Chapter 96: Ba Hui Returns

“Pain.” His heart felt as if it were being torn by a knife, and the enormous gash in his abdomen made Li Huowang tremble all over from the agony.

Yet, Li Huowang, whose mental and physical pain was nearing its peak, had a smile on his face.

He smiled as he watched things emerge from the bamboo forest. One of them he recognized; it was himself, but that Li Huowang had large, blood-red eyes.

Crack, crack, crack! As Li Huowang gnashed his teeth, the long awl embedded in his abdomen was twisted hard to the left, then violently yanked.

Thus, Li Huowang's large and small intestines were brutally torn out by the barbs. One end of the intestines remained connected to his abdomen, the other dangled from the awl, and the "bridge" in between swayed in the air, steaming.

“Ahhh!” Driven almost to madness by the pain, Li Huowang raised the long awl, still entwined with his large intestine, and plunged it into the bamboo slip radiating an eerie red glow. Clang! Wicked black sparks flew.

Li Huowang's facial features began to merge again, but this time, guided by the intense pain, his senses were much sharper, allowing him to perceive things more clearly.

Once again, he sensed Ba Kui high and deep in the sky, perceiving the captivating aura emanating from its body.

Yet Ba Kui remained Ba Kui, still oblivious to him. But by sacrificing his dual, extreme pain, Li Huowang obtained what he desired from it – a truly miraculous sensation.

Under Ba Kui's aura, Li Huowang's pain, both physical and mental, gradually transformed, becoming a different kind of substance.

The next moment, an aura of utter despair and terror radiated from Li Huowang, a power that certainly did not belong to the mortal realm.

As if under immense pressure, everything near Li Huowang creaked and bent, collapsing to one side.

Li Huowang raised the dual awls, still wrapped with his intestines, in his right hand and gently sliced.

The space seemed to rip apart; bamboo, bamboo leaves, and all living things within were sliced in half.

From the half-rotted head of the little girl, finger-sized figures crawled out, each bearing the girl's identical face.

These creatures were about to flee, but after only a few steps, they collapsed and died instantly.

Though the Eighteenth of December wasn't among them, Li Huowang, whose facial features were now completely blended, clearly sensed its location.

It was fleeing eastward. It was afraid; all five of its heads were afraid. Li Huowang could even perceive its thoughts at that moment.

Listening to the sound of fear emanating from those red eyes, Li Huowang smiled. He raised the long awl again and viciously plunged it back into his abdomen.

Instantly, everything within a radius around Li Huowang experienced extreme pain, even the bamboo and the pebbles on the ground.

They began to grow more twisted and deformed, more terrifying, and even let out desperate screams of agony.

Among these things was, naturally, the distant Eighteenth of December.

The Eighteenth of December originally had no organs for perceiving pain, but now Li Huowang had granted it the ability to feel agony.

In that moment, its only feeling was profound regret for having dared to offend this person.

But in that mere instant, it was overwhelmed by the intense sensation of pain and, in utter despair, quickly committed suicide.

When everything settled, Li Huowang's swaying body slowly toppled to the right.

Every part of his body ached, yet Li Huowang smiled. He didn't know why he was doing it, but he just smiled.

“With such severe injuries, I should die, right? Hahahaha!”

He felt his internal organs spilling out from the gash in his abdomen, but Li Huowang showed no intention of putting them back.

“It's better to die! If I die, the pain will stop. I'm so tired… But why me? Actually… I don't want to die… I want to feel… happiness… just like everyone else…”

As Li Huowang neared death, his mind grew hazy, and his thoughts lagged.

His merged facial features began to separate, seemingly about to return to their original positions.

Just as they were returning to normal, Li Huowang felt as though Ba Kui in the sky had cast a glance at him.

The next second, Li Huowang's vision went black, and he knew nothing.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but Li Huowang, in his daze, heard drumbeats, footsteps, and even the sound of a nurse breaking an ampoule. These sounds annoyed him immensely.

“So noisy! Be quiet!”

When Li Huowang suddenly opened his eyes, he had no idea what time it was.

He stared blankly at the cart with bottles in front of him. After a long while, Li Huowang realized he wasn't dead; he was merely experiencing a hallucination.

Seeing the beeping machinery around him, Li Huowang understood: he was in the Intensive Care Unit.

Was he happy to be alive? Li Huowang felt little joy, only a touch of regret.

“Why am I not dead yet?” Li Huowang mused.

“Doctor, patient in bed 12 is awake!” a cry rang out.

Ignoring the nurse's surprised voice, Li Huowang silently assessed his situation in the other reality.

Hearing the door open, Li Huowang slowly closed his eyes, completely shutting off his perception of the outside world, and quietly waited for this hallucination to pass.

Suddenly, Li Huowang heard a familiar voice: his attending psychiatrist from the mental hospital, Li Xiangguo.

“Xiao Li, I know you're awake. Open your eyes and look, how about we talk?”

Li Huowang remained unmoved. He didn't want any contact with this place right now.

“Yang Na has a new boyfriend.”

Li Huowang's eyes shot open, only to see the doctor, arms crossed, with a smug, triumphant smile on his face.

He was about to clench his fist and smash that smiling face, but then he realized his right hand was handcuffed to the hospital bed.

“Don't get so agitated. Yang Na doesn't have a new boyfriend. You see, when something important comes up, you still react. Why are you so resistant?”

The doctor in the white coat pulled up a stool and sat by Li Huowang's bedside. “Let me guess, you've started believing that other world is real again?”

As Li Huowang's breathing quickened, the nearby machines began to alarm, but he ultimately said nothing, closing his eyes once more.

“Xiao Li, let's skip the pleasantries this time. Since you believe that ‘other world’ is real, why don't we talk about it? Ask yourself, which world, that one or this one, seems more like a normal world?”