Chapter 376 - Surveillance Bureau
Li Huowang hesitated in the face of the crying Bai Lingmiao, but he eventually relented.
Li Huowang stared blankly as Bai Lingmiao gripped the purple-tassel sword. The pain in her eyes was soon replaced with pleasure.
The murderous Bai Lingmiao was back.
Li Huowang finally understood that the crux of the matter wasn't the killing intent that had pervaded Bai Lingmiao; the crux was permanent, and it was the fact that he had killed her entire family.
“Hehe.” Bai Lingmiao let loose a carefree and nonchalant laughter. Then, she bent over and picked up the comb before drenched it in vinegar. She sat down in front of the bronze mirror and combed her hair once more.
Li Huowang stared at Bai Lingmiao's back, and he finally let go of his obsession to treat her. He approached her carefully and hugged her from behind.
“No matter what, you will always be my Miaomiao,” Li Huowang muttered.
Bai Lingmiao shoved him away, and she glared at him before shouting, "Do you really think that I'll forgive you so easily? Have you already forgotten my question not too long ago? I asked you whether you truly liked Bai Lingmiao or you simply wanted someone who would listen to your demands!"
Bai Lingmiao hurled the comb away before storming off.
“Where are you going?”
“Why do you even care?! I’m going to look for another man to marry! I'm going to look for someone who deserves me! I'm not going to marry a paranoid man like you!"
Bai Lingmiao ran away. Li Huowang wanted to give chase, but something soft struck Li Huowang from behind and engulfed him. The Second Deity had just hugged Li Huowang from behind, and she pressed herself against him.
“Don’t worry, she's not going to do what she said,” the Second Deity said.
Li Huowang held the Second Deity's hand and kissed it. Then, he sounded dejected as he said. “It’s fine. Her departure is probably for the best. Anyway, just wait for me at Cowheart Mountain. Once my issue is resolved, I'll go back and look for everyone.”
The Second Deity rubbed her hairy face against Li Huowang’s neck before retreating. Li Huowang looked back and found that he was all alone in the room.
Li Huowang stared off into space for quite a while before walking outside and shouting, “Waiter! Bring me an urn of strong wine!”
The wine was soon delivered to the room.
Li Huowang quietly opened the wine and drank in big gulps. Li Huowang's senses had been heightened drastically by the Cang-Qiang Ascension that he had performed many times by now.
Unfortunately, the heightened senses had the unfortunate side effect of low alcohol tolerance, as Li Huowang couldn't even remember when he passed out. All he knew was that he was awakened by the crowing roosters from outside.
Li Huowang grabbed his head; the splitting headache made him feel dizzy. He stood up shakily and walked toward the window. Halfway there, however, he tripped over himself and fell face first on the ground.
Li Huowang stood up slowly and caught a glimpse of a black tattoo on the back of his hand. Li Huowang shook his head; it wasn't a tattoo—it was Li Sui’s wriggling tentacle.
I don’t have much time. Li Huowang had to remove his hallucination before Li Sui obtained full control of his body. Otherwise, he would become like his past self once more; he would be forever at the mercy of his hallucination.
Li Huowang would rather die than let that happen.
It was simply too agonizing to be unable to differentiate between reality and a mere hallucination.
Li Huowang opened the window, and sunlight struck his face. He gnashed his teeth and snarled at the sun before pumping his fist into the air.
“You motherfuckers want to torture me that badly? I'll fight to the bitter end to change my fate! COME ON! DO YOU WANNA KNOW WHO’S CRAZIER BETWEEN US?!”
Li Huowang jumped down the window and started walking toward his next destination—the prison. Once morning had truly arrived, Li Huowang had already returned the coffin and was already making a beeline for the Surveillance Bureau.
Li Huowang glanced at the six gates sandwiched between the two stone lion statues. He flashed his identity token groggily at the guards before walking into the stone plaza.
The plaza was huge, but there were only a few people. A massive celestial globe larger than a house was in the middle of the plaza. Astonishingly, it was made completely from stone!
Li Huowang looked around and walked to one of the smaller buildings in the south.
Li Huowang was instantly struck by the strong smell of ink upon entering.
A man holding several books turned to face Li Huowang.
“Hey, hey, hey, who are you? This is where we print almanacs, and outsiders are not allowed here,” the man said.
Li Huowang showed his identity token to the man. The man examined it briefly before pointing in the opposite direction. “You came to the wrong place. You're supposed to go in the opposite direction.”
“I came to the wrong place?” Li Huowang muttered and took a quick look at the building's interior, finding several documents hanging on the walls.
“The Surveillance Bureau sells the official almanac. Those who are caught illegally printing it will be executed, along with their immediate family members and spouses.”
Li Huowang nodded and bade goodbye before turning around to leave. He walked toward an empty-looking building. The massive metallic mask on the building had attracted his attention.
The mask was roughly three meters tall, and it was covered in green rust after being exposed to the elements for such a long time.
The mask looked similar to that unique golden mask; the only difference between the two was that the eyeholes had been replaced with protruding cylinders. The cylinders protruded from the eyeholes and were soaring into the boundless sky.
Li Huowang looked away and walked into the building.
The interior wasn't big, and it was roughly the same size as a classroom in the modern world. Surprisingly, the building was completely empty; there was just an empty square when Li Huowang walked in.
Just as Li Huowang was feeling confused, several gazes landed on him. He turned to where the gazes were coming from, but he couldn't see anyone. Li Huowang knew just then that he was at the right place and revealed his identity token.
Deep thuds echoed as a wooden wall transformed, revealing a hidden door. A skinny man walked out from the hidden door, and there was a blind black bird perched on the skinny man’s shoulder.
“Is this your first time here?” asked the black bird.
Li Huowang nodded. “I’m usually in Yinling City, and this is my first time in Shangjing. Greetings, Senior.”
“Follow me, and I will show you the path."
The skinny man walked into the hidden door with the black bird on his shoulder.
Li Huowang followed closely behind them and was surprised to see that the hidden passageway wasn't covered pitch black. The oil lamps hanging on the walls illuminated the path, and clanking noises constantly filled the passageway.
Li Huowang stared at the skinny man's back and decided to be a bit more proactive.
He had found it a good idea to do so in situations like these, so he said, “Senior, my name is Er Jiu, and I am from the Ao Jing Sect.”
“Sima Lan, from the Mo Family. No need to be so formal. You’re a part of the Surveillance Bureau, so we're considered half-brothers,” the black bird replied.
“Mo Family?” Li Huowang’s pupils constricted. It had been a long time since he last heard of the Mo Family's name. The Mo Family was a famous family with a deep history back in the modern world.
However, Sima Lan misunderstood Li Huowang’s reaction and explained, “Don’t worry, my family is from the Qi faction, not from the evil Liang faction.”
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