"Hehe, you broke the rules," a soft and somewhat feminine voice rang out.
In that moment, Li Huowang could not help but recall that 'girl' with tiny feet who had summoned the God of Happiness. This voice was quite similar to hers.
Li Huowang and the others walked out from inside the house to the courtyard, their faces covered in wariness. Once outside, they saw a small head propped up on top of the wall to the left of the house.
From the looks of it, she was a yellow-haired girl who appeared to be only about five to six years old. She giggled as she looked inside.
Her hair was tied into tall pigtails with the help of a red string.
Red!
Li Huowang's heart raced when he saw the red string that tied her hair. ๐๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐ค๐ซ๐ฎ๐.๐ฌ๐๐ข
Could this child be the Eighteenth Lunar?
Li Huowang pondered for a moment as he watched the giggling girl. Then, he spoke, "I might have broken the rules, but you aren't doing much better than me. Aren't you not allowed to go outside during the night? Why are you still out here?"
"I'm a child. You adults aren't allowed to go out, but us kids can go outside and play." She didn't show any hostility toward Li Huowang's group.
Then, she shifted her head to one side and continued as she grinned, "If you give me some candy, then I won't report you."
Meanwhile, the others stared at the child's head in surprise. The wall of the Wu Family's courtyard stood quite tall at about six meters. However, this girl's head was moving around on the wall quite effortlessly, meaning that she was not using a ladder and was just standing there!
Li Huowang looked at the small head, as well as the tall, dusty wall beneath it. He couldn't imagine what a child would look like with a regular-sized head and a six-meter-tall body.
She might look like a stick insect?
"Hehe, are you going to give me candy? If not, then I'm going to shout for someone," the girl on the wall continued.
"Yes, of course. But, I don't have the candy on me right now. I have to go and get it first," Li Huowang replied. Then, he turned to Puppy beside him and softly whispered some instructions to him.
Fear appeared on Puppy's face as he listened to Li Huowang's instructions, but he eventually nodded when Li Huowang passed the bronze bell to him. He turned around and headed into the house.
"Alright, he's going in to bring back some candy. Let's wait a while and chat to pass the time," said Li Huowang.
"Sure! I like chatting." The girl seemed very innocent.
Li Huowang kept his tone quite cordial when talking to this questionable being. "Which family are you from? How come we didn't see you at the village entrance earlier?"
"I don't know which family I belong to. They all say I'm the child of the Stove God. But I'm obviously not like that Stove God pasted on the wall," she replied.
"Oh? You aren't like the Stove God? In my eyes, you are rather similar, what with your love for candy. I remember back when we used to offer sacrifices, my grandpa would often smear some pastries onto the portrait's mouth." As Li Huowang spoke, his right hand quietly touched the red bamboo slip on his back.
The pigtails on her head swayed as she shook her head, "You're making things up. The Stove God obviously has four pairs of eyes, five hands, and no legs. Tell me, just how do I look like him?"
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines when they heard her description. This was completely different from the Stove God that they knew of.
"Little girl, are you making things up? How can the Stove God have five hands and no legs? Then, how does he walk?"
Upon seeing Li Huowang's deliberate questioning, the girl started growing more and more agitated. "How am I making things up? I saw it with my own eyes. Besides, who says you need legs to walk? The Stove God can have red sausages burrow out from its belly button to serve as legs."
Just as she finished speaking, Puppy's voice rang out from the other side of the wall. "Senior Li!! This brat doesn't have a body! She only has a head!"
Swoosh~
The girl's head quickly withdrew down the wall, causing Puppy to let out a terrified scream.
"Ring the bell!" Li Huowang gritted his teeth and quickly dashed toward the entrance of the Wu Family's courtyard.
By the time they arrived on the other side of the wall, Puppy was already kneeling on the ground and kowtowing constantly while trembling and wailing loudly. His pants were also soaking wet.
Li Huowang looked at the dark alleys around him, then came to Puppy's side and pulled him up. Then, he snatched back the bronze bell and shouted, "Stop kowtowing and tell me where it ran off to!"
Hearing this, Puppy shakily pointed toward the east.
