Chapter 591: Self-Preservation

Chapter 591: Self-Preservation

Wang Wei remained silent, yet Li Huo Wang had already gleaned the answer he sought from the man’s expression. “You were testing me with them back then, weren’t you?”

Wang Wei drew in a deep breath, his face growing resolute. “Xiao Li, I was your attending physician once. I know how to maximize your abilities, to ensure you can live comfortably here or there!”

Li Huo Wang shook his head and tossed the paper in his hand onto the bedside table. “I’m sorry, but no. I can’t do it.”

“Are you afraid I’ll exploit you? Whether or not you can retrieve things from the other side is entirely up to you. I can’t force you! Give me one longevity pill first—I want to see it with my own eyes. Everything else we can discuss.”

Li Huo Wang shook his head again and spoke. “No, what I mean is that my illness has been cured. I won’t have those chaotic hallucinations anymore.”

“What did you say?” Wang Wei had barely finished speaking when a tremendous force shoved him backward, his face slammed into the ground.

When Wang Wei’s hands were cuffed behind his back and he was hauled to his feet, he realized there were several grim-faced prison guards nearby. One of them in a white coat he recognized—Li Huo Wang’s current attending physician, Yi Donglai.

“Doctor Wang, you’re ill. When you’re sick, you should take your medicine,” Li Huo Wang said calmly.

Indeed, he had told Yi Donglai everything about Wang Wei directly. If someone else could use him, why should Li Huo Wang go through the trouble himself? And if something happened to Wang Wei—like him getting injured or killed—his release date would likely be delayed again.

Wang Wei struggled violently as the guards dragged him away, his eyes locked fiercely on Li Huo Wang as he screamed frantically, “You can’t imprison me and think it matters! I’m insignificant! Your potential is too great to hide!”

The struggling Wang Wei was forcibly dragged out of the room. Only Li Huo Wang and Yi Donglai remained.

“Don’t worry. His condition is severe. He probably won’t bother you for a while,” Yi Donglai said.

“I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about something else.”

“Is it your illness? Don’t worry. Your condition is much more stable now. Even with this person trying to manipulate you, you haven’t shown any signs of a breakdown.” Yi Donglai looked at Li Huo Wang.

“Really? You truly think so? I just want to ask you—what exactly happened with Bei Feng earlier? Why does it feel like *you* started all this?”

Li Huo Wang pressed his hand to his lotus-like head and shouted at the celestial official before him.

After a moment of silence, the Celestial Official replied, “Something has happened. That’s why I need your help.”

“Help? What can I possibly do for you? Aren’t I the one who’s been manipulated by you?” Li Huo Wang shot back.

“We don’t need to divide the heavens so clearly. Isn’t that exactly what you are?”

Li Huo Wang rubbed his head, now wrapped in flesh and blood, feeling a headache coming on. “It’s finally quiet. Can’t I just have some peace for a while?”

“You chose this path. My choice is yours. You shouldn’t complain.”

“Fine. Then what do you want from me?” Li Huo Wang asked with resignation.

“The Seat of Forgetfulness is gone. It’s a perfect opportunity. You must help me seize the true and false heavens of the Yin-Yang Empress.”

Li Huo Wang nearly laughed out loud. “Hah! How? I’m just an ordinary mortal. How am I supposed to fight against the Lord of Two Heavens, the Keeper of Fate?”

“And besides, aren’t we in charge of confusion? Shouldn’t we just manage our own heaven? Why must we go to war with the Yin-Yang Empress? I’m exhausted. Let me rest for a few years first, okay?”

The Celestial Official before him spoke again. “I’m not looking for trouble. I’m only trying to protect myself. Don’t forget, helping me is helping yourself. If anything happens to me, everything that’s come before will be rewritten.”

“Self-preservation?” Li Huo Wang’s heart skipped a beat. He turned to look at Ji Zai. “What exactly happened in Baiyu Jing? How could something threaten even a Keeper of Fate?”

“Think about why the Celestial Bureau wanted that God Mountain Ghost Eye. Think about why that die went to such lengths to possess the dragon vein. They all sense the storm approaching. Don’t pretend you don’t feel it.”

Li Huo Wang’s mind began to swirl again. He sat silently, thinking back over everything that had happened.

He had sensed it vaguely, but Li Huo Wang always felt these grand events had nothing to do with him. When the sky falls, tall people will catch it.

Yet he never imagined that his future self would become one of those tall people.

“Was it Yu’er Shen?” Li Huo Wang recalled the crumbling Great Qi, glancing at Qiu Chibao, who wore a white headscarf beside him.

Everything seemed connected to Yu’er Shen—especially the sun in Great Qi that had been bitten in half by a heavenly dog.

“Not just Yu’er Shen. If there were only one, it’d be easier,” Ji Zai’s words cast a shadow over Li Huo Wang’s mind.

“What else? Where did they come from? What do they want?”

“I can’t tell you. First, if I told you, they’d know about you. Second, your future self didn’t tell your present self.”

A flicker of bewilderment crossed Li Huo Wang’s eyes. He couldn’t understand what this man was talking about.

“You want me to help you seize the true and false heavens, but you’ve got to tell me what to do next!”

“You might start with Bei Feng. Find the hidden heart of the Empress, eliminate them, and leave the rest to me.” With those words, the Celestial Official’s body gradually faded like yellow sand.

“Damn it! Now you say that?! Bei Feng was just arrested by the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau! With how much you’ve been watching me, how could I possibly get near him again?”

But Ji Zai no longer seemed to hear him. Frustrated, Li Huo Wang lay down in bed and closed his eyes.

Though reluctant, Li Huo Wang understood—he had no choice. This matter concerned his future self, and the future of the Great Liang.

Whatever the future held, gathering strength now was always a wise move.

Even if he couldn’t save the whole world, at least he could save those he cared about.

“Ji Zai isn’t reliable. I’ll have to find another way… perhaps… there’s another path. I need to think carefully…”

That night, nothing stirred. Few people knew what had happened.

It was New Year’s Eve, after all. Most were focused on celebrating the holiday and watching the Spring Festival Gala, paying no attention to others.

Though others didn’t know, the prison ward supervisors certainly did. Their knowledge showed in Li Huo Wang’s treatment—he finally had his shackles removed.

But what made Sun Xiaoqin even happier was something else.

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Next chapter update at 00:01.

(End of Chapter)