The Severed Head and the Impossible Task

1,298 words

Li Huowang held the severed head of Hong Zhong in his hands, staring in shock as Nangong explained the situation.

After listening, Li Huowang said, deeply astonished, “Who exactly is this Hong Zhong? Losing his head and he could still run!”

As he spoke, he paused for a moment, as if recalling something, then quickly added, “But, Vice Warden, I once saw a military cultivator in Later Shu who had a similar ability to survive decapitation. Perhaps Hong Zhong swindled that technique from them.”

Hearing this, the Daoist Vice Warden beckoned with his hand, and the head in Li Huowang’s palm flew back to him. He cradled it upright, like a pagoda held aloft.

The Daoist opened his mouth, revealing a set of pitted, decaying teeth, and a wave of halitosis filled the air.

“No need to steal techniques from the military cultivators. A Heart-Element being able to run around without a head isn’t that strange. What’s strange is that he’s dead, yet we can’t summon his soul. Strange indeed. Could it be that he’s still alive?”

Li Huowang thought to himself, Is this my ability as a Heart-Element? As long as I believe I’m not dead, I’ll never die?

But on second thought, this ability that manifested unintentionally was a bit too useless. If an enemy just reminded him of the fact, he’d collapse on the spot.

Just as Li Huowang was mulling this over, the Daoist waved his hand. “Forget it. He’s dead anyway. Let’s not worry about the Heart-Element for now. Why don’t you tell me clearly, how did Hong Zhong swindle you?”

Hearing this, Li Huowang’s mind snapped to full alert. He couldn’t afford a single misstep on this matter.

But when it came to being fooled by the Zuowandao, Li Huowang didn’t have to make anything up at all. He only changed a few details, directly transposing the deception the Zuowandao had pulled on Apricot Island onto this account.

This time, however, in Li Huowang’s telling, the Zuowandao didn’t fail. They succeeded.

“So… the one who was with Zhuge Yuan the whole time was Hong Zhong?”

“That is correct. However, your subordinate was kept bewildered inside that bamboo forest, unable to figure out what Hong Zhong said to that storyteller while using my identity, or why he was allowed to stay by that bookman’s side.”

Getting too close to the truth could expose his lie, so Li Huowang deliberately spun it out long. Whatever the real Hong Zhong had done or said, it was all the Zuowandao’s doing and had nothing to do with him.

Li Huowang suddenly realized that the Zuowandao identity was really quite useful.

After hearing him out, the Daoist slowly nodded. Then the small head on his neck spoke. “Heh heh. Are you sure you’re not making all this up to fool us? Could it be that you’re a Zuowandao yourself?”

Li Huowang’s expression hardened. Without a word, he drew his knife and slit straight along his jawline, peeling back half his face to display the layers of skin, flesh, and bone beneath.

“Alright, alright. We believe you’re not a Zuowandao. Tsk, the Ao-Jing Sect sure is decisive.” One of the other Nascent Souls, wearing a square Daoist crown, stepped in to smooth things over.

“That’s enough. Shut up!” As the Daoist’s tone sharpened, the two Nascent Souls on his body shrank inward, looking like nothing more than two red birthmarks shaped like steamed buns.

Holding the head aloft, the Daoist stepped forward, slowly circling Li Huowang. His tone softened slightly.

“Rest assured. Hong Zhong’s head is right here. The Office will not suspect you of being a Zuowandao. Since you managed to come back intact, that’s a good thing. So here’s what I’ll do: I’m giving you an assignment. Carry it out well.”

“Yes, Vice Warden. Please, speak. Erjiu will give it his all!”

The Daoist placed the severed head on the table and patted it with his hand. “The Office wants you to try getting close to Zhuge Yuan.”

“We tested him earlier. The Six-Shining Comprehensive Guide is still in his possession. The one Hong Zhong schemed so hard to steal was a fake. That’s a stroke of luck. If the Zuowandao had gotten their hands on that thing, it would have been a real mess.”

