The Unruly Immortals

Under the guidance of Nangong Yun, Li Huowang arrived outside the mansion where Zhuge Yuan was located. Li Huowang's exceptional vision even allowed him to see Zhuge Yuan painting on the second floor, but as for the other Da Qi people, he had not yet seen them. He did not know whether they were in other rooms or had gone out.

"Brother Nangong, isn't Zhuge Yuan a wanted criminal of the Astrological Bureau? Why is he still allowed to stay here? Why don't we just take him down in one fell swoop and snatch his powerful Magic Artifact?" Li Huowang voiced the confusion in his heart.

Nangong Yun furrowed his brows slightly and shook his head gently. "Now is not the time to provoke him. The Official has decreed, and most of the members from the Astrological Bureau have entered the palace, manpower is already tight as it is. If we were to deal with Zhuge Yuan and the Oblivion Path took the chance to strike in the process, that would be a big problem."

"But if we deal with the Oblivion Path first, the storyteller won't go help those full of evil deceit," Li Huowang said.

After saying this, Nangong prepared to leave. "Er Jiu, may you have a smooth journey, as long as you don't provoke Zhuge Yuan too much inside, you'll definitely come back alive. Generally speaking, if you have no malice toward him, he won't do much to you either, remember not to show even a hint of killing intent."

"Thank you, Brother Nangong!" After thanking Nangong Yun for his advice, Li Huowang turned around with a solemn face and walked towards the distant mansion.

Just as Li Huowang walked past the grand doors hung with stone drums, whoosh, the door behind him suddenly closed on its own.

Li Huowang swallowed hard and, with heavy steps, crossed the front courtyard and walked towards the inside of the house.

As Zhuge Yuan's brush lightly swept across the paper in a painting motion, the doors and windows slammed shut, and the two men exchanged a smile.

"How did it go?" Zhuge Yuan continued to paint the verdant landscape on the table.

"Thanks to Brother Zhuge, the plan is succeeding. It won't be long before they start fighting each other. The only concern now is that the Oblivion Path might hear about it and leave the Capital City ahead of time."

"Don't worry, Brother Li, if they are not even afraid of death, why would they fear this? The whole Oblivion Path is gathered, they won't leave without causing a major upheaval."

"True," Li Huowang nodded as he picked up the tea beside him and took a sip. As for what the Oblivion Path would do next, he was indifferent. The sky could be falling, and the Astrological Bureau would hold it up; as long as he was not the target, that was all that mattered.

"Brother Zhuge, I've blamed things on the Oblivion Path for the previous incident. After today, it's unlikely that we can meet again. There are too many eyes in the city, and the Astrological Bureau will certainly have many suspicions."

"No harm done, no harm done. I alone can resolve the affairs of Da Qi. As for your side, if you really encounter Xinsu and Bei Feng, can you handle them?"

"Don't worry, this time it's different from the previous occasions. I'm not alone; the main force in the fight with the Oblivion Path is the Astrological Bureau. I just need to wait for the moment he gets hurt and ambush to kidnap him."

"I see... then come, extend your hand and let me cover it up, so you'll be more at ease when the time comes to act."

"Cover it up? How?"

As Li Huowang raised his hand, Zhuge Yuan's brush lightly touched the palm of his hand and the characters for 'Li Huowang' surfaced.

Following this, the brush tip added a stroke across the Li character, transforming it into the character for 'Ji.'

Then the brush tip quickly folded a few times over the Huo character, and with an additional cover on top, 'Huo' was transformed into 'Zai.'

Lastly, Zhuge Yuan even erased the 'Wang' character entirely by smearing it, plucking it off, and using it as a signature on the painting on the table.

"All right, just like that, after you cover your face, no one will be able to tell that you are Li Huowang."

Li Huowang had never seen such Divine Skills before and was extremely surprised.

After looking at the two characters "Ji Zai" in his hand, Li Huowang nodded, "Thanks need not be spoken, Brother Zhuge, rest assured, once I find Bei Feng, I will definitely come back to help!"

Looking up at Li Huowang in front of him, Zhuge Yuan asked, "Brother Li, my matters are truly not urgent, but should you run into trouble here in the Capital City, remember to let me divine for you. I can help with both big and small matters, just don't die."

Hearing this, Li Huowang stopped in place, his expression growing more complex as he thought, before sitting down on a nearby Meditation Chair.

"Brother Zhuge, not to hide it from you, I really have encountered some troubles. However, there's no need for you to act; I just want you, as a friend, to help me judge what I should do about this matter."

"Oh?" Zhuge Yuan put down his pen, this sort of request was indeed something he had never come across before.

Li Huowang clenched and relaxed his hands repeatedly, and finally, after heaving a deep sigh, he said, "Brother Zhuge, tell me, is it possible that the world over there is real?"

Li Huowang spoke in a low voice of the doubts he had kept in his heart, revealing his speculation that the gold might have been conjured by himself.

Facing the possibility that the world over there could be real, he wanted to hear how others would judge it.

Or perhaps Li Huowang wasn't expecting any feedback from Zhuge Yuan at all; he just wanted to confide in a friend.

He couldn't talk about this matter with anyone else, because anyone who heard him would think he was a madman, but not Zhuge Yuan, for Li Huowang knew that they shared a mutual understanding of each other's afflictions.

After Li Huowang finished speaking, silence fell in the room. Zhuge Yuan did not speak right away but thought deeply before he slowly said, "Brother Li, do you know? Once, I had a dear friend in Da Liang, and in Da Qi, she was merely a concubine to a wealthy man."

"I once tried foolishly to change myself, to force myself to believe that Da Qi was illusory and that only Da Liang was real," Zhuge Yuan's voice fluctuated as he looked towards a painting of a lady on the wall beside him.

"But contrary to my desires, she still left me, because, indeed, Da Qi is real; the real cannot be fake, and the fake cannot become real."

"But what if? What if it's real?" Li Huowang clenched his fists.

"Fish and bear's paws are both desires of mine; however, I cannot have them both at once," Zhuge Yuan began to draw once more.

"Brother Li, the sage says, 'One cannot have both the fish and the bear's paw at the same time.' Let's not even talk about my Da Qi and Da Liang; even your reality and illusions are the same. Whether it's the Fate Commander above the heavens or the common people below, it's all the same."

Li Huowang rose from the Meditation Chair and bowed his hands in thanks, "Thank you, Brother Zhuge, talking to you has made me feel much better. It is truly unbearable to keep it all to myself."

Having said this, Li Huowang turned and walked downstairs, "Brother Zhuge, if everything is resolved later on, I hope we can be like before, drinking tea and playing chess in your bamboo hut."

After Li Huowang had opened the door, Zhuge Yuan's voice came down from the second floor, "Drinking tea is fine, but forget about playing chess. Calling you a lousy chess player would be an overstatement."