Mutated Tao

"Oh, it’s another rebellion by the Dharma Sect and the encirclement of the Sitting Oblivion Dao. The people are all dispersed for their duties.”

Nangong seemed a bit annoyed about the ongoing situation.

Li Huowang felt his heart tighten. “How is the encirclement of the Sitting Oblivion Dao going?”

“Go and see for yourself; I’m too busy right now.”

Li Huowang opened the thick book and looked at the wanted posters depicting the members of the Sitting Oblivion Dao. There were phrases written in large blocks, and the phrases were all demanding for their execution.

Li Huowang was relieved. The Surveillance Bureau was doing a really good job in dealing with the Sitting Oblivion Dao.

With the records in this booklet combined with the previous battle in the capital, Li Huowang estimated that the pawns[1] had been mostly eradicated.

Even without the Three Officials and Four Joys, the Surveillance Bureau had still profited a ton. All four Bei Fengs, three Dong Fengs, two Hong Zhongs, one Bai Ban, and one Fa Cai had perished.

Moreover, one of the Shai Zis had died as well. The remaining Shai Zi would have to lead the Sitting Oblivion Dao by themselves.

“Our Surveillance Bureau has truly put in a lot of effort to deal with the Sitting Oblivion Dao,” Li Huowang said to Nangong behind the wooden cabinet while flipping through the pages.

“It's not just that. I heard that we also enlisted the help of some orthodox sects in addition to creating contracts with the Surveillance Bureaus of other countries. We spent a ton of money to persuade them to help us."

“Orthodox sects?” Li Huowang asked, and he frowned upon recalling some unpleasant memories.

“Yeah, but it’s hard to find members of the Sitting Oblivion Dao right now. They've gone into complete hiding, and we haven’t caught anyone in the past month.”

Li Huowang nodded silently. Shai Zi had threatened him, and he was in a bad spot himself.

However, Shai Zi was in a spot, too.

It seemed that his chance of winning wasn’t too bad.

The most difficult part here was the fact that Bai Lingmiao was in his hands. Winning was pointless if Bai Lingmiao ended up dying.

Li Huowang closed the booklet in his hand and looked at Nangong again, “Why haven’t I seen any wanted notices for the Sitting Oblivion Dao’s Shai Zi?”

“Oh? You know quite a bit. You even know about Shai Zis. Anyway, handling them is the responsibility of the Surveillance Bureaus' Chief. A Shai Zi is the head of the Sitting Oblivion Dao, after all. Ordinary people won't cut it.”

Chief... Li Huowang remembered the three pairs of hands with strangely long nails beneath the cloak.

It wasn't surprising that the Chief could handle a Shai Zi. However, even he himself, a Hong Zhong from the Sitting Oblivion Dao, had no idea where Shai Zi's true body was at the moment. Could they really find Shai Zi?

Hang on, what if the Sitting Oblivion Dao members of the Great Qi are still here? Had they conspired to ambush the Chief? The thought alone sent a chill down Li Huowang’s spine.

“Brother Li, rest assured, they are not Twisted Ones. After all, they are people of Great Qi. They can’t stay in Great Liang for too long,” Zhuge Yuan replied.

Li Huowang breathed a sigh of relief.

Moreover, the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau knew that the Sitting Oblivion Dao of the Great Qi was coming, so he had to have prepared countermeasures.

“By the way, Brother Nangong, there’s been a lot of commotion in the capital recently. Do you have any inside information from the Surveillance Bureau?”

The indifferent-looking Nangong suddenly looked solemn, and his voice sounded distant for some reason as he said, “Er Jiu, you know the rules of the Surveillance Bureau. We never participate in the struggle for power in the imperial family. If you want to find inside information, don’t come to the Surveillance Bureau. You won't be able to find anything at all. There's none even in the Four Repositories. Since we’re acquainted, though, I’ll give you my two cents. You're the Seventh Banner, but you have no official position. In the Bureau, your status isn't really that high. In other words, the Bureau won't intervene If you insist on getting involved.

“However, if something untoward was to happen to you, the Bureau wouldn't come and collect your corpse. The Bureau wouldn't assist you, too, if you somehow got abducted and are being tortured. In other words, I want you to think properly about it.

“The coronation of the new emperor is a major event. Does the Bureau really not care about it?”

“Why would the Bureau care about it? The Surveillance Bureau does have some matters to discuss with the emperor, but the emperor's position isn’t stable yet. Let them fight it out. The winner will become emperor. This kind of sight is common throughout history, and the Bureau has long gotten accustomed to them. Also, you don't have to worry; the civil and military officials aren't blind. A few people will die at most; the foundation of the country will not be shaken, and someone will step in if something actually goes wrong.”

The Surveillance Bureau was even more indifferent to the succession war than Li Huowang had imagined. They only cared about when the most devious and strongest king would appear and how many Gus would die during the breeding process. They didn't even want to take a look at what was going on.

“Thank you for the advice, Brother Nangong,” Li Huowang said. Since he couldn't gather relevant information here, he didn’t linger and made his way back to his house.

Li Huowang sat on a stool beneath the short tree in the courtyard of the house that Ji Xiang had given to him. He silently pondered over the information he had gathered in the capital so far.

Li Huowang reaffirmed his objectives. His goal was to rescue Bai Lingmiao and assist the Surveillance Bureau in eliminating Shai Zi if possible.

After the first time, there would definitely be a second time. A problem had to be destroyed at its roots for it to be eradicated; only the dead posed no threat to himself.

However, achieving these two goals was extremely difficult.

He didn’t know where Shai Zi's true body was located, and he also had no idea where Bai Lingmiao was being held captive. In fact, he didn't even know how to start looking for her.

Li Huowang's gaze grew more resolute as he thought about it. He clenched his fists and thought, I'm still too weak. I can't afford to stop cultivating!

This isn’t just about Zhuge Yuan's revival. This also concerns my beloved ones in this chaotic world. I don’t even know if there are still any spies from the Sitting Oblivion Dao here in the capital or if they have been eradicated. I’ll stick to Shai Zi’s plan for now and accumulate resources while waiting for an opportunity to strike. There are definitely people here who are nursing a grudge against Shai Zi. Both the imperial family of Great Liang and the Surveillance Bureau harbor deep hatred toward him.

But how can I sow discord among them to achieve my goals?

“Boss Hong Zhong, you need to be careful. Boss Shai Zi knows your identity. Push him into a corner, and he might reveal your Strayed One status and your affiliation with the Sitting Oblivion Dao to the world. Things will become interesting by then.”

“I’m not from the Sitting Oblivion Dao!” Li Huowang roared.

“Hahaha! Surely, you jest, Boss Hong Zhong."

Li Huowang stood up abruptly and glared at the Sitting Oblivion Dao illusion. The next moment, he clenched his fist and struck the illusion’s face.

The illusion of the Sitting Oblivion Dao sat on the ground in a daze. After a while, he realized what had just happened and exclaimed, “Hahaha! I’m alive! I’m alive!”

Li Sui’s tentacles reached over and wrapped around him, but they passed through his figure.

“Hahaha! You’re dead again! The Daoist has bamboozled you!” the monk exclaimed and laughed heartily at the Sitting Oblivion Dao illusion's dismay.

1. Tiao Zis, Bing Zis, Wan Zis ☜

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