Mutated Tao

Li Huowang stared at his attending doctor and thought about it. “Which world is more illogical?”

He used his cuffed right hand to point toward the floor of the hospital, “This world is more illogical. This is fake!”

Doctor Li heard what Li Huowang had told him and was not the least bit surprised. He used his index finger to push his glasses up and continued talking, “Alright, then, why do you think this world is illogical? There must be a reason, right?”

Instead of answering immediately, he looked up at the white ceiling in a daze. After a while, he started speaking, “When I had taken the kid hostage, didn’t the police shoot me in the head? Then why am I still alive? Do I look like I have impenetrable skin? This is enough proof that this world is fake.”

At that moment, Li Huowang suddenly stopped, realizing that there was no value in arguing with someone inside his hallucination.

“Little Li, you were just very lucky. They were off their mark. Is there anyone out there who could always hit their targets with all of their shots?” said Doctor Li.

“Hmph! I was lucky? Do you really believe in such an irrational explanation?” Li Huowang smiled coldly.

“There are people out there who get struck by lightning while there are others who end up winning the lottery. While there are people with good luck, there are also others with bad luck. Why would you think that reality will always be fair? The world was never fair. But do you know why the others do not think that this world is fake just because they encountered some irrational situations? That’s because they are different from you,” said Doctor Li.

Just then, Doctor Li took out his phone from his white coat and played a video for Li Huowang. “Why are you so adamant that the hallucination you are having is real? Let’s be real here, the things you encounter there must be even more irrational, right?”

“Dan Yangzi is dead!! He’s dead! You guys are free! Come out now!!”

Through the phone screen, Li Huowang saw a video of himself being restrained by a straitjacket while shouting in an empty room.

When Doctor Li saw that he finally managed to get Li Huowang’s attention, the doctor swiped the screen with his fingers and played another video. It too showed Li Huowang restrained within a straitjacket.

“Fake! The statues were all fake! Even the giant Buddha statue was fake! They must’ve cast an illusion spell! I know what I’ve seen and those filthy things were not some illusion! They will not be able to fool me!”

“Didn’t you hear what I just said? I want you to talk with Dan Yangzi himself.”

Various videos were played, each showing Li Huowang the things that he had spoken before.

When he saw the final video, Li Huowang’s pupils shrank. In the video, he was wearing a hospital gown with a crazy expression on his face. He had a wrench in his hand as he ran toward a shopping mall while shouting like a madman.

“Dan Yangzi! Don’t kill the children! You cannot kill the children!”

There was still a large part of the video left out, but the doctor just kept his phone without showing the rest of it.

“Look, compared to the things that you were experiencing on the other side, isn’t the fact that the sniper shot missed you more logical?” asked Doctor Li.

Li Huowang once again started getting confused. His breathing turned rapid. Since he did not want to explain anything, he just closed his eyes. “Lies. This is all fake.”

“Alright, since you think this side is fake, then why did you hesitate when your mother pleaded to you? Since it’s fake, then you should’ve just stabbed her with the glass shard!” asked Doctor Li, his tone turning serious, “Since everything is fake anyway, then why are you so worried that Yang Na might’ve gotten a new boyfriend?”

He poked at Li Huowang’s heart with his finger as he continued to speak, “If you keep hallucinating like this, how much longer do you think she will last? Even if her heart is unwavering, can you even bear to watch her being single for the rest of her life just for your sake? Can you give her happiness? At this point, can you even call yourself her boyfriend?”

Li Huowang suddenly opened his eyes and glared at the doctor. “They are all fake! But my feelings for them are real! Even if I know that they are hallucinations, I am not able to abandon my feelings for them! Do you think that I don’t want to go back to them? But I can’t! I’ve already transmigrated! It’s been a long time since I transmigrated!! Since you say that this world is real, then why does the mental hospital here have a machine for gastric lavage?”

Doctor Li sighed as he waved his hands. “Why are these things suspicious in your eyes? Patients like you always end up swallowing something they are not supposed to. That machine can be found in most of the mental hospitals. It was only thanks to the machine, otherwise you might’ve really died from that disgusting thing you ate.”

“Then why were my hallucinations on this side suppressed after I ate the Black Taisui?” aske Li Huowang.

“You did not eat some Black Taisui, or whatever it was. You ate a mouse! And your symptoms became even worse!” explained Doctor Li.

“They got worse right around the time I ate the mouse? You really have an answer for everything, don’t you?!”

“Little Li, you have gotten it the other way around. It’s precisely because your symptoms got worse that you have the corresponding scenes in your hallucination. It all changes according to your symptoms. That’s precisely why it’s an illusion.”

Upon hearing up to this point, Li Huowang snarled and gave him the best proof he had. “Fine! If what you said really was true, then tell me, why can I bring something from over there to here? How do you explain that?”

“Oh? Do you have another new symptom? What do you mean by bringing something over? Where is it? Let me see,” asked Doctor Li.

Li Huowang was just about to tell him about the Jade Pendant that he had given to Yang Na but stopped himself at the last moment.

No, I can’t have Yang Na become involved in this, even if it's just an illusion.

Li Huowang was afraid that he would crumble if he ended up seeing Yang Na in his hallucinations. If that happened, then he would once again think that this side was the real one. He had to cut off everything from this hallucination.

“Fine, just you wait. When I come back next time, I will show you something that only exists in that world! Let me see how you twist the situation at that time, you damned hallucination!” shouted Li Huowang.

Hearing his nonsense, doctor Li sighed. “Little Li, I’m afraid that there will be no next time. You have already caused so much trouble that even the management of the hospital had to get involved. We already got sued quite a few times. The director personally told us to transfer you to a different hospital.”

“Transfer? To where?” Li Huowang was shocked.

Doctor Li patted Li Huowang’s shoulder. “Since you already think this side is a hallucination, why do you care? All I can tell you is that thanks to you, your family’s financial situation is deteriorating rapidly. This is the last time I will be checking on you. I thought that we might be able to save you with one last try, but looks like it’s bound to never happen. Hah… As your attending physician, I feel so down.”

Doctor Li took off his glasses and examined the boy in front of him. Then, he raised his right hand and gently patted Li Huowang’s head, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out by a lot. At that moment, they were no longer a doctor and his patient. “Little Li, you are a good child even if your illness flares up and dies down from time to time. I hope that you will not give up whenever you encounter a problem in the hallucination. Never give up, and especially don’t try cutting open your abdomen. Did you know that you almost died? We had to cut off some of your intestines. It will take you over half a year to recover. Compared to seeing you repeatedly get stuck in a hallucination, the people who love you will definitely hate seeing you dead even more. So don’t die! Live. Live, so that they have hope. Understand?”

Chacha and Char's Thoughts

"It’s precisely because your symptoms got worse that you have the corresponding scenes in your hallucination. It all changes according to your symptoms. That’s precisely why it’s an illusion "Yeah uh, that could easily be the other way around too