Chapter 510: Going to the Capital

Chapter 510: Journey to Shangjing

“Ah, with the Legalist cult staging a rebellion and the ongoing purge of the Watchers-on-the-Void, it is nothing but chaos; every last soul has been deployed.”

Regarding the current state of affairs, Nangong appeared somewhat impatient.

Hearing those words, Li Huowang’s heart stirred instantly. “How fares the encirclement and suppression of the Watchers-on-the-Void now?”

“See for yourself, I am still rather occupied here.”

As the heavy tome was flung open, revealing the thick stack of wanted posters for the Watchers-on-the-Void stamped with the widespread characters for 'slain',

Li Huowang felt the oppressive weight in his chest lift considerably; in dealing with the Watchers-on-the-Void, the Bureau of Celestial Inspection had truly performed admirably.

Judging by the records in this ledger and the previous battle at Shangjing, Li Huowang deduced that the Ropes, Cakes, and Myriads had been largely eradicated.

Even among the Honor Tiles and Wind Tiles, the Bureau of Celestial Inspection had reaped a bountiful harvest: all four North Winds were completely annihilated, three East Winds were dead, two Red Dragons were dead, one White Dragon was dead, and one Green Dragon was dead.

Furthermore, one of the Dice had already perished before, which meant that this sole remaining Dice was fast becoming a commander without an army.

“Our Bureau of Celestial Inspection has indeed exerted immense effort to deal with the Watchers-on-the-Void,” Li Huowang remarked as he turned the pages, speaking to Nangong behind the wooden cabinet.

“More than that; I heard that to combat the Watchers-on-the-Void, they not only allied with the inspection bureaus of other nations, but the Bureau also recruited numerous orthodox sects to move in unison. To persuade them, the inner treasury incurred another massive expenditure.”

“Orthodox sects?” Some rather unpleasant memories resurfaced in Li Huowang’s mind.

“However, the Watchers-on-the-Void are hard to find now; faced with such a grand formation, they have all gone into hiding, not daring to show their faces in the slightest. Not a single soul has been captured this past month.”

Hearing this, Li Huowang nodded silently.

Though he was threatened by the Dice and found himself in a precarious situation, the Dice's own predicament was hardly any better; looking at it this way, his own chances of victory were not entirely slim.

The only dilemma now was that Bai Lingmiao remained in the enemy's hands; if her safety could not be guaranteed, it would all be in vain even if he won.

Li Huowang closed the ledger in his hands, looked at Nangong before him, and asked once more, “Why do I see no wanted poster for the Dice of the Watchers-on-the-Void?”

“Oh? You happen to know quite a lot, even aware of the Dice. The matter of the Dice is handled by the Grand Director of the Celestial Observatory himself; that is the leader of the Watchers-on-the-Void, whom ordinary folk cannot possibly contend with.”

The Grand Director... Li Huowang recalled those three hands with exceptionally long nails beneath that cloak.

That the Grand Director could contend with the Dice did not surprise Li Huowang in the least; it was just that if even he, a Red Dragon of the Watchers-on-the-Void, did not know where the Dice currently resided, could they truly find him?

“Hold on, those Watchers-on-the-Void from Da Qi haven't left yet, have they? Could they have conspired to ambush the Grand Director all at once?” This thought sent a cold shiver down Li Huowang’s spine.

“Rest assured, Brother Li, they are not Heart-Phantoms; they are citizens of Da Qi after all, and they cannot remain in this land of Da Liang for so long.” Hearing Zhuge Yuan’s response, Li Huowang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

True enough, the Grand Director had witnessed the arrival of the Watchers-on-the-Void from Da Qi; he would certainly have taken such matters into consideration.

“By the way, Brother Nangong, Shangjing has been filled with trials and tribulations of late; does the Bureau of Celestial Inspection possess any inside information?”

Upon hearing this, the previously nonchalant Nangong suddenly grew serious, his voice carrying a hint of unfamiliar distance.