Seeing this, Li Huowang threw him aside, then carried his sword in one hand and a lantern in the other as he dashed in that direction.
Amidst the pitch-black surroundings, everything around them seemed to look like man-eating creatures that were brandishing their claws in the space between darkness and light.
Even after chasing for a while, Li Huowang could not catch up to that female head. He came to an unfamiliar area that seemed to be the end of the village. The bamboo forest was visible just in the distance.
Li Huowang cursed under his breath due to his lack of any discoveries before turning back to gather with the others who were just approaching with lanterns in their hands.
No matter what that girl was, he could tell one thing clearly. Even if that wasn't the Eighteenth Lunar, they should be closely related. He had not been mistaken; the Eighteenth Lunar was here.
When Li Huowang walked closer to the group, he was stunned momentarily. These people were indeed his companions, but they were all standing still on the spot, carrying their lanterns, and had their backs uniformly facing him.
"What are you guys doing??" Li Huowang cautiously took a step back as he tightened his grip on the bell.
Right after he spoke, everyone turned around.
Their faces had changed! Every single face was the same as that girl's face!
Then, these identical female faces smiled simultaneously. "Hehehe, you once again broke the rules. If you don't give me any candy, then I'm going to tell the others, and they will come looking for you."
Ring, ring, ring~~!!
At that moment, the piercing sound of the bell rang out loud, immediately causing those figures to be chased away.
The piercing sound of the bell was particularly noticeable in the darkness. Not long after, Li Huowang saw his people gather toward him. This time, their faces were not replaced by that girl's face.
After he carefully verified their identities by asking them about information that only the disciples from the Zephyr Temple would know, he heaved a sigh of relief. These really were his people.
"Senior Li, what's going on? What happened?" asked one of them.
"Nothing, it was just an illusion," Li Huowang shook his head and surveyed the darkness around them. After confirming that nothing was unusual, he led them back on the path they came from.
However, not long after they left, a pair of blood-red eyes appeared within the darkness.
Chapter 91 - Li Huowang
Their surroundings were eerily silent on their way backโthere were no sounds besides their footsteps. Unsurprisingly, everyone was tense while walking through such an eerie place.
They had not yet walked far when the sound of footsteps stopped. Li Huowang and the rest had stopped and were scanning their dark surroundings when a pair of glowing green eyes suddenly appeared within the darkness.
No, it was not a pair but an entire group of green eyes. Due to the darkness, they couldn't see what the creatures were. Their green eyes, both large and small, stared at them unblinkingly. Looking at these eyes, Li Huowang and the others felt as if there was a monster with numerous eyes on its body within the darkness.
"Fuck!" Having been tricked by it so many times, Li Huowang snarled in irritation. Then, he pulled out the red bamboo slip from behind his back and unfurled it in front of him.
Li Huowang raised his right index finger and placed it on the edge of the sharp bamboo slip before ripping out one of his fingernails and shooting it outward, blood trailing behind it as it flew into the darkness.
The fingernail managed to find its mark, causing a woeful shriek to be heardโone of the eyes within the darkness was gone.
However, Li Huowang was not satisfied with this. Soon, he used three more fingernails, finally getting rid of all of the eyes within the darkness. At the same time, a repulsive stench filled the air.
When the group walked over to where the eyes had been with their lanterns in hand, they bore witness to a bloody mess.
At that moment, Li Huowang and the rest finally realized what the eyes were. They were not supernatural beings; instead, they were just some random forest critters like a hedgehog, a fox, and a lynx. But now, they were dead and their bodies torn into numerous pieces.
Li Huowang was extremely cautious. He did not think they were dead and so he raised his leg and stomped down hard on the head of the fox beside him.
"What a stupid rule! It's nothing but bullshit! If that thing was able to fight us fair and square, would it need to resort to such tricks? We can't fall for its tricks and dance to its own tune. Let's return!" said Li Huowang.
After walking for fifteen minutes, they finally saw the Wu Family's courtyard.
"Li Huowang!" At that moment, a faraway voice was heard, causing all of them to stop.
"Who's there?!" Li Huowang shouted and turned around, staring into the darkness; however, he didn't see anything.
