Chapter 423: You there? The Goddess of Light is the most beautiful

A deathly silence fell; everyone held their breath.

The underground room's light was dim, yet even so, the shadow of the ventilation fan could be seen swaying on the wall—but now, it was replaced by the shadow of a head, and that eerie voice came from above.

"Xiao Yu, is there anyone else inside?"

Su Tianfu didn't know what he was standing on; from the ventilation fan's position, he peered inside, but due to blind spots, he could only whisper to the man behind the iron bars.

The man called Xiao Yu's face twisted in conflict; he knelt on the ground and bowed his head toward Su Tianfu at the ventilation fan:

"I beseech the Buddha!"

Qian Fu's eyes widened, and Qing Wanglai's expression grew tense.

"Only me."

Xiao Yu didn't lift his head, only bowed lower in reply.

"Is that so? Lying means swallowing a thousand needles." Su Tianfu's voice was gentle, but Xiao Yu shuddered all over.

Creak—creak—

Li Huowang could even hear the sound of his teeth clattering.

"Before the Buddha's face, I dare not!" Xiao Yu said again.

"Mm." Su Tianfu hummed, seemingly satisfied with Xiao Yu's tone, then added:

"I'll go find someone to fix the door, and bring you dinner later."

"Sigh, we're short-staffed. It's time to hire more people."

The shadow of the ventilation fan reappeared; the muttering faded, and after footsteps receded, the room remained silent for minutes.

"He's really gone this time." Qing Wanglai was the first to speak, looking at Xiao Yu: "Yu Sheng, are you alright?"

Yu Sheng lifted his head; the skin on his forehead was worn away, red and oozing blood.

"I am the immortal crane beneath the Buddha, not His mount."

A smile hung on Yu Sheng's lips, yet his eyes radiated despair and emptiness; he reached one hand through the iron bars, his gaze pleading:

"Save me! I'm not mad! I just can't tell anymore!"

He murmured, sometimes speaking to himself, sometimes letting out bird cries like a crane, and occasionally chanting "Amitabha."

Li Huowang involuntarily swallowed; he stared at Xiao Yu's conflicted face, and an invisible fear rose within him.

What am I afraid of?

I'm afraid of Su Ge?

That can't be right—he's my teammate, isn't he?

"Now you understand, don't you?" Qing Wanglai turned his gaze to Li Huowang and whispered:

"Those two are far more complex than they appear; their danger exceeds your imagination."

"The exiled dark family has become this—apparently the Lion Constellation aliens behind him have also crashed and burned. It's all over. The Centaur aliens are nearly ruling Earth," Qian Fu lamented.

"Little Li, you… sigh! Sigh! Sigh!"

Got it—they see Su Lin and Meng Qi as invaders too, and this Yu Sheng… could he be a projection of Yu Ershen?

Damn it, if it were me, I'd definitely bring over the torture kit from the other world and set it up for this guy.

"Li Huowang, everything you've seen here isn't real—just like what I told you before," Qing Wanglai pulled out a wire, fiddled with the lock on the bars, and pried it open:

"They appeared because of you, and they came because of you."

"Who are they?" Li Huowang asked knowingly, already wondering whether he should text and report this group of lunatics.

Qing Wanglai said:

"High-dimensional beings. Su Tianfu and Meng Zhending are their projections."

Qing Wanglai was at it again with his projection theory—technically, it wasn't wrong, but Li Huowang disliked it, because his past wasn't a projection.

"Why do you say they appeared because of me?" Li Huowang pressed.

"Because you brought them here!" Qian Fu broke down: "Don't you get it?! Little Li, when exactly did you expose Earth's coordinates?"

It seemed unavoidable—indeed, it was Li Huowang who had led them here, even sent an invitation.

For no reason, a strange pleasure stirred within Li Huowang—watching these fools scramble around was oddly satisfying?

