Chapter 8: Turning the Page

As Li Huowang turned to walk back, he saw the albino girl shyly take off one shoe and remove a golden ankle bracelet wrapped with red thread from her pale, almost translucent ankle.

Eyes wide, Li Huowang took it. He weighed the golden ankle bracelet in his palm. Though slender, it was gold and likely worth a considerable sum.

After contentedly tucking these items into the wide sleeves of his Taoist robe, he pointed at the white-haired girl and declared, "Listen up, she'll be in charge of the storeroom from now on. You'll do whatever she says."

Seeing everyone nod hesitantly, Li Huowang carried the prepared alchemy ingredients and hurried towards the alchemy chamber.

As he walked, he subtly glanced at others' waists, hoping to find another jade pendant. To his disappointment, he found none.

When Li Huowang returned to the alchemy chamber, he saw the oppressive-looking alchemy furnace slowly open.

Several dark blue pills, with a wave of Dan Yangzi's wide sleeve, quickly lined up and entered the earth-yellow gourd at his waist.

Li Huowang watched this display with fervent envy. This must be the supernatural ability Xuan Yin had mentioned. He wondered if he could find a way to learn it. "Making money seems small-minded now. If I could bring this ability to the real world, then..."

Li Huowang bent down, set down the alchemy ingredients in his hand, and prepared to stand quietly, observing attentively. He knew nothing yet and decided it was best to listen and watch.

"Xuan Yang~"

"Another task? So soon? Am I really just an errand boy now? I can't always be running errands. I need to figure out how to get this bald man to teach me his supernatural ability."

Li Huowang clasped his hands together and bowed to the shouting Dan Yangzi. "Master, what are your orders?"

"Go, bring the medicinal ingredient named Bai Lingmiao from the storeroom."

Li Huowang's heart sank. His right hand, still in the bowing posture, reached into his sleeve and touched the red-threaded ankle bracelet. Bai Lingmiao, it seemed, was the name of the albino girl.

"Hmm?" Dan Yangzi turned to look at his new disciple, who hadn't reacted.

Li Huowang suddenly felt a pang of discomfort. He had just promised to protect her. To go back now and tell her to go to her death... that was simply unacceptable.

"Did you not hear me?"

Feeling Dan Yangzi's tone turn unpleasant, Li Huowang sighed helplessly and closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the sterile white hospital room. "What am I going to do?"

In the past, he would have done as told without a second thought. But the problem was that the other world might now be real. If he actually brought someone there, he would be genuinely committing murder, and he couldn't bring himself to do it.

After the nurses released him, Li Huowang bit his thumbnail and paced back and forth in the room. "What do I do? What do I do?"

Before he could figure out a solution, the ward door was pushed open from outside, and Li Huowang saw his attending physician enter.

A bitter smile spread across his face. "Great, now both paths are blocked. There's no escaping."

The doctor, with a look of disappointment, pointed at him. "You, you... wait until the visiting family leaves, then we'll talk."

"Visiting family?"

Before Li Huowang could react, he saw his haggard-looking mother rush in from outside, carrying tangerines.

"I heard you got into a fight at the hospital? What happened to your head? Why is it bandaged like this? Does it hurt?" The woman rushed over, her expression anxious as she examined him.

"Mom, it doesn't hurt, I'm fine, really. They're the ones with problems," Li Huowang quickly reassured her.

After a long while of reassurance, Li Huowang finally managed to prevent his mother's tears from falling.

In front of his closest relative, any trouble from the other world had to take a backseat for now.

"Don't worry, I'm doing well, and my illness has improved greatly. And I haven't fallen behind on my studies. I'll be able to take the college entrance exam once I'm discharged," Li Huowang tried his best to only share good news.

"Don't hide it, the doctor told me everything. Tell me, what exactly happened that day? Who started it?"

Li Huowang told his mother in the calmest tone he could manage, but it didn't seem to calm things down much.

"Why should we pay when we're in the right?! We won't pay a dime! They were in the wrong. Even if someone is ill, it's the hospital's responsibility to care for them! Our family never bullies anyone, but we certainly won't let others bully us! If they've got the nerve, let them sue! We'd still be in the right in court!" An agitated Sun Xiaoqin pounded the table, making loud thudding sounds.

Seeing the doctor awkwardly rub his nose nearby, Li Huowang continued to soothe her. "Mom, Mom, please don't get agitated. You rarely visit, just spend some time with me."

Sun Xiaoqin suppressed her anger and bent down to take out the fruit from her bag. "Don't worry about this, I'll handle it. Here, these are your favorite grapes. Eat more; look how thin you've gotten. Is the hospital food not good?"

"No, no, the hospital food is quite good," Li Huowang sat beside his mother and began to eat.

Listening to his mother's complaints and eating the sweet grapes, Li Huowang's heart calmed down.

He liked this feeling. Ever since he was admitted to the hospital, he hadn't experienced the warmth of family in a long time.

Looking at his mother, Li Huowang seemed about to open his mouth and tell her everything that had happened to him, but the words stopped at his lips, and he held them back.

No, she was different from Yang Na. If he told her, she would only think his condition had worsened. He couldn't worry her any more. He would tell her once everything stabilized.

Just as the mother and son were chatting happily, the attending physician's phone rang. "Ms. Sun, patient Liu's family has also arrived. What do you think...?"

"Son, stay here and rest assured. Eat more, I'll buy you more when you finish."

After speaking to Li Huowang with a pleasant expression, Sun Xiaoqin puffed out her chest, turned, and walked towards the door like a rooster preparing for a fight.

For some reason, seeing her retreating back, Li Huowang felt an immense sense of security.

Although his mother was strong-willed, just being by her side made Li Huowang feel incredibly safe. She was like a large umbrella shielding him from wind and rain. All the anxiety caused by previous troubles vanished at that moment.

"Heh heh, the lobby is definitely going to be lively soon." Li Huowang picked another yellowish-green grape, put it in his mouth, and bit it open. Sweet, fresh juice burst in his mouth.

Just as he thought this, Li Huowang's body swayed violently. Everything around him began to change color again. "Oh no, Mom's visit made me forget to figure out how to fool that bald man. What do I do now?"

When everything around him stabilized again, Li Huowang saw himself standing in the storeroom. Dan Yangzi stood nearby, his expression unkind. The other medicinal ingredients stood in a circle, their heads bowed low.

With a flip of Dan Yangzi's unkempt right hand, a mass of sticky, wriggling black substance appeared in his palm. Every twitch emitted a sound like a toad licking its eyeballs.

"Huh? Weren't we using Bai Lingmiao for alchemy? Has the plan changed?"

After a brief second of hesitation, Li Huowang asked, "Master, what is this?"

"Hmph, good stuff. Tai Sui, Black Tai Sui."