"Keep playing your tricks! But remember, one of these days you will fail! Eighteenth Lunar, I swear that I will have your eyes!" he shouted. ๐๐๐๐ฆ๐๐๐๐๐๐ท๐๐ญ.๐ธ๐ฐ๐
After shouting his threats, he brought the rest of them into the bright courtyard of the Wu family.
Soon, the goateed village head who was previously unconscious on the ground was tied to a pillar and a bowl of cold soup was splashed on his face.
"Cough cough~!" When Wu Qing gradually opened his eyes groggily and saw the faces that were filled with hostility, he was extremely frightened. "You guys are bandits!!"
"Piak!" A palm slapped across his face, causing half of his face to become inflamed. At the same time, Wu Qing was left stunned by the impact.
"Talk! Where is the Eighteenth Lunar?! What is your relationship with it?"
"What are you guys talking about? Let... Let me be clear about one thing; this is the Wu Family village, and everyone here has the surname Wu! Think wisely before you act!" said Wu Qing.
When he saw Wu Qing still trying to feign ignorance, he smiled, revealing his white teeth. "Old man, I'm trying to be courteous here instead of resorting to violence. The Eighteenth Lunar's capture is going to quite literally determine my life. If you continue to protect it, don't blame me when I accidentally hurt you."
As he said that, he raised his bloody right hand that was missing its fingernails, using it to pat the interrogation tools hanging from his waist. "I don't intend to just use these on myself. In certain situations, these things might be able to act as keys that open the hearts of those I capture!"
When she heard him say such a thing, Bai Lingmiao took a step forward with a worried expression on her face. However, Xiaoman pulled her back and gently shook her head.
"What... What are you guys saying? What Eighteenth Lunar? The Qingming Festival happened just a while ago, so it's still quite some time before the twelfth month. Young man, please, spare me. Please take pity on this old man." Wu Qing's face was pale from fear.
When he saw Wu Qing continued lying, he whipped out one of the torture tools with his right hand. It was a pikehead with numerous hooks. Then, he smiled viciously as he held the horrifying pikehead and slowly placed it on Wu Qing's scapula.
Wu Qing was visibly frightened as he started shouting in a panic and thrashed against his restraints. Even so, he did not say anything related to the Eighteenth Lunar.
Just as the sharp edge of the pikehead tore through Wu Qing's clothes, a large hand pressed down on his wrist. "It's fine. Looks like he really doesn't know anything."
"How do you know? This man is clearly suspicious. The moment we entered the village, he bombarded us with rules. He must know about the Eighteenth Lunar!"
"Calm down. You weren't so aggressive in the past. You are becoming more and more like Dan Yangzi," commented the owner of the large hand.
Hearing that, he paused. For some reason, he was becoming more and more cruel without him even knowing it; slowly, he was becoming just like the damned Baldy that used to refine living people into pills.
He quickly kept away the pikehead and turned around. "Thank you, Senior Li. If you hadn't said it, then I might not have noticed it."
At that moment, what he saw in front of him was Li Huowang, wearing a Taoist robe stained in blood as he revealed a familiar smile.
"We are in the same boat here. No need for such polite words. What we should do now is to plan out our next steps, since we don't have any clues," said Li Huowang.
Hearing this, he turned around and stared at the old man that had almost fainted.
Even though he knew that it was Dan Yangzi's influence that was causing him to act so rashly, he also knew that he was running out of time.
If he couldn't find the Eighteenth Lunar, then he would never be able to get rid of Dan Yangzi who was possessing him. Then, all he would be able to do was slowly see himself turn into Dan Yangzi. He couldn't afford to wait any more!
"Why don't we ask the other villagers when the day comes? Maybe they know something," Puppy suggested.
"Alright, it's been a long night and everyone is tired. We should stop for today. I will go and ask the villagers once it's daytime," said Li Huowang.
Hearing what Li Huowang had said, he decided not to say anything else as he walked back to his room.
When he woke up the next day, he saw that the rest of his senior brothers and sisters were already up and about.
When he exited the room, he was surprised to see that everyone was acting normally as they ate congee with the Wu family despite how he had treated Wu Qing the night before.
