Chapter 239: Taoist

To completely devour a family’s legacy, they would even send their own kind to malevolent spirits. Li Huowang truly hadn’t expected such an absurd custom to be behind the seemingly playful nature of this malevolent entity.

“With so many people delivered right to its doorstep, the Rope Son must be absolutely thrilled, right?”

“Naturally. When it sees more elders arriving, you can’t imagine how friendly it becomes. If it had hands and feet, it would be all smiles, pouring tea and water.”

Chatting casually with Han Fu, Li Huowang felt their relationship had grown much closer, at least on the surface.

“Han Daoist, how much longer until we can leave this place?” Li Huowang asked, looking at the receding darkness around them.

“*Cough*—ptui,” Han Fu spat on the ground, his face nonchalant. “Soon. Just remember one thing about Fengdu: if you want to get out, don’t go down—always go up. The higher you go, the closer you get to the surface. Once you’re at the very top, even if there’s no path, you can just dig a hole and get out.”

“Fengdu?”

From Han Fu’s words, Li Huowang learned the name of this vast network of nested dark caverns beneath Qingqiu. He lightly tapped his foot on the ground. Feeling the slight incline, he felt a little relieved. “Yes, we are indeed moving upwards.”

“Ah, everything is tiring these days. I thought being a Daoist priest would be easy, but even that’s tiring. Isn’t that right, Xuan Yang?” Han Fu said, stretching vigorously with his hands above his head.

“You’re right, Daoist friend. Life in this world, everything is exhausting,” Li Huowang mumbled dismissively.

The little girl’s voice, which had debated with Han Fu earlier, had been silent for a long time, yet Han Fu showed no sign of worry. *Could that person not be dead?* Li Huowang’s eyes subtly darted around. Although their relationship had grown somewhat closer, and they had shared hardship under the threat of the Rope Son, Li Huowang still didn’t trust him.

“Look over there, we’re almost there.” Following Han Fu’s outstretched hand, Li Huowang saw a faint white speck ahead. It looked like the weather outside was decent. Seeing the exit, the highly-strung group immediately relaxed. After such a long detour, they had finally reached the end.

After being in this sunless place for so long, even just seeing a tiny speck of distant sunlight could significantly improve everyone’s mood. Under Han Fu’s lead, Li Huowang and his group, carrying Black Grand Sui, walked towards the light.

Even with the exit in sight, Han Fu’s mouth kept chattering. “Ah, Daoist friend, do you know about that previous disaster? I heard the commotion was immense, practically a chaotic mess, but then it stopped because of another disaster.”

“That’s natural. All corruption vanished.” Li Huowang counted his group, feeling a slight relief that no one was missing.

“I remember the last disaster; I was just three years old back then.”

Li Huowang, who was intently watching the growing white speck, felt his pupils contract slightly. This piece of information instantly grabbed his attention. *Could it be that the disappearance of corruption has happened many times in the past?*

This news shocked Li Huowang profoundly. He realized that despite being in this strange place for so long, his understanding of the world was pitifully meager. Suppressing his excitement, Li Huowang calmly said to Han Fu, “I have no recollection of the last disaster. Would you mind telling me a bit about it?”

“Oh, so you didn’t know? I thought you did. Last time, if I recall, it was lies that vanished. That was truly interesting!”

“My master told me that back then, those swindlers from the Forgetfulness Sect were so desperate they almost killed themselves, hahaha!” Han Fu chuckled happily as he recounted it.

“Lies vanished?” Li Huowang found it hard to imagine what kind of world that would be. *Did everyone speak the truth?*

Just as Li Huowang was about to ask another question, Han Fu spoke first. “Hey, Xuan Yang, do you know what caused that disaster?” Han Fu’s face showed a hint of smugness.

“Does Daoist Han know?”

Han Fu’s cloth shoes shuffled slightly closer to Li Huowang. In a very low voice, he said, “I’ll tell *you* this, but don’t tell anyone else. My master told me this; he said...” Just as Li Huowang’s heart pounded in his throat, Han Fu’s right hand swiftly wiped across his face.

With a soft *clatter*, Li Huowang’s copper coin mask instantly came off, falling towards the ground. Li Huowang barely had time to catch the mask with his hand, but it was too late; his face was already fully revealed to Han Fu.

Looking at Li Huowang’s face, Han Fu’s expression first showed a hint of understanding, then satisfaction. “I was wondering what it was—so it’s a Heartless!” The sharp little girl’s voice abruptly came from his body. Then, to everyone’s shock, a fist-sized baby’s head poked out from Han Fu’s collar. On the baby’s sparsely haired head sat a square Taiji yellow Daoist crown, identical to the one on Han Fu’s own head.

A Daoist priest in a yellow robe, yet with one large and one small head—the sight was utterly unsettling. No wonder he always said it was “no big deal” when he saw the likes of Gou Wa; *he* was far stranger than Li Huowang’s group. Seeing this, Li Huowang’s expression turned grim. So, the one who had been speaking to him in the dark was, in fact, Han Fu himself!

“Han Daoist, what is the meaning of this? Do you really think Qingfeng Temple has no one?” Facing the two-headed, deformed Daoist, Li Huowang’s hand was already clutching his sword hilt. Li Huowang truly did not want a conflict with this opponent of unknown strength at this moment.

“Heh heh~” Han Fu’s two heads, one large and one small, simultaneously split into grins, revealing a mouthful of black and yellow decaying teeth. “Since you’re a Heartless, what do *you* think I mean?”

“Yeah, guess. Go on, guess,” the small head echoed.

After speaking, Han Fu formed a hand seal and placed it on his chest. The next moment, the darkness behind him seemed to solidify, wrapping around him like several layers of thin gauze.

“He wants my life!”

With a *clang*, Li Huowang instantly drew his longsword and slashed towards Han Fu’s exposed single eye, which remained outside the darkness. The moment the darkness enveloped Han Fu, Li Huowang’s sword struck, cleaving the mass of darkness in two. However, it was a step too late. Han Fu’s figure was no longer in the split darkness.

“Since you’ve come to Fengdu, boy... then stay.” Two overlapping, mocking voices echoed from all directions.

Li Huowang scanned the surrounding darkness, his gaze settling on the distant light. Almost immediately, he told the others, “Go! Get out of here, fast!” Whatever Han Fu’s purpose was, hiding in this darkness, they *had* to get out of this wretched place. They were far too vulnerable here!