Chapter 892: Bandits

Li Huowang did find the county town, but to his surprise, it had no city walls. A dilapidated white gauze lantern hung from a gate, swaying in the wind.

"Stay alert. Someone here might be able to see me," Li Huowang muttered. As he shifted his body into the earth, making himself invisible, he walked towards the town.

The town felt utterly dilapidated to Li Huowang. Empty houses with wide-open doors were everywhere, the ground was riddled with potholes, and trash littered the streets.

If not for the faint candlelight flickering in some windows, Li Huowang would have thought he had stumbled into a mass graveyard.

Just then, Li Sui suddenly spoke, "Father, someone in Tianchen is divining our location."

Li Huowang's scalp tingled at the news. They were indeed acting quickly, and surprisingly, instead of sending people to search, they were resorting to divination. "Have they found us?"

"Not yet. I blocked them, but I can't hold them off for long."

"Hold them off for as long as you can. We'd better leave before they find us." Li Huowang headed directly towards the center of the county town.

The town center was marginally livelier. Although it was already evening, the surrounding shops were still brightly lit.

There weren't many types of establishments: casinos, brothels, and opera houses. Just those few.

After a quick consideration, Li Huowang entered the opera house, as it was the most likely place to find scholars. But as soon as he stepped inside, he saw a lewd "pink play" being performed on stage.

Unlike the "pink plays" of the Lü Family Troupe he had seen before, the actors in Tianchen wore only translucent, ethereal veils.

The entire opera house was chaotic. Spectators drank and played finger-guessing games below the stage while the performance continued above.

Suddenly, a scruffy, bearded man ripped off his clothes, revealing thick chest hair, then leaped onto the stage. To the rhythm of the music, he pounced on the female impersonator and immediately began to "rectify him on the spot."

Completely ignoring the applause and cheers, Li Huowang focused on the menacing aura emanating from these individuals. They were clearly all part of the same group.

"So this is what the military strategists of Tianchen are like," Li Huowang thought as he watched the grotesque spectacle. He noticed they came in all shapes and sizes, were disheveled and heavily bearded, and remarkably filthy.

He knew Tianchen had its own military strategists; the ones who first ambushed him were from this group.

Those individuals were formidable and worked together seamlessly. They had almost managed to seize his Spinal Sword.

After a quick scan, Li Huowang's gaze settled on the central spot on the second floor. There, a fat man with a large scar on his head reclined in a lounge chair, embracing two bare-breasted women, playing Pai Gow with several others.

The fat man exuded the strongest menacing aura. If there were no surprises, he was likely the leader here.

Li Huowang walked over, tore a face from his own, and prepared to stick it onto the back of the fat man's head.

Just as the skin was about to be affixed, their conversation made Li Huowang pause.

"Second Boss, is the Faceless One really inviting us to hunt partridges?"

Hearing this, Li Huowang immediately realized it was underworld slang. These weren't military strategists; they were bandits or mountain brigands.

Li Huowang then recalled that the individuals who had attacked him previously hadn't threatened to kill him; instead, they had threatened to pierce him.

There was no mistake. Those former attackers were probably bandits too. Soldiers were bandits, and bandits were soldiers. They were all part of the military strategists.

"Father, if Tianchen has no emperor, then naturally there would be no soldiers or generals. It's only natural for the military strategists to become outlaws."

Li Huowang nodded and continued listening to what the bandits were discussing.

"Don't think this is a good job. The Faceless One didn't just invite us. Last time, the gang that took drifter's money and the Sea Green Chief all went, and none of them have returned."

Upon hearing this, Li Huowang instantly understood: the gang that took drifter's money and the Sea Green Chief were the same bandits who had tried to steal his Spinal Sword.

The reason they hadn't returned was, of course, because he had burned them to ashes.

As for what they meant by the Faceless One, Li Huowang hadn't quite figured it out yet. Based on the underworld slang he knew, Faceless One typically referred to demons or monsters.

"The Faceless One must have run into a tough opponent this time. The messenger said they lost quite a few people too. Inviting all thirty-six bandit strongholds means they're serious."

If all the military strategists in Tianchen were indeed bandits, then the Faceless One inviting all of them was certainly not good news.

"Second Boss, since this situation is so thorny, are we still going?"

"Go? Of course we're going. If we don't give the Faceless One face, then we'll truly lose face."

At this, the Second Boss's voice softened. After glancing at the chaotic stage below, he lowered his voice further and said, "I heard this time it's related to the Moon Line. Let's go see first."

Just then, a shout suddenly came from downstairs. "Second Boss! Give the short call! A hawk's claw has infiltrated the fire pit!"

As sharp whistles filled the air, the various doors of the opera house slammed shut.

Seeing that he had been discovered, Li Huowang decided not to hide anymore. The fat man certainly knew something, and he had to extract it from him.

The Second Boss threw down his Pai Gow tiles and looked at Li Huowang, who wore the face of Yang Xiaohai. "Brother, state your purpose."

"To hell with your purpose!" Li Huowang instantly flashed before the fat man. Just as he was about to draw his sword, he remembered he needed to keep him alive. So, he casually grabbed a nearby hourglass and smashed it hard against the fat man's head.

The hourglass was completely deformed from the impact, and the fat man's head bled profusely as he stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Pierced!" With his furious roar, an overwhelming murderous aura instantly enveloped the entire opera house. All the bandits roared back, charging towards Li Huowang.

"I'll handle this," Li Sui said. The moment her words faded, the entire opera house began to contort. The ground and people alike stretched long, then short, grew large, then small.

The menacing aura that had just coalesced was swiftly torn apart as if it were stretched noodles.

Witnessing the terrifying combined power of Li Huowang and Li Sui, the fat man shamelessly dropped to his knees and begged for mercy.

"Get up! We're moving!" Li Huowang kicked him over, grabbed him, and prepared to leave.

"Father! Watch out!"

The instant Li Sui warned him, a withered hand plunged straight through Li Huowang's chest with a squelching sound.

Li Huowang didn't care about his injury; he cared about what was in the hand.

Along with the hand, some dark yellow substance was pulled out. Li Huowang knew what it was: his Innate First Master had actually been ripped from his body!