Chapter 285 - Sounds of Hallucination
Li Huowang bowed to Lu Zhuangyuan. “Thank you for your service. Once you reach there, make sure that everyone gets to settle down properly. We will also join all of you once we are done with our mission.”
Li Huowang was fine with them heading off on their own because there were almost no bandits within the Liang Kingdom. If there were, then he wouldn’t have been fine with this arrangement.
“Master, since I’ve learned how to use some of the supernatural powers, let me follow you as well!” requested Lu Xiucai.
However, neither Lu Zhuangyuan nor Li Huowang wanted him to follow Li Huowang’s party.
Li Huowang glared at Lu Xiucai. “First, learn how to read and write. If you don’t know, then ask your father. He might not know much, but he at least knows some of them. You can only learn supernatural powers and techniques properly once you know how to read.”
After that, Li Huowang instructed Zhao Wu and Yang Xiaohai about some details.
“Senior Li, don’t worry. Even if my body is weak, with me guarding them, I can assure you that I will not let a single horse or a penny disappear,” said Zhao Wu.
Li Huowang wanted to say something else when he suddenly snarled and looked toward the empty space to his left.
“Senior Li, what’s wrong?”
Li Huowang’s face was sullen, but he soon cheered back up before saying, “Nothing. Now that everything is in order, you can depart.”
With that, both groups waved each other goodbye before going their own way.
Lu Juren held his son while speaking to his father, “Father, what do you think about the Young Daoist?”
Lu Zhuangyuan took one look at Zhao Wu and then whispered to Lu Juren, “There’s no need to worry about the Young Daoist. You can’t control what he wants to do. Rather than worrying about that, first worry about your son. If you have the ability, then you would better pour all of your attention into your son so that he can become an official. Then, our ancestors would be proud.”
“Father, why are you...” Lu Juren felt desperate while holding his son, but in the end, he didn’t say anything more.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang led two horse carriages as they crossed a small path.
Since there were so few of them, all of them could fit onto the horse carriage and there was no need for anyone to walk. This way they could conserve their strength as well.
Li Huowang was still thinking about the sound that he had heard just now. He already ate a piece of the Black Taisui yesterday; even so, he still heard that voice. This meant that the voice was not something that could be suppressed by the Black Taisui.
What’s going on? What’s wrong with me?
Li Huowang’s heart became more and more agitated as he thought about numerous scenarios.
Is Wang Wei using some medicine? Or did my illness get worse? No, I’m not a crazy person! This is just a symptom of the Strayed Ones! But... is this a good thing or a bad one?
Lost in his thoughts, Li Huowang clenched his fist tightly, until a pair of soft hands covered his own.
Bai Lingmiao didn’t say anything, and just sat beside him to soothe his agitation.
After a while, Li Huowang closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He reopened them as he tried to calm his heart.
Don’t worry. Those were just auditory hallucinations. It’s nothing serious. At least it’s only appearing from time to time and not affecting me. But... why did it start happening now of all time? Then again it is harmless. It seems that I will have to keep dealing with these kinds of issues from time to time. I will have to take care of them one by one just like the symptoms of a Strayed One. For now, I must pass this test. This can wait till after that.
After he finished composing his thoughts, Li Huowang turned to look at the others. “I didn’t have the time to talk about this before, but now that we have some time, I will explain about our enemies this time, the Sitting Oblivion Dao. To put it simply, they are a group of liars and tricksters with powers. You need to remember that they can change their faces, and so you have to be careful of who is approaching you; never let your guard down.”
All of them listened attentively to what Li Huowang was saying.
Before this, they had always been on the passive side because trouble found them first. But now, for the first time ever, they would be actively seeking out the enemy first. Everyone was excited yet nervous.
Li Huowang did his best to explain everything he knew about the Sitting Oblivion Dao to them. After all, the more they knew about them, the better their situational judgment abilities would be.
While they were listening attentively, they suddenly heard the sound of horses coming from the front.
Soon a row of strong warhorses separated Li Huowang and the other passersby from the center of the path,
“Aiya, I wonder who is coming?” Puppy was curious.
Through the gaps of the horse legs, Li Huowang saw the guards holding up a massive plate with the words ‘Make Way’ etched on it. Behind the main unit of guards were four guards that rang the gongs, followed by a group of feminine men.
Finally, behind the hundreds of feminine men, Li Huowang saw a massive carriage the size of a small house.
At this moment, a man wearing golden robes with a jade ring on his left thumb was sitting in the carriage. The chairs he was sitting on were all made with jade. He seemed to be the ruler of Yinling City.
Just as Li Huowang was examining the yellow banners marked with a four-clawed dragon, an old man beside him said to his grandson, “The Prince is patrolling the place. Quickly kneel down!”
Is that the Prince of Yinling City?
At that moment, Li Huowang saw the Prince snoring away in his chair. Beside him was a girl, fanning him.
The girl had the same blue porcelain markings. It was clear she came from the Exquisite Pagoda.
By the time Li Huowang snapped back to reality, he saw that everyone around him had kneeled down. Even Bai Lingmiao, Puppy, Chun Xiaoman, and Gao Zhijian did the same. This made him very conspicuous as the only person sitting on the horse carriage.
“How dare you not kneel?!” Several soldiers ran out from the prince’s entourage and surrounded Li Huowang. Then, without even waiting for him to speak, they directly drew their blades.
Li Huowang thought about it for a moment, and then revealed the identity plate given to him by the person from the Surveillance Bureau.
When the soldiers saw the plate, all of them were shocked before they quickly sheathed their weapons.
“Dear Sir, please excuse our rudeness!” The soldiers bowed to Li Huowang before leaving him alone.
Looking at their backs, Li Huowang suddenly felt repulsed by the fact that the Surveillance Bureau was making sure that royalties like the prince were all safe in their position.
Everyone else in this crazy world has changed, so why are the royalties like him still fine?
Li Huowang stared at the fat prince. “Get up and don’t kneel to him.”
After the Prince’s entourage was gone, their remaining journey was quite smooth. Nothing happened even as they reached Ganyuan Village.
The village was situated beneath a mountain. Blue roof tiles could be seen covering the entire area.
From the size of it, it was just a normal village, one that was no different than the others they had seen during their travels within the Liang Kingdom.
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