Chapter 556: Return

"Mom, I'm really doing well. It's just that I've had more free time lately, which means I'm conscious less often, but things will get better and better in the future," Li Huowang said reassuringly to Sun Xiaoqin, his body restrained in the hospital bed.

Sun Xiaoqin smiled and shook her head. "I'm not worried, really I'm not. Here, have an apple."

"Mom, I can't eat right now," Li Huowang said. Seeing Sun Xiaoqin's smile gradually fade, he quickly added, "Mom, next time I want to eat, I'll yell for food while I'm unconscious. How about you feed me an apple then?"

Hearing this, Sun Xiaoqin smiled and nodded. "Alright, I'll listen to my son."

As Li Huowang relaxed and chatted with Sun Xiaoqin, he suddenly noticed Yi Donglai standing at the ward door, staring at him through the glass.

Noticing that Li Huowang had seen him, Yi Donglai adjusted his frameless glasses, turned the doorknob, and entered.

After asking Sun Xiaoqin to leave, Yi Donglai asked casually, "How are things? Has Bai Lingmiao been found?"

Li Huowang responded with silence.

"The sun is so nice outside, how about we go get some?" Yi Donglai untied the restraints on Li Huowang's limbs, but Li Huowang didn't move.

Yi Donglai, who had just rolled over a wheelchair, raised an eyebrow. "Why aren't you moving?"

Looking up at Yi Donglai, Li Huowang said indifferently, "I'm riding a horse right now. Moving around might make me fall off."

Yi Donglai nodded understandingly and pushed the wheelchair away. "Do you know? I spoke with your previous doctor, Wang Wei, for a bit."

This caught Li Huowang's attention. "What illness was he hospitalized for?"

"Anyone who comes here has an illness. However, his paperwork was incomplete. He was specifically transferred here through connections, so the dean transferred him out again."

"Let's not talk about him. His illness is much less severe than yours. However, during my conversation with him, we discussed a new treatment plan."

"This plan hasn't been tried before, but since conventional treatments have all been attempted on you without success, perhaps we can try this one."

Li Huowang looked at him and smiled. With a calm expression, he said, "Then let's try it. What if it works?"

Both worlds were real, and he was a person stuck between them. Did Yi Donglai really think ordinary medical methods could extract him from this situation?

If only things could be resolved as easily as a fairy tale, that would be wonderful.

"It's not that fast; there are procedures to follow. But I think the higher-ups will sign off. You're a real headache for them; they're eager for you to get better so you can be sent to another subordinate unit."

"If there's nothing else, I need to go back now. It's not easy to carve out even a little time on the way."

Hearing this, Yi Donglai's expression turned serious, and his determined gaze, magnified by the green tint of his lenses, fixed on Li Huowang.

"I know you don't believe me, but I want to tell you, I'm a very stubborn person. It's precisely this stubbornness that ensures every patient who comes through my hands recovers and is discharged. Even for those incurable patients, the prognosis under my care is the best in the entire hospital!"

"Since you are my patient, I will do everything in my power to cure you! No matter how many methods it takes."

"Thank you, you're a good doctor, but you truly can't help with this matter. Please don't trouble yourself further," Li Huowang said, slowly closing his eyes.

In the darkness, Li Huowang heard Yi Donglai's voice gradually fading. "Oh, really? I refuse to believe that. In fact, you're not without vulnerabilities. I've already found some patterns and figured out how to intervene."

In a daze, Li Huowang was jolted awake by a clap of thunder. He found himself astride a horse, tentacles emerging from his red Taoist robe firmly gripping the reins.

Just then, it suddenly began to pour. In the torrential rain, Li Huowang picked up his bamboo hat and placed it on his head.

"How long have we been riding?" Li Huowang asked Li Sui.

"Father, I don't know. You never taught me that."

Looking at the dirt road that was gradually turning to mud, Li Huowang bit the pad of his index finger, drew a talisman, and affixed it to the horse's back.

The somewhat exhausted, sturdy horse immediately had its veins bulging, and it galloped forward at twice its previous speed.

"We should be nearing Shangjing," Li Huowang thought to himself, observing the somewhat familiar surroundings.

Hoofbeats continued ceaselessly until nightfall. As a bolt of lightning instantly struck, Li Huowang finally saw the tall city walls of Shangjing, illuminated by the flash.

Holding his Sky Watcher's badge high, Li Huowang rode through the city gate without obstruction.

Another bolt of lightning struck. At this point, Li Huowang began to feel that something was amiss; why did the lightning consistently strike in one specific direction within the city?

Gazing at the deserted streets, Li Huowang suddenly realized something. He quickly pulled the reins and galloped towards the direction of the lightning.

The sky grew progressively darker, yet a towering blaze erupted within Shangjing — it was Princess Anping's residence!

By the time Li Huowang dismounted from his exhausted, dead horse and rushed into the palace with his sword, he saw a towering pyramid of human heads already erected in front of the raging inferno of the palace.

"Ah~ you must be Erjiu, right?" A slovenly Taoist priest emerged from the shadows nearby.

His Taoist robe was tattered and covered in patches, his two dirty feet were bare, and on his head, a filthy green velvet pompom was tied with a red rope.

At that moment, Li Huowang was completely unfazed by the Taoist's bizarre appearance; his entire attention was focused on the Taoist's left hand, which clutched a woman's head!

"Erjiu, why are you only just arriving now? Hmm? His Majesty is quite disappointed in you. To take so long with the weakest of women — this Daoist master could have finished it with one hand, let alone by himself."

The patched Taoist priest took Princess Anping's head and placed it on the very top of the gruesome pyramid.

At that moment, Princess Anping's beautiful face was contorted in despair, her mouth wide open, catching the relentless rain from above. This was no mere substitute; this was her true body.

Princess Anping was dead. The last contender for the throne was gone, which meant Ji Lin was about to ascend! The Dice's objective had been achieved.

The Taoist in the tattered robe, with his hands clasped behind his back, leisurely walked up to Li Huowang and said with deep regret, "Ah~ some people just lack foresight. His Majesty is about to ascend as a true Emperor. They know how to offer charcoal in the snow, but not how to add flowers to embroidery."

In the heavy rain, Li Huowang clenched his fists. "No! He cannot ascend! Not until the Dice is dead, at least!!"

Just as the Taoist in the tattered robe prepared to leave, Li Huowang gripped the hilt of his backbone sword and swung it forcefully towards him.

Just as the rift was about to strike the Taoist's head, his head retracted into his robes like a turtle's, dodging the attack completely.

Immediately after, the Taoist's head re-emerged from within his robe, facing backward, then twisted around to glare fiercely at Li Huowang. "How dare you ambush this Daoist master!"

"You killed her, and only you know Princess Anping is dead. If I kill you, then in everyone else's eyes, Princess Anping will still be alive! Ji Lin won't be able to ascend!!"

With that, Li Huowang, his body covered in tentacles, lunged at the Taoist.