Li Huowang cleared his throat, barely holding back a laugh. "You've watched too many anime. Dark families? Lion dogs? Centaur half-horses? Your logic doesn't even connect—did you mix up your shows?"

"Everyone has their own thoughts. I respect all thoughts," Qing Wanglai told Li Huowang.

"We're all on the same rope now. I'm helping you, and I'm helping myself. You know full well that we, and even the entire world, are reflections of something. You've seen those elephants, haven't you?"

Li Huowang nodded: "What do we do?"

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Qing Wanglai hoisted the mentally broken Yu Sheng onto his shoulder: "We must escape this place first, then ally with them to resist the other side."

Qian Fu nodded wildly in agreement: "That's the only way! It's the only option!"

Damn, those few words dragged all the other Confused Siming into it too.

"What about Meng Zhending? He's your cousin…" Li Huowang reminded him.

Qing Wanglai adjusted his glasses and said:

"Do you think ants and elephants have blood ties? At most, they're researcher and researched."

Fine—these people were all seriously unwell. Li Huowang gave up trying to reason with a group of lunatics; after consulting Su Lin and Meng Qi, he decided to go along with them for now.

Qing Wanglai stared into Li Huowang's eyes and asked:

"I know you trust them more right now, but Li Huowang, have you noticed something?"

He seemed to see through Li Huowang's hidden thoughts, aware that Li Huowang remained wary of him.

"What?" Li Huowang frowned.

Qing Wanglai's voice turned icy: "Are the Su Tianfu and Meng Zhending you know now truly the same ones you saw as elephants?"

Qing Wanglai had clearly prepared everything—they emerged from the basement and headed straight to the underground parking lot, rushing toward an ambulance parked by the fire emergency exit.

Li Huowang had originally thought they'd wait until deep in the night to climb over the wall.

"Hurry up."

He opened the car door; someone was already waiting inside—Wang Wei, an acquaintance of Li Huowang's.

"What does this mean?" Li Huowang stared at the attending physician who should have been in the asylum. "How are you here?"

"They've been watching you all along. He's my boss," Wang Wei said, pointing at Xiao Yu, who was being carried on Qing Wanglai's back. "I reported everything about you to them."

"Fuck you!" Li Huowang swung a punch straight at him, but Qing Wanglai and the others blocked his next moves: "Qing! Wanglai! What the hell is this?! Are you with them too?!"

He was acting—he couldn't appear too calm.

Once before, he'd been kidnapped from the asylum and left under a bridge as a homeless madman—he'd long known Qing Wanglai was the true mastermind. But now he had to act shocked.

"As long as we protect the real world, what do our projections' grudges matter?" Qing Wanglai remained calm. "Li Huowang, let me correct you: they came to us seeking cooperation."

The car door closed, and the ambulance slowly started moving.

Two black-clad men with crosses hanging from their chests lifted Xiao Yu onto a stretcher and pulled out a pile of medical equipment to begin checking him.

"Aren't you taking Fifth Sister with you?" Li Huowang stared at Qing Wanglai. If the man made any move with these black-clad figures, he'd immediately lock eyes with Su Tianfu's true form on the other side.

Qing Wanglai shook his head. "Fifth Sister is beyond saving. She's done."

Li Huowang sneered. He didn't believe Qing Wanglai's bullshit. At this moment, Qing Wanglai was probably planning to kill everyone and seize all the Dao to "save" the world.

"Li Huowang, do you know what 'darkness beneath the lamp' means? It refers to the shadowed area created directly under a light source because the lamp itself blocks the illumination."

Qing Wanglai suddenly said:

"Go home. Wander around over the weekend. Watch more news. We'll come find you again in a couple days."

Li Huowang turned to Qian Fu and Chen Hongyu. "Aren't you always saying Lion Star People are after you? Aren't you afraid now?"

In Qian Fu's mind, Fusheng Tian was the Lion Star People. For Chen Hongyu, a secret organization had always been looking for chances to target those with special abilities.