“Er Jiu, you know the rules of the Bureau of Celestial Inspection: we never participate in the royal struggles for power. If you seek inside information, do not look for it here; there is absolutely none. Not a single trace will be recorded within the Four Repositories.”

“For the sake of our acquaintance, let me offer you a couple of warnings. Though you hold a Seventh-Tier Banner, you have not entered officialdom; at most, you hold a casual post within the Bureau. If you insist on meddling, the Bureau will not bind you and drag you back.”

“But should anything truly happen, even if you are slain or flayed alive by others, the Bureau will not even collect your corpse. Think upon this matter carefully yourself.”

“The succession of the Da Liang Emperor is such a monumental event; does the Bureau truly not interfere in the slightest?”

“Interfere with what? The Bureau of Celestial Inspection does indeed have certain matters to discuss with the Emperor, but has the throne settled yet? Let them fight. Whoever wins shall be the Emperor.”

“You might not know, but such occurrences are plenty within the historical annals, with some even more preposterous than this; the Bureau has long grown accustomed to it.”

“Fret not, the civil and military officials are not blind either; at most, a few people will die, but it will not shake the foundation of the state. If things truly get out of hand, someone will step forward.”

The reaction of the Bureau of Celestial Inspection was far colder than Li Huowang had imagined; they cared only for when the most venomous and powerful king would emerge from the jar, possessing not even the slightest desire to glance at how many venomous insects perished during the rearing process.

“Many thanks for the warning, Brother Nangong.” Seeing that there was no further information to glean, Li Huowang did not linger in this subterranean hall, returning from the Bureau to his own quarters.

Once he arrived within the small courtyard formerly gifted to him by the Chief Scribe, Li Huowang sat beneath a bench by a short tree, silently calculating all the information he had temporarily uncovered within Shangjing.

Li Huowang reconfirmed his objective: save Bai Lingmiao, and preferably cooperate with the Bureau of Celestial Inspection to slay the Dice.

Where there was a first time, there would be a second; roots must be eradicated completely, for only the dead posed no threat to him.

Yet as things stood, achieving these two goals would be exceedingly difficult.

He knew not where the Dice was, nor where Bai Lingmiao was trapped; he could not even find a current direction in which to direct his strength.

As he pondered, the gaze of the resolute Li Huowang sharpened, his fist gradually tightening. “My strength is still too weak; the path of cultivating reality must not be severed!”

“This concerns not only whether Zhuge Yuan can be resurrected, but also whether I can protect those I wish to protect in this chaotic world.”

“Under the current circumstances, it is unknown whether the Watchers-on-the-Void have secret agents here in Shangjing. I shall first proceed according to the Dice's plan, then secretly amass resources and search for an opportunity.”

“Within this city of Shangjing, I am not the only one with a grievance against the Dice. The Eye of the Mountain Ghost was snatched away by the Mother of Bushels; whether it be the Da Liang royal family or the Bureau of Celestial Inspection, they surely harbor a deep-seated hatred for the Dice.”

“Yet in this current predicament, how am I to divert the calamity eastward, inciting them to fight one another to achieve my own ends?”

“Boss Red Dragon, there is one more point you must guard against: Boss Dice knows your identity. In the event that he breaks the cauldrons and sinks the boats out of desperation, revealing your status as a Heart-Vessel and a Watcher-on-the-Void to the entire world, it will surely be quite a spectacular sight.”

“I am not a Watcher-on-the-Void!” Li Huowang’s voice rose sharply.

“Hahaha! Boss Red Dragon, stop playing tricks.”

Li Huowang surged to his feet, glaring fiercely at the illusory Watcher-on-the-Void; in the next instant, he clenched his fist and smashed it violently into the face of the apparition.

The hallucination of the Watcher-on-the-Void sat upon the ground, dazed for a good while before realizing what had occurred. “Hahaha!! I am alive! I am alive!”

Yet in the following second, Li Sui’s tentacles extended from the side, wrapping around his body, only to pass straight through him.

“Hahaha! You are dead again! You were tricked by the Daoist.” Seeing the disappointment upon his face, the monk nearby laughed uproariously with delight.