The Trouble

1,333 words

Chapter 591: The Trouble

Amidst a cluster of green rockeries, Li Huowang, who had been speaking calmly just a moment ago, suddenly tilted his head back. His expression turned grave as he stared at the sky, and the relaxed atmosphere around them vanished in an instant.

Li Sui looked at her father, whose behavior had become so abruptly abnormal, and asked cautiously, “Dad, what’s wrong?”

Beside her, Bai Lingmiao also asked carefully, “Brother Li, are you alright?”

At this moment, they were within the imperial gardens of Great Liang. Though it was winter, the eunuchs who tended the grounds had used some unknown method to keep all sorts of flowers blooming in a riot of color.

As for Li Huowang’s arrival, the eunuchs and maids attending the gardens knelt at a distance, trembling in fear.

They had been enjoying the scenery, but when Li Huowang suddenly acted like this, the atmosphere instantly became tense.

Hearing those beside him, Li Huowang calmly withdrew his gaze. His tone was level as he said, “It’s nothing. I just thought the sky looked pretty good today.”

The moment he said this, everyone let out a huge sigh of relief. Gouwa, especially, exclaimed in false alarm, “Ai, Brother Li, you scared me with that sudden start. I thought you were having another episode.”

“My illness is cured. Why would I have an episode? I heard the Lü Family Troupe came to the capital with you all?” Li Huowang said casually, changing the subject.

“Yeah! The Fool gave them a huge, huge opera house. Old Zhuangyuan Lü is probably so happy his snot bubbles are about to pop out.”

Regarding Li Huowang’s current appearance—his head replaced by a lotus root—they were not as unaccustomed to it as Bai Lingmiao had imagined. Instead, they accepted it quite naturally.

After all, they had seen far stranger things during their journey. Still, the eunuchs, maids, and palace guards clearly weren’t as accustomed to it.

“Is that so? That’s good news. The wish he’s carried for half his life has finally come true.” Li Huowang reached out and gently stroked Li Sui’s head, which rested on his lap.

Wriggling tentacles coiled around him, picking flowers one by one and sticking them into his head. Li Huowang took a flower and tucked it behind Li Sui’s ear.

Seeing that Li Huowang was fine, Li Sui, with her simple heart, didn’t think much of it. She happily burrowed into his arms.

“With an opera house that big, the Lü Family Troupe’s spring operas are going to be amazing. Once they start, I’m definitely going to go watch.”

“Still doing spring operas? What a waste of such a big house.”

“Ay! What’s wrong with a spring opera? Let’s be honest, who doesn’t like spring operas?”

Under Gouwa’s rambling chatter, the small incident quickly passed, and they continued their stroll through the imperial gardens.

After wandering for a while, they discovered that the gardens even had greenhouses specifically for growing winter vegetables. Everyone was delighted and immediately went down to pick some, planning to save them for wrapping dumplings during the New Year.

Fresh greens in the dead of winter were a rare treat. As for being polite? They didn’t care. If these vegetables belonged to Gao Zhijian, then they naturally belonged to them all.

After touring the entire imperial garden, the group returned, satisfied, having treated the outing like a spring walk in the countryside.

Given Li Huowang’s current condition, he naturally needed plenty of rest. The others didn’t intend to bother him, so they escorted him to his door and took their leave.

Seeing everyone else leave, Bai Lingmiao pushed Li Huowang’s rattan chair toward the house.

“Brother Li, are you really alright?” Though Bai Lingmiao was blind after swallowing the relic, her perception was unusually sharp. She knew Li Huowang’s expression just now had not been the look of someone admiring the weather.

“It’s nothing. Just a small matter. A small matter.”

Just as they were about to enter the house, Li Huowang suddenly spoke. “Miaomiao, later, please invite the Chief Astrologer for me. There are some things I need to ask him about clearly.”

A flicker of surprise crossed Bai Lingmiao’s face, but she quickly nodded. “Mm, alright. I understand.”

