Chapter 204
Chapter 204
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 204
>Chapter Title: True? False?
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Chapter 204: True? False?
“Senior Brother Li, what’s wrong with him?”
“I don’t know either. He was fine just a moment ago. How did looking at a book make him lose his mind like this?”
“Junior Sister Bai, why don’t you go check on him? He’s not having another episode, is he?”
Under everyone else’s urging, Bai Lingmiao walked over. Her voice trembled with anxiety as she carefully asked Li Huowang, who was squatting on the ground.
She sneaked a glance and saw rows of characters in front of Li Huowang. He had been staring at those characters the whole time.
Since Bai Lingmiao couldn’t read, she had no idea what they said. But judging by his demeanor, those words must be extremely important to him.
Seeing that he didn’t respond, Bai Lingmiao thought for a moment, removed the whip from her waist that she used for drumming, and prodded the book beside Li Huowang with it. With a forceful flick, she sent the book flying far away.
“Senior Brother Li turned like this right after looking at that book. Maybe it’s an unlucky thing.”
After doing that, Bai Lingmiao asked again.
“Senior Brother Li, are you okay?”
Li Huowang, who always had sharp senses, couldn’t hear a word anyone was saying right now. He was completely focused on the few lines of text he had written on the ground.
I am Peng Zhi, one of the three corpses of a certain existence. (Fake)
I am Hong Zhong, one of the Great Three Yuan of Sitting Oblivion Dao. Sitting Oblivion Dao deceived me before; it was my instruction to do so. (Fake)
The people who died in that dead town were killed by me. (Fake)
One of Sitting Oblivion Dao’s high-level members is also a heart elemental. He lived to 190 years old and completely escaped the hallucinations. (?)
Li Huowang stared at the fourth line, pondering all sorts of possibilities in his mind.
“Could this actually be true?”
Since others were after heart elementals, they clearly had value. If they could use them, why couldn’t a heart elemental use them himself?
Judging by the new ability he had suddenly gained, the potential of a heart elemental was probably far greater than he had imagined.
“If there really is a way, that means this illness of mine can be cured! I could become a normal person—no, I might even fully control this power. If that happens, no one will ever dare deceive or harm me again!”
In his excitement, Li Huowang felt strength surging through his entire body. Even his persistently gloomy mood lifted into exhilaration.
But gradually, Li Huowang calmed down. All of this hinged on one major prerequisite: that Sitting Oblivion Dao had been telling the truth when they said it.
From his past dealings with Sitting Oblivion Dao, that seemed highly unlikely.
Li Huowang had no idea how much truth there was in that final statement. But even if there was only a one-in-ten chance, it was utterly tempting to him right now.
He craved it so badly.
It wasn’t just for gaining greater power; it also represented escape from his torment.
Switching unpredictably between hallucinations and reality was utter agony. He never wanted to relive the suffering worse than death that he had endured before.
“Not now. After we escape Hou Shu, maybe I can try gathering information on this, proceeding step by step and discerning rationally.”
“I must be cautious now. I can’t blindly trust anything Sitting Oblivion Dao says. Whether true or false, I’ll take it one step at a time, basing everything on what’s real.”
After carefully sorting through his thoughts, Li Huowang stood up. He immediately noticed everyone else watching him from a distance with strange expressions.
“Why’s everyone staring at me? Is there writing on my face?”
“N-No, it’s nothing, nothing at all.”
Yang Kid picked up the big iron pot to carry it on his back, but High Zhijian’s large hand reached over and lifted it effortlessly.
The others began packing their luggage as well, acting like they were ready to set off.
Li Huowang looked around, picked up the distant *Book of Scams* from the ground, stuffed it into his robes, and prepared to continue on.
But at that moment, a flash of insight struck his mind.
“Wait! Could those two swindlers possibly be from Sitting Oblivion Dao too? Are they scheming to deceive me again?”
“No, I have to go back.”
Li Huowang’s face darkened as he pulled the *Book of Scams* from his robes and tossed it to the ground. Without pause, he headed straight for that flat-topped mountain.
This sudden move caught everyone off guard; no one knew what was happening, and for a moment, they all fell silent.
“I’ll go keep an eye on him, in case he has an episode halfway.” Chun Xiaoman grabbed her sword and hurried after him.
The rest waited for two hours, until dusk was falling, when they finally saw Li Huowang coming down from the flat-topped mountain again. Chun Xiaoman followed behind him, her face full of reluctance.
Li Huowang’s expression was clearly much improved from when he went up, as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
“What happened? What went down?”
Gouwa ran up to Chun Xiaoman and asked quietly.
“Those two swindlers... they were too pitiful. Sigh... way too pitiful. They were just deceiving people; they didn’t deserve to die for it.”
“Why did Senior Brother Li do that?”
Chun Xiaoman hesitated, as if unsure how to explain.
“He wanted to see how many faces those two had. Clearly, they only had one each.”
Gouwa sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth, his scalp instantly going numb.
“Enough chatting. Let’s hurry while there’s still light. Don’t forget we’re still being hunted.”
Li Huowang’s words made the two quicken their pace to catch up. Tacitly, they said nothing more about what happened on the flat-topped mountain.
Just as the others were about to set off again, another sudden incident occurred.
“S-Senior Brother Li, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Li Huowang clutched his head with a horribly contorted expression.
“Chains! Get the chains! Bind me quick! It’s coming!”
“Senior Brother Li, there are no chains! They’re all in the carriage!”
“Dig a pit! Bury me in a pit, fast! Don’t let me run off!”
Before they could finish digging the pit, Li Huowang was back in the hospital room filled with the smell of disinfectant.
A man stood before him: a young man in a white coat and glasses.
The white coat smiled faintly and adjusted his glasses with one hand.
“Li Huowang? You’re awake. Let me introduce myself—I’m your attending physician. My surname is Hou.”
“How are you feeling now? Compared to before, your lucid periods seem a bit short.”
Li Huowang looked around and asked.
“Where’s my mom?”
Doctor Hou’s face broke into a warm smile as he spoke kindly to Li Huowang.
“Your mother had something to handle and stepped out. She was here just a few minutes ago; you just happened not to be awake.”
“Li Huowang, if you truly care about your mother, then cooperate with my treatment and recover quickly. That’s how you can repay all she’s done for you.”
“Let’s chat. I know you think this side is the illusion—fine, then tell me about your so-called ‘real’ world over there?”
“Seems like you’ve discovered quite a few... extraordinary things lately.”
(End of chapter)