Chapter 958: Internal Traitor

Li Huowang's heart remained completely unmoved by the yellow-clad woman's allure. He had long seen through people like her.

"The only thing I want from you is your death!"

With that, he plunged his military knife directly into her mouth. With a quick twist, a mangled, bloody tongue was ripped out.

Just then, Yang Na stumbled forward, tightly grasping Li Huowang's knife-holding hand with both of hers. Terrified by the gory scene before her, she cried out, "Li Huowang, what are you doing?!"

"Believe me! Believe me!" Li Huowang shouted at Yang Na, his eyes wide with fury. "This woman is a mole for Fusheng Tian! Nana! You have to believe me!"

Yang Na froze. She looked first at the pitiable yellow-clad woman, then at Li Huowang, and finally, she had an epiphany.

"Yes, Huowang," she said, "I believe you. I believe everything you say."

As she spoke, Yang Na drew a military knife, gripping it tightly with both hands, and slowly pressed it into the yellow-clad woman's chest.

When the woman was finally dead, Yang Na tremblingly released her hands. She looked down at her blood-soaked hands, and a beautiful smile slowly spread across her lips.

Then Yang Na turned to Li Huowang, her face blooming like a white magnolia. "Huowang, we won! We killed another Si Ming who threatened us! Don't you think I'm amazing?"

Li Huowang gazed at Yang Na's eyes, clear as a pristine spring. He paused for a moment, then slowly and gently nodded. "Yes, you are amazing. We won."

"That's great!" Yang Na exclaimed, throwing herself into Li Huowang's arms and jumping with joy. "I can help now! I am Wusheng Laomu."

Li Huowang released the body and gently placed a hand on Yang Na's head, gradually calming her excitement. "Let's go," he said. "I've stopped Fusheng Tian's counterattack for now. We should head back and talk."

With that, Li Huowang walked towards the villa. As he grasped the doorknob and gently turned it, he himself — covered in brains and blood — emerged alone from inside. "The mole is finally dead," he stated. "Now we can have a proper talk."

Hearing this, Zuo Qiuyong sat on a stone bench, idly twisting a pink handkerchief in his hands, seemingly lost in thought.

The man who had just been fighting for his life was now completely transformed. This was still Shangjing City; all the previous chaos had vanished, and its residents were going about their usual day.

There were no longer colossal physical Si Ming, nor the growth-inducing Heavenly Dao that affected everything. The memories of Fusheng Tian, which had been deliberately revealed in Zuo Qiuyong's mind, had also vanished. Everything had reverted to how it was.

After a moment of thought, Zuo Qiuyong finally nodded. "Alright," he said, "let's have a proper discussion. I agree to your peace terms."

"As long as the trouble with Fusheng Tian isn't over, Wusheng Laomu and I won't cause each other any problems."

Li Huowang wasn't surprised by Zuo Qiuyong's reaction. Since the mole who had sown discord was dead, all her previous influences had vanished, including those on Zuo Qiuyong himself.

After a moment of deliberation, Li Huowang slowly began to speak. "This is what I want to say: looking back, I've never seen this woman before. When I was being monitored, she was present. This woman is the Si Ming from another great elephant."

"Each time we provoked them before, they would undoubtedly react. But I never expected them to be so ruthless, sending someone to sow discord between us. Fortunately, I reacted quickly and stopped her before she could cause serious damage. If we had started fighting each other, their insidious plan would have succeeded, as clashes between Si Ming are no laughing matter."

A look of understanding dawned on Zuo Qiuyong's face as he listened.

"So that's it," he said. "Alright, if there's nothing else, I'll head back. You figure out a way to connect with the other Si Ming and see if there's anything I can do to help from down here."

"Just so we're clear," he added, "I can't go to Baiyujing. If a real fight breaks out up there, I won't be able to help."

"Yes, I know," Li Huowang replied. "Qingwang was right, and I thought the same. Though I honestly didn't expect you two siblings to actually believe what I said." Li Huowang stood up, ready to see his guest out.

But just then, as Zuo Qiuyong was about to depart, Dice suddenly approached from a distance.

"This person is..."

"He's one of us, quite well-informed," Li Huowang explained, which made Zuo Qiuyong pause. "Let's see what he wants to say."

Dice approached them, first bowing deeply to Li Huowang, then moving beside Zuo Qiuyong, ready to speak.

But before he could utter a word, a spray of iridescent black liquid erupted from a spot on Dice's head, splattering directly onto Zuo Qiuyong's chest.

No one, neither Zuo Qiuyong nor Li Huowang, had time to react to Dice's unexpected move.

By the time Zuo Qiuyong reacted, it was too late. The asphalt-like liquid rapidly spread over his body, regenerating even when cut away.

"Dice! What are you doing?!" Li Huowang cried, drawing his sword and severing Zuo Qiuyong's head with a single strike.

But even so, it was still too late; the new body that regrew beneath Zuo Qiuyong's severed head remained coated in the strange liquid.

"What?" Dice chuckled. "Didn't I tell you before? I help whoever wins."

As he spoke, Dice slowly retreated, putting more distance between himself and Li Huowang. "What I'm saying is the truth, you know," he continued, "it's just that... well, I actually think Fusheng Tian has a better chance of winning. Hahaha!"

"No way, no way, Hong Zhong, you didn't actually believe me, did you? You didn't think I was wholeheartedly helping you? You didn't think we became friends after a fight, did you?"

At this, Dice clutched his stomach and burst into loud laughter. "Hahaha! You believed it! You fell for it again! Hahahaha!!"

Still laughing, Dice involuntarily raised his head and gazed at the gate to Outer Heaven.

"Ji Zai, Ji Zai," he scoffed, "and you! You didn't think I'd care about your meager benefits, did you? Unfortunately, the other side offered far, far more than you did."

Li Huowang trembled with rage, a surge of fury erupting in his heart. He lunged forward, taking two quick steps, and snatched the Gilded Silver Dice from the table, clutching it tightly in his palm.

His eyes blazed furiously at the object in his hand. "Dice," he snarled, "you might have misunderstood one thing. Before, I wasn't enticing you with benefits; I was threatening you! If you don't do what I say, I'll damn well kill you!"

With that, Li Huowang threw the dice into his mouth and bit down, grinding it loudly.

In just a few bites, the dice bore deep tooth marks. Finally, with a powerful clamp of Li Huowang's jaws, it snapped open, and a silvery-white, faintly glowing liquid instantly spurted out.