The Mandate of Heaven

Five li outside the capital, Li Huowang and Li Sui sprinted through the forest. Figures darted between the trunks behind them—a large, noisy pursuit.

Just as it seemed the pursuers would catch up, a black-robed arhat wielding a demon-subduing ring suddenly burst from a tree trunk beside them. The ring, engraved with Buddhist sutras, slammed hard toward the pair.

A dark light flashed. The ring struck them both, and their bodies shattered like rotten wood, crumbling into pieces.

A crowd quickly gathered around the arhat, staring at Li Huowang's severed head in his hand.

"Something's wrong!" A man dressed as a Daoist flipped his hands, pressing two leaves over his eyes.

A moment later, he peeled the skin from the fake head's face and found a corpse's dead visage beneath it, a talisman plastered over its features.

"Illusion technique! After them!" The encircling group dispersed instantly.

Halfway up a distant mountainside, Li Huowang watched it all unfold. "The Zuowandao's trick is more useful than I thought. It bought us some time."

"Dad, how much longer are they going to chase us?" Li Sui lay sprawled on the ground, arms and legs spread wide.

"That depends on when the Superintendent gets back, not on us." Without another word, Li Huowang pulled out one of his own collarbones and began inscribing divination talismans.

He was, of course, divining for the still-absent Superintendent. Li Huowang knew perfectly well that no talisman could truly divine the hexagram of a man like the Superintendent. But by making the attempt, he would alert the man that something had changed.

Li Huowang wanted that alert to tell the Superintendent that his task was done.

When the divination was finished, he pushed the cracked collarbone back into his flesh and looked at Shangguan Yuting beside him. "We're out of time. Can you tell me where the Superintendent went?"

Shangguan Yuting, whose face was now covered in hundreds of blinking eyes, showed no sign of panic. "I don't know. The Superintendent didn't tell me. If he's delayed, then there's a reason for the delay."

Li Huowang couldn't even muster the energy to be angry at this hallucination—if that was what she was.

Fortunately, Ji Lin had managed to hire some powerful masters. Their tracking and divination skills were formidable, but Li Huowang still had his trump card: the spine-sword. Whenever he was about to be cornered, he could use the spine-sword to slip into Great Qi, escaping the encirclement.

No matter how strong these pursuers were, or how bizarre their abilities, they had no good answer for him fleeing into another timeline.

Still, the constant running, the lack of proper food and sleep—it was wearing him down.

Li Huowang pulled a steamed bun from his robe and handed it to Li Sui. "Eat fast. We need to move. One of those guys has a compass that's a little too good at pinpointing us."

Li Sui sat up, took the bun, and stuffed it into her mouth, chewing with puffed cheeks. "Dad, I don't want a bun. Can I go find meat in the woods? I saw a lot of meat in there."

"We don't have time to be picky right now. Hunting would just tell them exactly where we are. Eat this for now." Li Huowang reached into his red Daoist robe and pulled out a wide strip of dried blood-scab, still flecked with bits of skin. He handed it to her.

Li Sui took it and crunched down happily, her eyes squinting with delight. "Thanks, Dad. I like this better than meat."

Watching a young woman gnaw on his own scabs felt strange. Ever since Li Sui had taken human form, Li Huowang couldn't quite get used to it. It was as if, because she looked like a person, she should be one.

Once they were out of this mess, he'd have to make her take off that skin-suit.

Just as he reached out to touch her head, a jolt of alarm shot through him. His brow furrowed, and he tightened his grip on the spine-sword.

"Li Sui! Get over here! Someone's coming!" Li Sui quickly shoved the last of the scab into her mouth and leaped onto Li Huowang's back.

The moment he heard the rustle of robes brushing against leaves, Li Huowang didn't hesitate. He swung the spine-sword, carving open a rift.

But just as he was about to step through, the sky suddenly darkened. The rift between the two timelines snapped shut.

It hadn't faded on its own. Something had cut it in half.

"Who in Great Liang has that kind of power?" The question had barely crossed his mind when the answer stepped out from the trees. The Grand Preceptor of Great Liang!

Unlike the old man who had once ridden a backward-facing green ox and carried a fishing rod, this time Huangfu Tiangang wore a solemn ceremonial robe and clutched the Star-Constellation Longsword. He emerged slowly from the woods. "Ji Zai. What are you doing here?"

Li Huowang pulled Li Sui tightly behind him. "Protecting my liege, of course! A wise bird chooses its branch. Surely even the Grand Preceptor wouldn't interfere with such matters?"

"Do you think those cheap tricks can fool me? Anping died long ago. What's inside her skin is the evil spirit you raised." Huangfu Tiangang bluntly exposed Li Sui's identity.

"The Emperor has already won. He is the Emperor now. Who do you think you are, meddling in affairs of state? Deceiving the sovereign is punishable by death!"

The words hit Li Huowang like a mountain crashing down on him. He couldn't move an inch.

As the Grand Preceptor approached, eyes wide with rage, sword in hand, Li Huowang knew he was about to die. But he forced out the words, faster now. "Grand Preceptor, wait! With your vast powers, surely you've seen the Superintendent's illusion beside me? This matter is connected to him!"

The moment the words left his mouth, the air seemed to freeze. But when he saw that the Grand Preceptor's sword had stopped, he knew his words had landed.

Li Huowang understood now: even if the Grand Preceptor and the Superintendent were on the same side, they didn't coordinate everything.

Huangfu Tiangang made a hand seal Li Huowang had never seen before. He pointed it at the ground, and his gaze locked onto Shangguan Yuting, who was bowing to him.

When he saw her face—covered in eyes—the Grand Preceptor of Great Liang was visibly startled. "So this thing actually exists? Wait… could it be that the Superintendent intends to…?"

Seizing the opportunity, Li Huowang quickly laid out Dice's plan.

But the Grand Preceptor's reaction was almost identical to the Superintendent's. Even after hearing about Dice's scheme, he remained eerily calm. In fact, he seemed more fascinated by Shangguan Yuting's eyes.

Just as he was frowning over something, footsteps sounded from all directions. Ji Lin's men had arrived.

Dozens of people surrounded them, but they didn't attack immediately. They had spotted Huangfu Tiangang.

After a moment of hesitation, a fat man clutching a gold ingot stepped forward cautiously. "Grand Preceptor, this man—"

"Stand down."

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