Chapter 565: Zhuge Yuan

In the brightly lit palace, before the pillars carved with dragons, Li Huowang's pupils trembled slightly.

He first looked at the spine sword on the ground, which had begun to move on its own, then turned to Zhuge Yuan beside him.

He had suffered many injuries, but none had ever caused him as much pain as this moment.

"So you even prepared a backup plan! You never trusted me! Are you really the Zhuge Yuan who would risk his life to save me?"

"You told me to steady my resolve? But you've always seen me as the Hong Zhong of the Forget-Forget Dao! How can I steady my resolve?"

With that, Li Huowang's mouth twitched slightly, and he raised his fist with a distorted expression, savagely pounding his own head.

"Brother Li, I couldn't help it. With so many lives in Great Qi at stake, I truly couldn't gamble on you. I can sacrifice my own life for you, but I cannot sacrifice the lives of all the people of Great Qi for you!"

Li Huowang glared at him with a twisted expression, fueled by rage, and charged furiously towards Zhuge Yuan.

The moment his right hand clenched and swung towards Zhuge Yuan, Zhuge Yuan's head gained substance.

"Thud!" Zhuge Yuan's head snapped back, staggering from Li Huowang's punch.

When Zhuge Yuan, a bruise forming on his face, steadied himself again, he let out a soft sigh. His voice was low as he said, "In this life, I have never done anything with a troubled conscience, except for this one time. For the sake of Great Qi, I kept the truth from you, my sworn brother. This was indeed not the act of a true gentleman. One must be punished for their wrongdoings, and so, Zhuge Yuan is willing to atone with his death."

Li Huowang, who had just been furious, suddenly froze. He saw Zhuge Yuan's body begin to flicker, alternately appearing and fading.

"You...what do you mean by this! I'm telling you! This isn't over yet! You still owe me an explanation! You're not going anywhere!" Li Huowang clutched his head with a pained expression as Zhuge Yuan's body began to coalesce again.

"Brother Li, as a heart-elemental, these illusions are not good for you; they are harmful and useless. It's best to deal with them early."

"If you wish for the illusions around you to disappear, perhaps you can help them let go of their fixations. Once their fixations vanish, the illusions will naturally disappear as well, just like this humble one, or like Jiang Yingzi before."

After saying this, Zhuge Yuan's body became extremely faint. Even though Li Huowang desperately tried to pull him, it was no use.

"Brother Li, if you cannot distinguish whether you are Hong Zhong or Li Huowang, remember to go to the places where Li Huowang should be and accumulate more of Li Huowang's memories. This might suppress Hong Zhong."

"Brother Li, I once tried to uncover Doumu Taiyin's true intentions in altering your past memories, but please forgive my incompetence; I truly couldn't discern why he did it. It's best to postpone practicing that cultivation method until you understand it clearly."

After speaking so much, Zhuge Yuan's body became almost transparent, nearly invisible.

"Wait! You wait for me!" Li Huowang hunched slightly, fresh nosebleed continuously dripping onto the floor.

Zhuge Yuan meticulously smoothed his scholar's robe, leaned forward, and with bent arms, raised his hands in front of him, bowing deeply to Li Huowang. "Brother Li, take care!"

With that, Zhuge Yuan's body completely vanished, leaving no trace.

Li Huowang numbly lowered the hand that had been pressing on his head, staring fixedly at the spot where Zhuge Yuan had disappeared.

After a long moment of stunned silence, Li Huowang began to curse wildly at the empty space, crying as he swore.

Gradually, Li Huowang's furious curses subsided. He stood blankly at the spot where Zhuge Yuan had just been; only he knew what thoughts were churning in his mind at that moment.

Half an incense stick of time passed, and Li Huowang suddenly moved. He turned and walked towards the spine sword.

However, when he reached the spine sword, he saw that the purple talisman on the hilt's skull had been reattached. The peach talismans and flesh that had extended from the sword had all retracted, and it had once again become an ordinary spine sword.

Li Huowang tremblingly peeled back the purple talisman, but this time, the spine sword remained unchanged. It seemed to have died along with the illusory Zhuge Yuan.

"Thump, thump, thump"—a flurry of footsteps suddenly echoed. From outside the hall, a group of people wearing Celestial Monitoring Bureau waist tokens and carrying various weapons rushed in, their expressions grave.

"Er Jiu! Er Jiu!!" The woman who had previously traded the spine sword with Li Huowang now had a grim expression as she led a group of people, surrounding him.

"What exactly happened here! Where is the Imperial Advisor? Why has His Majesty turned into a woman? Who killed our eunuch secret agents?"

The silent Li Huowang numbly shook his head, bent down to pick up the sword, and forcefully pushed past her, walking out of the hall.

Just as others were about to stop him, Li Huowang violently swung the spine sword and, at an incredibly fast speed, darted into a rift.

"Boom!!" A clap of thunder startled Gao Zhijian, who was eating noodles in the inn's common room.

When he stepped out of the inn with his bowl, he saw dark clouds shrouding the Daliang Imperial Palace, with purple lightning continuously striking down.

"What's happening at the Daliang Imperial Palace?" Even though he understood nothing, he could tell that the color of the lightning seemed off.

Just as he was thinking this, hoofbeats continuously echoed. Soldiers, with military command flags on their backs, galloped through the wide streets, urgently banging the gongs in their hands as they rode.

"By order of the Imperial Advisor's residence! Daytime curfew in Shangjing City! Daytime curfew in Shangjing City! Those who violate the order after two incense sticks will be executed!"

"By order of the Imperial Advisor's residence! Daytime curfew in Shangjing City! Daytime curfew in Shangjing City! Those who violate the order after two incense sticks will be executed!"

These announcements immediately caused an uproar. Everyone who had been casually strolling through the streets suddenly became like ants on a hot pan.

Street vendors, not even bothering to pack up their stalls, frantically rushed towards their homes.

Gao Zhijian, who had no idea what was happening, quickly followed the general rush, carrying his bowl back into the inn.

As soon as he entered, the trembling inn attendant locked the door and propped a table against it, then joined the anxious patrons in whispered conversations.

"What's going on? Why a daytime curfew all of a sudden? Has Qingqiu attacked?"

"Couldn't be, could it? I just saw lightning striking near the Imperial Palace. Is His Majesty performing some ritual?"

"Hey! Are you asking to die, kid! How dare you speak so carelessly about such things!"

"It's fine, it's fine. Our Emperor doesn't punish for words."

The citizens of Shangjing City were very quick. Not to mention two incense sticks, not even one had finished burning before the streets were completely deserted.

In this uneasy atmosphere, Gao Zhijian peered secretly outside through a hole in the paper window. "Is this daytime curfew related to Senior Brother Li? Should I go out and check?"

However, Gao Zhijian hesitated. Searching without any clues, he feared he might encounter Daliang soldiers before he even found Senior Brother Li.