Face to Face

Of all the things Old Man Lyu had repeated to his son, “the opera stage” was the very first word the boy had learned. Lyu Juren understood what that place meant to his father. When he was an infant, his father had been murmuring the word into his ear so often that the first thing the child said was neither “Father” nor “Mother” but “opera stage.”

Now, suddenly, he had received an entire theater district as a gift—and his father’s purpose in life had vanished. It felt as though the only thing left for the old man was to wait for the grave.

Luo Juanhua listened to her husband’s explanation and puckered her lips. “Honestly, your father’s just born for suffering. Put a fortune right in front of him and he wouldn’t know what to do with it. Send him back to his miserable life—that’ll make him comfortable.”

Lyu Juren didn’t answer. He was already turning over ways to keep his father busy, lest the old man worry himself sick.

“Come on, Xiu’er, don’t just eat the rice—eat meat! Meat’ll fill you up just as well.”

As Luo Juanhua was fussing over their eldest daughter, a familiar face burst through the front door—her brother-in-law, Lyu Xiucai.

Without so much as a greeting to his elder brother or sister-in-law, Lyu Xiucai snatched the chopsticks from his four-year-old niece’s bowl and started wolfing down the food.

“Xiucai? What are you doing back here? Didn’t you take your wife and follow Little Daoist back to Niu’s Heart Village to practice immortality?” Juren was genuinely surprised to see him. Just before they’d left the capital, no matter how much he’d tried to talk him out of it, Xiucai had been dead set on learning divine techniques from Little Daoist. He hadn’t hesitated for a second.

He swigged the egg soup to wash down the meat and said, panting, “Master’s been abducted! I came back to get reinforcements from the big lunk!”

“What?! What kind of person could kidnap Little Daoist?” Lyu Zhuangyuan’s head appeared; he was back in the main hall, his pipe stem clamped between his teeth, his face a mask of surprise.

“Bah, you wouldn’t understand even if I explained it. Their skills were terrifying—six of them joined into some kind of formation, and one was a demigod. Looked like two different groups had colluded. Plus, they had all sorts of treasure talismans I’d never seen before. Master slipped up and fell into their trap.”

“I’ll grab a bite and head out. When Gao Zhijian’s reinforcements show up, I’ll go save Master!” Lyu Xiucai said, grabbing a handful of vinegared chicken with his bare hand and stuffing it into his mouth.

“Don’t you dare go! If Little Daoist couldn’t handle them, what do you think you can do? Rushing in ahead of his corpse to claim the first sacrifice!” Lyu Zhuangyuan’s pipe stem traced frantic arcs in the air.

But Lyu Zhuangyuan’s objection had no effect. Lyu Xiucai slammed his hand on the table and stuck out his chin. “What the hell do you know! I’m his disciple! If I stand by him in his time of need, once we’re out, he’ll remember it and teach me his real arts!”

“I’m his only disciple! When he achieves immortality, who else is he going to pass it down to?”

“And don’t underestimate me, all right! I’ve been training for a long time now. I’m pretty strong!”

Just then, Lyu Xiucai heard the thunder of hooves from the street. His face lit up. Grabbing a whole braised goose, he dashed toward the door. “Now that’s what I’m talking about! The big lunk’s reinforcements are here already!”

“If you step one foot out that door, you’re no longer a Lyu!” the anxious Lyu Zhuangyuan shouted, flailing his hands.

Lyu Xiucai charged out without a backward glance, not sparing his father a single thought.

“Hmph! Big deal, being a low-born ‘Lyu.’ When I ascend to immortality alongside Master someday, don’t expect me to take you roosters and dogs along to heaven!”

“Li Huowang? Li Huowang?”

A snapping sound right in front of his eyes gradually pulled his unfocused pupils back into place.

When he came to, no surprise: he was wrapped tightly in a straitjacket. To keep him from biting, a metal muzzle had been locked over his mouth.

“Calm down now? Can we talk?” Wu Cheng stood before him with a tablet in his hand.

Li Huowang stared at him for a long time, then spoke slowly: “You’re just another employee, right? Like Wang Wei. Who’s the one behind you?”

“Why the Lifespan Pill? Is he dying? Trying to roll the dice on me?”

“Or maybe the Lifespan Pill is just a probe? You want something more dangerous, more powerful?”

Wu Cheng didn’t answer. He pressed his Bluetooth earpiece, looked down at his tablet, and said, “Director, this seems like a new variable. It doesn’t match Yi Donglai’s paper. Mm-hmm. I understand. I’ll handle it.”

After a brief video call with whoever was on the tablet, Wu Cheng ended the connection and raised his head to meet Li Huowang’s eyes.

“Li Huowang, you know what? Yi Donglai has been running experiments on you. If this keeps up, you’ll go mad one day.”

He tapped his own chest. “Trust me. If you work with us, you’ll have a better future.”

“Ha. Finally dropping the act?” Li Huowang let out a cold laugh. “And why the hell should I? How many times have you people lied to me? I don’t believe Yi Donglai—so I’m supposed to believe you?”

“Because you have no choice. Because you’re in our hands now. And because Yi Donglai isn’t here.”

The red light on the surveillance camera in the upper-left corner of the ward slowly dimmed. Wu Cheng took out a taser from his coat pocket and pressed it against Li Huowang’s body.

A whine of electricity. Li Huowang’s body convulsed out of control—but he laughed. “This is what you’re using against me? You think that’s impressive?”

The current surged. Li Huowang only laughed louder. When the taser finally died, the smile gradually faded from his face.

“Come on. Keep going. If you’ve got the guts, kill me. Because the second I’m free, I’ll flay every one of you.”

Li Huowang knew they couldn’t kill him. They still wanted his Lifespan Pill.

Wu Cheng’s face flickered with anger, but he suppressed it. He tapped his tablet, and a video began playing in front of Li Huowang.

Surveillance footage from a subway station. A girl with a tired face, a single-strap bag over her shoulder, scrolling through her phone as she walked toward a university gate.

When Li Huowang saw the jade earrings she was wearing, his pupils trembled. He had given her those.

“This girl’s name is Yang Na, isn’t it? I hear she’s your childhood sweetheart. I know you’re crazy. I know you’re not afraid of pain. But what if… she had to feel what you just felt?”

Li Huowang fell silent.

Wu Cheng smiled. “Work with us, and it’ll be a thousand times better than trusting Yi Donglai’s nonsense. You have a talent that appears once in a millennium. Hiding it away and refusing to use it is a waste.”

“Besides, you’re not losing anything. You’re gaining everything.”

“No more being locked up in a mental hospital. No more being treated like a madman. Women. Money. Fame. You can have as much as you want. You’ll stand at the top of the world.”

Li Huowang was silent for a long time. Then he slowly lifted his head. His expression had become eerily calm.

“I don’t want to negotiate with a pawn. I want to talk to the person behind you. Face to face.”