Chapter 563: Zhuge Yuan

Chapter 563: Zhuge Yuan

Within the brilliantly lit palace, Li Huowang's pupils trembled slightly as he stood before the dragon-entwined pillar.

He first glanced at the spinal sword that had moved on its own, then turned his gaze to the side—Zhuge Yuan.

He had suffered many wounds in his life, but none had ever caused him such pain as this moment.

“So you had a contingency plan all along! You never truly trusted me! Could you really be the Zhuge Yuan who would sacrifice his life for mine?”

“You told me to solidify my true nature? But you’ve always treated me like a Red Middle of the Seatless Dao! How can I possibly stabilize my essence!”

At this point, a twitch crossed Li Huowang’s lips. His expression twisted with fury as he raised his fist and slammed it hard against his own head.

“Brother Li, I had no choice. So many lives of Great Qi hang in the balance—I couldn’t risk them on you alone. I can offer my own life, but I cannot offer the lives of all the people of Great Qi!”

Li Huowang glared at him with a face full of rage, his heart aflame with anger, and lunged toward Zhuge Yuan with all his might.

Just as his right hand clenched and swung forward, Zhuge Yuan’s head materialized.

“Bang!” Zhuge Yuan’s head was flung high into the air, struck down by Li Huowang’s punch, sending him staggering backward.

When the bruised and darkened Zhuge Yuan steadied himself once more, he let out a faint sigh, his voice carrying a low tone:

“I have never done anything in my life that I could not face with a clear conscience. Only this time, for the sake of Great Qi, I deceived you, deceived my sworn brother. It is not the way of a gentleman. When one makes a mistake, one must pay the price. Therefore, Zhuge Yuan is willing to die for his sins.”

Li Huowang, who had just been filled with fury, suddenly froze. He saw Zhuge Yuan’s body begin to flicker in and out of visibility.

“What... what are you trying to say?! I’m telling you, this isn’t over yet! You owe me an explanation! You’re not going anywhere!” Li Huowang clutched his head in agony as Zhuge Yuan’s form began to coalesce again.

“Brother Li, as someone with a sensitive mind, these illusions are harmful to you—not beneficial. It would be best to eliminate them sooner rather than later.”

“If you wish to rid yourself of these illusions, perhaps I can help them release their attachments. Once those attachments fade, the hallucinations will vanish naturally. Take me, for example, or the previous Jiang Yingzi.”

Having spoken these words, Zhuge Yuan’s body became increasingly translucent, and even though Li Huowang held on tightly, it was of no avail.

“Brother Li, if you cannot distinguish between your Red Middle self and your true self, remember to go where Li Huowang should be, and increase the memories of Li Huowang. Perhaps that will suppress the Red Middle.”

“Brother Li, I tried to uncover why Doumu Taiyin altered your memories, but I confess, I could not fathom her motives. I advise you to delay practicing that cultivation method for now. Wait until we understand the truth before continuing.”

After saying so much, Zhuge Yuan’s body had become nearly invisible, barely perceptible.

“Wait! Hold on!” Li Huowang bent forward, blood streaming from his nose onto the floor.

Zhuge Yuan carefully straightened his robe, leaned forward, and with both arms raised, bowed deeply to Li Huowang. “Brother Li, farewell!”

With that, Zhuge Yuan vanished completely—no trace remained.

Li Huowang slowly lowered his hand from his head, staring fixedly at the spot where Zhuge Yuan had disappeared.

After a long silence, he burst into furious curses, shouting and crying at the empty space.

Gradually, his yelling faded. He stood motionless where Zhuge Yuan had been, lost in thought. What he was thinking, only he knew.

Half a stick of incense had passed when Li Huowang suddenly moved. He turned toward the spine sword.

But when he reached it, he found the purple talisman on the hilt had been reapplied. The peach talismans and flesh that had extended from the blade had retracted, returning it to a simple spine sword.

Li Huowang trembled as he peeled back the talisman. Yet this time, the sword did not change. It seemed to have died along with the illusionary Zhuge Yuan.

“Hustle hustle hustle!” A sudden flurry of footsteps echoed from outside the hall. A group of men wearing the badges of the Sky-Watching Bureau rushed in, weapons in hand, faces grim.

“Erjiu! Erjiu!!” The woman who had traded with Li Huowang earlier looked pale and surrounded him, her eyes full of suspicion.

“What is going on here?! Where is the Grand Master?! Why has the Emperor become a woman? Who killed our eunuch spies?”

Li Huowang, numb and silent, shook his head, bent to pick up the sword, and shoved her aside, heading for the exit.

Others tried to stop him, but Li Huowang suddenly swung the spine sword, vanishing through a rift at lightning speed.

“Boom!!” A thunderclap startled Gao Zhijian, who was drinking noodles in the inn.

As he stepped out with his bowl, he saw thick clouds gathering above the Great Li Palace, lightning crackling down in purple bolts.

“What’s happening to the Great Li Palace?” Even without understanding much, he could tell something was wrong with the color of the lightning.

Just then, hoofbeats rang out. Soldiers bearing military orders galloped down the wide streets, beating copper gongs urgently.

“Order from the Grand Master’s residence! Daytime curfew in Shangjing! Daytime curfew in Shangjing! Two sticks of incense from now, violators shall be executed!”

“Order from the Grand Master’s residence! Daytime curfew in Shangjing! Daytime curfew in Shangjing! Two sticks of incense from now, violators shall be executed!”

The announcement sent shockwaves through the crowd. Those who had been strolling casually on the street suddenly became ants in a pan.

Stalls were abandoned, and people fled home in panic.

Gao Zhijian, confused and frightened, followed the crowd back to the inn.

As soon as he entered, the nervous innkeeper locked the door and pushed the table aside, whispering anxiously with the other guests.

“What’s going on? Why daytime curfew? Has Qingqiu invaded?”

“No way! I just saw lightning in the palace. Is the Emperor performing some ritual?”

“Hey, you’re asking for trouble! Don’t talk about things like that!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Our emperor doesn’t punish people for speech.”

The citizens of Shangjing acted swiftly. In less than the time it took to burn a stick of incense, not a single soul remained on the streets.

In this tense atmosphere, Gao Zhijian peered through a hole in the paper window, watching cautiously. “Could this curfew be related to Brother Li? Should I go take a look?”

Yet he hesitated. Without knowing anything, searching blindly might lead him straight into the path of the Great Li soldiers before he even found Brother Li.

———

Next chapter update at 00:02

(End of Chapter)