The Hidden Spindle

“Kill him!” The killing intent erupted instantly. Every weapon in the room swung toward the beggar.

The Heart-Turbid man, the first to react to Li Huowang’s shift, caught his eye. After a long, deep look, his body flickered and vanished.

The moment those eyes disappeared, Li Huowang felt a chill on his lips. The copper coin mask—the Heart-Turbid had hidden it away!

But the next instant, Li Huowang realized this wasn’t his priority. There was something far more important he had to do now.

Hot blood surged from the back of his skull into his brain. His body began to tremble. His eyes, bloodshot, swept across the room—the Chief Recorder, Hong Da, Tuoba Danqing, Liu Zongyuan.

Ksssh. The fire striker scraped. A searing pain exploded through him from head to toe. Raging flames engulfed his entire body in an instant.

“Kill! They know I’m a Heart-Element! I have to kill every last one of them! I can’t let a single one escape!”

As Li Huowang lunged, Liu Zongyuan curled his body into a tight ball and dove for the window.

Someone else made a move. Li Huowang felt a brutal force slam into him, flinging him backward.

Fully engulfed, roaring, he shoved his hand into his own left eye socket and squeezed. A strange radiance washed over everyone in the room.

The Chief Recorder raised his朽木如意 and pointed it sharply at Li Huowang. Nothing happened. Li Huowang lifted his Violet-Tassel Sword, ready to hack off his own left arm.

“Erjiu! What are you doing?!” The giant White Wuchang’s roar came from the woods.

“Don’t bother! Can’t you see it yet? The bastard’s being controlled!”

Hong Da’s face was grim. He raised his rusted knife and drove it into his own arm.

But those words hit Li Huowang like a physical blow. Stunned, he stared at the people around him.

“What’s going on? They… can’t see through my Heart-Element identity?” The shock made him suddenly remember something.

He recalled that when Zhuge Yuan had given him this spindle, he’d pointed at Li Huowang’s mask and said a few words. “Use this. It works much better than that thing you’re wearing.”

In that moment, Li Huowang finally understood what he had meant.

The reason they hadn’t detected his ability as a Heart-Element was because this thing from Zhuge Yuan had taken the mask’s place and hidden his identity.

Li Huowang looked down at his wildly burning hem. The pouch holding the spindle was already charred black. It wouldn’t be long before it burned away completely.

“No. I can’t let this thing leave my body.” Still on fire, he quickly pulled the spindle out.

He looked for somewhere to put it, but there were no pockets left—not even any skin or flesh, mostly.

Finally, he lifted a flap of his own burning flesh and tucked the spindle inside his abdominal cavity, the same way he might put something into a jacket pocket.

After that, he turned and walked toward the others. “Everyone, it’s all right! The man who set up the ritual to control me—I’ve stopped him!”

“Stop right there!” The Chief Recorder’s face was twisted. He held his gold abacus in one hand, pointing it straight at the burning man. “I don’t care if you’re awake or not. You stay right where you are!”

Seeing Li Huowang actually stop, the Chief Recorder, Liu Zongyuan, and Hong Da huddled together to confer.

What they were saying, Li Huowang couldn’t hear from this distance. He had a more pressing concern now: how was he supposed to put out all this fire?

An idea struck him. He reached down, grabbed the Thousand Greats Record from beneath his skin, and tore it free.

As the scroll hit the ground, the raging flames on his body slowly died down.

This time, because it had barely started, his skin hadn’t been completely burned away. Li Huowang looked like a candle figure just beginning to melt. It still hurt like hell, but it was far better than being a charred black corpse.

“Clothes are gone again. Good thing I brought a spare, just in case.”

He turned toward where the cart had been, but all he saw was a fiercely burning pile of kindling.

Ah. He had nothing to say about that. He pulled out the True Sutra of the Fire Vestments and began treating his wounds.

As the burning slug crawled across his skin, Zhuge Yuan’s figure surfaced in Li Huowang’s mind.

He saw my true identity, but instead of capturing me, he gave me this spindle to hide it. Was his kindness real? A warmth he hadn’t felt in a long time flooded into his chest.

For a moment, Li Huowang wanted to see Zhuge Yuan again. There were so many things he needed to talk to him about.

“Erjiu.” He looked up. The three of them had already walked over. It seemed they had reached a decision.

“Erjiu, can you tell who it was that used the ritual to harm you?” The Chief Recorder’s expression was grave.

“I have some idea. Looked like a scabby-headed Daoist,” Li Huowang answered with complete conviction.

“Mm.” The Chief Recorder’s face was heavy with thought. After a long pause, he said, “Alright, let’s head back first. We’ll talk when we get there.”

At his words, the others nodded and fell in line along the dirt road.

But it was clear they didn’t fully trust Li Huowang’s account. They kept him surrounded, a loose cage of bodies.

They hadn’t gone two steps before Li Huowang stopped. A puzzled look crossed his face. “Do you all remember… what errand it was that we were sent on this time?”

Hong Da, looking just as confused, turned to the Chief Recorder. “I was just called out by the Chief Recorder. I don’t know anything else.”

“Same here. I was called out by the Chief Recorder too. Sir, what exactly is this errand we’re on?” Liu Zongyuan quickly echoed.

Li Huowang also turned to the Chief Recorder. He remembered the same thing: he’d been summoned by this man. If the Chief Recorder hadn’t promised to help him get the Zuowandao intel after this job was done, he probably wouldn’t have taken on such a vague, headless mission.

Caught under the gaze of three people, the Chief Recorder’s expression was extremely grave. He wiped the ash from his face with his sleeve, as if lost in thought.

“I… I’m not quite sure, either.” There was a note of uncertainty in his voice. “What was it I called you two out for again?”

Li Huowang and Hong Da exchanged a look. Neither of them knew what to say.

Calling them out and then forgetting why… This boss sure was carefree.

“Ah, forget it. Let’s get moving and find someplace with people first. The cart’s gone. If we don’t hurry, we’ll be spending the night out here.”

Checking the sky, Li Huowang and the others stopped hesitating and quickened their pace.