Chapter 9: Black Tai Sui

"Tai Sui, Black Tai Sui," Danyangzi's cold voice rang out in the small preparation room.

Li Huowang tilted his head slightly, glancing once more at the repulsive object in Danyangzi's hand. Upon closer inspection, he realized it bore a resemblance to the contents of the black cauldron. No, it was precisely the same man-eating substance from within that cauldron.

"This thing is called Black Tai Sui? Is he actually planning to use it for alchemy? What a heavy taste," Li Huowang thought to himself.

With a slight flick of Danyangzi's wrist, the wriggling mass of Black Tai Sui flew through the air in an arc, landing squarely on Li Huowang's foot. The sticky, soft sensation sent shivers down Li Huowang's spine, and his legs trembled as he continuously backed away. Staring at the Black Tai Sui, now coated in dust on the floor, Li Huowang looked up at Danyangzi, bewildered, momentarily unable to grasp his meaning.

"It's a gift for you. Pick it up and swallow it. Previously, you were merely a medicinal primer, but now that you are my disciple, you cannot be so casual. It will suppress your dissociative disorder."

Li Huowang seemed not to understand what he was saying, nor did he want to. The young man's face turned ashen, and he kept backing away. "I won't eat it! I'm not sick!"

"Won't eat it? Humph, you have no choice in the matter. Changming, Changren."

Danyangzi slightly lifted his chin, and two Taoist priests, swords strapped to their backs, swiftly approached Li Huowang, each seizing one of his arms. Immediately afterward, Danyangzi gestured with his right hand, and the Black Tai Sui, which had been wriggling towards the corner of the wall, flew directly into his grasp.

Watching Danyangzi approach him, holding the repulsive object, Li Huowang's body began to tremble uncontrollably, feeling an icy chill seep into him from the inside out. He instinctively wanted to struggle and flee, but his two senior brothers' hands, like iron clamps, firmly locked his shoulders.

Fortunately, he had one last resort. As Li Huowang's breathing quickened and his chest heaved violently with fear, he clenched his teeth, shut his eyes tightly, and with all his might, willed his mind and body to shrink inwards.

"Huowang? Huowang! What's wrong? Are you feeling bad?" Yang Na's gentle voice sounded like heavenly music to Li Huowang at that moment. He opened his eyes and, seeing the girl in a white turtleneck sweater, excitedly lunged forward, embracing her tightly as if she were a lifeline.

A faint blush appeared on the young girl's cheeks. As she struggled, she whispered, "Huowang, Huowang, please let me go. Auntie and the others are watching."

Li Huowang looked up and saw his mother standing beside the attending doctor, smiling broadly. "Oh, my son is so wonderful."

Looking at the clean, tidy hospital room, the bright sunshine outside the window, and his beloved family, Li Huowang's fear-stricken heart gradually calmed.

The attending doctor, pushing up his glasses, walked forward with a slight frown. "Xiao Li, what did you see in your hallucination? Your emotional fluctuations are quite significant. What's been happening lately? Have you been following my instructions?"

Remembering everything he had just endured, Li Huowang's heart suddenly tightened. He anxiously asked his attending physician, "Doctor, is there any medication that can temporarily suppress these hallucinations? I really can't bear it anymore. I need a break."

"Alright," the doctor sighed. "I'll prescribe some haloperidol and perphenazine for you. But Xiao Li, medication can only serve as an auxiliary treatment. To completely get rid of the hallucinations, you still need to follow my methods." The doctor then used his tablet to prescribe the medication.

When the nurse brought several blue capsules, Li Huowang rushed over and put them directly into his mouth, not even bothering to drink water. He didn't want to think about any master or any elixir anymore. All he wanted was to be quiet for a while. The recent scene had truly terrified him. The capsules felt sticky and gritty in his mouth, which was repulsive, but he forced himself to swallow them despite the nausea.

"Xiao Li, tell me, what frightened you in your hallucination just now?"

Feeling much better after the medication, Li Huowang replied with a laugh, "Nothing much. It's just that the guy over there spoke in a strange tone, as if he was saying that *their* side was reality and *our* side was the hallucination. Ha ha ha."

As soon as he spoke, the air around them became as still as if frozen. The unusually vibrant colors dulled. Yang Na, her mother, the attending doctor, and the nurse who delivered the medicine all froze in place.

The sudden change in his surroundings made Li Huowang's body tremble. His breathing grew more rapid as he looked out the window helplessly. The once bright, sunny sky had turned pitch black, and his safe, peaceful environment had vanished. A tangible fear enveloped him, panic overwhelming all other emotions. Guided by instinct, Li Huowang pulled Yang Na and lunged towards his mother's embrace.

Yet, the moment he touched his mother, her body burst apart like foam. His strong, dependable mother, who had always sheltered him, also vanished.

"Huowang...." Li Huowang's body violently shuddered. He spun around sharply, watching as Yang Na's body completely dematerialized before his eyes. His only beloved had also vanished.

At that moment, all the positive and beautiful things Li Huowang cherished disappeared, leaving him with only despair, oppression, and pain. The hospital's white walls and everything around him receded rapidly, as if with the tide. He was back in the dim cave among the mountains.

With bloodshot eyes and veins bulging on his forehead, Li Huowang wanted to yell, to howl, to pour out all the despair and suffering in his heart. But he couldn't. His throat was completely blocked by the Black Tai Sui, preventing any sound. All the despair and pain surged back, forcing him to endure it all fully.

Watching his disciple kneeling on the ground, trembling and dry-heaving, Danyangzi shook his head as he walked out of the preparation room, his hands behind his back. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. So deranged, and you still claim you don't have dissociative disorder? You're the sickest one in this entire preparation room. Did you think I picked medicine primers at random before?"

"Alright, your dissociative disorder is gone. Now you can work properly. Remember, Qingfeng Temple doesn't keep idlers. Come to me for your medicine on the first day of each month."

With that, Danyangzi's other disciples also left with him. The entire preparation room was now empty except for Li Huowang on the floor and the other medicinal primers scattered around. The strangely shaped medicine primers, suffering from various congenital or acquired diseases, looked at each other, momentarily unsure of what to do.

After about half an incense stick's time, the Black Tai Sui in Li Huowang's mouth finally slid down. His heart-wrenching wails echoed continuously within the cave.

"Why!! Why am I in this cursed place, and this illness still won't leave me alone!!"