Human Meat and the Shifting Map

“Clack, clack, clack—”

When Zhuge Yuan tossed the bits of silver onto the plate of vegetables, the waiter scooped them up and shouted with newfound confidence, “Thank you, honored Zhuangyuan, for the three mace of silver!”

Once the steamed bun under the table had finished its ravenous feast, Li Huowang and Zhuge Yuan began to eat as well. Lowering his voice, Li Huowang expressed his concern.

“Brother Li, since you are the one seeking them, the more eager you appear, the more careful you must be. Otherwise, they will很容易 guess your intent.”

“As long as I am here, the Zuowandao will come. Rest easy.”

“Brother Zhuge, I’ve been thinking: there’s a saying—‘It’s easier to be the thief for a thousand days than to guard against one for a thousand days.’ If they refuse to show themselves, don’t you think we should—”

Li Huowang’s words cut off abruptly. His expression hardened as he picked up a piece of the stir-fried lamb from the plate and shoved it into his mouth, chewing with deliberate force.

Snap. Li Huowang slammed his chopsticks down on the table. “Stop eating! This is fucking human meat!”

As Li Huowang lunged forward, pressing his sword against the neck of the innkeeper who was still at his abacus, the steamed bun under the table began to wobble unsteadily.

With a single blow from the hilt of his sword to the man’s head, Li Huowang immediately drew his blade, sliced open his own stomach, and emptied everything he had just swallowed.

Fearing residual traces of the knockout drug, he quickly dipped his stomach into a nearby wine jar to rinse it clean.

While Li Huowang acted, the others reacted instantly—swallowing pills, chanting sutras. Xia Dongsheng, in particular, reached into his clothes, grabbed the hooks embedded in specific acupoints on his body, and yanked hard.

Li Huowang’s actions had not only alerted his companions—they had also tipped off the inn’s staff.

The once-affable waiter now hoisted a ghost-head broadsword onto his shoulder and charged out with a gang of men at his back.

But the last thing the waiter saw was the red-robed Daoist dragging his sword in fury, stamping off the table, and leaping straight at him.

What followed was without suspense—a one-sided slaughter. Within moments, the entire inn was in chaos, drenched in blood.

Li Huowang stood amid the mountain of corpses and rivers of blood like a god of slaughter. Seven or eight black tentacles sprouted from his body, each coiled around a different weapon.

The spectacle deeply shook the Supervisory Heavenly Office agents of the Great Qi. In their line of work, they had seen all manner of things, but never anything quite like this.

Any lingering thoughts they had quickly dissolved. No wonder he was a friend of Lord Zhuge—he was truly extraordinary.

Panting heavily, Li Huowang approached Zhuge Yuan, asking with barely concealed disbelief, “You couldn’t tell there was a knockout drug in the food?”

Zhuge Yuan wiped the vomit from the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief, his expression sour. “I could see it, naturally. I assumed it was only a sleeping draught. It seemed a waste to throw it away, so I thought I’d finish the meal and then neutralize it. I never imagined the lamb was actually human flesh! Utterly disgusting!”

Li Huowang glanced down at the slit in his own belly and let out a deep sigh. For once, he had been in a decent mood today, only to run into this.

Though he no longer feared such things, it was like a toad landing on one’s foot—not harmful, but thoroughly revolting.

“Isn’t the Great Liang supposed to be peaceful? How is there a den of thieves drugging and robbing people here?”

Hongzhong emerged from beneath the table, chuckling dryly. “Heh heh heh, Li Huowang, you’ve got it wrong. Didn’t you hear what the Heart-Pan said? This is the Great Qi now, not the Great Liang!”

Li Huowang was momentarily stunned. “Did it really become the Great Qi? Just what is the Heart-Pan’s ability, anyway?”

A torrent of thoughts flooded his mind. He opened his mouth to question Hongzhong, but seeing the man’s eager expression—clearly waiting to be asked—he forcibly held back. Instead, he simply pulled out the True Sutra of the Fire Vestments and began chanting to heal his wounds.

But Hongzhong was not about to let it go so easily. “Ah, how knowledgeable you are, Lord Li! You can even identify human meat by taste. Admirable, admirable!”

Just as Hongzhong was about to continue, Li Sui’s voice suddenly cut in. “Dad, can you give me a few swords?”

“A few swords? What for?” Li Huowang stopped his chanting.

“I want to help Dad! Next time we run into bad guys, I can help too, just like before!”

“It’s already cramped enough in here with you. Where would I find room for swords? Don’t be difficult. Be good.”

But this time, Li Sui refused to back down. “No, no! I want swords! I want swords!”

As Li Sui struggled, black tentacles slithered out from Li Huowang’s pant leg, writhing on the ground like a child in the street throwing a tantrum for its parents to buy a toy gourd.

“Damn it, where did Li Sui learn this?”

Li Huowang coaxed her for a while, and finally managed to quiet her down by offering his own torture kit as a plaything.

“See? This has everything: knives, saws, awls, scissors, clamps, and chisels. They’re all yours now. Next time we meet a bad guy, you can use these on them.”

A tentacle emerged from his navel, eagerly toying with the instruments of pain, and Li Sui’s delighted giggles rang in Li Huowang’s ears.

He shook his head slightly and followed the Supervisory Heavenly Office agents, who were already emerging from the inn.

Every last thug in the inn had been killed by Li Huowang, so their mounts in the back courtyard were now up for grabs. Soon, new companions trotted alongside Li Huowang’s carriage.

As Li Huowang came out, Zhuge Yuan approached him and said, “Rest assured. Our people in the Nether Capital have been informed that Elder Qin encountered enemies. They will send someone to meet us shortly. We should reach the Nether Capital soon enough.”

Li Huowang glanced at Elder Qin, who needed help just to get in and out of his carriage, and was not so optimistic.

He climbed into his own carriage, pulled out a map, and tried to find their location. “At this rate, it won’t be that fast.”

His bloodstained finger traced along the coast toward the center of Jiangnan Circuit. “Huh?! Nether Capital?”

Staring at the familiar yet alien characters, Li Huowang thought for a moment he had misread them. But after careful examination, he confirmed it was indeed Nether Capital—not the Upper Capital he had been expecting.

Utterly shocked, Li Huowang looked at Zhuge Yuan. “Is this your map?”

Zhuge Yuan’s face darkened with irritation. “Brother Li, your joke is in poor taste. I am a man of vast learning and have never needed a map.”

“Then this…” Before Li Huowang could finish his thought, Hongzhong reappeared.

“Isn’t this only natural? Now that you’re in the Great Qi, why would you use a map of the Great Liang?”

Li Huowang stared at the map before him, his brow deeply furrowed. His gaze was fixed on a greasy red spot in the upper-left corner.

It was a drop of chili oil he had accidentally spilled while eating noodles and studying the map during his search for Apricot Island. There was no doubt—this was the same map he had brought with him from the Upper Capital.

But the map he had bought in the Upper Capital didn’t even mark the Upper Capital. Instead, it showed the Nether Capital—the capital of the Great Qi?