Chapter 110: Madman

Daoist Odd Immortals

Li Huowang gently clutched his wound and slowly moved towards Jingxin's room, where he slowly sat down against the wall.

"Can even you not handle Dan Yangzi?" Li Huowang asked.

"Of course I can," came the reply, "as long as I kill you."

Jingxin's words made Li Huowang chuckle. "I didn't expect the abbess to have such a sense of humor."

"I'm not joking with you," Jingxin clarified. "Dan Yangzi's roots are now completely embedded in you. You are currently one of his uncompleted Three Corpses."

"However, you need to live while also being separated from your master. This is indeed a delicate task. After all, your connection is too deep; one could even say you are now a small part of Dan Yangzi. That's why I haven't extracted the Black Grand Elder from your stomach, because it's currently not just Dan Yangzi, but also you."

Li Huowang had asked the nuns of An'ci Temple to eliminate Dan Yangzi, but they hadn't fully succeeded. While they had cooperated with Li Huowang to severely wound Dan Yangzi and temporarily drive him away, this was merely a temporary solution. The problem persisted, unresolved.

Hiding in the darkness, Li Huowang leaned against the cold wall, staring numbly at the layers of moss-covered tiles on the temple roof outside.

"You can't blame us for this," Jingxin continued. "I didn't realize half of your master was still clinging to life. Our An'ci Temple specializes in matters of the Void-Self realm, but when it comes to flesh and blood, those undisciplined monks from Zhengde Temple are far more adept."

"Abbess, I don't blame you," Li Huowang said. "I just want to ask how long it will be until I'm completely transformed into Dan Yangzi?"

"Based on current projections, about two more months," Jingxin said. She then moved into the shadows, approached a bamboo cradle, and began to gently rock it. A benevolent smile appeared on her face as she looked at the old person inside.

"Oh..."

"So, what do you plan to do?"

"I need to wait for an answer first. Abbess, may I borrow something from you?"

For a long moment, the dim room fell silent.

Li Huowang took a deep breath, his expression twisting slightly in struggle, then he suddenly opened his eyes. The surrounding darkness had been replaced by white; he was in a hospital again.

After a careful look, Li Huowang realized it wasn't a psychiatric hospital but a regular one. In this hallucination, his injuries still appeared unhealed.

His mother, Sun Xiaoqin, was sitting on a small stool, slumped over the bed in a deep sleep. In Li Huowang's memory, his mother had always been meticulously clean, but now her hair was greasy, as if it hadn't been washed in a long time.

Li Huowang tried to reach out, only to find his limbs were tightly bound. He could only softly call out, "Mom, it's me, Huowang."

When Sun Xiaoqin opened her eyes and saw her son looking at her, calling her name with a perfectly normal expression, she excitedly threw herself at him, embracing him tightly. "Son, you're finally awake!"

He waited quietly until her emotions settled, then Li Huowang asked again, "Mom, where's Dad?"

"Your dad went to work to earn money," she replied. "We're very short on cash right now, and we owe a lot of debt."

As soon as she finished speaking, Sun Xiaoqin's heart sank. She quickly cupped Li Huowang's face and explained with pained affection, "Huowang, Mom doesn't blame you. I know this isn't what you wanted. It's the illness, that cursed madness! Why did it have to be my son, of all people?"

"Mom, could you untie one of my hands? I just want to stretch."

Seeing her son speak so normally, Sun Xiaoqin hesitated for a moment before a smile returned to her face. "Of course, stretching is good. Being tied up every day can't be good for your body."

With his right hand now free, Li Huowang smiled at Sun Xiaoqin. "Thank you, Mom."

With that, he reached into his hospital gown and pulled out a heavy string of golden Buddhist beads. Under Sun Xiaoqin's surprised gaze, Li Huowang placed the beads in her hand.

"Mom, take these and exchange them for money. Pay off our family's debts. If there's anything left, please buy our house back. I'm quite fond of this neighborhood."

Sun Xiaoqin held the golden Buddhist beads, looking somewhat bewildered. "What... what exactly is this? Son, where did this gold come from? Did you go out and get it while I was asleep?"

Li Huowang gently shook his head. He reached up, removed the jade pendant from his neck, and placed it in Sun Xiaoqin's hand as well. "Mom, take this too; it should also be worth some money. Even though I know you're a hallucination, I don't want to see you suffer in front of me."

Hearing these words, Sun Xiaoqin disregarded the gold and jade in her hands. She grabbed Li Huowang's shoulders and shook him repeatedly, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.

"Son, look closely!" she cried. "I'm your mother! I'm not a hallucination, I truly am not!"

Li Huowang reached out and gently wiped the tears from her face, a faint smile appearing on his own. "Yes, you're real, Mom, you're not a hallucination. Hehe, I was just teasing you."

Hearing Li Huowang's words, Sun Xiaoqin excitedly jumped up and down, clasping her hands together and murmuring prayers for Buddha's blessings.

Just as she excitedly pulled out her phone, preparing for Li Huowang to video call his father at work, Li Huowang extended his right hand, unbuttoned a button from her clothes, and tucked it into his chest.

Perhaps because Li Huowang had initiated this shift, his return was remarkably swift. Just as Li Huowang saw his gray-haired father in the video and before he could utter a single word, his surroundings switched again. He was back in the dim room.

Jingxin, holding the golden Buddhist beads, stood quietly watching him.

Li Huowang's expression was hesitant. He slowly raised his right hand, his breathing growing increasingly rapid. His mind was in turmoil.

Gritting his teeth, Li Huowang reached for his chest. His hand instantly froze; he felt nothing there.

Facing this already anticipated outcome, Li Huowang smiled. "Heh, I should have realized," he chuckled. "How could that possibly be real? I actually believed what the people in the hallucination said. I'm truly insane."

Li Huowang's laughter died down, however, as he realized this was hardly good news. If that side was fake, he had lost even the last possible retreat in his fantasy.

Li Huowang took a deep breath and softly spoke to the empty air, "Mom, I didn't scare you, did I? Tie my hands back up, so I don't accidentally touch you."

Jingxin, who had been silently observing everything, suddenly spoke. "If that side is fake, then who are you talking to?"

Li Huowang looked up at the nun in the darkness. "Can't I talk to myself, dear?"

"What do you plan to do next?"

Li Huowang's eyes instantly filled with profound killing intent. "I want Dan Yangzi dead!"