Chapter 498: Sworn Brotherhood

Chapter 498 Sworn Brotherhood

Seeing that Li Huowang was listening, the doctor rejoiced inwardly and spoke with increasing enthusiasm.

"Li Huowang, it is precisely because your subconscious heard it that your ego managed to awaken at this very moment to meet Yang Na. So do you understand now? This is no coincidence; there are not that many coincidences in this world."

"When you wake up has nothing to do with what happens in the hallucinations over there. Rather, it is because you yourself want to wake up that the hallucinations on that side undergo a change."

"What kind of bull—" Li Huowang stopped mid-sentence, suddenly freezing as a trace of joy gradually spread across his face.

"Yes! You are absolutely right, this logic flows perfectly! Therefore, this world is indeed real! This world is the real one!"

"Huh?" The doctor scratched at his wig. Even though the patient had accepted the explanation, why did he still feel that something was profoundly amiss?

"No matter, it is fine as long as he accepts the explanation." The doctor looked at Li Huowang before him and spoke once more, "Look, if we look at it dialectically, doesn't this imply that the world in your hallucinations over there is false?"

"No! That side is also real!" Li Huowang declared with absolute certainty. "My subconscious sensed the need to awaken on this side, which is why the Primordial Qi of Heaven and Earth inside my body loosened, allowing me to return to this world! Therefore, none of it is a coincidence!"

Listening to Li Huowang's nonsensical ravings, the doctor was instantly dumbfounded. What in the world was this Primordial Qi of Heaven and Earth? How could this patient, just to force reality to fit his own logic, actually go so far as to rewrite the script? Was this something that could just be casually rewritten?

"No, no, no, Li Huowang, listen to me, this matter is—"

"No! Shut up! You listen to me! Perhaps that Primordial Qi inside my body is not only a fragment of the Heavenly Dao, but it might also be the key that connects the two worlds! Just like Zhuge Yuan! We are both of the Heart generation! It makes perfect sense!"

"Yes! Exactly, that is it! Perhaps in that mad world, when a portion of the Heavenly Dao splintered, it tore through time and space to leap into this world and attach itself to me! That is why I possess the unique ability to traverse both worlds!"

"This world is real! That world is also real! Nothing is false! Everything is real! Everything is real!!"

What Primordial Qi, what Zhuge Yuan. The doctor, his face strained with difficulty, was utterly lost in a fog of confusion.

Just as he stood dazed, Li Huowang rushed forward and gave him a massive embrace. "Many thanks! Doctor, everything makes sense now! My surroundings are trembling, it seems I am about to return. Let us have a proper chat next time I am free!"

The ecstatic Li Huowang had barely finished speaking to the astonished doctor before him when the flesh on the doctor's face began to peel away, ultimately transforming into a standing, flayed hound.

The bright surroundings suddenly plunged into stark darkness, and Li Huowang found himself once again back in the gloomy woods.

Li Huowang calmed his racing heart slightly. Although he desperately wanted to share this exhilarating news with Li Sui, the creature would certainly not understand a single word.

"Calm down, stay calm, persist in the diligent cultivation of truth. Though that side is indeed real, I still cannot give up. Zhuge Yuan still needs me to save him!"

Taking a few deep breaths, Li Huowang looked at the tentacled, flayed hound before him and asked, "Li Sui, why are you here? Didn't I tell you to leave with your mother? Where is she?"

"Father, First Mother is right behind you."

When Li Huowang whipped his head around and saw Bai Lingmiao standing there, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Gripping the spinal sword of Zhuge Yuan in his hand, he walked over to her side and spoke with a hint of displeasure, "Why did you follow me again?"

"Senior Brother Li, you said before that those face-changing members of the Sitting-Forgetting Dao are spying on us. I feared that if we were separated for too long, you might be swapped out, so I secretly followed you with Li Sui."

As Bai Lingmiao finished her gentle explanation, Li Sui added, "First Mother also said earlier that if you were in danger, we could help."

Seeing Bai Lingmiao lower her head in guilt, Li Huowang let out a soft sigh. He reached out to draw her into his embrace, gently stroking the waist-length white hair upon her back. "Forget it, let us speak no more of it. It is fine as long as everyone is safe."

Noticing Zhuge Yuan and the others standing in the distance, silently watching their exchange, Li Huowang cleared his throat slightly and led Bai Lingmiao toward the carriage.

The chaotic night passed just like that. Though there had been a few twists and turns, the matter was finally resolved, leaving Li Huowang reasonably satisfied with the outcome.

By the time the sun hung high in the sky, Li Huowang, who had not slept all night, carried three swords on his back and arrived at a small hillside beside a waterfall.

Lowering his gaze to look at the yellow night-flowers on the ground and the handsome scenery, Li Huowang nodded in satisfaction.

"Brother Zhuge, the feng shui of this place is quite excellent, is it not? How about I bury your mortal remains right here?" With these words, Li Huowang drew the Purple-Tassel Sword, preparing to dig.

"Brother Li, Brother Li, let us not rush." Zhuge Yuan called out to stop him.

He stared at the spinal sword belonging to himself on Li Huowang's back and said, "Brother Li, since this sword has found its way into your hands, you should keep it."

"What? How can that be!" Zhuge Yuan raised the folding fan in his hand, blocking the words Li Huowang was about to utter next.

"Brother Li, you have braved life and death for this humble scholar, for which I am endlessly grateful. Every time you were caught in a narrow escape, this scholar's heart burned with anxiety. If that skin and bone of mine can be of even the slightest assistance, then this scholar's heart will find some solace."

Li Huowang held the sword in his hand, silently gazing at the shrunken head of Zhuge Yuan upon it. It had to be said that this was indeed a very powerful dharma artifact.

If it were anything else, he would not have hesitated in the slightest, yet this item was forged from the spine of his own good friend.

"Brother Li, those who achieve great things do not obsess over minor details. You are currently surrounded by powerful enemies. Should you perish and your soul dissolve all because you lacked a single dharma artifact, then this scholar would have to depart alongside you. Even if this sword were buried here, I would not be able to rest in peace."

Hearing Zhuge Yuan speak thus, Li Huowang no longer hesitated, sliding the broad spinal sword back onto his back.

He rushed back into the carriage, retrieved two bowls from within, and poured half a bowl of water into each. He first bit his own finger to drop blood into both sides, and then raised the spinal sword to dip it into the bowls.

Li Huowang raised the blood-stained bowl high toward Zhuge Yuan in midair. "Come! Brother Zhuge, let us become sworn brothers! I, Li Huowang, swear here and now that I will exhaust every single means to bring Zhuge Yuan back to life!"

Zhuge Yuan stood there with a solemn expression. Seeing the bowl of bloody water Li Huowang held being poured onto the ground before him, he cupped his hands as if holding a wine cup and tipped it toward his mouth.

Just as Li Huowang raised his bowl of bloody water and gulped it down, the faceless, eyeless member of the Sitting-Forgetting Dao nearby pinched his throat and shouted from the sidelines, "We two brothers do not pray to be born on the same year, same month, and same day, but we pray to die on the same year, same month, and same day!! Ahaha-haha~!!"

(End of Chapter)

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