When she left, she also took Li Sui, who was clinging to Li Huowang, with her. But having been apart for a while, Li Sui was extremely reluctant to leave Li Huowang’s side.

“Auntie, let me stay with my dad. I haven’t seen him in so long,” Li Sui said, her voice full of reluctance. Though her appearance was that of a stunningly beautiful young woman, her manner of speaking was no different from a little child.

“No. Your father’s head is very fragile right now. What if you accidentally knock it off? Come with me now!”

As soon as Bai Lingmiao’s tone turned stern, Li Sui immediately wilted. She let herself be led by the hand, looking back every few steps, until she finally left.

After they were gone, the room became much quieter. Li Huowang slowly closed his eyes.

His right fingers tapped on the tight leather, while his left fingers tapped in unison on the smooth rattan chair.

In the pitch-black space, the smell of disinfectant intertwined with a faint, elusive fragrance.

“Li Huowang, I heard you were looking for me?”

Hearing the voice, Li Huowang slowly opened his eyes and saw the Chief Astrologer standing before him.

The tall man was wearing his wide red robe, filling Li Huowang’s entire field of vision with an oppressive presence.

Li Huowang looked at him calmly, then spoke after a pause. “Is there still some unfinished business? Something that wasn’t cleaned up properly?”

“Who told you that?” The Chief Astrologer seemed slightly surprised by Li Huowang’s sudden discovery.

“No one told me. I just felt it myself.” In Li Huowang’s mind, the image of that gaze from deep within the hospital corridor flashed by.

The Chief Astrologer slowly nodded. “That’s correct. But such a minor matter will be handled by the Supervisory Heavenly Office. You don’t need to worry about it. Just focus on resting and recovering.”

“What is it, exactly?” Li Huowang pressed further. He didn’t believe that anything involving the Dragon Veins of Great Liang could be a small matter.

Faced with Li Huowang’s inquiry, the Chief Astrologer did not answer. He simply turned to leave.

“You don’t trust me?” Li Huowang’s words stopped the Chief Astrologer in his tracks. “I helped you deal with The Dice, and you still don’t trust me?”

“Put yourself in my position. Try to think about it from my perspective. Would you trust me?”

Hearing this, Li Huowang didn’t bother to explain further. Without The Dice as a common enemy, their relationship was not as close as one might have imagined.

“If you ever need my help, you can ask me anytime. I live in Great Liang too, and I don’t want to see it fall.”

From within the shadow of his Daoist robe, the Chief Astrologer turned his dark gaze back to Li Huowang. “I know that’s what you think. But do I know what the one behind you is planning? You are no longer just you now.”

“The plans of a Siming are never the same as those of us mortals. The Supervisory Heavenly Office… monitors the heavens. That is its purpose.”

Having said this, the Chief Astrologer’s tall figure gradually faded away until he was gone from the room. The room fell silent once more.

Li Huowang fell deep into thought. The Chief Astrologer trusted him… but he didn’t trust the person he might become.

Yet if the Chief Astrologer didn’t trust him, did Li Huowang truly trust the Chief Astrologer either?

Since the man was unwilling to reveal anything, Li Huowang would have to find another way to solve the problem himself.

Now that trouble had already found him, he had no intention of just waiting for it to strike.

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Reading Guide Decoding

Calm Before the Storm: Trust, Betrayal, and the Siming’s Shadow

Cultural / Xianxia Notes

“Spring Opera” (粉戏) is a historical slang term for erotic or bawdy folk opera performances. In the context of this chapter, Gouwa’s enthusiasm for the Lü Family Troupe’s new theater being used for such shows is a darkly humorous contrast to the atmosphere of courtly elegance. It also subtly underscores how the Lü Family’s hard-won status does not automatically erase their roots in the vulgar, visceral world of traveling performers.

The Chief Astrologer (司天监, Sitian Jian) is a real historical title within the Ming and Qing imperial bureaucracy, referring to the head of the Astronomical Bureau. In the Dao-Twisted World, this title is repurposed to describe a figure who oversees the celestial and supernatural realms on behalf of the empire. His role is not merely to read the stars, but to monitor the boundary between the mortal world and the Siming—hence the office’s name, which puns on “overseeing the heavens” and “keeping watch over the celestial.”

