Chapter 574: Plan

Chapter 574: The Plan

As the followers of Aojing were about to erupt in fury, Xuan Pin raised her hand slightly, and the hall fell silent instantly.

"Enough! Don’t forget—the dice has already taken the Dragon Vein of Great Li with him!"

Addressing the others, the Minister of Astronomy's tone softened somewhat as he continued: "Though the dice has escaped, do not panic. I can find a way to locate it."

In the next moment, Shangguan Yuting emerged from the sleeve of the Grand Master, made a silly face at Li Huowang, then slipped into the body of the Minister of Astronomy.

The Grand Master, clutching his wound, twitched slightly. His gaze flickered away from the Minister of Astronomy.

At that moment, Zheng Boqiao took over the conversation. "Xuan Pin finding people is no trouble; killing the dice is also no trouble. But if we want to kill the dice while also rescuing the last emperor unharmed, that would be an even greater challenge."

"After all, there is only one emperor left. If he dies, Great Li will have no emperor. Without the greatest emperor, nothing else matters anymore. Now even the grass in Qingqiu has turned yellow."

Saying this, Zheng Boqiao glanced at the Aojing sect and Bai Lingmiao. "Moreover, it seems only Ba Hui and the Old Mother Without Birth have clearly pledged to help us. Ah~ calamity approaches, and everyone harbors their own hidden intentions."

Li Huowang suddenly recalled something and reminded him: "Can't we get the Military School to help us? There are so many people in Great Li’s Military School—binding the dice should be easy."

At this point, the Grand Master of Great Li regained a little strength. "That sounds easy, but how can we mobilize the Military School without the military seal? Under what pretext?"

"The Military School is the emperor's sword. Don’t forget—it is the dice who has ascended to the throne now. He is the true emperor of Great Li. Moreover, he is not just the Dragon Vein—he is the Dice of the Forgetful Dao, extremely skilled at bewitching the hearts of men. If you involve the Military School, don’t you fear they might turn against us once they rise up?"

Hearing this, everyone's expressions grew heavy. Indeed, the dice was now the legitimate emperor of Great Li, having officially ascended the throne before all officials.

Regardless of whether they saw the dice as a false emperor, if the court saw them conspiring against the emperor, it would be treason.

Li Huowang looked up at him for a moment, then quickly pondered something. After a while, he spoke.

"Minister of Astronomy, Gao Zhijian has a dice inside his head. That’s probably where the dice is. Since you can find him, all we need to do is capture him and extract the dice from his mind."

Since they had to confront the dice together, Li Huowang shared what he knew.

"That sounds simple, but it brings back the same problem. Breaking open his skull is easy, but how do we keep him alive?"

After hesitating for a moment, Li Huowang said slowly: "That’s simple. We can give him a magical artifact that allows him to revive after death. Something like a relic made from Xin Su’s skin, for example. I once saw him use such a thing when assassinating Prince Ren."

Li Huowang had given Gao Zhijian a piece of skin he had refined himself. But he wasn’t sure whether the dice had discovered it yet.

Li Huowang’s words received no response from the Minister of Astronomy. As he looked toward him, he noticed both their bodies shrinking rapidly until they were only ant-sized on the chair.

Li Huowang looked up and saw the towering Bai Lingmiao, listening intently to the others' conversation, showing no signs of anything unusual.

He didn’t panic. This must be one of the Minister of Astronomy’s illusions.

"Some things, I need to talk to you alone," the Minister of Astronomy, who had shrunk along with him, said slowly.

Upon hearing this, Li Huowang felt oddly familiar with the Minister of Astronomy in front of him—but couldn’t pinpoint exactly why.

"Who are you?" Li Huowang asked aloud, gazing into the vast red robe.

"I am Xuan Pin, the Minister of Astronomy of Great Li. But I can also be anyone. Who I am isn’t important. What matters is that I need you to survive the crisis ahead. It concerns not only you, but also the deceased Zhuge Yuan."

Li Huowang frowned slightly, looking up at the others, whose forms seemed like mountains around him. "Do I have to do this alone? Why not tell others?"

"Because this requires using your identity as Xin Su."

Hearing this, Li Huowang felt his hair stand on end. Everything in front of him seemed stripped bare.

"You practice cultivation, right? I can help you. Use your Xin Su abilities to deal with the dice."

After calming himself slightly, Li Huowang suppressed his unease and said, "Why must we use my Xin Su powers? Wasn’t my plan not viable?"

"It won’t work. He is the dice. Such petty tricks won’t affect him. We shouldn’t follow his path. Otherwise, we’ll always be at a disadvantage. So let him calculate, and we'll do our own thing."

With a solemn expression, Li Huowang nodded slowly. "Then tell me your plan."

"When we find the dice again, you go first. During that time, no matter what he says, treat everything he says as truth. Make everything he says real! Leave everything else to me."

"Huh?!" Li Huowang blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected the solution to be this.

"My cultivation isn’t strong enough. I’m afraid I can’t do that."

"Don’t worry. I’ll handle it for you. Just do as I say."

Li Huowang silently considered it. The Minister of Astronomy didn’t rush, waiting patiently.

"Fine, Minister of Astronomy. But please understand—this concerns the Dragon Vein of Great Li. I don’t want Great Li to meet the same fate as Great Qi."

"That’s understood. In dealing with the dice, we are allies."

As soon as the Minister of Astronomy finished speaking, their bodies began to grow rapidly, returning to their original size. Yet none of those around them noticed anything.

"I’ve thought of a way. You all prepare yourselves. I’m going to retrieve something. After an hour, we’ll reclaim the Dragon Vein of Great Li." With these words, the Minister of Astronomy gradually dispersed like sand.

Seeing that the decision had been made, the others left the table one by one, preparing for the final assault.

Li Huowang took Bai Lingmiao with him. As soon as they stepped out of the hall, a figure lunged onto him.

Li Huowang quickly lifted the skirt of Li Sui, revealing her tentacles and dog skull, hastily explaining to Bai Lingmiao: "She’s not someone else. She’s Li Sui."

"Oh." Bai Lingmiao nodded gently.

"Miǎomiǎo, what’s wrong with you?" Li Huowang, his expression grave, set down Li Sui and walked up to her, gripping her arms tightly.

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(End of Chapter)