The Dice Swallows the Dragon Vein

Gao Zhijian was still laughing in the sky, spiraling like a true dragon. And as he laughed, even more lotus-shaped Kongming lanterns filled the air. "When the fight starts, take Li Sui and get out of here first. Head back to Niuxin Village and wait for me." Li Huowang watched Gao Zhijian in the distance as he pulled out his torture implements, ready to cut open his own stomach. But a cold hand pressed down on the one holding the implements. Bai Lingmiao's voice was soft. "Brother Li, you don't have to do that anymore. I can help you now, too." "White Lotus, heh heh heh. You think a bunch of trash like you can stop me?" Looking at the white lotus on Bai Lingmiao's forehead and the lanterns all around, Li Huowang knew a lot must have happened in the time she'd been gone. He wanted to ask what, but the immediate crisis left him no room for trivial matters. "Will they all listen to you?" Li Huowang asked Bai Lingmiao. "Mn. They will." Her reply was blunt. "Then see if you can have them hold Gao Zhijian down for a little while." Taking a deep breath, Li Huowang stared at the distant figure and tightened his grip on his sword. He had cut him down once, back when they were children. Now that they were grown, he could do it again. Between the lanterns, more White Lotus disciples sat cross-legged in midair, wearing paper bibs. Sharp crescent blades pierced their cheeks; copper gourds hung from hooks in their earlobes. "Incense Spirit Possession!" Bai Lingmiao shouted. They all pulled serrated knives from their waists and began to tap them against their own skulls. "The Dao is learned through the heart; the heart borrows the incense to carry its message. The incense burns in the jade furnace; the heart lingers before the Emperor. The true spirit descends in hope; the immortal banners grace the hall. Your servant now makes his report, reaching straight to the Nine Heavens. Whatever is prayed for, whatever is wished, may it be granted as spoken." The sound of chanting rose in a buzzing drone, drowning out everything else. Gao Zhijian's elongated body coiled in the air. He paid no attention to the lotus lanterns encircling him. There was even a hint of teasing in his eyes, as if he wanted to toy with these people. "A thousand homes invite, a thousand homes answer; ten thousand homes invite, ten thousand homes respond. The disciple bows three times in supplication, beseeching the Incense Spirit to descend and arrive. Lift up the possessed medium's body and face; lift up the possessed medium to open their mouth; let them open their mouth and teach clearly. Soldiers and spirits, swiftly, as the law commands!" As they finished, they tightened their grips on the bloody serrated blades and pointed them at Gao Zhijian. A second face seemed to appear over Gao Zhijian's own. His serpentine body came to an abrupt halt. The smell of temple incense spread through the air. Li Huowang hadn't expected the White Lotus to manage to force a god into Gao Zhijian. Seizing the opening, Peng Longteng grabbed Li Huowang and hurled him toward Gao Zhijian. Just like he had back in Great Qi, Li Huowang tightened his grip on the sword, traced Gao Zhijian's back to sever him from the Dragon Vein, and stabbed down toward his chest yet again. It went smoothly. Gao Zhijian offered no resistance at all. Right as the baleful blade was about to sink into his chest, the unresisting Gao Zhijian's lips twitched into a smirk. His voice was full of mischief. "You want to kill me? Better think it over. If I die, Great Liang's Dragon Vein is finished, you know~" When he felt the point of Li Huowang's blade shift up by an inch, Gao Zhijian burst into laughter and shoved his chest forward without hesitation, right onto the sword. "Red Center, we aren't military-men; there's no need to go waving blades around. We Zuowandao use our brains~" "Look, everyone knows we Zuowandao aren't that strong. I know it too. So why would I fight you head-on? Now I'm the Dragon Vein. I can shut my eyes and stand here for you to kill, and you wouldn't dare. Heh heh~ That's using your brain." The Dice could do whatever he wanted to Li Huowang, but Li Huowang had to be careful with the Dice's current identity. In an instant, he was outmaneuvered at every turn. Just as Gao Zhijian was about to grab him again, several fingers shot up from below, buying him an escape. Li Huowang fell back to the lotus lanterns and looked down. A group of people in black robes stood on the rooftops. He recognized one of them: Zu Yi. Zu Yi of the Ao-Jing Sect. Not only that—all kinds of bizarre sects and factions had gathered, filling the entire Upper Capital Imperial Palace. A low rumble shook the ground. A massive silhouette was approaching from afar. It was the Buddha carved from an entire mountain. And now it was alive. The colossal Buddha slowly lowered itself, staring down at Gao Zhijian with eyes bigger than a house. Gao Zhijian just laughed. "Heh heh heh~ Looks like the big shot is finally back. You think you can trap me? You can't fool me. Don't forget—I'm a Zuowandao. Profound Feminine. I already got what I wanted. You're too late~~~" With that, Gao Zhijian opened his mouth wide and started swallowing the tail of the Dragon Vein. His jaw stretched grotesquely as he gulped down the emperors strung along it. He swallowed faster and faster, more and more desperately, until he had consumed the entire Dragon Vein. Then he vanished completely. Li Huowang could feel the world around him twisting out of shape. When he came back to his senses, the hallucinations were rapidly losing their color. The next time he blinked, he and Bai Lingmiao were on the ground. There were far fewer people around. Aside from the Ao-Jing Sect and a few White Lotus disciples, everything else had been an illusion—the Supervisor's trick. The Supervisor, wrapped in a red robe, was kneeling on one knee, treating a grievously wounded Huangfu Tiangang, the Great Liang State Preceptor. His six fingers were rapidly draining the bright red color from the wound on the Preceptor's chest, leaving it a pale, ashen gray. "The Dice ambushed me while I was performing the Grand Temple Sacrifice! If I hadn't kept a trick up my sleeve, I'd be dead for real!" Huangfu Tiangang gnashed his teeth. Blood was still at the corner of his mouth. "Don't talk." The Supervisor peeled a patch of pale yellow skin from a nearby corpse and pressed it over the Preceptor's now black-and-white wound. Watching his deliberate, unhurried movements, Li Huowang looked up. Not just the illusions were gone. Gao Zhijian was gone too. And Great Liang's Dragon Vein had vanished! "Where is the Dice going? What is he going to do with the Dragon Vein?" Li Huowang's mind was in chaos. Before he could think it through, Huangfu Tiangang rose to his feet, raised his Astral Sword, and swung it at Li Huowang. Li Huowang lifted his own sword to parry, but then his vision blurred. He and the Great Liang Preceptor were suddenly sitting face to face at a table. "Tiangang, do you really think this is the time for infighting?" The Supervisor sat down slowly beside them. "He's the one who brought him here! Everything is connected to him! This man is in league with the Dice! If we don't get rid of this pest, are we supposed to keep him around for New Year's?" Huangfu Tiangang slammed his hand furiously on the table.