Chapter 847: Therefore

Chapter 847 So

Hearing the sounds from outside, he did not raise an alarm. Instead, he opened his eyes slowly and moved toward the door, gripping the handcuffs in his hand, waiting for the other party to open it.

If the other party truly harbored ill will toward him, then he could use the chain of the handcuffs to strangle his throat and take him down.

Just as Li Huowang’s expression grew increasingly grave, a voice came from the window above him: “That... Li Huo.”

Li Huowang carefully turned his body sideways, peering out with caution. He saw Zhao Ting, dressed in the blue-and-white striped hospital gown, looking around nervously.

Her complexion had improved considerably, and her appearance was far more pleasant than before. She had a slender face, delicate and refined, with bright, clear eyes fixed on Li Huowang.

"Why are you here again?" Li Huowang asked Zhao Ting through the iron bars of the window.

"Weren't you the one who told me to come? You said it was too conspicuous at the previous spot. Here, no one's around—it's less noticeable."

Glancing briefly at the empty corridor behind Zhao Ting, Li Huowang said, "Try to keep this short. There are guards patrolling here, and there are cameras everywhere. If they catch you, that’ll be trouble."

"Mm." Zhao Ting wrapped her arms around herself, shivering violently and stamping her feet coldly. "The boss knows what you said. He wants someone to get out first. Once people are free, their identities can be arranged."

"Heh, this guy has quite the plan. Tell him it's impossible! I will never escape by trial and error!"

On one hand, he didn’t want to drag Zhao Ting and the others into this mess; on another, Li Huowang remembered exactly what Qingwang was like. Ever since Qian Fu died, he had long seen through him.

Though he appeared extremely kind on the surface, treating everyone politely, underneath, he was a cold-hearted psychopath. He considered only interests, never emotions, when acting.

If he escaped now, he could imagine how tightly held the leverage would be in Qingwang’s hands—he could use it to blackmail him.

If that were the case, he might end up being forced into becoming his enforcer for life.

Hearing this, Li Huowang saw Zhao Ting outside wearing a troubled expression, seemingly unsure of what to do.

“If you’re uncomfortable, let me contact Qingwang directly!” Li Huowang said.

He also wanted to ask clearly—why, during the earlier crisis, had he been the one fighting while everyone else hid, never showing up?

If this man was both heartless and extremely selfish and afraid of death, then there was no need to deal with such a fate-bringer anymore.

Currently, the Zhao Shuang point who had shown up once seemed more friendly. Perhaps he should try reaching out.

"Wait—assuming Qingwang is a projection of Sanqing, then which fate-bringer does Zhao Shuang point represent?"

Li Huowang remembered clearly that Ba Hui and her younger brother had been with her. What kind of fate-bringer could command them?

Li Huowang carefully retraced everything, but none of the known fate-bringers matched Zhao Shuang point.

"Then the..." Zhao Ting’s soft voice pulled Li Huowang back to the White Pagoda ward. "Um, I'll go back and check things out. I can't make decisions like this alone."

"Fine, go ahead. This has nothing to do with you anyway."

Seeing Zhao Ting turn to leave, Li Huowang suddenly called out, "Wait! I have something else to ask you."

"Hmm?"

Looking at Zhao Ting’s delicate face, Li Huowang’s expression gradually darkened. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Is depression easy to treat? I have a friend who suffers from it. Recently, her condition has worsened. I’m worried about her."

"Worsened? How bad is it?"

"I..." A trace of pain and longing appeared on Li Huowang’s face. "I don’t know. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her. I just heard she tried to commit suicide."

"That should be moderate, similar to what I went through. Not the worst case." Zhao Ting explained. "If it were severe depression, someone wouldn’t even think about suicide—they wouldn’t be mentally clear."

Hearing this, Li Huowang relaxed slightly and asked further, "Your current situation must be improving well, right? Do you think depression is easy to cure?"

Zhao Ting bit her lower lip, collecting her thoughts for a few seconds before continuing, "If a patient with moderate depression takes medication regularly and sees a good doctor, it's not particularly hard compared to other illnesses. But the hardest part is that once you get it, if negative emotions aren’t released in time, relapse is likely."

"As for severe cases, I haven’t reached that level, so I don’t know. But doctors mentioned that severe depression requires rebuilding one’s soul. Sounds complicated."

After hearing Zhao Ting’s explanation, Li Huowang nodded silently. If after leaving, Nana’s condition hadn’t improved, he’d better find a way to transfer her under Yi Donglai’s care.

Although he didn’t get along with Yi Donglai, he had to admit that he was a very responsible and capable psychiatrist.

If she could receive treatment from him, her condition should improve quickly.

Mental illness wasn’t scary. He had experienced it himself. Nana’s tendency to relapse wasn’t a problem either—he would stay by her side and care for her for life.

“Tap tap tap tap.” Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed, interrupting their conversation and startling Zhao Ting.

"Quick! Hide!" Li Huowang inside the room cried out anxiously. "Don’t go there! There are cameras there!"

Not long after Zhao Ting ran away, Li Huowang, lying back in bed, saw Yi Donglai enter with several orderlies and open his door directly. "Li Huowang, who were you talking to just now?"

Li Huowang rubbed his eyes, yawning irritably as he climbed off the bed. "Talking or not talking? Why are you making noise at night instead of sleeping?"

Yi Donglai walked to the doorframe and took out a recorder from the frame. With a light press, Li Huowang’s voice came out from within. "Quick! Hide! Don’t go there! There are cameras there!!"

Faced with undeniable evidence, Li Huowang stood silent.

"You think I don’t know? Do you really think I let you out these days just for fun?"

Yi Donglai pressed a button beside Li Huowang’s ankle shackles, and a tiny memory card popped out from inside.

"Zhao Ting, Gao Jinyun, Zhang Shu’e. I remember correctly, right? These are the three people you've been in contact with these past few days."

"You’ve been talking with them for so long. Didn’t you notice anything odd?"

"Li Huowang!!" Yi Donglai lunged forward, staring fiercely at him.

"Don’t you understand yet? You’re not insane—you’re not stupid! They’re patients from Kangning Hospital, and this place is White Pagoda! How could they possibly be here?!"

"So..." Hearing this, Li Huowang’s pupils dilated to maximum.

"So… Qingwang didn’t send anyone to rescue me? He really abandoned me completely after using me up?"

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