Chapter 8: Turn the Page

Chapter 8: Turning the Page

Just as Li Huowang turned to head back, he saw the albino girl shyly slip off a shoe and unclasp a gold anklet, wrapped in red thread, from her pale, nearly translucent ankle.

Eyes wide, he took it and weighed the golden anklet in his palm; though somewhat delicate, it was solid gold after all, and surely worth a pretty penny.

Satisfied, he tucked the trinket into the voluminous sleeve of his Daoist robe, then pointed at the white-haired girl and declared, "Listen up, all of you. From now on, she's in charge of the ingredient room. You answer to her in everything."

Seeing everyone nod in hesitant agreement, Li Huowang grabbed the prepared alchemical ingredients and hurried toward the pill chamber.

As he walked, he cast furtive glances at the waists of the others, hoping to spot another jade pendant, but to his disappointment, he found none.

When Li Huowang returned to the pill chamber, he saw the oppressively imposing pill furnace slowly creak open.

With a sweep of Danyangzi's wide sleeve, several dark blue pills swiftly aligned themselves and flew into the earth-yellow gourd at his waist.

This display made Li Huowang's eyes burn with envy; this must be the divine art Xuanyin had spoken of, and he wondered if he could somehow learn it. "Chasing money was small-minded of me. If I could bring this power back to reality, then..."

Bending down to set the ingredients aside, Li Huowang prepared to stand by in silent meditation, keeping his mouth shut and eyes open, for he knew nothing yet and needed to observe.

"Xuanyang~"

"Another errand? Already? Have I really been reduced to a mere errand boy? I can't keep running around; I need to figure out a way to make that scabby bastard teach me his arts."

Clasping his hands, Li Huowang bowed to the calling Danyangzi. "Master, what are your orders?"

"Go to the ingredient room and bring me the medicinal catalyst named Bai Lingmiao."

Li Huowang's heart skipped a beat; his right hand, still clasped in greeting, slipped into his sleeve to touch the red-threaded anklet, realizing Bai Lingmiao must be the albino girl's name.

"Hmm~?" Danyangzi turned his head to glare at the new disciple who had been unresponsive for too long.

A sharp ache throbbed in Li Huowang's jaw; truth be told, he had just promised to protect her, and now he was expected to march back and send her to her death—it was simply unconscionable.

"Are you deaf to my words?"

Sensing the growing menace in Danyangzi's tone, Li Huowang sighed helplessly and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he was back in the pristine white hospital ward. "What am I going to do?"

In the past, he would have obeyed without a second thought, but the problem was that the other world was likely real now; if he actually brought someone over, he would be committing murder, a line he simply couldn't bring himself to cross.

Once the nurses released him, Li Huowang chewed on his thumbnail, pacing back and forth across the room. "What to do? What on earth should I do?"

Before he could devise a plan, the ward door was pushed open from the outside, and his attending physician walked in.

A bitter smile touched his lips; well, now he was cornered on both fronts, with nowhere left to run.

Wearing a look of profound disappointment, the doctor pointed a finger at him. "You, you... wait until the visiting family leaves, then we'll talk privately."

"Visiting family?"

Before Li Huowang could process the words, he saw his haggard mother hurrying in from the hallway, leading Juzi by the hand.

"I heard you got into a fight at the hospital? What happened to your head? Why is it all bandaged up? Does it hurt?" The woman rushed forward, her face tense as she scrutinized him.

"Mom, it doesn't hurt, I'm fine, I'm really fine. They're the ones in trouble," Li Huowang hastened to reassure her.

After a good while of soothing, Li Huowang finally managed to keep his mother's tears at bay.

In the presence of his closest kin, whatever troubles awaited him on the other side would simply have to wait.

"Don't worry, I'm doing great, my illness is much better, and I haven't fallen behind in my studies. I'll be able to take the college entrance exam as soon as I'm discharged," Li Huowang said, sharing only the good news.

"Stop hiding it. The doctor told me everything. Tell me, what exactly happened that day? Who threw the first punch?"

Li Huowang recounted the events to his mother in the gentlest tone he could muster, though it seemed to do little to calm her.

"When we're in the right, why should we pay compensation?! They were in the wrong! Even if they're sick, it's the hospital's duty to watch over them! Our family never bullies anyone, but we absolutely won't let others bully us! Let them sue if they dare! We'll have justice on our side in court!!" an agitated Sun Xiaoqin declared, slamming the table so hard it rattled.

Glancing at the doctor, who was awkwardly rubbing his nose, Li Huowang continued to soothe her. "Mom, Mom, calm down, please. You've come all this way, just spend some time with me."

Suppressing her anger, Sun Xiaoqin bent down to pull fruit from her bag. "Leave this to me, I'll handle it. Here, these are the milk grapes you like. Eat more. Look how thin you've gotten—is the hospital food that bad?"

"No, no, the food here is actually quite good," Li Huowang said, sitting beside his mother as he began to eat.

Listening to his mother's complaints and savoring the sweet grapes, Li Huowang felt his mind settle into tranquility.

He cherished this feeling; it had been a long time since his admission to the hospital that he had experienced the warmth of family.

Looking at his mother, Li Huowang felt the urge to spill everything that had happened to him, but the words died on his lips, swallowed back down.

No, she wasn't like Yang Na; if he told her, she would only think his condition had worsened. He couldn't burden her with more worry—he would tell her when everything had settled.

Just as mother and son were chatting happily, the attending physician's phone rang. "Ms. Sun, the family of patient Liu has also arrived. What would you like to do...?"

"Son, stay put and eat plenty. When you're done, I'll buy you more."

Speaking gently to Li Huowang, Sun Xiaoqin puffed out her chest and pivoted, marching toward the door like a rooster preparing for a duel.

For some reason, watching her retreating figure filled Li Huowang with an immense sense of security.

Though his mother was formidable, just being by her side made him feel safe; she was like a great umbrella shielding him from the wind and rain, and all the anxiety born of his recent troubles vanished in this very moment.

"Heh, the lobby is going to be quite a spectacle soon," Li Huowang murmured, plucking another yellow-green grape and biting into it, the fresh, sweet juice bursting in his mouth.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, Li Huowang's body jolted violently, and the colors of his surroundings began to shift once more. "Damn, Mom's visit made me forget to figure out how to bluff that scabby bastard. What do I do now?"

As the world around him stabilized again, Li Huowang found himself standing in the ingredient room, with a grim-faced Danyangzi standing not far away, while the other medicinal catalysts formed a circle with their heads bowed low.

Danyangzi flipped his filthy right hand, and a viscous, writhing black mass materialized in his palm, each squelching twist emitting a sound like a toad licking an eyeball.

"Huh? Weren't we using Bai Lingmiao to refine pills? Has the page been turned on that?"

After a brief second of hesitation, Li Huowang asked, "Master, what is this?"

"Hmph, something good. Taisui. Black Taisui."

(End of Chapter)