Chapter 110 - Insane
Hearing her words, Li Huowang gently held his wound and slowly walked into Jingxin’s house. Then, he slowly leaned against the wall before sliding down and sitting on the floor.
“So even you guys aren’t able to get rid of Dan Yangzi?” Li Huowang asked.
“Of course we can. We will just need to kill you,” replied Jingxin.
Hearing this, Li Huowang began to laugh. “Haha, to think that even the Abbess could crack a joke like this.”
“I’m not joking with you. Dan Yangzi is deeply rooted within your body—you are a part of his Three Corpses. It will require extreme precision to remove your Master while still keeping you alive; both of you are just way too tangled up, to the point that you can already be considered as half Dan Yangzi. This was also why I did not just remove the Black Taisui from your stomach. Presently, that Black Taisui is both Dan Yangzi and you at the same time,” explained Jingxin.
Li Huowang had requested the Benevolent Nunnery’s help to get rid of Dan Yangzi, but it ended in failure. Even with Li Huowang co-operating with all the nuns, all they had managed to do was inflict an injury on Dan Yangzi and chase him away. The root of the problem was still there.
Li Huowang huddled in the dark with his back against the cold wall, staring blankly at the mossy tiles of the temple roof outside.
“You can’t blame us for this. I had no idea that your Master was only half dead. The Benevolent Nunnery excels in dealing with the spirits, but those rule-breaking bald donkeys from the Righteous Monastery are much better when it comes to dealing in matters of the physical flesh,” said Jingxin.
“Abbess, don’t worry; I don’t blame you. How much longer do I have until I completely turn into Dan Yangzi?” Li Huowang was not disappointed by the failure.
“With your current situation, you should have two more months,” Abbess Jingxin said as she walked into the darkness and gently rocked a bamboo cradle while revealing a lovely smile as she looked at the shriveled old man within.
“Oh...” Li Huowang trailed off.
“So, what do you plan to do?” asked Jingxin.
“I will need you to wait before I can give you an answer to that question. Abbess, may I borrow something from you?” asked Li Huowang.
Then, the dark room turned silent.
After a long time, Li Huowang took a deep breath as his face contorted from discomfort. He suddenly opened his eyes and saw that the darkness around him had been replaced with the color white. He was back inside a hospital.
He inspected his surroundings and saw that this time it was a normal hospital rather than a mental hospital; it seemed that his injury hadn't healed within the hallucination.
He shifted his gaze downward and saw his mother, Sun Xiaoqin, sleeping by his bed as she sat on a little stool.
In Li Huowang’s eyes, his mother was someone who loved cleanliness; however, her hair was now very oily, almost as if she hadn’t washed it in a very long time.
Li Huowang wanted to reach out to her, but realized that all four of his limbs had been tied down and restricted. He had no choice but to gently wake her up. “Mom, it’s me, Huowang.”
Soon, Sun Xiaoqin opened her eyes. When she realized that her son was calling out to her with a normal expression, she hugged him tightly. “Son, you are awake!”
A period of silence followed. After making sure that his mother wasn’t that agitated, he asked, “Mom, where’s dad?”
“Your father is out earning money. Our finances aren't looking good and we have a lot of debt,” replied Sun Xiaoqin.
However, immediately after she said this, her heart fell. She cupped Li Huowang’s face as she said in a heartbroken tone, “Huowang, I don’t blame you. After all, this is not something you wanted to do. It’s all that ailment’s fault! That damned ailment! Why was my son the one who got afflicted with it when there are so many other people out there?”
“Mom, can you release one of my hands? I want to stretch a bit,” asked Li Huowang.
When she saw that her son was speaking normally, she stopped hesitating and she smiled once more. “Alright, it’s good to stretch every once in a while. You’ve been restrained for so long that your body might just go to waste at this rate.”
When his right hand was freed, Li Huowang smiled at his mother. “Thanks mom.”
After saying that, he reached into his hospital gown and took out a heavy prayer bead—it was made from gold. Then, Li Huowang placed it in Sun Xiaoqin’s hands as she tried to process what it was.
“Mom, go and exchange that for some money. Pay off our family’s debt. Then, if there’s money leftover, go and buy back our house. I still like this place,” said Li Huowang.
Sun Xiaoqin held the heavy golden prayer bead and was confused. “What’s going on? Son, where did you get this much gold? Did you go out and take it while I was asleep?”
Li Huowang shook his head as he took off the jade pendant from his neck before placing it in Sun Xiaoqin’s hands as well. “Mom, take this as well. It will fetch a good price. Even if this is a hallucination, I don’t want to see you suffer.”
When she heard this, Sun Xiaoqin threw down both the golden bead and jade pendant before holding his shoulders and shaking them vigorously as tears streamed down her face. “Son, wake up! I am your mother! This is not a hallucination! It really isn’t!”
Li Huowang wiped her tears with his hand and smiled plainly. “You are right, Mom. This is not a hallucination. I was just messing with you.”
When Li Huowang reassured her, Sun Xiaoqin started growing excited; she did a little dance and placed both of her palms together as she praised the Buddha.
She took her phone out excitedly and wanted to let Li Huowang talk to his father who was at work.
On the other hand, while she was calling Li Huowang’s father, Li Huowang secretly plucked out a red button from her shirt and placed it inside his hospital gown.
Maybe it had been because Li Huowang had willingly entered the hallucination this time, but it ended quite quickly. His white-haired father hadn’t even had the chance to talk to him through the video call when everything around him turned dark once more. He was back in the dark room.
When he returned, he saw Abbess Jingxin standing silently while holding onto the golden prayer beads.
Then, Li Huowang raised his hands. His breathing was rapid and his thoughts were jumbled up. He gritted his teeth and touched his chest, and then, his arms froze.
There was nothing there.
Li Huowang laughed when he was faced with this expected scenario. “Hehe, I knew it. How could that side be real? To think that I would believe the words of the people inside the hallucination. I must be crazy.”
Li Huowang's laughter gradually came to a stop. What he had just found out could not be considered good news—the final hopes in his heart had just disappeared.
He took a deep breath and gently spoke to himself, “Mom, I hope I didn’t end up scaring you. I’m sorry, but please tie my hands up again. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Then, the room fell silent.
“Since that side is fake, who were you talking to just now?” Abbess Jingxin broke the silence after she had quietly observed him for a while.
Li Huowang raised his head and stared at the nun in the dark. “I was just talking to myself. Can’t I do that?”
“What do you plan to do?” asked Jingxin.
Hearing this, Li Huowang took a deep breath, his eyes getting filled with killing intent. “I want Dan Yangzi to die!”
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