The Carriage

Chapter 367: The Carriage

Seeing everything above his head, Li Huowang finally understood what it meant by a trouble so great that even Zhuge Yuan found it difficult to handle.

What exactly were the Heart-Turbid? To be able to shake heaven and earth? Li Huowang couldn't help but ponder this question.

Then he remembered what the Chief Recorder had said before—that Heart-Turbid and Heart-Element were the most troublesome sorts. That meant a Heart-Element should possess power comparable to a Heart-Turbid.

"His ability to swap positions? Or the hallucinations around me? No, no, no." Li Huowang shook his head forcefully.

No. Abilities of that magnitude were utterly insignificant before a Heart-Turbid that could hide an entire sky.

As a Heart-Element, he absolutely had some ability he hadn't yet unleashed. Something inside him was powerful enough to match a Heart-Turbid of this caliber!

But recalling the plight of the male and female Heart-Turbid, Li Huowang froze for a moment. Something so powerful residing inside him—was that really a good thing?

Li Huowang didn't know. He had never encountered anything good in this world.

He didn't think such good fortune would ever fall on him. Perhaps the day he gained that ability, he would live an even more agonizing existence than the Heart-Turbid.

"Huowang! Someone's falling from up there! It looks like that old eunuch!"

Hearing Bai Lingmiao's voice, Li Huowang turned to look and immediately spotted a few black specks falling from the ruptured sky. The cracked heavens were beginning to grow unstable.

Li Huowang and Bai Lingmiao found the Chief Recorder among a pile of skeletal corpses, his head bloody and his arms still clutching the male Heart-Turbid's corpse tightly.

The others gradually regrouped. Counting the knife wounds on his own hand, Li Huowang realized one person was missing: Tuoba Danqing. He had been hidden forever—whether by the male Heart-Turbid or the female one, he would never return.

The Chief Recorder and the others all told Li Huowang the same story: Tuoba Danqing had been too slow while fleeing and had been left behind.

Though he had some doubts—why was it only him who got left behind when they were all running for their lives together?—Li Huowang chose to believe them.

At the entrance of Silver Tomb City's relay station, Li Huowang, Liu Zongyuan, and Hong Da together saw the Chief Recorder off on his journey back to the capital.

"We'll be off now. You all return. Once I reach the capital, I'll send you a reply. Rest assured, the reward for this mission will not be small."

"If those above dare to shortchange us, I'll be the first to have words with them! We earned every bit of this with our lives—not a single coin less!"

After delivering this grand and righteous speech, the Chief Recorder turned to look at Li Huowang, who was being supported by Bai Lingmiao. After a moment's thought, he reached into his bosom, pulled out the copper coin mask, and presented it to him with both hands.

"Erjiu, this belongs to you, doesn't it? I spotted it while we were fleeing and brought it along for you." The Chief Recorder's tone was indescribably warm now, completely different from before.

Li Huowang had deliberately distanced himself from them when performing the Dung-Beetle Ascension. Logically, they shouldn't have known what he had done.

But after emerging, the Chief Recorder's attitude toward Li Huowang had shifted dramatically. It was more than just closeness—it bordered on respect, and there was a hint of fear within that respect.

Using the opportunity to return the copper coin mask, the Chief Recorder lowered his voice and said, "Rest assured, what you asked for will absolutely be done. Within ten days to half a month at most, I'll have what you want delivered by carrier pigeon!"

"I respectfully send off the Chief Recorder!" Li Huowang took the copper coin mask and put it on his face.

He already had the black spindle from Zhuge Yuan, which was far more effective, but an extra layer of protection never hurt.

"You saved my life. I owe you that favor. When I step down from this position, the seat of Chief Recorder will be yours."

Li Huowang gently pushed Bai Lingmiao aside, leaned close to the Chief Recorder's ear, and whispered in an extremely low voice, "Chief Recorder, if you truly wish to honor my favor, I ask that you introduce me to the Military Path. I need it urgently."

Turning Bai Lingmiao back to her original state was even more important than escaping the Heart-Element. His own life or death didn't matter, but hers did. He had already wronged her enough.

"Alright, alright. I understand." The Chief Recorder smiled amiably, then pulled a red silk handkerchief from his sleeve, wiped some dust off Li Huowang's Daoist robe, and climbed onto the carriage.

Accompanied by the sound of horse hooves, the Chief Recorder's carriage departed with the Heart-Turbid's corpse. The three remaining people exchanged glances. Liu Zongyuan scratched his head. "There's a new brothel just opened in the east district. How about..."

Before he could finish, the other two turned around and left without a second word.

Severely wounded, Li Huowang climbed into a carriage and slowly made his way back to the inn.

Lying among the soft cushions, Li Huowang let out a slow breath. For the sake of the Heart-Turbid, he had endured countless hardships on this trip, but at least the goal had been achieved.

Now he just had to wait quietly for the Chief Recorder's carrier pigeon. His plan had finally taken a big step forward.

More importantly, the Chief Recorder now owed him a major favor. If not for Li Huowang, he would have been left behind back there. Used properly, this favor could be instrumental.

"Woof..." Mantou, sitting beside him, gently rested its head against Li Huowang's elbow. It seemed to sense just how badly he was hurt—its ears, which should have been perked up, lay flat against its head.

A blackened finger reached over, grabbed Mantou by the scruff of its neck, and tossed it out of the carriage.

"Huowang. Why don't you just throw away those bamboo slips on your back? Every single time you use them, you end up hurt. You can't keep going on like this. Don't you feel any pain at all?"

Bai Lingmiao picked up a soft pillow and placed it beneath the back of her own head. Li Huowang looked at the young girl's face so close to his own and forced a bitter smile. "I do hurt. I hurt so much I want to die... but Miaomiao, do you really think anything else is easier? Compared to all those messy cultivation methods, the Thousand Greats Record is at least simple."

A trace of disdain flickered across Bai Lingmiao's face. "Try something else. How do you know if you won't try? If you keep on like this, one day you're going to die from it."

"Die..." Li Huowang let out a slow breath. There was no fear in his eyes. "Actually, death isn't really that scary."

As if she could sense the death-wish in his words, Bai Lingmiao lunged forward like a leopard, her blackened fingers gripping Li Huowang's throat tightly, her eyes staring into his like a wild beast's.

"You want to die again?! Every time you use the Dung-Beetle Ascension, you think about ending it all! Are you even a man?! I'll tell you something right now! You killed my entire family! You're going to spend the rest of your life repaying that debt! You don't have the right to die!"

When she saw Li Huowang nod slightly, Bai Lingmiao leaned down, gritted her teeth, and left a deep, bloodied bite mark on his shoulder.

When Bai Lingmiao pulled back, the atmosphere inside the carriage grew oppressive. Mantou, who had just poked its head back in from the window, sensed something was wrong and immediately retreated back outside.

"Miaomiao... I met someone before. His name was Shentu Gang. He was a spirit-dancer too."

Then, in a softer tone, Li Huowang recounted Shentu Gang's unique way of getting along with his immortal attendant. The tension inside the carriage gradually eased.