The Storyteller

Li Huowang looked up and saw a black pigeon staring down at him from above—the one Tuoba Danqing used to send messages.

He untied the letter from the pigeon's leg, read the contents, and immediately abandoned his meal, turning toward the door.

Li Huowang had never expected that the Chief Recorder was still in Yinling City. Not only had he not left, but he had specifically demanded a meeting. This was an opportunity.

To Li Huowang's surprise, the meeting place the Chief Recorder had chosen was not some grand hall but a modest, somewhat shabby study.

It seemed the old eunuch's style was completely different from Tuoba Danqing's wasteful extravagance.

The moment he stepped inside, Li Huowang's eyes were instantly drawn to a withered human tongue.

It was a desiccated tongue, its root pinned through by a coffin nail into a腐朽 wooden ruyi scepter.

The sight triggered an immediate memory—this was the artifact Tuoba Danqing had bragged about before, a treasure made from the tongue of a Heart-Element.

Li Huowang took a slow breath in, then let it out just as slowly. He performed a measured Daoist salute toward the pale-faced old eunuch, who was clicking away at an abacus.

"I pay my respects to the Chief Recorder."

"Heh heh heh~ We're not in the palace. No need for such formalities among family. Sit, sit."

Following the Chief Recorder's gesture, Li Huowang saw that tea had already been prepared on the side table.

Li Huowang did not sit. Instead, he cut straight to the point. "May I ask the Chief Recorder, is there some important matter you wish to assign me?"

He remembered how panicked the eunuch had been when he rode away on his horse back then. Yet now he sat here calm and steady as ever. Something must have happened that Li Huowang didn't know about.

"Oh, hehe~ No rush, no rush. I hear you're quite something, kid?"

Being sized up by an old eunuch made Li Huowang deeply uncomfortable.

"Hong Da said the three of them ganged up on you, and you still managed to escape? Having you serve as just a lowly Ren Wu is frankly an underuse of your talents."

Li Huowang knew better than to take this as a compliment. His heart tensed. "Chief Recorder, please speak plainly."

"Fine. You're straightforward, so I'll be straightforward too. I think you've already guessed what my last assignment was?"

Seeing Li Huowang stand there in silence, the Chief Recorder continued. "That's right. My last task was to retrieve the Heart-Mud hidden in the Buddha Bone Temple. But that job failed! So what do you think I should do about it?"

"Going back and accepting punishment is obviously not an option. So we need to make up for it!"

The seated Chief Recorder suddenly stood up. "Let me give you the bottom line: this matter is no small affair. We cannot afford to screw it up again!"

As he spoke, he dug his finger into the redwood tabletop, dragging a harsh line across its surface.

"If this task isn't completed, everyone in this chain—including us—might get uprooted!"

After hearing all this, Li Huowang understood. "Chief Recorder, are you saying... we should find another Heart-Mud to hand over?"

"Clever! The Supervisory Heavenly Office needs people with brains like you!" The Chief Recorder's round face broke into a grin.

"Never mind where the Heart-Mud comes from. The higher-ups want a Heart-Mud, so we give them a Heart-Mud. Only this time, instead of a dead one from the Buddha Bone Temple, we're going to catch a live one."

Hearing this, Li Huowang's heart immediately began pounding faster. "A living Heart-Mud? An existence like me, a living Heart-Element?"

He didn't even know the creature's name, yet a flicker of sympathy stirred in his chest for this Heart-Mud.

While Li Huowang was still weighing the decision, the Chief Recorder's next words hit him like a bomb.

"I understand. This isn't official Office business. There's no pay, and catching a living Heart-Mud is certainly dangerous. I won't hold it against you if you're not willing."

"But Danqing told me you've been wanting to see the documents in the Four Repositories about the Zuowandao, haven't you? As long as you pull this off cleanly, I'll risk being dismissed from office to personally go to the Four Repositories and transcribe those texts from memory for you!"

Li Huowang's breathing grew heavy. On one side, a Heart-Mud he had never met; on the other, the information that could determine whether he could escape being a Heart-Element. The choice seemed easy.

Li Huowang performed another Daoist salute. "Yes, Chief Recorder!"

Seeing Li Huowang agree, the Chief Recorder beamed like a blooming flower. All he could do was tempt this free agent—if Li Huowang refused, there would be nothing he could do.

And he had heard this kid had a bad temper. Threats might just backfire. But fortunately, he had agreed. That improved his odds a little.

Watching the eunuch, Li Huowang felt a sudden impulse. "Chief Recorder, last time at the Buddha Bone Temple, someone snatched the Heart-Mud from us. Won't that person interfere again this time?"

"For that matter, who is this person? Daring to steal from the Supervisory Heavenly Office?"

The Chief Recorder waved a dismissive hand. "Heart-Mud isn't like other things. One is enough. Zhuge Yuan won't come for another one. If a living and a dead Heart-Mud were to merge, that would be more than he could handle."

"And don't worry. With Facai dead, until a new Facai takes his place among the Zuowandao, they won't be making trouble either."

"So this time, aside from the living Heart-Mud, you don't need to worry about anything else."

The Chief Recorder chuckled and reached out to pat Li Huowang's shoulder, but Li Huowang frowned slightly.

The man had talked for a long time but had completely ignored his earlier question. Li Huowang still couldn't tell whether Zhuge Yuan was friend or foe.

"Chief Recorder, who exactly is this Zhuge Yuan? He's so strange. I'm afraid I might run into him again and would appreciate any guidance you can offer."

Li Huowang lifted his head, meeting the Chief Recorder's eyes with a hint of stubborn persistence.

Since the man needed something from him, if he didn't ask now, he might never get another chance.

Hearing Li Huowang press the issue, the Chief Recorder couldn't very well pretend he hadn't heard. He let out a faint sigh.

"Talking about this man is bad luck. But since you insist, I'll tell you."

"Do you know Zhuge Yuan's nickname? People call him the Storyteller."

The Chief Recorder sat back down, twisting his jade thumb ring between his fingers.

"He's a strange one. Dressed like a scholar, but he never takes the imperial exams. Instead, he likes to go to crowded places and tell stories."

"And his stories aren't about love or generals on campaign. He only tells historical records."

"Historical records?" Li Huowang was taken aback.

"Yes. Historical records. But they're historical records he made up himself. He says that nine hundred years ago, the State of Qi never fell into civil war. The Great Qi Emperor unified the world. Today, the new emperor of Great Qi ascends the throne with the era name Ying Hui. Heaven sends down auspicious signs. A hundred birds come to pay homage to the young lord, and the room flashes with red light."

"Utter nonsense! If the Great Qi hadn't fallen, then where would the Great Liang Dynasty we have now come from? Where would the Four Qi come from?"