Chapter 986: Treatment

Chapter 986: Treatment

Li Huowang slowly opened his eyes, the sunlight streaming in from the window on the left making it difficult to keep them open.

After several days of waiting, he had finally returned, though he had not been idle during this time, having thoroughly purged all of Sanqing’s forces.

No matter what Sanqing intended to do in White Jade Capital, as long as he was there, he would never again allow them to interfere or exert the slightest influence.

Once Li Huowang had adjusted to the light, he realized the environment around him had changed.

The luxurious villa that once belonged to Qing Wanglai had been replaced by an old, single-story house; judging by the scenery outside, they were somewhere in the countryside.

Li Huowang looked down at himself and found he was bound tightly with strips of cloth.

Turning his head slightly, he saw a haggard-looking Yang Na curled up on his left side.

Clearly, she had been the one caring for him during this time.

He whispered her name a few times, and a half-dreaming, half-waking Yang Na stirred and climbed up.

After fumbling to untie him, she hugged and kissed him before collapsing back to the side, falling into a deep sleep.

Carefully tucking the blanket around her, Li Huowang put on his shoes and walked out.

He had barely stepped out when he saw the others eating breakfast, Yi Donglai among them.

"Awake? Eat something. Since you're up, I won't bother sending it in." A bowl of white porridge, two fried dough sticks, and a salted duck egg were placed before him.

"How did we end up here?" Li Huowang walked over and began to eat.

Zhao Shuangdian, the only one not eating as she tapped away at a keyboard, spoke up: "The Elephant over there used the rules to ambush our stronghold, so we relocated in advance."

These words made Li Huowang’s heart sink; it was clear the enemy would not sit idly by, constantly plotting to see them dead.

Though they had narrowly escaped this time, they might not be so lucky the next.

"You predicted the Elephant's move? Besides that, what else can you foresee?" Li Huowang asked, looking at the laptop before her.

If Zhao Shuangdian could predict the actions of the Fusheng Heaven’s Si Ming, things might be slightly easier.

"I am still observing. But I am not certain if my current model is correct, or how much error it contains. With Qing Wanglai gone, our situation has become even more dire." Zhao Shuangdian’s brow remained tightly furrowed.

At the mention of Qing Wanglai, Li Huowang’s expression turned grim, and he suppressed his rising anger. "Don't worry. The Earth will keep spinning without him. I’ve already found helpers—many, many helpers."

"It’s not about strength, it’s his intelligence. The things he said before he left... I really can't stop thinking about them." Zhao Shuangdian rested her chin on one hand, tapping her cheek with her index finger.

"Don't believe him!" Li Huowang’s voice rose sharply. "Dice has defected to him! The Dao of Lies is in his hands! Everything he said is a complete fabrication!"

"But what is the motive?" Zhao Shuangdian looked toward him.

"What?"

"If what he said is false, what is his reason for deceiving us? I’ve considered the situation you described, but I cannot find a reason for him to lie."

"We share a common enemy; that is an indisputable fact. Fabricating intelligence about an enemy makes no logical sense, unless he is working for the other Elephant."

"In this context, it is most likely he is telling the truth, because only then can we bear the pressure from the enemy on his behalf, which is to his advantage."

"So you agree with what he said? That there exists something even more powerful than the Si Ming? A Great Si Ming? That the powerful enemy we are currently facing is merely a breeze stirred up by the Great Si Ming turning over?"

"And so, before the Great Si Ming, everything we do is meaningless? We do nothing? We just wait for death?"

Zhao Shuangdian thought for a long time, then shook her head. "I don't know."

"Believe it or not, I don't!" Li Huowang said with absolute finality. "I don't believe his words, I don't believe Qing Wanglai, and I certainly don't believe Dice."

"If there is no chance of winning, why would Sanqing go through such painstaking trouble? Why spend so much time laying so many traps? Is he just bored and looking for something to do?"

"Either this is a lie, or it is the truth told only halfway! Trust me, when it comes to dealing with the Zuo Wang Dao, I have more experience than you!" With that, Li Huowang filled a bowl with porridge, grabbed a few steamed buns from the table, and walked toward the bedroom he had just exited.

Regardless of what Sanqing had said, unless he saw it with his own eyes, Li Huowang would treat it all as a hallucination.

When he emerged from the bedroom again, he turned to Yi Donglai. "Doctor Yi, are you finished? If so, please help me treat my illness. My apologies for these past few days."

No matter what he had to endure next, Li Huowang first had to cure his sickness.

Only by returning to his peak could he hope to prevail in the coming battles.

As for his guilt toward Yi Donglai, it had diminished significantly after witnessing the commoners who had died because of the Sha Decree.

To win, everyone had to pay a price—he was no exception, and neither was Yi Donglai. He had to win; otherwise, the deaths of those people would be entirely in vain.

Yi Donglai wiped his mouth with a napkin, nodded, and stood up. "Let's go to the warehouse; it will be quieter there." He picked up his notebook.

Yi Donglai’s reaction struck Li Huowang as odd; he seemed to have gradually adapted to everything here. With this doubt in mind, Li Huowang followed him to the warehouse and sat down across from him.

"Li Huowang, I must admit, my previous judgment of you was too hasty. Only after getting to know these people did I realize what you have truly been through."

Hearing this, Li Huowang frowned. "You haven't been assimilated by them, have you? You don't actually agree with their perspective?"

"Is assimilation so bad? If I were assimilated by you all as well, then you would simply have one more helper." Yi Donglai opened his notebook and began to scribble.

"In fact, I think you might try to assimilate more people. The more people you assimilate, the more helpers you have, and the more likely you are to win."

Upon hearing this, Li Huowang realized Yi Donglai was merely studying them and had not been assimilated.

"That's impossible. White Jade Capital doesn't have that many Si Ming projections. Doctor Yi, let's not talk about that today. Once you cure me and we resolve the trouble with Fusheng Heaven, you can talk as much as you like."

Yi Donglai sighed softly and finally nodded. "Very well. Now, look at this pen."

He held a sharpened pencil upright before Li Huowang. "Everything I say next, you must execute carefully. This is very important. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

"Good. Now listen to me: look at this pen, and slowly close your eyes."

Li Huowang obeyed. Yi Donglai’s voice continued to resonate in his ears. "Now, relax your body completely and lean back. You feel your body falling, sinking deeper and deeper, with no end in sight."

As Yi Donglai’s voice grew increasingly ethereal, Li Huowang felt his body becoming lighter and lighter, and everything around him plunged into darkness.

And just then, Yi Donglai’s voice sounded in his ear once more: "...Li... Huo... wake up... wake up quickly..."