Friend

1,352 words

Under Nan Gongluo’s guidance, Li Huowang arrived outside the Liang residence where Zhuge Yuan was staying. Li Huowang’s excellent eyesight could even make out Zhuge Yuan upstairs, painting. As for the other Great Qi people, he didn’t see them for now—they might be in another room or gone out.

“Brother Nan, isn’t this Zhuge Yuan a wanted criminal of the Office? Why is he still allowed to stay here? Why don’t we just take him down in one go and grab his powerful artifact?” Li Huowang voiced the confusion in his heart.

Nan Gongluo frowned slightly and gave a gentle shake of his head. “Now is not the time to provoke him. The court has issued a decree; most of the Office’s A, B, C, and D ranks have been summoned to the palace. Manpower is already tight. If we go after Zhuge Yuan and the Zuowandao take the opportunity to launch a pincer attack, we’ll be in serious trouble.”

“Besides, dealing with the Zuowandao first—at least this storyteller won’t go help those depraved liars.”

With that said, Nan turned to leave. “Erjiu, safe travels. Once you’re inside, as long as you don’t provoke Zhuge Yuan too much, you’ll definitely make it out alive. Generally speaking, if you bear him no ill will, he won’t do anything to you either. Remember, don’t let a single trace of killing intent show on your body.”

“Many thanks, Brother Nan!” After thanking Nan Gongluo for his guidance, Li Huowang turned around and, his expression grave, walked toward the distant Liang residence.

The moment Li Huowang passed through the gate flanked by drum-shaped stone blocks, the door behind him slammed shut with a whoosh.

Li Huowang swallowed hard. With heavy steps, he crossed the front courtyard and headed inside.

As Zhuge Yuan’s painting brush made a light sweep, the doors and windows all slammed shut at once. The two of them smiled at each other.

“How did it go?” Zhuge Yuan continued painting the verdant landscape on the table.

“Many thanks, Brother Zhuge. The matter is as good as settled. Before long, they’ll be at each other’s throats. My only worry now is that the Zuowandao might catch wind of it and leave the capital ahead of time.”

“Rest assured, Brother Li. If they weren’t even afraid of death, do you think they’d be afraid of this? The entire Zuowandao has gathered here. If they don’t stir up something earth-shattering, they won’t leave.”

“True.” Li Huowang picked up the tea by his side and took a sip. As for what the Zuowandao planned to do next, he couldn’t care less. If the sky fell, the Supervisory Heavenly Office would hold it up. As long as he wasn’t the target, that was fine.

“Brother Zhuge, I’ve pinned everything from before on the Zuowandao. After today, the two of us probably shouldn’t meet again. There are too many eyes in the city; the Supervisory Heavenly Office is bound to start speculating.”

“No matter, no matter. I can handle the matters of Great Qi on my own. As for your side—if you really do run into the Heart-Element North Wind, can you handle it?”

“Don’t worry. This time is different from the previous ones. I’m not fighting alone. The main force clashing with the Zuowandao is the Supervisory Heavenly Office. I just need to ambush him and snatch him away while he’s injured.”

“I see… very well. Hold out your hand. I’ll conceal you a little, to make things easier when you make your move.”

“Hm? Conceal me how?”

When Li Huowang raised his hand, Zhuge Yuan’s brush touched down in the center of his palm. The three characters “Li Huowang,” in black ink, materialized.

With a flick of the brush tip, he added a horizontal stroke to the “Li” in “Li Huowang,” turning it into the character “Ji.”

Next, the brush moved rapidly over the “Huo,” adding a roof stroke to transform “Huo” into “Zai.”

Finally, Zhuge Yuan rubbed at the “Wang.” He actually lifted the “Wang” character straight off, using it as a signature colophon on the scroll lying on the table.

“There. Like this, as long as you cover your face afterward, no one will be able to tell you’re Li Huowang.”

This was the first time Li Huowang had seen such a supernatural ability. He was deeply astonished.

