Mutated Tao

Li Huowang had never seen the leader of the Mo family before, but he was certain that the man in front of him was the leader, especially since he had a black bird on his shoulder.

The bird was filled with life, but something was wrong with it. Li Huowang noticed that while it looked normal, it had a strange warping sense.

Li Huowang turned his attention to the man instead of the bird. The man was wearing a cotton overall and dressed just like a woman. For some reason, he was also wearing a smiling clay puppet head.

Despite his weird attire, no one noticed him. More importantly, he had three shadows.

Liang Yuxuan whispered to Li Huowang, “Daoist, that’s him.”

As Li Huowang approached, the man also made his way towards him.

He could now see him more clearly. The man before him didn’t have his Ten Emotions and Eight Sufferings. It was as if he wasn’t human at all!

“Are you the leader of the Qi Kingdom’s Mo family?”

The man’s clay puppet head moved slightly. “What’s the Qi Kingdom Mo family? The Mo family has always been a single sect. There is only one of us.”

Since there was no Liang Kingdom in the Qi Kingdom, there was naturally no divergence between the Liang Kingdom’s Mo family and the Qi Kingdom’s Mo family.

The man bowed to Li Huowang. “Mo family leader Meng Sheng greets Daoist Li.”

Li Huowang did not avoid it but instead accepted it, “I’ve heard that you came to help me?”

“Indeed. The Qi Kingdom is in danger. The rules of our family dictate that we must save the world if it's in danger.”

Li Huowang pondered before asking, “How many people do you have?”

“We have 342 families.”

Li Huowang silently calculated. Since each familyhas roughly three people, they appear to have more than a thousand people.

“What is the Mo family’s specialty?”

“Machinery and protective rituals[1].”

Meng Sheng removed the doll's head, revealing a wooden mesh made from dovetail joints that formed an empty skull. The person was indeed not human.

Li Huowang frowned when he saw the doll in front of him. “You’re not even meeting me in person to offer assistance?”

Just as Li Huowang finished speaking, a dwarf suddenly emerged beneath the doll's head.

“Meng Sheng, leader of the Mo family, greets Daoist Li!” The dwarf greeted Li Huowang again.

“Call everyone here if you want to help me. You can’t save the Qi Kingdom alone.”

“I understand. I will call for them now!” Meng Sheng leaped into action as he donned the doll head and reattached it to the main body. With a swivel, the doll headed off.

Li Huowang frowned after Meng Sheng disappeared. “You said they are an evil sect. Is it because of the techniques they cultivate? I didn’t sense anything evil from him.”

From that short interaction, Li Huowang sensed that the Mo family was far weaker than the Sitting Oblivion Dao.

Liang Yuxuan explained, “No, the Mo family only uses some evil entities or treasures for their cultivation. They do not need sacrifices nor evil deeds to cultivate.”

“Then why are they evil?” Li Huowang was confused. The Mo family seemed much milder than the Righteous Monastery, an orthodox sect.

“Daoist, did you remember what I told you last time? They are not that easy to cooperate with.”

Liang Yuxuan hesitated as he tried to explain it better to Li Huowang. “Daoist, did you know where the saying ‘stuck in a rut’[2] came from?”

Li Huowang found that Liang Yuxuan always avoided the point and didn’t give a straight answer. “Just tell me. Stop talking in circles.”

“Stuck in a rut describes someone who resists change and refuses to adapt. They will always adhere to the outdated rules. There’s also another meaning to it. It means that the Mo family will always cling to their rules. The Mo family will always abide by their own ancient rules, steadfastly following them when interacting with others, themselves, or addressing any matter. However, these rules were only suitable in the past. Abiding them now is nothing short of being evil.”

“Such as?” Li Huowang realized that they were not considered evil because of their cultivation methods, but rather because of the rules they followed.

“For instance, the Mo family has the peculiar tradition of capturing officials and braising them over a small fire until they turn into a slurry. They then consume the concoction with rainwater.

“Another unusual custom is that when a family member reaches adulthood, they must consume an evil entity and choose one of the Immortals to be their guardian. After that, they are required to sacrifice their first child to their chosen guardian.

“Furthermore, the Mo family strictly adheres to the rule of not marrying outsiders. Parents and children marry each other, brothers and sisters marry each other, and grandchildren and grandparents marry each other, following a cyclic pattern that repeats every five years. There are many other rules, but I don’t know all of them since I am not a part of their family.”

Li Huowang remained silent for a very long time. “Which fucking century did these rules come from?”

It was impossible for such rules to exist even a few thousand years ago. That was why the Surveillance Bureau labeled them as an evil sect. It was impossible to turn them into a righteous sect!

Liang Yuxuan was crestfallen. “I’m afraid you would have to ask their leader for more details.”

Li Huowang regretted allowing the Mo family to intervene. The situation would go out of control when a large group of those weird rule-abiding dwarves were here.

“Find an empty space outside of the You Capital for them to stay at. Make sure that they are far away from us!”

“Yes.”

“Also, ask your men to think about how we can use the Mo family in this situation!”

“Yes!”

Li Huowang was worried not only about the Mo family but also about the other evil sects. It would be impossible to stop them from arriving due to how the situation was evolving.

Keeping evil sects in check and using them to save the Qi Kingdom was beyond Li Huowang’s expertise. He had the feeling that Gao Zhijian would be much better suited for this.

“I don’t have enough people that I can use,” Li Huowang mumbled.

It wouldn’t be easy to restore the Qi Kingdom. He had finally encountered obstacles that even he found hard to surpass.

Li Huowang returned to the Liang Kingdom and saw that the old eunuch was already waiting for him.

Without waiting for the old eunuch to say anything, Li Huowang guessed what it was. “Go back and tell Gao Zhijian to stop nagging me! I’ve already heard what he has to say. I don’t want to revive the Qi Kingdom to destroy the Liang Kingdom!

“I just don’t want to see the people suffering there! I don’t need much. I simply want them to survive and have something to eat every day! As long as that is achieved, I won’t return!”

1. The original text here is 厌胜, a specialized field of traditional practice in warding off bad luck. The term combines “厌” (yàn), which means to dislike or dispel, and “胜” (shèng), which means to win or overcome. Typically, these practices involve rituals, charms, talismans, or specific behaviors believed to counteract negative influences or evil spirits. They can also be used for evil, in which certain items are placed or buried in different parts of a house to curse the inhabitants. ☜

2. The original text 墨守成规 is literally translated as “to cling to the rules like ink.” Mo can be the surname or the word for Ink. ☜