The Unruly Immortals

"Classmate, since you are awake now, then your thought process should be normal, you should understand what I mean. We are doing this to cure you; do you want to lie in bed for the rest of your life and have your mother take care of you forever?"

"She's getting on in years, can she really take care of you for the rest of her life? Do you have the heart to let her grow old and gray, having to turn you over to clean your waste when you're in your fifties or sixties?"

"That won't happen, just wait until the day I achieve great success in my cultivation of truth..." Li Huowang's expression firm, he slowly closed his mouth.

The two doctors glanced at each other, took out a notebook from inside their white coats, and quickly jotted down something.

They walked a bit farther away, discussed amongst themselves for a while, then came back.

"Li classmate, we don't have to take you out for rehabilitative training if you can talk to me, okay?"

"Don't be nervous, it's just a casual chat like you would with a friend." When the slightly younger doctor said this, the other caregivers and doctor left the room, and even the guard at the door walked away.

The doctor took off his white coat and set it aside, revealing the casual clothes underneath. "Let me introduce myself, my name is Yi Donglai." He extended his hand and shook Li Huowang's emaciated right hand, which resembled a chicken claw.

In contrast to the previous doctor, this one was clearly much younger.

"You're quite famous online now. The story of how you charged into the school and saved your girlfriend from several kidnappers has been widely circulated on the internet. A lot of people admire you, including quite a few pretty young ladies."

Li Huowang's lips trembled, but he did not speak; he was calculating in his heart the time he needed to return.

"Do you play League of Legends? I play too. The game company recently made a limited skin of the Barbarian King modeled after you at that time. Tons of people bought it, I spent 99 yuan to get one as well."

"Hmm?" Li Huowang looked up, a complicated expression on his face as he looked at the doctor in front of him. "Are you treating me like a fool?"

"Hehehe, just kidding, don't take it too seriously. But I've seen the security footage from that time, wow, you looked so cool, like the Barbarian King with his ultimate activated! If they made a Barbarian King skin out of that, it would definitely sell like hotcakes!"

"What champions do you like to play? I like to play Shaco, but damn Riot Games weakened him recently! Shaco, of all champions, got a nerf?! Insane! Do you think that's something a rational person would do..."

Li Huowang looked at Yi Donglai who was talking incessantly, completely ignoring his nonsense, and quickly figured out his purpose. This guy was probably trying to bond with him over the gaming topic, waiting for him to completely let his guard down before starting his treatment.

"Maybe... I don't have to resist so directly, maybe I can use this guy to escape being monitored all the time." Li Huowang thought to himself.

"Have any new champions been released recently?" Li Huowang's question made Yi Donglai's heart leap with joy; patient number 13 had finally responded.

As long as there's a response, psychological intervention and treatment can be carried out. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes! Two new champions have come out while you've been hospitalized!"

"Is there a jungler? I like to play jungle."

Talking about the game, the two chatted for twenty minutes, and both were quite pleased with how the conversation went.

"I should go now, we'll talk more some other time," Li Huowang said as he began to speak.

Yi Donglai had a lot of questions about how Li Huowang could control the timing of his episodes, but he understood that such things couldn't be rushed.

"Sure! Give me a time," Yi Donglai replied.

"Then let's say dinner in five days. Brother Donglai, I'm off." Li Huowang's mouth curved upward as he nodded towards Yi Donglai.

"Hey, don't leave just yet, I haven't eaten yet." As Sun Xiaoqin's voice filled the air, the environment around them began to collapse.

By the time Li Huowang came back to his senses, he saw Bai Lingmiao, Li Sui, and Second God standing in front of him, staring at him.

"Brother Li... the meal is ready," Bai Lingmiao said faintly.

"Oh, I know," Li Huowang turned and walked toward the carriage. He picked up a bowl and scooped up a bowl of stew from the pot, "Mom, I'm going to eat now, please feed the rest of the meal from the food box into my open mouth."

Li Huowang's mouth gaped open, he waited for a moment, then shoveled another mouthful of stew from his bowl and chewed with gusto. Once he swallowed what was in his mouth, he opened wide and waited again.

When the three of them came out, they witnessed the bizarre sight of Li Huowang's actions.

"Eat, don't just stand there. We have to continue our journey soon," Li Huowang said to them. Hearing this, the three moved over.

Bai Lingmiao, holding her bowl of stew, looked at Li Huowang with a complicated expression, as if she wanted to say something.

However, upon seeing Li Huowang looking her way, Bai Lingmiao smiled and began to eat eagerly.

The meal ended in an odd atmosphere. After washing the bowls, utensils, and iron pot by the river, the carriage was back on the road.

After thinking for a moment, Li Huowang finally spoke to Bai Lingmiao, trying to explain: "You don't have to worry about me; I can tell what's real. Everything will be alright after a while."

"Mm, I believe you, Brother Li," Bai Lingmiao responded, nodding gently.

"I really—oh, never mind, you'll understand later." Li Huowang took out a Ginger Yellow Paper, bit the tip of his finger, and quickly wrote a talisman before sticking it on the horse's back. The horse pulling the carriage immediately took off at a frenzied pace.

The carriage moved quickly, and by dusk, they had arrived beside a Peach Blossom Grove.

The red sunset light spilled over the pink peach blossoms, which stood out seductively among the green trees.

The exquisite map from the Astrological Bureau was spread out by Li Huowang, who studied it in comparison. "This should be the place, but I'm not sure if luck will be on our side this time."

The two unsuccessful attempts had left Li Huowang somewhat lacking in confidence about their current location.

"I'll go in and take a look. You wait outside, and if you hear any strange noise, remember to drive the carriage back to the place where we had lunch and wait for me."

"Okay, you go, Brother Li."

Seeing Bai Lingmiao's unfocused eyes, a pang of pain went through Li Huowang's heart, and he turned to walk towards the Peach Blossom Grove.

He bent slightly, blending his body's color with the ground beneath, and moved stealthily closer to the interior.

The Peach Blossom Grove was dense, and the peach blossoms were fragrant, but the trees were covered with sticky amber peach gum, adding an eerie feeling to the grove.

After walking about ten yards, Li Huowang realized that the flourishing Peach Grove was far too quiet. There were no birds chirping, and, surprisingly, not even the sound of insects.

A feeling of excitement arose in Li Huowang's heart—could it be that there was hope this time? "Brother Zhuge, with your extensive knowledge and experience, have you ever seen a spirit entanglement before?"

"I have. A close friend of mine was plagued by one. After that, his life was worse than death, a torment every second. In the end, he pleaded with me to give him relief."