Chapter 423: Return to the Capital

Li Sui, clutching her own eyes, emerged from her father's navel. She stealthily peered outside, having just heard someone singing. She'd thought someone had arrived, but there was nothing there.

"Dad, why did I only hear voices but see no one? Where is that person?" Li Sui's question went unanswered, and she couldn't help but grow worried. "Dad, are you upset with me?"

Li Sui felt it wasn't her fault. She truly hadn't expected to have two fathers—one without a head, and one with.

Since she hadn't heard her headed father's command, it was understandable that she emerged from her headless father's body and went to her headed father.

But Li Huowang had no time for Li Sui at the moment. He looked in confusion towards Shangjing City, certain that the peculiar chanting was emanating from that direction.

Initially, he assumed it was another hallucination, but upon seeing some common people clutching their heads and writhing in pain, Li Huowang realized the situation was far from trivial.

He could sense it even from this great distance from Shangjing, which made him wonder about the immense scope of the event.

"Something major must have happened in Shangjing. I can't wait any longer; I need to rush back. Could this be the start of the Bureau of Celestial Monitors' crackdown on the Zuo Wang Dao?"

Li Huowang began his journey back, but despite walking until late into the night, he still hadn't reached Shangjing. It couldn't be helped; he had arrived empty-handed, but now he was carrying a heavy corpse on his return journey.

Although the head was missing, Li Huowang hadn't forgotten that he was a Xinsu. Once he found a method to refine Xinsu, his body would certainly prove invaluable.

He drained the blood from the corpse, then rubbed coarse salt all over it, inside and out, completing a simple preservation method.

He glanced at the winter sky, took a deep breath, and wiped the sweat from his face. Li Huowang set down the corpse he was carrying, then turned towards the woods to gather firewood.

It was still very cold, not long after the New Year. Sleeping without a bonfire tonight was out of the question; it would be easy to catch a cold.

As Li Huowang chopped branches with his Purple Spike Sword, tiny white specks slowly drifted down from the sky. It was snowing, the first snow Li Huowang had witnessed since arriving in this world.

He looked up at the intermittently visible "white-haired moon," exhaled a puff of white breath, and quickened his pace.

He needed to chop more; tonight was sure to be even colder.

As the fire striker continuously rubbed, sparks flew, but they landed on the small branches without igniting.

Li Huowang tried for a bit longer, then suddenly remembered something and pulled an old almanac from his pocket.

With a few more "crack, crack" strikes, Li Huowang tossed the burning almanac into the kindling, and a bonfire sprang to life.

As the orange-red flames cast a glow on Li Huowang's face and hands, he instantly felt much more comfortable.

Li Huowang leaned his body closer to the bonfire, then, back-to-back with his headless corpse, slowly closed his eyes.

"Hey, Taoist, let me tell you something," the hallucination of the monk suddenly said, leaning closer.

"I'm tired. I'll have a lot to do tomorrow once I reach Shangjing. Let's talk another day."

"No, it's not that. Remember that kid named Hong Zhong, the one without skin? I heard him say you can turn fake things real. Is that true?"

Li Huowang slowly opened his eyes and looked at the bald head that was nearly pressing against his face.

The monk rubbed his hands, saying with a hopeful expression, "So, is it possible... maybe... perhaps... you could turn us into real beings someday?"

"What?" Li Huowang instantly lost all drowsiness, sitting up abruptly and scanning the surrounding hallucinations: Peng Longteng, Hong Zhong, Jin Shanzhao, and the Monk.

Li Huowang's eyes narrowed as he instantly fixed his gaze on Hong Zhong's skinless face. "You tricked the monk into testing my intentions. What do you mean by that?"

"Heh heh, no other meaning," Hong Zhong said, a delighted expression on his face. "I'm just a little curious. Think about it: if you were to kill me, and then make me real again, how interesting would that be?"

"Heh, keep dreaming then. You can have anything in your dreams."

"Oh, your words are so heartless! We've been through thick and thin together, practically a family. If we had physical bodies, we could help you whenever you ran into trouble."

"Don't worry, even if I became real, I wouldn't harm you. I find you particularly interesting now, especially how you previously impersonated Hong Zhong and sowed discord – that's truly in the style of our Zuo Wang Dao!"

Li Huowang simply ignored him, closing his eyes and going to sleep.

Unsure when he drifted off in the fluctuating warmth and cold, Li Huowang woke up to find himself buried under snow.

He inhaled a breath of dry air, then scooped up a handful of white snow and chewed it. Li Huowang, stiff from the cold, dragged himself forward, step by step, towards Shangjing City.

Shangjing had informants everywhere. Bringing a corpse in like this would certainly be discovered by the Bureau of Celestial Monitors, and it would be impossible to explain.

Li Huowang decided to first dig a pit and bury his headless corpse on a dirt slope. Fortunately, the cold weather and the salt he'd applied meant it wouldn't spoil.

Gazing at the somewhat desolate city gate before him, Li Huowang took a deep breath and walked straight inside.

Li Huowang had expected the peculiar chanting from earlier to throw Shangjing into chaos, but nothing of the sort had occurred. The city was merely a bit desolate due to the snowfall.

Li Huowang's guess was correct; Shangjing indeed had informants from the Bureau of Celestial Monitors everywhere. Shortly after he entered, he was surrounded.

Facing Nangong, Li Huowang preempted him, saying with a grim expression, "Brother Nangong, I was tricked by the Zuo Wang Dao."

Nangong gazed at Li Huowang with a complex expression. After a moment of stunned silence, he finally spoke: "Follow me. You won't believe what the Zuo Wang Dao did using your identity."

Led by Nangong, Li Huowang returned to the Bureau of Celestial Monitors' headquarters. They navigated the wooden corridors until they reached a room with an oppressive atmosphere.

Inside the room, a head with features twisted into Hong Zhong's likeness was openly displayed on a table, with three incense sticks burning before it.

Beside it stood a Taoist priest in a yellow robe and an yin-yang headdress, continuously wielding a copper coin sword as he performed a ritual.

"Lord Director, Ear-Nine has returned."

When the Taoist raised his head, Li Huowang saw two baby heads squeezed onto the left side of his neck.

"This Director actually has two primordial spirits," Li Huowang thought, instantly raising his guard. "He must be from the Luo Sect."

The Taoist Director set down his work and appraised Li Huowang for a moment. Then, he grabbed the head from the table and tossed it to Li Huowang.

Li Huowang held the square head, examining it carefully for a moment before suddenly blurting out in shock.

"What?! This Hong Zhong of the Zuo Wang Dao is actually a Xinsu!?"