Chapter 989: Treatment

Li Huowang slowly opened his eyes, the sunlight streaming in from the window to his left making it hard for him to see.

After days of waiting, he had finally returned. However, he hadn't been idle during this time, having completely eliminated all of Sanqing's forces. Regardless of what Sanqing might do in Bai Yujing in the future, as long as Li Huowang was there, Sanqing would no longer be able to intervene or influence anything.

As Li Huowang's eyes adjusted to the sunlight, he noticed that his surroundings had changed. The luxurious villa where Qingwang had once stayed was now replaced by an old, simple house. Looking out the window, he could tell they were in the countryside.

Li Huowang looked down at himself and found he was tightly bound with cloth strips. He turned his head slightly and saw a pale and weary Yang Na sleeping beside him. Clearly, she had been taking care of him during this time.

He gently called her name a few times. Half-asleep, Yang Na groggily woke up. She fumbled to untie Li Huowang, then hugged and kissed him before lying back down and falling into a deep sleep.

Carefully pulling the blanket over Yang Na, Li Huowang put on his shoes and walked out. As soon as he stepped out, he saw the others eating breakfast, and Yi Donglai was among them.

"Awake? Come eat. Since you're awake, there's no need to deliver it." A bowl of white porridge, two fried dough sticks, and a salted duck egg were placed in front of him.

"How did we get here?" Li Huowang walked over and began to eat.

Zhao Shuangdian, the only one not eating and busy typing on a keyboard, spoke up, "The elephant on the other side used the rules to ambush our stronghold. We moved beforehand."

This news made Li Huowang's heart sink. It was clear that the other side wouldn't just sit back; they were constantly trying to eliminate them. Although they had narrowly avoided disaster this time, they might not be so lucky next time.

"You anticipated the elephant's move? Besides that, what else can you predict?" Li Huowang asked, looking at her laptop. If Zhao Shuangdian could make certain predictions about the Si Ming of Fushengtian, it would be a significant advantage.

"I'm still observing. But I'm not sure if my current model is correct, or how much error there is. With Qingwang gone, our situation is becoming increasingly grim," Zhao Shuangdian said, her brows still furrowed.

Hearing the name "Qingwang," Li Huowang's expression instantly turned grim. He suppressed his anger and said, "Don't worry, the world still turns without Qingwang. I've found helpers, many, many helpers."

"It's not about his strength; it's about his information. What he said before he left, I'm really concerned about it," Zhao Shuangdian said, resting her chin on one hand and tapping her cheek with her index finger.

"Don't believe him!" Li Huowang's voice suddenly rose. "Dice has defected to him! The Heavenly Dao of Lies is in his hands now! Everything he said was a complete lie!"

"But what's the reason?" Zhao Shuangdian looked at Li Huowang.

"What?"

"If what he said was false, then what was his reason for deceiving us? I've considered the scenario you mentioned, but I can't find a reason for him to lie."

"We have a common enemy; that's an undisputed fact. It doesn't logically make sense for him to lie to us about enemy intelligence, unless he's a pawn of another elephant."

"In this situation, it's most likely he told the truth because only then can we bear the pressure from the enemy for him, which benefits him more."

"So you agree with what he said? That there's an existence more powerful than Si Ming? A Grand Si Ming? Are the powerful enemies we're currently facing just a gentle breeze stirred by the Grand Si Ming's stirrings?"

"So everything we do is meaningless in front of the Grand Si Ming? We do nothing? We just wait to die?"

Zhao Shuangdian thought for a long time, finally shaking her head. "I don't know."

"Whether you believe it or not, I certainly don't!" Li Huowang stated unequivocally. "I don't believe what he said, I don't believe Qingwang, and I certainly don't believe Dice."

"If there's no chance of winning, then why would Sanqing go through all that trouble and scheming for so long, setting up so many traps? Is he just bored?"

"Either it's a lie, or it's the truth but only half-told! Trust me, I have more experience dealing with Zuo Wang Dao than you do!" With that, Li Huowang served himself a bowl of porridge, picked up a few steamed buns from the table, and walked towards the bedroom he had just left.

No matter what Sanqing said, Li Huowang would treat it as a hallucination unless he saw it with his own eyes.

When he emerged from the bedroom again, he turned to Yi Donglai and said, "Dr. Yi, are you finished eating? If so, please help me with my condition. I apologize for these past few days."

No matter what he was about to face, Li Huowang's priority was to cure his illness. Only by returning to his peak condition could he win the upcoming battles. As for his guilt towards Yi Donglai, it had diminished greatly after seeing the common people who died due to the Sha-infusion command.

Everyone was paying a price to win. He was, and so was Yi Donglai. He had to win, otherwise, the deaths of those people would be utterly meaningless.

Yi Donglai wiped his mouth with a tissue, nodded, and stood up. "Let's go to the warehouse; it's quieter there." He picked up his notebook as he spoke.

Yi Donglai's reaction struck Li Huowang as strange. He seemed to have gradually adapted to everything here. With this confusion, Li Huowang followed Yi Donglai to the warehouse, where they sat facing each other.

"Li Huowang, I must say, my previous judgment of you was too hasty. After getting to know these people, I finally understand what you've been through."

Hearing this, Li Huowang looked at Yi Donglai, his brows slightly furrowed. "You haven't been assimilated by them, have you? Haven't you come to agree with their views?"

"Is assimilation bad? If I were assimilated by all of you, then you would have another helper," Yi Donglai opened his notebook and began to doodle in it.

"In fact, I think you might try to assimilate more people. The more people you assimilate, the more helpers you'll have, and the more likely you are to win."

Upon hearing this, Li Huowang knew that Yi Donglai was merely researching and had not been assimilated.

"That's impossible. Bai Yujing simply doesn't have that many Si Ming projections, Dr. Yi. Let's not talk about that today. Once you've cured me and we've resolved the trouble with Fushengtian, you can talk for as long as you like."

Yi Donglai sighed softly and finally nodded. "Alright, then. Now, look at this pen."

He picked up a sharpened pencil and held it vertically in front of Li Huowang. "Every word I say next, you must follow carefully. This is very important. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

"Excellent. Now, listen to me, look at this pen, and then slowly close your eyes."

Li Huowang did as he was told, and Yi Donglai's voice continued to resonate in his ears. "Now, relax your body completely and lie back. You feel your body continuously falling downwards, never reaching an end."

As Yi Donglai's voice became increasingly ethereal, Li Huowang felt his body grow lighter and lighter, and everything around him was dark.

Just then, Yi Donglai's voice sounded again in his ears. "...Li...Huowang...wake up...wake up quickly..."