Chapter 540: Coming to the Door

Chapter 540: A Visit

His whole body was immersed in the icy, piercing waters of the pond, yet Li Huowang’s heart was colder still, for he now found himself in grave peril.

The fan held secrets of the Fate Keeper; merely looking at it posed danger. When Li Huowang realized that what lay before him was Zhuge Yuan's folding fan, he immediately shut his eyes. Yet even so, his gaze caught the words dissolving in the water on the fan’s surface.

“Great Fate Keeper, neither forward nor backward, the bare skin of fate, to come and follow, just as such.”

“Great Fate Keeper? What is that? No, forget it! Forget it!!” Clenching his fists, Li Huowang screamed inwardly with desperation.

From the torture kit, long needles were pulled out one by one and driven into the crevices between his fingernails. Ten fingers are connected to the heart—sharp pain made it impossible for him to think of anything else.

He struggled to crawl back from the water, collapsing onto the cave floor, gasping heavily.

Taking a deep breath, Li Huowang raised his head and looked toward Zhuge Yuan. “Brother Zhuge, I saw a line of text written on the fan just now.”

Zhuge Yuan widened his eyes in surprise. “Really?!” But then he frowned in bewilderment. “That shouldn’t be possible. If you truly saw it, your body should have been affected by their karma. Why do you show no signs of change?”

“No?” A flicker of hope ignited in Li Huowang’s chest. “Perhaps... perhaps it has something to do with my inability to fully comprehend it? You write in such classical language—I don’t understand it at all.”

Hearing this, Zhuge Yuan’s expression lightened instantly, and he let out a sigh of relief, smiling lightly. “No matter, no matter. I had planned to urge Brother Li to read more of the sages’ writings. Who would’ve thought that this... this... cough—this very thing actually helped you! Not understanding it means no karmic entanglement.”

Li Huowang’s heart, which had been heavy with fear, finally settled. He was grateful he couldn’t make sense of the Classical Chinese.

Yet after the relief, another thought struck him—the three words at the beginning: "Great Fate Keeper." Even if he didn’t understand the meaning, he could tell it was a name or title.

"Great Fate Keeper? Fate Keeper? With the word 'great' in front, does that mean this Great Fate Keeper is even more powerful than Ba Hui or other Fate Keepers?"

“If Fate Keepers are already so formidable, then what exactly is this Great Fate Keeper?” Li Huowang tried hard to imagine, but he could not picture it at all. To be honest, his five senses weren’t yet unified, and he couldn’t even conjure up an image of Ba Hui in his mind, let alone some abstract entity like the Great Fate Keeper.

In some mysterious way, Li Huowang felt as though he had inadvertently glimpsed something profound.

“Great Fate Keeper, neither forward nor backward?” Just as he began to ponder the next phrase, a sudden warning rang in his mind. “Don’t think about it! I barely escaped death—don’t go poking around!”

Li Huowang quickly yanked the long needle from his nail with his fingernail, the sharp pain instantly shifting his focus.

Stifling the agony, Li Huowang turned to Zhuge Yuan and said, “It seems I’ll avoid studying Classical Chinese for the rest of my life.”

“What is Classical Chinese, Brother Li?”

Li Huowang shook his head, refusing to explain further, and led Li Sui back into the water.

The same mistake would not be repeated. Only after confirming the fan had vanished completely did Li Huowang begin swimming toward the surface.

After much effort, Li Huowang finally climbed out of the pit and prepared to raise his Spine Bone Sword and return to Daliang.

"Dad, look—what is that?" Li Sui asked.

Li Huowang turned his head in the direction his son pointed and saw three thin black smoke columns rising slowly from a distant horizon.

Li Huowang didn’t know what they were, but Qiu Baoshu, who clutched her child tightly, recognized them with terror in her eyes. “It’s a wolf smoke signal—it means war is coming again. My husband, please don’t go. War kills people. I’m scared.”

Li Huowang glanced once more at the erratic Qiu Baoshu and said nothing. He raised his Spine Bone Sword and slashed it forcefully.

When Li Huowang returned to Shangjing, several days had passed.

Though he had been busy traveling, he felt it had been worth it. Compared to his former state of being preyed upon, he now held a card to fight against fate itself.

Just as his hand touched the gate of his courtyard, he noticed it was slightly ajar. His heart skipped a beat. “Could someone have broken in?”

Creak! Li Huowang pushed open the door and walked in, leading his horse. Sitting in the main hall was someone unexpected—Hong Da, the Knife Dealer.

Li Huowang’s face changed. He gripped the Spine Bone Sword behind his back. Hong Da appearing uninvited in his home meant only one thing—he had been found despite his efforts to hide.

Li Huowang knew he couldn’t act now. In Shangjing, any move would mean a complete rupture with the Heavenly Observation Bureau.

“No, this is different from previous situations. I have no grudge with them. There’s still a chance.”

After a quick thought, an idea struck him. He smiled and approached Hong Da with a bow.

“Oh? Brother Hong, I’ve missed you since we parted! I thought you’d already left Daliang.”

“The Heavenly Observation Bureau has some matters concerning you,” Hong Da stood and returned the gesture.

Li Huowang blinked slightly, feigning surprise. “Could it be related to Prince Ren? Did they send someone to chase him down? How can he escape even with their help?”

Hong Da gave a bitter laugh and shook his head. “No. Prince Ren is already dead. It concerns the matter of the Buddhist Jade Furnace and the Tai Xu Sword you stole.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the room darkened. The others from before blocked the entrance behind Li Huowang. Tiny Buddha statues emerged from every crack in the hall, surrounding him completely.

The previous owner of the Spine Bone Sword—a woman—glared at him with venomous eyes, her black-nailed finger pointing directly at him.

“You dare use illusions to deceive us! I’ve already checked—no matter how powerful the Celestial Observing Minister is, he cannot bring a living soul back to life!”

Seeing that even Hong Da had drawn blades hidden beneath his clothes, Li Huowang remained calm and asked with rare boldness, “Stop making excuses. I’m currently serving the Crown Prince. If you attack me now… are you acting under orders from someone else, trying to weaken the Prince’s influence?”

“You shut your mouth! You stole my weapon without reason! And now you’re making excuses?” The woman was nearly furious, yet there was someone even more shameless.

Li Huowang glanced sideways, pulled a chair over, and sat down calmly. “I don’t know what ‘dirty water’ you’re talking about. All I know is, if you kill me, it will benefit the other contenders for succession. Speak up—whose orders are you following?”