Chapter 376: Monitoring Heaven Division

Seeing the plea in Bai Lingmiao's eyes, Li Huowang struggled, but in the end, he trembled and released his grip. Li Huowang stood there, watching Bai Lingmiao re-grip the purple-tasseled sword, and seeing the pain in her eyes gradually replaced by indifference and ease. The old Bai Lingmiao was back once again.

In that moment, Li Huowang suddenly understood: the malevolent aura entering the body had never been the real problem. The true problem was always the unchangeable reality that he had killed Bai Lingmiao's entire family.

"Heh." Bai Lingmiao chuckled again, her laughter this time filled with effortless ease. She bent down, dipped the lead comb into a bowl of vinegar, and continued combing her hair before the bronze mirror. She seemed to be in excellent spirits.

Looking at her back, Li Huowang finally let go of his insistence. With his lips trembling slightly, he walked behind Bai Lingmiao and gently embraced her.

"Don't worry," he said. "No matter what you become, you'll always be my Miaomiao."

No sooner had he spoken than Bai Lingmiao thrust her elbow back, forcefully pushing Li Huowang away, and glared at him, seething with anger.

"You don't despise me? *I* despise *you*! Do you remember what I told you before?! Do you truly like Bai Lingmiao the person, or do you just like a docile concubine who obeys your every whim?"

With that, Bai Lingmiao stood up, flung the lead comb to the ground, and marched aggressively towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Where I go is none of your business!" she retorted. "This old lady is going to find another man to marry now! I'll be a good wife and mother! Do you really think I want to keep getting entangled with a lunatic like you?"

As soon as Bai Lingmiao left, a faint fragrance drifted in, and a soft body leaned against Li Huowang's back. It was Ershen.

"Don't worry, she won't..."

Li Huowang took the hand behind him, gently kissed the sharp black fingernails, and said with deep frustration, "Go, it's better this way. Wait for me in Niuxin Village. Once I've resolved my troubles, I'll come back for you."

After Ershen rubbed the soft fur of her face against Li Huowang's neck, she slowly retreated. By the time Li Huowang turned his head again, he was the only one left in the room.

Li Huowang stood stunned for a moment. He turned and rushed outside, shouting down to the main hall, "Waiter! A jar of strong liquor!"

Soon, the liquor was brought to the room. Without a word, Li Huowang picked up the jar and tilted his head back, gulping it down.

After several Ascensions of the Azure Scarab, Li Huowang's senses had become extremely acute. He didn't know when he had fallen into a drunken stupor. The only thing he knew was that when he woke up again, he heard the sound of a rooster crowing outside.

Li Huowang held his throbbing head and shakily stood up. Just as he started walking towards the window, his foot stumbled, and he nearly fell to the ground. Li Huowang braced himself and regained his balance. It was then that he saw some black tattoos appearing on the back of his hand. He shook his head vigorously. Only then did Li Huowang clearly see that they weren't tattoos; they were Li Sui's wriggling tentacles.

"My time is running out." If he couldn't find a way for Beifeng to dispel the illusions before Li Sui completely took over his body, he would once again return to that state of extreme confusion. Li Huowang would rather die than return to that state. The feeling of being caught between two worlds was simply too unbearable and suffocating.

A creaking sound filled the air as Li Huowang pushed open the window. The first ray of sunlight happened to fall directly onto his face. Li Huowang gritted his teeth and defiantly shook his fist at the sun.

"You insist on tormenting me, don't you!" he snarled. "I'll defy fate and change my destiny! Come on! Let's see who's crazier, you or I!"

Li Huowang swung his legs over the windowsill and jumped down, heading straight towards the prison.

By the time dawn fully broke, Li Huowang had finished paying for the coffins and arrived at the entrance of the Directorate of Celestial Observation. Looking at the Six Doors between the two stone lions in front of him and the stone-paved square beyond, Li Huowang, reeking of alcohol, showed his waist token to the guards at the gate and walked straight inside.

The interior of the Directorate of Celestial Observation was spacious and sparsely populated. A stone armillary sphere, larger than a house, stood in the center of the square. Glancing left and right, Li Huowang walked towards the low house on the south side.

As soon as Li Huowang entered the ink-scented building, a man carrying several scrolls hurried over to greet him. "Hey, hey, hey, who are you?" the man asked. "This is where almanacs are compiled; outsiders aren't allowed in." After seeing Li Huowang's waist token, the man pointed to the opposite side, saying, "Another one got it wrong. Your office is over there."

"Wrong place?" Li Huowang quickly scanned the room. A line of text on the wall caught his eye. The text read: "By imperial decree, the Directorate of Celestial Observation shall print and sell almanacs. No private printing is permitted among the populace. Violators shall have their three familial generations eradicated."

Li Huowang cupped his hands to the man in a gesture of respect, then turned and walked towards the quiet building opposite. A massive metal mask on its wall immediately caught his attention. The mask was the size of two human bodies and was covered in green rust from exposure to wind and sun. Its appearance was almost identical to the one worn by the beheaded prisoner earlier, except that the eye sockets were replaced by two protruding pillars. These two eye-pillars, emerging from the eye sockets, stared fixedly at the clear, cloudless sky.

Li Huowang averted his gaze and entered through a side door. The interior was not large, appearing to be only the size of a classroom. What was strange was that there were no furnishings inside at all; it was just an empty, square room.

As Li Huowang felt a pang of doubt, he immediately felt various gazes sweeping over him. However, eerily, there was nothing in the places from which the gazes originated. Seeing this, Li Huowang knew he was in the right place and promptly displayed his waist token.

Accompanied by a distinct creaking sound of wood, a hidden door in the adjacent wall rose, and a thin middle-aged man emerged. On his shoulder perched a blind black bird.

"First time here?" the black bird spoke.

Li Huowang nodded. "I have been in Yinling City until now. This is my first visit to Shangjing today. Greetings, Senior."

"Come, I'll show you around," the man said. With the bird on his shoulder, he turned and re-entered the hidden door.

When Li Huowang followed him in, he found that it wasn't dark beyond the hidden door. Oil lamps on the walls illuminated the corridor brightly. A crisp clattering sound constantly echoed throughout the corridor.

Li Huowang looked at the man's back and decided it was best to take the initiative. "My name is Erjiu, from the Zoroastrianism sect. It's an honor, Senior."

"Sima Lan, Mohist school," the black bird continued. "Don't be too formal. Since you've joined the Directorate of Celestial Observation, you're practically a brother."

"Mohist school?" Li Huowang's pupils contracted slightly. This was the only term he had ever heard of, and he undoubtedly felt a sense of familiarity. However, Sima Lan seemed to misunderstand Li Huowang's reaction. "Don't be afraid," he said. "I am a Qi Mohist, not a Liang Mohist, one of those evil cultivators."