Chapter 378: Storyteller

Chapter 378 The Storyteller

"Does this mean that Beifeng is fundamentally different from the ordinary Disciples of Anatta? Is my uncontrollable delirium caused by an inability to harness this Primordial Qi? And is Beifeng immune to the illusions precisely because he has mastered the flow of that very same energy within his own body?"

Li Huowang meticulously parsed every syllable of Sima Lan’s revelation.

Yet as his thoughts deepened, cold reason prevailed; if he took Sima Lan at his word, all of this wisdom trickled down from a Grandmaster who was already rotting in the earth.

Was it not possible that even a Grandmaster could err? Having traversed such a long, tortuous road, he had learned that the word of any soul in this world was a currency of very low credit.

Li Huowang hesitated, burying the skepticism that knocked against his ribs, for to openly slander the supreme authority of the Mohist order would surely cause the man to snap right then and there.

"You intend to move against Beifeng? What grievance has he wrought upon you?" Sima Lan asked, his eyes sharp with the intuition that Li Huowang carried a heavy ledger of old debts.

At those words, Li Huowang’s visage darkened to a terrible shade, his knuckles whitening as he balled his fists, his voice dropping into a low, gravelly rasp: "It is not merely Beifeng I seek to break! I harbor an absolute, bone-deep hatred for the entirety of the Disciples of Anatta! Years ago, they masqueraded as the six Great Elders within the Fire Cult..."

Having endured the length of Li Huowang’s tale, Sima Lan offered only a knowing nod, utterly devoid of astonishment, as though such tragedies were common currency in his experience.

"Do not let vengeance become your sole anchor; to approach that cabal of charlatans with an obsession so blinding invites them to turn you into their instrument."

"My thanks for your counsel, Brother Sima. I shall keep it in mind."

"Then browse at your leisure. Should any matter confound you, seek out Nangong, whom you met just prior. I have affairs to attend to and must take my leave." Sima Lan stood up, preparing to depart.

"Though, if you seek to hunt the Disciples of Anatta this very hour, you may find the trail gone cold. The Storyteller has slaughtered Facai, bringing their houses into open conflict. It is unlikely they have the leisure to meddle elsewhere."

That careless parting remark struck Li Huowang like an icy needle. The Storyteller—Zhuge Yuan?

Li Huowang lunged forward, throwing his frame across the man's path, his face taut with an urgent anxiety as he demanded: "Brother Sima, is this the absolute truth?"

"Naturally. The Storyteller put an end to one of their Three Primes, and the rest of the Disciples of Anatta will now pursue him unto death. Only two days past, common folk witnessed the Storyteller trading blows with them."

"In matters such as these, you need only sit back and enjoy the theater. To have another claim your vengeance for you—is that not a stroke of effortless fortune?"

The moment Sima Lan vanished behind the screen, Li Huowang spun on his heel toward the kneeling eunuch.

"Go to the Four Repositories at once. Bring me every record concerning Zhuge Yuan and the Storyteller. Hurry!!"

The eunuch returned with commendable speed, yet to Li Huowang’s dismay, instead of the heavy stacks he had received twice before, there was only a singular, slender volume.

"Is this lone text the entirety of what is kept on Zhuge Yuan?" Li Huowang asked, his voice sharp with disbelief.

"Answering the master: the Six Repositories hold more, but such secrets require the clearance of at least a Third-Rank General. Your current standing is insufficient."

Hearing this, Li Huowang could not help but curse inwardly: "I truly cannot fathom the designs of the Directorate of Celestial Inspection. Everything must be hidden, everything cloaked in shadow. Could the mere knowledge of certain truths truly cause the heavens to collapse?"

Yet he lacked the luxury to ponder their bureaucratic malice, so he summoned his focus and began to scan the pages in his grip.

The chronicle differed little from what he already knew, save for a few stray details.

According to the Directorate’s annals, a Storyteller had always walked the earth, though they did not always answer to the name Zhuge Yuan.

With every apparition of their kind, the realm would invariably plunge into great upheaval, and the Storyteller moved like a phantom, leaving no man certain of his coordinates.

By all rights, an entity that posed no threat to the stability of the Great Liang dynasty should have been beneath the Directorate’s notice.

