Chapter 567: Death

Li Huowang picked up the golden-yellow fries in front of him and examined them closely. Sprinkled with fine salt, the fries glowed yellow in the morning light.

After a moment, he dipped a fry in ketchup and popped it into his mouth. Instantly, a burst of sour, salty, crispy, and savory flavors filled his palate.

Next, Li Huowang took several big gulps of ice-cold cola, holding the cup with both hands. Then he bit forcefully into his burger, and creamy white cheese squeezed out from the corner of his mouth, dripping onto his blue and white striped hospital gown.

"Son, eat slowly. If it's not enough, Mom will buy you more," Sun Xiaoqin said, wiping the cheese off his gown with her finger and putting it into her own mouth.

After gently stroking the back of her son's head, Sun Xiaoqin stepped back a few paces and approached Yi Donglai, who was taking notes in a notebook. "Doctor," she began, "my son suddenly has such a good appetite, and he's not speaking nonsense anymore. Is he getting better?"

Yi Donglai watched Li Huowang gobbling down his food, his brows furrowed, and shook his head slightly. "Sister Sun, please step outside for now. I still need to observe him."

"Alright, alright! I'm leaving then. Please take good care of him. If you can cure my son, I'll kneel and personally present you with a banner of gratitude!"

Hearing the door close, Yi Donglai walked slowly to Li Huowang's bedside, pulled up a stool, and sat down. He asked, as if making casual conversation, "What happened to you? What trauma did you experience over there?"

Li Huowang ignored him. After finishing the fast food on his tray, he picked up a handheld game console that was paused nearby and began pressing the buttons rapidly. He was completely absorbed, as if his mind and body were fully immersed in the game.

"Zhuge Yuan is dead."

"Smash!" The handheld console, still playing its background music, instantly hit the wall and shattered into pieces.

At this moment, Li Huowang was fully sprawled on Yi Donglai's body, his hands gripping Yi Donglai's sleeves tightly, and he shrieked hysterically, "Are you trying to die?! I can bite through the blood vessels in your neck with just my teeth!!"

Yi Donglai raised his right hand backward, stopping the two prison guards who were rushing in through the door. "Li Huowang, you're a good child. You wouldn't do such a thing."

"Good my ass!" Li Huowang headbutted Yi Donglai, sending his head snapping backward.

Yi Donglai touched his bleeding nose. Undeterred, he pulled out tissues from his white coat pocket, crumpled them into two balls, and stuffed them into his nostrils.

Li Huowang's enraged shouts echoed repeatedly in the ward. "Do you know? I've really had enough! I can't take it anymore! Why me? Why am I the only one living such a hard life?"

"I'm human too! I'm not made of steel! Nothing good ever happened to me over there! Again and again, again and again, I'm so exhausted from holding on! I've had enough!"

Li Huowang stumbled, leaning on the wall, and walked towards the window. "I'm never going back to that chaotic, despairing world, never! It's all fake! That madness, everything is fake! It's just hallucinations caused by my illness! Let me die if I have to!"

"Yi Donglai! Give me a certificate! I'm cured! I want to go back to school! I want to go out and find Yang Na!!"

However, Yi Donglai pushed up his glasses and gently shook his head. "No, Li Huowang. Escaping indefinitely won't work. You have to go back. The Dragon Veins of Daliang haven't been reconnected yet, and that concerns the lives of so many people in Daqi."

Li Huowang slowly turned around, staring fixedly at his attending doctor. "Are you insane?!"

Yi Donglai walked over to him and looked out the window at other patients enjoying recreational time. "Huowang, do you know that some psychological illnesses are actually closely related to a consistent reluctance to face things? No matter what you're avoiding, avoidance is ineffective. You must bravely confront it."

"Heh... 'Confront it,' easy for you to say!"

Li Huowang's eyes were bloodshot, and he clutched his chest tightly with his right hand, his voice trembling as he said, "You have no idea what I've been through. Put yourself in my shoes and see if you can say that so lightly!!"

"What about Bai Lingmiao? Her fate is uncertain, and you don't care? And Li Sui, didn't you say she's your daughter? Look at how your mother treats you, then look at how you treat Li Sui."

Upon hearing this, Li Huowang's features slowly contorted. He grabbed the bed rails and forcefully slammed his head upwards against them.

"Li Huowang! Calm down! Calm down!" Yi Donglai, along with the prison guards, struggled for a while before finally managing to put the bleeding Li Huowang back into a straitjacket, securing him to the bed. He then administered a sedative injection.

Wiping the fine sweat from his forehead, Yi Donglai continued to speak to Li Huowang, "Don't be disheartened. Life often has its disappointments, but what's happened has happened. We must always find a way to get through it."

"If you encounter any more difficulties over there and don't know what to do, I can help you. If there's something I don't understand, I can even look it up online for you."

Li Huowang, his head buzzing, looked at Yi Donglai sluggishly and spoke slowly, enunciating each word: "Is this the method you mentioned earlier? Considering my perspective? Do you really think it will work?"

Yi Donglai did not answer Li Huowang. Instead, he picked up another syringe and injected a substance intravenously into Li Huowang. "Your mental stress is too high. You haven't slept in two days. Get some good rest first."

As the cold medicine flowed into his bloodstream, Li Huowang felt his vision dim, and he gradually lost consciousness.

When Li Huowang awoke again, he found himself lying face-up in a well, his mouth tasting astringent, as if he had eaten something unpleasant.

Wells were impossible in modern society. Li Huowang understood that he had returned, but instead of standing up immediately, he stared blankly at the circular white light above his head.

He was back again. Everything he didn't want to face had returned.

Li Huowang looked at his other hallucinations: Peng Longteng, the Monk, Hongzhong Zuowangdao, Qiu Chibao, Jin Shanzhao. All of them were there, except for Zhuge Yuan.

"Your name is Er Jiu, correct? How peculiar. Your Five Elements, fire and metal, are still present, but why are the other three missing?"

"We shall meet again, Er Jiu. I am Zhuge Yuan. If you encounter any insoluble problems, remember to come find me on Almond Isle in the West Sea. Although my abilities are limited, I will do my best to help you if I can."

"True understanding between people lies in understanding each other's hearts! Why ask so many questions in life? I simply do what I want to do! The Ji Si Ming is manifest!!"

"Because I want to save Daqi!!"

After a long time, Li Huowang shook his head vigorously, shaking off tears. He reached for the well rope and laboriously climbed out of the well.

He wanted to curse Zhuge Yuan, even beat him soundly, to vent all the dissatisfaction he felt towards him.

But now he couldn't, because Zhuge Yuan was dead. Dead was dead.