True and False

“Pa.” The black stone landed on the board. Li Huowang turned the other man’s words over in his mind. “Pan… as in ‘coiling and binding’? What does that mean?”

He was a Heart-Element himself, and he had already witnessed the uncanny power of the Heart-Turbid firsthand. It was almost impossible for him to imagine what sort of existence a Heart-Pan might be.

Zhuge Yuan looked at the two black stones on the board, their placements not even remotely related to each other. He shook his head slightly, then pinched a white stone between his nails and set it down.

“That character ‘pan’ means that in this life, I am destined to be coiled and bound together with the One Above the Three Bodies. In life or in death.”

“What is the One Above the Three Bodies?” Li Huowang asked as he played another stone.

When he saw the smiling Zhuge Yuan fold his fan shut and point upward, Li Huowang’s heart tightened. His pupils trembled as memories buried deep in his mind surfaced.

“Brother Li, there are some things I would tell you if I could. But the more you know about certain matters, the more dangerous they become. A man lives his life; it’s a rare blessing to be muddled.” Having said this, Zhuge Yuan lifted another white stone and played it.

The implication was clear. The so-called One Above the Three Bodies was the name of some Siming within the White Jade Capital. Zhuge Yuan did not even dare to speak its true name, only using this vague epithet.

“I understand. I understand.” Li Huowang nodded to himself, muttering.

For a moment, the bamboo building fell silent, broken only by the occasional crisp chirping of birds outside the window.

Just as Zhuge Yuan was frowning at the flawed board before him, he heard the other man begin to speak again. “Brother Zhuge, thank you for your generosity. But I must ask: since you are not a Heart-Element like me, why do you help me?”

This question had been troubling Li Huowang for a long time. Today, he finally asked it.

“What do you mean?” Zhuge Yuan looked genuinely surprised. “Though we met by chance, saving one life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. I could hardly stand by and watch you lose yours. Any cultivator of worthy skill would see that copper coin mask of yours as mere decoration.”

“Just that?” Li Huowang stared at him in shock. He had thought about this from so many angles. It had never occurred to him that the only reason for the other man’s kindness might simply be that he was a good man.

“What else would Brother Li suspect? Not just you. If anyone of the Heart generation, or even the Spirit or Void generations, were in danger, I would never refuse to lend a hand if I were able.”

“Is he lying to me? What does he want?” The thought leaped into Li Huowang’s mind, uncontrollable.

Then, just as quickly, Li Huowang crushed the idea. Zhuge Yuan did not even care about his status as a Heart-Element. What ulterior motive could he possibly have?

With the power to kill Facai, if he wanted a Heart-Element, he could have as many as he wished. There was no need to go to such trouble to deceive him. Aside from being a Heart-Element, he was not valuable enough.

“Brother Li, did you travel all the way to Apricot Island just to ask me that?” Zhuge Yuan asked, visibly taken aback.

“No. I came to you, Brother Zhuge, to seek your help with an important matter.” Li Huowang immediately pulled himself together and began to describe his discovery regarding North Wind in detail.

Though the other man bore him goodwill, Li Huowang was not someone who would take advantage. He laid out a plan for mutual benefit.

“Brother Zhuge, you don’t need to do anything extra. I know that recently the Zuowandao have been causing you trouble constantly, and North Wind will likely come as well. I just need to stay by your side and help you fight off the Zuowandao!”

Seeing the other man holding a white stone, suspended over the board in hesitation, Li Huowang increased the pressure. “Brother Zhuge, rest assured. Even after I break free from the Heart-Element’s hallucinations, I will not leave immediately. I will stay until your affairs are settled.”

“Brother Zhuge, are you doubting my strength? I may not be your equal in some respects, but I am highly skilled in the various secret arts of the Ao-Jing Sect. I have even performed the Dung-Beetle Ascension three times. Such a profound technique would be too much for even a Demigod!”

Hearing the growing urgency in Li Huowang’s voice, Zhuge Yuan quickly raised a hand to stop him. “Brother Li, calm down. I didn’t say I disagreed. It’s just that there are a few things you need to consider. First: you say you will fight alongside me. But do you know where I am going next?”

The question caught Li Huowang off guard. But he quickly understood. Looking up, he asked, “The matter with the Heart-Turbid you took from the Buddha Bone Temple… it isn’t over yet?”

He would not have snatched a Heart-Turbid from the Supervisory Heavenly Office for no reason. There had to be a purpose. And given Zhuge Yuan’s strength, the fact that it had been dragging on for months meant it was serious.

Zhuge Yuan looked up at a landscape painting hanging behind Li Huowang. A dried corpse lay on the dirt path halfway up the painted mountain. “Sigh. I may be able to cut down Facai, but everyone of the Heart generation lives a hard life. We all carry karma that does not belong to us. Hard. It is hard for all of us.”

“This journey I am about to take will be fraught with danger. The Zuowandao will do their best to interfere. Are you willing to follow me through a fight for your life, even knowing this?”

“Yes!” Li Huowang’s answer was final. He had not even asked what the other man was about to do. “As long as I can completely shake off those hallucinations and that Bewilderment, I will do anything!”

Zhuge Yuan picked up his now-tepid tea and took another sip. “Very well. Then let us discuss the second point. North Wind is indeed a Heart-Element, and he has managed to break free from the hallucinations. But is his method truly suitable for you? Remember, he is a Zuowandao.”

“Perhaps his method is the same as that other one: lying even to himself. Perhaps it is some vile cult technique that would be hard to accept. Would Brother Li be willing to follow that path, too?”

The question made Li Huowang’s expression sour. He raised his own cold tea to his lips and drank. “Do I have any other choice?” he said, forcing the words out. “No matter what method North Wind used, I have to go see for myself now.”

Hearing this, Zhuge Yuan fell into thought. “Not necessarily. A long time ago, I once saw a method recorded in a book.”

“What method?” Li Huowang’s pupils contracted. His heartbeat quickened.

“The hallucinations of your Heart-Element, at their root, are caused by your inability to control that excess innate One Qi within you. If the cultivation technique described in that book can truly control that innate One Qi, then perhaps the hallucinations will disappear.”

“You have seen such a technique?” Li Huowang pressed impatiently.

“I only saw it once in a book. I have forgotten most of it. But I believe it exists.”

“Why?”

“Because of the Zuowandao’s unusual behavior. I have always wondered why they delight in tormenting and playing with Heart-Elements. They always prioritize the Heart-Element over anything else. They never do this to Heart-Pans or Heart-Turbids.”

“I used to wonder: could every Zuowandao bear a personal grudge against every Heart-Element? Later, I realized something. If the technique described in that book is real, it would be a perfect counter to the Zuowandao’s cultivation method. That would also explain why they hate Heart-Elements so much.”

“A cultivation technique that counters the Zuowandao? The Zuowandao have a cultivation method?”

“Of course. All those absurd things they do—they are all attempts to replace the true with the false. Everything in the world, ten thousand changes never stray from the root. Some cultivate ghosts, some the Dao, some evil, some a specific-one. In short, the Zuowandao cultivate the false.”

“Wait. They cultivate the false. The Heart-Element’s technique counters them. So what do the Heart-Elements cultivate?”

Zhuge Yuan did not answer. He simply set down a white stone. Li Huowang followed his gaze to the board. The black stones he had scattered across it joined together to form a single character: True.

“Cultivate the True?”