The Dice

1,222 words

The Dice

“Oh, it’s nothing really. Just asking for a little favor.”

Hearing this from the fat stall-owner in front of him, Li Huowang let out a self-deprecating laugh. “You think too highly of me. If you can’t handle it, what use could I possibly be?”

The fat man didn’t answer right away. Instead, he busied himself with customers, and only once the crowd had mostly thinned did he reach under his stall, pull out two small wooden stools, take one for himself, and toss the other to Li Huowang.

“Come on, sit. No need to talk standing up. The thing is, you’re the only one who can do this. I can’t—the moment I get close, the dragon vein will notice me.”

Li Huowang studied the fat head in front of him, a hint of mockery in his tone. “Last time, we completely burned our bridges with the Supervisory Heavenly Office. You’re not satisfied with that yet?”

He appeared completely at ease, but in truth every nerve was already screaming.

Because this man was no ordinary person. He was the leader of the Zuowandao—the Dice.

Fellow Zuowandao or not, Li Huowang could not forget how terrifying this man was.

His favorite game was conning conmen. It was said that more than half of the entire Zuowandao had been tricked into joining by him.

“Hey, don’t say that. Even if we hadn’t robbed the Supervisory Heavenly Office, do you think they’d ever be on good terms with us?” The Dice reached out and grabbed two leftover fried dough sticks, shoving them into his mouth.

“Hongzhong, last night—that Emperor of Great Liang was trying to recruit you, wasn’t he? Tsk, such a fun game, and you ran away.”

“When you go back, accept the Emperor’s offer. Then find a way to get him successfully enthroned.” The Dice finally laid out the favor he wanted.

That the Zuowandao wanted to meddle in the Great Liang imperial succession didn’t surprise Li Huowang in the slightest.

But whatever they were planning, Li Huowang had no intention of joining. “Boss, I don’t have time for this. Find someone else.”

Hearing Li Huowang’s blunt refusal, the Dice smiled amiably. “What’s the matter? You’re not a child anymore. Don’t throw a tantrum. Don’t worry—once the Emperor takes the throne, you’ll be free of this.”

“Hongzhong, we don’t have many people inside the palace. A bunch got cleaned out recently, and you’re the most convenient one right now. Besides, don’t forget—you still owe me a favor.”

The Dice wiped his greasy hand on his clothes and patted Li Huowang’s shoulder. “See? Logic and sentiment—this job has to be yours.”

A favor? Li Huowang didn’t remember any such thing. Not even in Hongzhong’s memories.

“I’m not doing this job, Boss Dice. Find someone else.”

Refusing again, Li Huowang stood up and prepared to leave. “After everything that happened last time, there aren’t many of us left in the Zuowandao. I’d advise you to lie low for a while.”

Facing the Dice, whose strength far outstripped his own, Li Huowang could only gamble—gamble that with the Supervisory Heavenly Office breathing down their necks, the Dice wouldn’t waste energy on internal conflict with a “Three Yuan” member.

The only way to avoid being conned by the Zuowandao was to never follow their chain in the first place.

He had only taken a few steps when the Dice’s voice came from behind him again. “Kid, you really won’t do it? Don’t blame me for throwing sect brotherhood out the window, then!”

Stopping mid-stride, Li Huowang turned back to face the Dice, his voice flat. “Boss Dice, what? You planning to get rough with me?”

“Now that’s a harsh way to put it. We’re not crude military brutes. Why would I get rough with one of our own?” Hearing the friendly tone, Li Huowang laughed coldly inside.

“Let me tell you this. One month ago, you owed me a favor. You asked me to keep something safe for you. You don’t have to take the job, but then don’t blame me for releasing what I’ve been holding.”

“Hm?” Li Huowang’s brow furrowed tightly. He was absolutely certain that a month ago, he had never contacted any Zuowandao member. Or was the Dice already trying to trick him?

“Boss Dice, this game isn’t fun anymore. Last time wore me out. I need a real rest. Find someone else.” With that, Li Huowang tossed the now-cold food in his hand to the ground and walked toward the carriage.

The Dice didn’t pursue. Instead, he busied himself with the new customers.

Just as Li Huowang drove the carriage toward the western gate of the capital, the fat stall-owner shouted after the departing cart: “You brat! Take it easy! If you only cultivate the True and not the False, watch out for Qi Deviation!”

Even though he left the capital safely and the Dice hadn’t done anything extreme, Li Huowang wasn’t naive enough to think this was over.

Once outside the city, he drove the carriage relentlessly with Li Sui and Bai Lingmiao, avoiding all living contact to dodge any potential schemes from the Dice.

When hungry, he hunted in the mountains and fished in the rivers, living like a wild man.

“Crackle…” The fire’s tongues licked the scaled fish skin, roasting the forearm-sized river fish on bamboo skewers until they turned a crispy golden brown.

Sprinkling a little fine salt on the fish, Bai Lingmiao held it out to Li Huowang.

Li Huowang, still scanning their surroundings, shook his head slightly. “You eat first. I’m not hungry.”

Bai Lingmiao placed the roasted fish into Li Sui’s hands and picked up another to grill. “Senior Brother Li, how much longer until we reach Niuxin Village?”

“We’re not going back for now. Let’s not bring this trouble back to the village.”

“Then how long do we have to stay out here? Several years?” Bai Lingmiao asked, worry coloring her voice.