Yet the reality was far grimmer: "The Storyteller, Zhuge Yuan, misleads the masses with heretical lore; let his three kindred lines be exterminated." Such were the literal words of the imperial decree issued by the Emperor of Great Liang.

If missed, so be it, but should any agent of the Directorate cross his path, they were bound by law to engineer his execution.

Li Huowang was certain that the Directorate held vast troves of information regarding Zhuge Yuan that they willfully withheld from him.

His true nature, for instance. Was he truly a benevolent soul given to charity? What grand design did he pursue by wandering the earth telling tales? And what had been his true purpose when he previously laid hands on the Non-Perception?

Li Huowang sank into deep meditation, turning these riddles over in the quiet spaces of his mind.

After a long silence, he pressed a hand against his own abdomen, feeling the hard silhouette of the spindle through the barrier of his flesh.

The man had aided him; had it not been for this object, his previous ordeal might have seen him swallowed by an insurmountable catastrophe.

"Furthermore..."

"Until we meet again, Erjiu. This scholar is Zhuge Yuan. Should you encounter a tribulation beyond your strength to sever, remember to seek me out at Apricot Island upon the Western Sea. Though my talents are meager, I shall put forth every ounce of my strength to assist you."

Those had been Zhuge Yuan's exact words. Li Huowang knew well the folly of trusting any living soul entirely, but what if? What if the man truly possessed the means to deliver him from his plight?

After a prolonged internal debate, he shook his head, rose to his feet, and strode past the screen.

In truth, whether he chose belief or doubt, the path diverged very little; since the Disciples of Anatta were currently ensnaring him, he would eventually have to seek the man out if he wished to pinpoint Beifeng's location.

"Since this is the master's first visitation, this servant shall escort you out."

"Do you possess a map of Great Liang? Procure one for me, the more detailed, the better."

Under the eunuch’s guidance, Li Huowang emerged from the halls of the Directorate, casting a long look at the massive armillary sphere in the distance as he exhaled a slow breath.

Upon the parchment now resting in his grip, a mark had been set: the Western Sea, the very destination Zhuge Yuan had whispered to him.

To reach that shore, he would have to traverse half of the Jiangnan Circuit.

Li Huowang had intended to set forth that very day, but by the time he had hurriedly provisioned himself with dried rations and the essential gear of the road, the twilight had already deepened.

Seated at a makeshift roadside stall, he watched in silence as the distant sun slowly drowned beneath the silhouette of the capital’s towering pavilions.

"I shall rest well tonight and depart at dawn. Regardless of Zhuge Yuan's true disposition toward me, a bitter battle surely awaits."

"Honored guest, your plain noodles and your two meat buns. The vinegar dish is set right here for you."

Li Huowang pushed the small dish of vinegar further away; to have buns for the evening meal was one thing, but to accompany them with vinegar was absurd—this world truly was slipping into madness.

"Whine..." Catching the scent of the meat buns, Mantou nudged Li Huowang’s trouser leg repeatedly with its large black snout.

After fishing out a few strands of noodles and tossing a few small scraps of bun dough, Li Huowang ignored the beast; the creature’s rolls of fat were sorely in need of trimming.

At that moment, the proprietor of the noodle stall wiped his hands upon his apron, wearing a cheerful smile as he called out: "Eat at your leisure, masters. Though the sun has dipped beneath the hills, there is no cause for haste; today is the Preliminary New Year, and the capital observes no curfew tonight."

Li Huowang’s chopsticks faltered for a fraction of a second as he slurped his noodles, before he resumed eating with large, ravenous bites. "Without my noticing, another year has bled away..."

That night, Li Huowang lay upon his bed, listening to the revelry filtering in from the streets; it seemed some grand festival was underway for the capital’s holiday night.

Yet he possessed not a shred of interest, his mind entirely consumed by the perils that likely lay ahead, his heart beginning to flutter with an irrepressible anxiety.

He knew the road ahead was fraught with mortal danger, yet to elevate his own strength within so brief a window seemed a mathematical impossibility.

He could hardly utilize a Hearth-Loom to forge some artifact of extraordinary power—was he expected to forge his own flesh?

"Hmm?"

(End of Chapter)

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