The Man

Chapter 357: The Man

“Inside… It was terrible. Absolutely terrible…” Hong Da shook his head, still caught in the shock of what he had witnessed.

“Inside that Heart-Turbid’s karma-field, you can’t die, and you can’t live. You can’t starve, and you can’t sleep, but you have to endure the torture of hunger and exhaustion all the same. Just suffering, on and on, forever…”

“You know what? When I went in, her father said to me that he didn’t actually blame his daughter. He said that being able to suffer in there, at least it proved his girl was still alive.”

Hong Da finished speaking and let out a deeply melancholic sigh. It was clear that what he had experienced inside had shaken him profoundly.

After hearing Hong Da’s words, Li Huowang’s heart could not find peace for a long time.

He lifted his arm, taking the Heart-Turbid from his back and cradling it in his hands. His expression was incredibly complicated as he studied the person before him.

“If her consciousness is still in there… I don’t think she would want to torture her family and friends like this, either.” If anyone was the most pitiable, it was the Heart-Turbid herself. Her unconscious actions alone were enough to torture everyone nearby who could see her.

Compared to her, the bewilderment of a Heart-Element like himself seemed almost preferable.

“Daoist, she’s just too miserable. Let’s let her go.” The monk walked up beside him, his face full of sympathy.

Li Huowang let out a soft sigh but shook his head. “I can’t do that. For one thing, her existence is tied to whether we can get information about the Zuowandao. But more importantly, if you let her go, you’ll only end up killing more people. Do you really want to do that?”

Even if she had no intention to harm, merely looking at her was enough to injure others. If his guess was right, this village had once been full of people. As for where they were now… no explanation was needed.

Hearing this, a look of conflict appeared on the monk’s face. He only wanted to do good deeds, but when two good deeds conflicted, he truly didn’t know what to do.

In the past, Li Huowang had always thought the Supervisory Heavenly Office was too ruthless, too harsh when dealing with Heart-Elements.

But now that he had seen the Heart-Turbid’s behavior and ability, he finally understood why they did what they did.

Putting other matters aside, when it came to this specific issue, they were indeed protecting the common people of the world.

Something like this Heart-Turbid, or a Heart-Element like himself… they were far too dangerous. A single careless slip could bring about a calamity of enormous proportions.

“Brother Er? Who are you talking to?” Tuoba Danqing stared at Li Huowang with evident surprise.

Li Huowang blinked and patted his own abdomen with his hand. “I was talking to my Nascent Soul.”

For a while after that, no one spoke. Everyone put away their weapons, their expressions relaxing.

Shentu Gang even stretched and yawned lazily.

Just as Li Huowang began walking toward the village, Tuoba Danqing, spinning two large walnuts in his hands, sidled up to him and deliberately pulled him aside a bit. His voice dropped, tinged with nervous tension.

“Brother Er, let me give you a heads-up. If this Chief Recorder goes back to the Capital and then there’s no word for ten days or so… let’s you and I hole up in Qingqiu together until the heat blows over. It doesn’t matter where we serve as officials.”

Li Huowang was taken aback. Was this man telling him to run? “Brother Tuoba, do you know something?”

Hearing Li Huowang’s question, Tuoba Danqing let out a resigned sigh. He said nothing, simply pointed forward with his hand and strode on ahead.

“We’ve already got the Heart-Turbid. Surely the Chief Recorder won’t run into trouble now? But… if something does happen, what about the information he promised me?”

Connecting the Heart-Turbid’s ability with the Chief Recorder’s panic-stricken behavior, Li Huowang felt a growing suspicion that the Office was in a desperate hurry to obtain this Heart-Turbid to use its power for something monumental.

But as a newcomer to the Office, he had no way of sensing what was really happening at the top.

Not that he needed to. For now, this kind of thing had nothing to do with him.

Glancing at the visibly anxious Hong Da beside him, Li Huowang quickened his pace to follow Tuoba Danqing into the village.

The group moved quickly, and soon they had reached the village entrance. The white mist outside the village was beginning to dissipate, and the masked Liu Zongyuan came over to join them.

“Chief Recorder, sir. How did it go? Success?” Liu Zongyuan looked eagerly at his slightly disheveled companion.

“Little Liu, go fetch the carriage. I’d like to rest a while.” The Chief Recorder’s fat, white face showed a hint of exhaustion, and his voice sounded weak.

“Since you’re back, I’m not going to Yinling with you. Er Niu, you remember this: we’re even now. From now on, you can kneel and beg me all you like; I won’t lift a finger to help you again.” After saying this, Shentu Gang turned around, ready to leave.

Seeing this, Li Huowang hurried forward a few steps to block Shentu Gang’s path. “Brother Shentu, can I ask you something?”

Shentu Gang’s thick eyebrows furrowed slightly, but for once, he didn’t immediately spew a stream of foul language. “Hurry up, I’ve got urgent business.”

Li Huowang’s gaze dropped, glancing at Shentu Gang’s drum. “I’ve heard that spirit-dancers are always slaves to their immortals, never freed their entire lives. But from what I can see, Brother Shentu doesn’t seem to be that way. Might I ask why?”

Li Huowang had noticed it before: the man’s Bang Bing Jue was clearly different from Bai Lingmiao’s. There wasn’t a shred of respect for the immortals in his lyrics. On the contrary, his chanting carried a distinct undercurrent of threat.

“Are you asking for that little girl?” Shentu Gang asked, crossing his arms, seeing right through Li Huowang.

Li Huowang did not deny it. He nodded gently. If possible, he wanted to change Bai Lingmiao’s current situation.

Not necessarily completely break free from the immortals’ control, but at least, like Shentu Gang, take the initiative in the game with them.

Shentu Gang nodded, then leaned in and whispered something in Li Huowang’s ear.

As he spoke, Li Huowang’s eyes grew wider and wider, as if he was utterly astonished by what he was hearing. “Is that really true?”

“I’m off. If we ever run into each other again, I’ll treat you to a meal.” Shentu Gang gave a heavy punch to the wound on Li Huowang’s chest, then turned and disappeared from everyone’s sight.

Just then, a carriage came racing up. Li Huowang quickly hid the shock on his face and scrambled aboard with the others.

He was still mulling over the method the other man had told him when Red Center’s voice made him look up.

“Li Huowang, wake up. Stop thinking. How did a person suddenly appear across from you?”

Li Huowang looked up. It was a man, gaunt and dressed in rags. He was almost certain this man was not part of their group.

The moment he saw this person, Hong Da had the strongest reaction, his eyes bulging wide with sheer terror.

“How did you get out?!”

The man first took a slow look around at everyone staring at him, then, in a wooden and detached voice, he said, “I suddenly remembered. I think I’m also a Heart-Turbid. I had that woman hide me, so I could go inside and see if any of my family was in there. But then she forgot about me… and I forgot, too.”