Chapter 400: Great Qi

Chapter 400: The Great Qi

"The Grand Qi national master?" Li Huo Wang stared wide-eyed at the veiled man before him.

From the black and white strands of hair at his temples, one could tell this man was no young man. But even if he were old, he couldn't possibly be the Grand Qi national master!

If he had lived from the previous Great Qi all the way to the present Liang dynasty, that would amount to over a thousand years!!

Li Huo Wang slowly stepped back two paces, glancing around at everything in sight. In that moment, he felt as though he had once again been transported somewhere else entirely.

Seeing Li Huo Wang's actions, the others were clearly astonished. "Lord Zhuge, this is..."

"Oh, no trouble at all. This is my good friend, Brother Li. He sees things differently than most."

Zhuge Yuan turned toward the veiled elder and asked, "Old Qin, who were those people just now? Why did they chase you?"

Upon hearing this, the man called Old Qin immediately forgot about the masked Taoist with the copper coin mask and said furiously, "Those people are all lapdogs of the eunuchs! We were going to the Third Prince's mansion for a secret meeting, but we were blocked. There's no such coincidence—someone definitely sold us out from within the Inner Court!"

Hearing this, Zhuge Yuan looked surprised. "Oh? So there are traitors even among the Heavenly Observing Bureau? I never thought the court had become so turbulent."

"Hey, that's exactly what I mean! Our ancestral laws say that imperial power does not enter the Heavenly Observing Bureau, but with these eunuch dogs' growing influence, who cares anymore? All customs and rituals have collapsed completely!"

While they spoke, Li Huo Wang had unknowingly retreated to the noodle stand where he'd been earlier. Watching the diners still eating noodles and the couple cooking them, he let out a breath of relief—he hadn’t gone anywhere.

With a very solemn expression, Li Huo Wang addressed the elderly man stirring noodles: "Sir, excuse me, but may I ask—this place is part of the Great Qi or the Great Liang?"

The old man opened his mouth, which had only a few teeth left, in confusion. "What? The Great Qi? Where is that? We've always been in the Great Liang Kingdom."

The old man’s words confirmed Li Huo Wang's suspicions. He had traversed the entire Great Liang from Qingqiu border to the Xing Island at sea, and except for what Zhuge Yuan mentioned, he had never heard of anything called the Great Qi.

"Yeah, isn't this the Great Liang? Then where did this 'Great Qi national master' mentioned by Zhuge Yuan come from?"

"I must find out," Li Huo Wang said, preparing to walk into the woods. But unexpectedly, their group emerged from inside.

Zhuge Yuan supported the so-called Grand Qi national master, walking ahead. Among the remaining survivors, their status seemed highest. The Miao girl from the Seatless Dao also joined them.

"Brother Li, you're here! I searched high and low for you. Old Qin is injured quite badly; we'll use your carriage for transport instead."

"Lord Zhuge, please come here. I have something I want to ask you."

After carefully helping the veiled old man onto the carriage, Zhuge Yuan walked up to Li Huo Wang and asked, "What do you need to discuss?"

Looking at the clean-faced man, Li Huo Wang recalled everything that had happened. He still didn’t believe he was being deceived—had it truly been a trick, he wouldn’t have revealed himself so absurdly.

"Lord Zhuge, tell me the truth. What is going on here?"

"Oh? Brother Li, how can I understand what you’re saying? Lord Zhuge has always lived with integrity and never deceived anyone."

"Fine! Come here." Li Huo Wang brought Zhuge Yuan to the noodle stand and asked the same question again to the old man.

Just as Li Huo Wang prepared to question Zhuge Yuan further, the old man suddenly spoke in a completely different manner. "What? The Great Liang? Where is that? We’ve always been in the Great Qi!"

"Huh?!" Li Huo Wang stared in shock at the old man. If he weren’t a commoner, he would have thought this was an imposter from the Seatless Dao trying to deceive him.

"Sir, you didn’t say that just now."

"Just now? Customer, don’t wrong me. You didn’t talk to me either."

"You!" Before Li Huo Wang could say more, Zhuge Yuan’s folding fan extended and blocked his pointing finger.

"Alright, alright, Brother Li, let’s talk about these trivial matters later. Old Qin is seriously wounded—we should find a place to treat his injuries."

Saying that, Zhuge Yuan turned and walked toward the carriage, shouting loudly, "Don’t worry, Old Qin. The Black Devil in the carriage is securely bound—it won’t hurt you!"

Li Huo Wang watched Zhuge Yuan’s retreating figure with a complex expression, his confusion deepening. Everything about this situation was strange.

After thinking carefully, Li Huo Wang turned to the old man beside him and asked again, "Is this the Great Qi or the Great Liang now?"

"The Great Liang, of course. Didn’t I just tell you? Why are you asking again?"

Hearing the third change in the old man’s words, Li Huo Wang no longer felt surprised. He finally figured out that this must be due to Xin Pan’s ability—but he couldn’t yet understand how the other party had managed it.

"Woof woof!" A bun peeked out from under the carriage, barking at Li Huo Wang, seemingly anxious that his master’s carriage had been pushed away by strangers.

Li Huo Wang quickly followed after it. This wasn’t over yet—he needed to find a chance to thoroughly question Zhuge Yuan about what was really happening.

In the following time, nothing happened. Those accompanying the so-called Grand Qi national master took a breather and began treating their wounds.

On the road, Li Huo Wang quietly observed the group. Except for the Grand Qi national master and the Miao girl from the Seatless Dao, everyone else wore different clothes and styles—clearly from all corners of the empire. It was typical of the Heavenly Observing Bureau, since most were gathered from far and wide.

As Li Huo Wang studied them, they also studied him. If not for Lord Zhuge saying he was his friend, they wouldn’t have relaxed their guard around someone like him.

Wearing a black straw hat, dressed in a red robe soaked in blood, with a Black Devil tied up in the carriage, he looked mysterious and aloof, neither warm nor cold.

It was clear that both sides were somewhat distant. Zhuge Yuan tried to bridge the gap between them, but without much success.

The Grand Qi Heavenly Observing Bureau kept their distance from Li Huo Wang, and naturally, Li Huo Wang didn’t trust these so-called Grand Qi people either. Under such strange circumstances, they continued toward the capital.

Moreover, Li Huo Wang hadn’t forgotten about the Seatless Dao woman among the Heavenly Observing Bureau members.

Though he didn’t know why she had infiltrated or what her purpose was,

Since he had discovered she was from the Seatless Dao, there was no reason to eliminate her.

Perhaps through her, he could lure out Bei Feng.

(End of Chapter)