"Come here and eat. I've already told the village head about your situation. The village head is not the type to hold grudges," said Li Huowang as he looked at him.
Chapter 92 - The Eighteenth Lunar
Hearing Li Huowang's words, Wu Qing grunted; his face was still half swollen from the previous night. Then, he pulled out a stool and took his bowl before sitting with his back facing the youth that just exited the room. ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐ท๐๐ซ๐๐ก.๐๐ธ๐ถ
"Hoh. He makes it look like I'm the one who holds grudges instead. Senior Li, you must've used a lot of silver just to convince him right?" he asked mockingly before walking into the hall and picking up a yellow steamed cornbread from the bowl and munching on it.
"Hey! You brat, how can you be so disrespectful? Did your mother not teach you to be polite?" demanded Wu Qing. Since he had Li Huowang supporting him, he was not as cowardly as yesterday when he was tied to the pillar.
Hearing the old man disrespecting his mother, the anger in his heart exploded.
Jiang!~
He instantly unsheathed his sharp sword and pointed it at Wu Qing's goatee. "I dare you to say that one more time!"
"What are you doing?!" shouted Wu Qing's six sons and eight grandsons as they placed their bowls down. Then, they stood up, rolled their sleeves, and circled him.
"Fuck! Do you think I'm afraid of you guys? I dare you to take one more step! I've already killed hundreds of people and I don't mind adding a few more to that list. Come closer and try me!" he shouted. Seeing the hostility of the Wu family made him feel extremely irritated as his heart beat faster.
"Put down your sword and stand outside!" A loud voice interjected.
At that moment, when he saw Li Huowang's hardened face, he knew that Senior Li was really angry. He stared daggers at the Wu family as he sheathed the sword and walked toward the door.
Senior Li's voice sounded behind him. "Old man, you know how young people are. They don't even have a mustache but still love to boast. He's just lying. He has never killed a single person."
"Hmph! You think I couldn't see what kind of boy he is? All bark but no bite. Who does he think he is? Nothing but an inexperienced chick. Heck, the amount of salt I've eaten throughout my life is probably more than the amount of rice he has eaten in his life," said Wu Qing.
Hearing the old man say that, he angrily turned around.
So what if I'm young? Just because I'm fourteen, am I not a man? That old man is nothing but hot air either!
At that moment, he saw Li Huowang's cold gaze trained on him, causing his heart to skip a beat as he hurriedly ran out.
The village was covered in a faint white fog early in the morning. As he stretched, he felt the crisp air around him. Then, he rolled up his sleeves and squatted down to look at the ants on the ground.
"You there. Monk, what are you squatting down there for?" a voice rang out behind him.
He stood up and straightened his yellow monk robes before politely placing his palms together as he talked to the white-haired girl in front of him. "Amitabha. I am doing Vipassana."
"Hoho, what an interesting monk, just like a child. You are only looking at the ants moving their nest and yet you are still able to say that you are doing Vipassana."
When he saw the girl's white eyelashes fluttering, the monk slipped into confusion, as if he was reminded of something. But just as he did, he lowered his head and chanted some sutra, while vowing to never again set his eyes on the girl in front of him who had shaken his heart so easily.
"Then continue on with your Vipassana, goodbye." said the white haired girl.
Looking at the girl entering into the Wu Family courtyard, he saw that there were many other unfamiliar faces inside. "Did the village head have guests? Why do I not remember him saying anything about that?"
The monk stood there silently as he stared at the weird looking guests. Then, he suddenly slapped his head.
"What am I doing? Why am I acting like the aunties in the village who likes to gossip? I've already become a monk and should not be doing this sort of thing. I should just continue chanting my sutras." The monk swiftly turned around as he thumbed his prayer beads and slowly walked back to his temple.
He walked on and on before encountering a pile of dung on the ground. However, even before he even got close to it, a child with a bamboo basket on his back ran over, picked up the cow dung, and threw it into the bamboo basket. "This dung was made by my family's cow! It's mine!"
He panicked when he heard that. "What do you mean it's your family's cow?! I can say the same as well! This is my cow dung!"
Hearing this, the child in front of him made a funny face toward him. "Shameless~ You are already so old but you still want to fight with a child over cow dung."
