Chapter 467: Happy

"Mom, are you doing okay here?" Li Huowang asked Sun Xiaoqin, who was by the bed, after swallowing the smooth egg custard in his mouth.

"I'm fine, as long as you're okay, everything's good with me," Sun Xiaoqin replied, forcing a smile at Li Huowang.

Despite her words, Li Huowang still detected a hint of abnormality in the subtle details of her face. His mother's smile was feigned; she was saying this to keep him from worrying.

"Mom, don't worry. The electrotherapy here at the psychiatric hospital is working for me. It just needs some time for me to recover. Give me a little more time."

"Oh, I'm not worried, really, I'm not worried at all. My son will definitely get better," Sun Xiaoqin said, shaking her head repeatedly with a smile.

Li Huowang sighed inwardly. Cultivating Dao was much harder than he had imagined; getting out of this difficult situation would likely take a lot of time. He had already waited this long and wasn't afraid of waiting, but during such a long period, his mother would probably suffer in constant worry and anxiety.

"Should I spend more time with her, pretending my condition is improving?" Li Huowang quickly discarded these thoughts after a moment's reflection. Doing so would be a complete waste of time, making his goal seem even more distant. Investing that time in cultivation was far more valuable.

Seeing Sun Xiaoqin's forced cheerfulness, Li Huowang pondered for a moment before speaking, "Mom, when I'm out, I want to play games. I want to play computer games for a whole year, can I?"

Hearing this, Sun Xiaoqin's eyes immediately lit up. "Of course! Of course! When that time comes, I'll even peel fruit for you by your side! You can play for as long as you want! If you don't enjoy playing alone, I'll have your dad play with you! He'll play all night long!"

Li Huowang's lips curved slightly upward, and he nodded in approval. He continued, "After I recover, we'll travel the world, have fun everywhere, go bungee jumping and skydiving, and do all the things we never did before."

"Oh, oh, I wouldn't dare bungee jump. You two can go when the time comes. My heart races just watching videos of others jumping on TikTok."

As Li Huowang steered the conversation towards fantasies of life after discharge, Sun Xiaoqin's attention quickly shifted. They talked more and more happily, and a natural smile appeared on her face. Seeing his mother finally happy, Li Huowang quietly sighed to himself. There wasn't much he could do now. The only thing he could do was use the subtle techniques of the Sitting-Forget Path to cheer his mother up.

"Son, do you want to play games? How about I bring you that small handheld game console?"

"No thanks, Mom. Besides, I can't play it right now."

"Oh, right. What about cartoons? Didn't you used to love watching them? I heard there's a really interesting new one recently. I can play it for you on my phone."

Watching Sun Xiaoqin open her bag to look for her phone, Li Huowang felt a wry smile. He was no longer the high school student he once was; why would he be interested in new anime? Thinking of this, Li Huowang paused slightly. He seemed to be only eighteen this year, so why did he feel so mature? Compared to this young body, he seemed more suited to the older body on the other side.

"By the way, is it because that side has two fewer hours a day than this side, which is why the body there is older? Wait... does this mean that both sides are actually real?" Li Huowang pondered the question with a furrowed brow, but a conjecture without other evidence would ultimately be like a rootless duckweed. "Never mind. Since I've decided to use cultivation to make this side completely real, why think so much about it?"

Seeing Sun Xiaoqin holding an old phone with a cracked screen, about to subscribe to a VIP service for a mobile app, Li Huowang quickly stopped her. "Mom, don't click that. It's a waste of money. I'll be back soon."

Hearing this, the smile on Sun Xiaoqin's face gradually faded. "So soon? You're leaving after just one meal? Son, can you really control when you become lucid now? Is this a sign of recovery?"

"You could say that, Mom. I'll be back to have dinner with you in three days."

Sun Xiaoqin awkwardly put her phone back in her bag. "Alright then. I'll be waiting. Don't you forget."

"I definitely won't forget. Oh, Mom, one last thing: Do you have any news about Nana? Is her illness getting better?" The image of the cute girl giggling at him flashed in Li Huowang's mind.

"Nana's fine. I heard she wasn't hospitalized; the doctor just prescribed some medicine for her to take at school."

"Ah, actually, if it weren't for your illness delaying things, I would have been so happy for Nana to be my daughter-in-law. I've liked that child since she was little."

"Mom, don't worry. Once I'm well, I'll definitely win Nana over and bring her home to be your daughter-in-law!"

"Oh, my son, when did you become so eloquent? Good! Your mother will be waiting for our son's wedding feast!" Sun Xiaoqin, who had just looked worried, became happy again.

As the world around Li Huowang gradually solidified, he returned to that dark, lightless realm. Although he had been blind for some time, he still found it difficult to adapt.

"Li Sui?" Li Huowang reached his hand forward. Soon, Li Huowang touched a viscous, bony, sharp-nailed monstrous hand. "Father, I'm here."

"Let's go. Take me back to the village."

"Father, you just picked up some..."

"What I just ate was egg custard!" Li Huowang interrupted Li Sui directly, repeating it again. "I just ate egg custard."

Li Sui thought for a moment, then asked again, "Really? Where? I want some too."

"Okay, let's go back to the village first. Once we're there, I'll have Yang Xiaohai make some for you. Mom, don't watch here anymore. I have something important now, and I can't stay lucid. I'll definitely be there for dinner in three days."

Led by Li Sui, Li Huowang followed the winding mountain path back to the Bai Family Courtyard. Upon returning to their dwelling, Li Huowang sat on a stool and called out to Li Sui, who was about to head to the kitchen. "Take the gauze off my face. Let's see how my eyes have recovered."

As Li Sui carefully removed the gauze, a beam of light pierced the darkness, making Li Huowang instantly squint. It was too bright. When he slowly opened his eyes again, he found that his world had finally returned to normal; his blind eyes had recovered. After glancing at the black tiled roofs outside the window, Li Huowang focused his attention on Li Sui. She took off her straw hat and removed her straw cape, allowing Li Huowang to fully take in Li Sui's new appearance.