Chapter 313: Yinling City

Yinjing City remained as bustling as ever. Li Huowang, leading his carriage and wearing a bamboo hat, walked through the crowd, completely unremarkable.

The lively crowd around them made Mantou very scared. With its tail tucked, it hid under the carriage, slowly following it forward.

Upon arriving at an inn, Li Huowang took out the prepared silver fragments from the carriage to pay for the room. Everything was ready in the carriage: not only silver and changes of clothes, but even several kinds of dried food.

"Whoosh~" The carriage curtain was pulled open, revealing the Black Grand-Eldest, who was tightly bound. Li Huowang stuffed the dried meat in his hand into the sticky crevices of its slimy body. Immediately after, he took out his knife, cut off a large piece, and began to chew it. The Black Grand-Eldest's flesh was unpalatable and disgusting, but he had long since grown accustomed to it.

Despite Li Huowang eating so much of it, the Black Grand-Eldest didn't seem to have diminished much.

After checking the ox tendons binding it, Li Huowang looked at the Black Grand-Eldest before him and said, "Can you hear me? Can you repeat what I'm saying now?"

In response to Li Huowang's inquiry, the Black Grand-Eldest showed no reaction. It continued to squirm its repulsive body, spitting out foul, viscous liquid from the numerous crevices on its surface. Forget making a sound, it didn't even react at all.

Li Huowang thoughtfully rubbed his stomach. "Can the Black Grand-Eldest only recognize characters once it's inside my stomach? Or is it because my hearing is too keen that only I can hear it?" He didn't know what it was like for others to eat the Black Grand-Eldest, or if his own experience was normal or special.

He pulled the carriage curtain closed again, then turned to Mantou, who was squatting nearby, and said, "Keep a close watch. If the Black Grand-Eldest moves erratically, or if anyone tries to approach, bark loudly. I'll be in the room next door."

"Woof woof!!" Mantou wagged its tail and hopped.

Li Huowang patted Mantou's head, then turned and walked towards his guest room.

Opening the window, Li Huowang looked down at the bustling market below, then took out a book from his robe – *The Three Character Classic*. Li Huowang didn't know if the Black Grand-Eldest in his stomach could learn this way, but he had to try. Multiple attempts wouldn't hurt. If it learned well, the Black Grand-Eldest might be able to help him a lot with future matters. Even if it didn't help, as long as it didn't cause trouble, that would still be a success.

"People at birth are naturally good. Their natures are similar; their habits diverge. If they are not taught, their natures will change. The way of teaching values focus..."

A wriggling black tentacle emerged from Li Huowang's navel, swayed for a moment, and then retracted.

"Lychee, this is lychee." Li Huowang peeled open the shell with his hand. "Eat." He then popped the translucent pulp into his own mouth. "No, not 'kill,' it's 'eat.'"

When he saw oil lamps being lit in the houses outside the window, Li Huowang felt it was time. He stood up and went out.

It was the same place where he had previously drunk with Tuoba Danqing. As soon as Li Huowang entered and stated his purpose, the waiter immediately ushered him in. It was clear that arrangements had been made beforehand; as soon as he entered, various fine wines and delicious dishes were brought in.

Li Huowang didn't wait long in the ancient, elegant private room before Tuoba Danqing's distinctive laughter echoed from outside—his voice arrived before he did.

"Haha~ My dear Ear-brother, it's been a long time, I've missed you dearly." With a creak, the door opened, and Tuoba Danqing, dressed in silk brocade, walked in. "Don't just stand there, quickly sit down, quickly sit down. We're all brothers, why be so formal?"

Seeing Tuoba Danqing close the door behind him, Li Huowang removed the black gauze hat from his head. When Tuoba Danqing saw the patchy black and pink skin on Li Huowang's copper coin mask, a hint of something unusual flashed in his eyes. But he said nothing, chuckled again, picked up the wine pot from the table, and poured himself a cup. "Come, come, let's drink, let's drink."

Knowing the other's methods, Li Huowang was not in a hurry. Li Huowang poured some wine and drank it, tilting his head back. Fortunately, he had intentionally drunk a lot of water before drinking, which would slow down the effects of the alcohol.

After several rounds of drinks and numerous dishes, Tuoba Danqing cleared his throat softly and began to speak.

"My dear Ear-brother, there's news about the Eight Trigrams Mirror you asked me about. The Zuo Wang Dao tricked it away from a blind Daoist priest."

"Oh? Was that blind man's surname Chen?"

"Oh, Ear-brother, I haven't even said anything, how did you know?"

Holding his wine cup, Li Huowang mockingly looked towards Hong Zhong in the distance. As expected, the identity of "Blind Chen" that fellow had used earlier was also stolen.

"My dear Ear-brother, that Daoist priest said he can't give you the cultivation method to control the mirror. But if you're willing to return the mirror to him, he can exchange it for a set of talismans."

"What kind of talisman set?"

"He said this set of talismans records various talismans and incantations. If you learn and master this set, you'll be proficient in geomancy, medicine, divination, destiny, and physiognomy—master of all trades."

After saying this, Tuoba Danqing paused, a cunning smile on his face. "However, in my opinion, that old man is probably exaggerating. The talisman set is likely useful, but probably not as powerful as he claims."

Li Huowang took out the mirror, contemplating the gains and losses. However, he had no experience in this area and didn't know how to weigh the options. After a moment of thought, Li Huowang turned to look at Tuoba Danqing beside him.

"Brother Tuoba, could you offer some guidance on this matter?" No matter what, Tuoba Danqing was an experienced veteran. He could listen to his advice on this matter.

Tuoba Danqing picked up a piece of translucent fish skin with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth. "Hmm... In my opinion, you should agree to this. Although that Daoist priest doesn't say it, he seems to value that mirror quite a lot. If you don't return it to him, he might come looking for it."

"Furthermore, while this magical artifact is good, it's essentially useless for your Aojing Cult. Your Aojing Cult, as long as you're willing to be ruthless with yourselves, has no need for this broken mirror at all. On the contrary, some of the special talismans recorded in this talisman set can make up for the shortcomings of your Aojing Cult."

"And besides, in this day and age, having one more friend means having one more path. What if that Blind Chen can help you with something in the future?"

After careful consideration, Li Huowang found that Tuoba Danqing's words indeed made sense. "Thank you for your guidance, Brother Tuoba."

"We're all brothers from the bureau, there's no need to be formal. If you truly want to thank me, just remember your brother if anything good comes your way in the future."

As Tuoba Danqing spoke, he picked up his wine cup again. As they drank, their relationship grew closer.

When they had nearly finished eating, the tipsy Tuoba Danqing's expression turned serious. "Ear-brother, we've talked enough about trivial matters; it's time to discuss serious business. If you want to advance, shouldn't you be more diligent? As it happens, there's an issue in the south that needs your attention."

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**Author's Note:**I still owe another patron a chapter, which I will deliver as soon as possible.