Chapter 465: Happiness

Chapter 465 Joy

"Mom, is everything okay on this end?" Li Huowang asked Sun Xiaoqin by the bedside, swallowing down the smooth, tender egg custard in his mouth.

"Everything's wonderful. As long as you're fine, Mom is doing perfectly well," Sun Xiaoqin said, forcing a heavy smile as she looked at him.

Despite her words, Li Huowang could still discern a flicker of abnormality from the subtle micro-expressions on her face.

His mother’s smile was merely a facade; she spoke this way only because she did not want him to worry.

"Mom, don't worry. The electroconvulsive therapy at this psychiatric hospital is working for me. It just takes some time to recover. Just give me a little more time."

"Oh, heavens, Mom isn't worried. Mom really isn't worried at all. My son is definitely going to get better," Sun Xiaoqin denied repeatedly, shaking her head with that smile fixed on her face.

Li Huowang sighed quietly in his heart. Cultivation was far more arduous than he had imagined; if he wanted to extricate himself from his predicament here, it would likely demand an immense amount of time.

In truth, he had already waited for so long, and he did not fear the waiting itself. Yet throughout this grueling stretch of time, his mother would likely remain tormented by a perpetual state of anxiety and doubt.

"Should I carve out more time to spend with her, to conjure up the illusion that my condition is improving?" After turning these thoughts rapidly over in his mind, Li Huowang immediately discarded them.

To do so would be a complete waste of time, which would conversely push his ultimate goal into an indefinite future. Allocating that time toward cultivation was the only course of true value.

Beholding Sun Xiaoqin’s painstakingly forced cheer, Li Huowang pondered for a brief moment before speaking. "Mom, once I get discharged, I want to play video games. I want to play computer games for an entire year. Would that be alright?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Xiaoqin’s eyes instantly ignited with brilliance. "Of course! Of course! When that day comes, I'll sit right beside you and peel fruit for you! You can play for as long as you want!"

"If playing alone isn't thrilling enough, I'll have your father play right alongside you! He'll stay up all night to keep you company!"

The corners of Li Huowang’s mouth curled slightly upward, and he nodded in approval before continuing, "Once I recover, we'll travel the world. We'll go everywhere to have fun, go bungee jumping, skydive, and do all the things we never got to do in the past."

"Oh, goodness me, I wouldn't dare try bungee jumping. When the time comes, you two men can go. Even just watching videos of other people jumping on Douyin makes my heart race."

As Li Huowang guided the conversation toward their visions of life after discharge, Sun Xiaoqin’s attention was swiftly diverted. The more they conversed, the happier they became, and a natural, genuine smile finally graced her face.

Seeing his mother finally find true joy, Li Huowang breathed a soft sigh within his heart.

There was precious little he could achieve right now; the solitary thing within his power was to employ the minor parlor tricks of the Path of Sitting and Forgetting to coax a bit of happiness from his mother.

"Son, do you really want to play games now? How about I bring over that little handheld console you used to play with?"

"No need, Mom. Besides, I can't really play it right now anyway."

"Oh, right. What about cartoons then? Didn't you used to love watching cartoons? I heard there's a really interesting one out recently. I can play it for you on my phone."

Watching Sun Xiaoqin unzip her bag to search for her phone, a bitter smile welled up inside Li Huowang. He had long since ceased to be that high school student of old; how could he possibly still harbor an interest in the latest anime releases?

At that thought, Li Huowang froze slightly. It seemed he was only eighteen years old this year, so why did he feel so incredibly ancient and weathered?

Compared to this young physique, he seemed far better suited to that older body on the other side.

"But speaking of which, could it be because a day over there is two hours shorter than a day here, which is why the body over there is older than the one here?"

"Wait... does this imply that both sides are, in fact, real?" Li Huowang pondered this question with a tightly furrowed brow, but a hypothesis devoid of other corroborating evidence could ultimately only resemble rootless duckweed.

"Forget it. Since I've already resolved to use cultivation to make this side completely real, what is the use of overthinking it?"

Seeing Sun Xiaoqin clutching an old phone with a cracked screen, about to purchase a VIP subscription on some mobile software, Li Huowang hastily called out to stop her.

"Mom, don't tap that. It's a waste of money. I'm about to go back now."

Hearing these words, the smile on Sun Xiaoqin’s face gradually dissolved. "So soon? You've only just had a single meal, and now you have to leave again? Son, can you truly control when you wake up now? Is this a harbinger of your recovery?"

"You could look at it that way, Mom. I'll come back to accompany you for dinner three days from now."

Sun Xiaoqin crestfallenly tucked her phone back into her bag. "Alright then. I'll be waiting for you, so make sure you don't forget."

"I absolutely won't forget. Oh, right, Mom, there's one last thing. Do you have any news of Nana? Is her illness any better?" The image of that lovely young girl, who used to snicker at him, drifted into Li Huowang’s mind.

"Nana is doing alright. I heard she wasn't hospitalized. The doctor just prescribed some medication for her and sent her back to school to take them."

"Sigh, to be honest, if it weren't for this illness of yours getting in the way, having Nana as my daughter-in-law would make me the happiest mother-in-law alive. I've adored that child since she was little."

"Don't worry, Mom. Once my illness is cured, I'll definitely win Nana over again and bring her home to be your daughter-in-law!"

"Oh my, since when did my son become such a smooth talker? Wonderful! This mother of yours will be waiting to drink her son's wedding wine!" The lingering trace of worry on Sun Xiaoqin’s face vanished, and she rejoiced once more.

As the world around Li Huowang gradually coalesced, he returned once more to that pitch-black, lightless realm. Though he had been blind for some time now, he remained somewhat unaccustomed to it.

"Li Sui?" Li Huowang reached out his hand toward the space ahead of him.

Very quickly, Li Huowang’s hand brushed against a viscous, monstrous hand with protruding knuckles and razor-sharp nails. "Father, I'm right here."

"Let's go. Lead me back to the village."

"Father, just now you picked up some things from the ground and—"

"What I ate just now was egg custard!" Li Huowang cut Li Sui off directly, repeating himself once more. "What I ate just now was egg custard."

Li Sui pondered for a moment before speaking up to ask again, "Is that so? Where is it? I want to eat some too."

"Fine, let's return to the village first. Once we're back, I'll have Yang Xiaohai make some for you. Mom, stop watching me from here. I have matters to attend to and cannot stay awake right now. I will absolutely be there for dinner three days from now."

Under Li Sui’s guidance, Li Huowang navigated the rugged mountain paths and returned to the Bai family compound.

Upon returning to his quarters, Li Huowang sat upon a stool and called out to stop Li Sui, who was just about to head to the kitchen. "Remove the gauze from my face. Let's see how my eyes have recovered."

The moment Li Sui delicately peeled away the gauze, a beam of light pierced into the darkness, causing Li Huowang to instantly narrow his eyes. It was blindingly bright.

When he slowly opened his eyes once more, he discovered that his world had finally returned to normal; his blinded eyes had fully healed.

Gazing out at the black-tiled roofs beyond the window for a moment, Li Huowang focused his attention onto Li Sui.

As she discarded the bamboo hat from her head and unfastened the coir raincoat from her body, Li Sui’s new appearance was brought fully into Li Huowang’s sight.

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