Chapter 752: Departure

Li Huowang stared at Xuanpin in front of him, utterly incredulous. "Are you helping Siming fight against Yu'er God?" he repeated, needing to confirm he hadn't misheard. The news was simply too shocking.

Hearing Li Huowang's question, Xuanpin remained silent, standing motionless.

"Which Siming are you helping? Which Siming is currently fighting Yu'er God in Baiyujing? What's the situation now?" Li Huowang pressed Xuanpin with a barrage of questions.

This time, however, Xuanpin still offered no reply.

"Speak up! Is it amusing to give me a snippet of information and then leave me to answer my own questions?"

This time, Xuanpin finally spoke. "I can only tell you this much. Remember what I told you earlier; if you know any more, you'll incur karma."

Hearing this, Li Huowang felt a deep sense of frustration, like punching a cotton ball.

"You? You mean Si Tianjian can get involved in a confrontation between Simings? I don't believe it." Li Huowang looked at Xuanpin, his eyes filled with profound doubt.

"Heh, heh. From your words, it seems you think you understand me well? Or perhaps you think you understand Si Tianjian well?"

"It's not that I'm looking down on you, but what you're saying is simply too outlandish."

Regardless, that was Siming. He had seen Siming before, and Li Huowang didn't believe Xuanpin could offer much help in a battle for the Heavenly Dao.

"Just because you haven't witnessed it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Since we are responsible for monitoring the heavens, we naturally have our methods. Furthermore, the Dharma Cult is on the verge of world destruction, so it's only natural that other sects and factions are discontent with them and will assist us, both openly and covertly."

Seeing Li Huowang about to open his mouth again, Xuanpin waved his long sleeve. "Enough has been said. This isn't something you should be concerning yourself with."

"What you should consider is this assignment: only by each of us performing our duties and fulfilling our responsibilities can we overcome this immense problem."

Li Huowang, chin in hand, pondered for a moment, his brows furrowed, before extending a finger towards Xuanpin.

"One last question: How is the situation up there? Are things looking better for our side, or for Yu'er God's?"

"That depends on how well you perform this task. If you succeed, Yu'er God's days are numbered."

"You needn't doubt me. Even if I'm withholding some information, we are ultimately on the same side. Furthermore, I gave you the Xuan Guang Mirror—such a valuable treasure is proof of my sincerity."

"Alright, how many times are you going to repeat yourself about one thing? Besides me, who else is involved in this operation?"

"Some capable individuals," Xuanpin replied, pulling a Si Tianjian waist token from his robes. The two characters "Bing Shuai" were prominently inscribed on it.

Li Huowang knew that Si Tianjian operated on its own hierarchical system. Regardless, this token signified a status vastly superior to his former Geng Flag.

"No one will oversee you this time; they will all follow your orders. Even if you tell them to die, they won't utter a word of dissent."

Li Huowang reached out, took the token, and looked at Xuanpin with a cold expression. "Where are they now? When do we depart?"

Xuanpin extended his withered hand and gently tapped the Xuan Guang Mirror hovering beside Li Huowang. "Go here. Once you arrive, someone will naturally explain everything to you."

Li Huowang looked at the glowing spot on the Xuan Guang Mirror, said nothing further, turned, and headed in that direction.

As Li Huowang walked out of the bamboo grove, Xuanpin called out, "Don't worry. Should you genuinely encounter danger, I will intervene and bring you back."

Li Huowang, however, felt it was safer to rely on himself when his life was on the line.

After all, the last time he was inside the earth dragon's belly, Xuanpin hadn't intervened. He couldn't have just suddenly acquired this ability, could he?

"Alright, got it. That's all. I'll hang up now." With a beep, the call ended as Li Huowang pressed the red button on his phone.

"Who called?" Yang Na asked Li Huowang, taking a sip of her milk tea.

"Who else? The graduate student called. He wants us to go over; it's probably about that matter Zhao Lei brought up." Li Huowang replied, his gaze cautiously sweeping the bustling street around them.

"Alright, we'll grab our things and head over." Just then, Yang Na's eyes suddenly lit up. She shoved her milk tea into Li Huowang's hand and darted off towards a girl with a ponytail in the distance.

"Honey! Long time no see, did you miss me?" Yang Na exclaimed excitedly, greeting her best friend.

However, the girl with the ponytail was clearly not as enthusiastic. She glanced uneasily at Li Huowang in the distance, who was drinking milk tea.

Although Li Huowang had deliberately worn sunglasses and changed his clothes today, the girl had been a spectator to all of Yang Na's past complicated relationships; there was no way she wouldn't recognize him.

"Mengmeng, where's the taser?"

Yang Na took the small bag from her friend, opened it, and saw several high-voltage tasers, still in their unopened packaging.

After their last experience, Li Huowang understood the importance of having weapons. Since illegal ones were out of reach, they naturally had to find ways to acquire more legal options.

Zhang Xiaomeng pulled Yang Na further away from Li Huowang and spoke in a tone of exasperated disappointment: "Tsk! I went to all that trouble to get you tasers last time, and you truly don't know, or are you pretending not to know, who they were meant to protect you from? Why are you still involved with him? Is this Stockholm Syndrome?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Yang Na lightly nudged her. "Huowang's illness is cured now."

"Even if he's cured, it's not okay! He's killed people! With your eligibility, what kind of boyfriend couldn't you find? Why insist on dating someone who's been mentally ill?"

"Oh, this is all very complicated…" After Yang Na had a long, meandering conversation with her friend and finally managed to persuade her to leave, she walked back, carrying the bag.

Li Huowang handed the milk tea back, took the bag, opened it to inspect its contents, and closed it with satisfaction. "How much?" he asked.

"Not much, just the cost of a few milk teas. You don't have to pay."

"I didn't say I'd pay, nor did I say you would. These are for them, so that fellow Qingwang Lai should reimburse us."

"Is that so? Alright then." Yang Na, still sipping her milk tea, linked her arm through Li Huowang's.

"No need to stick to the original price. It's fine to exaggerate a little; that guy has plenty of money."

Hearing this, Yang Na, leaning against Li Huowang, burst into laughter. Yet, despite her mirth, a hint of worry lingered in her eyes.

The situation was becoming increasingly problematic, and she was genuinely worried that things would spiral further out of control.

They scanned two shared electric scooters and set off towards Orange Isle.

If there was any good news during this period, it was this: whenever Li Huowang and Yang Na went out together, people didn't ask too many questions. A young couple on a date was always the most plausible explanation.