The Unruly Immortals

"Mom, are you doing okay over here?" Li Huowang swallowed the silky-smooth egg custard and said to Sun Xiaoqin by the bed.

"Everything's fine, as long as you're okay, Mom is okay with everything," Sun Xiaoqin deliberately piled on a smile and told Li Huowang.

Although she said this, Li Huowang could still detect a trace of abnormality from some details on her face.

His mother's smile was feigned; she did it so he wouldn't worry.

"Mom, don't worry, the electrotherapy at this psychiatric hospital is effective for me, it just takes some time to recover. Just give me a little more time."

"Oh, Mom isn't worried, really not worried at all; our boy will definitely get better," Sun Xiaoqin said with a smile, shaking her head repeatedly in denial.

Li Huowang let out a quiet sigh internally, realizing that the path of Cultivation of Truth was far more difficult than he had imagined. To extricate himself from his current predicament would probably take a lot of time.

In fact, he had already been waiting for so long, while he didn't mind waiting, during this lengthy period, his mother would likely continue to suffer in her worries.

"Should I carve out more time to keep her company? Pretend that my condition has improved?" Li Huowang quickly cycled through these thoughts in his mind, then immediately discarded them.

That would be a complete waste of time, potentially making his goals even more unattainable. It was more valuable to spend that time on his cultivation.

Seeing the forced cheerfulness on Sun Xiaoqin's face, after a moment of contemplation, Li Huowang spoke up, "Mom, when I get out, I want to play games. Can I play computer games for a whole year?"

At these words, Sun Xiaoqin's eyes suddenly lit up. "Yes, of course! When that time comes, I will peel fruit for you specially! You can play as long as you want!"

"If playing alone isn't fun enough, let your dad play with you! Play all night!"

A slight smile appeared on Li Huowang's lips as he nodded in approval, then he said, "After I'm better, let's travel the world, play all over the world, go bungee jumping, skydiving, do things we've never done before."

"Oh my, oh my, bungee jumping I dare not do, you father and son go ahead when the time comes, I just get nervous watching other people's videos on Douyin."

As Li Huowang steered the conversation toward dreams of the future after leaving the hospital, Sun Xiaoqin's attention was soon diverted, and they chatted more and more happily, with a natural smile appearing on her face.

Seeing his mother finally happy, Li Huowang let out a light sigh in his heart.

There wasn't much he could do now, the only thing he could do was to use the little tricks of the Oblivion Path to make his mother happy.

"Son, do you want to play games? How about I bring over that little gaming console you used to play with?"

"No need, Mom, besides, I can't play now anyway."

"Oh, right, then how about cartoons? You used to love watching cartoons, didn't you? I heard there's a really interesting one recently; I can play it for you on my phone."

Watching Sun Xiaoqin dig through her bag for her cell phone, Li Huowang smiled bitterly to himself—he wasn't the high school student he used to be; he no longer took an interest in the latest anime series.

Thinking of this, Li Huowang paused briefly—wasn't he only eighteen this year? Why did he feel so mature?

Compared to this young body, he seemed more suited to an older body, somewhere else.

"But then again, could it be because that world has two hours less per day, so the body there is older than this one?"

"Wait... does this mean that both worlds are actually real?"

Li Huowang furrowed his brows in deep thought over the question, but without any other evidence, his speculations were likely no more substantial than unfounded, floating duckweed.

"Forget it, since I've decided to completely transform this place through the Cultivation of Truth, why bother thinking so much, why bother doing anything else."

Seeing Sun Xiaoqin cradling a cracked old phone and activating VIP on a mobile app, Li Huowang quickly called out to her.

"Mom, stop clicking around, you're wasting money. I'm going back soon."

Upon hearing this, the smile on Sun Xiaoqin's face gradually faded. "You're leaving so soon? Just one meal and then you have to go again? Son, can you really control when you become conscious now? Is this a sign of recovery?"

"You could say that, Mom. I'll come back to have dinner with you in three days."

Sun Xiaoqin awkwardly put her phone back in her bag, "Well, alright. I'll be waiting then, you better not forget."

"I absolutely won't forget. Oh, and Mom, one last thing, have you heard any news about Nana? How is her illness?" Li Huowang's mind conjured the image of the cute girl who snickered at him.

"Nana is doing alright, I heard she wasn't hospitalized. The doctor just prescribed her some medicine and told her to take it back at school."

"Ah, if it weren't for my illness delaying things, I would really love to have Nana as my daughter-in-law. I've liked that child since she was little."

"Don't worry, Mom. Once I'm better, I'll definitely win Nana back and make her your daughter-in-law!"

"Oh my, when did my son become so eloquent? Great! I'm looking forward to drinking the wedding toast at my son's wedding!" Sun Xiaoqin, who had worn a worried look just a moment ago, brightened up again.

As the world around Li Huowang began to solidify again, he returned to that pitch-black, lightless world. Although he had been blind for some time, he still found it hard to adjust.

Li Sui?" Li Huowang reached out toward the darkness ahead of him.

Soon, Li Huowang touched a sticky hand with protruding joints and sharp nails. "Dad, I'm here."

"Let's go, take me back to the village."

"Dad, you just picked up some---"

"What I just ate was an egg custard!" Li Huowang cut off Li Sui's words, then repeated himself. "What I just ate was an egg custard."

After a moment of thought, Li Sui spoke again, "Really? Where is it? I want some too."

"Alright, let's head back to the village first. Once we're there, have young Yang make you some. Mom, you don't need to watch over me anymore, I have to become conscious for something right now, but I'll definitely be there for dinner in three days."

Guided by Li Sui, Li Huowang followed the rough mountain path back to the Bai Family Courtyard.

Once back at his dwelling, Li Huowang sat on a stool and stopped Li Sui, who was about to go to the kitchen. "Take off the gauze on my face, I want to see how my eyes are recovering."

As Li Sui carefully removed the gauze, a beam of light pierced the darkness, causing Li Huowang to squint his eyes instantly. It was too bright.

When he slowly opened his eyes again, he discovered that his world had finally returned to normal, his blindness had been cured.

After glancing at the black-tiled roofs outside the window for a moment, Li Huowang focused his attention on Li Sui.

She removed her conical hat and took off her straw raincoat, allowing Li Huowang to fully take in Li Sui's new appearance.