Chapter 403: Heart Constriction

"Here, take these. My younger brother, Kun, made them." Zhuge Yuan handed ten pills to Li Huowang, who was gnawing on some dry rations.

"What are these?" Li Huowang asked, taking them.

"Brother Li, aren't you skilled in alchemy? How could you not recognize Bigu Pills? These can replace meals and significantly reduce the need to relieve yourself, making them perfect for travel."

Li Huowang picked one up and examined it carefully against the sun. It looked like a dark brown pill, about the size of a pinky fingernail, and had a strong herbal scent.

"Brother Zhuge," Li Huowang said in an extremely low voice as he looked at the pill, "it's best not to disturb that little Sitting Forgetfulness Daoist for now. We can cast a long line to catch a big fish."

Although he couldn't figure out the current situation, it didn't affect Li Huowang's goal: to deal with Beifeng.

"Don't worry, I understand," Zhuge Yuan replied.

Li Huowang's hand loosened, and the Bigu Pill in his grip rolled towards the wagon wheel. With a whoosh, Mantou instantly rushed over.

However, it licked the surface of the Bigu Pill but showed no intention of eating it. It squatted down and continued to cock its head, looking at the dry rations in Li Huowang's hand.

Putting the remaining Bigu Pills into his pocket, Li Huowang's expression became serious. He very earnestly asked Zhuge Yuan, who was beside him, "Brother Zhuge, do you have a moment now? There's a question I've had on my mind for a long time."

Zhuge Yuan showed no surprise at Li Huowang's words. He had long guessed what the other person wanted to ask; it was just inconvenient before, as there had been outsiders present.

"I bet you want to ask whether it's currently Daliang or Daqi, don't you?"

Li Huowang nodded slightly. When he had gone to the Imperial Celestial Bureau to check Zhuge Yuan's information, none of this had been explained, which truly caught him off guard.

With a 'snap,' Zhuge Yuan opened his white folding fan. His tone was somewhat reflective as he said, "These matters involve higher powers. For your safety, I truly don't dare tell you too much. But what I want to say is that Daqi has always existed; Daliang is the false one."

"Daliang is false? Everything I experienced in Daliang was false?"

Li Huowang inexplicably felt like laughing. What were all the hardships he had endured across this vast land then? Were they just illusions, similar to those from the realm of hallucinations? Was it all false, even killing Bai Lingmiao's entire family? It would be good if it were all false.

Li Huowang patiently and slowly said, "Brother Zhuge, since you've traveled to various places, you must have met people from Daliang, right? Even the corpse of your Heart Turbidity was taken from the Daliang Imperial Celestial Bureau. Why do you say Daliang is false?"

"Ah, Brother Li, this 'false' isn't the same as that 'false.' Let's take the old noodle seller from before. In your eyes, he's a Daliang person, but in my eyes, he's a Daqi person. So, if neither of us looked, what nationality do you think he would be?"

"But he *is* a Daliang person! He's not a Daqi person at all!"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because he was born in Daliang, grew up in Daliang, and will grow old in Daliang. That's why he's considered a Daliang person."

"On the contrary, in my eyes, he was born in Daqi, grew up in Daqi, and will grow old in Daqi. Therefore, he's considered a Daqi person."

"Brother Zhuge, are you saying that everything you see is Daqi? But why is it that only you can see Daqi, while everyone else sees Daliang? You must have thought about this question, right?"

"Not so. In my eyes, what others see is also Daqi. I know what you perceive, but what you see is incorrect, and it's essential to correct this error."

"Ugh, why is it so impossible to reason with you? This is clearly—" As Li Huowang looked into Zhuge Yuan's eyes, the words on the tip of his tongue slowly receded. He suddenly felt that arguing about this with the other person was a complete waste of time.

"Fine, the old noodle seller is a Daqi person. You win."

"Sigh, you still don't trust me, do you? Never mind, I won't argue with you, lest we quarrel. Just observe from now on. The more you see, the more you'll know whether the Daqi I speak of is real or false."

Zhuge Yuan left, still appearing to be in low spirits. He seemed disappointed that Li Huowang didn't believe in the existence of Daqi.

Li Huowang, however, furrowed his brow, considering the various possibilities of the current situation.

Heart of Simplicity, Heart of Coiling, Heart of Turbidity—none of these three were easy to deal with. Whatever the Heart of Coiling had gained from the so-called "Three Forms of the Old," this strange transformation must have been caused by Zhuge Yuan.

As for how he caused this transformation, Li Huowang still couldn't figure it out.

"Could it be that Zhuge Yuan brought me across a thousand years, from Daqi in the past to Daliang in the future? But that doesn't seem right. Could there be an old couple selling noodles in these exact spots both a thousand years ago and a thousand years later?"

The old noodle seller had changed his face three times, as if there had always been two different noodle stalls all along. Yet, Li Huowang had stood right next to him and was absolutely certain that the old noodle seller hadn't changed.

It was as if the whole world was putting on a play, but with two different scripts: one for normal people like him, and another for Zhuge Yuan.

Pondering these matters, Li Huowang couldn't help but recall what Jixiang had told him at the Buddha Bone Temple.

"Is this what he meant by 'strange but logical' things? Do such things often appear around the Heart of Coiling?"

"The Abbess's domain is decay, Bahui's is pain. So what exactly does this 'Three Forms of the Old' govern, and why can it cause such strange changes in Zhuge Yuan?"

Li Huowang knew it was best not to think about such things, lest they invite disaster. But when they appeared before him, he simply couldn't stop himself from pondering.

"Forget it, forget it," Li Huowang shook his dizzy head. He decided to just believe whatever Zhuge Yuan said. Anyway, it had nothing to do with him.

His sole objective was to capture Beifeng.

Zhuge Yuan had killed Facai, so the Sitting Forgetfulness Daoists would certainly not let it go. As long as he stayed by Zhuge Yuan's side, there was a high probability of catching Beifeng.

The sound of "tap-tap-tap" footsteps echoed. Li Huowang looked up in the direction of the sound and saw a young man dressed in a large white robe. Li Huowang could already smell a faint scent of blood on him.

"Your humble servant, Xia Risheng, greets Lord Li."

"What is it?" Li Huowang asked. He remembered this person as a member of the Daqi Imperial Celestial Bureau, though he wasn't sure if he was there to gather information or for some other purpose.

"Lord Li, like you, your humble servant is also a member of the Aojing Cult!" The young man said excitedly, pulling open his clothes to reveal a body covered in inverted hooks.

"If there's nothing else, you can go back. The road is still long." Li Huowang wasn't a true Aojing cultist, after all, and he was afraid of talking too much and revealing himself.

"Lord Zhuge said you've undergone the three 'Ascensions of the Azure Beetle'? May I ask if that's true?" The young man's eyes, as he looked at Li Huowang, were filled with admiration.