Chapter 972: Transformation

Chapter 972: Transformation

Seeing the shock on Li Huowang’s face, Gao Zhijian grew anxious; after all, Zuo Qiuyong was an ally on the same ship.

Now, this Flesh Deity, such a powerful ally, had died suddenly without warning, which undoubtedly made the already dire situation even worse.

"Brother Li, send me back at once!"

"Wait for me, just wait a moment! I know who to ask about this! I can find the answer!"

Li Huowang sat cross-legged, clutching his head with both hands and squeezing with all his might, as if he meant to crush his own skull, while he began to chant silently in his heart.

"I am Seven-Wheels, I am Seven-Wheels now, I must be Seven-Wheels!"

Compared to before, this attempt felt agonizingly difficult, incredibly strained and awkward.

He did not know how long he chanted, but when Li Huowang suddenly snapped his eyes open, he saw Qing Wanglai standing with his arms crossed, observing him along with the others; he had finally returned.

"Sanqing! You hold the secrets! Tell me! How did Zuo Qiuyong die? Where did his Heavenly Dao of Growth go?"

Faced with Li Huowang’s impatient questioning, Qing Wanglai did not speak; he leaned to the side, whispering to Zhao Shuangdian beside him.

Watching Qing Wanglai’s actions and then observing the expressions on the others' faces, Li Huowang finally realized something was amiss.

When he looked down at his own body, he was struck as if by a bolt of lightning.

"Why are you binding me? Let me go! Why are you tying me up?"

He was just as he had been in the psychiatric hospital, bound tight, unable to move a single finger.

In his current predicament, he could no longer spare a thought for Zuo Qiuyong’s death.

"Quiet down!" A slap landed on the back of Li Huowang’s head; the hand belonged to Ba Nanxu.

"You were spouting nonsense, running out into the street, flipping through a child's homework—do we not have to tie you up? We went through so much trouble to get you out, are you planning to send yourself back in?"

"What?!" Li Huowang was filled with disbelief, and connecting this to the previous strain, a terrifying conjecture surfaced in his mind. "Have I regressed to my previous state? Can I no longer tell the difference?"

Bound hand and foot, Li Huowang lay on the bed for a long time, but he was forced to accept the reality.

Everything had returned to the past; his actions there would repeat here, and all of this stemmed from that button.

"Could it be that I am currently distinguishing the two sides too clearly?" Li Huowang thought to himself, incredulous.

He recalled the treatment he had received from Yi Donglai, remembered the two distinct sets of memories in his mind, and the more he thought, the more his head throbbed.

"This won't do, this absolutely won't do! The two sides must be separated! Otherwise, they can never coordinate."

He had not expected the means of the Fortune Deity to be so devious and strange; the influence of that button was like a poison, making every movement an arduous struggle.

He was Ji Zai, master of the Heavenly Dao of Bewilderment, and he had to maintain that state at all times, yet the enemy had shattered this balance.

With a great war looming, he had to return to his previous state, or his upcoming confrontation with the Fortune Deity would be like cutting off his own arms.

"What exactly happened? What did you encounter over there during this time?" Zhao Shuangdian walked over to ask, and judging by her serious expression, it was clear she did not view Li Huowang’s behavior as a mere episode of illness.

"It is an attack from the Fortune Deity! That old beggar’s button—even though he is dead, his attack is still affecting me!"

"This happened when we fought, but I didn't expect the influence to be continuous."

Li Huowang explained his judgment to Zhao Shuangdian, mentioning Zuo Qiuyong’s death and his own current passive situation.

After understanding the ins and outs of Li Huowang’s plight, Zhao Shuangdian began tapping on her keyboard, as if calculating something.

Knowing that Li Huowang was fully lucid, the others stepped forward and began to untie him.

However, there was no joy on Li Huowang’s face; he could feel himself gradually drifting back toward his former self.

"Zhijian, find a rope and tie me up, just like back then."

He could see Gao Zhijian now, but the figure appeared blurred, and was becoming more so by the moment.

When he saw Gao Zhijian bring back vines and bind him tightly, Li Huowang finally let out a sigh of relief and asked Zhao Shuangdian, "Well? In your worldview, have you calculated anything?"

Zhao Shuangdian stopped tapping the keyboard, neither nodding nor shaking her head. "I have calculated some things regarding this Zuo Qiuyong you speak of. Leave this matter to me."

In truth, Li Huowang had already pushed the matter of Zuo Qiuyong to the back of his mind; with his own life hanging by a thread, how could he worry about others?

After all, Zuo Qiuyong was dead, but he was still alive. Regardless of what kind of deity Zhao Shuangdian was, since she said she would handle it, he could focus on his own troubles.

"Fine, you handle Zuo Qiuyong, but what about my situation? Did you calculate a solution?"

Faced with Li Huowang’s question, Zhao Shuangdian answered with a question of her own. "How did you solve the situation last time?"

"Last time? Last time I received treatment from Yi Donglai," Li Huowang replied.

"Then run the same parameters for another experiment. If he could cure you once, he can cure you again. Go find him."

Hearing this, Li Huowang’s face darkened with difficulty. "I naturally know Dr. Yi can cure me, but in this current situation, do you think he will help?" As he spoke, he gestured toward his severed arm.

Although it had been bandaged, the hand was completely gone.

Li Huowang could fully imagine that if Yi Donglai saw him with such grievous injuries, he would conclude that Li was utterly insane and beyond saving.

"Getting someone to help isn't that big of a deal; we can help you think of a way." Wu Qi spoke up, and Ba Nanxu added, "Does he have family? Should we kidnap one to threaten him?"

"What is all this! Are we kidnappers? Do you really want to draw the Rules down upon us?"

Li Huowang was getting angry; Yi Donglai had genuinely tried to help him, yet these people were treating him like an enemy.

After thinking carefully for a moment, Li Huowang came up with a plan. "I can try to bring him here and let him see you all."

"As long as he can understand us and know what is truly happening to us, I believe that with his integrity, he will surely help me."

In the past, Yi Donglai had always insisted that Li was hallucinating and that everything he saw was fake; if he could just place the irrefutable evidence before him, he should be able to change the doctor's perspective.