Mutated Tao

After saying all that he had to say, the smiling Doctor Li gently patted Li Huowang’s head, put on his glasses, and walked out of the ward. When he reached the door, he stopped for a moment. “Right, Little Li, didn’t you say that you could bring something belonging to that world back here, and that’s why you thought this world was fake? Then, have you tried bringing something from here to there? Maybe you will find an unexpected answer.”

After saying those words, Doctor Li left.

On the other hand, Li Huowang was stunned as he contemplated what Doctor Li had said. “Wait, if I could bring something from here to there… Then, which side would be the reality?”

Should I try? What if I succeed? No, I can’t do something like that. I can’t interact with the hallucinations or I will never be able to snap out of them! But… It’s only a test. What am I so afraid of?

Li Huowang was once again filled with a sense of confusion and doubt, feeling conflicted.

Just as he was contemplating the question, he felt the white walls around him slowly fade into darkness along with the beeping machines. At the same time, the bright LED lights transformed into oil lamps.

Li Huowang realized that he was currently lying on an old bed. When he saw the dusty rafters, he realized that he had returned.

After a moment, Li Huowang removed the sheets covering him.

Rather than bringing something from the hallucination, there’s another method that I can use right now to determine whether the world there is fake or not.

Li Huowang checked his abdomen and was surprised to see a clean white bandage wrapped around his body. He gently pressed down on the area where he had cut himself open, but there was only a slight numbing pain.

But how was this possible? He was certain that his intestines had fallen out back then!

My intestines should be suffering from sepsis right now, but they have healed up?

Li Huowang was genuinely surprised.

Back then, when he had decided to use the bamboo slip, he had already given up on making it out of there alive. But to think he was still alive!

Wait.

Li Huowang recalled the white ICU that he had seen in the hallucination as well as the beeping machines and the saline solution.

Li Huowang wanted to avoid thinking about all that, but he knew that he was starting to doubt himself once more. He wanted to get rid of all his doubts, but he just couldn’t do it.

“Senior Li! You are awake!” Bai Lingmiao ran over excitedly while holding a bowl of chicken soup.

“Where are we?” When he saw Bai Lingmiao, he buried his doubts deep inside his heart.

“We are in the village,” said Bai Lingmiao as she carefully placed the bowl filled with chicken soup on the table. Then, she slid her hands under the sheet to check on Li Huowang’s injury.

“How were my injuries healed? Why am I not dead?” Li Huowang asked the most pressing question. The doubts that he had barely managed to suppress were once again rearing their head.

“Senior Li, what are you talking about? Why would you be dead? When we found you in the bamboo forest, we fed you some pills that you had refined yourself. Maybe those pills were the reason that you are already healed,” replied Bai Lingmiao while lowering her head to the point that it almost touched the sheets. She didn’t dare to look him in the eye.

However, Li Huowang was clearer than the rest about what kind of pills he had refined. They were just regular pills and not some kind of divine pills. How could they have treated such serious injuries?

Do you think your hallucination is logical?

At that moment, Doctor Li’s words resounded in Li Hyowang’s mind.

At the same time, a scary thought popped up.

What if… what if this side is fake?

When he thought up to this point, Li Huowang felt a strong sense of panic welling up inside himself; however, even he didn’t know why he was panicking like that.

In the next instant, Li Huowang cupped his hands on Bai Lingmiao’s face and forced her to look him in the eye. At the same time, his expression grew even more agitated. “Tell me! What happened? What are you hiding? Or are you fake as well?!”

Frightened by his demeanor, tears started to stream down Bai Lingmiao’s face.

Li Huowang felt his heart hurt when he saw the crying girl. He raised both arms and hugged her while muttering as he tried to suppress the pain in his heart. “Miaomiao, please don’t lie to me alright? This is very important to me. Please… please tell me, how did my injuries get healed?”

After a period of silence, Bai Lingmiao finally relented. “Senior Li, Some time ago, I… I became a Shaman. I summoned Granny Bai to come and treat you. In return, she took all but one of the lifespan pills from within your gourd.”

Li Huowang’s pupil shrank upon hearing that. At the same time, various scenes flashed through his mind. He was reminded of how Bai Lingmiao had suddenly recovered from her illness, and how she had taken Li Zhi’s drum leather. This all pointed to her having become a Shaman a long time ago; it was just that he had never put much thought into it.

After telling him everything, Bai Lingmiao pulled herself out from Li Huowang’s embrace and watched him gingerly. “Senior Li, I really didn’t want to lie to you. Please don’t blame me, ok?”

Li Huowang let out a breath of relief and laughed. “It’s fine, it’s fine. As long as you are real.”

“Real? What do you mean?” Bai Lingmiao still didn’t quite understand what just happened.

“Nothing. Bring me the chicken soup, I’m hungry.” Li Huowang decided to change the subject. Now, he was feeling much better. No matter what Doctor Li had said, he was certain that this side was real and that side was fake.

After eating the Black Taisui, his hallucinations had stopped appearing for a long time. That was the most important evidence he had.

He resolved not to get trapped in the hallucination or be fooled by them a second time.

Then, Li Huowang devoured the chicken soup; his stomach was telling him that he required nutrients immediately.

Soon, he finished the chicken soup and passed the empty bowl back to Bai Lingmiao while requesting for seconds.

“Wait, I was trapped inside my hallucinations earlier, so how did you feed the chicken soup to me?” asked Li Huowang.

Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao did not answer, instead blushing as she ran out with the empty bowl.

“How else could she have fed you? She did it with her own mouth. I told her to just pour the soup down your mouth but she couldn’t bring herself to do something so cruel.” It was Xiaoman who answered his question as she entered the room.

Xiaoman stood beside his bed and stared at him with a complicated expression. “Senior Li, Junior Bai has done a lot for you. Please cherish her.”

Cough-cough!

Li Huowang coughed out of embarrassment and decided to avoid the topic. “What happened to the people in this village after the incident? Did they allow us to stay here?”

Hearing his question, Xiaoman hesitated for a moment before answering. “They all went away.”

“Went away? Where to?” Li Huowang was confused.

Wasn’t this their village?

“I have no idea either. After the forest around the village started to wither away, all the villagers suddenly had their personalities and memories altered. None of them recognized each other. Even the village head’s six sons did not recognize each other. It was… it was almost as if they had never heard of the surname Wu nor were they brothers.”

Chacha and Char's Thoughts

Not fooled by the hallucination you say? What if that side is real instead? Huehuehue