Mutated Tao

“I really can’t… I really don’t know… I really don’t know which side is real…” Li Huowang kneeled down in the field of the kindergarten as he hugged the girl tightly, his eyes filled with confusion.

Was this reality or was this a hallucination? Was this real or was this fake? Li Huowang couldn’t differentiate it at all.

Li Huowang had once argued with Abbess Jingxin when she said that a Strayed One’s heart was filled with a sense of doubt and confusion.

But now, seeing Sun Xiaoqin kneeling on the other side of the fence, he finally understood what Abbess Jingxin meant when she said that.

A Strayed One could never change. No matter which side they chose, they would always be enveloped in their own sense of doubt and confusion.

This was their fate, and none could escape.

Just then, a tiny hand holding a small handkerchief touched his face, gently drying his tears.

Li Huowang trembled as he lowered his head. He saw the cute little girl who was carefully wiping away his tears.

“Don’t cry, uncle,” said the little girl.

Looking at her cute little face, Li Huowang realized that the girl was also a living person.

He had almost killed an innocent little girl. A deep sense of guilt surged from the depths of his heart.

But what if it's the Eighteenth Lunar? Kill her!

When this thought appeared in his head, he started to feel an immense amount of disgust for himself. “Shut up! Shut up! Did you ever consider that this child is a living person! Is your life more precious than hers? She’s a normal person! And you? Li Huowang, you are nothing but a mental person! You are useless! How could you even think about exchanging her life for yours?!”

The piece of glass in Li Huowang’s hand creaked as he held onto it tightly despite the palm of his hand getting cut open by its sharp edges.

His sudden outburst shocked everyone, causing them all to take a step back.

Meanwhile, Li Huowang visualized two people fighting inside of his mind. The hallucination was tormenting him so badly that he could barely breathe.

He wanted to die. As long as he died, he wouldn’t have to live in so much pain.

There was no reason for an insane person like him to be alive. Everyone would benefit from his death in one form or another. His mom would no longer be burdened by him, and Dan Yangzi would not be able to revive through his body.

“Stand down. Put down your guns. Young man, can I talk to you?” Someone’s voice came from outside the kindergarten.

It was a middle-aged man talking through a loudspeaker. He was wearing casual clothes with his pot-belly bulging out. Li Huowang didn’t know who it was, but seeing how the other police officers slowly lowered their guns, he knew that the man in front of him was someone of high rank.

Just as Li Huowang turned around, the man held the loudspeaker in his left hand as he raised his right. “Uh, young man, you know what they say—”

As he talked halfway, his right index finger curled lightly.

Pew!

A sniper round was fired from a faraway window hidden by a curtain, the bullet flying straight toward Li Huowang’s head.

Just then, a profound feeling enveloped Li Huowang as he tensed up and twisted his head.

Bam!

Li Huowang’s body trembled as his head flew backward and he fell onto the ground.

“MY SON!!” Sun Xiaoqin cried out in despair.

Li Huowang hit the back of his head hard—he could feel his ears ringing and see stars in front of his eyes.

Am I dead? But if I’m dead, why can I still think?

Just then, everything around him turned dark. At the same time, the buildings and the people around him transformed into a bamboo forest at dusk.

Li Huowang felt a burning sensation on his face. He had been injured.

But Li Huowang didn’t have the time to care about that. He heard the familiar voice. The Eighteenth Lunar was still here, staring at him from somewhere within the bamboo forest.

However, when he looked around, he saw only bamboo. He was surrounded by bamboo while his lower body was stuck in the mud alongside decaying bamboo leaves.

“Li Huowang! Li Huowang!!” Different voices cried out from within the bamboo forest. He could hear Bai Lingmiao, Dan Yangzi, and even Li Zhi.

Li Huowang had thought that his comrades had followed his command and attacked the Eighteenth Lunar.

But from the looks of it, it was the other way around. For some reason, he was left behind.

At that moment, a familiar voice rang out from the depths of the bamboo forest. “Old man~ You are already eighty-four this year. The King of Hell might not have called you over just yet, but shouldn’t it already be your time?”

The voice of his old neighbor rang out continuously from within the bamboo forest and it got louder and louder over time. Gradually, it started dominating Li Huowang’s mind, trying to once again change his sense of self to that of the dying old man.

The sound of crunching leaves was heard from within the bamboo forest. Li Huowang caught glimpses of the little girl he saw yesterday as well as the Stove God that she had described.

The Eighteenth Lunar was not alone. It had helpers.

Li Huowang was still delirious about what had happened. His heart was being torn to ribbons due to his grief. But for some reason, he smiled despite the danger that was right in front of him.

“Did you know? You might think that you’ve won, but you never should have tried to kill me just now. Do you know just how much grief and pain is in my heart right now?” said Li Huowang.

Then, he curled up his trembling hand gripped at his heart as he shouted in pain, “IT'S SO PAINFUL THAT I WANT TO DIE!”

Immediately after saying that, Li Huowang pulled out the red bamboo slip from behind his back. The moment he opened it, Li Huowang felt the intense pain in his heart come to life as it resonated with the bamboo slip. The pain in his heart that had lessened when he came back to reality slowly started to build back up.

At the same time, the red bamboo slip suddenly started to transform as it sprouted roots. Then, the roots pierced through the ground and the bamboo leaves as they dyed everything around them red.

Li Huowang’s mind almost crumbled from the pain. The pain in his heart had once again reached the peak that he experienced just moments ago.

But this was not enough. Since the bamboo slip had sprouted roots, now those roots needed to germinate. The pain in his heart was enough. All that was left was the pain felt by his physical body.

Li Huowang cried as his inner self slowly fell apart. Then, he reached out for his torture tools with both of his hands.

Seeing this, the Eighteenth Lunar’s group tried to stop him; however, it was too late.

Chacha and Char's Thoughts

Eighteenth Lunar done fucked up now