Chapter 421: Returning to the Capital

Chapter 421: Return to the Capital

Li Sui pressed her eyes against her father’s navel and peered out, secretly observing the world beyond. Someone had been chanting something just now—she had thought someone had arrived—but nothing came of it.

"Dad, why do I only hear voices but see no one? Where is that person?" Li Sui's question went unanswered. She grew worried. "Dad, are you angry with me?"

Li Sui felt she couldn't be blamed. She hadn’t expected there would be two fathers—one headless, one with a head.

She hadn’t heard the headless father command her to come out from within his body, nor did she think it unreasonable for her to go to the headless one.

But at this moment, Li Huowang was too preoccupied to pay attention to Li Sui. He gazed toward the capital city with confusion. He could be certain that the strange chanting had originated from the direction of the capital.

At first, he had assumed it was another hallucination, but seeing common folk clutching their heads in agony and rolling on the ground, he realized this was no small matter.

Even from such a great distance, he could feel it—how vast must the scope of this event be?

The capital must have experienced some great calamity. He could no longer wait—he had to return quickly. Was the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau beginning its crackdown on the Forgetful Dao Sect?

Li Huowang began retracing his steps, but even after walking deep into the night, he had not yet reached the capital. There was nothing to be done; after all, when he had come, his hands were empty, but now he carried a heavy corpse.

Though the head was gone, Li Huowang remembered well that he was Heart Essence. Once he found a way to refine Heart Essence, his own body would prove invaluable.

He drained his blood, then rubbed coarse salt all over his body inside and out—simple preservation was complete.

He glanced up at the winter sky, took a breath, wiped the sweat from his face, and placed the corpse on his back. Turning away, he walked into the woods to gather firewood.

It had only been a short time since the New Year, and the weather was still bitterly cold. Sleeping without a bonfire at night would surely lead to illness.

As Li Huowang chopped branches with his Purple Spike Sword, white specks slowly fell from the sky. Snow. It was the first snow he had seen in this world.

He looked up at the white moon that flickered between visibility and invisibility in the air, exhaled a puff of white breath, and increased his pace.

He needed to cut more wood. The night would be even colder.

"Click-click." As the flint struck repeatedly, sparks flew, but they failed to ignite the small twigs.

After trying again, Li Huowang suddenly recalled something. He pulled out an old yellow almanac from his robe.

"Click-click." He struck it a few times more, then tossed the ignited almanac into the pile of wood, igniting the fire.

The orange-red glow lit up Li Huowang’s face and hands, and he immediately felt much more comfortable.

He moved closer to the fire, then leaned back against his headless corpse and slowly closed his eyes.

"Hey, monk, can I tell you something?" The illusion of the monk suddenly approached and spoke.

"I'm tired. We still have a lot to do once we reach the capital tomorrow. Let’s talk about it another time."

"No, no, that little guy named Hongzhong who lacks shame—you remember him, right? I heard him say you can turn fakes into truths. Is that true?"

Li Huowang slowly opened his eyes, looking at the bald monk who was almost pressing his face against his.

The monk rubbed his hands together, his expression hopeful as he said, "Could it be... maybe... perhaps... you might also be able to make us real someday?"

"What?" Li Huowang instantly lost any trace of drowsiness. He sat up sharply, scanning the surrounding illusions—Peng Longteng, Hongzhong, Jin Shao, and the monk.

His eyes narrowed, locking onto Hongzhong’s face, which had no skin. "You sent the monk to test my intentions. What do you mean by that?"

"Heh, nothing special. Just curious. Think about it—if you kill me and then I become real, wouldn’t that be interesting?" Hongzhong said with delight.

"Heh, keep dreaming. In dreams, anything is possible."

"Sigh, you’re being too heartless. We’ve shared hardships and joys together as a family. If we gain physical forms, we can help you if you ever run into trouble."

"Don’t worry—I won’t harm you even if I get a real body. I find you fascinating, especially how you pretended to be Hongzhong and sowed discord—it’s very much like our Forgetful Dao Sect!"

Li Huowang decided to ignore him and simply close his eyes to sleep.

Half-warm, half-cold, he didn’t know exactly when he had fallen asleep. When he next opened his eyes, he found himself buried under snow.

He drew in a breath of dry air, scooped some snow into his mouth and chewed it, then dragged his frozen body forward, step by step, toward the capital.

There were eyes in the capital. Carrying a corpse into the city would definitely be noticed by the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau—and then there’d be no explaining it.

So Li Huowang dug a hole and buried his headless body on a hillside. Fortunately, it was cold, and the salt prevented decay.

Looking at the somewhat desolate gate of the city, Li Huowang took a deep breath and walked straight in.

He had thought the strange chanting would cause chaos in the capital, but nothing happened—only the cold due to the snow.

Li Huowang was correct—the capital indeed had surveillance agents. He had barely entered when he was surrounded.

Seeing Nan Gong before him, Li Huowang took the initiative, his expression grim as he said, "Nan Gong, I’ve been deceived by the Forgetful Dao Sect."

Nan Gong looked at Li Huowang with a complex expression, staring blankly for a long while before speaking. "Come with me. You won’t believe what the Forgetful Dao Sect has done using your identity."

Under Nan Gong’s guidance, Li Huowang returned to the headquarters of the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau. Walking through wooden corridors, he finally arrived in a room filled with oppressive atmosphere.

Inside, a head twisted into the shape of Hongzhong lay openly on the table, with three incense sticks burning before it.

Beside it stood a Taoist in a yellow robe, wearing a yin-yang hat, holding a copper coin sword and waving it in ritualistic gestures.

"Chief Inspector, Erjiu has returned."

When the Taoist raised his head, Li Huowang saw two baby heads squeezed against the left side of his neck.

"This Chief Inspector has two Nascent Souls. He must belong to the Luo Sect," Li Huowang thought, immediately raising his guard.

The Taoist inspector stopped his work and examined Li Huowang carefully. Then, he grabbed the head on the table and threw it at Li Huowang.

Li Huowang held the square-shaped head, scrutinizing it closely, then suddenly shouted in shock.

"What?! Is the Forgetful Dao Sect’s Hongzhong actually Heart Essence?!"