Chapter 247: Sun Xiaoqin

"Mom, wake up, quickly, wake up." In a haze, Sun Xiaocai thought she heard her son calling her.

She assumed she was dreaming again, but when she rubbed her eyes and sat up from the recliner, she was surprised to see Li Huowang looking at her from the bed.

"Son? You're finally lucid again!"

Sun Xiaocai quickly grabbed the nearby calendar and made a note. "Son, look, it seems like the lucid intervals have been getting shorter lately, haven't they? Does this mean your illness is getting better?"

Li Huowang smiled and nodded at her. "Yes, maybe it really is getting better soon."

"That's wonderful! Oh, by the way, are you hungry? Would you like an orange? When you're not lucid, you just babble all day, and I never know if you've eaten enough."

Sun Xiaocai took out a bag of small sugary oranges, wrapped in a red plastic bag, from under the recliner. She picked one out and began to peel it.

"Mom, I'm not hungry. Have you been staying here with me all this time?"

Sun Xiaocai sat on the edge of Li Huowang's bed, gently touched his face with her right hand, which carried the fresh scent of orange peel, and looked at him with a pained expression.

"Don't worry, Mom's always here. Doctor Wang also said that my presence can help you get better if you see me every day."

"Don't listen to him, he's a liar." Li Huowang's voice trembled slightly as he looked at his mother.

"Alright, alright, Mom will listen to you. I won't invite him anymore. Look at how he hit my son's face. When we save enough money, we'll go abroad and find the best doctor."

Hearing her completely child-like哄哄 tone, Li Huowang's lips twitched slightly, and tears slowly began to stream down his face.

"Son, don't cry! Why are you crying? Did that boy Wang Wei bully you when I wasn't here? Tell me, I'll go fix him!"

Sun Xiaocai's eyebrows instantly shot up; the determined woman from before had returned.

Li Huowang vigorously shook his head, unsure if he was refuting her words or trying to shake away his tears. "Mom, my hands feel a bit numb. Can you untie me?"

"Oh! Of course, of course." Sun Xiaocai immediately began to untie the wide cloth straps on Li Huowang's hands.

As for whether Li Huowang might go crazy and attack her, Sun Xiaocai didn't consider that possibility at all. Because he was her own flesh and blood.

Controlling his now free hands, he rubbed his numb wrists and wiped away the tears from his face.

Then, Li Huowang reached into his quilt and slowly pulled out the golden box he had brought from the other side.

"Mom, here, this is all for you." Li Huowang smiled and softly explained as he placed the golden box into his mother's arms.

"This... this..." Sun Xiaocai was clearly flustered as she looked at the items in her arms, her mind momentarily in disarray.

Li Huowang took a small golden ingot from the box, held it in his palm, and placed it in front of Sun Xiaocai. His eyes filled with longing as he said, "Mom, look, with this, not only can you buy our house back, but you can buy a few more."

"You can also buy shops and collect rent. You won't have to work anymore, and you'll receive money every month."

"And, didn't you always say you wanted to travel abroad after retirement? You don't have to wait until retirement now. You can go now. With all this gold, you can go wherever you want to play."

After saying all this, Li Huowang finally pulled out a pair of exquisite jade earrings from his embrace and handed them over with both hands.

"Mom, these are Nana's birthday gifts that I owed her. Please give them to her for me. Also, please tell her..."

Li Huowang paused here, memories flashing in his mind, his expression starting to show struggle. He finally took a deep breath, forcing back the emotions that were about to erupt.

"Mom... please tell her, Nana, I'm sorry, and tell her not to wait for me."

When Sun Xiaocai heard her son say these words, she truly started to panic. He sounded as if he was making his final arrangements.

She quickly placed the golden box on the bed, rushed out the door, and shouted into the empty corridor, "Doctor! Duty doctor, quickly!"

Then she rushed back, her hands frantically holding Li Huowang's, and choked out, "Son, what's wrong with you? Have you encountered some trouble? Tell Mom, Mom will help you figure it out! No matter how big the trouble, I can help you solve it. Don't scare Mom!"

Li Huowang smiled, looking at his crying mother in front of him, and placed the golden box between them. "Mom, why are you crying? You should be smiling. Look at all this gold, our family is rich now."

"I don't want gold! I just want my son back!" Sun Xiaocai threw herself onto Li Huowang, hugging his head and wailing.

Hearing her cries, Li Huowang's heart ached as if pierced by a knife. He even thought about not eating the Black Grand-Eunuch's flesh, to let this reality accompany him forever, to let them stay together always.

But when Li Huowang remembered Bai Lingmiao's swollen face from earlier, he forcefully turned his head away.

"I cannot abandon reality for a false illusion! I must take responsibility!"

"But..." Li Huowang embraced his mother, feeling the strong emotions emanating from her. "It feels so real, can it truly be false?"

Just then, Li Huowang saw Wang Wei, dressed in white, enter the ward with his students.

Li Huowang looked at him and smiled, "Doctor Wang, I'm leaving. I probably won't see you again. How about we make a bet?"

"Didn't you say this side is reality? If you can make me lucid again, I'll admit this is reality."

Holding his mother, after uttering his last words, Li Huowang smiled and slowly closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the vast Qing Qiu. Looking at the blue sky and the lush green ground, Li Huowang took another deep breath.

After the others untied their chains, Li Huowang looked at each of their faces. He placed the golden box into Sun Baolu's arms, then turned and walked towards the tent where the Black Grand-Eunuch was being held.

Chun Xiaoman looked at his back with a worried expression; when he had just experienced his episode of hysteria, he was both crying and laughing.

"Quickly follow and keep an eye on him. I feel like Senior Brother Li is a bit different today."

Soon, when they arrived at the tent, they saw their Senior Brother Li, holding the Black Grand-Eunuch's flesh with intense emotion.

"Senior Brother Li, what's wrong? Didn't they say eating this can temporarily cure hysteria? This is a good thing, why is he crying?" No one answered Sun Baolu's question.

They stood there in silence, watching Li Huowang begin to cry and loudly swallow the flesh in his hands.