The Heart-Peony and the Scholar’s Warning

Chapter 393: Zhuge Yuan

“Brother Zhuge, this Zuowandao really seemed to think he was me,” Li Huowang said, his expression heavy as he turned to look at Zhuge Yuan beside him.

He hadn’t expected that the Zuowandao would steal his spindle and his weapon, and disguise himself completely from the inside out.

“This bastard must have made his move when I was hallucinating in the water. Maybe that sudden hallucination was his doing too!”

Thinking back, when he had woken up in that so-called White Tower prison, there had been a fool right next to him. For all he knew, that person had been a projection of this Zuowandao.

“And also! I saw a man inside my belly before! Maybe that guy was hiding in the belly just waiting for you,” the monk said with a concerned reminder.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Red Center walked over, circling the corpse a few times, and mimicked the monk by pressing his palms together as if performing a funeral rite.

Now that everything was settled, the chain of events wasn’t hard to deduce. What Li Huowang couldn’t understand was why the other party had wanted to impersonate him. If their goal was to deal with him, wouldn’t disguising themselves as him and showing up in person blow their cover immediately?

“Swoosh.” The folding fan in Zhuge Yuan’s hand snapped open, revealing the four characters “天生我才” (Born with Talent) in front of Li Huowang. “No need to worry. They were after me. On Apricot Island, they wouldn’t dare to use force against me, so they borrowed your identity to get close.”

“It wasn’t a bad plan, really. They just didn’t expect you to make it onto the island so quickly.”

Hearing Zhuge Yuan was about to leave, Li Huowang bent down to retrieve his belongings from the Zuowandao’s corpse and quickly caught up. “What a tragedy. If it weren’t for me coming here, Brother Zhuge probably wouldn’t have had this trouble.”

He hadn’t expected the Zuowandao to not be targeting him this time. For a moment, he almost felt out of sorts. In the past, whenever the Zuowandao saw him, they were like wolves seeing meat, locked in a fight to the death.

Catching the apology in Li Huowang’s voice, Zhuge Yuan smiled faintly. “It’s nothing. I’m used to it. This isn’t the first time. Ever since Facai of the Zuowandao died by my hand, this kind of thing has never let up.”

Li Huowang turned his head to look at the Zuowandao’s corpse, gradually disappearing into the morning mist. The thought of being hunted by the entire Zuowandao organization, of knowing that anyone around him could be a madman from the sect wearing a disguise, made him feel suffocated.

Then he turned back, his expression complicated as he looked at Zhuge Yuan. Faced with the Zuowandao’s fierce retaliation, the other man handled it with such ease. His strength was clearly immense.

“Definitely stronger than Danyangzi was back then. No, maybe even stronger than Danyangzi after he became an immortal!”

Just as Li Huowang was pondering this question, Zhuge Yuan frowned slightly and studied Li Huowang’s body. “Brother Li, is there something alive inside you? Should I help you get it out?”

The moment the words left his mouth, Li Sui’s tentacles, wrapped around her double-pupiled eyeball, emerged from Li Huowang’s navel and stared curiously at Zhuge Yuan.

Li Huowang curled his finger and poked it back in. “It’s nothing. Just a Black Tai Sui. Though it’s gradually corroding my body, it’s the only thing that can suppress the hallucinations from my Heart-Element.”

“I see. I recall reading about this method in a miscellaneous book, but this is my first time seeing it in person.”

Zhuge Yuan nodded in understanding. He took a step forward, then stopped. “Then you haven’t yet vomited the stagnant Black Tai Sui in your abdomen and replaced it with a fresh piece?”

Li Huowang was taken aback, surprised by the question. “That was the plan. I was going to wait until the Black Tai Sui in my gut can’t hold out any longer, and then try.”

“Don’t. According to that book I read, if you do that, a Heart-Element’s fate would be far worse.”

Hearing this warning, Li Huowang felt a surge of gratitude. If not for the other man’s words, he might have tried it one day.

After this small incident, the atmosphere between the two eased considerably. Li Huowang, for once, had met someone who wasn’t coveting him, and he found it deeply relaxing.

They walked for about an hour until a quiet, elegant two-story bamboo building appeared before them.

The entire structure was made of emerald-green bamboo, completely blending into the bamboo grove, as if it had grown out of the earth just like the bamboo itself.

“My humble abode is simple. I hope Brother Li won’t mind,” Zhuge Yuan said, pushing open the bamboo door and leading Li Huowang inside.

The bamboo building had not a single lock, but one could be certain that no thief would dare to enter.

Stepping inside, Li Huowang was met with a strong scholarly atmosphere. The walls were covered with calligraphy and paintings, though he couldn’t judge the quality of the art.

One painting stood out the most. It depicted a white sedan chair, lifted high by four skeletons with waxy yellow bones, led by a white weasel carrying a white lantern.

Apart from this one, the other paintings were mostly portraits—men and women, old and young. It seemed Zhuge Yuan was skilled at portraiture, with a very expressive touch.

Zhuge Yuan was already sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion, skillfully brewing tea. “Brother Li, what kind of tea do you prefer? ‘Mountain Veiled in Unadorned Silence,’ or ‘Gentleman’s Silver Needle’?”

“Anything is fine,” Li Huowang said, sitting on the meditation cushion across the low tea table, watching Zhuge Yuan brew.

Though he had a thousand questions to ask, seeing the other man so focused, he decided to wait politely until he was finished.

He couldn’t quite understand the purpose of pouring water back and forth between different cups, but he could clearly sense Zhuge Yuan’s mastery of the tea ceremony.

“Three infusions of Gentleman’s Silver Needle. The tea on Apricot Island is good, but the water is quite ordinary. Please don’t think less of it.”

Li Huowang took a sip of the pale green tea. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the tea set was cleared away, and a square Go board was placed before him.

Without waiting for the other to speak, Li Huowang simply picked up a black stone, placed it randomly on the board, and asked impatiently, “Brother Zhuge, why did you help me before? Are you a Heart-Element like me?”

As he asked this, his heart was in his throat, and his pulse quickened as he watched the other man speak.

“Clack.” A white stone fell, and an unexpected answer came from the other’s mouth. “No. Though we share the same ‘Heart’ character in our designations, I am not a Heart-Element. I am a Heart-Peony.”

“Heart-Peony?” A wave of intense disappointment washed over Li Huowang. On the boat, he had speculated that the reason Zhuge Yuan helped him was because they were kindred spirits.

If he could have a powerful senior to lead him in this chaotic and twisted world, everything he did from now on would be so much easier. But things didn’t always go his way.

Li Huowang collected his thoughts and asked again, “Which peony? The one that ‘coils and twists’?”

Zhuge Yuan held his tea bowl in his left hand, using the lid to hold back the leaves, and closed his eyes as he took a gentle sip. “The peony of ‘A clear window, washing the inkstone, sitting… the coiling snake and worm, like twisted tendrils.’ Brother Li, your turn. Place your stone.”