Chapter 634: Qian Fu

"Bang! Bang!" The thudding grew louder as Li Huowang drew nearer. Finally, peeking cautiously through the thick, wire-meshed glass, Li Huowang discovered the source of the noise.

It was a patient in a straitjacket, his face unshaven. He arched his back, tilted his head forcefully, and repeatedly struck the tin bed beneath him. The impacts were loud, but the bed frame appeared thin and didn't seem to cause him much harm.

"What kind of mental illness is this?" Li Huowang stood there, his brow slightly furrowed, observing the man inside with a hint of curiosity. The man was tall and powerfully built, at least 1.8 meters (5'11") tall. His twitching facial features and peculiar habit of alternating between crying and laughing made it impossible for Li Huowang to guess the cause of his condition.

"If he's locked up, he must be on medication, right? Could these be side effects of some psychotropic drug?" Li Huowang mused, hazarding a guess.

Just then, the man in the ward suddenly stopped banging his head. His wide, bloodshot eyes stared intently at Li Huowang through the glass. "Hahahaha! It's you! You're here?"

Li Huowang thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, I'm here."

"Excellent! I've finally been waiting for you! I never expected you to come looking for me before I even had a chance to go find you!"

"Oh, really? Are we well acquainted?"

"Hahaha! Yes! Very well acquainted indeed!"

After a brief, idle chat with the severely ill patient, Li Huowang, seeing nothing particularly noteworthy about him, grew bored and turned to leave.

"Little Li! Be careful! They're looking for you! There are too many of them; you can't fight them alone! You need to find allies!"

Hearing this, Li Huowang's heart sank. He quickly spun around to face the patient, who had now jumped off his bed and pressed his entire face against the glass, glaring intensely at him. But soon, Li Huowang's tense expression eased. "You've seen my news, right? Is that how you know my surname is Li?"

Li Huowang had almost forgotten that he was something of a minor celebrity outside the hospital. It wasn't surprising at all that a patient here would know his surname.

"No! I've known you for a long time! I was one of them; they sent me to capture you! And all of you! But I refused! Because I know if you're gone, everything will be over!"

"Who are 'they'?" Li Huowang asked.

"They! They are the Dark Family, banished long ago! And! And their protectors, the aliens from the constellation Leo!"

Li Huowang almost burst out laughing. "You've watched too much anime, haven't you? And your story doesn't even make sense; did you mix up your plots?"

"I'm locked up, but my brother has been sent down again! He's looking for you! And all of you! He wants to kill you! He's already on his way! Time is running out! You must get me out of here! Only by joining forces with me do we stand a chance!"

Li Huowang, shaking his head with a smile, was about to reply when a patrolling orderly approached from a distance and spotted him. "Hey! What's your bed number? This is the severe ward! You can't just wander in here! Get out!"

"Goodbye, take your medicine, and we'll chat next time." Li Huowang waved to the man in the ward, then turned and left the area.

After wandering around the psychiatric hospital, it was nearly lunchtime. Li Huowang grabbed a metal tray and got in line. Compared to other hospitals, the food here was quite good. He ordered celery with pork liver and water spinach, then found an empty corner in the cafeteria to eat.

Everything that had just happened was completely dismissed from his mind. After all, no one takes the words of someone who is clearly mentally ill seriously. Still, by human instinct, Li Huowang remained slightly curious about the man's actual condition. From their brief exchange, it seemed the man wasn't completely insane or idiotic; there was a certain logic to his words.

Just then, Wei Shili, who happened to suffer from bipolar disorder, walked by. Seeing Li Huowang sitting alone, he approached him. Having spent some time with Li Huowang, Wei Shili had overcome his initial prejudices. Li Huowang claimed he wasn't ill, and at first, Wei Shili hadn't believed him. But now, Wei Shili was starting to come around. Li Huowang seemed perfectly normal, was quite generous, shared snacks from home with other patients, and treated everyone kindly.

"I passed my assessment! As soon as my family comes to pick me up, I can be discharged the day after tomorrow!" Wei Shili exclaimed excitedly, plopping down beside Li Huowang.

"I know, you've already told me that. No need to repeat it."

"Haha, I'm just happy! I've been living here for almost a year; I can finally get out!" Wei Shili scraped the potato and chicken from his tray onto his rice with a spoon, vigorously stirred it, and began eating with gusto.

"Almost a year, huh? That's certainly a long time. By the way, since you've been here so long, do you happen to know the man locked up in the severe restraint ward?" Li Huowang asked.

A flicker of confusion crossed Wei Shili's face. "Locked in severe treatment? Which one?"

"The one with the big beard."

"Oh, him. That's Qian Fu. He's an old patient; he was here long before I arrived."

"What's his condition? And why is he locked up?"

"His condition?" Wei Shili put down his spoon, a hint of uncertainty on his face. "I think... I think it's dissociative identity disorder."

"Dissociative identity disorder? No way. I've never heard of someone with DID talking such nonsense."

Seeing Li Huowang and Wei Shili talking, the woman with anxiety disorder, her face full of gossip, leaned in. "What are you young men chatting about?"

"Nothing much. We're just discussing what Qian Fu's condition really is. Big Sister, it's dissociative identity disorder, right?" Wei Shili asked Zhang Shuie.

"Oh, dissociative identity disorder, my foot. Don't spread rumors if you don't know the facts. The doctors haven't even figured out what his condition is yet; they don't know themselves."

"The doctors don't know what his condition is?" Li Huowang couldn't help but feel a little surprised; it was truly the first time he'd encountered such a situation.

"That's right. Doctors aren't gods who can cure every illness. If a condition isn't documented in medical texts, they're at a loss. Speaking of which, Qian Fu is truly a pitiable man. Since the doctors don't know what's wrong with him, they naturally don't know what medication to prescribe. So, when his condition deteriorates, they can only keep him locked up like this until he stabilizes enough to be released."

Hearing this, Li Huowang's minor confusion vanished. He continued to eat the food on his tray, completely dismissing everything that had happened earlier.

Li Huowang had assumed the matter was closed, but a few days later, while he was eating asparagus lettuce, a man emerged from the corridor, causing him to freeze slightly. It was Qian Fu; he had actually been released.

As Li Huowang looked at Qian Fu, Qian Fu also saw him. Without even collecting his breakfast, he walked directly toward Li Huowang. Just as Li Huowang braced himself, expecting the man to pester him, Qian Fu surprisingly apologized.

"Excuse me, I believe I spoke with you yesterday? Please forgive me if I caused any disturbance. As you know, there's always a reason someone ends up in a place like this."

Compared to the raving Qian Fu from before, today's Qian Fu was remarkably polite, appearing like a completely different person.