Chapter 632: Qian Fu

Chapter 632: Qian Fu

“Bang! Bang!” As Li Huo Wang drew closer, the sound of impact grew louder and more insistent.

At last, Li Huo Wang cautiously peered through the thick glass reinforced with iron mesh, and he saw the source of the noise.

It was a patient dressed in a restraint suit, his beard unkempt, hunching his body and raising his head forcefully to bang it repeatedly against the metal bed beneath him.

The clatter was loud, but the thin mattress did not seem to offer much resistance—no rebounding harm was evident.

“This… what kind of mental illness is this?” Li Huo Wang frowned slightly as he stood there, observing the man inside with curiosity.

This man was tall and muscular, at least over six feet, with twitching features and strange symptoms that alternated between crying and laughing. It was impossible for Li Huo Wang to fathom what ailed him.

“If he’s locked up here, then he must be taking medication, right? Could it be side effects from some psychiatric drug?” Li Huo Wang speculated wildly.

Just then, the man inside the ward suddenly stopped pounding his head. His eyes, white with excessive whites, stared fixedly at Li Huo Wang outside the glass. “Hahahaha!! It’s you! You came!”

Li Huo Wang thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, I’m here.”

“Perfect! I finally waited for you! I didn’t expect that before I could go find you, you’d come looking for me!”

“Oh? Is that so? Do we know each other well?”

“Hahahaha!! We’re close! Very close!!”

After chatting idly with the severely mentally ill patient for a few moments, Li Huo Wang found nothing particularly unusual about him and felt somewhat bored. He turned to leave.

“Xiao Li! You have to be careful! They’re looking for you! There are too many of them! You can’t beat them! You need help!”

Upon hearing this, Li Huo Wang’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly turned around to look at the patient, who had already jumped off the bed and pressed his face against the glass, staring intently at him.

But soon, Li Huo Wang’s tense expression gradually relaxed. “You’ve seen my news, haven’t you? That’s how you know my surname?”

Li Huo Wang almost forgot—he was now a minor celebrity outside, and it wasn’t strange that this patient knew his name.

“No!! I’ve known you long ago! I used to be one of theirs! They sent me to capture you! And all of you! But I didn’t want to! Because I know if you’re gone, everything will be over!”

“Who are ‘they’?” Li Huo Wang asked.

“They! They are the dark families exiled in the past! And also! Their protector, the alien from the Lion constellation!!”

Hearing this, Li Huo Wang nearly burst into laughter. Indeed, mentally ill people were full of surprises. “You’ve been watching too many anime, haven’t you? And your story doesn’t even make sense—did you mix up episodes?”

“I’ve been locked up, but my brother was sent down again! He’s looking for you! And all of you! He wants to kill you! He’s already here!! Time is running out! You must save me! Only by joining forces can we have a chance!”

Li Huo Wang shook his head and smiled, about to speak when a nurse patroling from afar noticed him.

“Hey! What bed number are you? This is the intensive ward! You can’t just come near like this! Get out!”

“Bye-bye, take your medicine well, let’s chat next time,” Li Huo Wang waved at the man inside the room and left the area.

After strolling around the entire psychiatric hospital, it was almost lunchtime. Li Huo Wang carried a metal tray to line up for food.

Compared to meals in other hospitals, the food here was relatively decent. He ordered celery with pork liver and a dish of hollow stem vegetables, then found a corner in the cafeteria to eat quietly.

Everything that had just happened slipped from his mind entirely. After all, no one would take seriously the words of someone obviously mentally ill.

Yet, instinctively, a trace of curiosity remained in Li Huo Wang’s heart—what exactly was the disease afflicting this man?

From their conversation, this person wasn’t completely insane or stupid; he had a certain logic of his own.

At that moment, Wei Shili, a guard suffering from bipolar disorder, passed by. Seeing Li Huo Wang sitting alone, he walked over.

Having spent some time with Li Huo Wang, he had overcome his prejudice.

Though the man claimed he wasn’t sick, Wei Shili hadn’t believed it. But now, he truly began to believe him. The man was clearly normal, even generous. He shared snacks brought by his family with other patients, and treated others kindly.

“I’ve passed the test! Just wait for my family to pick me up, and I’ll be discharged tomorrow!” Wei Shili said excitedly, plopping down beside Li Huo Wang.

“I know, you’ve told me once already. No need to repeat yourself.”

“Heh, I’m just happy! I’ve been here nearly a year, and now I can finally leave!” Wei Shili scraped potatoes and chicken from his tray into his rice with a spoon, stirred vigorously, and took a big bite.

“A year already? That really is a long time. By the way, since you’ve stayed here so long, do you know the man locked in the intensive ward?” Li Huo Wang asked.

Wei Shili showed a hint of confusion. “In the intensive ward? Which one?”

“The one with the big beard.”

“Oh, him? He’s called Qian Fu. He’s also an old patient. He was here even before I arrived.”

“What kind of disease does he have? Why was he locked up?”

“What disease?” Wei Shili put down his spoon, puzzled. “I think... I think it’s schizophrenia.”

“Schizophrenia? Impossible! I’ve never heard of a schizophrenic talking nonsense.”

As Li Huo Wang and Wei Shili conversed, a woman suffering from anxiety disorder approached curiously.

“What are you young folks talking about?”

“Nothing much. Just wondering what’s wrong with Qian Fu. Isn’t he schizophrenic, Miss Zhang?”

“Hey, don’t talk nonsense about schizophrenia! Don’t spread rumors! Doctors haven’t figured out what’s wrong with him yet. No one knows what disease he has.”

“Doctors don’t even know what disease he has?” Li Huo Wang couldn’t help but be surprised. It was something he had never encountered before.

“That’s right. Doctors aren’t gods. They can’t cure every disease. If it’s not recorded in medical books, they’re helpless when they encounter it.”

“To tell you the truth, Qian Fu is actually a pitiful guy. Since doctors don’t know what he has, they don’t know what medicine to give him. So when his condition worsens, they keep him locked up until it stabilizes before releasing him.”

Hearing this, Li Huo Wang’s small confusion vanished. He continued eating his meal without giving the earlier incident another thought.

Li Huo Wang had assumed the matter would end there. However, a few days later, while eating lettuce, a man walking out of the corridor made Li Huo Wang slightly startled. It was Qian Fu—he had been released.

When Qian Fu saw Li Huo Wang, Li Huo Wang saw him too. Without even picking up breakfast, Qian Fu walked straight toward him.

Li Huo Wang thought the man would pursue him, but instead, he apologized.

“Sorry, I should have spoken to you yesterday. Please forgive me if I disturbed you. After all, you know why you’re here.”

Compared to the previous erratic Qian Fu, today’s version was polite and composed—a stark contrast.

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Next chapter update at 11:32 PM.

(End of Chapter)