Chapter 989: Change

Chapter 989: Change

Li Huowang sat within the withered well, gazing up at the circular aperture of white light above, then looked down at the talismans and crimson threads plastered across the walls. He laughed. "Success, finally success! I have finally returned!"

Yet, gradually, the smile upon his face began to congeal. "What exactly did I succeed at? Why was I so happy?"

Li Huowang struggled to think, to search, but he froze in place; he discovered a vast, hollow void within his mind.

He seemed to have overlapped with something in the past, but now, as he tried to focus, he could recall absolutely nothing.

The only new addition to Li Huowang’s memory was that he had been picked up from the roadside by Danyangzi.

But that was not the point; the point was what was happening to him now, and why he had been so joyful just a moment ago.

With Fushengtian on the verge of reaching his doorstep, with the common folk of the world being tainted by baleful energy and turning into soldiers, why was he so happy?

Li Huowang scrambled out of the well, only to see a group of people wearing massive masks, following the lion dancers of the Lion Dance Palace, leaping and tumbling across a giant web of withered bamboo poles accompanied by the long, mournful notes of a flute.

Beneath the bamboo web, several bonfires roared with intensity.

The heat waves and black smoke from the flames scorched the bamboo frame, causing the figures upon it to sway and twist in the shimmering air.

Li Huowang recognized this—it was the Nuo dance of Later Shu.

"Stop dancing! Someone tell me what is going on here!" With a frustrated wave of Li Huowang’s hand, the bonfires and the bamboo frame were sent flying, leaving the space before him significantly emptier.

As Li Huowang panted for breath, a person wearing a Nuo mask stepped forward. "We were entrusted by the Emperor of Daliang to perform the Nuo ritual to save you. Your behavior is somewhat uncalled for."

"You saved me?" Though he did not know what had transpired, Li Huowang felt an urge to laugh at these words.

No matter what trouble he had encountered, it could not possibly have been these people who saved him.

"Performing the Nuo? Who are you invoking? The Great Nuo? The Great Nuo has gone mad! It is a Great Sima! If it had time to answer your call, why hasn't it stepped in to resolve the trouble with Fushengtian!?"

"Saving me? They should worry about saving themselves first!"

Li Huowang shoved him aside, leaped onto the highest palace hall, and shouted to the entire city of Shangjing: "Where is everyone? Someone tell me! What has happened!?"

As Li Huowang’s voice echoed across the sky, someone finally responded. It was none other than the Emperor of Daliang, Gao Zhijian.

Upon learning of Li Huowang’s confusion, Yi Donglai said with surprise: "Brother Li, have you truly forgotten everything? Did you not say you could converse with the Simas of Baiyujing? Did you not say you were fighting alongside them against the Simas of Fushengtian?"

"Is that so?" Li Huowang asked hesitantly, his eyes filled with profound bewilderment. "But why can I remember nothing of it?"

"In what way did the past me deal with Fushengtian through the Simas of Baiyujing?"

"Are you alright?" Seeing Li Huowang’s current state, a worried Yang Na walked over and helped him up.

Li Huowang stared blankly at Yang Na’s features, and after a long moment, finally recognized that this young woman was his girlfriend.

Lingering fear gripped him as he reached out and pulled her into a deep embrace.

"Li Huowang, what is wrong? Did something happen?" Yang Na asked again, unable to set her mind at ease.

Recalling the events just passed, and the final, ugly visage of Danyangzi, Li Huowang’s eyes revealed a deep confusion. "I don't know. I just felt as if something had been connected."

Stroking the back of Li Huowang’s head, Yang Na pulled away and looked at him earnestly. "Then how are you now? Is the trouble with the Fushengtian Sima resolved? Have you returned to your previous state?"

Li Huowang pondered for a moment, then turned his head toward Yi Donglai with uncertainty. "Doctor Yi, am I better now?"

Yi Donglai adjusted his glasses and closed the notebook in his hand. "This is your own illness; do you not know if you are better or not?"

Li Huowang shook his head and held his palm up before his face. "I don't know. I don't know the situation over there. If I do not shift back from here on out, it means the hidden danger left by Fushengtian has been completely eradicated."

"Then we wait," Yi Donglai said with a flat expression. "If it doesn't work, we simply treat you again. One day, we will succeed."

Seeing this attitude, Li Huowang grew anxious. "Doctor Yi, this is not a matter of one or two attempts. I must ensure I return to my previous state as soon as possible; only then will I have the strength to defend myself when the enemy strikes."

"If I am forced to switch back at a critical moment, I might lose everything!"

If he could not return to his previous state, he could not contact Gao Zhijian and the others, and enlisting the help of the Daliang soldiers would be out of the question.

Yi Donglai glanced at the door behind him and lowered his voice. "I couldn't speak freely earlier because of them. Since you are my patient, let me tell you some hard truths. If you truly want to be cured, you must first have a clear understanding in your heart."

"No matter how I treat you, if you do not cooperate, my medical skills will be of no use."

"No matter what you experienced over there, it was all fake—all hallucinations. Only when you have a clear understanding of that can I treat you."

Hearing this, Li Huowang’s heart turned cold, but he persisted stubbornly: "Doctor Yi, I didn't have that understanding before, so why were you able to save me then?"

"Times change. Back then, I had enough time to analyze your condition, but do you think we have that luxury now?"

"Li Huowang, trust me, nothing good will come of continuing like this with them. They are truly deceiving you; they read my papers and are using the content to lure you." Yi Donglai pleaded earnestly. "Those things really are fake."

"Those are fake?" Hearing this, a bitter smile appeared on Li Huowang’s face, while Yang Na’s eyes showed a flicker of confusion.

"Doctor Yi, I also wish that place were fake, that it didn't exist, but I cannot! That place is real!"

"Do you realize that my illness does not just concern me, but the entire world?"

"Then if that remains your attitude, I cannot proceed with the treatment."

Li Huowang’s expression shifted rapidly, as if he were weighing something. "Do you still not believe me?"

"Sigh, how can you expect me to believe you? I only believe in science, unless you can make me believe that those bizarre hallucinations you speak of are real."

Li Huowang gritted his teeth, reached into his robes, and pulled out a handful of items, presenting them to Yi Donglai.

They were about the size of small glutinous rice balls, round and plump, with golden characters for "Longevity" faintly swimming within the small orbs.

"What is this?"

"Longevity Pills! I took them from the Imperial Observatory’s treasury before I came!"