Chapter 205

Wang Wei spoke in halting phrases, his voice growing heavier.

"Of course, besides your mother, there's also your girlfriend! They'll all eventually grow to despise you, because no one wants to be around a madman."

Seeing Li Huowang glare at him from the bed, Wang Wei continued, "Do you know how long she has to ride the train every time she comes here? How many transfers she has to make along the way? How many excuses she invents to avoid her parents? No, you don't. All you care about is yourself."

"That young girl, Yang Na, has been sacrificing so much for you, but what about you?"

"You've consistently resisted treatment, preferring to hide in your comfort zone, unwilling to take a single step for her, Li Huowang! What kind of man are you?!"

Veins bulged on Li Huowang's forehead.

"Li Huowang, you're not worthy! Yang Na should have given up on you long ago and found someone better! In the end, she'll bear children for someone else, and you'll just be lying in a hospital bed, imagining what they're doing in bed!"

"Shut your mouth!!"

A creak sounded as the cloth straps binding Li Huowang's body snapped taut and swayed. He fixed a man-eating gaze on Wang Wei.

Wang Wei noticed the hostility in his eyes but showed no fear. Instead, he walked directly to the bedside and unfastened all the restraints on Li Huowang.

With a sudden rush, Li Huowang lunged forward, grabbing Wang Wei's nurse's uniform with one hand and landing a punch.

"What do you know! You're just a hallucination! Do you know what I've been through? You don't understand anything at all!!"

Wang Wei retaliated, landing a punch on Li Huowang's face, causing his nose to bleed.

At that moment, his expression became as frenzied as Li Huowang's, and he glared back, gritting his teeth.

"Let me tell you, Li Huowang! I actually do know! Do you think you're the only one in the world experiencing hallucinations? Wrong! I was once like you, but I broke free, and now I'm a qualified doctor! So I'm stronger than you! You coward!"

Just as the two were fighting more fiercely, a syringe was plunged into Li Huowang's arm from the side.

Immediately afterward, Li Huowang felt as if his brain had rusted; everything he did was incredibly slow, and his body lost all strength.

Wang Wei, with his students, helped Li Huowang up and re-tied him to the bed.

Then, panting and disheveled, Wang Wei put a finger in his mouth and rubbed a slightly loose tooth.

"This young man hasn't exercised his muscles in a long time, yet he's still so strong."

"Teacher, this is..." Doctor Hou, standing nearby, looked troubled. Although he had heard of Wang Wei's unique working style, for a doctor to immediately get into a physical fight with a patient seemed utterly outrageous.

Wang Wei stood by the bed, looking down at Li Huowang's youthful face, marred by a bullet wound.

Li Huowang stared dully at the person in front of him, unaware of his own thoughts.

Gradually, the two people in front of him transformed, becoming very tall and large. Their voices resonated deeply, hazy and indistinct, accompanied by what sounded like faint drumming.

"His condition is quite unique, and his psychological defenses are very high; his emotions are almost completely self-contained. Therefore, our first step must be to increase his interaction with the real world. We need him to use his own senses to engage with this world."

"But... that's not what the books say."

"Not in the books? Are there even cases like this in the books? Don't just stick to the text; some things require adaptability, alright? Double the tranquilizer."

Li Huowang didn't know what happened next. He only remembered chaos. When he woke up again, he found the world before him was upside down, with a large full moon hanging beneath him.

It took him a while to realize that the moon hadn't fallen; he was upside down.

It seemed he had unconsciously used his newly acquired ability.

After slowly righting himself, he began to follow the scattered traces on the ground, walking back step by step.

Not long after, Li Huowang saw Gouwa peeking out from behind a rock.

"Didn't I tell you to bury me? How did I manage to get away?"

Hearing this, Gouwa's face was full of innocence. "Brother Li, we did bury you, but the problem is you walked out of the ground again."

"Walked out? What do you mean?"

"It's like that time when we were mourning at your grave, and you just crawled out of it."

Gouwa's words made Li Huowang's expression darken. He hadn't considered this aspect before.

Having that new ability certainly made him much stronger, which might be a good thing for others.

But for him, it might not be. Because Li Huowang understood he was a madman.

If there was anything more dangerous than a madman, it was a violent madman holding a knife.

"With great power comes great responsibility"—that applied to others. For him, greater power only meant greater danger.

"No, no matter what happens on the hallucination side later, I must try my best to remain calm."

Li Huowang walked back in silence, pondering these thoughts.

Along the way, Li Huowang saw others carrying torches; they were all looking for him, indicating he had wandered far.

Li Huowang saw fear on their faces regarding him. He said nothing and continued his return.

When he returned to his previous location, he found that everyone else had arrived.

Li Huowang said to Bai Lingmiao's back, "I'm back."

Bai Lingmiao's body trembled. She slowly turned, revealing her right side, which was bruised and black, to Li Huowang.

Upon seeing this, a powerful surge of self-reproach immediately overwhelmed Li Huowang, suffocating him. It was clear he had been the one to inflict it.

With tears in her eyes, Bai Lingmiao rushed over and hugged Li Huowang tightly with both hands. "It's so good, Brother Li, I almost thought I'd never see you again!"

Li Huowang's hands trembled as he embraced Bai Lingmiao, the force of his hug as if trying to pull her into his own body.

Once his self-reproach slightly lessened, intense fear washed over him again. This time it was only a punch, but what if he had a knife in his hand next time?

Desperate images flashed in Li Huowang's mind, causing his pupils to tremble slightly.

Although Li Huowang said nothing, Bai Lingmiao clearly sensed what he was thinking, and she gently stroked his back with her fair, jade-like hand.

"Brother Li, it's okay. I know you didn't mean it. It's just swollen, and it'll go down in a few days."

Her words didn't make Li Huowang feel much better. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Promise me, if there's a next time, you... stay as far away from me as possible."

"Okay." Bai Lingmiao nodded obediently, but only she knew what she was truly thinking.

Li Huowang's gaze slowly moved past Bai Lingmiao's shoulder, and the emotion in his eyes grew increasingly firm.

Finally, his gaze settled on a line of words he had carved into the ground with a knife.

One of the high-ranking members of the Zuowang Dao, also a Xinsu, lived to be 190 years old and completely overcame his hallucinations. (?)