Chapter 923: Help

Chapter 923: Assistance

"That person was never Xuan Pin! Zuoqiu Yong simply hired someone to impersonate her based on her own description! She did this only to pry information from me; she never intended to help, she only wanted the secrets I held."

"Why is this happening? Why?" Li Sui’s body, under her control, stumbled to its feet. When she saw the two corpses on the ground, she was seized by panic.

"Why is this happening! Why did I kill my own brother and sister? My god, what have I done?!" No sooner had she spoken than she was startled by her own reaction.

She clutched her head, shaking it violently. "No, I am not him! I am Li Sui! I am Li Sui!"

She struggled to withdraw her tentacles from the man’s body, but found it impossible. As she looked down at the corpses, a wave of sorrow still washed over her.

Back in the sack, to survive, the Black Taishui’s instinct for consumption had fused this man’s body into her own, just as she had once fused with Mantou. He was not dead; he had become a part of her.

Li Sui wiped away her tears, glanced left and right, and immediately headed toward the cave entrance.

No longer naive, she understood there was no time for grief. She had to flee, for even a moment’s hesitation could cost her life.

These three worked for Zuoqiu Yong; if he discovered they had vanished, he would surely turn his suspicions toward her.

She had to reach a place of safety before that man caught up.

She was the Supervisor of the Imperial Observatory of Great Qi, and the entire agency answered to her; her life ahead would only grow more difficult.

"I cannot stay in Great Qi. Going to the Anxi Kingdom to the west is impossible—the journey is too long. Taking a ship out to sea is likely my only path to survival."

With this thought, Li Sui acted at once, heading toward the exit.

Yet, upon reaching the ruined temple, she froze. Why was her thinking so clear? It was so unlike her past self.

She quickly realized the answer: this clarity was not hers, but belonged to the man she had absorbed. He was now a part of her.

Just as when she had absorbed Mantou, she had grown closer to her father and developed a strange fondness for bones.

Li Sui tremblingly held Li Huowang’s clay figurine before her, staring at it with longing.

"Father, the Black Taishui’s assimilation is powerful. Everything of the assimilated becomes mine—even their intelligence is shared. But I know I cannot use this again. I fear that if I keep consuming, I will no longer be your daughter."

"Father, do not fear. I am smarter now. One hundred and eighty years from now, I will be even more useful in helping you." With that, Li Sui rushed out of the ruined temple, fleeing into the darkness.

Li Sui awoke from her brief daydream. She opened her eyes slowly, looking coldly at the three people before her—young and old, their eyes filled with terror and unease.

They wore mismatched rags, their bodies missing various limbs; it seemed some of these Heart-Elements were kept in captivity, harvested whenever the need arose.

"You are Heart-Elements. The things happening around you are caused by your very nature. But fortunately, there is now a way for you to shed this identity."

Li Sui’s words did not ease their expressions. Li Huowang understood their hesitation. "I know. To have survived this long as Heart-Elements, you would not trust anyone easily. No matter. Believe me or not, just follow me—you have no other choice anyway."

Li Sui led the three into the Imperial Observatory, winding through the complex underground passages until they reached Li Huowang’s meditation chamber.

As Li Huowang sat cross-legged, deep in cultivation, the room became utterly distorted, strange and bizarre phenomena manifesting around him.

The floor tiles would sink into a pool of spring water, only for the water to rise and form a weeping girl, who, within seconds, would petrify into a stone statue.

Li Sui walked over and tapped his shoulder, rousing him from his trance.

"What is it?" Li Huowang opened his eyes to look at his daughter.

"The Heart-Elements are here." Li Sui stepped aside, directing his gaze toward the three figures.

"Only three? This is not enough for me to ascend to the Seventh Wheel." Li Huowang’s brow furrowed; the pressure of Zuoqiu Yong’s imminent arrival made him anxious.

"Heart-Elements are not easy to find. Two were stock from the inner treasury, the other was found in a raid on a heretic’s home. I have already sent others to search."

"When you fought the Dice, you gave me so much Primordial Qi. Where did that come from?"

"Father, I spent a hundred years preparing that. We do not have a hundred years now. Besides, that was not meant for the Dice—it was to help Ji Zai return to his place."

Hearing this, Li Huowang knew she was right. The Dice had not been the key; Ji Zai was. Without him, they never would have survived the Dharma Sect.

Li Huowang sighed and stood up, walking toward the three. "What of other places? Are their Observatories searching for Heart-Elements?"

"I have ordered them to send any they find to the capital immediately, but there is no word yet."

Li Huowang stood before the three, studying them. "I am a Heart-Element too. I have experienced what you have. I will take the Primordial Qi and Divine Light from your bodies; it is for the best."

Seeing their severed limbs, he added, "I will spare you the pleasantries. Once you become ordinary folk, if you have nowhere to go, seek out a place called Niuxin Village. You can live out your days there, and no one will harm you again."

With that, Li Huowang looked at Li Sui. "Time waits for no one. Begin."

As Li Sui gave a slight nod, the army of "Speak-Nots," their heads strung together by tentacles, stumbled forward like a massive, fleshy spider.

Seeing this, the three Heart-Elements panicked, but before they could move, the army controlled by Li Sui easily reached into their bodies, extracting the Primordial Qi and plucking the Divine Light from their eyes.

As these were taken, the three withered instantly, as if their very life force had been drained.

As the army fed these essences into Li Huowang, his surroundings began to warp uncontrollably; his inner thoughts manifested in the air around him.

Li Huowang even felt reality collapsing, with fleeting visions of modern villas appearing in the void.

Daring not to be careless, he sat cross-legged, using the Divine Light to capture the Primordial Qi, pushing it desperately toward the Seventh Wheel.