Mutated Tao

“Brat, don’t just study and follow the book's instructions. You won’t learn anything like that. Here, let me teach you how the Sitting Oblivion Dao deceives others.”

Li Huowang continued to drink his tea while looking at Liu Wan.

"Deceiving others is the lowest form of deceit," a man with shifty eyes explained to the young person standing before him. "A more advanced form is to allow them to deceive themselves."

He continued, “You need to make them reconsider their words and make them believe that they’re the truth. They will then believe every single lie we tell them, no matter how implausible it may sound.”

Just then, a frail old woman walked past the tea shop with a basket of vegetables.

“Look at her. Her husband has gone to the military and hasn't returned after ten years. Most people would’ve believed that their loved one had died, but she refused to believe that. She holds onto the hope that her husband will come back one day. This is how we can trick her and make her deceive herself. You don’t even need to know what her husband looks like. The more they cling to their obsession, the easier it is to deceive them. Watch.”

Liu Wan wiped his face with his hand. He changed his appearance to that of an old man with tattered robes.

Dang~ Liu Wan knocked on his bowl and approached the woman.

Li Huowang couldn’t hear what they were talking about from afar, but he saw Liu Wan say something to the old woman. The old woman let go of her basket and the vegetables fell out. She immediately hugged him and cried.

The two of them finally reunited and entered their house as they held onto each other.

A short amount of time passed before Liu Wan exited the house, once again looking like a beggar.

“See? It’s that simple.”

Li Huowang ate some peanuts as he said, “You didn’t even deceive her?”

“Who said I didn’t deceive her? She would give me free food for her entire life if I wanted to. Even if she were to die, her son would still let me live out the rest of my life in peace while providing food for me, assuming her son didn’t want to get scolded by the neighbors for being unfilial. This is called the cuckoo method. Some old, childless tricksters have used it to live the final moments of their lives in peace.”

Li Huowang started drinking from his cup. “Wouldn’t she eventually realize you’re a fake if you lived under her roof for a long time?”

“Oh? This is where the method becomes interesting. So what if she realizes that I’m a fake? Would she tell the others? Would she tell the others that the reunion with her long-awaited husband after ten years was a deceit, even after having slept with him for several months? She would feel humiliated if she were to tell others that not only did her husband not come home, but she also slept with another man! It would tarnish her husband’s family honor, and the village would kill her for it. She’d rather believe in a beautiful lie than face the tragic reality.”

“Wow, senior. You are a prick and a lowly livestock.”

“A livestock? We’re all made of flesh. We are livestock to begin with. Morality is nonexistent to us, though we get to deceive so many people thanks to it.”

Liu Wan put his tea down and said, “We are the Sitting Oblivion Dao. We need to deceive them with more elaborate tricks. The more people we deceive, and the more impact it has on the people, the more False Qi we get.”

“False Qi?”

“Yeah, though it has several names. The name itself doesn’t matter, but we call it the False Qi. With it, we can use the Sitting Oblivion Dao’s techniques, ranging from simple face-changing techniques to planting spies or living dolls. The more you deceive others, the more joy you get!”

“Is that so? Thank you for your guidance!” Li Huowang revealed a thirst for more power.

“But you have to remember that we are the Sitting Oblivion Dao. We are not deceiving others to get False Qi—we are doing it for fun! The more fun we have, the more False Qi we get! More importantly, we get to laugh our hearts out every time we deceive others!”

“Liu Wan, you’re right. We are in this world to have fun, which is why I joined the Sitting Oblivion Dao.”

“Oh? You’re very smart, but I think it’s too early for you to deceive me. I know you didn’t join it on your own accord. Those in the Sitting Oblivion Dao were deceived into joining it.”

Li Huowang remained silent.

Liu Wan continued, “Don’t worry, it’s not the end of the world. That’s also how I joined the Sitting Oblivion Dao. That’s also how Shai Zi came in last time.”

Li Huowang smiled. “These tricks are too crude for you, it seems. I just wanted to see how much False Qi I would get from tricking you.”

“Oh? If you needed False Qi, you should’ve told me from the start. I’ve already prepared the stage and just need a partner. Want to join me? You can get quite a lot if we pull it off.”

Liu Wan picked up his cup and drank his tea before he looked at Li Huowang. “Did you poison my cup while I was deceiving that old woman?”

“No,” Li Huowang said calmly.

The two of them smiled at each other, then raised their tea cups in a toast. Their tea splashed into each other’s cups as they clinked them together before drinking.

Liu Wan smacked his lips together. “Your poison is a little lacking. The women living in the mountains are more well-versed in poison.”

Li Huowang ignored Liu Wan and said, “Alright, I will follow you to see what you’ve prepared. Thank you for your guidance! What should I do to deceive them?”

“What do you mean deceive them? We are helping them.”

Li Huowang followed Liu Wan.

They walked on the clean street as they approached a more secluded area.

Li Huowang asked, “Senior, where are we going? Who are we helping?”

“We are going to help a certain good man. I should also tell you that the amount of False Qi we get differs from the type of people we deceive. Those who are illiterate yield the least amount, followed by those who can read a few words. People from the palace or officials come next, and finally, we have those within our own business. The greater the influence, the greater the False Qi we obtain.”

“Oh? Is that so? Then wouldn’t we get the most if we deceived an emperor?”

“Of course. How do you think our current Shai Zi became a Shai Zi in the first place?