“Not that long. The Zuowandao wants to meddle in the Great Liang succession. Once the new Emperor takes the throne, whether they succeed or fail, they should leave me alone.”

What Li Huowang worried about more now was what tricks the Dice might pull behind the scenes. As the leader of the Zuowandao, his reputation was well-earned.

When he set his sights on someone, the trap was usually already laid, just waiting for them to walk into it.

At this thought, Li Huowang clenched his fists in frustration. His strength was still insufficient. If his cultivation of the True were complete, why would he need to be so wary of this man?

He finished his roasted fish quickly and boarded the carriage to rest. But he didn’t fall into a deep sleep, staying alert to any sign of disturbance.

In the dead of night, Li Huowang and Bai Lingmiao, who was curled up in his arms, opened their eyes at the same time. “Senior Brother Li, there’s movement in the eastern woods.”

“Yeah. I heard it too. Let’s all three go see what’s happening. Don’t want to get drawn away by a diversion.”

As they got closer, they could hear screams, war cries, and the clash of blades.

When Li Huowang finally peered through the gaps in the trees and saw the distant battlefield, he immediately understood what was going on.

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Reading Guide Decoding

When the Zuowandao Boss Asks for a Favor

Cultural / Xianxia Notes

The Dice (骰子): He’s not just “another powerful trickster.” The Dice is the leader of the Zuowandao, a rank so high it’s rarely even named. His entire combat style is psychological warfare—he uses favors, memory manipulation, and social pressure as his weapon. Unlike martial cultivators, he doesn’t need to hit you; he just needs you to owe him.
Cultivating the True vs. the False (修真 vs 修假): This is the core metaphysical axis of the Dao-Twisted World. Standard cultivation (“seeking the True”) is about aligning with reality’s inherent rules. The Zuowandao’s “Cultivation of the False” is about making a lie so solid it overwrites truth. The Dice’s final warning—“if you only cultivate the True and not the False, watch out for Qi Deviation”—is a terrifying inversion of conventional wisdom: in this world, refusing to lie might hurt you spiritually.
Qi Deviation (走火入魔): A classic xianxia term for a cultivation accident where the practitioner’s inner energy goes out of control, often leading to madness, self-destruction, or monstrous transformation. The Dice weaponizes this term here as a threat: by refusing to “play the lie,” Li Huowang is leaving himself vulnerable to internal spiritual imbalance.

Cultivating the True vs. the False (修真 vs 修假)

The core philosophical axis of the Dao-Twisted World. Standard cultivation seeks alignment with reality; Zuowandao’s “False” cultivation makes lies solid enough to overwrite truth.

Chapter Overview

Oh boy. If you thought Li Huowang was done dealing with terrifying sovereigns, think again. This chapter introduces the actual head honcho of the Zuowandao—the Dice (骰子)—and let’s just say his “friendly favors” hit different than a celestial emperor’s warmongering. Our boy gets cornered in broad daylight over fried dough sticks, and the exchange is a masterclass in smiling dread. The chapter then slides into a tense wilderness isolation arc (because when the Dice says jump, you don’t ask how high, you run), before ending with the sound of unsolicited combat in the forest—because of course Li Huowang can’t catch a break.

Key Plot Points

The Dice casually intercepts Li Huowang at a market stall and reveals he knows about the Great Liang Emperor’s recruitment offer last chapter—so much for secrecy.
The Dice wants Li Huowang to take the emperor’s offer and secretly help him ascend the throne as a Zuowandao insider.
Li Huowang bluntly refuses, triggering the Dice’s “you owe me a favor” gambit. The favor involves storing something for him a month ago that Li Huowang has no memory of—which is either a lie or evidence that the Dice has already started messing with his timeline.
Li Huowang stands his ground, gambling that the Dice won’t escalate to open conflict while the Supervisory Heavenly Office is still hunting them.
As Li Huowang leaves, the Dice shouts a cryptic warning about only cultivating the True and not the False, linking back to the novel’s core philosophical axis.
Li Huowang goes full survival mode: no contact with people, foraging for food, fleeing into the wilderness to avoid hidden Zuowandao traps.
Late night, everyone hears combat sounds from the eastern woods. Li Huowang, Bai Lingmiao, and Li Sui go to investigate as a unit to avoid being tricked by a “divide and conquer” tactic.

Reading Guide

Li Huowang makes a critical survival decision here: he refuses to engage in the Zuowandao’s game at all. He doesn’t try to out-con the Dice or lay a counter-trap—he simply leaves. That’s the mature version of his old paranoid self: instead of trying to win every fight, he recognizes that the safest move is not to enter the ring. But the Dice’s parting shot about “cultivating the True vs. the False” is a world-building bomb that will echo forward. Pay attention: this isn’t just a philosophical quip. It’s a warning about the very nature of power in this twisted reality.

Deep Dive: The Dice’s “Favor” Mechanic

This chapter introduces a terrifying Zuowandao recruitment technique: the fabricated favor. The Dice claims Li Huowang “asked him to store something a month ago”—a month during which, from Li Huowang’s perspective, nothing happened. But in the Dao-Twisted World, memory is already unreliable. The Dice might be lying, or he might actually be planting false memories in Li Huowang’s timeline. This is the horror of a trickster sect that doesn’t need to fight you—it just needs to make you doubt your own past.