Chapter 439: The Past

Chapter 439: The Past

Though it was merely a hallucination, the effort to transform that illusion into something known to man would take an indeterminate amount of time.

Yet with the presence of this hallucination came a glimmer of hope—Zhuge Yuan could live, he need not die!

Instinctively, he reached out his hand, brushing across Zhuge Yuan’s form—of course, he couldn’t touch him. Still, this act stirred within Li Huowang a surge of excitement.

The rise and fall of his emotions left him drenched in sweat, his face flushed red.

“Red Leader Hong, what are you doing? Are we going or not? If you’re not moving, I’m leaving,” Beifeng said, eyes fixed on the chaotic battlefield far off, his expression now tinged with eagerness.

Li Huowang pulled himself back from his thoughts. First, he glanced at Beifeng beside him, then toward the distant combatants locked in battle.

Although Doumu had returned, neither the Sect of Forgetfulness nor the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau showed any sign of stopping—their fight grew fiercer still.

A pair of dragon horns thrust from behind Emperor Daliang’s broad robes, while those four dice, assisted by other members of the Sect of Forgetfulness, sat cross-legged on the ground, seemingly setting up some kind of formation.

Li Huowang withdrew his gaze and quickly sank into the earth, becoming invisible, slipping away from the crumbling, disorderly palace of the Great Li Dynasty.

“Hey, Taoist, where are you going? Didn’t you say you were going to get some cultivation manual from Beifeng?”

Hearing this, Li Huowang sneered, “He doesn’t have any real cultivation techniques—just fake ones meant to lure out the Heart Essence. I know where the real one is.”

After Doumu’s earlier chaos, there wasn’t much left untouched in the capital city. Everything looked like it had been hit by an earthquake—ruins everywhere.

Li Huowang rode a wild horse, galloping toward his courtyard with all speed.

When he arrived home, standing before the tilted entrance of his house, he saw a steaming bun crouched on a crooked tree, tail tucked between its legs, trembling in fear.

Li Huowang rushed into the yard first, grabbed his essentials, then reached out to catch the dog, sprinting toward the eastern gate of the city.

Once outside the city walls, he ran nearly ten miles before halting before a waterfall surrounded by lush green mountains and clear waters.

Zhuge Yuan wore a solemn expression, showing no interest in the scenery. “Alas, I wonder if the courtiers of Great Qi will still be able to remove the corrupt ministers while I am away.”

“Come on, Brother Zhuge, you’re already as helpless as a clay Buddha crossing a river—your own survival is at stake. Let me tell you my plan before it's too late,” Li Huowang said.

He detailed his plan for reviving Zhuge Yuan.

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Yuan fell into deep thought, his mind working slowly and carefully.

After a long moment, he shook his head slightly. “Brother Li, I don’t think your method will work.”

“Huh? Why?”

“It’s true that Heart Essence can move mountains and seas at will, but I am a living person—a real, breathing human being. And don’t forget—I am not just any ordinary person. I am the Heart Core!”

“Even if you achieve mastery in cultivation, you're still of the ‘Heart’ generation. No matter how powerful the primordial energy of Heart Essence may be, it cannot create a Heart Core.”

“But it can!” Li Huowang declared firmly, and all five illusions turned their attention to him.

“Brother Zhuge, I think, therefore I am. You simply cannot imagine how strong Heart Essence truly is! What Beifeng mentioned earlier only revealed part of the truth. The primordial energy of Heart Essence does indeed originate from the same source as Doumu’s solar aspect.”

“But what he deliberately omitted is that even the heavenly laws governing truth and falsehood that Doumu possesses weren’t naturally born in her.”

Li Huowang lowered his gaze to his clenched fist and spoke excitedly, “This is even more powerful than the Fates themselves. At that time, not only will I give you a physical body, but I’ll even follow Pangu in creating heaven and earth!”

Looking at Li Huowang, Zhuge Yuan showed a trace of worry. “Brother Li, where did you learn all this?” He was certain that when Li Huowang had come to seek him on Xing Island, he hadn’t known these things.

This question stunned Li Huowang. His excitement gradually faded. “I’ve remembered some things—some about the past, some... about me being Red Leader Hong of the Sect of Forgetfulness.”

“Hmm?!” Zhuge Yuan was visibly surprised.

Li Huowang gave a bitter smile. “I didn’t want to accept such truths either, but they’re right before my eyes. Li Huowang is Red Leader Hong.”

“If Beifeng helping me makes sense, then what about the memories in my head? How did I suddenly gain those divine powers?”

As he spoke, Li Huowang’s face shifted repeatedly until it finally settled into the image of Red Leader Hong.

At once, his heart throbbed with pain. Being Red Leader Hong meant there had never been a high school student, never any real world.

The nun from An Ci Temple had been right when she met him for the first time—what was in his mind had always been nothing but illusions created by Red Leader Hong.

Thinking of Yang Na and his mother being mere figments of imagination made his heart ache even more. Yet, in that moment, there was no confusion in Li Huowang’s eyes—only unwavering determination.

“But... why should I care about truth or falsehood? What difference does it make? As long as I can fully control this power, even if it’s false, I’ll make them all real!”

He didn’t care whether it was an illusion he was deceiving himself with—he only cared if they truly existed.

“Hmm… wait, Brother Li, something’s wrong. Something’s very wrong. Let me think.” Zhuge Yuan walked back and forth, hands behind his back.

After several laps, he looked at Li Huowang again. “Brother Li, don’t jump to conclusions yet. You might not actually be Red Leader Hong.”

“If it were just a clear memory, it wouldn’t be so strange. But how do you explain the Divine Arts of the Sect of Forgetfulness that you possess? And…”

At that, Li Huowang quickly checked the direction, mounted his horse, and galloped eastward for several miles before stopping at a roadside noodle shop.

He strode inside before the vendor could speak. Without delay, Li Huowang showed his face—Red Leader Hong.

Seeing that square face, the smiling vendor’s expression instantly changed. He pulled out a Red Leader Hong Mahjong tile from behind and respectfully held it up to Li Huowang.

Li Huowang swept his hands, splitting the tile in two. He raised the front half toward Zhuge Yuan for display. Inside were five tiny characters: Red Leader Hong Li Huowang.

“Do you see? This is the secret agent I set up six years ago. I know it’s hard to accept, but these ironclad facts prove I am Red Leader Hong. I won’t run from it anymore—running is useless.”

“No, no. That’s not right,” Zhuge Yuan shook his head violently. “You’re not Red Leader Hong. Someone replaced you. Just like Great Qi... and Great Li—they were originally real, but now they’ve been rewritten. History has been altered, just like yours.”

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