Chapter 532: Returned

Li Huowang, his head throbbing, painstakingly opened his eyes a crack. "As expected," he murmured, "it's still too strenuous for me to manifest a Heart-Binding master through illusion at this stage."

"For Zhuge Yuan to assist me like Peng Longteng, I'd probably need to reach the highest level of cultivation."

Sensing the gravity of the situation, Li Huowang struggled to sit up. After vigorously shaking his throbbing head, he painstakingly opened his eyes and asked, "Brother Zhuge, I apologize, I passed out later and didn't see—"

Li Huowang looked at the white-coated doctors surrounding him, and his words abruptly stopped.

When he realized with a start that he was strapped to a medical device, it dawned on him. "I... I'm back again?"

"Li Huowang? Li Huowang? Look at my fingers, how many are these?" Three fingers waved in front of Li Huowang.

"Three?"

"Very good. It seems this intensified electroshock therapy has finally brought you back to your senses."

Under the doctor's direction, the orderlies approached, unfastened the restraints on Li Huowang's hands and feet, and removed the pads from his temples and the electrodes from his head.

"Come, take your medicine first."

When some pills and a glass of water were presented to him, Li Huowang's pupils instantly constricted. He forcefully swatted away the capsules. "Who's giving me medicine? I won't take any!!"

"Li Sui! Quickly grab the Spine Sword and send me back to Daliang! Don't trust anyone who comes near me now!!" Li Huowang, gaunt and dressed in a blue and white striped hospital gown, screamed frantically at his surroundings.

At that moment, a male doctor wearing rimless glasses motioned for the surrounding orderlies to step back. He carefully approached Li Huowang and said earnestly, "Li Huowang, don't be afraid, it's me! Don't you remember? I'm your doctor, Yi Donglai."

"Yi Donglai?" Li Huowang looked at the familiar face before him, and many memories flooded back.

"I don't care who you are, I'm not eating anything now! No matter what medicine it is, if you want to force-feed me, do it when I'm on the other side!" Li Huowang's voice was loud enough to be heard in the corridor outside, and some people occasionally peeked in through the doorway.

"Alright, no problem. Don't be nervous. I won't force-feed you medicine, and I have no ill will towards you," Yi Donglai said, slowly taking a step back and gently pressing his open hands downwards.

Seeing the doctor's actions, Li Huowang slightly relaxed. Regardless of whose projection this person was from Daqi, at least he seemed to have no immediate ill will.

Seeing his patient's emotions stabilize, Yi Donglai slowly lifted a stool and placed it next to Li Huowang. "Come, take your time. Sit down first; your muscles aren't in a state suitable for standing right now."

Li Huowang looked at Yi Donglai, then at the stool. He reached for the spot where the Purple Spike Sword would be, made a strong slashing motion towards the stool with an imaginary grip, and then slowly sat down.

Yi Donglai nodded, then looked up at the camera in the top left corner. "Later, please copy this video segment and send it to my computer," he instructed.

After speaking, he turned his gaze back to Li Huowang, who was staring at him. "From your recent words, it sounds like things aren't going so well over there, are they? Have you run into some trouble?"

Li Huowang remained silent, facing the inquiry. He didn't believe Yi Donglai could help him with the Dice of the Forgetful Dao.

Yi Donglai reached up and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Li Huowang," he began, "speaking of which, is that dice trying to steal the Dragon Vein of Daliang?"

"Huh?!" Li Huowang stared at Yi Donglai with a shocked expression. This guy actually knew what he had encountered over there?

But Yi Donglai's words hit the nail on the head. Li Huowang immediately realized that if the Dragon Vein's importance could even influence the entire course of history, and the dice specifically wanted Ji Lin to ascend the throne, did that mean it had a scheme involving the Dragon Vein?

Although he still didn't know the dice's ultimate purpose, it was the Forgetful Dao. What could be more alluring to it than toying with an entire span of history?

If what Zhuge Yuan said was true, it was the last rupture of Daqi's Dragon Vein that led to the emergence of Daliang.

If the dice's purpose was truly achieved, Li Huowang dared not even imagine the immense catastrophic consequences that would follow!

Seeing Li Huowang deep in thought, Yi Donglai had everyone else leave the room and closed the door. The room instantly became quiet, with only the two of them remaining.

He pulled a stool from the side, placed it in front of Li Huowang, and sat down cross-legged. "From a doctor's rational perspective," he began, "I think you'd better immediately stop helping your 'emperor.' In fact, you shouldn't just stop helping him; you should also secretly assist other contenders for the throne."

"However, your Miaomiao being captured by the dice is indeed a problem. Regarding this, why don't we brainstorm a solution together?"

"Wait a moment!" Li Huowang, clutching his head with a pained expression, interrupted Yi Donglai.

After taking a few breaths and calming himself down, he finally spoke to Yi Donglai: "Don't talk to me about this. These matters have nothing to do with you!"

"What? Is the confusion between reality and illusion making you uncomfortable? It's okay, if you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. Then let's talk about something else, like the deal between us."

"A deal?" Li Huowang, having recovered, looked at Yi Donglai.

"That's right. You know, you're like a living Bodhisattva now, impossible to get rid of, stuck here at Baitaa Hospital. The leaders are getting quite a headache."

"Their headaches mean pressure for me, your attending doctor. So, how about this: the next time the leaders inspect, you remain lucid for a while to demonstrate that my treatment regimen is effective?"

As he spoke, Yi Donglai stood up, walked to Li Huowang's side, helped him up, and led him towards the window to look at the scenery outside.

"In exchange, I can fulfill all your requests within my authority. This way, it's good for everyone, isn't it?"

A very unfamiliar smartphone slipped from Yi Donglai's sleeve into Li Huowang's hand.

As Li Huowang lightly touched the screen, an animated screensaver suddenly appeared before him. Li Huowang then remembered: this was his own phone.

"The games are all updated for you. Want to try playing them?"

His finger lightly pressed the fingerprint sensor, and a familiar interface appeared before Li Huowang. Looking at QQ and WeChat, past memories instantly flooded his mind.

"It's not just the phone. As long as you cooperate, I can even restore a certain degree of personal freedom to you. You could go to the cafeteria for meals, use the computer, or watch movies."

Li Huowang's body suddenly jerked as if electrocuted, and he staggered back a few steps. "Don't try that trick on me! Other doctors have already tried that on me! You just want me to maintain as much contact with this side as possible, subtly making me believe this side is real and the other side is all an illusion!"