Chapter 968: Conversation

Chapter 968: Conversation

Within a secluded courtyard of the Shangjing Imperial Palace, black and white chess pieces lay scattered across the ground, and save for Li Huowang’s heavy, ragged breathing, there was no sound at all.

As Li Huowang’s expression twisted into one of increasing ferocity, the world around him seemed to lose its tether, shifting uncontrollably as various figures and scenes flickered in and out of existence.

Suddenly, Li Huowang jerked his head up to glare at the gloomy, overcast sky, his tongue pressing against his teeth as he roared into the heavens, "Great Nuo! Tell me, what exactly do you want from me!"

"I have no other demands! I only want them to live! I just want them to live! Why, in the end, does it always have to be like this? What do you want me to do!"

As his roar echoed, distant thunder rumbled deep within the dark, roiling clouds.

Li Huowang continued to scream at the sky, but the unanswered fury eventually withered into a sound of profound, hollow grief.

Even during Li Sui’s funeral, his mind had been a blur; only now did the realization finally shatter him: Li Sui was dead, truly dead, and his daughter would never return.

"Have I not done enough? Have I not done enough? Then what do you want me to do! Why, no matter what I do, can I never stop them from dying one after another? What did I do wrong? Where did I take the wrong step?"

Li Huowang reached into his robes and pulled out a handful of powder; under his gaze, the dust coalesced rapidly, forming a clay figurine—the very one Li Sui had given him before she died.

Tears streamed down Li Huowang’s face, dripping onto the ground, until a tentacle reached out, gently wiping the moisture from his cheeks.

Li Huowang looked up, trembling, and saw Li Sui standing before him, smiling brightly, holding three clay figurines of her own. "Father, look, this is you, this is Mother, and this little one is me."

Though he knew well that this Li Sui was merely a construct of his own fractured mind, Li Huowang could not contain himself, reaching out to pull her into a desperate, crushing embrace.

But when he opened his arms again, he found only emptiness.

Watching this, Gao Zhijian let out a deep sigh. He stood up, helped Li Huowang into a chair, and began to stroke his back, over and over again.

"Brother Li, you did nothing wrong. This is not your fault. The world is simply like this. Think of our master, Danyangzi."

"Did he choose to become what he was? No. It was this world that forced him into it. And this world is far more wicked than Danyangzi ever was."

Gao Zhijian sighed again. "But what of it? The first thing a person does upon entering this world is cry, because we are born to suffer. All living things endure pain; even I, an emperor, cannot escape it."

Li Huowang slowly pulled himself from his stupor and shook his head violently. "No, I do not like Danyangzi, and I do not like this world!"

The clay figurine in his hand was crushed into a ball, then kneaded into a flat disc. "Disgusting! This world makes me want to retch!"

"And what if you don't like it? This world has always been this way."

"Wrong! This world should not be like this! It is this world that is wrong!" Li Huowang looked up once more, his eyes devoid of sorrow, burning instead with an intense, unyielding defiance. He gritted his teeth and said, "You want me to submit? It won't be that easy!"

"Unless I am dead, do not think for a moment that I will stop! One day, I will reshape this world into what I want it to be!"

"I will not only become a Siming; I will become the Great Siming! The Great Siming moves forward without hesitation! I will bring them all back! I will!"

No matter how fantastical his words sounded, Li Huowang believed them with every fiber of his being, a conviction he would carry forever.

Hearing this, the tear-streaked Qiu Chibao clutched her child and shrieked, "Ahhh! Ahhh!" She danced and leaped in her madness until she began to laugh, and amidst that laughter, her body turned translucent and vanished.

With that, the illusions surrounding Li Huowang dissolved, leaving the space empty and desolate.

As his emotions ebbed, Li Huowang stared at the void, his breath coming in short gasps. Not only was Qiu Chibao gone, but with Li Sui’s death, the Xuanguang Mirror she had given him had also vanished, and the strange transformations upon his body had ceased.

Gao Zhijian frowned, mulling over Li Huowang’s words before speaking. "Brother Li, whatever you intend to do, the trouble with Fushengtian must be resolved."

"Only by ending the crisis of Fushengtian can we earn the right to speak of what comes next."

He knew his brother was in a fragile state, but some matters could not wait, especially those concerning the fate of the entire realm.

"I know, of course I know!" A fierce hatred burned in Li Huowang’s eyes. Even without Gao Zhijian’s reminder, he was locked in a blood feud with the Siming of Fushengtian; it was because of them that Sui had been killed.

"Although they planned to ambush us, planted traitors, and mobilized their forces to wipe us out in one stroke..."

"We need not panic! It is they who should be afraid! They suffered a loss this time—a far greater loss than ours! We have dealt them a blow that truly hurts!"

Hearing this, Gao Zhijian and Huangfu Tiangang were bewildered, clearly unable to grasp what Li Huowang was talking about.

Gao Zhijian asked with hesitation, "Brother Li? Has your illness not been cured? Why are you now..."

"I am not ill!" Li Huowang shouted. "I am Jizai, and Jizai is me! For the sake of convenience, I do not believe I am the Seven Wheels; as long as I believe I am, I can connect with Jizai! And I know exactly what happened inside Baiyujing!"

"No! That is not right either. That was not Baiyujing! It was a projection of Baiyujing! Through this projection, I can see everything that occurs there!"

Li Huowang then shared everything he knew with Gao Zhijian and Huangfu Tiangang; though they struggled to comprehend the details, they grasped the gravity of his claim.

"Truly?" Gao Zhijian was stunned. If he could gain intelligence on the movements of the Baiyujing Siming through Li Huowang, it would be a massive advantage.

But then, a flicker of doubt crossed his gaze as he looked at Li Huowang. "Brother Li, this is a matter of great importance. Are you certain this is real, and not merely a delusion born of your affliction?"