Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 111
>Chapter Title: Madman
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> Chapter 111: Madman
> Li Huowang lightly covered his wound and slowly shuffled into the room where Abbess Jingxin was. He leaned against the base of the wall and slowly sat down.
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> “Even you lot couldn’t deal with Danyangzi?” Li Huowang asked.
>
> “Of course we could—as long as we killed you.”
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> Abbess Jingxin’s words made Li Huowang chuckle. “I didn’t expect you to be such a joker, Abbess.”
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> “I’m not joking with you. Danyangzi’s roots are now thoroughly embedded in you. You are one of his unfinished three corpses.”
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> “You want to stay alive while also peeling away your master—this is delicate work indeed. You two are connected far too deeply. I’d say you’re practically half a Danyangzi now. That’s why I didn’t simply strip that Black Tai Sui from your stomach. It’s not just Danyangzi’s anymore—it’s yours too.”
>
> Li Huowang’s request for the nuns of An Ci Nunnery to eliminate Danyangzi had failed. Though they had worked with him to gravely injure Danyangzi and temporarily drive him out...
>
> ...this was merely a stopgap. The problem remained unsolved.
>
> Hiding in the darkness, Li Huowang leaned back against the icy wall, numbly staring at the moss-covered layered tiles on the temple roof outside.
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> “This isn’t our fault. None of us knew your master still had half of himself left alive. We at An Ci Nunnery excel in matters of the Empty Self Realm, but when it comes to flesh and blood, those precept-breaking bald donkeys at Zhengde Temple are the real experts.”
>
> “Abbess, I don’t blame you. I just want to know—how long until I’m fully transformed into Danyangzi?”
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> Failure brought Li Huowang no sense of defeat.
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> “By my calculations, two months.” As Abbess Jingxin spoke, she walked into the shadows to a bamboo cradle and gently rocked it, a kindly smile appearing on her face as she looked at the elderly person inside.
>
> “Oh.”
>
> “So what do you plan to do?”
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> “I need to wait first—for an answer. Abbess, may I borrow something from you?”
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> The dim room fell silent, remaining so for a long while.
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> Li Huowang took a deep breath, his expression twitching with slight struggle. Then he abruptly opened his eyes. The surrounding darkness had been replaced by white—he was back in the hospital.
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> After carefully taking stock, Li Huowang realized this wasn’t the mental hospital, but an ordinary one. In the hallucination, his wounds hadn’t healed yet.
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> His gaze shifted downward to see his mother, Sun Xiaoqin, at that moment sitting on a small stool with her head on the bed, sleeping deeply.
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> In Li Huowang’s memory, his mother had always been very cleanly. But now her hair was greasy, as if it hadn’t been washed in a long time.
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> Li Huowang tried to reach out, only to find his limbs securely bound. Helpless, he could only softly call out toward her. “Mom, it’s me, Huowang.”
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> When Sun Xiaoqin opened her eyes and saw her son staring at her, calling her name with a perfectly normal expression, she lunged forward in excitement and hugged him tightly. “Son, you’re finally lucid!”
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> After quietly waiting until her emotions had settled a bit, Li Huowang spoke again. “Mom, where’s Dad?”
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> “Your dad’s out making money. We’re really short on cash at home right now, and we’ve got a pile of debts too.”
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> No sooner had she said this than Sun Xiaoqin’s heart sank. She quickly cupped Li Huowang’s face and explained with heartache.
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> “Huowang, Mom doesn’t blame you. I know this isn’t what you wanted. It’s all that disease—that damnable madness! Why out of so many people did it have to fall on my son?”
>
> “Mom, can you untie one of my hands? It’s numb.”
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> Seeing her son speak so normally, Sun Xiaoqin hesitated for a moment before piling smiles onto her face again.
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> “Sure, that’s fine. Being tied up all day must be wrecking your body.”
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> With his right hand free once more, Li Huowang smiled at Sun Xiaoqin. “Thanks, Mom.”
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> With that, he reached into his hospital gown and pulled out a heavy string of golden prayer beads.
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> Under Sun Xiaoqin’s gaze of utter shock, Li Huowang placed the beads in her hand.
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> “Mom, take these and sell them for money. Pay off the family debts. If there’s any left, buy back our house. I still rather like this neighborhood.”
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> Sun Xiaoqin clutched the hefty golden beads, at a complete loss. “Wh-what’s going on here, son? Where’d this gold come from? Did you sneak out while I was asleep to get it?”
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> Li Huowang gently shook his head. He reached up to remove the jade pendant from around his neck and placed it in Sun Xiaoqin’s hand as well.
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> “Mom, take this too. It should fetch some money. Even if I know you’re a hallucination, I don’t want to see you suffering in front of me.”
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> Hearing this, Sun Xiaoqin ignored the gold and jade in her hands. She grabbed Li Huowang’s shoulders and shook him desperately, tears streaming down nonstop.
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> “Son, look clearly! I’m your mom! I’m not a hallucination! I really am not!”
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> Li Huowang reached out and gently wiped the tears from her face, a faint smile on his own.
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> “Yeah, right. Mom, you’re real. You’re not a hallucination. I was just teasing you.”
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> Hearing Li Huowang’s comforting words, Sun Xiaoqin jumped for joy, clasping her hands together and mumbling prayers to the Bodhisattva.
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> Just as she excitedly pulled out her phone to video call Li Huowang’s working father, Li Huowang’s right hand scraped at her clothes, prying off a vermilion button and tucking it into his bosom.
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> Perhaps because Li Huowang had switched back on his own, the return this time was very swift.
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> His father in the video, with his hair gone gray, hadn’t even finished half a sentence when everything around him shifted again. He was back in the dim room.
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> When he came to, he saw Abbess Jingxin standing there quietly watching him, holding the golden prayer beads in her hand.
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> Li Huowang raised his right hand, his breathing growing ever more rapid. His mind was a whirlwind right now.
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> Gritting his teeth, he slapped a hand to his chest—only for it to freeze. Nothing was there.
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> Faced with this entirely expected outcome, Li Huowang laughed.
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> “Heh, I should’ve realized sooner. How could that side possibly be real? And yet I went and listened to people in a hallucination. I really have gone mad.”
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> His laughter soon stopped, though, for he realized this wasn’t exactly good news. He had just lost even the last sliver of possibility from his fantasies.
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> Li Huowang took a deep breath and softly said into the air, “Mom, did I scare you? Sorry—tie my hand back up, so I don’t accidentally hurt you.”
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> Abbess Jingxin, who had been silently watching everything, suddenly spoke. “If that side is fake, then who are you calling out to?”
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> Li Huowang looked up at the nun in the darkness. “Can’t I be calling out to myself?”
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> “What do you plan to do next?”
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> Li Huowang slowly drew a deep breath, his eyes instantly filling with utter murderous intent. “I want Danyangzi dead!”
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>(End of chapter)