The Unsilenced Murmur

Li Huowang performed a Daoist salute toward Lü Zhuangyuan. “Troupe Leader Lü, I’m in your debt. When you reach Niu Xin Mountain, settle everyone down safely. I’ll catch up as soon as I’m finished here.”

What made Li Huowang comfortable entrusting him with leading the group was mainly the fact that there were almost no bandits on the roads of Daliang. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared.

“Master! I have spiritual powers now, just let me come along!” Lü Xiucai naturally wanted to go with Li Huowang, but neither Li Huowang nor his father agreed.

Li Huowang then turned to look at Xiucai. “Focus on learning your characters. If you don’t understand something, ask your father. He might not know every character, but he at least recognizes a few. Only once you can read every character can you truly learn your spiritual powers.”

Having said that, he shifted his attention to Zhao Wu and Yang Xiaohai on the cart, giving them instructions on various minor matters.

“Brother Li, don’t worry. I may not be strong enough to carry a load or fight, but as long as Zhao Wu is here, neither the silver nor the carts will be a single coin short,” Zhao Wu said.

Li Huowang was about to say something to him when his expression twisted. He whipped his head around and glared viciously at the empty space to his left.

“Brother Li? What’s wrong?”

Li Huowang’s face darkened for a moment, then cleared as quickly as a passing cloud. “Nothing. I’ve said all there is to say. Any more would just be wasted words. Let’s move out.”

With raised hands in farewell, the two groups parted ways, each growing smaller in the distance as they went their separate routes.

Lowering his hand awkwardly, Lü Juren cradled his son and turned to Lü Zhuangyuan. “Father, doesn’t that little Daoist feel a bit strange…”

Shooting a quick glance at Zhao Wu, Lü Zhuangyuan cut him off. “Aiya, what the little Daoist is off to do—is that really any of your business? If you’ve got any real ability, start by managing your own son properly first.”

“If you had the skill to get your son to pass even the county-level child exam, then our Lü family would truly be blessed with ancestors burning incense.”

“Father, what kind of talk is that.” A look of embarrassment crept over Lü Juren’s face. Holding his son, he fell silent.

Down an increasingly rough and winding path, Li Huowang and the others urged their two carts forward with the help of their donkeys.

With so few people, everyone could ride on the carts. There was no need to rush on foot, which also gave them the chance to conserve their strength for what lay ahead.

Li Huowang’s face was grim. He was still thinking about the chaotic murmuring he had just heard. He had only taken the Black Tai Sui last night, yet the sound was already back today. That proved the Black Tai Sui could not suppress the voice.

“Where exactly is the problem? What is wrong with me?” The calm composure Li Huowang had mustered was crumbling again, waves of terrifying speculation surging up in his mind.

Is Wang Wei drugging me? Or is my mental illness flaring up again? No—I’m not mentally ill! Maybe this is another manifestation of the Heart-Element! But is this manifestation good or bad?

Just as his fists were clenching tighter and tighter, a pair of soft hands covered the back of one of his hands.

Bai Lingmiao said nothing. She simply leaned in against him, quietly calming the growing agitation in his heart.

Li Huowang closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. When he opened his eyes again, he forced the irritation down.

“Don’t panic. It’s just occasional auditory hallucinations. Nothing major. At least for now, they’re only occasional and have no real effect.”

“I’ve been through worse than this. It’s just ordinary auditory hallucinations. What’s there to be afraid of?”

“There will always be troublesome things. No matter what’s causing this, I’ll deal with it one step at a time, just like everything else with the Heart-Element.”

“The immediate priority is to pass the Supervisory Heavenly Office’s test. The auditory hallucinations have to wait.”

Having sorted out his thoughts, Li Huowang raised his head to look at the others.

“I didn’t have time to say this before, but now that I do, I’ll lay it out. The enemy we’re about to face is the Zuowandao.”

“In short, they’re a bunch of liars—liars with supernatural abilities.”

“And one more thing. Remember this: the Zuowandao can change their faces. Be wary of everyone who gets close to you. If you let your guard down for even a moment, you might fall right into their trap.”

Hearing this, everyone immediately set aside their own concerns and listened intently.

In the past, they had always been forced to react to enemies, but this time they were actively seeking trouble with them. The tension among the group was mixed with a thread of excitement.

Li Huowang shared every piece of information he had about the Zuowandao in as much detail as he could.

They were his allies. The more they knew now, the more useful they might prove in the future.

Just as they were listening with rapt attention, the sound of hooves rose from ahead.

Soon, rows of sturdy warhorses cut Li Huowang off from the road, separating him and the rest of the travelers.

“Aiya, what big shot is this?” Gouwa’s eyes were wide with curiosity.

Through the gaps between the horses’ legs, Li Huowang first saw the large avoidance placard held high by guards.

Behind the placard came four men beating gongs. Behind the gong-beaters came a group of beardless men with an effeminate air.

Behind those hundred-plus beardless men, Li Huowang caught sight of the luxurious carriage, as large as a small house.

A fat man in a yellow robe, wearing a jade thumb ring on his left thumb, was snoring in the center of a jade mat. He was presumably the one in charge.

Just as Li Huowang was examining the yellow four-clawed dragon banner, an old man nearby was saying to his grandson, “The prince is on tour. Kneel down. Hurry up.”

“So this is… the prince of Yinling City?”

Li Huowang studied the snoring fat man carefully, then looked at the woman kneeling beside him, fanning him.

From the celadon-blue patterns on their faces, it was obvious that they had come from the Linglong Pagoda.

When he snapped back to the present, he realized that everyone around him had already knelt down—even Bai Lingmiao and Gouwa. Sitting upright on the cart, he stood out like a glaring sore thumb.

“Insolent! Who dares to remain kneeling?” Several cavalrymen with ill intent, swords hanging from their waists, quickly surrounded Li Huowang.

Before he could speak, they had already drawn their blades.

Looking at them, Li Huowang thought for a moment, then reached out and produced his waist token.

The moment they saw the words “Supervisory Heavenly Office,” the cavalrymen’s expressions shifted. They sheathed their weapons immediately.

“Our apologies, sir. This lowly one was rude. Please forgive us.” The cavalryman clasped his hands in a salute, then turned and led his men away.

Watching their retreating backs, an inexplicable wave of nausea rose in Li Huowang’s throat. The realization that the Supervisory Heavenly Office existed precisely to secure the rule of men like this prince turned his stomach.

“Everyone else in this world has been twisted into something else. So why hasn’t the madness infected these people too?” Li Huowang thought to himself as he stared at the fat man.

“All of you, get up. Don’t kneel.”

After the prince had passed, the journey was uneventful. Nothing out of the ordinary happened all the way to the place they called Gan Yuan Village.

At the foot of a large mountain, Gan Yuan Village—with its stretch of green roof tiles connected one to the next—appeared before Li Huowang for the first time.

Judging by its scale, it was a normal, sizable village. No different from any of the other villages he had passed on the road.