Chapter 377 - Sima Lan

Chapter 377 - Sima Lan

“Qi faction? Liang faction?” Li Huowang had no idea what Sima Lan was talking about. Is the Mo Family separated into two different factions? Why is the Liang faction considered evil?

Li Huowang stared deeply at the skinny man with a black bird on his shoulder for quite a while before finally asking. “Senior Sima, what are the Qi faction and the Liang faction of the Mo family?”

Sima Lan was confused about why Li Huowang seemed ignorant of the two factions, but he chose to reply, and the black bird on his shoulder spoke in his place, "They were once united, but their cultivation led them into nurturing different ideologies, which resulted in a clash of ideologies after the family head's death.

"The family split into two factions by then. The Liang faction believes in ghosts, fate, and destiny, but they've misunderstood the family head's teachings. They walked down the wrong path and allied themselves with the detestable Dongzhen Sect, becoming half-human bastards."

Sima Lan’s expression was soured, and he looked like he had recalled something he didn't want to remember.

Li Huowang went silent; he knew that the Liang Kingdom's standards when it came to orthodox, official organizations were quite loose. The Liang Kingdom would recognize an organization as an "official" organization as long as it would bring profits to the kingdom and would not harm it; it didn't matter whether the organization's practices were evil or upright.

Li Huowang didn’t ask any more questions out of courtesy. It had already become clear to him that the Mo Family's issue was the difference in ideologies and techniques.

Li Huowang had to focus on his own issues first before even thinking about anyone else's issues. Li Huowang had learned that Bei Feng had the method to stop the hallucinations of a Strayed One, so Li Huowang just had to find Bei Feng and learn that method from the latter.

Cooperation? It was his first choice, but he cast it aside immediately. The Sitting Oblivion Dao couldn't be trusted. If they found out that Li Huowang was a Strayed One, Li Huowang’s life would forever be chaotic.

The only thing Li Huowang could do was find Bei Feng and extract the information from the latter.

To do that, Li Huowang had to find a helper within the Surveillance Bureau. He was sure that he could find someone useful, and that was actually one of the reasons he decided to join the Surveillance Bureau.

They walked along the hidden passageway.

Li Huowang’s keen ears picked up some noises. He could hear wood clanking against each other, birds flapping their wings, and the footsteps of people running around.

Li Huowang ignored those noises and followed closely behind Sima Lan. Just then, an eunuch appeared in the distance. The eunuch lowered his head and walked silently on one side of the passageway.

The eunuch passed by Li Huowang and pushed a brick on the wall. The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

If Li Huowang had no idea that he was in the Surveillance Bureau, he would have thought that the plain-looking man was a storyteller working in a tea shop.

Sima Lan’s black bird flew toward the tall counter and pecked the plain-looking man.

The plain-looking man didn't even glance at Li Huowang; he continued counting in one hand while he extended his other hand to Li Huowang and said, “Give me your identity token.”

The plain-looking man's surname was Nangong, and he stroked the engraving on the token for a few moments before throwing it back to Li Huowang. “You must be Er Jiu. Erniu told me about you before he left.”

Li Huowang nodded. He could still remember that Ji Xiang’s real name was Feng Erniu.

Nangong started talking with Sima Lan.

Meanwhile, Li Huowang mulled over his next steps.

Eventually, the conversation between Nangong and Sima Lan ended. Sima Lan turned to Li Huowang and got ready to bring him somewhere else.

Li Huowang stared at Sima Lan and asked, “Senior Sima, who should I find if I want to accept missions?”

Sima Lan was surprised, but he didn't show it on the outside as he replied, "You've become a Banner, so you don’t need to accept missions from others. You have to choose your own missions.”

Sima Lan then led Li Huowang to the great hall and pulled open one of the screens.

A table surrounded by a few stools was behind the screen.

Sima Lan’s bird pecked the table, and a pale-looking eunuch arrived. The pale-looking eunuch bowed toward Li Huowang and Sima Lan. At this point, Li Huowang had become one of the shadowy figures he saw behind the screens earlier.

“Ask him if you need any missions. He has the latest list of missions, but of course, those missions were updated this morning. If you need any help from someone below your rank or from someone idle, you can ask him to enlist them for your mission."

Li Huowang nodded at Sima Lan's explanation and turned to the pale-looking eunuch, asking, “How do I accept missions?”