Chapter 865: Negotiation

Chapter 865: Negotiation

Just as Li Huowang’s feet began to exert force, a phone ring interrupted his movement.

“Pause for a moment,” said Ba Nanxu, pulling out his phone and swiping it to his ear. “Hello? Yes, it’s me. Yeah, he’s right in front of me.”

“No way, I’m not going. I don’t know what’s gotten into him. He promised but changed his mind. Do you really think we should seek out someone like this? Are you really not afraid of infection?”

“Fine, then talk to him yourself.”

Ba Nanxu tossed the phone toward Li Huowang. “Here, Zhao Shuangdian wants to speak with you.”

Li Huowang reached out and caught it, hesitating slightly before bringing it to his ear. A familiar, pleasant voice came through.

“We know more than Qingwang does. Only by joining us can you truly understand what has happened to you.”

“I know what’s happened to me. The doctor told me I have mental illness. No need to repeat that.”

“Really? You really believe you’re mentally ill? Then how did your girlfriend get her earrings? Can mentally ill people create things from nothing?”

When Li Huowang fell silent, Zhao Shuangdian continued, “You don’t need to deceive me or yourself. This isn’t something that can be explained by mental illness alone.”

“Discard all the information forcibly implanted into your mind. That’s just order and rules trying to correct your dissonance.”

“But you must understand one thing: you are you. You are the real Li Huowang, not the version others want you to become.”

This time, Li Huowang finally spoke. “I don’t understand. If you say I’m not mentally ill, show me proof. I want solid evidence! Not about me, but about you! I can no longer tell what is illusion and what is real!”

“If there is that world, then surely I’m not the only one unlucky!”

“Solid proof? There is. Qingwang brought you that motorcycle, didn’t he? It was expensive, wasn’t it? He’s rich, isn’t he? Do you think he got that rich by chance?”

Li Huowang turned around and looked at the motorcycle lying on the ground. “Don’t underestimate it—it’s more expensive than a car. Over a million.”

“He’s not a second-generation rich kid. Why does he have so much money? Have you never wondered about that? Think about the earrings you gave your girlfriend, and the gold your family owns. There are clever people besides you.”

“Want to know more? Li Huowang, let’s talk face to face,” Zhao Shuangdian cut off abruptly, clearly trying to entice Li Huowang.

Hearing the dial tone, Li Huowang’s mind filled with countless thoughts.

Were the money Qingwang brought from that world? But the problem was, he hadn’t gone mad like Li Huowang had. How did he manage it?

Was that world the strange one where Li Huowang had once been? Could it be that he had met him there too?

A flood of questions surged through Li Huowang’s mind. He urgently wanted to know the truth behind everything.

Whether it was illusion or reality, he now only desired the truth!

“Let’s go. Take me to meet Zhao Shuangdian!” As Li Huowang opened the black car door and sat down, the two siblings felt disappointed and returned to their seats.

The buildings outside the window blurred past quickly as Li Huowang kept thinking back on his previous experiences, real and unreal interweaving, making his head spin.

“Could it be that what Zhao Shuangdian said was an illusion? Thinking of that, Li Huowang quickly turned to look at the two beside him—were they also illusions?”

Then he touched the seat cushion beneath him. “Could it be that this car is also an illusion?”

Watching Li Huowang’s odd behavior, Ba Nanxu felt uneasy. “Fool.”

“No, this won’t do. I need a method. If I keep going like this, I’ll go insane. I need some way to distinguish between what’s real and what’s illusion.”

Li Huowang closed his eyes and began to think, wondering what method he could use to tell the difference.

But the solution was difficult. Even at Ba Nanxu’s blood society fire tattoo shop, he couldn’t come up with anything.

Eventually, Li Huowang had to set it aside. He got out of the car and walked downstairs into the tattoo shop.

As soon as he entered, Li Huowang saw Zhao Shuangdian. She was still dressed the same as before, but her actions were completely different from when they first met.

She was leaning against the sofa inside the shop, drinking baijiu while watching a TV series on her tablet. “Sit,” she said, patting the sofa beside her.

Li Huowang walked over and sat beside her. The TV series on the tablet was a romance drama.

He didn’t remember its name. If Yang Na were here, she might know. She usually liked watching these kinds of shows.

Thinking of Yang Na, Li Huowang’s expression darkened.

“Feeling troubled? Whiskey? Want some?”

Li Huowang didn’t even use a glass. He lifted the deep blue bottle and drank straight from it, feeling like he was drinking fire.

After a few more sips, as the alcohol took effect, Li Huowang felt much better. “Tell me, what’s going on?”

“You must ask a specific question first, and then I’ll answer.”

“Is what you said on the phone true? Did Qingwang really get his money that way?”

“That’s correct. That’s how it was. But I don’t know the details. I just deduced it logically.”

“So that means that world really exists? I am indeed the one who was destined to die? And Yang Na too?”

Zhao Shuangdian looked at the clear liquid in her cup. “Do you know the story of the blind men and the elephant?”

“That’s such a well-known story. Of course I’ve heard it. You mentioned it before too.”

“A group of blind men who had never seen an elephant touched it. One who touched the leg said, ‘An elephant is like a big pillar.’ Another who touched the tail said, ‘An elephant is like a broom.’ Someone who touched the ear said, ‘An elephant is like a winnowing basket.’ Someone who touched the tusk said, ‘An elephant is like a bull’s horn.’ Someone who touched the trunk said, ‘An elephant is like a thick rope.’”

Zhao Shuangdian paused slightly, then tilted her head and smiled at Li Huowang. “What part of the elephant do you think you’ve touched now?”

“I feel a world—a real world! Although that world is bizarre, it’s real!”

“I’m not saying your world isn’t real. It’s just overly one-sided, like the shadow of this bottle.”

As Zhao Shuangdian picked up the bottle, its shadow fell onto the floor. “Did you see that shadow?”

“Yes.”

“That’s your world—real but one-sided.” Zhao Shuangdian slightly adjusted the angle of the bottle. “This is another world—also real but one-sided.”

“But you always only see shadows. No one sees the deeper truth—the most real world.”

Zhao Shuangdian said this, placing the deep blue bottle in front of Li Huowang.