The Unruly Immortals

"History? The past? Da Qi, Da Liang?"

Li Huowang listened in shock as Zhuge Yuan said these words, which were even more astonishing than finding out he was Hong Zhong. "Is that possible? Can things that are already destined be changed just like that?"

"Why is it impossible? If the history books of Da Qi can be falsely dominated by Da Liang, why can't your past be changed?"

In fact, this was exactly what Li Huowang was worried about. Although Zhuge Yuan had not harmed him, some of the things he knew might not be true.

Li Huowang was about to say something else, but then he thought again, if all this were true, didn't it mean that he was not Hong Zhong? That his world on that side was real?

"But...." As Li Huowang thought about this, his head suddenly stalled. "If I truly am Hong Zhong, then that side must certainly be false.

Yes, but I clearly wasn't Hong Zhong in my past, so is the world I now know on that side true or false?"

"Brother Li? Brother Li, are you alright?" Seeing Li Huowang startled and unmoving, Zhuge Yuan asked with some concern.

"It's fine, let him be. You might not know, having just arrived, but this lad often gets lost in his thoughts and talks nonsense." The Oblivion Path's Huan Jue teased from the side.

However, just as he was speaking, Li Huowang immediately asked, "Brother Zhuge, are these things you say true? Can a person's past truly be changed?"

After all, this was too shocking. Could someone really alter a person's predestined past? What kind of existence could accomplish that?

Zhuge Yuan nodded, "Common folk surely can't do it, but think about it, Doumu was with you at the time."

As the Fate Commander who governed the Yin and Yang of the Heavenly Dao, such an extraordinary deed seemed entirely logical. Yet, there was one issue Li Huowang couldn't figure out. "Brother Zhuge, why would it do that?"

"It wouldn't surprise me if it had struck me dead, but why would it go to such lengths to fabricate a past for me as Hong Zhong?"

Even if it was the Fate Commander, surely there must be a reason for everything it does, right? Could it be like the Oblivion Path, giving me a past as Hong Zhong just for a lark? But that isn't the least bit amusing.

This question seemed to stump Zhuge Yuan as well; he pondered for a moment and then slightly shook his head. "This young one does not know, but no matter how you look at it, you can't possibly be Hong Zhong. If you really were Hong Zhong, I would have noticed the first time I saw you at the Buddha Bone Temple."

Indeed, Zhuge Yuan could discern the truth about Oblivion Path and, rifling through the memories that had surfaced in my mind, I appeared to lack any overly celestial disguising abilities that could deceive Zhuge Yuan.

"Brother Li," Zhuge Yuan spoke earnestly, his expression becoming too serious.

"You can put aside the matter of your feigned cultivation for the time being. This past of Hong Zhong is your top priority right now. I don't think such a matter is without any dangers. Doumu did all this for sure with some purpose."

"No, no, no, since I already know that the past of Hong Zhong is fake, this matter, which now poses little harm, can be set aside for later."

Li Huowang interrupted him and remounted his horse, his eyes shining.

"In my memories as Hong Zhong, I have seen a true Cultivation Technique! A real Cultivation Technique, no matter what I have to do in the future, I must get my hands on it first!"

"Oh? Does Hong Zhong truly have it? Where?" Zhuge Yuan was equally surprised.

"He hid it in a very secret place; I'm going to retrieve it now."

So that no one else would find it, Hong Zhong had deliberately placed it far away, which meant traveling several hundred miles. In a small town on the street of Jiangnan Road in Da Liang, Li Huowang walked beside his horse, leading Mantou and strolling down the side of the road.

Today, the weather is damp and cold, with a chilly wind blowing; and though it's night, there are quite a few people by the roadside burning yellow paper within white circles, most of them at crossroads.

Only then did Li Huowang realize that it is already Qingming Festival, and he had been in this world for over a year now.

As he walked, indignant curses gradually began to drift from the distance.

"I strike your vile head, may you be breathless and dazed every day, always shaking your head in distress;

I strike your villainous face, may your whole family go mad, forever lowering themselves;

I strike your evil eyes, may you always meet misfortune, getting chopped daily;

I strike your wretched ears, may you suffer festering sores and use your fingers to wipe the filth;

I strike your malicious mouth, may your breath stink like fart, as others freely pass through your front gate..."

Alerted by the sound, Li Huowang looked over and saw an elderly woman, who looked to be in her seventies or eighties, sitting on a small wooden stool, fiercely slapping a palm-sized yellow paper effigy with her shoehorn.

Upon hearing the sound of hooves, the old woman didn't rush to look up; she just set her price while continuing her beatings. "Cursing an effigy once costs two hundred wen, don't think it's too expensive, mine is more effective than others! If you don't believe me, go and ask around!"

Li Huowang, eyeing a mole with hair on her chin, said, "Instead of cursing, how about we play mahjong? One for me, one for you, and one for your daughter-in-law. The three of us can play."

The old woman was taken aback for a moment, but as she looked up and saw Li Huowang's appearance, her stingy face shook with disbelief before she quickly broke into a smile. "Sure! Definitely, let's go!"

With the old woman's enthusiastic invitation, Li Huowang soon found himself sitting at the mahjong table with her and her plump daughter-in-law.

The three of them looked toward the last empty seat as if waiting for something.

"Snap," a Hong Zhong tile was smacked by Li Huowang onto the center of the table. "We're one person short, why don't you draw them out?"

"Sure!" The two women quickly took out their brushes, inks, papers, and inkstones; one wrote on the front, while the other wrote on the back of a large sheet of xuan paper hanging in the air.

The black ink soaked through the xuan paper, sticking to each other, and this was the Cultivation Technique hidden by the Hong Zhong.

No matter where it was left, others could naturally find it if they searched; thus, Li Huowang hid it in the most secret place—within the memories of someone.

"Sit in meditation to calm the mind, loosen up and let it be natural. Lips lightly touching, with slow and smooth breathing. Hold your hands firmly, eyes gazing straight ahead. Gather the Divine Light, and reach the Heavenly Heart..."

Witnessing the content, Li Huowang's hands trembled slightly, as the seemingly light paper now felt immensely weighty in his eyes. He hadn't imagined that the Cultivation Technique he longed for in his dreams he would now hold in his hands.

Without almost any hesitation, Li Huowang immediately sat cross-legged, gripped his hands tight, and prepared to begin his cultivation.

"Brother Li, wait a moment; this might also be part of what Doumu has anticipated. Since it placed this Cultivation Technique in your memory, is it waiting for you to cultivate it?"

This statement abruptly made Li Huowang pause, his expression becoming complicated as he looked at the Cultivation Technique in his hands. "Are you saying that there could be risks in cultivating this thing?"

"Perhaps, but you must think carefully before acting; don't forget you're not Hong Zhong, you are Li Huowang, and that past is not yours."