Li Huowang looked at the two characters “Ji Zai” in his hand and nodded. “Words cannot express my gratitude, Brother Zhuge. Rest assured, once I find North Wind, I will definitely return to help!”

Raising his head to look at the Li Huowang before him, Zhuge Yuan asked, “Brother Li, my matters really aren’t urgent. If you run into trouble here in the capital, remember to cast a divination for me. I can help with matters big or small. Just… don’t die.”

Hearing this, Li Huowang froze in place. His expression growing increasingly complex, he thought for a moment, then sat down on a meditation couch nearby.

“Brother Zhuge, to be honest, I really am facing something right now. But I don’t need you to step in. I only want you, as a friend, to help me judge what I should do about this matter.”

“Oh?” Zhuge Yuan set down his brush. This was the first time he’d seen such a thing.

Li Huowang’s hands clenched and unclenched, clenched and unclenched. Finally, he let out a deep sigh and said, “Brother Zhuge, what do you think… is it possible that that other world is real?”

In a low voice, Li Huowang poured out the bewilderment he had kept buried in his heart. He confessed his speculation that those gold bars might have been conjured by himself.

Faced with the possibility that that other world might be real, he wanted to hear another person’s judgment.

Or maybe Li Huowang didn’t expect to get any real feedback from Zhuge Yuan at all. He just wanted to unburden himself to a friend.

This was something he couldn’t tell anyone else, because the only thought anyone else would have upon hearing it was that they were dealing with a madman. But Zhuge Yuan wouldn’t, because Li Huowang knew the two of them were in the same boat.

After Li Huowang finished speaking, the room fell silent. Zhuge Yuan did not speak immediately. After thinking it over carefully, he finally said, slowly, “Brother Li, did you know? I once had a beloved… in Great Liang. In Great Qi, she was just the concubine of some wealthy man.”

“I once tried to change myself, to force myself to believe that Great Qi was false and that Great Liang was real.” A trace of emotion crept into Zhuge Yuan’s voice. His gaze drifted to a painting of a lady on the wall beside him.

“But things turned out contrary to my wishes. In the end, she still left me. Because Great Qi is genuinely real. What is true cannot be made false, and what is false cannot be made true.”

“But what if… what if it is real?” Li Huowang clenched his fists.

“Fish is what I desire; bear’s paw is also what I desire. One cannot have both.” Zhuge Yuan began to paint again.

“Brother Li, the Sage said: one cannot have both fish and bear’s paw. Whether it’s my Great Qi and Great Liang, or your reality and illusion—from the Siming above the heavens down to the common folk below, it is all the same.”

Li Huowang stood up from the meditation couch and clasped his hands in a bow. “Thank you, Brother Zhuge. Just talking with you makes me feel a little better. Keeping it all bottled up inside alone is truly unbearable.”

With that, Li Huowang turned and walked downstairs. “Brother Zhuge, if everything is settled in the future, I hope we can still be like before—drinking tea and playing chess in your bamboo hut.”

When Li Huowang pushed the door open, Zhuge Yuan’s voice came down from the second floor. “Tea is fine. But chess? Forget it. Calling you a lousy player would be an insult to lousy players.”

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Reading Guide Decoding

Two Men, One Mirror: The Art of Confessing to a Friend in the Dao-Twisted World

Cultural / Xianxia Notes

Calligraphy Sorcery & Name Alteration: This is a wonderfully poetic use of the traditional Chinese belief that a written name carries the essence of a person. The Chinese writing system is logographic, meaning each character is a concept, not just a sound. By physically modifying the strokes of “Li Huowang” on his palm—adding a horizontal stroke to turn “Li” into “Ji,” capping “Huo” to form “Zai,” and erasing “Wang” entirely—Zhuge performs a literal act of identity rewriting. This taps into deep folk magic where one’s name holds binding power (e.g., avoiding naming spirits to prevent control). Here, it’s used as benign camouflage: a masterstroke of calligraphic concealment.

