Chapter 406 - You Capital
Li Huowang’s mind was in complete chaos as he looked down at his own map.
He had no idea what happened to his map.
It was one thing if the Twisted One’s ability affected only humans. He could at least explain it as some sort of hypnosis that affected people in a certain radius around the Twisted One, but why did his own map become a map of the Qi Kingdom?
What's up with the Twisted One's ability? Why is it so bizarre? Li Huowang was confused. Is the Great Qi from another parallel universe? Or maybe the Great Qi did not exist and was born from the Twisted Ones' ability?
“Junior Li, it’s getting dark soon. We have to leave soon, or we will have to camp outside,” Zhuge Yuan said, ushering Li Huowang into the carriage.
Li Huowang looked up and stared at Zhuge Yuan. “Senior Zhuge, can you tell me the truth? What is the Twisted One's ability? I really don’t feel like guessing it after all this while.”
“I can’t say it,” Zhuge Yuan said, using his fan to point at the sky.
“I’m not asking about the source. I'm asking about the bizarre things happening around you. I want to know because I don’t think I can get used to it,” Li Huowang asked.
“Around me?" Zhuge Yuan replied, "I've met people who would tell me that they're from the Great Liang and that the Great Qi had fallen to ruins years ago, just like you. However, I know that the Great Liang is fake while the Great Qi is real.”
“But the Qi Kingdom...” Li Huowang trailed off. He decided not to argue about it, as he could foresee the outcome.
“Fine, I'm not going to ask any more questions,” Li Huowang said, putting away his own map. “Let’s go to the capital of the Qi Kingdom, the You Capital!”
Their journey to the You Capital continued, and they failed to encounter any members of the Sitting Oblivion Dao. If it weren't for the incident in Xing Island, Li Huowang would think that the Sitting Oblivion Dao had given up on Zhuge Yuan.
Their pace became a bit quicker, all thanks to the carriages that they had plundered from the shop that tried to poison them. Although they were off the beaten path, they still arrived at their destination fairly early.
The red sun rose from behind the city wall.
Standing on the roof of the carriage, Li Huowang sighed and said, “We're finally at Shangjing—no, we're finally at the You Capital.”
Li Huowang looked around and saw people approaching them. He felt out of place as he stared at everyone crying, happy to see their loved ones once again.
“Daoist, today is the first day of the month. Don't forget to eat a chunk of the Black Taisui, or you'll go crazy again,” said the old monk’s illusion.
“I know.” Li Huowang took out his dagger and carved a chunk of the Black Taisui. He chucked it into his mouth and started chewing.
"What are you eating, Grand Elder? Is it going to help with your cultivation?” Xia Risheng asked. He had been stealing glances at Li Huowang, and he saw Li Huowang throwing something into his mouth.
Li Huowang ignored Xia Risheng and jumped down. He took hold of the reins and guided the horse toward the main city gate.
Li Huowang looked around the city to see if there were any differences, but the You Capital looked the same as Shangjing. There were still many people walking on the wide streets, and the shops he had seen in Shangjing were still around.
However, Li Huowang could see a few minute differences between Shangjing and the You Capital.
“Sir~ Come and play~” A soft voice entered Li Huowang’s ears. He turned around and saw a feminine-looking man. The feminine-looking man was wearing a see-through shawl that barely covered anything as he stood in a bamboo cage decorated with red flowers. The feminine-looking was in a provocative pose, too.
“Uhhh...” Li Huowang frowned while staring at the feminine-looking man covered in heavy makeup inside the bamboo cage. Wasn't this shop selling women? When did they start selling men?
“Hmph!” Qin Lao snorted with clenched fists.
Just then, two pale-looking plump men alighted from a carriage while holding hands.
They were far away, but Li Huowang still caught a whiff of their scent. It was the same scent as that Ji Xiang—a scent born from a strong perfume mixed with urine.
The two eunuchs ignored the gazes of everyone else as they held hands and entered the shop that was selling men. At the same time, an old scholar walked out of the shop accompanied by two beautiful men. They flanked the old scholar and stuck closely to him as they walked toward an ox cart.
One of the two beautiful men knelt on all fours, becoming a ladder for the old scholar to climb into the ox cart. Once the old scholar was in the ox cart, the two beautiful men entered it as well rather than returning to the shop.
Soon, the three disappeared into the distance.
“Ridiculous! This is all the fault of those officials! To think that such immoral acts are done in broad daylight in this city! They even have the guts to say that what they're doing is normal and respectable! Fuck them! They've colluded with those corrupt officials! The books they’ve read have been wasted on them!” Qin Lao roared.
Qin Lao was wheezing from anger. He found it hard to catch his breathing after his outburst, as he had just recovered from his injuries, after all. Everyone did their best to take him away to make sure that his stitch-up injuries wouldn't open.
Li Huowang stood quietly, seemingly waiting for something to happen.
When Zhuge Yuan was a certain distance away, the beautiful feminine-looking man in the cage became a woman. His appearance didn’t change, but his face became much softer and less angular.
The man had become a woman right before Li Huowang's eyes.
Li Huowang frowned and stopped an old man walking around to sell his firewood.
“Are we in the Great Qi or in the Great Liang?”
The old man thought that Li Huowang had a few screws loose.“We're in Shangjing, the capital of the Liang Kingdom. What are you talking about?”
“Hehe.” Li Huowang chuckled. His assumption was right. There was a certain range to the changes, and if anyone got close enough to Zhuge Yuan, they'd find themselves in another kingdom—the Great Qi Kingdom.
However, Li Huowang didn’t have the time or the knowledge to figure out the details.
Li Huowang had no idea whether the Great Qi was real or not. He also had no idea why this was happening. In the end, he chalked it up to the Three Ancient Ones and blamed them for the changes.
There was no need to spend that much resources to figure out Zhuge Yuan’s ability as a Twisted One. Li Huowang had no plans of doing so, as Zhuge Yuan’s wasn't exactly harmful to him.
“Let’s go!” Li Huowang jumped onto the carriage and grabbed the horse's reins, urging it gently to follow Zhuge Yuan and the others.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel