Why does Yuan Heping claim to be a "Leo alien"?

Because Qian Fu’s delusional accusation gives him a bizarre, but plausible (within the context of their shared reality) escape from Li Huowang’s immediate threat.

Why does Zhao Lei attack Li Huowang?

Zhao Lei is convinced Li Huowang has stolen his model ship. Driven by a possessive rage, he tries to smash the bottle over Li Huowang’s head in retaliation.

What happens to the model ship?

The glass bottle shatters, and the miniature wooden ship is used by Li Huowang as an improvised weapon, which shatters on impact. The tiny wooden sword inside the bottle pierces Zhao Lei’s eye.

Model Ship

1,326 words

Chapter 729: Model Ship

Faced with Li Huowang’s actions, Yuan Heping tried to pull his hand back, but Li Huowang’s foot was already pinning his wrist to the floor, holding him in place. “No, no, no!”

As the sharp blade cut into his skin, Li Huowang stopped, staring into Yuan Heping’s eyes. He enunciated each word deliberately. “Talk. Who are you people!? Your identities! Your purpose!”

“I… I don’t know!” Yuan Heping said, his face full of innocence. “The few of us finally managed to escape from the mental hospital together. We were just planning to find some scraps to eat when no one was around!”

“Bullshit! You think I’d believe that kind of lie? Then why did you run!”

Yuan Heping looked like he was about to cry from frustration. “You… you were chasing me with a cleaver like a psycho! Who wouldn’t run!”

Just then, Qian Fu suddenly rushed over, glaring at him viciously. “Don’t you try to fool us! We’ve already seen through you! You’re that Leo alien! You came to Earth to take it over for yourselves, didn’t you? We’ve seen through you!”

Hearing this, Yuan Heping was stunned for a moment. He looked at Qian Fu, then back at Li Huowang, and immediately began nodding frantically.

“Yes, yes, yes! I am a Leo alien! I came to Earth this time to take it over for myself!”

Li Huowang’s face twitched. The hand holding the knife pressed down harder, and blood began to seep from Yuan Heping’s fingers. “Are you going to talk or not!”

“What do you want me to say!” Yuan Heping looked on the verge of tears.

“Why were you following me! Why did you put a needle in my food! Don’t tell me you didn’t do those things!!!”

“Fine! Fine, fine, fine!! You’re right, I put the needle in your food, I did it all!”

“Why? What’s your purpose!! Why are you watching me!”

“Because… because…” Sweating profusely, Yuan Heping racked his brains for a reason.

Just as he was struggling to come up with anything, Qing Wanglai walked over from the side, his expression gentle, and helped Yuan Heping to his feet.

“Don’t be so quick to judge him. Maybe he’s just a poor soul being used by someone else.”

Yuan Heping, freed from Li Huowang’s grip, immediately hid behind Qing Wanglai, trembling.

“Here, have some water. Relax.”

Seeing Qing Wanglai’s attitude, Li Huowang was about to retort, but he caught himself. He’d already played the bad cop. Now it was time for the good cop to take over.

If being hard wasn’t working, maybe being soft would.

To help set the stage for the other man, Li Huowang imitated something he’d seen in a TV drama. His face twisted into a savage grimace as he raised the cleaver and licked the blood from its blade.

The act was clearly effective. Yuan Heping was even more terrified, shrinking further away.

And he wasn’t the only one. Aside from Yang Na, everyone else had also stepped back, watching Li Huowang with uneasy eyes.

“I’m just pretending. Scaring him a little,” Li Huowang whispered to Yang Na in explanation.

Yang Na looked worriedly at the bespectacled man, now talking with Qing Wanglai. “Maybe he really doesn’t know?”

“Impossible. Once is a coincidence. Twice is still a coincidence? The world is this big, and he just happens to run into me again in the dead of night?”

“He knows something. He’s just stubborn!!”

“This guy is definitely connected to those people. Let’s see how Qing Wanglai does. If he can’t get it out of him, don’t blame me for getting rough!”

Li Huowang ground his teeth as he finished speaking. He turned and began searching through Zhao Lei’s cluttered apartment for a tool he could use later.

It seemed that because he did handicrafts and models, Zhao Lei’s place had quite a few knives and tools. Not enough variety for what Li Huowang wanted, but they’d do for now.

Just as Li Huowang started sharpening a blade on the edge of the sink, Qing Wanglai’s interrogation came to an end.