Hearing this, his old face turned red as he raised his walking stick; he wanted to give that impolite child a good beating.
Looking at the child running away while still making funny faces at him, he chuckled. "Hah! I'm already so old; why am I still fighting with a child?"
With his walking stick, he slowly walked into the small courtyard that he had lived in for his entire life. There, he sat on the rocking chair and watched as the leaves slowly fell from the trees while he reminisced his entire life.
Just then, his old neighbor's voice came from his door. "Old man~ You are already eighty-four this year. The King of Hell might not have called you over just yet, but shouldn't it already be your time? Hahaha~"
"Hey! You silly old thing! All you know how to do is to curse me. It's almost as if you think I can't curse you back too," he shouted.
Just as he was about to stand up from his rocking chair, he felt a strange feeling in his heart.
It was his time.
He had always heard other old folks saying that everyone would know the exact moment their death was approaching. To think that it was true.
He felt everything around him becoming smaller and smaller while he slowly floated up. His body was light and he felt cozy. "Is this what death feels like?"
But then, everything changed. His surroundings became twisted, and even his wrinkled face became twisted as well.
His face continued changing; from a youth, to a monk with a scar on his head, to an old lady.
Finally, after changing a few times, his face returned back to that of a young man.
At that moment, he was stunned by the familiar yet unfamiliar white walls in front of him. Three questions popped up in his mind.
Where am I? Where is this? What am I doing?
Just then, two patients walked past his window as they talked.
"I'm not the same as you guys. I'm not mental, I just have a neurological disorder. This means that my brain and neurons were slightly altered. To be called mental due to just that is downright derogatory! There, look at him. Little Li is a true mental patient. He talks to himself and inflicts self-harm every single day."
"No need to talk about him. What a poor lad, to be afflicted by such an ailment even though he's still so young."
"As if Li Huowang that brat would hop out of his bed and scold me. Wait... that's actually not bad. I would rather get scolded."
"Li Huowang?" In an instant, Li Huowang recalled everything. He pieced everything together and immediately realized what had happened.
Instantly, Li Huowang's confused face was filled with hostility as he bellowed in rage. "I'm not some fucking monk nor am I an old man! I'm Li Huowang! That fucking Eighteenth Lunar stole my identity!"
Chapter 93 - Red
Li Huowang sat on his bed, recalling what had just happened.
He had never expected the Eighteenth Lunar to be even more bizarre than all the other supernatural beings that he had encountered in the past. To think that it could change its victim's sense of self and identity itself, swapping it out with someone else's identity completely.
It could even shift the stolen identity to that of someone else!
When he had been given the identity of the dying old man, he might've truly died.
At that time, even Dan Yangzi, who was possessing his body, wouldn't have realized that he was dying.
But the Eighteenth Lunar could never have expected Li Huowang to be someone with a mental illness. Changing the identity of someone who was constantly battling with their own hallucinations was never going to be easy.
To think that the hallucinations that Li Huowang had been trying so desperately to cure had become the key to escaping the Eighteenth Lunar's control.
The Eighteenth Lunar might be skillful, but the best it could do was change its victims' sense of self. Unfortunately, Li Huowang was a Strayed One, someone who had two different cognitions.
Looking at the patients sunbathing outside, Li Huowang did not act immediately, instead thinking about his next plan of action.
I can't just wait like this. The Eighteenth Lunar might try to change my sense of self once again after the hallucination disappears. I need to somehow affect the reality over there while still being in my hallucination.
Luckily, Li Huowang still had some cards up his sleeves. After his previous encounters with the hallucinations, he knew that whatever happened within the hallucination would happen in real life as well.
At the same time, he had also learned a bit more about the Eighteenth Lunar.
Li Huowang retraced the path he had walked just now. He needed to go back to the Wu Family's courtyard and notify everyone about the fake Li Huowang!
The Eighteenth Lunar had resorted to trickery from the very beginning, never showing itself even once. That meant that it was probably quite weak in direct confrontations.
