Mutated Tao

Li Huowang lay on the clean hospital bed, his single eye wide open as he took in his surroundings. His gaze swept the room before settling on himself. A realization dawned on him—yet, at the same time, it didn’t fully make sense.

The ringing sound disappeared, replaced by a familiar voice. “Li Huowang? Are you finally awake? That’s good!”

He turned to see Yi Donglai staring at him with worry etched across his face.

Li Huowang’s lips curled into a faint smile. “I’m… awake. I’m finally awake. The hallucinations were too frightening, but thankfully, they were all fake. None of it was real.”

Yi Donglai frowned, his expression unusually tense. “What do you mean ‘fake’? Everything you saw was real! The timeline has been reset, but we’ve been placed at a different time. Haven’t you noticed you’re missing an eye?”

“Don’t worry. I’m awake now. I won’t mutilate myself anymore.”

The room suddenly transformed. The once bright light gave way to darkness, and Yi Donglai grew in size until he reached the ceiling. Terrifying laughter echoed from his mouth.

“Hahaha. Do you think you’ve succeeded? You fool.”

The scene around Yi Donglai twisted and morphed. Black water seeped from the floor, and the walls of the ward crumbled away, revealing a vast void and the horrifying visage Li Huowang had seen just now.

“You’ve abandoned your powers, so now you’re completely defenseless against my fear! You’re dead! Da Nuo is dead too! The Baiyu Capital is mine!”

A wave of fear and despair emanated from Yi Donglai, making its way toward Li Huowang.

Despite the dreaded atmosphere, Li Huowang merely looked at the strange form of Yi Donglai. “Doctor Yi, you don’t have to test me anymore. I am cured.”

The moment he spoke, everything around him melted away like snow under the sun. Yi Donglai shrank back to his normal size, though he continued snarling.

Yi Donglai smiled and nodded with satisfaction. “Not bad. You’ve passed the test. Congratulations, Little Li. You’re cured. All my efforts weren’t in vain, after all.”

Just as he finished speaking, the door burst open, and a crowd of people surged into the room, clapping and cheering for Li Huowang.

Among them were Zhao Shuangdian, Wu Qi, and Chen Hongyu, all dressed in white doctor’s coats.

They clapped as they announced, “Congratulations! You’re finally cured.”

“What?” Yi Donglai froze, his face twisting in shock as he stared at the unfamiliar faces. He had never seen these colleagues in White Tower Hospital before, and it was impossible for all of them to be doctors.

“Impossible. How are you…”

His voice faltered, his gaze fearfully snapping back to Li Huowang. “Unless you were telling the truth?”

Yi Donglai’s reaction unsettled the crowd. They tried to console him, but the more they spoke, the more violent he became. Terror consumed his eyes.

In the end, several nurses had to restrain him with a straitjacket. They wheeled him out as he screamed and thrashed.

Qing Wanglai sighed as he watched Yi Donglai being carted away. “What a terrifying patient. We managed to cure you but at the expense of driving one of our doctors to madness.”

Li Huowang looked at Yi Donglai disappearing at the corner of the corridor and smiled. “Don’t worry. There are a lot of good doctors here. I’m sure he’ll recover quickly in the Baiyu Capital.”

Qing Wanglai patted Li Huowang’s shoulder warmly. “Little Li, come with me. I will prescribe you some medicine. You’re finally ready to go from the intensive care ward to the general ward. You’ll regain some freedom, too.”

They soon entered Qing Wanglai’s office. He took out a disposable white cup and brewed Li Huowang a cup of tea.

“The hospital’s a bit basic, so I hope you won’t mind oolong tea bags,” Qing Wanglai said with a laugh.

“I’m not much of a tea person, so I wouldn’t know the difference.”

“Hoho, you’re quite the frugal person. Give me a moment,” Qing Wanglai said, starting to rummage through the drawers.

“Don’t worry. I have a lot of time now,” Li Huowang said.

Li Huowang took a deep breath and smelled the disinfectant in the air. A newfound serenity washed over him, unlike anything he had ever felt before.

Qing Wanglai teased Li Huowang, saying, “You sound like an old man. Once you’re discharged, go home and focus on your studies so you can get into a good university.”

“Doctor Qing, what will you do while I’m studying?”

“What else? I will continue to work in this hospital. I’ll try to write a thesis about you and see if it gets published. Being a doctor in this field is a headache, you know? Not only do we often have to stay up late and work extra shifts, but we also need to play along with our patients.”

He scratched his ear with the pen from his chest pocket before scribbling something on a piece of paper.

Li Huowang grabbed his teacup and tried to decipher the paper’s contents. “Doctor, can you do me a favor?”

Qing Wanglai stopped writing and looked at him. “Sure. We’re all friends now. What do you need?”

Li Huowang sat in a car some time later, watching the scenery blur past. He called his mother.

“Hi, Mom. I’m cured. Yes, this time it’s for real. I won’t relapse anymore. You can come pick me up next month.”

Two hours later, Qing Wanglai and Li Huowang stepped down from a sports car. They had arrived at the entrance of the Sixth Public Hospital. Using Qing Wanglai’s connections, they quickly found an isolated ward.

Inside was none other than Yang Na, lying motionless on the bed.

Li Huowang entered the room alone. Qing Wanglai grabbed her medical file, noting the diagnosis: severe depression.

Li Huowang reached the bedside and sat down on a stool. He looked at Yang Na, whose eyes held the vacant stare of a doll.

“Nana, I’ve kept my promise. Look, I’m really cured. I’ll stay by your side until you’re also better. Once you’re cured, we’ll take our exams together and enter university again. This time, I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

Li Huowang gently held Yang Na’s skeletal fingers, noticing the scars on her wrists. He spoke to her nonstop for a full day and night.

Finally, Yang Na’s fingers twitched, and she gripped his hand weakly.

Li Huowang smiled.

He leaned forward, wrapping Yang Na in a tender embrace.

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