The Dragon Veins (龙脉) are a foundational concept in Chinese geomancy and political theology. The flow of underground qi through the land’s “dragon veins” was believed to determine the fate and legitimacy of a dynasty. In this novel, the concept is made literal and visceral: the Mandate of Heaven is a stolen fragment of divine power that holds up reality, and those who support it must pay a terrible, ongoing price. The Chief Astrologer’s refusal to discuss the “minor matter” hints that it may threaten the very fabric of Great Liang’s existence.

Mandate of Heaven (气运)

In this novel’s context, the Mandate is a stolen fragment of divine power that holds up reality; it can only be supported by a family willing to commit self-slaughter, making it a curse as much as a blessing.

Chapter Overview

The fragile peace Li Huowang has carved out in the Imperial Palace of Great Liang is already fraying at the edges. What begins as a seemingly relaxed stroll through the winter gardens with his companions quickly turns ominous when Li Huowang abruptly senses something wrong. His casual dismissal of the incident does not fool the perceptive Bai Lingmiao, and his subsequent private audience with the Chief Astrologer confirms that a new threat is lurking in the shadows. However, the Chief Astrologer refuses to share the details, citing a deep distrust of the Siming that stands behind Li Huowang. Forced to act on his own, Li Huowang resolves to hunt down this hidden problem before it can catch him off guard.

Key Plot Points

Li Huowang interrupts a cheerful garden tour by staring intently at the sky, causing momentary panic among his companions. He quickly soothes them with a lie about the weather, but the tension lingers beneath the surface.
The group accepts Li Huowang’s new lotus-root head with surprising ease, having seen far stranger things during their journey. Gouwa’s lighthearted banter about the Lü Family Troupe’s new opera house and their “spring operas” provides a brief return to levity.
After everyone leaves, Bai Lingmiao pushes Li Huowang back to his room. Though blind, her sharp perception senses that Li Huowang was not simply admiring the sky. He asks her to summon the Chief Astrologer, revealing that he is already planning his next move.
During his private meeting with the Chief Astrologer, Li Huowang directly asks if there is unfinished business from their previous campaign. The Chief Astrologer confirms the existence of a loose end but insists it is a minor matter for the Supervisory Heavenly Office to handle.
When Li Huowang presses for details, the Chief Astrologer refuses, citing a fundamental distrust of the Siming that now has a stake in Li Huowang’s future. He warns that Li Huowang is “no longer just himself,” implying that the line between man and vessel has become dangerously blurred.
Li Huowang accepts the standoff with cold pragmatism. Realizing that he cannot rely on the Chief Astrologer, he decides to find his own solution before the hidden trouble can escalate.

Reading Guide

This chapter is a classic example of “the calm before the storm.” The surface-level interactions—Gouwa’s jokes, Li Sui’s childish clinginess, and the group’s delight in winter vegetables—are all designed to lull both the characters and the reader into a false sense of domestic comfort. Li Huowang’s sudden shift in demeanor is the first crack in that facade, and his private meeting with the Chief Astrologer widens it into a chasm of distrust.

Pay close attention to the Chief Astrologer’s reasoning. He does not doubt Li Huowang’s intentions now, but he explicitly fears the “one behind” Li Huowang—the Siming who is now entangled with his existence. This is a crucial expansion of the novel’s core horror: the problem is not simply that Li Huowang is fragile, but that his future self may be a weapon in the hands of a power that sees mortals as expendable tools.

Li Huowang’s final decision to “solve the problem himself” marks a return to his most pragmatic, predatory mindset. Having lost the unity of purpose he shared with the Chief Astrologer against The Dice, he must now operate as a lone agent in a political landscape that treats him as both a hero and a liability. His line, “If trouble has already found me, I have no intention of sitting around and waiting for it,” is the quiet, steel-edged promise of a man who has learned that trust is a currency that devalues the moment you stop paying it.