Chapter 355: Concealment

Chapter 355: Concealment

"Kill him!" Intent to kill erupted instantly, and everyone's weapons lunged toward the beggar man at once.

Li Huowang, who was the first to react, caught the attention of the male Xin Zhu. He cast a deep, lingering look at Li Huowang before his body swiftly dissolved into nothingness.

The very moment those eyes vanished, Li Huowang felt a sudden chill on his mouth. The copper coin mask had been hidden away by the Xin Zhu!

But in the next heartbeat, Li Huowang realized this was no time to ponder such things. There was something far more crucial he needed to do right now!

Blood rushed furiously from the back of his head into his mind, causing his body to tremble violently. His bloodshot eyes swept across everyone present: Ji Xiang, Hong Da, Tuoba Danqing, and Liu Zongyuan.

Boom! With a strike of his fire flint, a wave of agonizing pain instantly tore through Li Huowang from head to toe. Raging flames immediately enveloped his entire body.

"Kill! They know my identity as a Xin Su! I must kill them all!! None of them can be allowed to escape alive!!!"

Just as Li Huowang launched his assault, Liu Zongyuan curled his body into a sliver and bolted toward a nearby window for dear life.

Amidst the chaos, from whose action it was unknown, Li Huowang suddenly felt a powerful force violently blast him off his feet.

Completely transformed into a man of fire, Li Huowang roared. He thrust his hand into his left eye socket, giving a violent squeeze, and a bizarre light instantly shrouded everyone.

Ji Xiang raised the decayed wooden ruyi sceptre in his hand and pointed it sharply at Li Huowang, yet Li Huowang showed absolutely no reaction. He raised the purple-tasseled sword in his hand, preparing to hack off his own left arm.

"Er Jiu! What do you think you are doing?!" a massive Bai Wuchang roared from within the woods.

"Save your breath! Can't you see? This guy is being controlled by someone!"

With a grim expression, Hong Da raised the rusted blade in his hand and plunged it into his own arm.

But those words sent a sudden shockwave through Li Huowang. At this moment, he stared at the people before him in utter astonishment.

"What is going on? They... they can't see through my identity as a Xin Su?" Stunned, Li Huowang suddenly remembered something.

He recalled when Zhuge Yuan had given him the spindle, pointing at his mask and saying, "Use this instead. This thing is far more useful than what you have there."

At this very moment, Li Huowang finally understood the true meaning behind those words.

The reason they had not discovered his Xin Su abilities was that Zhuge Yuan's spindle had taken the place of the mask, concealing his identity.

Li Huowang looked down at his violently burning hem. The torture tool bag containing the spindle had already been scorched black, looking as though it would be entirely incinerated before long.

"No, I cannot allow this object to leave my body." Enveloped in flames, Li Huowang hurriedly retrieved the spindle.

Li Huowang wanted to find a place to secure the spindle, but let alone a pocket, even the flesh on his body had been burned away.

In the end, he pulled back his own burning flesh and, as if slipping it into a coat pocket, placed the spindle inside his abdominal cavity.

Setting these matters aside, Li Huowang walked toward the others. "Everyone, it is over now. The person who set up the altar and performed the ritual to control me has been thwarted by me!"

"Stop right there!" With an exceptionally grim expression, Ji Xiang pointed his golden abacus directly at the fiery figure in front of him. "I do not care whether you are lucid or not, just stand right there for this old servant!"

Seeing that Li Huowang truly halted, Ji Xiang, Liu Zongyuan, and Hong Da huddled together and began to confer in low tones.

As for what they were discussing, Li Huowang was too far away to hear clearly. He had a more pressing issue to consider: how was he supposed to extinguish the fire consuming his entire body?

An idea struck Li Huowang. He reached out and forcefully ripped away the Great Thousand Record that was concealed beneath his skin.

As that object was cast onto the ground, the raging flames upon Li Huowang's body gradually died down.

Because it had only just begun this time, Li Huowang's skin fortunately had not been completely incinerated.

At this moment, Li Huowang resembled a candle-man who had just begun to melt. Though still in agonizing pain, it was vastly better than his previous charred, blackened appearance.

"My clothes are gone again. Fortunately, I brought a spare set just in case."

Just as Li Huowang turned to look toward the carriage, he saw nothing but a fiercely blazing bonfire.

"Sigh..." Seeing this, Li Huowang had nothing left to say. He pulled out the Fire Cult True Scripture to heal his wounds.

As those burning millipedes crawled across his skin, the image of Zhuge Yuan surfaced in Li Huowang's mind.

"He saw through my identity, yet instead of capturing me, he gave me this spindle to help conceal it. Was his goodwill genuine?" A long-absent warmth flooded into Li Huowang's heart.

Li Huowang suddenly wished to meet with Zhuge Yuan once more. He had far too many things he wanted to talk about with him.

"Er Jiu." Li Huowang turned his head and saw the three of them walking over. It appeared they had decided on a course of action.

"Er Jiu, can you discern who it was that performed the ritual to harm you just now?" Ji Xiang asked with a very solemn expression.

"I have a vague impression. It looked like a bald, scabby-headed Daoist," Li Huowang replied with an air of earnestness.

"Hmm..." Ji Xiang pondered with a heavy expression. After a long silence, he spoke up, "Very well, let us return first. We shall discuss this further once we are back."

Hearing him give the word, the others nodded, and together they walked along the dirt road.

However, it was glaringly obvious that the others did not fully trust Li Huowang's words, faintly forming an encirclement around him.

Before they had walked a few paces, Li Huowang stopped and asked in confusion, "Do any of you still remember what errand we came out to handle this time?"

Hearing this, Hong Da looked back at Ji Xiang with a bewildered expression. "I was merely summoned by Lord Ji Xiang. I know absolutely nothing else."

"I was also summoned by Lord Ji Xiang. Lord Ji Xiang, what errand are we on this time?" Liu Zongyuan quickly followed suit.

Li Huowang likewise looked toward Ji Xiang. He also remembered that he had been summoned by this Ji Xiang. Had the man not promised to help him retrieve information regarding the Zuo Wang Dao after completing this task, he might not have accepted such an enigmatic, groundless affair.

Stared down by the three of them, Ji Xiang's expression turned incredibly grave. He wiped the ash from his face with his sleeve, seemingly lost in thought.

"This old servant... this old servant is not entirely sure either." A trace of uncertainty crept into Ji Xiang's voice. "Why did this old servant summon the two of you here?"

Li Huowang and Hong Da locked eyes, completely at a loss for words.

To call them out and actually manage to forget why he had done so—this superior truly acted entirely as his whims dictated.

"Oh, enough. Let us set off first and find a place with signs of human habitation. The carriage is gone; if we do not move faster, the few of us are bound to spend the night out here."

Glancing at the sky, Li Huowang and the others hesitated no longer and hurriedly quickened their pace.