The Unruly Immortals

"Here, take these, made by Brother Kunxian," Zhuge Yuan handed ten pills to Li Huowang, who was nibbling on dry rations.

"What are these?" Li Huowang asked as he took them.

"Brother Li, don't you know how to make elixirs? How can you not recognize Fasting Pills? These can replace meals, and they also greatly reduce the need to relieve oneself, making them very suitable for travel."

Li Huowang picked up one and examined it carefully against the sun. It looked like a dark brown pill, the size of a pinky nail, and had a strong herbal scent.

"Brother Zhuge, we'd better not move on Little Oblivion Path for now. We can cast a long line to catch a big fish," Li Huowang said in an extremely soft voice as he inspected the pill.

Although he was unclear about the current situation, it didn't affect Li Huowang's goal at all—to deal with Bei Feng.

"Don't worry, I am careful," Zhuge Yuan reassured him.

Li Huowang's hand loosened, and the Fasting Pill rolled to the side of the wagon wheel. In a flash, Mantou rushed over.

But after licking the surface of the Fasting Pill, Mantou showed no interest in eating it and just squatted down, continuing to tilt its head and look at the dry ration in Li Huowang's hand.

Pocketing the remaining Fasting Pills, Li Huowang's expression became serious as he earnestly asked Zhuge Yuan beside him, "Brother Zhuge, do you have a moment now? There's been a question on my mind for quite some time."

Zhuge Yuan, faced with Li Huowang's question, didn't seem surprised at all. He had long noticed what his companion wanted to inquire about but it hadn't been convenient to ask in the presence of others.

"I guess what you really want to ask is whether this is Da Liang or Da Qi, right?"

Li Huowang nodded slightly. When he had gone to the Astrological Bureau to look up Zhuge Yuan's information, it hadn't specified these details, which had caught him off guard.

With a "snap," Zhuge Yuan unfolded his white folding fan and spoke with a somewhat emotional tone, "These matters are tied up with those above us. For your safety, I truly can't tell you too much. But what I want to say is, Da Qi has always been there; it's Da Liang that's the false one."

"Da Liang is false? Everything I experienced in Da Liang is fake?"

Li Huowang felt an urge to laugh. What then were all the trials he had faced in this vast world—were they just illusions like those from Huan Jue? Was the slaughter of Bai Lingmiao's entire family also false? If it had all been false, that would have been good.

Li Huowang patiently continued, "Brother Zhuge, since you've been to so many places, you must have seen people from Da Liang. Even your Heart Turbidity corpse was snatched from the Da Liang Astrological Bureau. Why do you say that Da Liang is false?"

"Ah, Brother Li, this 'false' is not the same as the other 'false.' Take the noodle seller we met before—in your eyes, he is from Da Liang, but in my eyes, he is from Da Qi. Now, if neither of us looks, what nationality do you think he is?"

"But he is from Da Liang! He's not from Da Qi at all!"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because he was born in Da Liang, grew up in Da Liang, and will grow old in Da Liang. That's why he is considered a Da Liang person."

"On the contrary, in my eyes, he was born in Da Qi, grew up in Da Qi, and will grow old in Da Qi. That's why he is considered a Da Qi person."

"Brother Zhuge, are you saying that everyone you see is from Da Qi? But why can only you see Da Qi, while everyone else sees Da Liang? You must have considered this question, right?"

"Not at all. In my eyes, what others see is also Da Qi. I know what you all are seeing, but what you see is incorrect, and this mistake must be rectified."

"Ah, why is it so hard to reason with you? This is clearly--" Gazing into Zhuge Yuan's eyes, Li Huowang slowly choked back the words that had reached his lips, suddenly feeling that arguing with the other party was a colossal waste of time.

"Fine, the noodle seller is a Da Qi person. You win."

"Ah, you still don't trust me, do you? Well, I won't argue with you anymore to avoid causing a disturbance. You just need to watch from now on, and after you've seen enough, you'll know whether the Da Qi I speak of is real or not."

Zhuge Yuan left, his spirits still seemingly low, disappointed that Li Huowang didn't believe in the existence of Da Qi.

Meanwhile, Li Huowang furrowed his brows, pondering over the various possibilities presented by the current situation.

Xinsu, Heart Pan, and Heart Turbidity—none of these three were simple characters. Regardless of what Heart Pan had gained from that so-called Three Bodies relic, the first thing was sure, this bizarre transformation must have been caused by Zhuge Yuan.

As for how such a transformation had been triggered, he was still clueless.

"Could it be that Zhuge Yuan has traveled across a thousand years from the past Da Qi to a thousand years later in Da Liang? But that's not right either; could there really be an old noodle-selling couple in these places both a thousand years ago and a thousand years later?"

The noodle-selling elder had changed his face three times in front of him, as if there were always two distinctive noodle stalls in existence. Yet he himself had been standing right beside him, absolutely certain the noodle vendor hadn't changed at all.

It was as if the entire world was putting on a play but holding two different scripts—one for the ordinary people like himself and another for Zhuge Yuan.

Musing on these matters, Li Huowang couldn't help but recall the words of the Record of Appearance when they were at the Buddha Bone Temple.

"Is this the strange yet seemingly logical event he spoke about? Do such occurrences happen frequently around Heart Pan?"

"If the Fate Commander governs decay, and Bahu governs pain, then what on earth does this blasted Three Bodies relic govern? Why could it instigate such a bizarre transformation in Zhuge Yuan?"

Li Huowang knew it was best not to dwell on such matters to avoid courting disaster, but when confronted with the issue, he could not help but think about it.

"Forget it, forget it," Li Huowang shook his head to clear the dizzy feeling, deciding to just believe whatever Zhuge Yuan said. After all, it had nothing to do with him.

His only goal was to capture Bei Feng.

Zhuge Yuan had killed a fortune-seeker, and the Oblivion Path surely would not let the matter rest. As long as he stayed by Zhuge Yuan's side, there was a good chance of capturing Bei Feng.

The sound of "tap tap tap" footsteps arose, and Li Huowang looked up in the direction of the noise to see a young man wearing a white robe, noticing the faint smell of blood on him.

"I am Xia Risheng, and I pay my respects to Official Li."

"What do you want?" Li Huowang asked, recalling that this man was a member of the Astrological Bureau of Da Qi, unsure whether he had come to snoop for information or for some other purpose.

"Official Li, like yourself, I am a follower of the Ao Jing Sect!" the young man excitedly exclaimed as he pulled open his clothing to reveal a body covered with downward-facing hooks.

"If you've got nothing else, you should go back; the road is still long ahead," Li Huowang cautioned, not actually being a true follower of the Ao Jing Sect, he feared engaging in too much conversation and giving himself away.

"I heard from Master Zhuge that you have undertaken the Cangqiong Ascension three times? Dare I ask if this is true?" The youth looked at Li Huowang with eyes filled with utter reverence.