Mutated Tao

Chapter 772: Plan

“How did Xuan Pin die? What happened to them while I was fighting Ma Tuo?”

Li Huowang wanted to know urgently. Did Xuan Pin and the others fight against the other Simings even though they were weak, or was it another ambush from the Dharma Sect?

Both scenarios were possible, but the former was less probable.

Xuan Pin was the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau. He clearly knew about the Simings' strength, and they were not idiots who would charge into the Baiyu Capital to fight the Simings.

Li Huowang was worried that the Dharma Sect had ambushed Xuan Pin. He never thought the Dharma Sect would have the power to both summon Ma Tuo to distract him and ambush Xuan Pin.

If that was the case, the Dharma Sect’s strength had far exceeded everyone’s expectations. They could swoop in and kill everyone if they wanted.

It would also mean that the Dharma Sect retreated not because they were defeated, but rather because they wanted to regroup and recover their strength. That way, they could destroy the Liang Kingdom in one fell swoop.

They really couldn’t lose now. Si Qi, Qing Qiu, Hou Shu, and the Liang Kingdom were all allied now. If they lost, the Dharma Sect would dominate the entire land, and they would end up like the Qi Kingdom.

The deputy chief did not reply to Li Huowang’s question. They whispered among each other while looking at Gao Zhijian from time to time to ask for permission.

“Let me tell you what happened. The deputy chiefs don’t know what happened because there were certain things that even Xuan Pin did not tell them.”

An unfamiliar voice came from the group of people. Li Huowang stood up and noticed a man sitting in the corner. The man was wearing an oversized Nuo opera mask.

Li Huowang recognized the massive Nuo opera mask depicting two distorted faces stacked on top of one another. It was the Chief of Hou Shu’s Surveillance Bureau, Zhang Tan. He had survived since he hadn’t gone with Xuan Pin.

“Xuan Pin observed earthly and celestial signs to predict that there would be chaos in the Baiyu Capital. He came up with a plan to use three Dragon Veins as the base of an array to help the Simings fight against god Yu’er. Don’t ask me how—I don’t know how he did it. Xuan Pin’s techniques are very mysterious.”

“Wait, which Simings did he try to help?”

“The Heavenly Mater, Ji Zai, Kui Lei, Doulao, Jiang Xiangshou, the Five Dhyani Buddhas, the Three Ancient Ones, Ba-Hui, and the Sacrificial God.”

“Wait a minute. Even Doulao is helping the other Simings fight against god Yu’er?” Li Huowang remembered that Doulao had been fighting against Ji Zai and wondered why it was helping now.

If that was true, he couldn’t imagine what was happening in the Baiyu Capital.

Zhang Tan didn’t answer Li Huowang’s question. “I didn’t follow them that day since I was guarding the Dragon Veins to prevent an ambush from the Dharma Sect. I also don't know what happened there.

“However, there were corpses of Dharma Sect members on the ground. I believe that god Yu'er informed the Dharma Sect about their location, allowing them to send people to disrupt the ceremony.”

“So,” Li Huowang clenched his fists, “the Dharma Sect ambushed Xuan Pin and the others while they were in the array? Is that why they died? Because they failed?”

“No,” Zhang Tan shook his head, “Xuan Pin and the others succeeded. They sacrificed themselves and now god Yu’er is dead.”

“Wait, what?!” Everyone in the inner palace stood up from shock.

They all knew that the Dharma Sect worshiped god Yu’er. If god Yu’er was genuinely dead, it was only a matter of time before the Dharma Sect crumbled.

“Wait, that’s not right!” Li Huowang’s voice calmed the others down. “There’s no reason for so many Simings to work together to defeat god Yu’er alone, especially since they also needed Xuan Pin and the others to help them!”

Zhang Tan nodded. “You are right. God Yu’er is dead, but the Dharma Sect has other patron gods too like Sir Arrogant Stone and the others still hiding in the darkness.”

Everyone deflated and sat back down.

Li Huowang took a deep breath. At least Xuan Pin’s sacrifice was not in vain. They killed god Yu’er in the process. While the situation is not looking good, at least there’s still a chance of overturning it.

One of the Lamas from the Antrabhara Temple stood up and whispered to Gao Zhijian after Li Huowang finished asking his questions. Gao Zhijian was shocked. “Is that true? Then please do so!”

“Did the Lamas have a method to defeat the Dharma Sect?”

Li Huowang drank his cold tea as he looked at the Lamas heading out to find someone.

“Senior Li, why are you wearing Xuan Pin’s robes?” Bai Lingmiao asked curiously.

Li Huowang felt the robes on his body and pondered before saying, “They’re thick and don’t burn up.”

Li Huowang touched the flowing runes on the red robes gently. “Xuan Pin is already dead, so he does not need them anyway.”

He wasn’t superstitious, so he didn’t mind wearing a dead person's clothes as long as they held value to him.

The robes could also shrink or enlarge freely, and there was the added benefit of fooling the Dharma Sect into thinking that Xuan Pin was still alive.

The Lama brought someone into the inner palace while Li Huowang placed his teacup down. The Lama had brought in an old man with white eyes. He held onto a white banner and trembled every time he walked forward.

Li Huowang stared without any reservation but found nothing special about the old man.

He was still thinking about what was happening when the blind old man kneeled on the ground and kowtowed to the direction Gao Zhijian was in with the help of a eunuch. The old man then took out an old tortoise shell scribbled with various runes from his bag.

The old man fished out several coins and threw them into the tortoise shell while he chanted mysteriously. He then shook the tortoise shell with the coins clinking inside.

Once he was done, he swung the tortoise shell downwards. Eight coins flew out, with six facing heads up and two facing tails up.

The blind man touched the coins with his wrinkled hands and revealed a joyous expression. He kneeled on the ground and started kowtowing in a random direction. “Your Highness! This is the divination of great fortune!”

“Oh my god!” Li Huowang pressed his temples with pain and stood up. “What the fuck are you guys doing? The situation is dire! Can you stop being superstitious? Can you really kill the Dharma Sect with your divination?!”