Chapter 374: Bureau of Celestial Supervision

Chapter 374: The Monitor of Heaven Directorate

Seeing the pleading in Bai Lingmiao's eyes, Li Huowang struggled, but in the end, he let go with a trembling hand.

Standing there, Li Huowang watched helplessly as Bai Lingmiao once again gripped that purple-tasseled sword, watching the pain in her eyes gradually get replaced by nonchalance and a sense of comfort.

The Bai Lingmiao of before had returned once more.

At this moment, Li Huowang suddenly understood. The influx of malevolent aura into the body was never a major trouble—never. The real trouble was always the unalterable reality: he had slaughtered Bai Lingmiao's entire family.

"Hehe." Bai Lingmiao laughed again, her laughter this time filled with ease and freedom.

She bent down, dipped the lead comb lightly into the bowl of vinegar, and continued to comb her hair before the bronze mirror, seemingly in an excellent mood.

Looking at her back, Li Huowang finally ceased his stubborn insistence. With his lips trembling slightly, he walked up behind Bai Lingmiao and gently held her in his arms.

"Do not worry. No matter what you become, you will always be my Miao'miao."

The moment the words left his mouth, Bai Lingmiao braced her elbow, spinning around to shove Li Huowang away with sudden force, glaring at him in uncontrollable rage.

"You do not despise me? Well, I despise you! Do you even remember what I told you before?! Do you actually love Bai Lingmiao for who she is, or do you just want a submissive little concubine who obeys your every whim?"

Having finished her tirade, Bai Lingmiao stood up, slammed the lead comb violently to the floor, and stormed toward the door in a furious huff.

"Where are you going?"

"What business is it of yours where I go? This grand dame is going to find another man to marry! To manage a household and raise children! Do you think I want to keep entangling myself with a madman like you?"

As soon as Bai Lingmiao left, accompanied by a waft of ethereal fragrance, a soft body leaned against Li Huowang's back; it was Er'shen.

"Do not worry, she will not..."

Li Huowang caught the hand behind him, gently kissing those sharp black fingernails, and spoke with a sense of deep frustration, "Go on. It is for the best that you leave. Wait for me at Niuxin Village. Once I resolve my troubles, I will return to find you."

Er'shen rubbed the soft fur of her face against the nape of Li Huowang's neck before slowly retreating. By the time Li Huowang turned around again, he was the only one left in the entire room.

Li Huowang dazed for a moment, then turned and rushed outside, shouting down into the main hall, "Waiter! Bring a jar of strong liquor!!"

The wine was delivered to the room swiftly. Without a word, Li Huowang hoisted the jar, tilted his head back, and poured it down his throat.

After going through several rounds of the Great Steppes Fly Ascent, Li Huowang's perception had become exceptionally sharp; he had no idea when he had finally passed out drunk.

The only thing he knew was that when he woke up again, the sound of a rooster crowing echoed outside.

Supporting his splitting headache of a head with his hand, Li Huowang stood up unsteadily. Just as he walked toward the window,

his feet faltered, and he tumbled toward the floor.

Li Huowang braced himself forcefully to stand firm. It was then that he noticed some black tattoos appearing on the back of his hand.

Shaking his head violently, Li Huowang finally saw clearly that those were no tattoos; they were the writhing tentacles of Li Sui.

"My time is running out." If he could not obtain Beifeng's method for dispelling illusions before Li Sui completely seized his body, he would once again return to that state of utter delusion.

Li Huowang would rather die than return to that state; the feeling of being wedged in the crevice between two worlds was simply too agonizing, too stifling.

A creaking sound rang out as Li Huowang pushed open the window, just in time for the first ray of sunlight to splash across his face.

Clenching his teeth, Li Huowang fiercely shook his fist toward the sun.

"You just insist on tormenting me, don't you! I am going to try defying heaven and changing my fate! Come at me!! Let us see whether it is you who is mad, or me!"

Li Huowang vaulted down from the window and headed straight in the direction of the prison.

By the time the sky grew bright, Li Huowang had already returned the coffin and arrived at the entrance of the Monitor of Heaven Directorate.

Looking at the six-paneled gates situated between two stone lions, and the stone-paved plaza within, the alcohol-reeking Li Huowang flashed his waist token to the guards and stepped straight inside.

The interior of the Monitor of Heaven Directorate was vast and hollow, populated by an equally sparse number of people. A stone armillary sphere, grander than a house, sat squarely in the center of the plaza.

Glancing left and right, Li Huowang walked toward the low buildings on the southern side.

The moment Li Huowang stepped into the room thick with the scent of ink, a man cradling several scrolls of books hurried over to meet him.

"Hey, hey, hey, who are you? This is the place for compiling almanacs; outsiders are not permitted."

Upon seeing Li Huowang's waist token, the man pointed toward the opposite side. "Another one who took a wrong turn. Your yamen is across the way."

"Wrong?" Li Huowang quickly swept his eyes across the room, and a line of text hanging on the wall caught his gaze.

"By decree, the Directorate of Astronomy shall print and sell the almanacs. Private printing among the populace is strictly prohibited; violators shall have three generations of their clan executed."

Li Huowang cupped his hands to the man, turned around, and walked toward that deserted room across the way, where a massive metal mask on the wall instantly captured his attention.

The mask was the size of two human bodies, already coated in green patina from exposure to the elements.

Its appearance was barely any different from the one worn on the face of the decapitated prisoner from before, save that the positions of the eyes had become two protruding pillars.

These twin eye-pillars, burrowing out from the sockets, stared fixedly at the cloudless sky.

Li Huowang retracted his gaze and walked through the adjacent door. The interior was not large, looking to be only about the size of a classroom.

Peculiarly, there were absolutely no furnishings inside; it was simply a perfectly square room.

Just as doubt arose in Li Huowang's heart, he immediately felt various gazes sweeping over him, but mysteriously, there was nothing at all in the places where those gazes originated.

Seeing this, Li Huowang knew he had come to the right place, and directly revealed his waist token.

Accompanied by a distinct clicking sound of clashing wood, a hidden door rose within the adjacent wall, and a gaunt, middle-aged man walked out, a blind black bird perched upon his shoulder.

"First time here?" the black bird spoke.

Li Huowang nodded. "This humble one has always been in Yinling City before, and today is my first time coming to the capital. Greetings, senior."

"Come along, I shall take you to familiarize yourself with the path." The man, bearing the bird, turned and walked back into the hidden door.

As Li Huowang followed him inside, he found that it was not dark within this hidden passage.

The oil lamps on the wall illuminated the corridor quite brightly. A crisp click-clack sound echoed constantly throughout the entire hallway.

Li Huowang looked at the man's back, feeling that under these circumstances, it was best to take the initiative. "This humble one is Er'jiu, of the Fire-Worshipping Cult. Greetings, senior."

"Sima Lan, of the Mohist School. Do not be overly restrained; since you have entered the Monitor of Heaven Directorate, you are half a brother to us," the black bird continued.

"Mohist School?" Li Huowang's pupils contracted slightly. This was the only term he had heard before, and it undoubtedly brought a sense of familiarity.

However, Sima Lan seemed to misinterpret Li Huowang's reaction. "Do not fear. I belong to the Qi Mohists, not the evil Liang Mohists of those rogue cultivators."

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