Chapter 440

Li Huowang watched the light in Zhuge Yuan's eyes slowly fade on the ground. His heart ached as if being cut by a knife.

His mind was in utter turmoil. He seemed to want to say something, but facing his dying friend, he couldn't bring himself to open his mouth.

"Brother Li, the worms in your belly are almost gone. Are you truly alright?" Zhuge Yuan asked, using his last breath as he looked at Li Huowang's rapidly emptying chest cavity.

Li Huowang forced a smile that looked worse than a cry. He shook his head vigorously. "Brother Zhuge, do you... do you have any last wishes? Just tell me, and I promise I'll fulfill them!"

Zhuge Yuan slowly exhaled, his voice becoming intermittent. "No, this humble scholar... this humble scholar... has lived his life... without any regrets... There's nothing... I regret..."

The snow that had previously stopped began to fall again, gently landing on Zhuge Yuan's gradually widening pupils.

Just as Li Huowang watched Zhuge Yuan slowly lose all signs of life, consumed by grief, he suddenly remembered something. He excitedly lunged forward, "Brother Zhuge, I've suddenly thought of a way! You can still be saved! You can still be saved!"

As he spoke, he raised his hands, veins bulging, and fiercely squeezed Zhuge Yuan's neck, tightening his grip.

Gazing at Zhuge Yuan, who stared blankly ahead, Li Huowang leaned close to his ear and whispered, his voice trembling as he exerted all his strength: "Brother Zhuge, I've killed some people in the past! Or rather, some people who died near me! For some reason, they seemed to turn into illusions that stayed by my side! Perhaps you can too!"

"As long as you can become an illusion, once I achieve great success in cultivation, I will surely be able to turn you from illusion to reality!"

As Li Huowang spoke, his hands tightened frantically, eventually exerting so much force that he twisted Zhuge Yuan's head clean off.

Kneeling on the ground, he cradled Zhuge Yuan's head and looked around blankly. Jin Shanzhao, the Monk, Hong Zhong, Peng Longteng—the four illusions were all there, no more, no less. Zhuge Yuan had not reappeared.

Zhuge Yuan had not become an illusion, which meant he was truly dead.

Li Huowang, his pale lips trembling slightly, hugged Zhuge Yuan's head. His entire upper body slowly hunched over, and his left hand, missing two fingers, clenched into a trembling fist, smashing violently against the ground.

The solid rammed earth gradually cracked under the impact, mixed with blood spilling from Li Huowang's wounds, splashing outwards.

But no matter how much he vented, it was useless. Zhuge Yuan was dead, and death meant no return. Li Huowang's tears continuously dripped onto Zhuge Yuan's hair in his arms.

Why? Why did everyone good to him in this world meet such an end?

Or was it the world's fault? Was it true that good people die young, while bad people live for a thousand years?

Suddenly, a surge of indignation welled up in Li Huowang's heart—a fierce anger at this chaotic world. "This isn't right! This world is wrong! Humanity shouldn't be like this!"

After smashing for about half an incense stick's time, Li Huowang slowly stopped his bloody, mangled hands. It wasn't that he wanted to stop, but that he could no longer lift them.

The intercalary five elements' hour was quickly passing. If he didn't resolve this problem soon, he would die alongside Zhuge Yuan.

A hint of hesitation flickered in Li Huowang's eyes. If this happened, perhaps it wouldn't be so bad; he had nothing left to lose anyway.

But then, Li Huowang suddenly lowered his head and slammed it hard against the ground. The pain of his head splitting open and bleeding quickly dispelled the suicidal thoughts in his mind.

"Zhuge Yuan risked everything to save your life! What right do you have to die?! Do you think you're worthy of him?!"

"If you kill yourself now, Zhuge Yuan will become a joke! You're not allowed to die! You must live a life worthy of a human being!"

Li Huowang fiercely knocked his head a few more times, stopping only when the white bone of his skull became visible on his forehead.

He gritted his teeth and stumbled to his feet. Li Sui, controlling Li Huowang's original body, walked towards him.

Li Huowang looked at his vision, which was starting to darken. He shook his head vigorously, then raised the sword in his hand and slashed his own forearm. "Stop pretending! At a time like this, you're still trying to set a trap, Li Sui! Retract all your tentacles!"

As soon as he spoke, Li Huowang saw Beifeng, who had appeared drunk, calmly open his eyes.

"This body of yours is almost ruined. Quickly, switch us back! I absolutely cannot die now; I must live!"

Beifeng, whose vision had returned, endured the pain and looked at Li Huowang in front of him, a hint of disdainful, mischievous smile playing on his lips. "Why should I?"

"Because you owe me a favor from five years ago at Woman Mountain! Are you trying to go back on your word?"

Hearing this, Beifeng meticulously examined Li Huowang from head to toe. Finally, he cupped his hands together and bowed to Li Huowang in congratulations. "Boss Hong Zhong, congratulations on your return! You certainly played a big game this time. I almost thought you wouldn't come back."

As he spoke, with a slight flicker of his eyes, their bodies rapidly switched back.

Back in his own body, feeling it was almost an empty shell, Beifeng immediately started complaining. "Oh dear, oh dear, you've ruined my body to this extent. It's completely unusable."

With that, he looked at a crippled Dajiang Imperial Guard lying on the ground in the distance, who had lost a leg.

With another slight flicker of his eyes, their bodies quickly swapped. Before the Imperial Guard could even adapt to Beifeng's mangled body, his expression froze, and he collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

Beifeng, now in the Imperial Guard's body, hopped on his single remaining leg towards Li Huowang.

"Boss Hong Zhong, why are you standing here? Let's go help Boss Dice and the others. Tsk, tsk, look over there, they're practically beating each other's brains out."

But he spoke for a long time without getting any response. He just saw Li Huowang, tears welling in his eyes, staring at the empty space to his left.

Beifeng tentatively reached out to feel the spot, but touched nothing.

Just then, he saw Boss Hong Zhong speak, his voice trembling. "Brother Zhuge, are you well?"

Li Huowang's heart pounded. He was so excited he could barely contain himself as he looked at Zhuge Yuan before him.

Zhuge Yuan, with a serene expression, was still dressed in white, holding his folding fan inscribed with "Heaven endowed me with talents," gently fanning himself on his chest.

The other illusions around him watched the newcomer with eyes full of curiosity.

Zhuge Yuan, with a flick of his fan, pointed to the other illusions around him. "Brother Li, would you be so kind as to introduce these gentlemen to this humble scholar?"

Li Huowang was so excited he was speechless, his hands trembling. It took him a moment to finally blurt out, "My heavens! I succeeded! You really became an illusion!"

It seemed Zhuge Yuan hadn't appeared before because Li Huowang hadn't been in his own "heart-element" body then.