Qian Fu shrank his neck. "The Lion Star People's spaceship has crashed. Now everywhere are brainwashed death soldiers from the Centauri aliens."

"Even if they want to steal my special abilities, they can't! If they try, I'll join another organization! The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Chen Hongyu declared firmly.

Fine, these two make no sense—when did Qing Wanglai brainwash them?

Once, he thought he was mentally unstable. Now he felt clearer than ever.

"What about you, Zhao Lei? What do you say?" Li Huowang turned his gaze to the projection of "Doumu."

"Feels fun," Zhao Lei glanced at Li Huowang, then went back to fiddling with the shard in his hand. "Very interesting."

Alright, just don't get yourself lost in the game.

Li Huowang suddenly stepped out of the ambulance as the driver slammed on the brakes at a traffic light intersection—he'd walk back.

"Look around more. Don't always stare into the distance," Qing Wanglai left behind.

Look around?

Li Huowang scanned front, back, left, right, up, down—nothing but crosswalks, traffic lights, billboards, pedestrians, and cars.

"Forget it. I'll see what Qing Wanglai's up to in a couple days."

Li Huowang pondered. He remembered the projection corresponding to Siming Changsheng Tian was called "Zhao Shuangdian," allied with Ba Hui. Should he contact them now to counter Qing Wanglai?

Ding ling ling—

Li Huowang pulled out his phone and saw the caller ID: Su Tianfu.

"Hey, Su Ge, what's up?" Li Huowang asked.

Qing Wanglai said all surveillance footage had been deleted—no one could trace this back to him.

【Bring your girlfriend over for dinner at my place. I hired a hot new assistant today—let me introduce you. She'll handle the department's big data modeling. Bring your medical records too. Maybe we can use AI for diagnosis later—I'll just game beside you.】

"Alright."

Li Huowang asked for the address and hung up.

He flagged down a taxi. "Xicheng District, Gospel Church."

"You believe in the Primordial God? Easterners should worship Yuan Huang instead," the driver chuckled, then clicked the meter to start charging.

"No, a friend lives there," Li Huowang replied absently while texting Yang Na—but he froze mid-typing, looked up at the driver: "What did you just say?"

"I said everything's arranged. Go to Da Qi first, find Shangji Guankou. We'll follow behind to the Pudu Da Qi religious sect."

Meng Qi stared at the dazed Li Huowang and waved a hand in front of his face.

"Huazi, what's wrong? Why are you spacing out?"

"Did our projections affect your modern world? That shouldn't have happened."

"True. Su Lin's contamination level might be possible, but I shouldn't have been affected."

"Are you polite?"

"Hahaha."

Li Huowang returned from Da Qi, clutching Zhuge Jizhui Sword stolen from Jian Tian Si. His mind replayed the conversation between Su Lin and Meng Qi.

From the current situation, everything was improving steadily. The religious sects, under Buddhism's expansion, were either retreating or being absorbed into the Buddhist fold. Aside from occasional natural disasters and demonic disturbances, the situation remained manageable.

Even the voice of Zuowang Dao had grown fainter—Jian Tian Si of Da Li now rarely heard reports of Zuowang Dao.

But on the modern side…

Li Huowang discovered that both "Primordial God" and "Yuan Huang" appeared in textbooks and online histories. Moreover, that night at dinner, Su Tianfu and Meng Zhending brought three new psychiatric staff members.

The three were "Zhao Shuangdian," "Ba Nanxu," and "Ba Chengqing."

These three Confused Siming became assistant analysts in Su Tianfu and Meng Zhending's department, responsible for daily big data modeling and analysis.

When Li Huowang privately spoke with them, he mentioned Qing Wanglai. They replied they joined the psychiatric department solely to build a complete data model—Qing Wanglai's affairs had nothing to do with their work, and they didn't want to get involved.

Finally, Li Huowang noticed this Confused Siming wore a cross necklace around her neck.

