Chapter 307: Ice Cold

The cold, rotten orange went into his mouth, carrying not only the peculiar stench of decaying fruit but also a distinct musty odor. But Li Huowang, starving to the extreme, couldn't care less; at that moment, the orange was more precious to him than any delicacy.

After consuming the rotten orange, Li Huowang felt a tiny bit of relief. He abruptly stood up and frantically shouted into the pouring rain, "Clan Leader Bai! Don't be scared, I'm just having an episode! I'm sick, I'm sick!"

A middle-aged man with an umbrella spotted the disheveled Li Huowang and quickly pulled his wife away, their faces etched with fear. Others reacted similarly. The street, already sparsely populated due to the rain, emptied completely in an instant.

Li Huowang completely ignored these changes, knowing the situation in reality was extremely urgent. Over there, he was like meat on a chopping block; he had to find a way to save his own life!

However, the pouring rain continued all around, offering Li Huowang no feedback, which made him feel incredibly frustrated. According to previous patterns, the events in reality should have been distorted into some form of change within his hallucinations.

"Clan Leader Bai! Where are you? Please give me some response! I can't see you now!"

Just then, Li Huowang saw several men with umbrellas walking towards him, and his eyes immediately lit up. Li Huowang, wearing worn leather shoes, stomped through muddy puddles and rushed towards them. "Clan Leader Bai!"

Li Huowang, suddenly emerging from the heavy rain, clearly startled the man.

"Clan Leader Bai, do you remember I saved you before? Are you really going to harm your savior?" As if feeling that wasn't forceful enough, Li Huowang added, "Furthermore! Bai Lingmiao is pregnant with my child! Whether you admit it or not, I'm now half a member of the Bai family!"

"Where did this madman come from? He startled me!" The man with the black umbrella quickly took two steps back, then cautiously tried to bypass him.

Li Huowang wouldn't let him leave; he quickly stepped forward, spreading his arms to block the man's path. "Clan Leader Bai, if you don't believe me! You can ask the Second Daughter to tell you in person!"

Seeing Li Huowang in this state, the man said helplessly, "Brother, please, just leave me alone. Have pity on me; I'm struggling too. I still need to get to work to pay my mortgage."

"What did you say? I'm sorry, Clan Leader Bai, I'm currently stuck in a hallucination; any words you say will be misinterpreted."

"How about this, Clan Leader Bai, I'll just stay right here and not go anywhere. Wait for me a moment, I'll be back to normal soon."

Although the man didn't understand what Li Huowang was saying, when he heard Li Huowang intended to follow him, he instantly turned pale with fright.

"Oh no, I'm stuck with a madman!" The man, forgetting everything else, immediately took off running.

Li Huowang, his face anxious, started to chase, but after only a few steps, he stumbled and fell to the ground. The physical sensations he had ignored during their conversation returned.

"Cold," Li Huowang's lips were purple from the cold, his teeth chattered uncontrollably, and he was so frozen he couldn't even feel his fingers.

Lying in the rain, Li Huowang felt completely limp, devoid of any strength. He wanted to ignore these false perceptions, but his survival instinct compelled Li Huowang to struggle to his feet. Hunching his neck and hugging himself with both arms, he shuffled forward, sticking close to the eaves.

"Get lost! Lunatic! If you don't leave, I'll beat you to death!"

"Hey! Watch out, don't dirty my shop's carpet!"

"Mom! Come quick! There's a madman at our doorstep!"

Accompanied by these voices, a trembling Li Huowang staggered forward. As he observed his surroundings, his anxious heart felt a little calmer. "Since I'm not dead yet, what I just said must have worked," he thought.

But one problem had barely settled before another arose. At this moment, his mind began to grow muddled; it seemed he had developed a high fever from being drenched in too much rain.

"If I... if I die in this hallucination, surely nothing will happen in reality, right?" Li Huowang's weak voice held uncertainty.

Just then, Li Huowang spotted a small bridge underpass in the distance, perfectly suited for shelter from the heavy rain. As Li Huowang gritted his teeth and dashed towards it, he narrowly brushed past a yellow school bus. A small face was pressed against its window, watching his retreating figure.

As he reached the underpass, the surrounding cacophony instantly ceased. Li Huowang gasped for breath, slowly sliding down and leaning against the wall. Although he was no longer being drenched, Li Huowang's body didn't feel any better. "Why is it taking so long this time? Why haven't I returned yet?"

As Li Huowang struggled to wait for the time to pass, he suddenly saw something on the ground in the distance and quickly moved towards it. In a corner of the underpass, he found a few plastic bottles with straws, some pieces of tinfoil, and a nearly empty lighter.

Li Huowang extended his almost numb hand and picked up the red, transparent lighter. "Click-click~ Click-click~" A trembling Li Huowang tried to ignite the lighter with all his might, but it wouldn't catch.

Just as his head grew heavier and heavier, a tiny red flame gently flickered to life. "It's lit." Li Huowang, with the tiny flame reflected in his eyes, smiled like an innocent child.

He looked left and right, then picked up the red plastic bottle with the straw from the ground and carefully placed it beneath the flame. The red and white straw ignited, and the flame steadily spread into the bottle.

When the bottles were ignited, forming a small, black-smoking bonfire, Li Huowang cautiously brought his frozen hands closer. The fire, fueled by burning plastic, smelled terrible but was very warm.

The warmth from the flames gradually spread through Li Huowang's palms, making his body feel warmer. Slowly, his trembling ceased, and his lips returned from black to purple.

"Who's there!" Feeling his scalp prickle, Li Huowang spun around sharply. At the underpass entrance stood a little girl in rain boots, holding an umbrella. She was a very cute little girl, appearing to be only seven or eight years old, with pigtails adorned by a red cherry hair clip. Her large eyes initially held confusion and curiosity, but after seeing Li Huowang's appearance, they became filled with complete fear.

"La Yue Shi Ba?" Li Huowang, in his volatile state, blurted out, unable to help himself upon seeing the little girl. This was the little girl he had previously kidnapped from the kindergarten. From her backpack, it could be deduced that the little girl had already graduated from kindergarten and was in first grade of primary school.

"No, she's not La Yue Shi Ba anymore. She must be some other projection from reality. There's no one else in the reed marsh; she must still be a Bai family member." Li Huowang thought for a moment, then started walking towards her.

But as soon as he moved, the little girl, like a startled fawn, screamed in panic and ran away.

When Li Huowang reached the underpass entrance, he found a small piece of Dove chocolate on the ground, dropped by the little girl. Li Huowang picked it up and put it in his mouth. The chocolate was delicious and very sweet, its particular aroma reminding him of Yang Na and the chocolate she had given him on Valentine's Day.

"Why am I abandoned on the street? Have my family given up on me?" A bitterness that even the chocolate couldn't dissolve welled up in Li Huowang's heart.

Li Huowang sniffed his slightly raw nose, then turned and walked towards the bonfire. He squatted down again, staring blankly at the bonfire, muttering to himself, "It's a hallucination anyway, this is fine, this is fine..."