Chapter 650: Wolf Smoke Rises

"Xuanpin? Why are you here?" Li Huowang stared at the dark silhouette inside the red robe.

"The world is in great chaos now. We must combine the power of the Imperial Censorate to overcome this difficulty together. As a Celestial Censor, am I not allowed to come to the palace?" Xuanpin's loose robe swayed as he drifted closer to the two men.

Li Huowang scrutinized him for a moment, then turned to Gao Zhijian and said, "The Law Sect will definitely make a move soon. I'm a bit worried, so I came to check."

"How about this: I'll just live in the palace from now on and protect you personally."

Before Gao Zhijian could reply, Xuanpin, standing nearby, spoke first. "No."

"I wasn't asking you about this."

"We have received your message. Rest assured, His Majesty and the Grand Tutor's safety is ensured by the military and the Censorate of Heaven. You may return."

Li Huowang, who had been sitting on the steps, slapped his knees and stood up, looking at Xuanpin. His voice carried a hint of anger. "What exactly are you worried about? I am Ji Zai's heart-companion! You learned your illusionary arts from him. Who exactly are you subtly guarding against?"

The way he was looked at upon entering the palace, the Grand Tutor's gaze, and now this sudden visit from the Celestial Censor—if Li Huowang still couldn't see that these people didn't trust him, then the twin pupils in his eyes were surely useless.

"If it weren't for me earlier, Dice would have already stolen the dragon脈! If I had any ulterior motives, why would I have bothered to save it? I could have just watched the show, couldn't I?"

"But now you've turned around and are guarding against me? No, what exactly do you mean? Aren't you one of Ji Zai's people? When he said he was hunting down members of the Law Sect, didn't that include you?"

"First," Xuanpin paused, then continued, "I have confirmed that if it hadn't been for you, Dice would not have acquired the dragon脈 in the first place. You saved the dragon脈, but at most, your merits and demerits cancel each other out."

"Furthermore, everything I've learned came from my own enlightenment and 'Dao transformation.' I do indeed know someone named Ji Zai—that person is you."

Li Huowang was almost laughing. "Xuanpin, are you pretending to be confused, or do you genuinely not understand?"

"I used my cultivation abilities to conjure the Controller of Confusion right in front of you—don't tell me you didn't see that!"

However, after he finished speaking, Xuanpin remained silent. A strange gaze shot out from within the black robe, fixing itself on Li Huowang.

"Hmm? What's going on? Does he genuinely not know? Is he lying to me? Or has the past been altered again?" Li Huowang's heart lurched, and he looked up at the sky.

Xuanpin slowly drifted backward, appearing as if to leave, but Li Huowang grabbed him. "Wait, wait, wait! I need to confront you and Ji Zai! This matter must be straightened out for me."

The moment Li Huowang's words left his lips, both he and Xuanpin simultaneously looked up at the sky above the layered rooftops in the distance.

Suddenly, a flock of birds soared into the sky above the Imperial Garden, circling continuously as if startled.

"Something seems to be wrong." Li Huowang's heart sank steadily. Although he didn't know what exactly had happened, he instinctively felt as if the entire world had undergone some change.

Xuanpin's six slender arms emerged from his red robe, and he began to calculate, his six fingers simultaneously pressing against his thumb pads.

After only a few breaths, Xuanpin lowered his hands. A low voice emanated from within the Daoist robe. "A heavenly disaster."

"A heavenly disaster?! The sky is perfectly clear, where would a disaster come from?" Li Huowang's pupils immediately constricted as he finished speaking. He knew that "heavenly disaster" wasn't limited to just a solar eclipse.

Immediately afterward, three black columns of smoke swiftly rose in the eastern sky.

"What does that mean?!" Li Huowang pointed at the smoke signals and asked loudly.

"Troops are at the city gates."

"Where are these troops coming from?"

Before anyone else could answer, three more black smoke signals also rose from the west, south, and north.

"Those aren't smoke signals from outside the city; those are smoke signals from *inside* the city. Someone has infiltrated."

Hearing this, Li Huowang immediately sprang into action, forgetting his questions for Xuanpin. "I'll go check first. You and the Grand Tutor protect Gao Zhijian! Li Sui, let's go!"

As soon as Li Huowang opened his mouth wide and swallowed Li Sui, two of Li Sui's tentacles emerged from Li Huowang's body. They quickly pulled out two pieces of turmeric paper, swiftly drew talismans with Li Sui's own blood, and immediately affixed them to Li Huowang's knees.

The moment the talismans were attached, Li Huowang's body blurred, and he rushed out of the palace like a gust of wind.

Meanwhile, inside the capital city, Scholar Lu walked from outside the theater into the back courtyard, carrying his daughter Xiuer in his arms and a box of pastries wrapped in oiled paper.

Just as he entered the second gate, Scholar Lu saw his wife lying in a lounge chair, feigning sleep, listening to the opera from the stage in front, and gently swaying her long fingernails.

Two delicate young girls still stood beside her, one massaging her legs and the other her shoulders. There was probably no one in the entire capital city who enjoyed life as much as she did.

"Juan'er, you should move around more. You've gotten fat since we came to the capital."

"What's wrong with being fat? It's good to be fat. Only wealthy families can afford to raise plump people." Luo Juanhua opened her eyes with displeasure.

When she saw the pastries in Scholar Lu's hand, she asked with some surprise, "Juren, what's that?"

Scholar Lu, a little embarrassed, dismissed the two young girls, then somewhat sheepishly placed the pastries on her slightly bulging belly.

When Luo Juanhua opened the box, a little confused, she discovered stacks of clean white, rectangular long pastries inside. A hint of pleasant surprise immediately appeared on her face. "Oh! It's wick pastry!" Luo Juanhua picked up two pieces and put them in her mouth, savoring the soft, sweet flavor.

"It's so delicious! I haven't seen this since we left Siyi. My dear, how did you think to buy this specifically for me?"

Scholar Lu scratched his head awkwardly. "I didn't buy it specially. There's a new pastry shop that just opened at the market, and the master happened to be a refugee from Siyi. I saw it and just bought a little."

Luo Juanhua immediately felt a sweetness not only in her mouth but also in her heart. She knew how difficult it was to find this type of pastry in Daliang.

In the past, when they had no money, they couldn't afford this pastry. The only time they had it was when they got married, and they only bought six liang.

That was the first time she had eaten such delicious pastries, and she had eaten all six liang herself. She never expected this stubborn man to remember it for so many years.

"Well... on the way here, you were wronged, and you said some unpleasant things. Don't worry about it."

Seeing his flustered expression, Luo Juanhua felt as if she was seeing the young man with a face as red as a monkey's bottom again. She covered her mouth and chuckled.

"I'm talking to you seriously, why are you laughing?" Scholar Lu, somewhat flustered, put his daughter down and prepared to walk towards the front of the theater.