"Brother Zhuge, Su Ge and Brother Meng said I could eliminate those two projections. Should I do it?" Li Huowang returned Zhuge Yuan's spine sword to Jian Tian Si. After confirming he was no longer under Qing Wanglai's surveillance, he asked the empty air beside him:

"Those two uncontrolled projections seem problematic. I don't even understand how this influence works."

The illusionary Zhuge Yuan folded his fan, finding it hard to judge this matter:

"An uncontrollable variable. Brother Li, you'll have to decide this yourself—you yourself said the religious elements in the world you saw have recently begun increasing."

"So far, their existence has caused considerable trouble for the other enemy, but why such a change has occurred within White Jade Capital, I cannot make an accurate analysis of something I do not understand."

"I'm sorry, I'm powerless in this matter."

Li Huowang quickly said: "It's fine, Brother Zhuge has already helped me a great deal."

"Red Center Boss, if you can't handle it, let Ji Zai step in—give Ji Zai a small knife and he can take them out single-handedly."

The illusionary Zuowang Dao egged him on:

"Then again, how can you possibly be confused when you look so clear-headed? Just become the Clear-headed Dao instead—I've been feeling itchy all over lately, like ants crawling on my skin, just from not seeing you lose your mind."

Li Huowang: "."

He used his cultivation ability to manifest the illusionary Zuowang Dao and slapped him—this guy truly needed a beating every three days or he'd climb onto the roof and tear off the tiles.

But he did hit the nail on the head—it was time to obtain some Primordial Qi and try manifesting Ji Zai again, and while at it, ask Gao Zhijian if he'd be willing to become Emperor—the dragon vein still needed an heir.

Of course, after eating Xin Shan, Emperor Ji Lin was no longer so ruthless—he'd still captured a few close siblings, so Gao Zhijian still had choices.

"Dad, can I really not wear that princess's skin?" Li Sui still longed for the Princess's appearance.

Li Huowang brushed him off: "I'll get you something better later."

Lu Mingfei's world.

Kleine walked into his room carrying two plastic bags, tore open the snacks, picked up a can of Fat Man's Happy Water, and planned to maintain his humanity through games and snacks.

This was necessary.

"Chief Kleine, though life is full of social deaths and embarrassments, avoiding reality isn't a solution," Lu Mingfei sighed deeply, putting down his controller. "It's fine—worst case, I'll just become sisters with a few beauties."

"It seems your Red Sacrifice Path elixir wasn't wasted—I was worried there might still be traces of the Assassin's Elixir lingering in your body," Kleine said, expressionless.

"." Lu Mingfei glanced at Hui Liyi beside him and changed the subject: "Has Guai Ge been unusually quiet lately? He hasn't said a word in the group—feels strange."

Kleine's hand paused on the controller. "How many days?"

"Many days," Lu Mingfei thought.

"Meng Qi too—these two have been lurking for a while, no replies to messages. I wonder what they're up to over there. Want to go check?"

Kleine thought for a moment and told Lu Mingfei: "Open the chat interface, select private message to Su Lin, type a few random characters and prepare to send."

Lu Mingfei, baffled, still obeyed: "Guai Ge, you there? Then what?"

"What do you think of the Goddess of Light?" Kleine asked, activating his authority while picking up the nearby top hat and opening a portal.

"The Goddess of Light is the most beautiful," Lu Mingfei stared blankly for a moment, then snapped back to realize he'd already sent the message.

Lu Mingfei: "."

Sweat broke out along his stiff spine—he sat frozen for several minutes, unable to recover, until Hui Liyi softly asked: "Sakura?"

"I'm fine," Lu Mingfei forced a smile.

Kleine sent a message: "How was it? What did he say?"

Lu Mingfei, eyes red, replied: "You bastard! He hasn't even responded! Where's the undo button?!!!"

In the Daen Estate, Kleine pondered, then sent a string of messages to Meng Qi—only to have them vanish without reply.

"What's going on..."

(End of Chapter)