Chapter 530: Returned

Chapter 530: Returned

His head throbbed with a splitting pain as Li Huowang forced his eyes open a fraction. "As expected, trying to illusionize a Mind-Appendant is still far too much for me at my current level."

"To have Zhuge Yuan assist me in battle the way Peng Longteng did, I’m afraid I would need to achieve Grand Attainment in cultivating reality."

Sensing the gravity of the situation, Li Huowang struggled to sit up. Shaking his violently aching head with effort, he strained to open his eyes and asked, "Brother Zhuge, I am truly sorry. I blacked out afterward and didn't see—"

Li Huowang looked at the white-coated doctors surrounding him, and the words died in his throat.

It was only when he noticed, to his utter bewilderment, that he was currently strapped to a medical apparatus that the realization struck him. "I... I'm back again?"

"Li Huowang? Li Huowang? Look at my fingers. How many is this?" Three fingers waved in front of Li Huowang's face.

"Three?"

"Very good. It seems increasing the dosage of the electroconvulsive therapy this time finally brought you around."

Under the doctor's direction, the nearby orderlies stepped forward, unbuckling the restraints on Li Huowang's hands and feet, while also removing the patches from both his temples and the electrode pads from the top of his head.

"Come, take your medicine first."

When he saw a few pills and a cup of water offered to him, Li Huowang's pupils contracted instantly. He reached out and violently knocked the capsules away. "Who is giving me medicine? I won't take it!!"

"Li Sui! Quick, grab the Spine Sword and send me back to Daliang!! Never trust anyone who gets near me right now!!" Emaciated and dressed in blue-and-white striped patient scrubs, Li Huowang screamed frantically at his surroundings.

At this moment, a male doctor wearing rimless glasses waved back the advancing orderlies. He cautiously approached Li Huowang and said with profound earnestness, "Li Huowang, don't be afraid. It's me! Don't you remember? I'm your doctor, Yi Donglai."

"Yi Donglai?" Looking at the familiar face before him, a flood of memories rushed back to Li Huowang in an instant.

"I don't care who you are, I'm not consuming anything right now! Whatever the medicine is, wait until I am on the other side before you force-feed me!" Li Huowang's voice was so loud it could be heard out in the corridor, prompting several people to poke their heads into the doorway from time to time.

"Alright, no problem, don't be nervous. I won't force you to take any medicine, and I bear you no ill will." As Yi Donglai spoke, he slowly took a step back, opening his hands and gently pressing them downward.

Seeing the doctor's gestures, Li Huowang breathed a slight sigh of relief. Regardless of whose projection this man was over in Daqi, at least he seemed to mean no harm for the time being.

Seeing that his patient's emotions had stabilized, Yi Donglai slowly lifted a stool and placed it beside Li Huowang. "Come, take your time. Sit down first. Your muscles are in no condition for standing right now."

Glancing at Yi Donglai and then at the stool, Li Huowang reached out toward where his Purple Tassel Sword should be, making a drawing motion. He executed a forceful, imaginary slash at the stool before slowly sitting down upon it.

Yi Donglai nodded, then looked up at the camera in the top-left corner of the room. "Please make a copy of this footage later and send it to my computer."

After speaking, he turned his gaze back to Li Huowang, who was staring intently at him. "From what you've been saying lately, things aren't going so well over there, are they? Have you run into some kind of trouble?"

Faced with the inquiry, Li Huowang remained silent. He did not believe that Yi Donglai could help him deal with Dice of the Sitting-Forget Dao.

Yi Donglai reached up to adjust the bridge of his glasses and spoke, "Li Huowang, tell me, is that Dice coveting the dragon veins of Daliang?"

"Hmm?!" Li Huowang looked at Yi Donglai with a face full of shock. How could this fellow possibly know what he was experiencing over there?

Yet the single remark served to rouse the dreamer. Li Huowang immediately realized that if the importance of the dragon veins was vast enough to alter the entire course of history, and Dice specifically wanted Ji Lin to ascend the throne, did this not mean he had designs upon the dragon veins?

Although he still did not know Dice's ultimate objective, the man belonged to the Sitting-Forget Dao. What could be more alluring to them than making a mockery of an entire epoch of history?

If what Zhuge Yuan said was true, it was precisely the previous fracturing of Daqi's dragon veins that had brought about the emergence of Daliang.

If Dice's goal were truly accomplished, Li Huowang hardly dared to imagine how catastrophic the evil consequences would be!

Seeing Li Huowang sink into deep thought, Yi Donglai dismissed everyone else from the room and shut the door completely. The room instantly grew quiet, leaving only the two of them.

He pulled a stool over from the side, sat down in front of Li Huowang with his legs crossed, and said, "If we look at this from the rational perspective of a doctor, I think it would be best for you to immediately stop assisting that emperor of yours. Not only should you stop helping him, but you should also secretly assist the other princes in competing for the throne."

"However, your Miaomiao being captured by Dice is indeed a troublesome matter. Regarding this problem, why don't we brainstorm a solution together?"

"Wait... Wait a moment!" Clutching his head with a pained expression, Li Huowang interrupted Yi Donglai.

He panted a few times to calm his emotions slightly before saying to Yi Donglai, "Do not speak to me about this. These matters have nothing to do with you either!"

"What is it? Is the confusion between reality and hallucination making you feel uncomfortable? It's fine, if you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to. Let's discuss something else instead, such as the deal between you and me."

"A deal?" Having recovered some of his composure, Li Huowang looked toward Yi Donglai.

"Yes. As you well know, you are currently like a living Bodhisattva here—impossible to shake off and difficult to get rid of, weighing down on this White Tower Hospital. The leadership is facing quite a headache."

"When they have a headache, the pressure falls on me as your primary physician. How about this: the next time the leadership comes for an inspection, remain lucid for a period of time to prove that my course of treatment is effective?"

As he spoke, Yi Donglai stood up, walked to Li Huowang's side to support him, and guided him toward the window to look at the scenery outside.

"In exchange, I can fulfill any request of yours within the scope of my authority. That way, it's a win-win for everyone."

A very unfamiliar smartphone slid from Yi Donglai's sleeve into Li Huowang's hand.

As Li Huowang lightly touched the screen, an anime screensaver suddenly jumped out before his eyes. He abruptly remembered that this was his own phone.

"I've updated all the games for you. Do you want to try playing?"

With a slight press of his finger on the fingerprint scanner, a familiar interface appeared before Li Huowang. Seeing the red '+99' notifications on QQ and WeChat, scenes from his past instantly flooded his mind.

"Not just the phone; as long as you cooperate, I can even grant you a certain degree of personal freedom. I can let you eat in the cafeteria, play on the computer, and watch movies."

Li Huowang's body suddenly jerked as if struck by an electric shock, and he stumbled back several steps. "Save your tricks! Other doctors have tried this routine on me long ago! You just want me to maintain as much contact with this side as possible, subtly conditioning me to believe this side is reality and that side is entirely a hallucination!"

(End of Chapter)