Chapter 650
Chapter 650
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 650
>Chapter Title: Back
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Just moments ago in the hospital, Li Huowang hadn't felt anything unusual.
But the moment he stepped outside, it hit him belatedly, and a profound joy surged up from deep within.
He was free. He was no longer a mental patient. He could return to school! He could live a normal life!
"Come on, get in the car and head home. Your dad drove that beat-up taxi of his over here just to pick you up."
Once in the car, the first thing Li Huowang did was pull Sun Xiaoqin's phone from her bag and log into his WeChat account.
He gripped the cracked phone screen tightly, his expression hesitant as he pondered something.
Finally, he tapped on that familiar rabbit avatar and began typing—writing three sentences only to delete two.
After scribbling on and off for half an hour, he stared at the hundreds of words on the screen. Li Huowang's thumb hovered over the send button for a long time before he gritted his teeth and deleted it all.
"I want to give Yang Na a surprise. Texting won't cut it—I'll wait for her right at her school gate!"
That scene flashed in Li Huowang's mind, but then his gaze drifted down to the "electronic watch" around his ankle.
"I want to give Yang Na a surprise. I'll wait for her five hundred meters outside her school!"
With that decided, Li Huowang rolled down the car window and gazed at the unfamiliar scenery outside. A smile gradually spread across his face.
Li Huowang was thrilled—in all the years past, he'd never felt this happy.
As they passed a crossroad, he spotted a fruit vendor on the roadside staring at him. Li Huowang gave a gentle wave.
Kangding Hospital was far from home, but despite the long, tiring journey, the smile never faded from Li Huowang's face.
When Li Huowang spotted the neighborhood gate again, it felt like an entire lifetime had passed.
"Shangjing, I'm finally back."
He tilted his head up at the oppressive city walls. Li Huowang yanked the reins hard, let out a sharp breath, and charged into the barbican.
Once inside the city, Li Huowang gradually slowed his horse, silently taking in everything around him.
To his slight relief, the streets of Shangjing still bustled with common folk, unchanged as ever.
A nearby flower sedan accompanied by gongs, drums, strings, and singing proved that people here were still going through their normal weddings and funerals.
It seemed that no matter the chaos stirred by the Fa Cult outside, the imperial capital remained utterly unaffected.
After circling the entire inner and outer city of Shangjing without spotting a single trace of the Fa Cult, Li Huowang spurred his horse toward the palace at full gallop.
Yet when he was still five zhang from the palace gates, Li Huowang suddenly felt a sharp tingle between his brows and stabbing pains all over his body.
He yanked the reins, and the black horse beneath him reared up high before coming to a halt.
Li Huowang knew that if he'd charged straight in, the people inside the palace would've attacked him on sight.
"What's going on? It's me! Can't you even recognize me after I've been gone just a short while?"
Li Huowang shouted at the forbidden troops guarding the gate.
In response to his calls, the guards—whether atop the walls or stationed outside—stood like statues, utterly silent.
"What the hell is all this about!!"
As Li Huowang racked his brain for a way to slip past these brutes, an elderly eunuch in a purple python robe, his white platform shoes seeming to make him float, glided out from a side door.
"By His Majesty's oral decree, Lord Li is invited to enter the palace and have an audience."
Irritated, Li Huowang dismounted. He started to follow the eunuch inside but suddenly whipped his head around, brows furrowed as he scanned the bustling street ahead, as if searching for something.
"Lord Li? Is something wrong?"
The eunuch's voice made Li Huowang turn back.
"Nothing. Let's go."
Li Huowang had visited the Shangjing palace many times before. With nothing more to say, he quickened his steps to follow the eunuch and find Gao Zhijian.
Along the way, he could clearly sense different gazes fixed on him from all sides—hidden sentries and overt guards alike, sealing the entire palace airtight.
He wasn't sure if it was some lingering effect from the dice, but the security was far tighter than before.
"National Master, long time no see."
Li Huowang called out to the old man inside a nearby chamber.
Yet Huangfu Tianguang said not a word. He simply stood there, hands clasped behind his back, staring silently at Li Huowang.
"Dad, he seems unhappy."
Li Sui spoke up from behind Li Huowang.
"Ignore him. When has he ever been happy?"
Li Huowang tugged along the tentacle emerging from within his rain cape as Li Sui poked her head out, and they pressed onward.
It was inside the emperor's bedchamber that Li Huowang laid eyes on Gao Zhijian once more.
The sight startled him—he almost didn't recognize the man. Before, Gao Zhijian's slabs of muscle had made him look like a living wall.
But now, Gao Zhijian moved with unsteady steps, dark bags under his eyes, and a deathly pallor to his face. He looked like he was on the verge of keeling over.
"What's happened to you? How'd you end up like this? Did the Fa Cult send assassins after you? Are you hurt?"
Gao Zhijian waved a hand dismissively and shook his head.
"No big deal. It's just... being emperor isn't easy."
Compared to his previous stammers and stutters, Gao Zhijian spoke far more fluidly now. It seemed that in this time, Da Liang's full resources had gone toward treating his speech impediment.
"So what exactly is going on? Spell it out. You're the ruler of a nation now—you can't afford any slip-ups."
A trace of embarrassment crossed Gao Zhijian's face, as if the words were hard to say. At last, he leaned in close to Li Huowang's ear and whispered.
"Three times a day? That many?"
"Ai..."
Gao Zhijian let out a deep sigh and led Li Huowang to the front of the hall, where they sat on the white marble steps.
"Senior Brother Li, I'm going to be a father. Sixteen women in the rear palace are with child."
"The dragon vein has its heirs now. You can ease up and rest—don't run yourself ragged."
Seeing that Gao Zhijian was fine, Li Huowang breathed a little easier.
Whatever the Fa Cult had planned for him, at least Li Huowang had made it back in time.
"Senior Brother Li, how's Niuxin Village? Is everyone alright?"
A flicker of longing passed through Gao Zhijian's eyes.
"Everyone's good. Last time you sent all that treasure, Niuxin Village might as well be richer than the nation itself."
Gao Zhijian sat on the steps, gazing out at the vast empty plaza before them.
"Is that so? That's good. Sometimes I dream that I'm back in Niuxin Village. I really miss it—I want to go see it."
"Not possible right now. The Fa Cult's troubles are only getting worse."
Li Huowang turned serious as they got down to business.
"Did you get the message I sent before?"
"Of course I did. But rest assured—the Supervising Heaven Division will absolutely safeguard His Majesty and keep anyone with ill intent far from his side."
Hearing the voice from behind him, Li Huowang turned sharply to find Da Liang's massive Celestial Supervisor, Xuanyin, standing there without him noticing.