Chapter 408 - Emperor
Gong!
Gongs echoed outside, and a piece of solemn, grand music approached.
The Emperor of the Qi Kingdom had truly arrived.
Before Li Huowang could even do anything, the officials busy eating their meals with vinegar stood up with pale faces and ran to the door.
When Li Huowang reached the courtyard, he saw everyone, including Old Qin and Sir Liang, kneeling on the ground. The music got closer and closer, and the heavy stench of perfume pervaded the courtyard. The massive sedan with a rounded dome soon appeared before everyone's eyes.
The red-colored dragon engravings on the pillar of the sedan were covered in ribbons while curtains with motifs of dragons soaring across the sky covered the entire sedan. Most importantly, no one could peek into it.
Li Huowang thought that was the entirety of the sedan, but it got bigger and taller as if there were no end to it.[1]
Li Huowang saw more decorations: lanterns, dragon flags, round jade decorations, bells, and even saddles. Every decoration was made with care, but they were strewn haphazardly.
The massive and heavy sedan towered over everyone like a small mountain.
Even Li Huowang found the massive wooden structure to be quite oppressive. The sedan seemed like a massive infant corpse, sweeping across everyone in the courtyard from above.
The stench of the perfume soon became so thick that some people in the courtyard felt suffocated.
Li Huowang turned to Zhuge Yuan and was about to ask questions when red-robed guards descended upon the mansion and surrounded it.
Bald eunuchs appeared after the red-robed guards, wielding horse-tail whisks. They lined up in front of the guards, forming a barrier between them and the people in the courtyard. They stood silently in the darkness, their pale faces making them appear more like paper dolls than real people.
The music had stopped at some point, and a deafening silence descended upon the courtyard. Everyone didn't dare to even breathe.
Li Huowang stood in a corner, staring at the unfolding scene as if he were a passerby. His gaze soon landed on the massive wooden sedan, and he looked as if he were contemplating something.
“They said you guys are playing. Why did you not bring me along to play?” A childish voice echoed behind the curtains.
Blood drained out of everyone's faces, and those with a faint heart collapsed to the ground out of fear.
“What are you guys playing? Bring it out for me, so I can play as well." The same childish voice echoed, and a child emerged from the curtains. The child was wearing the Emperor's Crown and was clad in a dragon robe in a black and gold motif.
Just then, the massive wooden structure became like the body of a child, creating an utterly bizarre sight.
Li Huowang stared deeply at the child. His keen intuition roared at him, saying that he wasn't staring at a child. There was no way a six-year-old could have such a piercing gaze. Moreover, the child seemed to be scrutinizing everyone's flesh and bones rather than their appearance and demeanor.
Li Huowang's heart started to beat wildly against his chest as he started doubting himself. Zhuge Yuan has told me about this! Does this mean he has the power to transform his stories into reality? This sight is just too realistic for it to be fake!
Just then, the eunuchs finally noticed the two people standing in the corner rather than kneeling on the ground, and they roared, “How dare you two stand there when His Majesty is here! Why are you not kneeling?!”
Li Huowang decisively whipped out two talisman papers. Then, he bit his fingers open, using the blood to draw on the talisman.
He slapped both talismans on his knees before taking out his purple-tassel sword and running toward the massive sedan. Li Huowang moved so fast that he became a blurry shadow.
“You guys have been fooled! That emperor is fake! He’s a member of the Sitting Oblivion Dao!” Li Huowang roared, and his voice sounded as loud and as deafening as a detonated bomb.
The red-robed guards immediately fell in position and stood to block Li Huowang's path toward the massive sedan.
Meanwhile, Zhuge Yuan's expression changed, becoming solemn after a long time of nonchalance. He flipped his hand, and an old almanac the size of two palms appeared on the ground.
Zhuge Yuan then took out a brush and pointed it at the night sky.
The darkness of the starry night sky seemed to congeal into ink, covering the tip of Zhuge Yuan's brush.
The brush shining with starlight touched the almanac, and Zhuge Yuan wasted no time, writing swiftly—Year of the Wood Pig, Tenth Month, on the Day of Gold. Prohibited: Lies. Prohibited: Changing Faces!
Zhuge Yuan lifted his brush once more, and the words he had written followed the tip of his brush. Zhuge Yuan then thrust his brush toward the starry sky and the darkness that had congealed as his ink flew out of the tip of his brush, becoming one with the starry sky.
The yellow words then scattered throughout the starry sky.
The emperor and the eunuch's faces distorted instantly, astonishing the red-robed guards.
“Haha! I’ve been waiting for you to appear and you've finally appeared!” Li Huowang took out the pliers without hesitation and pulled out his teeth before scattering them into the air. Several playing cards then manifested on the ground, puncturing Li Huowang’s stomach.
However, no blood gushed out of Li Huowang. Instead, he melted slowly and eventually disappeared into the ground. The red-robed guards looked around, but they couldn't find him anywhere.
Moments later, the red-robed guards out of their confusion, but the red-robed Daoist was already on the mansion's roof. Before they could do anything, Li Huowang took to the air, jumping onto the emperor's sedan.
Li Huowang’s eyes were bloodshot as he glared at the "emperor."
His hatred and killing intent seemed to have consumed him as he used a flint to set himself on fire. A conflagration erupted, engulfing Li Huowang in the proverbial blink of an eye.
“WHAT MOTHER FUCKING MAHJONG TILE ARE YOU?!” Li Huowang roared.
Li Huowang was like a blazing kite lighting up the night sky, and the heat that he was radiating was so strong that the air seemed to distort around him.
The member of the Sitting Oblivion Dao masquerading as the emperor quickly retreated into the sedan.
However, it was too late. A blazing fire engulfed the entire wooden sedan; thick, black smoke soon rose, and a cacophonous din erupted as everyone came to their senses upon the terrifying sight.
“Come out! Where are you?!” Li Huowang roared, searching for the "emperor" amidst the roaring flames.
Just then, a shadow rushed past him, escaping the burning sedan.
“Think you can run away?” Li Huowang took out the rib bones that the Black Taisui had given to him and thrust them into his own abdomen. Every living creature in a certain radius around him felt the same excruciating pain.
The shadow let loose a cry of agony before falling into the flames.
The burning and bleeding Li Huowang endured the pain and approached the shadow. Grabbing the "emperor" by the shoulders, Li Huowang flipped the "emperor" around and saw that he had been tricked!
The "emperor" wasn't a human being but a mere puppet!
1. So basically a limo lmao ☜
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