CH 423

Led by Nangong Yun, Li Huowang arrived outside the Liang Mansion where Zhuge Yuan was. Li Huowang's excellent eyesight allowed him to see Zhuge Yuan painting on the second floor, but he couldn't see any other people from Da Qi for the time being. He wondered if they were in another room or if they had gone out.

"Nangong, isn't Zhuge Yuan a wanted criminal from the organization? Why is he still allowed to stay here? Why don't we just capture him and take his powerful artifact?" Li Huowang asked, expressing his doubts.

Nangong Yun furrowed his brows slightly and shook his head. "Now is not the time to provoke him. The emperor has issued an order, and most of the members of the organization have gone to the palace. We are short on manpower. If we were to deal with Zhuge Yuan and the Zuo Wang Dao takes advantage of the situation, it would be a big problem."

"But we should deal with the Zuo Wang Dao first. At least this storyteller won't help those deceitful scammers."

After saying this, Nangong Yun prepared to leave. "Take care, Li Huowang. As long as you don't provoke Zhuge Yuan too much, you will definitely come back alive. Generally speaking, if you don't have ill intentions towards him, he won't do anything to you. Remember not to emit any killing intent."

"Thank you, Nangong!" Li Huowang thanked Nangong Yun for his guidance and turned around, walking towards the Liang Mansion in the distance.

Just as Li Huowang passed by the gate with stone drums on both sides, the door behind him suddenly closed with a loud bang.

Li Huowang swallowed hard and walked through the front yard with heavy steps, heading towards the house.

After Zhuge Yuan finished painting and the doors and windows slammed shut, the two of them smiled at each other.

"How did it go?" Zhuge Yuan continued painting the emerald landscape on the table.

"Thank you, Zhuge brother. Everything went according to plan. It won't be long before they start fighting. Now we just need to worry about the Zuo Wang Dao hearing the news and leaving the capital early."

"Don't worry, Li brother. They are not afraid of death, so why would they be afraid of this? The entire Zuo Wang Dao is here. Unless something earth-shattering happens, they won't leave."

"That's true." Li Huowang picked up the tea next to him and took a sip. He didn't care about what the Zuo Wang Dao would do next. As long as the Heavenly Supervisory Bureau was there to support him, as long as he wasn't the target, it would be fine.

"Zhuge brother, I have been pushing everything onto the Zuo Wang Dao. After today, we probably won't see each other again. There are too many spies in the city, and the Heavenly Supervisory Bureau will definitely be suspicious."

"It's alright, it's alright. I can handle things in Da Qi by myself. But what about you? If you really encounter Beifeng, can you handle it?"

"Don't worry, this time is different from the previous ones. It's not a one-on-one fight. The main force against the Zuo Wang Dao is the Heavenly Supervisory Bureau. I just need to take advantage of their injuries and launch a surprise attack."

"I see... Well, extend your hand. I'll cover it up for you. It will be more convenient when you take action."

"Huh? How do you cover it up?"

A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled.

When Li Huowang raised his hand, Zhuge Yuan used the tip of his brush to write three characters in black ink on his palm. The characters transformed from "Li" to "Ji" with the addition of a horizontal stroke. Then, he quickly made a few strokes on the character "Fire," changing it to "Disaster." Finally, Zhuge Yuan wiped away the character "Wang" on "Huowang" and placed it as a signature on the painting on the table.

"Alright, with this, as long as you cover your face, no one will be able to tell that you are Li Huowang."

Li Huowang was amazed by this ability. It was the first time he had seen something like this.

Looking at the characters "Ji" and "Disaster" in his hand, Li Huowang nodded. "I can't thank you enough, Zhuge brother. Don't worry, when I find Beifeng, I will definitely come back to help!"

Looking at Li Huowang in front of him, Zhuge Yuan asked, "Li brother, my matter is not urgent. If you encounter any trouble in the capital, remember to divine for me. I can help with both big and small matters. Don't die."

Upon hearing this, Li Huowang stopped in his tracks and gradually sat down on the nearby meditation chair, his expression becoming increasingly complex.

"Zhuge brother, to be honest, I have encountered something here. But I don't need your help. I just want you to judge what I should do in this situation as a friend."

"Oh?" Zhuge Yuan put down his brush. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

Li Huowang clenched and relaxed his hands alternately. Finally, after taking a deep breath, he said, "Zhuge brother, do you know if the other world over there could be real?"

Li Huowang voiced his confusion and revealed his speculation that the gold might have been created by himself. He wanted to hear how others would judge whether the other world could be real.

Or perhaps Li Huowang didn't expect any feedback from Zhuge Yuan. He just wanted to confide in a friend.

He couldn't talk about this with anyone else because anyone who heard this would think he had encountered a madman. But Zhuge Yuan wouldn't, because Li Huowang knew that they were kindred spirits.

After Li Huowang finished speaking, the room fell silent. Zhuge Yuan didn't immediately speak but thought carefully. Then, he slowly said, "Li brother, do you know? I once had a confidante, a confidante in Da Liang. But in Da Qi, she was just a concubine of an official."

"I once tried to change myself and force myself to believe that Da Qi was false and Da Liang was real." Zhuge Yuan's voice carried a hint of emotion as he looked at a painting of a lady on the wall.

"But things didn't go as I wished, she eventually left me, because Da Qi is indeed real, it can't be faked, and the fake can't be made real."

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

"Fish, I desire it, and bear's paw, I desire it too; but I can't have both." Zhuge Yuan started to draw again.

"Brother Li, as the sage said: one cannot have both fish and bear's paw. Not to mention my Da Qi and Da Liang, even your reality and illusion, from the destiny controller above the heavens to the ordinary people, it's all the same."

Li Huowang stood up from the meditation chair, cupped his hands in thanks, "Thank you, Brother Zhuge, it feels better to talk to you. It's really hard to keep everything bottled up inside."

After finishing his words, Li Huowang turned and walked downstairs, "Brother Zhuge, if all the problems are solved in the future, I hope we can still be like before, drinking tea and playing chess in your bamboo house."

After Li Huowang pushed the door open, Zhuge Yuan's voice came down from the second floor. "Drinking tea is fine, but let's forget about playing chess. To call you a bad chess player would be a compliment."