Chapter 567: Little Emperor of Great Qi

Chapter 567: The Young Emperor of Great Qi

Upon hearing the old man’s words, Li Huowang nearly thought he had misunderstood. Thirty years ago? How could that be?

Li Huowang hadn’t believed it at first either—but since the old man knew that the young emperor of Great Qi had a wound in his chest, he had no choice but to believe him. Otherwise, this would be far too coincidental.

A male infant with a sword wound in his chest thirty years ago, and now another such infant? That was simply impossible to imagine.

Even so, there was only one conclusion: the young emperor of Great Qi, who should have been sent to Great Liang by him, had somehow ended up in Great Liang thirty years earlier!

“But... why? Why did such an anomaly occur? Is it something ordinary people can do—traveling back in time?”

“Wait…” Li Huowang immediately recalled the scene of his confrontation with the young emperor. At that time, there were not just two of them present; Zhuge Yuan’s friend Xu Nian was also there.

Her ability was strange—she could drain others’ lifespans.

But what if it wasn’t about draining lifespans, but altering time itself?

Li Huowang remembered how his body had changed during their battle, and how the five- or six-year-old young emperor of Great Qi had reverted to the shape of a fetus in the womb.

“It’s those red shadows of Xu Nian!” Li Huowang realized instantly.

When he had sent the young emperor of Great Qi through a rift to Great Liang, it had happened within those red shadows.

With disbelief etched across his face, Li Huowang leapt from the willow tree onto the old man’s chest and grabbed his collar. “Did that child really have a wound in his chest?! Did you really not misremember it thirty years ago?”

If this hypothesis were true, then it meant the young emperor of Great Qi had been sent to Great Liang thirty years in the past—and now, he had long since grown into a man!

Seeing that Li Huowang was willing to listen to his story, the old man nodded eagerly and continued more enthusiastically. “Yes! I was right there, saw it clearly!”

“Old Yan Tou was almost convinced by us and ready to return the child to the forest, but that wife of his who couldn’t bear children went crazy and wouldn’t let go of the baby.”

“Later, they fed him rice porridge and applied medicine. Guess what? Hey! They actually brought him back to life! You call that weird? A huge hole in the chest, yet still alive! The villagers all thought it was some kind of spirit.”

“Originally, since he lived, that was good news. The lonely couple finally had someone to care for them. But guess what?”

“Stop talking nonsense! Just tell me already!” Li Huowang was impatient, with no intention of playing along.

At that moment, a woman holding a child walked past them and casually chimed in. “He turned out to be a fool. We’ve told you a million times, and you’re still not tired of it.”

“Shoo! What business is it of yours to interrupt? Did he ask your opinion?”

The old man shooed her away and continued. “Where were we? Oh yes, guess what? He turned out to be a fool! Not only was his mouth crooked and his eyes askew, but his brain was like it had lost a piece of its nerve. He couldn’t even remember anything! He stumbled when walking at three, and at six, he couldn’t even speak.”

Li Huowang quickly scanned the crowd, seeing no sign of a fool, and asked quickly, “Where is this person now?”

“Young man, why the rush? I haven’t gotten to that part yet. As the fool grew older, he gradually became less foolish. At least he could recognize people now.”

“But guess what? One day, suddenly, the fool ran into the woods screaming and never came back. What a mess that was,” the old man said with regret, slapping his thigh and a hint of fear flashing in his eyes.

“No.” Li Huowang stared intently at the old man’s expression. Everything the old man had said before was true—but just now, he had lied! The young emperor of Great Qi hadn’t screamed and run into the woods. There must be something fishy!

Li Huowang’s mind whirled rapidly as he leaned close to the old man and whispered, “Thank you, old sir. Though I cannot give you all ten taels of gold, I’ll give you one tael as a token of gratitude. Come with me to collect your reward.”

Hearing this, the old man perked up. To hear that telling old stories could earn money was truly rare.

“Gold is precious. I naturally cannot carry it on my person. Please follow me.”

With that, Li Huowang led the old man outside the village. But just as they reached a narrow alley, he suddenly grabbed him and tore open a rift with his blade, pulling him through.

Upon arriving in Great Qi, everything around him was chaotic and dark, leaving him disoriented and unsure of what to do.

Li Huowang didn’t intend to play games. With his Purple Ear Sword pressed against the old man’s neck, he roughly threatened, “You lied to me! Speak now! What are you hiding?”

The surroundings had already terrified the old man into panic, and he spilled everything he knew without hesitation.

“It... it has nothing to do with me! It was that immortal who kidnapped the fool! I really didn’t dare say anything before—I feared the real immortal would come after me.”

Li Huowang frowned even deeper. “An immortal? Who discovered the identity of the young emperor of Great Qi?”

“What did that immortal look like?” Li Huowang hurriedly asked.

“Uh... that immortal could fly. From the looks of it, he was a man. And... he had a bald head.”

Bald head? Li Huowang’s pupils slightly contracted. An unbelievable idea flashed through his mind as he questioned the old man directly, “Was that bald man messy and had a protruding lower lip?”

“Yes, yes, yes!!” The old man nodded vigorously at Li Huowang’s description.

At that moment, Li Huowang understood completely. That so-called immortal was none other than his deceased master, Dan Yangzi!

Inside Qingfeng Monastery, he had taken away only one fool, because the fool was too stupid and needed care. The one matching the old man’s description was only one person—Gao Zhijian!

Having found the answer, Li Huowang reversed the logic and found himself increasingly suspicious of Gao Zhijian. On multiple occasions, he had been on the brink of death, yet he had survived each time.

And earlier, when he had hinted at something yellow, that confirmed it—the young emperor of Great Qi was indeed Gao Zhijian!

This change had never occurred to Li Huowang. He felt utterly shocked—how could the young emperor of Great Qi have been by his side all along?

Though shocked, even if Gao Zhijian was the young emperor of Great Qi, he still had to find him quickly. Great Qi had once again faced natural disasters. If he delayed any longer, more lives would be lost.

Once he figured it all out, Li Huowang took the old man back to Great Liang and prepared to mount his horse and head toward Niuxin Village.

“Son~ Open your mouth, eat egg soup. Oh, so obedient,”

Qiu Baohan, who was feeding his son, made Li Huowang suddenly realize he had forgotten something.

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(End of Chapter)