Chapter 477: Visitor

Chapter 477: Someone Approaches

The spirit of malice, sensing it had been tricked, immediately took control of Li Huowang’s lower body to struggle and flee.

But Li Huowang’s lower body, consisting only of legs, had no eyes to perceive direction. Just a few zhangs out of the tree hole, he kicked against a root and fell heavily to the ground.

Seeing things were going wrong, the spirit of malice made a swift decision to run. But just as it tried to emerge from the lower half of Li Huowang's body, a copper sword gleaming with cold light descended from above, plunging straight into its body—half of which had already fused with ash and vegetation.

Black smoke rose with a piercing shriek. The spirit let out a howl of pain, but by then, it was powerless. Its voice gradually faded away.

Only when the spirit lay completely still did the hidden Li Huowang finally reveal himself.

More precisely, only his upper body remained visible; his lower half still lay on the ground.

When a con artist knows what someone desires, deceiving them becomes remarkably simple.

Knowing that the spirit constantly sought to possess his body, Li Huowang, in order to lure it out, had severed his own waist, leaving the lower half as bait.

Li Huowang collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath. Burned skin, a broken chest, a severed waist—each torment had passed over him, and the pain nearly sent him into unconsciousness. He clung to consciousness solely through sheer willpower.

“Good thing… I’ve at least gained something from this,” Li Huowang muttered, turning his head toward the base of the copper sword, which was slowly releasing black smoke—the remains of the spirit.

As he touched the smoke with his charred fingers, he could clearly feel his inner darkness expanding. Hatred, malice, and irritation deepened within him.

What was more strange was that when he reached out to touch the source of the smoke, he found he couldn’t actually touch the spirit itself. The smoke below was empty.

Yet other objects were tangible—even a rotting piece of wood could be felt upon contact. Only the spirit’s essence was unreachable.

“This spirit is truly dangerous and bizarre. I wonder why the Heavenly Observing Bureau paid such a high price to capture it. What exactly do they intend to do with it?”

After resting for a while, Li Huowang gathered some strength and began dragging himself toward his lower half.

At that moment, heavy footsteps caused his expression to darken. “Someone’s coming? Miao Miao? No! That’s not Miao Miao’s gait!”

As Li Huowang cautiously looked toward the tangled forest path on his left, a peculiarly dressed plump woman stepped out with steady, powerful strides.

She wore a red talisman cloth covering her torso, a golden crown adorned with red embroidered balls on her head, and her entire face was pierced with burning purple incense sticks, resembling a porcupine.

Two red-traced triangular talismans were inserted through the outer edges of her ears, piercing her earlobes.

If she hadn’t carried a staff wrapped in yellow paper on her shoulder—a wolf-tooth mace—Li Huowang might have mistaken her for another supernatural being.

She raised the mace in a stance and pointed it sharply at Li Huowang. “Hey there~! Ascend to heaven, descend to earth, journey through realms, guard the winds and clouds as the four directions. Capture demons and banish evil, clearly distinguish right from wrong!”

Li Huowang frowned, staring intently at the odd figure. He pulled out his badge from his belly and held it up. “Heavenly Observing Bureau business! Get lost!”

“Eh?!” The fat woman was visibly startled upon seeing the badge. Then, she pulled out an identical one from her bodice. She, too, was from the Heavenly Observing Bureau.

“You’re also from the Heavenly Observing Bureau? You don’t seem like it. Throw your badge over here so I can take a look!”

Faced with Li Huowang, who now had only half a body and was charred all over, she didn’t dare let her guard down.

Li Huowang tossed his badge over, then began reassembling his lower body with his upper body.

While waiting for sensation to return to his lower half, the fat woman approached and placed the badge beside him.

“I didn’t expect you to really be from the Heavenly Observing Bureau. I thought you were the spirit of malice. By the way, which sect are you from?”

“Aojing Sect.”

The fat woman examined him thoroughly before nodding in agreement. “Hmm, I figured as much.”

Then, she began pulling out the incense sticks stuck in her face. “Young man, look at what you’ve done. Nearly caused a flood that washed away the Dragon King’s temple—family not recognizing family. Your body-part illusion technique is impressive. Where did you learn it?”

Seeing no hostility in her, Li Huowang didn’t bother engaging in idle chatter. The Heavenly Observing Bureau wasn’t exactly a family of affectionate souls.

Once the incense sticks were removed, her true appearance was revealed. From her looks alone, she seemed like an ordinary peasant woman.

Still silent, the fat woman asked again, “I’m here looking for the spirit of malice. What brings you here?”

“Hm?” Li Huowang sat up and studied her. “You’ve also taken this job? Can two people take one job?”

“What a strange idea. Of course multiple people can take one job. Whoever finishes first gets credit.”

“Oh.” Li Huowang turned with difficulty, pressing his hand on his lower body, which had just begun to regain sensation. “You’re too late. I’ve killed the spirit.”

“What?! By yourself?” The woman’s expression was shocked.

Li Huowang could see that although she appeared surprised, her inner emotions told a different story—she wasn’t truly surprised. This woman was deceptive.

It was normal, though. When meeting strangers, one naturally became cautious. Li Huowang was no exception. Ever since she arrived, he never let go of his purple-tassel sword.

“Sister, you just said that jobs are awarded based on ability—first to finish wins. Congratulations.”

Li Huowang painfully curled his leg and slowly lowered it. His foot was moving again.

“That may be the rule, but…” The woman looked extremely anxious.

Li Huowang ignored her and struggled to his feet, using the copper sword to carry the spirit’s corpse, slowly walking toward the edge of the peach grove.

“Wait!!”

At the sound, Li Huowang spun around instantly, his long sword pointing directly at her nose.

“What? You want to steal it too?” His tone turned harsh.

The fat woman laughed awkwardly and took a few steps back, putting distance between herself and his blade before explaining, “We’re both from the Heavenly Observing Bureau. Would I do something like that?”

Li Huowang gave her a cold smile. He knew well the tricks his colleagues would play.

Had he shown even a hint of fear, this woman would’ve likely ambushed him, stolen the spirit, and claimed the reward.

A few hundred Yangshou Pills were no small fortune in this chaotic world. The bureau only cared about capturing the spirit—where it came from was irrelevant.

“Fine, then we’ll each take our own path. You wouldn’t want to experience the methods of the Aojing Sect, would you?”

With those words laced with threat, Li Huowang walked away with his prize.

(End of Chapter)