“Yes, but Vice Warden—since Hong Zhong directly stole Zhuge Yuan’s Six-Shining Comprehensive Guide and used my face to do it, they’re now mortal enemies! If I go to him now, it would be walking to my death!”

Li Huowang carefully maintained his role. In his current persona, he didn’t know Zhuge Yuan at all. He had never exchanged a single word with him.

“Since Hong Zhong could use your identity to get close to Zhuge Yuan, there’s a chance you, the real person, could too. It’s worth a try.”

“But—” Li Huowang’s pupils contracted slightly. This wasn’t what he had expected. He had assumed the Office would next want revenge against the Zuowandao, and he could ride that wave to hunt down North Wind. Instead, he was being dragged back into Zhuge Yuan’s orbit.

“What? You’re saying you don’t want to go?” The Daoist’s tone turned cold. The two Nascent Souls on his neck cracked their eyes open slightly, a faint, black gleam shining within.

“I wouldn’t dare.” Li Huowang lowered his head.

“Go on. Even if there’s no fruit, shake the tree three times. We’ll see what falls.”

“Yes, Vice Warden.” Li Huowang realized that the man just wanted to try his luck. Whether his own life was in danger didn’t factor into the calculation at all.

Seeing Li Huowang’s obedience, the rotten-toothed Daoist nodded approvingly. Then, carrying the head, he sat down on a stool and waved his hand dismissively. “Alright. You may withdraw.”

Li Huowang was stunned for a moment. That was it? What about the rest? The Zuowandao had killed a Supervisory Heavenly Office warden. Such a blatant provocation, and the Office was letting it slide this lightly?

Sensing that it was inappropriate to question the matter directly, Li Huowang simply bowed and turned to leave.

Walking through the quiet, wooden corridor, he glanced at Nangong, who was walking beside him, and asked in an indignant tone, “Our warden was killed by the Zuowandao. Is the Office really not going to do anything?”

Just as Li Huowang was considering whether he needed to stoke the fire a little more, Nangong spoke up.

“It’s not that simple. The Office has already pulled agents from the six circuits of Great Liang. Once everyone is gathered, we’ll catch them all in one net.”

As he spoke, Nangong’s expression turned cold. “Hmph! These swindlers really think they can do whatever they want now that the National Preceptor has his hands full? They’re gravely underestimating the Supervisory Heavenly Office!”

Hearing this, Li Huowang breathed a slight sigh of relief. Good. His efforts hadn’t been wasted. The Zuowandao and the Supervisory Heavenly Office were finally at each other’s throats. As long as they fought, he could pick up the spoils.

“Erjiu, don’t think that the Office is trying to make things hard for you by sending you to get close to Zhuge Yuan. Remember, the Zuowandao used your identity to kill the warden.”

“If we were to go strictly by the Office’s rules, this matter wouldn’t be so easily put to rest. Luckily, our staff in the capital is stretched thin right now. Whether you succeed or fail in getting close to Zhuge Yuan, this counts as the matter being closed.”

A look of sudden understanding dawned on Li Huowang’s face. “I see. Thank you for clarifying, Brother Nangong.”

As Li Huowang walked and talked with Nangong, their relationship didn’t become particularly close, but at least they had progressed from strangers to acquaintances.

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Reading Guide Decoding

Office Politics, Face-Peeling, and the Perks of Being a Zuowandao Victim

Cultural / Xianxia Notes

Nascent Souls (元婴): In standard xianxia, the Nascent Soul stage marks a cultivator forming a miniaturized, spiritual version of themselves inside their dantian. It's a huge milestone—basically building a backup soul for when things go south. But in the Dao-Twisted World, these Nascent Souls are stuck on the warden's neck like talking moles, with their own opinions and attitudes. It's a perfect example of how this novel takes a classic cultivation concept and makes it grotesque: your spiritual avatar isn't a majestic glow-child; it's a grumpy pimple that won't shut up.

