Chapter 479: An Offer You Can't Refuse

Chapter 479: An Offer Beyond Refusal

Upon the bustling thoroughfare, just as Li Huowang fixed his gaze intensely on the stout woman atop the third floor, a decorous shop attendant rushed out from the tavern, halting before the carriage with a fawning smile: "My lord, someone has laid a grand feast on the third floor of our establishment specifically to invite you. If you would please..."

Blessings cannot be avoided, and disasters cannot be fled; since the other party had sought him out so openly, Li Huowang had no intention of hiding.

By the time he led Li Sui up the wooden stairs to the tavern's third floor, the stout woman was already standing beside a table laden with a sumptuous banquet, waiting.

The third floor was not hers alone; other patrons were also dining there.

"Come, come, come! Let me toast you. The youth are to be feared, the youth are truly to be feared!" Raising her wine cup, the stout woman tilted her head back and poured the liquid down her throat.

Li Huowang and Li Sui sat down upon the stools with blatant arrogance, removing the bamboo hats from their heads at the exact same moment.

A terrifying, charred head and a skinned dog covered in writhing tentacles abruptly manifested before the eyes of the others.

Such a horrific spectacle caused the other diners to freeze instantly. After a few brief breaths, screams and panicked cries erupted, and within moments, not a single soul remained.

Li Huowang had done this, naturally, as a show of intimidation.

The stout woman naturally sensed Li Huowang's hostility and immediately began to explain. "Oh, you child. At my age, I could well be your mother. Could I possibly harm you? I simply wish to discuss a matter properly with you."

"Out there in the wild hills and desolate ridges, I know that no matter what was said, you could not ease your mind, fearing I harbored foul intent. Is that not so?"

"But here, you ought to be at ease at last. Look, the Prefect's Yamun is right across the street. Give a single shout, and the Bureau of Heaven's Monitoring within the city will come rushing over."

Li Sui had just grabbed a pig's trotter when Li Huowang slapped it away. Staring at the stout woman before him, he spoke in a level tone: "You plague me so relentlessly just to obtain the Untainted Lifespan, do you not? My words remain the same: it is not for sale."

To his surprise, the moment those words left Li Huowang's mouth, the stout woman's countenance shifted drastically, and she began to vent her grievances to him in profound sorrow.

"This old aunt has truly not had it easy. I have been without a father since childhood. My bitter-fated mother, ah, toiled so hard to pull me up to adulthood. I originally wanted her to enjoy her twilight years, but who could have known her lifespan would run out? Ah, remembering that year of drought, with nothing to eat and nothing to drink... if my mother had not fed me with her own blood to keep me alive..."

Hearing her words, a trace of irritation surfaced on Li Huowang's face. He could have simply turned on his heel and left. Yet, through the ripples of the Ten Passions and Eight Miseries, he could perceive that her words were actually true—at the very least, this sorrowful emotion was genuine.

"For your mother's plight, I feel deep sympathy, but I am sorry. I also have someone on my side who requires a continuation of life."

Seeing that Li Huowang intended to leave immediately, the stout woman grew anxious. "This old aunt can give you things in exchange! Just say what you lack! So long as you yield that Untainted Lifespan to me, anything will do!"

Li Huowang stood up. "I have nothing I desire for the moment. My apologies, and please trouble me no further."

"If you continue to follow, should anything happen, it will be ill for both of us!"

Watching Li Huowang walk toward the stairs step by step, the stout woman suddenly spoke a sentence that caused the hand he had extended toward the railing to freeze in midair.

"The girl on your carriage is a spirit medium, is she not? The life of a medium is bitter! If only you give this old aunt those five years of Untainted Lifespan! This old aunt will help you rid her of the immortal spirits bound to her!"

Li Huowang turned around instantly, staring intently at the woman before him. The Ten Passions and Eight Miseries upon her person indicated that she was not lying; she truly possessed a way to resolve the matter of the immortal spirits.

Back on the road, Bai Lingmiao had been entangled by the immortal spirits and forced to become a medium, which had always remained a significant latent hazard.

To grant Bai Lingmiao five years of lifespan or to rid her of the immortal spirits—this was an immensely difficult choice between two options.

Just as Li Huowang wavered in indecision, Er Shen suddenly ascended from beneath the stairs, leaning close to Li Huowang's ear to whisper something in a low voice.

"What did you say?!" The words slipped from Li Huowang's mouth instantly. "Such a vital matter, why did you two not tell me sooner!"

He looked back toward the stout woman before him, his expression no longer bearing the indifference from before. "Fine! It is a deal. Once we reach the Capital, the five years of Untainted Lifespan from the reward shall be yours in exchange for removing the immortal spirits from Miao Miao's body!"

The immortal spirits had actually begun to threaten Bai Lingmiao, forcing her into performing the spirit dances; such a critical matter had been hidden from him by the two of them for so long.

If not for this sudden opportunity today, heaven only knew how much longer they would have kept it from him.

Hearing this, the stout woman burst into a joyous smile. Fearing Li Huowang might recant, she hastily agreed. "Good! It is a settled matter!"

Li Huowang had originally assumed she would set out ahead of him to wait in the Capital, but to his surprise, she acted as though she feared he might flee, following them closely the entire way.

This left Li Huowang unable to sleep peacefully during the journey. Fortunately, during this period on the road, no mishaps occurred, and their party returned safely to the Capital.

The journey was not without its benefits; at the very least, the wounds upon Li Huowang's body had healed considerably, enough so that one could recognize his face as his own.

"I shall leave the carriage at home. Go to the Yamun gates first and wait for me." After spending so much time together, Li Huowang had already learned her name: Lian Zhibei.

"No matter, no matter. I shall go with you. I do not know the ways of this Capital either. I still need you to lead the path." Lian Zhibei, deeply afraid that Li Huowang would run, remained inseparable from him.

Li Huowang did not bother to acknowledge this flaw-ridden excuse, turning his head to speak to Bai Lingmiao and Li Sui: "You two head home first. I shall arrive shortly."

With those words, the four of them split into two pairs, taking separate routes.

When Li Huowang entered the grand hall of the Bureau of Heaven's Monitoring holding the wooden box that contained the spiritual abomination, Nangong caught sight of Li Huowang and Lian Zhibei from a distance. "Oh? Have you two joined forces?"

"Barely." Li Huowang pushed the box in his hand forward directly. "The item has arrived. Settle the reward."

Yet Lian Zhibei hastily pulled it into her own embrace, speaking to Nangong: "Wait. This is a task from the Palace. We must deliver it into the hands of the Eunuch ourselves."

"Leaving it with me is the same. I will transfer it to the Eunuchs of the Palace, and once they grant the reward, I shall transfer it directly to you. It is merely a matter of a slightly longer time."

Lian Zhibei spoke with immense insolence: "Spare me that nonsense! As if I do not know! Passing through your hands once, and then through the eunuchs' hands once! Heaven knows how much will be skimmed off!"

Having said this, she turned to Li Huowang and said: "Listen to me. Delivering it directly to the Palace will be far more secure. Otherwise, if the Untainted Lifespan we receive is embezzled even slightly, it might not even meet the five-year mark!"

Seeing the helpless Nangong offer no refutation, Li Huowang knew that what she said was likely the truth. He immediately reached out and snatched the wooden box back. "Fine. Then we deliver it directly to the Palace."

As long as the trouble of the immortal spirits upon Bai Lingmiao could be resolved, nothing else mattered.