Chapter 353: Concealment

Chapter 353: Concealment

Li Huowang, hearing the sound, turned his head to look. Between the gaps in the wall covered with thorns and morning glories, faintly visible were some characters.

The copper sword, transformed into a whip, danced swiftly several times before striking the wall. The entire surface cleared instantly.

"What am I? What am I truly? How strange."

"I do not wish to kill her! I merely wish to observe!"

"She cannot see me; I shall proceed as I please!"

"It looks like it was written by Heart Turmoil, but why does this handwriting seem unlike that of one person?" Tuoba Danqing pondered carefully.

"Oh my, Danqing, stop looking and give me some of your insects. I need to take them with the longevity pills," said Ji Xiang, pulling out a longevity pill from his sleeve and stuffing it into his mouth. The white flesh on his head visibly diminished.

"Lord Ji Xiang, you're almost at your limit. If you eat another longevity pill, it'll be troublesome."

"Ahh~ Do you think I don't know that? Let's finish this first. Otherwise, I won’t live long enough to become a human phantom," replied Ji Xiang.

Li Huowang had no patience for Ji Xiang’s chatter. He endured the pain while remaining vigilant against everything around him.

Although he had temporarily controlled the situation, he hoped this would end quickly—no more complications.

"Heh." Hearing the voice, Li Huowang raised his head slightly and came face-to-face with a woman covered in filth.

Her hair was long, her face delicate and clear. She hung upside down before him, eyes gleaming with excitement as she stared directly into his.

In an instant, a thought flashed through Li Huowang's mind: *She is Heart Turmoil!*

Without hesitation, he raised his sword and stabbed straight into her abdomen.

Heart Turmoil coughed up blood and fell to the ground, staring at Li Huowang in shock, repeating over and over:

"You’re okay? You’re really okay?"

Elation overwhelmed Li Huowang. His hand lifted the iron spoon, ready to pin her down and pluck out those eyes that could make people vanish.

"Er Jiu! Leave her eyes alone! Don’t pluck them out! Kill her if you must, but don’t take her eyes!"

Upon hearing this, Li Huowang quickly dislocated all her joints. Now, only her eyes could move.

Though he didn’t understand what was happening, since Heart Turmoil had come to him, there was no way he’d let her escape.

He tore off a red ribbon from his crimson robe and prepared to bind her eyes.

Yet, surprisingly, she showed no resistance. Instead, she looked terrified at the words carved into the wall.

"No! I didn’t kill them! I don’t even know! But I didn’t kill them!"

Once fully wrapped, Li Huowang exhaled deeply, collapsing onto the floor, gasping for breath.

After catching his breath, he exchanged glances with Ji Xiang and others. Their expressions were strange—nothing like what they'd expected.

"Elder Er, how did you avoid being hidden by Heart Turmoil? And how did she appear right before you so you could catch her?" asked Tuoba Danqing.

Li Huowang lowered his gaze, thinking for a moment before replying, "Perhaps just luck."

He suspected it might have something to do with his Heart Essence identity, but such matters were never to be shared.

Tuoba Danqing frowned upon hearing this and stopped asking. Inside, he muttered, *What kind of luck is that?*

Just then, Heart Turmoil cried out again, "No! I didn’t kill them! I don’t even know! But I didn’t kill them!"

When Li Huowang turned around, his pupils shrank to nothing.

The cloth covering her eyes had vanished without notice. She was once again staring at the words on the wall.

"No, dead things can’t cover Heart Turmoil’s eyes. We must use living things instead. Li Sui, come help!"

Two writhing tentacles emerged from Li Huowang’s wound, wrapping around Heart Turmoil’s eyes. Only then did she finally fall silent.

Seeing that she was truly captured, Ji Xiang rushed forward, gripping Li Huowang’s hands tightly and shaking them in gratitude: "Er Jiu, you’ve done us a great favor! If anything happens in the future, just ask us!"

"Lord Ji Xiang, you’re too kind," replied Li Huowang, understanding the unspoken meaning. He knew he now owed him a debt.

Though the process had been unexpected, since the goal was achieved, everything else mattered little.

"Everyone, let’s go. They’re waiting urgently in Shangjing," Ji Xiang seemed more anxious than anyone else.

Li Huowang nodded, slinging Heart Turmoil over his shoulder and heading outside. Before leaving, he glanced back at the wall.

"If my wife dies, then the husband abandons her in the corner. Why should the corner hold so many deaths?"

Seeing this, Li Huowang’s expression changed. He walked to the corner, pulled away the straw, revealing grotesque, horrifying skeletons.

"Why are there so many dead people? And all women?" Even the composed Shen Tu Gang showed surprise.

This unexpected sight caused everyone to halt.

"The wall says so," Tuoba said slowly, pointing at the inscriptions. "These are all Heart Turmoil’s wives. This is just the beginning. Others were simply erased."

"It’s truly strange. Heart Turmoil is clearly female—how could she have wives?"

"Let’s hurry. Who cares if she has them or not."

Ji Xiang grew impatient. As long as Heart Turmoil could be safely returned, he didn’t care whether she was male or female.

But this statement immediately made Li Huowang wary. A chill ran through his heart. He looked at the others and said, "Could there be another Heart Turmoil?"

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense.

"Damn it, what are we afraid of? I’m not afraid of this damn Heart Turmoil! If it weren’t so hard to find like a rat hiding from cats, I could beat three of them at once!" Shen Tu Gang’s words brought relief to the others' faces.

"That’s right. If worst comes to worst, we still have Elder Er here. Heart Turmoil has no power over him," said Tuoba Danqing with a smile, patting Li Huowang’s shoulder warmly.

They continued walking toward the village exit. As they neared the village entrance, no further incidents occurred, giving Li Huowang time to consider Hong Da, who had remained quiet throughout.

"What’s wrong, Brother Hong? After surviving death, why no smile on your face?"

Hong Da had been used as a shield earlier. Without that, he might not have returned.

With pale lips, Hong Da tried to force a smile but failed.

"So many people... There are so many inside," he rasped finally.

"So many people?"

Hong Da stared at Heart Turmoil on Li Huowang’s back. "The karmic burden within Heart Turmoil affects herself most of all."

"The ones inside are mostly enemies, but some are family and friends. They told me that when danger struck, Heart Turmoil hid these people in her karmic burden."

"She planned to release them once safe, but forgot. Completely forgot."

"At first, she could control it, but later, she lost control of her memories, her age, even her gender."

"One hour and the next, she was entirely different people!"

Tomorrow, three chapters.

(End of Chapter)