Heart-Element (心素): We already know Li Huowang is a Heart-Element—someone whose beliefs can warp reality. But this chapter gives us a terrifying clue about how deep this power goes. Even decapitation isn't a guaranteed death if the Heart-Element believes they're still alive. It's less "immortality" and more "stubbornly refusing to accept the universe's terms." The downside? It's a fragile, cognitive ability: one reminder from an enemy, and the whole house of cards collapses.

The Power of a Good Cover: Li Huowang has discovered that the Zuowandao is the perfect scapegoat. Any weird behavior, any inconsistent timeline, any mysterious ally—just blame the tricksters. "Oh, that wasn't me; that was a Zuowandao impersonating me." It's the supernatural equivalent of "my email was hacked," and it works beautifully because everyone is terrified of the Zuowandao's reputation for chaos.

Chapter Overview

Li Huowang gets grilled by the Supervisory Heavenly Office after delivering Hong Zhong's severed head. The rotten-toothed warden, sporting two grumpy Nascent Souls on his neck, interrogates him about the Zuowandao deception. Li Huowang skillfully spins his story, even slicing his own face open to prove he's not a shapeshifting trickster. The Office is suspicious but ultimately gives him a new assignment: try to get close to Zhuge Yuan, the very man whose identity Hong Zhong stole. Meanwhile, Li Huowang learns that the Office isn't just sitting idle—they're assembling agents to crush the Zuowandao once and for all. His plan to pit these two forces against each other is finally working.

Key Plot Points

Li Huowang presents Hong Zhong's head to the Supervisory Heavenly Office, but the warden is more intrigued by the fact that Hong Zhong's soul can't be summoned—a strange property of the Heart-Element.
Li Huowang cleverly reframes his earlier ordeal on Apricot Island, casting himself as the victim whose identity was stolen by Hong Zhong. He discovers that the Zuowandao is a very convenient cover story.
When accused of potentially being a Zuowandao himself, Li Huowang performs an impromptu Ao-Jing face-peel to prove his identity. The brutal self-harm is so convincing that the Nascent Souls immediately back down.
The warden reveals that Zhuge Yuan's Six-Shining Comprehensive Guide was a fake all along—the real one is still safe. Hong Zhong's grand heist was for nothing.
The Office orders Li Huowang to attempt befriending Zhuge Yuan using his real identity, banking on the confusion Hong Zhong created. Li Huowang is internally dismayed, as he wanted to hunt down the Zuowandao instead.
Nangong reveals that the Office has already summoned reinforcements from across the empire to eradicate the Zuowandao. Li Huowang's manipulation has succeeded in igniting a full-blown conflict.

Reading Guide

Our boy Li Huowang is getting good at this. The way he spins Hong Zhong's story to fit his own survival agenda is a masterclass in improvised deception. He's learning to weaponize the Zuowandao's reputation just as they weaponized his face. There's a darkly comedic moment when he realizes, mid-interrogation, that "the Zuowandao identity is really quite useful." That's your protagonist, folks—a man who now treats being a wanted doppelganger victim as a career advantage.

Also, can we talk about the Nascent Souls? The warden has two of them living on his shoulders like sassy, mortal-hating parrots. One accuses Li Huowang of being a Zuowandao; the other immediately backpedals when Li Huowang starts peeling his face off. They're petty, they argue with their host, and they're probably the most relatable characters in the entire Supervisory Heavenly Office.

The chapter sets up a delicious tension: Li Huowang has to play nice with Zhuge Yuan (a man whose prized book was stolen by his own face), while simultaneously waiting for the Office's hammer to fall on the Zuowandao. His real target—North Wind—is still out there, and Li Huowang is stuck playing political games instead of hunting. The infrastructure of revenge is being built; now he just needs the right moment to light the fuse.