Chapter 343
Chapter 343
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 343
>Chapter Title: Huan Huan
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Chapter 343: Huan Huan
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> “Heh heh, sir, whatever you need, just say the word.” The sycophantic grin on the relay station officer’s face reminded Li Huowang of his own boss.
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> “Go to sleep. Don’t come near my room unless it’s important.”
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> “Then rest well, sir~ I’ll take my leave. If you need anything, just holler for Old Wu Tou. I’m always on call.”
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> With a “creak,” the door shut. Li Huowang slid the bolt into place, pulled out his rain-soaked rations from his pack, and started gnawing on them.
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> Mantou wasn’t around, so he didn’t dare eat just anything from outside. Better safe than sorry—even in a relay station in Liang.
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> As he chewed, Li Huowang suddenly paused and looked down at the back of his hand, where the scab was forming. Something seemed to be moving under the skin.
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> By candlelight, he examined it closely and saw it was an extremely thin black tentacle, wriggling through his vein like an earthworm.
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> Li Sui’s tentacle had reached the back of his hand along the vein. This was new.
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> “What did I tell you? See? The signs are already showing. And this is just the beginning. That Black Tai Sui will fill every meridian in your body bit by bit! When that happens, you’re done for—no immortal under the heavens can save you!”
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> “Do as I say—toss that Black Tai Sui right now!”
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> Li Huowang chewed coldly on the soggy flatbread in his mouth as he stared at Red Zhong.
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> “Dad?” Li Sui’s voice rang out again, laced with a hint of grievance and confusion.
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> Li Huowang pulled his gaze away, stowed the rest of his rations, blew out the candle, and lay down without even washing up.
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> He was exhausted. The moment the back of his head hit the pillow, he fell into a deep sleep.
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> Listening to the patter of rain outside the window, Li Huowang slept soundly for once.
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> In his groggy haze, a wave of intense nausea jolted him awake.
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> “What’s going on?” Li Huowang stumbled to his pack and grabbed his water gourd to take a drink.
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> But before he could pour any water into his open mouth, several tentacles burst out from his throat.
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> “What are you doing? Get back in there!” Li Huowang hadn’t even finished speaking when even more tentacles emerged.
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> “Li Sui! What are you doing?!” Li Huowang roared in his mind.
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> “Dad, you won’t die!”
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> As Li Huowang doubled over and retched, Li Sui—formed of writhing tentacles large and small, coated in slime—vomited out and quickly slithered under the bed.
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> Li Huowang swallowed a mouthful of bloody saliva with difficulty and shot Red Zhong an irritated glare.
“You’ll die if you don’t talk, huh?”
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> He turned toward the bed, but halfway there, his expression twisted in agony as he clutched his head. Everything around him began to shift rapidly.
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> When he came back to himself, he was lying on the cold concrete floor where he’d just been standing.
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> Li Huowang looked around in bewilderment. He was still under the bridge, but it looked far filthier than before.
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> “Back again.” Li Huowang sighed helplessly, rolled onto his back, and stared at the spiderwebs clinging to the underside of the arch bridge.
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> The one silver lining was no more mom or Yang Na here. He didn’t have to agonize over what was real or fake—just wait quietly for time to pass.
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> “Li Sui’s getting better at recognizing words faster now. She can understand what Red Zhong’s saying. But I need to teach her that not everything people say is true.” Ragged and filthy, Li Huowang lay in the bridge hollow, muttering to the ceiling.
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> “Tap tap tap.” Footsteps echoed from the bridge entrance. He recognized them—Huan Huan’s.
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> Li Huowang turned his head and saw the cute little girl with the red schoolbag, holding a bag of steamed dumplings, standing there uneasily. She looked a bit taller than before, in new clothes, but still wearing that cherry hairpin.
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> “Huan Huan, no need to bring me food anymore. I won’t starve to death—and if I do, even better.”
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> Huan Huan’s eyes went wide at Li Huowang’s words.
“Uncle, you recognized me! It’s been so long since you last did!”
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> He smiled silently, stood, and walked toward the girl. This time, Huan Huan didn’t run. She looked up at him anxiously.
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> Li Huowang took the five steamed dumplings from her bag and popped them into his mouth.
“Sorry about that time at the kindergarten. You know I’m crazy—sometimes I can’t tell things apart.”
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> Seeing him eat, Huan Huan beamed, shaking her head and sending her twin pigtails swinging side to side.
“It’s okay! I know you didn’t mean to hurt me.”
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> Li Huowang raised a hand to pat her head but hesitated at the sight of his grimy palm and lowered it.
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> “Thanks for the dumplings. But don’t bring me food anymore. I might hurt you when I lose it.” He paused midway, realizing how pointless this was. It was just a hallucination.
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> “Got it! See you, Uncle! I’m heading home!” Huan Huan gave Li Huowang a big hug and ran off.
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> Li Huowang walked to the edge of the bridge hollow, standing in the shadows as he watched her tiny figure dash into the sunlight, a trace of warmth in his eyes.
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> The kindness he shunned so fiercely over there was everywhere in this hallucination. If he had a choice, he’d pick this as reality.
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> As he turned to head back into the hollow, a fat guy at the distant corner—smoking with a thick gold chain around his neck—made his expression harden.
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> The lecherous glances he kept stealing this way turned the warmth in Li Huowang’s eyes to ice.
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> “What does he want with Huan Huan?” Li Huowang immediately thought of that movie *Hope*. His face twitched.
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> Even in his hallucination, he’d never let something that disgusting happen.
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> Glancing around, he fished a handy goose egg stone from the river nearby and crept toward the fat man.
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> The instant the fat man turned and spotted him, Li Huowang smashed the stone down on his head.
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> By the time the bloodied fat man came to from the pain in his hand, Li Huowang had dragged him deep into the dark bridge hollow.
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> Looking down to see a shard of glass impaling his left palm, the fat man’s cheeks quivered as he let out a wretched scream.
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> Li Huowang punched him square in the chest, cutting off the scream and leaving him gasping.
“Shut up! I haven’t even started!”
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> Once the fat man caught his breath, Li Huowang stared him down coldly.
“Talk. What were you planning with that little girl?”
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> Tears welled up in the fat man’s eyes, his face a picture of injustice.
“I wasn’t staring at the girl! I was staring at you!”
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>(End of chapter)