As long as Li Huowang could deal with its trickery, he would be able to summon the Wandering Gods and easily defeat it. In terms of actual combat ability, the Eighteenth Lunar might be even weaker than the 'girl' with tiny feet that he had encountered before.
After thinking his plan through, he was just about to stand up when he realized that both his hands were tied to the bed.
But this was inconsequential to Li Huowang. He knew everything about the hallucination.
Li Huowang faced the microphone and imitated the previous him, "Which beautiful lady is on duty today? Please come and untie me. I need to use the toilet."
Soon, a chubby nurse burst into the ward and untied Li Huowang. "Oh dear! Little Li, are you finally back to yourself? Why were you trapped in the hallucination for so long? Gosh, you scared me. I thought you would never come back! Wait just a moment. I will go and contact Yang Na. Your little girlfriend will be jumping with joy when she finds out that you are back to normal. Just so you know, she cried so many times while you were trapped in your hallucination."
Li Huowang did not react to her words. No matter how beautiful it was, this was still a hallucination.
Abbess Jingxin had told him that the hearts of the Strayed Ones were filled with a sense of doubt and confusion; however, Li Huowang did not agree. In fact, he was even more aware of everything and would never think that a hallucination was real.
When the nurse went out to call the doctor, Li Huowang jumped down from the bed and retraced his steps, running as fast as he could.
Li Huowang was very familiar with the hospital, so he easily managed to escape to the outside.
He ignored the whistles from the guards in the courtyard, running all the way to the road outside.
This is nothing but a hallucination!
Li Huowang paid the hallucination no mind. Bai Lingmiao and the rest were still under the control of the Eighteenth Lunar. They were in danger.
As he stepped out onto the road, Li Huowang's blue and white hospital gown attracted everyone's attention, causing the bystanders to whip out their phones and start recording him.
"Huh? What's wrong with this guy? He's barefoot as well. Is he not cold?"
"Look, the name of the hospital is stitched onto his gown. Oh no, he ran out from a mental hospital! Should we call the police?"
"Did he truly? Maybe he's an influencer? They would do just about anything to get famous."
Fake! Everything's fake! I've been fooled by everyone here once; I will not get fooled again.
Li Huowang clenched his teeth so hard that his gums started bleeding.
He ran on the road in a specific pattern, taking very specific turns. Soon, he arrived at the location that he remembered as the Wu Family's courtyard. However, in the hallucination, he was in the middle of the road. ๐๐โฏ๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐.๐โด๐
Even though there were cars passing by him continuously, Li Huowang was not afraid. He knew that this was only a hallucination, and the cars would never hit him.
At that moment, Li Huowang faced the cars and shouted, "Bai Lingmiao! Quick! Take the bronze bell and ring it! Summon the Wandering Gods! The Li Huowang beside you is a fake! Have the Wandering Gods attack him!"
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
Thanks to Li Huowang, a traffic jam had started to occur on the road.
The cars were honking loudly, but Li Huowang smiled. Bai Lingmiao had followed his instructions. The honking of the cars in the hallucination must mean that someone was ringing the bronze bell back in reality.
Just then, one of the drivers in a red supercar stretched his head out from inside his car window and shouted angrily, "Crazy bastard! Get off the road! Scram, or else I will cripple you!"
Li Huowang whipped his head around and gazed at the red supercar. For some reason, he felt like the car was gazing at him.
He walked over and revealed his white teeth as he lowered his head toward the red supercar. "Hehe, so this is what your real body looks like within my hallucination? Eighteenth Lunar! I have finally found you!"
The Eighteenth Lunar that had never appeared in the village had now appeared in front of Li Huowang in this form. Needless to say, he was ecstatic.
Li Huowang continued shouting to his 'invisible' comrades. "Everyone look here! No matter what is in front of me, attack it! This thing is the Eighteenth Lunar!"
Just then, the driver saw the name of the mental hospital stitched to the left side of Li Huowang's gown. He was terrified as he sat back down and hastily rolled up the window; all of his bravado was gone as he dialed the police with trembling hands.
"Hello? 110? Come quick! There's an escaped mental patient on the roundabout! Yes, the roundabout beside Fulma. Come quick!" said the driver.
Li Huowang was just about to step onto the hood of the red supercar when he stopped.
