The Arrival

Whip cracking, Li Huowang quickly found the crowd on the street. That group of so-called Great Qi people mingled among the Daliang citizens with not the slightest hint of dissonance. The people around them hadn't noticed a thing.

When he caught up again and stood once more among those Great Qi folk, watching the others murmuring among themselves, Li Huowang felt a very strange sensation.

It was as if all these people before him were actors, just playing house around Zhuge Yuan.

“Brother Li, where did you go this time?” Zhuge Yuan asked with some curiosity, then added a note of worried advice: “This place is crowded and full of mixed tongues—you need to be careful. Any one of them could be a Zuowandao in disguise.”

“Don't worry, I know the drill. I haven't been dealing with the Zuowandao for just a day or two. Brother Zhuge, where are we headed?”

In the bitter cold, Zhuge Yuan kept waving his folding fan. “First we go to Lord Liang’s residence. Tonight, Old Qin’s disciples and the rest of the Jiangnan faction will gather, and after we all hammer out a course of action, we’ll decide the next step.”

Li Huowang nodded in understanding. There was a trace of pity in his eyes as he looked at Zhuge Yuan. Zhuge Yuan seemed so powerful, but when it came to his own problems, the outsider was lost in the fog—still as unable to tell truth from illusion as Li Huowang himself had once been.

Li Huowang knew that in matters like this, an outsider like him couldn't help. Unless Zhuge Yuan figured it out on his own, any amount of talking was useless.

The carriage followed the main road steadily toward the city center. Just shy of the imperial palace, they stopped before an imposing mansion flanked by two black stone lions. The plaque above the gate bore two large characters in gold sand: LIANG MANSION.

A middle-aged man in official robes, with a small tuft of black beard on his chin, had been waiting a long time with his retinue. Spotting the arrivals, he immediately performed a deep bow toward Zhuge Yuan, tears of excitement streaming down his face. “Master Zhuge! I never thought you would come too!”

“I am but a commoner, unworthy of such a grand salute. Lord Liang, this is no place for talk. Let us go inside.”

The so-called Lord Liang then walked over to Old Qin, addressed him as “Teacher,” and helped him into the imposing mansion. Li Huowang, standing to the side, looked like nothing more than a spectator.

They passed through the gate corridor, crossed the courtyard, and finally reached the main reception hall. Without even pausing for tea, they plunged into heated discussion.

The core of their debate was nothing more than comparing the strength of enemy and ally, and how to turn the peril of the tottering Great Qi back into safety.

But none of this had anything to do with Li Huowang. Bored, he stared at the profile of the so-called Lord Liang, his thoughts wandering.

“What position does this Lord Liang hold in the Great Liang Empire? If I leave Zhuge Yuan’s vicinity right now, would they take me for an assassin? Wait… what if this guy is a Zuowandao in disguise?”

As Li Huowang’s mind drifted, the sun overhead gradually slanted westward. Men in official robes converged on this reception hall, some stepping out of sedan chairs, others descending from carriages.

Eventually there was no room left even to stand. Li Huowang couldn't be bothered to listen anymore. He stepped outside for some air.

“Dad, what are they talking about? I don't understand,” Li Sui’s voice rang out beside his ear.

“If you don't understand, that's fine. It has nothing to do with us anyway.” Li Huowang realized Li Sui was becoming more active by the day. Before, she had learned to wheedle him into buying things; now she was even asking him about things she didn't understand.

“Dad, you're hungry.” Li Sui wrapped a tentacle around Li Huowang’s shrunken stomach. She had originally been hiding inside his stomach, but now she had crawled out and spread all over his body.

Hearing Li Sui’s words, Li Huowang silently added another item to the list. Now she was even starting to care about him.

Though it warmed his heart, Li Huowang knew this was not a good thing. It meant she was gradually maturing.

At this thought, Li Huowang’s mood turned very dark. If he couldn't find North Wind and force out the method to escape the hallucinations before Li Sui fully matured, then he would likely be plunged into delusion once more.

He had never imagined he would one day be so desperate for a Zuowandao to appear.

The sound of footsteps went “da da da.” Li Huowang turned his head and saw an old man walking toward him carrying a square lantern. Li Huowang had seen him before—he seemed to be the butler of this so-called Lord Liang.

“Master Li, the evening meal is ready. Please follow me.” Li Huowang listened carefully and noticed that the lively hall had fallen silent. While he had been lost in thought, they had all left.

“You're about to start a rebellion, and you still have time to eat?” Li Huowang stood up and followed the old man through a side door.

Soon, Li Huowang sat down before a table of exquisite dishes. In a terrible mood, he couldn't be bothered to listen to Old Qin raising his cup in some speech. He picked up his chopsticks and began eating with gusto.

If this so-called Old Qin had so much prestige at court, what was he doing risking his life in the Supervisory Heavenly Office? He had to be out of his damn mind.

The others seated at the table glared at Li Huowang for his unmannerly behavior, but that was all they did.

When the speech ended, everyone in the room raised their cups simultaneously and began to eat. By then, Li Huowang was already nearly full.

He stood up, walked over to Zhuge Yuan’s side, and asked in a low voice: “What have you settled with these people? When do we strike? Who are we killing?”

Maybe the Zuowandao were lurking in the shadows. If he stirred up enough commotion on his end, perhaps he could lure them out.

Zhuge Yuan covered the lower half of his face with his long sleeve, then tilted his head back and poured the wine from his cup into his mouth.

Setting his sleeve down unhurriedly, Zhuge Yuan said in a low voice: “Don't rush, Brother Li. A matter this big won't be settled quickly. Many officials who would rather die than submit are still locked in prison, and even more have been exiled to remote places.”

“Besides, those eunuch dogs have made the entire capital a stinking mess. A lot of people have been nursing grievances for a long time. We need more time to win over some fencesitters. They are all subjects of Great Qi—the fewer who die, the better.”

“What use is winning over those people?” Li Huowang’s expression soured, and his brow furrowed deeply. Ever since he had learned what was really going on, he couldn't muster any interest in Great Qi’s affairs.

“Among those fencesitters, there are quite a few military generals. What do you think—is that useful or not?”

Having said this, Zhuge Yuan seemed to sense Li Huowang’s mood and continued in an even lower voice: “Rest assured, Brother Li. Your matter is on my mind. Once this is over, I will step forward and have Great Qi search for a true cultivation method for you.”

As the two of them exchanged words in low voices, a eunuch’s shrill announcement suddenly rang out from the distant entrance: “His Majesty arrives~”

“His Majesty?” Li Huowang’s expression turned as stunned as everyone else’s around him. If he had heard correctly, the little emperor of Great Qi was supposed to be a… walking corpse?