Chapter 293: Trouble

After all the funeral arrangements were complete, Gouwa, highly satisfied with the price, emerged from the coffin shop. "Everything's settled," he muttered, "this time it'll definitely be countless times better than last."

He squinted at the blazing midday sun overhead and hurried towards the inn.

"Oh, right," he suddenly remembered. "The shopkeeper just said they need the deceased's measurements for the burial clothes. I need to go back and take them quickly."

When Gouwa reached his room, he glanced through the window and saw that Gao Zhijian, despite his severe injuries, wasn't lying in bed. His heart sank. "Could it be..."

He rushed to Li Huowang's room, taking two steps at a time. Seeing the other three gathered around Li Huowang's bed, he took a deep breath, pulled out some turmeric from his pocket, rubbed it near his eyes, and then walked in with a show of profound grief.

"Senior Brother Li! Oh, Senior Brother Li!" he wailed dramatically.

As he theatrically pushed Gao Zhijian aside and lunged towards the bed, he froze, startled by Li Huowang, who had opened his eyes. "So... he's not dead..."

A moment later, his heart tightened. This was trouble. If Senior Brother Li wasn't dead, wouldn't he be unable to get back the money he'd paid for the coffin?

"Gouwa, are you injured too?"

Li Huowang's words brought Gouwa back to reality. He quickly put on a nonchalant expression.

"Oh, these minor injuries are nothing," he boasted. "You wouldn't believe it, a whole bunch of mud figures surrounded me, and I, Cao Cao, didn't even bat an eyelid!"

"Don't listen to his nonsense," Chun Xiaoman interjected, "If I hadn't looked out for him back then, he would have been dismembered long ago."

Gouwa glared resentfully at Chun Xiaoman for exposing his lie, but he dared not speak. He couldn't beat her in a fight to begin with, and now she was a head taller than him.

Li Huowang on the bed turned his head to look at the transformed Chun Xiaoman beside him. Once a young girl, she had now fully matured, and even her body covered in black fur couldn't conceal her unique feminine charm.

However, this was not a good sign. It meant that during her previous battle with the mud effigy evil spirits, she had sacrificed many years of her life to summon the Roaming Masters.

"There's no need to summon so many Roaming Masters," the weak Li Huowang advised her. "Think carefully before you use them; four Roaming Masters cost you a year of life."

"It's fine, I'm young," Chun Xiaoman replied, showing no distress at the loss of lifespan. On the contrary, she seemed to prefer her current tall physique.

"Cough, cough," Li Huowang coughed up some bloody phlegm. After recovering for a moment, he said again, "Miaomiao, pour out all the Longevity Pills from my gourd and give them to her."

Longevity Pills could extend lifespan and restore Chun Xiaoman's youth.

"I really don't need them!" Chun Xiaoman pressed down on Bai Lingmiao's shoulder with her single arm, her voice tinged with concern. "Senior Brother Li, instead of worrying about me, you should worry about yourself. What exactly happened to you?"

Hearing this, Li Huowang paused. He looked at the rafters above, a bitter smile appearing on his exceptionally gaunt face. "What exactly happened to me?"

Li Huowang recalled everything the Dual-Pupiled Sitting Forgetter had said earlier. Naturally, he wouldn't believe the nonsense about him being the "Red Dragon."

But if it was a deception, why would this person and the previous six all use the same method to deceive him? This felt very wrong.

"Could it be... no... there's no 'could it be'! Everything from a Sitting Forgetter's mouth is false! They must have found a way for the deceased Sitting Forgetters to conspire with the living ones! The dead and the living are colluding to deceive me!"

"Senior Brother Li, don't think about any other troubles for now. Your injuries are still very serious. Please rest."

Bai Lingmiao picked up a rice husk pillow and carefully placed it under Li Huowang's neck to help him sleep more comfortably.

The moment Li Huowang shook his head, a splitting headache assailed him. Enduring the pain, he insisted, "I'm not tired. Tell me what happened after I fainted."

The Sitting Forgetter was dead, and the mud effigy evil spirits had also left. In truth, there wasn't much to say about what happened after Li Huowang fainted; it was simply a matter of the others tying up loose ends.

"Ugh! What's the use of you two spouting all that nonsense? You don't even know what Senior Brother Li cares about."

A beaming Gouwa, holding a bamboo basket, squatted by the head of the bed and reported to Li Huowang, "Senior Brother Li, look! All of that swindler's belongings are right here! I didn't even spare the clothes he was wearing! It's all ours now!"

When Gouwa lifted the cover, Li Huowang stared intently at the Eight Trigrams mirror inside the bamboo basket, along with the blood-stained Pai Gow tiles, mahjong tiles, and playing cards.

Seeing these items, Li Huowang felt a sense of relief. It wasn't that he coveted these things, but rather that their sight reminded him of the previous test from the Heaven Observation Bureau.

The Sitting Forgetter was dead, and he was alive. He had passed the test and could finally join the Heaven Observation Bureau.

Once he joined, he would finally have powerful backing. Whether it was cultivating techniques or anything else, he wouldn't have to rely on blind guesses like Dan Yangzi anymore.

Furthermore, as long as he kept his Heart-Element identity hidden, others wouldn't dare to act rashly against him.

"Heh, what good is it to you even if you take it? It's not like you know how to use it." A scornful voice from behind Gouwa made Li Huowang's eyes snap open.

Though extremely weak, he heard the voice and, fueled by an unknown surge of strength, abruptly sat up. He pushed Gouwa away and stared with trembling eyes at the distant illusion.

There was Peng Longteng, headless and gripping a halberd; Jin Sanzhao, missing his lower body and silently opening his mouth; the old monk with a helpless expression; and that faceless, eyeless Sitting Forgetter!

A face devoid of flesh, with two dark holes for eyes and no lips, exaggeratedly revealed a ghastly grin with its stark white teeth.

Seeing Li Huowang frozen in place, Chun Xiaoman exchanged a glance with Gao Zhijian. The two immediately reached out to grab Li Huowang's hands.

But the next moment, an immense force erupted, flinging their arms away.

"Why are you here too?! Why?! How dare you become one of my illusions!!!" As Li Huowang shrieked hysterically, the sutured wounds all over his body began to bleed.

Just as he was about to say something more, he suddenly stumbled and fell, clutching his neck with both hands.

"Cough, cough~ Ugh!" Li Huowang retched, lying on the floor, and writhing black tentacles emerged from his throat.

The others, witnessing this sight, immediately panicked. "Quick! Pull them out!"

However, just as others reached out to help, Li Huowang tremblingly pushed their arms away.

Kneeling on the ground, he cupped the tentacles with trembling hands, as if they were precious treasures, and carefully stuffed them back into his mouth.

Under the shocked gaze of everyone around him, accompanied by gagging sounds, he painstakingly swallowed them back down into his stomach.