Chapter 121: Yang Na

A body with such a powerful visual impact lay before Li Huowang, leaving him utterly shocked.

"All this... did they do all this to you?"

Li Huowang's voice trembled slightly, his disgust for the Aojing Cult intensifying.

"At first, yes. Later, I did some of it myself," Yingzi said calmly, putting her large robe back on, "because it was the only way to truly blend into the cult and become one of them."

Then, a hint of mockery appeared on her face. "I always thought that after sacrificing so much, I had fully integrated. But it turns out I was wrong. In their eyes, I'm not family at all; I'm just something they can discard at any time."

Li Huowang wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing. He lay back down.

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of this hellhole. You can start over."

This time, Yingzi didn't reply.

Li Huowang understood that his casual words wouldn't solve anything. She couldn't start over; her life was already completely ruined.

A wet tongue suddenly licked Li Huowang's face. It was Mantou's tongue, his dog.

Li Huowang held its head. His eyes wide open, he stared blankly at the darkness above.

The next day, upon waking, someone had already brought breakfast to the door: sweet potato porridge with multi-grain pancakes.

After giving some of the food to Mantou first and confirming it wasn't poisoned, Li Huowang and Yingzi began to eat together.

Today, Li Huowang didn't question Yingzi further. Her position in the Aojing Cult was low, and she only knew common things. He figured he might find more opportunities by exploring on his own.

If Hand San asked, Li Huowang already had his excuse ready: he would say he wanted to learn how these people inflicted pain.

Led by Yingzi, Li Huowang explored the entire cave.

He didn't know if they were truly adhering to rules or if the Abbess's letter had an effect.

Despite Li Huowang's free movement, the Aojing cultists didn't stop him. They just stared intently.

With his increasingly sharp perception, Li Huowang noticed that in their gazes, there was more than just vigilance and curiosity; there were other indescribable emotions.

However, soon, Li Huowang no longer paid attention to others' gazes. The scenes inside the cave made his eyelids twitch.

If the eighteen layers of Buddhist hell truly existed, it would be here.

Flaying, dismemberment, tearing apart by chariots, the Five Punishments, slow slicing (Lingchi), and various other unprecedented tortures made Li Huowang's breakfast churn in his stomach. The strong smell of blood assailed his nostrils.

Having finally managed to exit the area filled with screams and the sound of flesh tearing, Li Huowang, still leaning against the wall, hadn't even had a moment to catch his breath.

A small figure holding a pinwheel ran past from ahead. It was a little boy wearing tiger-head shoes and a tiger-head hat. He laughed loudly, holding up his paper pinwheel. "Daddy, you're so slow!"

Behind him, a robed Aojing cultist followed, his face full of scars as he chased. "Son, you run so fast."

Watching them walk away together, Li Huowang's face turned grim. "These lunatics! Don't they have hearts?"

Yingzi, who was leading the way, turned her head. She glanced at Li Huowang, said nothing, and continued walking.

"Benefactor, you seemed interested in other Aojing Cult books last night. If you'd like, I can give you my book. What do you say?"

Yingzi spoke for a while, but found no response.

When she looked back, she saw the red-robed Daoist clutching his head with a pained expression.

"Damn it, it's happening again!" Li Huowang felt everything around him collapse. He knew the hallucination was about to appear.

"Benefactor? Benefactor, what's wrong?" Jiang Yingzi quickly turned around.

Li Huowang watched, wide-eyed, as Yingzi's form twisted and transformed into a nurse.

"Curl your tongue in, good boy, don't bite your tongue again," she said to Li Huowang.

Seeing Li Huowang staring blankly at her and no longer rambling, the nurse shook her head regretfully and turned to leave.

Li Huowang turned his head to look at the sunny sky outside the window. For a moment, his mind was blank, and he didn't know what to do next.

"Wait! I'm still out there! This situation is extremely dangerous!"

Alarmed, Li Huowang quickly said, his voice urgent: "Yingzi, listen to me! Get me back inside quickly and tie me up with ropes—"

"Huowang."

Li Huowang instinctively looked up and saw Yang Na at the door, her eyes brimming with tears.

She was still dressed simply: a white sweater with jeans, and a small women's shoulder bag slung across her waist.

"Huowang, are you responding to my voice now? Are you awake? Do you recognize me?" Yang Na ran over and firmly grasped Li Huowang's hand.

Feeling that familiar touch, Li Huowang's mind was in utter turmoil. Almost instinctively, he froze, pretending to be having a fit.

After calling out a few more times, Yang Na's expression shifted from excitement to extreme disappointment.

Tiny tears clung to her long eyelashes. Her gentle voice trembled slightly.

"Huowang, you big liar! We promised to go to college together! Why am I already in my first year, and you're still not awake?!"

Hearing this, Li Huowang felt a pang in his heart. He knew this was a hallucination, but he couldn't bring himself to be indifferent. "Nana, I'm sorry."

Hearing this, Yang Na's expression slowly shifted from extreme disappointment to overwhelming joy. She threw herself onto Li Huowang, sobbing.

"I'm sorry, I really wanted to come see you. But ever since you appeared on TV, my mom and dad forbade me from visiting you. It took me so much effort to come today."

Li Huowang gently hugged Yang Na, then pushed her away.

"Nana, your dad is right. Don't come anymore. I'm afraid I really can't help myself..."

The rest of his words, Li Huowang kept to himself: "I'm afraid I really can't help myself and start believing this is real again."

Yang Na could hardly believe her ears. It was like a bolt of lightning striking her, or a bucket of cold water poured over her head, leaving her stunned.

She never imagined that after Li Huowang had finally become clear-headed, these would be the first words he uttered.

The next second, she suddenly snapped back to reality. She raised her small shoulder bag, which held her phone, and swung it wildly at Li Huowang's head, crying and shouting at the same time.

"Did you even consider my feelings when you said that? Why are you saying this too!"

"My parents told me to give up! My brother told me to give up! My best friend told me to give up! Now even you're telling me to give up! I'm so tired of holding on. Why do you have to twist the knife even more? You told me you liked me! I don't want to give up!"