The Unruly Immortals

Listening to Record of Appearance babble on, Li Huowang did not speak but continued to listen. If the other person was only talking about fabricated history, it would not have frightened Record of Appearance to such an extent. There had to be another reason.

"This man is very easy to recognize; he carries a fan with four characters on it, 'Born with Talent'. If you ever meet him, remember to stay as far away as possible. He is not someone to be trifled with." When he said this, Record of Appearance's eyes were full of dread.

Li Huowang thought for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Record of Appearance, sir, when you left the Buddha Bone Temple that day, you questioned me like that because Zhuge Yuan's abilities are very strange?"

"Mm," Record of Appearance nodded, "This person somehow has the ability to change fate."

"Change fate?"

"Not changing human fate, but heavenly fate. He has an old imperial almanac. Whatever he says is auspicious, will surely happen; if he says something is to be avoided, whoever does it will certainly be unlucky."

"Words followed by actions?!" Li Huowang was instantly shocked. He had seen a lot in his travels, but this was the first time he had encountered such divine skills.

If there was such a person who was benevolent towards him, that would be like having a powerful backer. But if, on the other hand, this person harbored ill will toward him...

After pondering for a while, Li Huowang spoke up again, "Record of Appearance, sir, does this person use his powers to do more good or evil?"

"How would I know? All I know is that nothing good ever happens when he shows up! Truly a harbinger of disaster."

After saying this, Record of Appearance, whose mouth had gone dry, picked up a cup of tea and took a sip.

"That's enough. I've already told you more than I should have. Just do your job well. You're not bad, kid. If you do well this time, I'll put in a word for you to move up inside the office when I get back."

"Thank you, Record of Appearance, sir." Li Huowang turned and left, his expression still grave as he glanced down at the wrapped spindle.

Although he had learned some information about Zhuge Yuan from Record of Appearance, he still did not know if the other's goodwill towards him was real or fake.

If it was real... that wouldn't make sense. But if it was fake... that made even less sense! What could his motives possibly be?

"Asking like this isn't enough. I need to find a way to understand this spindle, to figure out what it is first."

"But such things can wait. Finding Heart Turbidity for Record of Appearance and exchanging it for Bei Feng's information is the most important."

In that modest study, not long after Li Huowang had left, an old woman with graying hair emerged from behind a folding screen.

Although her face was covered in wrinkles, one could tell from her features that she must have been very beautiful when she was young.

The worried old woman asked Record of Appearance, "Master, can we rely on that man?"

"Alas, I'm not sure. That man came from far away to Da Liang, heaven knows where his roots lie. Reliable or not, we have to use him. We can't let the Capital City know that I've botched things!"

The old woman, anxious, approached Record of Appearance and cradled his jewel-laden hand.

"Hey, master, if it doesn't work out, why don't we retire? Living in fear every day, what good does prolonging our life do?"

"Ah, you make it sound so easy. It's not that simple."

Record of Appearance, his face bitter, pulled out a red handkerchief from his left sleeve and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"This is a big deal from above, work from the State Preceptor, and there might even be intentions from the Official family. Us being caught up in such an affair—we'd be lucky to come out of it unscathed."

The old woman gently embraced Record of Appearance, her voice tinged with a hint of pleading, "Brother, once this is over, let's go back, back to the six plateaus, back to the mulberry tree of our childhood to spend our old age."

"When we left the village, you told me you would make me happy, but honestly, wherever I am with you, I am the happiest."

Record of Appearance patted the old woman's body with his red handkerchief but didn't say a word.

Record of Appearance seemed very urgent; he had called for a meeting at the fifth watch of the day at the gate of Yinling City.

Thus, before dawn had even broken, Li Huowang was already awake. He first went to the stable and pulled back the wagon curtain, cutting off a piece of flesh from the writhing tentacled creature inside and wrapping it in cloth to save for eating on the road.

Afterward, he threw more flesh into the back of the wagon and began nailing down a wooden board.

Not knowing how long this journey would be, he decided it was better to nail everything down securely, just in case.

In a short while, under the hammering of Li Huowang, the wagon transformed into a large coffin.

Having completed all this, he placed his luggage on the horse's back, mounted the horse, and rode towards the city gates.

"Woof, woof!" Mantou, unsurprisingly, followed along.

"Keep a close watch on the wagon for me! If I hear you've been fighting with other dogs again when I return, I'll hang you up and stew you!"

In the early morning, aside from a few vendors preparing their stalls, there were barely any people on the streets; Li Huowang swiftly reached the city gate.

Hong Da and Tuoba Danqing appeared as expected, but to Li Huowang's surprise, there were two new faces.

If you included Record of Appearance and himself, there were six people in total, which reflected the opposing side's determined attitude.

These two newcomers, one was that surnamed Liu from Moon Gate, and the other was a shamanic dancer.

Li Huowang carefully examined the drum at the man's waist and was certain it was a shaman's drum, identical to the one Li Zhi had worn.

However, compared to Li Zhi, who lived like a beggar, this man was quite different.

Dressed in black fur, his face not only had broad flesh but also two slanted black scars, making him seem more fitting with a cleaver instead of a drum.

After exchanging greetings with the few others, Li Huowang looked at the man with the scarred face. "You're a shamanic dancer? Where is your Second God?"

The scar-faced man, arms crossed and leaning against a wall, glared back, "Who the hell are you to meddle in my business?"

When he saw that Li Huowang had already drawn his sword halfway from its sheath, the disciple from Moon Gate, Liu Zongyuan, hurriedly stepped between them to mediate.

"Hey, hey, hey—Brother Li, it's not worth it, really not worth it. Let's just give me some face, okay?"

After looking at Liu Zongyuan in front of him, Li Huowang pushed down with one hand, and the evil Qi on his body instantly dissipated.

"Let's go over there, don't make it hard for Record of Appearance."

Li Huowang might not give others face, but since Liu Zongyuan had helped him once before, he decided not to stoop to that other man's level.

Looking at the wooden mask on his face, Li Huowang asked him, "Brother Liu, how have you been recently?"

"It's been the same. Let's first help Record of Appearance through this difficult time. If he's not doing well, neither will we."

That was indeed true; they were all grasshoppers tied to the same rope. If Record of Appearance suffered a setback, the matters he promised Li Huowang would also fall through.

"What's the story with that man? Why did Record of Appearance want to recruit a fellow shamanic dancer? As far as I know, those shamanic dancers are generally no good."

"Sigh—You're being a bit too categorical there. Every trade has its master, and among shamanic dancers, there are some who are quite formidable."