member of the Sitting Oblivion Dao, but he had no intention of exposing her right now, thinking that he might be able to use her to lure out Bei Feng.

Chacha and Char's Thoughts

This is Ji Xiang, the man hounding after the Muddled Ones. First appearing in Chapter 334. Credits to 格子的乱七八糟 on douyin

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