He pulled a thick wad of red bills from his wallet and slapped them into Yuan Heping’s hands, which eased some of the terror on the man’s face.

“He’s just a pawn. Running errands without knowing the full picture. He doesn’t even realize that our world is a projected thing.”

Li Huowang was tired of hearing that excuse. He just wanted the problem solved. “Did he say who was pulling the strings?”

Hearing this, Qing Wanglai didn’t answer. Instead, he turned his head to look at Wang Gang, who was lying on the ground and looking like he was barely alive.

It seemed that this guy, who’d been playing dead the whole time, was the real mastermind.

Li Huowang walked over to Wang Gang, the cold steel of his weapon glinting. Wang Gang slowly opened his eyes, a bitter smile spreading across his face.

Unlike Yuan Heping, Wang Gang clearly wasn’t interested in pretending anymore.

“Never thought I’d be taken down by a little girl. She looked so easy to deal with, but turned out to be a tough nut.”

Li Huowang’s spirits lifted. Finally, no more faking?

The others also noticed the shift and quickly gathered around, ready to hear what he had to say.

“I know what you want to ask. I can talk, but if I do… will you let me go?”

“Yes. Talk.”

At Li Huowang’s answer, Wang Gang shook his head. “You saying it doesn’t count. I’m asking him.” He pointed a finger at Qing Wanglai.

Qing Wanglai nodded in agreement. “Alright. I accept your terms. After you speak, I can arrange for you to leave the country.”

With that promise, Wang Gang finally opened his mouth. “Fine. You’re right. We were sent to watch Li Huowang. It’s our job.”

“Who sent you?” Li Huowang’s heart began to race.

“The people above. I’ve never seen their faces. They only passed me messages through notes.”

“What was their goal? Why were they trying to catch me?”

“I don’t know that either. Something about you being the hardest to deal with.”

Hearing this, Li Huowang clenched his jaw. “I knew it!”

Thump! A sound of fabric came from behind him. Li Huowang turned to see Zhao Lei frantically searching for something.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Wu Qi asked, annoyed, as he smoked a cigarette.

“I’ve lost it! It was just here! It’s fake, I know it’s fake! So why did they take it!”

Li Huowang ignored him and turned back to Qing Wanglai, looking at Wang Gang. “What else do you know?”

Wang Gang glanced at Zhao Lei, thought for a moment, and then spoke. “I also know… that one of your people has been bought off. They’re a traitor.”

“What?! Who is it?”

Li Huowang was focused, his eyes locked on Wang Gang’s opening mouth, when he suddenly caught a distorted reflection in the other man’s pupils.

He whipped his head around.

Zhao Lei was right behind him, raising the watermelon-sized bottle containing a wooden ship. He was bringing it down hard, aiming for Li Huowang’s head.

“Why did you steal my stuff!! It’s all mine!!”

Just as the bottle was about to smash into Li Huowang’s skull, the wooden ship inside swayed with the shifting water. A tiny wooden figurine, no bigger than an ant, held a sword. Inertia carried the blade against the glass wall.

Crack.

The glass bottle shattered. Water splashed all over Li Huowang’s face.

Enraged, he let go of the cleaver, snapping one hand out to catch the falling ship. “You son of a bitch, you’re trying to jump me!”

Gripping the wooden ship tightly, Li Huowang swung it directly into Zhao Lei’s face. The entire model ship exploded into fragments on impact.

The tiny wooden sword in the ant-sized figurine’s hand pierced straight into Zhao Lei’s eye.

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Reading Guide Decoding

The Interrogation, the Traitor, and a Vengeful Miniature

Cultural / Xianxia Notes

This chapter is a masterclass in how Dao Gui Yi Xian weaponizes mundane objects against a backdrop of cosmic horror. The "model ship" isn't just a hobby piece; it’s a symbol of a fragile, controllable reality—a tiny world of Zhao Lei's making. When that miniature world literally strikes back, it perfectly embodies the novel's core theme: the boundary between the small and the immense, the fake and the real, is terrifyingly thin. The model ship is like a microcosm of the Dao-Twisted World’s logic: even a tiny, hand-carved sword can have deadly consequences. The irony is brutal. Li Huowang is ready for a conspiracy of gods and monsters, but he’s almost taken down by a hobbyist’s prized possession. This is the "mundane horror" of the setting, where the line between a harmless collectible and a lethal weapon is drawn in blood and splintered wood.

