Mutated Tao

Li Sui didn’t suspect anything about Xuan Pin’s changed voice. After all, there was a gap of one hundred eighty years—it was only natural for his voice to be different.

Li Sui felt excited, having finally explained everything to Xuan Pin.

“Oh, really? Yay, that’s great news! Could you possibly take me back to the Liang Kingdom? I would like to wait there for my father. By the way, my father needs a significant amount of Dragon Qi. We need to have a lot of it ready to help him.”

Li Sui was shocked to see Xuan Pin shaking her head. “No, you cannot come.”

“Huh? Why? I want to go back!”

Li Sui thought she could finally return now that she had found Xuan Pin. She never expected Xuan Pin to reject her like this.

“You know too much, and you are still immature. Taking you back to the Liang Kingdom will only disrupt the timeline there. It’s best if you stay here.”

“I won’t tell anyone anything! I will seal my mouth shut!” Li Sui said.

Zuoqiu Yong approached the two of them. “Tsk, tsk. You’re still a little girl. You can barely keep your mouth shut, and you nearly revealed your secret to everyone you met along the way.

“Well, I’ve sent some men to handle them, so there’s no need to worry. For now, stay here with me. I’ll teach you how to stop others from deceiving you.”

“But…”

Xuan Pin insisted, “No excuses. Consider it as a favor for your father. I’ll return to pick you up in one hundred and eighty years.”

Having said his piece, Xuan Pin disappeared like smoke.

“You better not come back here! If I see you again, I will beat you up!” Li Sui pouted with tears in her eyes. Although Xuan Pin was right, she still didn’t like how Xuan Pin didn’t trust her.

The current Xuan Pin was too rigid.

“Alright, let’s go back now. We still have a wait of one hundred and eighty years ahead of us. What’s the difference between staying here and staying in the Liang Kingdom?”

Zuoqiu Yong patted Li Sui’s head.

“I will treat you as my daughter from now on. I don’t have any children, so I hope you don’t mind seeing me as part of your family.”

Li Sui wiped off her tears. “No, I don’t mind. You’re a good person.”

“Alright, you can go back using the carriage. I have something to do, so I won’t see you off. You know how busy being the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau is.”

Li Sui unwillingly sat on the carriage before she returned. Zuoqiu Yong, on the other hand, stood in the bamboo forest. He stared at the leaves while waiting for something.

Only after the carriage’s sound had completely disappeared did Zuoqiu Yong speak up, saying, “Come out.”

A large red Daoist robe fell down from the skies. It was Xuan Pin!

Xuan Pin took off the red robes to reveal three people standing on each other’s shoulders. Two men and a woman. They looked like siblings, and they had masqueraded as Xuan Pin.

The three of them separated and quickly kneeled on the ground, “Chief!”

“What are you doing? Do you really need my assistance for such a trivial matter? Did a cat get your tongue, or should I get your tongue?

The three of them started sweating from Zuoqiu Yong’s threats. Their mouths would’ve been gone for good if they had said the wrong thing.

“Chief, we…”

“Enough. Go back now. Remember, this is the last time. There’s no next time.”

Zuoqiu Yong then turned to leave the place. “Don’t throw the robes away. We might need to use it if we want to control that little evil entity.”

The trio sighed in relief. “Yes, Chief! We’ll be ready at all times!”

“Soon, I will get all of the information I need from her. You can then refine her into an artifact.”

“Thank you for the reward, Chief!”

A Strayed One was a walking treasure, and even more so when it was an evil entity too.

Li Sui soon got used to life in the Qi Kingdom under the care of Zuoqiu Yong.

Li Sui realized that Zuoqiu Yong was strangely interested in the things that would occur one hundred eighty years in the future, so she told Zuoqiu Yong everything.

She even tried her best to recall some of the past that she had forgotten.

At first, Li Sui was reluctant to stay in the Qi Kingdom. She felt she could’ve been closer to her father if she were to stay in the Liang Kingdom instead.

However, she soon got used to life here.

She felt that Zuoqiu Yong was correct. Her father would come here frequently in the future. She could wait for her father whether she was in the Liang Kingdom or the Qi Kingdom.

One day, Li Sui entered the room with a grin, hiding something behind her back after lunch. Zuoqiu Yong, who had been sewing, rolled her eyes and asked, “What are you doing?”

“Auntie, close your eyes.”

Zuo Qiuyong showed the needle in her right hand. “What if I pick myself with the needle when I close my eyes?”

“Come on, Auntie, just close your eyes.”

Zuoqiu Yong closed her eyes because she couldn’t win against Li Sui’s endearing request. When she opened her eyes, she saw a clay figurine fashioned into her appearance in front of her!

“Aunty, I love you! You take care of me just like my father did. You are my family now!” Li Sui’s happiness was overflowing. She joyfully jumped into Zuoqiu Yong’s arms and shoved the clay figurine into her hands.

“Wait, wait! The needle! Be careful of the needle! You little runt…” Zuoqiu Yong hurriedly moved her needle and embroidery to the side.

“Alright, that’s enough. Please get off me—it’s very hot. Are you hungry? I left some food for you in my study, so go and get it.”

Upon hearing that there was food, she quickly released Zuoqiu Yong and sprinted to the study.

“Don’t run! And don’t play with my ink monkeys! Their knees shake a lot every time they see you.”

“Alright!”

Zuoqiu Yong smiled as she continued embroidering while listening to Li Sui’s disappearing footsteps.

When she used her mouth to bite off the final thread, the three siblings appeared and kneeled before her. “Chief, we are ready for your orders at any time.”

Zuoqiu Yong’s smile slowly faded, and she realized what she needed to do. “Oh, look at how forgetful I am. I’ve already asked her almost everything I needed, so it’s time to remove her from the equation. It’s best if the others remain unaware.”

She took the clay figurine and inspected it. She hesitated momentarily.

“Chief?”

“Go.” Zuoqiu Yong threw the clay figurine. “Make it painless for her.”

Just after the siblings departed, Zuoqiu Yong wept. She dabbed away her tears and resumed her embroidery. “Sigh... Saying goodbye after sharing a life together is not easy.”

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