Mutated Tao

Li Huowang sat on his bed, recalling what had just happened.

He had never expected the Eighteenth Lunar to be even more bizarre than all the other supernatural beings that he had encountered in the past. To think that it could change its victim’s sense of self and identity itself, swapping it out with someone else’s identity completely.

It could even shift the stolen identity to that of someone else!

When he had been given the identity of the dying old man, he might’ve truly died.

At that time, even Dan Yangzi, who was possessing his body, wouldn’t have realized that he was dying.

But the Eighteenth Lunar could never have expected Li Huowang to be someone with a mental illness. Changing the identity of someone who was constantly battling with their own hallucinations was never going to be easy.

To think that the hallucinations that Li Huowang had been trying so desperately to cure had become the key to escaping the Eighteenth Lunar’s control.

The Eighteenth Lunar might be skillful, but the best it could do was change its victims’ sense of self. Unfortunately, Li Huowang was a Strayed One, someone who had two different cognitions.

Looking at the patients sunbathing outside, Li Huowang did not act immediately, instead thinking about his next plan of action.

Luckily, Li Huowang still had some cards up his sleeves. After his previous encounters with the hallucinations, he knew that whatever happened within the hallucination would happen in real life as well.

At the same time, he had also learned a bit more about the Eighteenth Lunar.

Li Huowang retraced the path he had walked just now. He needed to go back to the Wu Family’s courtyard and notify everyone about the fake Li Huowang!

The Eighteenth Lunar had resorted to trickery from the very beginning, never showing itself even once. That meant that it was probably quite weak in direct confrontations.

As long as Li Huowang could deal with its trickery, he would be able to summon the Wandering Gods and easily defeat it. In terms of actual combat ability, the Eighteenth Lunar might be even weaker than the ‘girl’ with tiny feet that he had encountered before.

After thinking his plan through, he was just about to stand up when he realized that both his hands were tied to the bed.

But this was inconsequential to Li Huowang. He knew everything about the hallucination.

Li Huowang faced the microphone and imitated the previous him, “Which beautiful lady is on duty today? Please come and untie me. I need to use the toilet.”

Soon, a chubby nurse burst into the ward and untied Li Huowang. “Oh dear! Little Li, are you finally back to yourself? Why were you trapped in the hallucination for so long? Gosh, you scared me. I thought you would never come back! Wait just a moment. I will go and contact Yang Na. Your little girlfriend will be jumping with joy when she finds out that you are back to normal. Just so you know, she cried so many times while you were trapped in your hallucination.”

Li Huowang did not react to her words. No matter how beautiful it was, this was still a hallucination.

Abbess Jingxin had told him that the hearts of the Strayed Ones were filled with a sense of doubt and confusion; however, Li Huowang did not agree. In fact, he was even more aware of everything and would never think that a hallucination was real.

When the nurse went out to call the doctor, Li Huowang jumped down from the bed and retraced his steps, running as fast as he could.

Li Huowang was very familiar with the hospital, so he easily managed to escape to the outside.

He ignored the whistles from the guards in the courtyard, running all the way to the road outside.

This is nothing but a hallucination!

Li Huowang paid the hallucination no mind. Bai Lingmiao and the rest were still under the control of the Eighteenth Lunar. They were in danger.

As he stepped out onto the road, Li Huowang’s blue and white hospital gown attracted everyone’s attention, causing the bystanders to whip out their phones and start recording him.

“Huh? What’s wrong with this guy? He’s barefoot as well. Is he not cold?”

“Look, the name of the hospital is stitched onto his gown. Oh no, he ran out from a mental hospital! Should we call the police?”

“Did he truly? Maybe he’s an influencer? They would do just about anything to get famous.”

Fake! Everything’s fake! I’ve been fooled by everyone here once; I will not get fooled again.

Li Huowang clenched his teeth so hard that his gums started bleeding.

He ran on the road in a specific pattern, taking very specific turns. Soon, he arrived at the location that he remembered as the Wu Family’s courtyard. However, in the hallucination, he was in the middle of the road.

Even though there were cars passing by him continuously, Li Huowang was not afraid. He knew that this was only a hallucination, and the cars would never hit him.

At that moment, Li Huowang faced the cars and shouted, “Bai Lingmiao! Quick! Take the bronze bell and ring it! Summon the Wandering Gods! The Li Huowang beside you is a fake! Have the Wandering Gods attack him!”

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

Thanks to Li Huowang, a traffic jam had started to occur on the road.

The cars were honking loudly, but Li Huowang smiled. Bai Lingmiao had followed his instructions. The honking of the cars in the hallucination must mean that someone was ringing the bronze bell back in reality.

Just then, one of the drivers in a red supercar stretched his head out from inside his car window and shouted angrily, “Crazy bastard! Get off the road! Scram, or else I will cripple you!”

Li Huowang whipped his head around and gazed at the red supercar. For some reason, he felt like the car was gazing at him.

He walked over and revealed his white teeth as he lowered his head toward the red supercar. “Hehe, so this is what your real body looks like within my hallucination? Eighteenth Lunar! I have finally found you!”

The Eighteenth Lunar that had never appeared in the village had now appeared in front of Li Huowang in this form. Needless to say, he was ecstatic.

Li Huowang continued shouting to his ‘invisible’ comrades. “Everyone look here! No matter what is in front of me, attack it! This thing is the Eighteenth Lunar!”

Just then, the driver saw the name of the mental hospital stitched to the left side of Li Huowang’s gown. He was terrified as he sat back down and hastily rolled up the window; all of his bravado was gone as he dialed the police with trembling hands.

“Hello? 110? Come quick! There’s an escaped mental patient on the roundabout! Yes, the roundabout beside Fulma. Come quick!” said the driver.

Li Huowang was just about to step onto the hood of the red supercar when he stopped.

Everyone in the hallucination saw Li Huowang turn his head as he stared at a red e-bike a distance away. The feeling of being watched that Li Huowang had felt from the red supercar was now gone, and he could feel it from the e-bike instead.

Oh no! The Eighteenth Lunar is trying to escape after being found out!

“Trying to run? Don’t think you can escape from me! Everyone follow me! That thing must be injured! It’s becoming smaller and smaller!” shouted Li Huowang as he ran toward the red e-bike.

Chacha and Char's Thoughts

And now he's back to the modern world! So if he dies he goes back to the modern world?