Chapter 101: War

Chapter 101: War

Watching Senior Brother Li leave, Yang Xiaohai finally let out a breath of relief, his posture relaxing into something a bit more casual.

The group ate and chatted idly, but with little of substance to discuss, their conversation soon drifted to the beggars peeking and prying from outside the door.

"I don't recall seeing this many beggars along our journey. Where on earth did all these people come from?"

Hearing Senior Brother Baolu say this, Yang Xiaohai immediately grabbed a piece of guokui, soaked it in the thin porridge, and carried the bowl out the door. "I'll go ask them for you."

Gouwa watched his retreating back and said to the others, "This kid is truly sensible. If he didn't have to go home, I'd take him in as my own son."

"Take him in as a son? You just want to take him back as a servant to wait on you hand and foot, don't you?"

Exposed by the others, Gouwa didn't mind in the slightest, just laughing it off with a hearty guffaw.

Seeing Yang Xiaohai step outside, the beggars at the door eagerly thrust their chipped bowls forward, some even breaking into a mournful chant of the Lotus Flower Ballad.

Yang Xiaohai paid them no mind, instead walking past them with his bowl toward the little beggar who had fallen earlier.

The child was huddled in the corner, looking utterly pitiful, just like himself back in the day.

"Let me ask you something. If you can answer it, this piece of guokui is yours."

Staring at the guokui in Yang Xiaohai's hand, the unkempt little beggar nodded eagerly, trembling with excitement.

"Where did you beggars come from?"

"The east. We all came from the east! I'm not really a beggar, you know. I fled here as a refugee with my mom and dad."

"On the road, I was snatched away by human traffickers. I managed to escape halfway through, and that's how I ended up a beggar."

Yang Xiaohai fished the soaked guokui from his pocket and handed it over.

Not minding the heat, the little beggar grabbed it with both hands and shoved it frantically into his mouth.

"Why did you have to flee? Did your hometown suffer a disaster?"

Slurping the porridge clinging to the guokui and swallowing the mouthful of food, the little beggar nodded and continued, "Yeah, there was a disaster. Truth is, if it were just a drought or a flood, my dad would never have abandoned our fields and run, but this time, it was a military disaster."

"Look, all these people fled here because of the military disaster. It was a massive one. The soldiers stormed into the villages and looted everything in sight. I heard several villages were completely wiped out."

Just as Yang Xiaohai was about to ask more, a shadow fell over him from behind. It was Gao Zhijian, who stammered out, "Th... th... this isn't a m... m... military dis... dis... disaster. It's... it's... routed troops!"

"Senior Brother Gao, does that mean there's a war going on?" Yang Xiaohai looked up at the broad chin.

Seeing that Yang Xiaohai didn't look down on his stutter like the others did, a glimmer of joy flickered in his eyes.

A calloused palm, larger than Yang Xiaohai's head, covered his own and gave it a gentle pat. "Ye... ye... ye... ye... yes."

Yang Xiaohai turned back to the little beggar, who had been startled by Gao Zhijian's towering frame, and asked, "There's really a war? How come I haven't heard anything about it? You said your home is in the east. Do you know where the fighting is?"

"I don't know. I just remember my home is in the east."

Seeing that the little beggar clearly knew nothing about such matters, Yang Xiaohai shifted his gaze to the older beggars.

"Hey, you two, what are you so engrossed in chatting about out there with those beggars? Hurry back and eat. We still need you to wash the bowls later."

Hearing this, Yang Xiaohai immediately grew alert. "I'll wash the dishes! I'll wash them!" he said, turning on his heel and heading back inside.

Watching the clean cloth shoes on Yang Xiaohai's departing feet, and then looking down at his own frostbitten, purple toes, the little beggar's eyes filled with deep envy. "I really wish they'd buy me..."

"Senior Brother Cao Cao, those beggars came over because there's a war in the east."

"Let them fight. What does it have to do with us? Baolu was just asking casually. Don't treat it like some sacred decree. He's not the Emperor."

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Li Huowang lay on the pristine hospital bed, his expression fraught with hesitation and inner struggle.

Judging by the surroundings, it seemed his hallucination had shifted from the intensive care unit to a regular ward.

At this moment, he held a round jade pendant in his hand, an item he always kept on his person, threaded on a cord and worn around his neck.

Li Huowang remembered giving this very item to Yang Na, yet now it had inexplicably reappeared around his own neck.

He no longer dwelled on how it had returned; his mind was occupied with other matters, specifically the words Dr. Li had said earlier.

"Oh, right, Xiao Li. You just said that because you can bring things from that world over here, you believe this world is fake. But have you ever tried sending things from this world over to that one? You might reap a different kind of harvest."

Holding the round jade pendant and examining it over and over, Li Huowang finally made up his mind, pinching it in one hand and stuffing it into the breast of his hospital gown.

"Let's give it a try. It doesn't hurt to try, and what if it actually works?" Li Huowang murmured to himself.

But the very next question that surfaced in his mind made him freeze.

"What if it does work? What would that mean? Does it mean Bai Lingmiao's world is the fake one? Or does it mean both worlds are real?"

Li Huowang didn't know, but regardless, he decided he would try it first and figure things out based on the final outcome.

Minutes and seconds ticked by as Li Huowang waited in silence for the result to arrive. It was an agonizing feeling, making every moment stretch like a year.

After a nurse came by to change his medication, Li Huowang finally felt the hallucinations around him beginning to crumble.

Once he was back in the antique-styled room, the first thing Li Huowang did was reach for his chest. When he pulled out the jade pendant, his face instantly froze.

Forgetting to put on his clothes, Li Huowang leaped out of bed and frantically searched around. Staring at the two identical round jade pendants in his hands, his expression turned to stone.

"Two? How can there be two? Why are there two?"

Li Huowang's mind was in a turmoil. He had considered the possibility of bringing things from the other world over, but he had truly never anticipated a result like this.

"Huowang." A soft, gentle woman's voice suddenly drifted in from outside the door. It was Yang Na's voice.

Li Huowang looked toward the door, his face a mask of sheer shock. How could Yang Na be here? Wasn't she a person from the hallucination world?

"Senior Brother Li." This time, it was Bai Lingmiao's voice. With a creak, the door was pushed open from the outside.

Staring at the patched-together "thing" walking through the doorway, Li Huowang's face contorted in absolute terror.

"No, no! Stop!!" Drenched in a cold sweat, Li Huowang jolted upright in bed.

Looking at the antique furniture around him, he finally came to his senses. Daytime thoughts breed nighttime dreams; everything that had just happened was merely a dream.

Just as he was about to lie back down, a thought sprang unbidden into his mind. "Was it really just a dream?"

(End of Chapter)