Chapter 317: Embroiderer

Chapter 317: The Seamstress

"Hmm... this divination..." Li Huowang frowned slightly as he stared at the crack in the skull, then held up the talisman scroll to cross-reference it.

"Qian is heaven, wind is Gu, mountain is Zhu." This was the hexagram Li Huowang had divined.

Yet strangely enough, the book did not record how to interpret the signs; it only said to burn the talisman paper into ash and swallow it.

He glanced at Liu Zhixian, who waited nearby. After a moment's thought, Li Huowang took out his fire steel and struck it against the corner of the yellow talisman.

As the talisman ignited with an eerie green flame, Li Huowang instinctively tilted his neck uncomfortably.

Immediately afterward, he heard a faint voice speaking—but when he listened carefully, there was nothing to be heard.

The talisman burned down, but instead of scattering, its ashes slowly twisted and coiled into something resembling a black, wrinkled infant made of soot.

Looking at what he now held in his hand, Li Huowang hesitated for a moment before tossing it into the teacup beside him and drinking it all in one go.

Then he stood silently waiting for something to happen—yet nothing occurred.

Outside, roosters crowed. Inside the house, Li Huowang and Liu Zhixian stared at each other in silence.

"Is this talisman scroll even effective? It's supposed to be divination, where's the hexagram?" Li Huowang looked at the object in his hands, doubt beginning to stir in his heart.

Noticing Li Huowang’s frustration, Liu Zhixian quickly offered, "Sir, you’ve worked hard today. Why not rest first?"

Li Huowang, still in full stride, refused to stop. He furrowed his brow and continued flipping through the talisman scroll.

Just then, a petite girl emerged from the doorway, tugging gently at Liu Zhixian’s sleeve. “Father... why aren’t you sleeping?”

Seeing his daughter, Liu Zhixian couldn't remain stern. He quickly softened his tone and coaxed her. “Oh my dear child, go have breakfast with your mother. I’ll come join you soon.”

“Hmm~ I won’t let you off that easily, Father. You said the same yesterday,” the girl pouted affectionately, but suddenly a low shout startled both parent and child.

When they saw Li Huowang approaching, Liu Zhixian’s face went pale. He quickly stepped in front of his daughter.

“S-Sir, this is my daughter.”

Li Huowang pushed past him and rushed toward the girl. Under her shocked gaze, he yanked a colorful cloth pouch from around her waist.

He studied the pattern on the pouch and asked, “Who made this?”

Some of the patterns on the pouch matched those from the previous hexagram exactly.

Clearly frightened by the intimidating man, the girl looked at her father. Seeing no rescue coming, she trembled and whispered, “It was made by my seamstress.”

“A seamstress? Bring her here!” There was no way such a coincidence could exist. Perhaps the talisman truly worked—it was the answer to the riddle!

Soon, the so-called seamstress was brought before Li Huowang by a constable, her arms bound. She appeared older than Liu Zhixian’s daughter, yet fragile and delicate, like she might collapse in the wind.

“You made this pouch?” Li Huowang held it up and demanded.

“Um…” the seamstress answered softly, eyes lowered, afraid to look up.

"Why is the bird depicted like this?"

“It’s a mandarin duck…”

“I’m asking why you embroidered this design!!” Li Huowang roared, startling everyone present.

The seamstress nearly burst into tears, her eyes brimming with tears. “Mandarin ducks… are always… embroidered like this…”

Li Huowang rose to his feet and walked toward her. With each step, the clink of sword against scabbard grew louder.

When the Zi Sui Sword was drawn, Li Huowang, radiating an aura of killing intent, became terrifying to all in the room.

Standing before the seamstress, the pressure emanating from him crushed her completely.

“I don’t know! My grandmother taught me to embroider like this! Mandarin ducks have always been embroidered this way!” she sobbed, crouched on the ground.

But then silence fell over the room. Even the constable gripping his blade and the clerk stroking his beard stared wide-eyed at the seamstress.

Her voice had sounded normal until the end—it was clearly a man’s voice!

The constable lunged forward, feeling the woman’s chest, then turned to Liu Zhixian with shock. “Sir! This woman has a cock!”

Liu Zhixian’s face turned white upon hearing this. He immediately looked at his daughter.

Li Huowang grabbed his throat and lifted the cross-dressing seamstress. “Liu Zhixian, it seems we’ve found the one who defiled women!”

“Lock... lock him in prison! Question him! Beat him bloody!” Liu Zhixian’s voice cracked with fear. His hands shook uncontrollably.

Having finally found a lead, Li Huowang wouldn’t let it slip. Following the constable escorting the seamstress, he headed toward the jail.

Soon, the prison of Cangshui County echoed with the pitiful screams of the male seamstress.

"Speak! Who else is involved? Where are you hiding? Why did you steal infants!"

Li Huowang frowned at the red branding iron sizzling on the skin and the whip soaked in salt water.

“Enough, all of you, back off,” he stood and walked toward the disfigured man.

Ignoring the iron the jailer offered, Li Huowang approached him and removed his hat.

His wounds had healed quickly—the skin on his face was mostly mended. Yet this version of Li Huowang was even more terrifying.

The tortured man, exhausted from the torture, saw Li Huowang’s appearance and suddenly gained strength, desperately trying to push away, as if fearing Li Huowang would devour him.

With a metallic clang, Li Huowang opened his tool bag at the man’s feet. “Talk.”

“I really don’t know! I’m the one who defiled women—I admit it! But stealing babies wasn’t me!” the man peed himself, but his words remained unchanged.

“Oh really?” Li Huowang pulled out a small saw and pressed the man’s head against the wall. Then he began sawing left and right.

If his earlier screams were human cries, the next few minutes were pure wailing of the damned.

Half an hour later, Li Huowang chanted the Fire Robe True Scripture and began healing the barely alive man.

“Strange… why? This guy actually doesn’t know anything?” Li Huowang was certain he spoke the truth. Even he might not survive this round.

“Could it be… that the one who defiled women and the one who stole infants are two different people? Just coincidentally happening at the same time, leading us to believe they’re connected?”

The possibility made Li Huowang feel worse. The trail had gone cold again.

This was the first time Li Huowang felt so thoroughly stumped. No matter the opponent’s strength, they were simply avoiding confrontation—this was infuriating.

He realized now that the work of the Heaven-Scanning Bureau was far more complex than he had imagined.

A rumble from his stomach reminded him he hadn’t eaten for three meals. If he didn’t eat soon, he’d weaken.

He glanced once more at the disfigured man and turned to leave.

The stunned jailer, seeing Li Huowang about to go, didn’t escort him. Instead, he kicked the nearby jailer in the ass.

The startled jailer, forced to smile, escorted Li Huowang out.

“Please take your time, sir. Please visit often. Sir… your hands are so skillful!”

(End of Chapter)