The Fish and Bear’s Paw: This is a classical Chinese reference from Mencius, where the philosopher uses a choice between two delicacies to illustrate that when faced with irreconcilable options—like life and righteousness—one must choose the nobler path. Zhuge Yuan deliberately subverts this original intent. Instead of using it to advocate for a moral choice, he applies it to a metaphysical impossibility: you cannot have both worlds be equally real. This reframes the ancient ethical dilemma into an existential horror—and a strangely comforting piece of companionship.

The Confucian Art of the Friend: In traditional Chinese social ethics, friends (朋友) were one of the “Five Cardinal Relationships.” A true friend was someone you could ask this of: not for an answer, but for a sympathetic ear. Li Huowang’s request that Zhuge judge his situation as a “friend, not an ally” is an explicitly Confucian gesture—a plea for the specific relationship of righteous mutual regard, not just a tactical partnership. The chapter title “Friend” is no accident; it marks one of the most grounded emotional connections in the entire Dao-Twisted World.

Calligraphy concealment

A supernatural technique where altering the written strokes of a person’s name magically obscures their identity. Rooted in the folk belief that written characters hold binding power over the entities they name.

Chapter Overview

Li Huowang gets his meeting with Zhuge Yuan, and it’s a breath of fresh, cynical air. He confirms the trap is set for the Zuowandao, receives a nifty identity-altering calligraphy trick to shake off Office surveillance, and then—finally—lets out the question that’s been eating him alive: “Is the other world real?” Zhuge Yuan doesn’t give him a neat answer. He gives him a mirror. In a chapter heavy with tea, ink, and quiet melancholy, two men bound by impossible dualities remind each other they’re not walking the road alone.

Key Plot Points

Li Huowang meets Nan Gongluo outside the Liang residence; learns that most Supervisory Heavenly Office operatives are tied up at the palace due to an imperial decree, explaining the light presence in the capital.
Nan advises Li not to move against Zhuge Yuan now—tangling with the storyteller while the Zuowandao lurks is a suicidal pincer risk.
Li Huowang enters Zhuge Yuan’s residence; doors and windows slam shut as a deliberate, controlled gesture.
Li reports that the plan to pit the Office against the Zuowandao is underway; Zhuge confirms the entire Zuowandao sect is gathered in the capital and won’t leave without causing a major spectacle.
Zhuge Yuan uses his calligraphy-based sorcery to alter the characters of Li Huowang’s name on his palm, turning “Li Huowang” into “Ji Zai”—a perfect identity mask as long as he covers his face.
Li Huowang, with visible hesitation, asks Zhuge Yuan to act as a friend rather than an ally and help him judge a dilemma: whether his “other world” might actually be real.
Zhuge Yuan shares his own pain: a beloved woman from Great Liang became a mere concubine in Great Qi. He tried to force himself into believing Great Qi was the false world—but reality wouldn’t bend.
Invoking the “fish and bear’s paw” paradox, Zhuge suggests that holding onto both truths is impossible for anyone, from commoners to Siming above.
Li Huowang leaves, emotionally lighter from the confession, and the chapter ends on a warm, wry note—Zhuge declining future chess games over tea with affectionate mockery.

Reading Guide

Get your tissues ready, but maybe not for tears. This is the chapter where Li Huowang finally stops scheming long enough to feel. The quiet tension in the calligraphy scene—brush strokes that rewrite a man’s name as casually as signing a letter—contrasts beautifully with the raw confession that follows. Zhuge Yuan doesn’t offer solutions. He offers recognition. When he talks about his Liang lover being downgraded to a concubine in another world, you realize: Zhuge isn’t just a plot-exposition device. He’s a man who has already lost the same war Li Huowang is still fighting.

Also, the bit about “calling you a lousy player would be an insult” is the kind of gentle, self-aware humor that makes this friendship feel real. Two broken men, sharing tea and ink, briefly forgetting they live in a world of gutted temples and laughter-hunting gods. Savor it.