Chapter 6: Value

Yang Na, seeing Li Huowang's action, nervously took a small step back. "What are you doing?" she whispered. "We're talking here; the nurses' station can hear us."

No sooner had she finished speaking than snickering came from the speaker by the bed. "Ho ho ho," the nurses chuckled. "It's fine, we can't hear you! Go for it, Little Brother Li~"

"Sisters, can you stop gossiping so much?" he called out. "Focus your attention on the intensive care unit instead!"

After calling out to the bedside, Li Huowang took Yang Na's hand and led her to another corner of the room.

He pulled the jade pendant from his pocket and placed it in her palm. Then, he leaned in, his lips close to her ear, and whispered instructions. As he spoke, Yang Na's eyes widened progressively.

"How is this even possible, this—" Yang Na began, but before she could finish, Li Huowang reached out and covered her mouth.

Their eyes met. Li Huowang gazed at Yang Na with intense longing.

"Please, help me," he pleaded. "Everything I've told you is true. Even my parents outside don't believe me; they all think I'm crazy. You're the only person I can turn to, the only one in the world I trust. I'm really not crazy!"

Yang Na looked at Li Huowang for a few seconds before finally biting her lip and nodding. As she left, her eyes were red, and she kept looking back, clearly very worried about Li Huowang's mental state.

Li Huowang watched her retreating figure with a complex mix of emotions. He no longer cared what others thought of him, but Yang Na was different.

"Nana, trust me," he murmured, "Just this once!"

The wait was agonizingly long. Li Huowang paced nervously back and forth in his room.

During this time, he experienced hallucinations again, but Li Huowang forced himself back as quickly as possible. Though the doctors said this was very detrimental to his recovery, he was afraid of missing Yang Na.

Days passed, one after another, and Li Huowang's mood swung increasingly between hope and despair.

"Little Li, your girlfriend is here to see you~" the nurse announced. Hearing this, Li Huowang immediately sprang from his bed and rushed towards the hospital entrance.

In the hospital garden, Li Huowang and Yang Na met, excitedly embracing each other.

Suppressing her voice, Yang Na whispered excitedly into his ear, "Huowang, it's real! The jade pendant is real!"

"I'm not sick! Hahaha! I'm not sick!" Li Huowang cried, excitedly embracing her slender waist and spinning her around.

After a long while of excitement, they finally calmed down.

"When I asked for your help, it didn't affect your life or studies, did it?" Li Huowang asked, looking at Yang Na who was sitting on the edge of the flowerbed.

Yang Na didn't answer directly. Instead, she changed the subject, holding up four slender, graceful fingers to Li Huowang. "Do you know how much that jade pendant is worth? This much!"

"Forty... thousand?"

"Four hundred thousand! And I'm sure he lowballed it. If we ask a few more places, it'll definitely be even higher."

"Four hundred thousand... four hundred thousand..." Li Huowang grinned foolishly. This amount could not only cover his treatment costs over the years but also leave him with a significant surplus. More importantly, this was just the beginning.

"Yang Na, ready to be a little rich lady?"

Li Huowang's teasing made Yang Na's cheeks flush slightly. "Stop being so cheeky," she said. "This whole situation is so strange. Are you sure it won't harm your body?"

"I'm fine, what could possibly happen to me? I'm great. If this is truly the case, then my treatment might have to be postponed. This is a treasure; I can't be cured so quickly."

Hearing this, Yang Na's expression tensed. She said worriedly to Li Huowang, "Huowang, these are two separate matters. I don't care about the money. Your treatment absolutely cannot stop, and neither can your medication. Promise me, or I won't help you again."

Li Huowang thought of many reasons to argue, but seeing her concerned and worried eyes, a warmth spread through him. "Alright," he conceded, "I promise."

Yang Na smiled, reaching out to gently pat his head. "That's a good boy, you stinky little brother."

Just as they were discussing how to convert the jade pendant into cash, several burly, middle-aged men carrying riot forks rushed past them.

"Master Zhao, what's wrong? Is something happening?" Li Huowang asked, confused, to one of the familiar faces.

"Don't ask so many questions, Little Li. Get back to your ward quickly. And if you see Old Man Liu, report it immediately! That guy must have secretly spit out his medicine again." The man spoke hastily, then turned and rushed toward the stairs.

"Isn't the intensive care unit surrounded by two layers of iron railings?" Li Huowang wondered aloud, looking over. "How could Old Man Liu, with his small build, possibly escape?"

He had stayed there for a period when he couldn't distinguish between hallucinations and reality—a memory he didn't cherish.

Seeing other patients being escorted back to their wards by the nurses, Li Huowang turned to Yang Na. "It's getting a bit chaotic here," he said. "You should head back for now. Call the hospital tonight, and we'll talk on the phone."

"Okay, you take care here. And remember what you just promised me," Yang Na said. Then, she turned and walked towards the hospital entrance in the distance.

"Four hundred thousand..." Li Huowang murmured with a sigh as he turned and walked towards his ward. Once he was certain the jade pendant was truly worth that much, his mind began to fill with new ideas.

What did it matter if it was a hallucination or reality? If things from that other side were worth so much money, then who cared if it was real or not?

He had only taken a few steps when a familiar scream erupted from behind him. Li Huowang whirled around to see a bald, gaunt old man tackling Yang Na to the ground.

Seeing this, Li Huowang's blood boiled. Gritting his teeth, his expression contorted with rage, he charged toward them. "Old Man Liu!" he roared. "That's my girlfriend! Let her go!"

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~" A sudden whistling sound. A hexagonal floor tile, ripped from the ground, came spinning through the air and struck Li Huowang directly on the head.

The world spun around him. Li Huowang crashed heavily to the ground, his vision quickly consumed by a crimson haze. His head was bleeding.

Through the blur of red, Li Huowang saw a pair of swollen, massive feet, constrained by a hospital gown, walk past him, heading towards a struggling, screaming Yang Na.

As the heavy footsteps steadily approached Yang Na, Li Huowang's mind buzzed, leaving him with only one thought: they couldn't hurt Yang Na!

Trembling, he pulled a pill his master had given him from his pocket, mixed it with his own flowing blood, and forced it into his mouth.

In an instant, an intensely hot surge of warmth erupted from his stomach, flowing into his limbs. He instantly felt filled with power, and his muddled head became incredibly clear.

"Bang!" He swung a punch, landing squarely on the assailant's fat jaw. Instantly, a mouthful of yellowed teeth loosened and flew out, leaving only a few remaining in no time.

Li Huowang, covered in blood, ignored the fallen fat man. He strode up to Old Man Liu and kicked him squarely in his gaunt chest.

"Crack, crack." Bones fractured repeatedly as Old Man Liu, spitting blood, was sent flying, limp as a noodle.

Seeing Yang Na on the ground, tearfully clutching her torn sweater, Li Huowang gritted his teeth so hard that his gums bled.

His bloodshot eyes glared fiercely at the two motionless figures nearby. He stomped his foot heavily on the concrete ground, then lunged at them like a cheetah.

"Huowang! Stop! What are you doing?!"