Chapter 405: Mistake

With a clatter, seeing the broken silver pieces Zhuge Yuan tossed onto the dish, the waiter held the silver aloft and declared with full confidence, "Thank you, Imperial Scholar, for the generous three *qian* of silver!"

Once Mantou finished his meal under the table, Li Huowang and Zhuge Yuan also began to eat. Li Huowang quietly expressed his concerns to Zhuge Yuan.

"Brother Li, since you are the one looking for them, it's crucial not to rush, especially at a time like this. Otherwise, they might figure out your intentions."

"As long as I'm here, the Sitting Forgetfulness Dao will surely come. Rest assured."

"Brother Zhuge, I feel that a thief can be a thief for a thousand days, but one cannot guard against a thief for a thousand days. Given that they haven't appeared, shouldn't we..."

Li Huowang's words suddenly trailed off. With a solemn expression, he picked up some stir-fried lamb from his plate and vigorously chewed it.

*Crack!* Li Huowang slammed his chopsticks onto the table. "Stop eating! This is human flesh!!"

As Li Huowang rushed forward and pressed his sword against the neck of the person at the counter, Mantou, who was under the table, began to sway unsteadily.

Li Huowang struck the person's head with his sword hilt, then immediately raised his knife, pulled out his stomach, and made a large incision, expelling everything he had just swallowed.

Fearing any residual anesthetic, Li Huowang quickly inserted his stomach into a nearby wine jar and rinsed it.

As Li Huowang acted, others also reacted swiftly: some swallowed pills, others chanted scriptures. Xia Dongsheng, in particular, reached into his clothes, grabbed hooks attached to certain acupoints on his body, and pulled hard.

Li Huowang's actions not only alerted his companions but also the staff of the inn.

The once amiable waiter now emerged, a ghost-head broadsword slung over his shoulder, leading a group of men.

However, the last thing the waiter saw was the red-robed Daoist, dragging his sword in fury, stomping on a table, and leaping towards him.

What followed was a foregone conclusion. Within moments, the massacre was complete; the entire inn was in disarray and drenched in blood.

Li Huowang stood amidst a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood like a god of slaughter. Seven or eight black tentacles emerged from his body, each coiled around a different weapon.

This sight profoundly shocked the Sky-Monitoring Department of the Great Qi Kingdom. As agents of the department, they were accustomed to various unusual occurrences during their duties, but they had never witnessed anything quite like this.

Any prior misgivings they had quickly vanished. Indeed, he was worthy of being Lord Zhuge's friend, truly extraordinary.

Li Huowang, still breathing heavily, approached Zhuge Yuan and asked with a hint of disbelief, "You didn't notice the anesthetic in the food?"

Zhuge Yuan wiped the saliva from his mouth with a handkerchief, his face pale and disgusted. "Of course I noticed, but I thought it was just anesthetic. Throwing it away would be a waste, so I planned to finish eating and then counteract it. I never expected the lamb to be disguised human flesh! How truly disgusting!"

Li Huowang looked down at the gaping slit in his stomach and sighed deeply. He had been in a rare good mood today, only to encounter such a situation.

Although he was no longer afraid of such incidents, it was like a toad crawling on one's foot — not harmful, but utterly nauseating.

"Hasn't the Great Liang Kingdom always been quite stable? How can there still be such inns that drug and harm people?"

Hong Zhong, who hadn't been seen for a long time, emerged from a nearby table. "Hehehe, Li Huowang, you're mistaken. Didn't Xinpan say so? This is Great Qi now, not Great Liang!"

Li Huowang was momentarily stunned. "Has this truly become Great Qi? What exactly is Xinpan's ability?"

A multitude of thoughts flooded his mind. Just as he was about to question Hong Zhong, he saw Hong Zhong's expectant expression, prompting him to suppress his urge. Instead, he simply pulled out the True Scripture of Fiery Robe to heal himself.

But this time, Hong Zhong wouldn't let it go. "Oh, Lord Li is truly well-traveled and knowledgeable! To be able to distinguish human flesh, truly admirable!"

Just as Hong Zhong was about to say more, Li Sui's voice suddenly interjected, "Dad, can you give me some swords?"

"Some swords? What for?" Li Huowang stopped chanting.

"I want to help you, Dad! Next time we encounter bad guys, I can help out, just like before!"

"It's already crowded enough inside me with you. There's no room for swords. Don't be mischievous, be good."

This time, however, Li Sui wouldn't relent. "No, no! I want swords! I want swords!"

As Li Sui struggled, black tentacles emerged from Li Huowang's pant leg, writhing and rolling on the ground, much like children on the street clamoring for their parents to buy candied haw.

"Damn it, where did Li Sui learn all this?"

Li Huowang tried to soothe him for a while, eventually satisfying him with his bag of torture implements, which made him quiet down.

"See? It has everything: knives, saws, awls, scissors, clamps, shovels. They're all yours now. From now on, if you encounter bad guys, just use these to greet them."

Li Sui's tentacles emerged from his navel, playfully handling the torture tools, and the sounds of his joyful laughter continuously reached Li Huowang's ears.

Li Huowang shook his head slightly and followed the Sky-Monitoring Department agents of Great Qi, who had already exited the inn.

Since Li Huowang had killed all the inn's staff, the mounts in the backyard naturally became theirs. Li Huowang's carriage soon had new companions.

Seeing Li Huowang emerge from the inn, Zhuge Yuan approached him and said, "Don't worry, our people in Youdu already know that Elder Qin encountered enemies. They'll send someone to pick us up soon, and we'll be in Youdu before long."

Li Huowang glanced at Elder Qin, who needed assistance to get on and off the carriage, and was not particularly optimistic.

He boarded his carriage, pulled out a map, and began to locate their position. "At this pace, I'm afraid it won't be that fast."

Li Huowang's bloodstained finger traced a path along the coast towards the center of Jiangnan Province. "Hmm?! Youdu?"

Staring at the familiar yet unfamiliar characters, Li Huowang almost thought he had misread it. But after careful inspection, he confirmed it was indeed Youdu, not Shangjing as before.

Li Huowang looked at Zhuge Yuan with immense shock. "Is this your map?"

Zhuge Yuan's face showed annoyance. "Brother Li, that's quite a joke. I, a humble scholar, am extremely knowledgeable and have never needed a map."

"Then this..." As Li Huowang hesitated, Hong Zhong reappeared.

"Isn't this normal? You're in Great Qi now. What map would you use if not Great Qi's?"

Li Huowang stared at the map before him, his brow furrowed. His gaze was fixed on a red oil stain in the upper-left corner of the map.

That was a spot where he had accidentally dripped oil from his *youpo* noodles while looking at the map when he was searching for Xingdao previously. This was undeniably the map he had brought with him.

Yet, this map he bought in Shangjing didn't show Shangjing itself?! Instead, it marked Youdu, the capital of Great Qi?