The Way of Sitting in Forgetfulness

Watching the abbess before him, Li Huowang held the longsword in one hand and bowed to her with great solemnity.

“Thank you, Abbess, for the sword! As long as I live, I will repay this kindness a thousandfold!”

Li Huowang was never good with words. He cared more about actions than speeches.

He knew perfectly well who treated him well and who treated him poorly.

Hearing this, the abbess’s tone instantly soured.

“Who said I was giving it to you? This is a sale. Don’t you think about welching—thirty thousand taels, plus interest, not a single coin less. You will pay it all back.”

“I know you don’t have the money right now, so here’s the deal: every time you have some spare cash, you send it via the courier post. A thousand taels of gold isn’t too much, and half a string of copper coins isn’t too little.”

“Alright, that’s enough business. You can go now. I won’t keep you for a meal—I doubt you could stomach the vegetarian fare here anyway. Remember to come again next time, and bring more pastries.”

With that, the abbess swiveled her obese body and began waddling back inside.

Seeing this, Li Huowang hurried forward to stop her. He still had other questions.

“Wait, Abbess. I have a few more trivial matters to ask.”

“Oh, you’re such a dawdler, child.” The abbess sounded thoroughly impatient. “Spit it out quickly. I need to nap after that meal.”

Standing his ground, Li Huowang thought for a few seconds before asking, “Abbess, I’m new to the Jianghu. I don’t understand the major powers of the world. Could you tell me a little about their taboos and their true depths?”

“What’s there to tell?” the abbess said, scratching her belly with obvious annoyance.

“You’re a Heart-Element. What else are you going to do when you run into people from other sects? Run.”

“That’s it?” Li Huowang was clearly taken aback.

“Of course that’s it. What, you think you’re going to walk over and have a chat with them? Didn’t you learn your lesson at Zhengde Temple?”

“You’re a Heart-Element. In other people’s eyes, you’re no different from a ginseng spirit leading a red string. Doesn’t matter what sect, doesn’t matter what person—if you can beat them, beat them; if you can’t, run.”

“And don’t even think about joining them. No sect has ever taken a bewildered Heart-Element as a disciple. Even Anci Nunnery won’t. If anyone says otherwise, they’re definitely plotting against you.”

The abbess’s words struck Li Huowang like a blow to the head.

“Besides you… is there truly no one else I can trust?”

“No. Who would help you for no reason?” Three layers of fat on the abbess’s chin wobbled as she shook her head.

Even though he had already suspected as much, hearing it confirmed by Jingxin still filled Li Huowang with dejection.

The road ahead would not be peaceful.

After carefully digesting this information, Li Huowang raised another question that had been gnawing at him.

“Abbess, could you tell me a little about how Anci Nunnery cultivates? How do you acquire your supernatural abilities?”

All this time, aside from knowing that the Ao-Jing Sect gained theirs through sacrifice to Bashe, he had been completely in the dark about how some people in this world obtained their powers.

“Haah…” The abbess yawned. “What use is that to you? Even if I told you, you couldn’t cultivate it. Haven’t you noticed that Anci Nunnery is all nuns?”

“That’s fine. Please enlighten me anyway.”

“Oh, it’s not that I won’t tell you. It’s just that this kind of technique can’t be read aloud with the mouth. It has to be written in Nüshu. And you’re a man…”

Hearing that, Li Huowang didn’t want to make things difficult for her.

“Then I thank the abbess for her guidance. Until we meet again.” He bowed once more and turned toward the door.

Just as he lowered his head to study the longsword he was holding in both hands, the abbess’s voice suddenly rang out behind him.

“Hold on. You interrupted me just now, and I almost forgot. I just remembered—there is one group of people you really need to watch out for.”

Li Huowang’s ears pricked up immediately. He spun around. “Please, do tell.”

“You listen carefully. That group is called the Zuowangdao.”

“Zuowangdao?” Li Huowang’s brow furrowed instinctively. He felt like he had heard those three syllables somewhere before.

But when he searched his memory, he found no recollection of the Zuowangdao at all.

“Hey, I’m talking to you, child. Why do you keep spacing out? If you don’t want to hear it, then I won’t say any more.”

“Abbess, please do explain. Why mention them specifically? Do these Zuowangdao not have a grudge against Heart-Elements?”

“No.”

“Everyone else—whether they rob you or kill you—has a reason. But the Zuowangdao are nothing like that.”

“These Zuowangdao… they’re a bunch of gamblers who love to swindle people.”

“Mm?” Li Huowang was baffled.

“The Zuowangdao aren’t mountain-bandit kings, and they aren’t a cultivation sect. Nobody really knows what they are. The only sure thing is that they love to toy with people. And when it comes to toying, they have no limits.”

“Besides gambling for money, what they love most is gambling with people.”

“Let me give you an example. They once pretended to be the emperor’s eunuchs and tricked an entire city’s worth of men into castrating themselves. They did it just because they were bored and wanted some amusement.”

Even after the abbess finished speaking, Li Huowang still didn’t understand what she was getting at.

His voice carried a hint of hesitation. “A bunch of con artists who love to gamble? But… what does that have to do with me?”

Out of all the forces that coveted him, why was the abbess singling this one out and going on about it without any clear direction?

“Oh, have you forgotten that you’re a Heart-Element who can’t tell truth from lies? If they run into you, what do you think they’ll do?”

“If they ever find out you’re a Heart-Element, things won’t be that simple.”

“Even so, why would I be tricked by a bunch of mortal gamblers who just play for money? Why are you so worried about this, Abbess?”

The abbess closed her eyes and shook her head. “They aren’t just a bunch of gamblers. I don’t know where they got some of their abilities, but they’re bizarre and troublesome.”

“On top of that, their specialty—sleight of hand—is incredibly powerful. It can fool even me.”

“Last time, one of their members even sneaked into Anci Nunnery, trying to trick us into breaking our vows. Luckily, we caught him. In the end, he saw the error of his ways and converted to Buddhism.”

“You remember this: the people in the Zuowangdao are not afraid of death. Whatever you do, don’t let them get their hooks into you, or more and more of them will come swarming.”

“They dare to trick even you?”

“Mm!” The abbess nodded emphatically. “They dare far more than tricking me. They even dared to try and trick the gods. I heard that a hundred years ago, a group of them spent over thirty years studying and scheming, and they actually managed to fool the God of Joy.”

“The God of Joy? The one in the Hu family shrine?” Li Huowang’s pupils contracted sharply.

“No, that’s the Joy God. I’m talking about the Wedding Joy God.” The abbess scratched at her rolls of fat with her dirt-blackened fingernails.