Chapter 514: Improvement

Chapter 514: Enhancement

When Li Sui arrived with a water jar full of earth, Li Huowang used the blade of his sword to scrape away the wax sealing the box, then levered it open along the edges.

A droplet of silver liquid splattered onto his red Daoist robe, dripping down and coalescing into a small silver bead on the floor.

"Never expected that the knowledge my teacher once taught me would prove useful here. Mercury is volatile at room temperature. If I hadn't sealed it with wax earlier, peeling the skin would have taken much more effort."

Li Huowang spoke as he began undressing, holding the mercury box in his arms toward the full jar of soil.

This was the first task given by Ji Lin. If he wanted to use him to deal with the dice, he had to do it well.

The Empress Dowager and the Princess Royal, such exalted status, even if the Sky Observing Bureau didn't get involved, surely had their own capable people around them.

If he truly intended to act, he still needed to be cautious. A substitute talisman made from heart-silk leather was undoubtedly a strong safeguard.

Li Huowang shoved the iron box into Li Sui's arms, then lay down in the large pit within the earth jar. "Li Sui, after so many times, you should know how to do this now, right?"

"Yeah, I can! I can!"

Li Sui's voice carried excitement as his sharp nails scraped across the center of Li Huowang's scalp.

"Dad, if I can help you with this, does that make me really useful?"

Feeling those sharp nails split his scalp in two, Li Huowang gave a slight nod. "Yeah, you're very useful."

Hearing this, Li Sui was delighted, her black tendrils dancing with joy.

Dad rarely praised her; helping Dad was enough to make her happy.

Just as she felt the scalp being torn open and the mercury about to be poured, Li Huowang suddenly stopped her. "Wait a moment."

Buried deep in the earth jar, he thought for a while before speaking gently to the empty air: "Mom? Mom, are you there?"

"I might be a bit noisy later, don't worry. I'm just... bungee jumping, yes, bungee jumping, a long one. Don't panic."

After offering some gentle reassurance, Li Huowang turned to look at Li Sui and nodded firmly. "Go ahead."

Though he'd gone through this process several times, Li Huowang still hadn't adapted. He tried hard not to cry out, but ultimately couldn't hold back.

Long after, nearly fainting from pain, Li Huowang lay on the ground gasping for breath, watching the illusions gathered around him, discussing himself.

Although he had recovered from the treatment of the "Fire Robe True Scripture," the intense pain from top to bottom still tormented him greatly.

"This is too unbearable. If I ever have time, I should find a way to peel skin without pain. If this kind of physical torment continues for a long time, it will definitely affect my mental state."

"Dad, are you in pain? Should I not help you anymore?" Li Sui's tendrils wrapped around the scabs on Li Huowang's body. "If you're in pain, then we shouldn't do it."

"Heh, some things, no matter how painful they are, must still be done. Help dad, touch me. If you touch me, dad won't feel pain anymore."

Upon hearing this, Li Sui gently wrapped her slimy tendrils around Li Huowang's body, twisting and writhing. When one wasn't enough, she added another, then another.

Eventually, Li Sui's body completely split apart, like clothing draped over Li Huowang's body. "Dad, does that mean you won't feel pain anywhere now?"

"No pain anymore, no pain anymore." Li Huowang softly comforted Li Sui, feeling a hint of drowsiness. He tore off a red cloth from his robe and covered his eyeless eyes.

In a daze, Li Huowang fell asleep. When he woke up the next day, he found himself holding the water jar, walking downstairs. "Li Sui?"

"Dad, did I wake you up? The water jar isn't needed anymore. I'm going to put it back."

"It's fine. I was supposed to wake up early anyway, preparing ahead of time."

Li Huowang helped the tendrils place the water jar back in its original spot, then went to the courtyard well to wash his face habitually.

But when he saw his reflection in the well, Li Huowang suddenly realized—was there really any need for him to wash his face now?

Silently staring at his reflection on the water surface, watching the tendrils crawl in and out of his body, Li Huowang suddenly remembered something.

"Li Sui, can you still enter my body now?"

"Dad, didn't you say not to go inside your body? You said I'd eat you."

"Not the kind where I can't get out. Just maintain it briefly. Since Luo Sect can use the infant soul to enhance their strength, why can't I?"

Facing an enemy whose strength was unknown, no matter how many contingencies you prepared, it was never too much. Besides, Li Sui had already developed cooperation with him, having another person inside could provide additional strength.

"Oh, let me try."

As Li Huowang opened his mouth, Li Sui's tendrils kept crawling in, and some slender limbs from the bun could follow.

As more entered, Li Huowang felt a tearing sensation inside his body. He could sense the tendrils moving beneath his flesh and near his organs, which felt strange.

As for pain, Li Huowang could endure it, because he was already in agony all over. Now he couldn't tell whether it was outside or inside that hurt.

After it ended, Li Huowang looked down at his reflection in the well.

His previous peeling self was already terrifying, but with Li Sui's addition, he became even more frightening.

Now he looked like a fat man forcing himself into someone else's clothes, except he was the clothes, and Li Sui was the fat man.

Moreover, all the blood vessels exposed to air on his body were now occupied by black tendrils.

On his swollen, bloated, bloody corpse, large patches of black netting hung, and even though he knew this thing was himself, Li Huowang felt somewhat eerie.

Li Huowang tried taking a few steps, then said to Li Sui, "There's no need to stuff all the tendrils inside. Let some of the longer ones come out."

Black tendrils sprouted like spring shoots, breaking through the fresh blood crust on Li Huowang's body, writhing chaotically in all directions.

Though his body was still larger than before, at least it wasn't bloated anymore, and walking or jumping wasn't affected.

Li Huowang wielded the Purple Ear Sword swiftly in the air, while Li Sui's tendrils wrapped around the copper coin sword, holding talismans to assist.

They had spent so long together, and now returning, they hadn't forgotten each other. Li Huowang discovered that this method indeed worked.

Not only did it mean having another person beside him, but also enhanced his own strength, and it could hide his identity. No one would recognize him as Li Huowang, not even himself could guess what his current appearance looked like.

"Dad, but we won't be able to wear your red clothes anymore."

"If we can't wear them, then we won't. We're going out to kill people. Do we want everyone to know who we are just by wearing such conspicuous clothes?"

A gray, dusty sheet was found by Li Huowang, and after he roughly dragged it, a tattered great cloak was draped over him.

(End of Chapter)