Chapter Overview

This chapter, "Model Ship", throws us right back into the psychological meat grinder. Li Huowang is interrogating Yuan Heping, the guy who put a needle in his food, using classic bad cop tactics fueled by pure, white-hot paranoia. The tension oscillates between a terrifyingly real power-play and a near-comedic breakdown of communication, especially when Qian Fu barges in with his "Leo alien" rant, only for Yuan Heping to desperately cling to that lie as a lifeline. The true mastermind, Wang Gang, finally surfaces and reveals a hefty piece of lore: there’s a traitor within their group. But before the name can be spoken, the fragile peace shatters in a sudden, visceral ambush. Zhao Lei, driven mad by a perceived theft, smashes a glass bottle over Li Huowang’s head, only to be impaled by the tiny sword of a wooden figurine inside his precious model ship. It’s a classic Dao Gui Yi Xian moment—a psychological interrogation detonated by a piece of mundane, fragile, and deeply ironic horror.

Key Plot Points

Interrogation Phase: Li Huowang pins Yuan Heping down and demands answers, using a cleaver for intimidation. The exchange is a tense back-and-forth where Yuan Heping’s terrified "I don't know" clashes with Li Huowang’s absolute certainty that he’s being watched. The fear is palpable.
The Absurdist Twist: Qian Fu’s delusional "Leo alien" accusation gives Yuan Heping a way out. He immediately adopts the absurd cover story, which forces Li Huowang to realize his "bad cop" act has been working against him, making the truth seem even more improbable.
Good Cop / Bad Cop Dynamic: Recognizing his failure, Li Huowang consciously pivots. He plays the terrifying, blood-licking "bad cop" to set the stage for Qing Wanglai’s gentler "good cop" routine, showing a moment of tactical awareness amidst the chaos.
Wang Gang’s Confession: The supposed pawn reveals himself as the real target. He bargains for freedom and a ticket out of the country, admitting he was one of the watchers but was just a messenger. His key revelation is a classic spy thriller trope: there’s a double agent among them.
The Ambush and Its Bitter Irony: The interrogation is violently cut short. Zhao Lei, convinced Li Huowang stole his model ship, attacks him from behind. The attack fails not through Li Huowang’s skill, but through a bizarre, almost comical accident: the miniature figurine inside the bottle, propelled by inertia, pierces Zhao Lei’s eye. The terrifying interrogation is settled by a tiny, wooden sword.

Reading Guide

Welcome to the absolute rollercoaster that is a Li Huowang interrogation. This chapter is a brilliant example of how the author builds tension, uses absurdist dialogue to relieve it, and then slams you with a sudden, tragic turn of events.

Watch the shift in power: See how Yuan Heping goes from a trembling wreck to a guy who cleverly uses Qian Fu’s madness as a shield. Li Huowang’s threat level is so high, even a terrible, obviously fake answer is better than silence.
Appreciate the meta-play: Li Huowang is acting. He's playing a part. He’s aware of the "Bad Cop/Good Cop" dynamic. This shows that even at his most unstable, he’s still a calculating survivor, using the tools he has (including his own terrifying reputation) to get results.
Pay attention to the tiny details: The description of the glass bottle shattering, the water splashing, the wooden figurine’s movement… this is the kind of visceral, physical horror that makes the novel so unique. The most terrifying event here isn't a demon's roar, but the crack of a glass bottle and the tiny, silent thrust of a wooden blade. Enjoy the mess.

Quick Q&A

Lore recap (TL;DR) drawn from this chapter's Cultural / Xianxia Notes — same text as the FAQ structured data on this page.

Why does Yuan Heping claim to be a "Leo alien"?: Because Qian Fu’s delusional accusation gives him a bizarre, but plausible (within the context of their shared reality) escape from Li Huowang’s immediate threat.
Why does Zhao Lei attack Li Huowang?: Zhao Lei is convinced Li Huowang has stolen his model ship. Driven by a possessive rage, he tries to smash the bottle over Li Huowang’s head in retaliation.
What happens to the model ship?: The glass bottle shatters, and the miniature wooden ship is used by Li Huowang as an improvised weapon, which shatters on impact. The tiny wooden sword inside the bottle pierces Zhao Lei’s eye.