Everyone in the hallucination saw Li Huowang turn his head as he stared at a red e-bike a distance away. The feeling of being watched that Li Huowang had felt from the red supercar was now gone, and he could feel it from the e-bike instead.
Oh no! The Eighteenth Lunar is trying to escape after being found out!
"Trying to run? Don't think you can escape from me! Everyone follow me! That thing must be injured! It's becoming smaller and smaller!" shouted Li Huowang as he ran toward the red e-bike.
Chapter 94 - Bewilderment
Li Huowang chased after anything red as he ran on the road. He constantly felt the Eighteenth Lunar changing its location as he chased after it. Sometimes it took the form of a red hat, while at other times, it was a red store sign. But no matter how many times it changed, Li Huowang still chased after it fervently and never lost sight of it. He had finally gotten a chance to kill it, so he would never give up so easily. After all, whether or not he would be released from Dan Yangzi's grasp depended on whether or not he could obtain the Eighteenth Lunar's eyes.
He also realized something bizarre while chasing the Eighteenth Lunar. The thing somehow didn't have an eyelid. It had no choice but to look at everything within its field of vision, even itself.
What a weird being. I wonder what it looks like back in reality?
Li Huowang silently thought to himself as he chased after it.
Thanks to him chasing it so intensely, Li Huowang was getting closer and closer to the Eighteenth Lunar. Five meters ... Three meters ... One meter!
Li Huowang suddenly raised his right hand and leapt, pouncing toward the red-colored blob right in front of him.
However, just as he was about to capture it, a hand grabbed his wrist and stopped him. "Li... Li Huowang? Are you Li Huowang from the second year, class four?"
Li Huowang glared at the one holding his wrist. The one who stopped him was a bald man in his fifties.
The man propped his square glasses up and continued talking. "Have you forgotten me? I'm your class teacher. Where are your shoes?"
Li Huowang gazed at the familiar face and uttered unconsciously. "Teacher Tong?"
"I recall that your mother submitted the notice to terminate your studies due to your disease. Why are you out here, running in a hospital gown? Are you okay?" Teacher Tong was very worried as he tidied up Li Huowang's collar that was within the hospital gown.
Staring at the teacher who had helped him so much during his school life, Li Huowang felt quite conflicted. But he calmed down soon enough, shaking off his teacher's hand as he ran toward the red object that had gotten further away.
"Fake! Everything is a hallucination! Don't think you can fool me! Everything is fake!" shouted Li Huowang.
Staring at Li Huowang running further and further away, Teacher Tong was worried as he whipped out his phone. "Hello, is this Li Huowang's mother? I'm his math teacher from his high school. Yes, that's right. Glad to hear from you as well. I just saw your son on Lotus Street; he was running around without any shoes. Yes, that's right, I'm sure it's him. I've taught for so long, and I never confuse my students. Mm hmm."
Meanwhile, Li Huowang's eyes were bloodshot as he scanned left and right on the street, trying to find the Eighteenth Lunar. He was currently holding a broken piece of glass that he had picked up from somewhere. "Goddammit! Where is it?"
He completely ignored the police sirens. He knew that they too were fake.
He was searching for the Eighteenth Lunar in a frenzy when he suddenly stopped in front of a building with the image of a deer drawn on it. Children were doing their morning exercises in the field. When he saw a small streak of red amongst the children's clothes, Li Huowang laughed like a maniac. "Hahaha! I found you!"
The toy-like metal fence could not stop Li Huowang at all as he leaped over it with ease.
A female teacher ran toward him to try and stop him, but was punched in the face, causing horrified shrieks to ring out all around him.
However, Li Huowang ignored everyone else and just grabbed a girl in his iron grip as he glared intensely at the red sakura hair clip in the girl's hair.
On the other hand, the girl was visibly shaken with her lips trembling and tears welling up in her eyes.
"Still trying to trick me? You will never be able to fool me!" Li Huowang shouted in rage.
Just then the police sirens got closer. The sound of tires screeching soon rang out in front of the building. "Stop! Police, put up your hands!"
Li Huowang turned around and saw two police cars. There were several policemen squatting down with their guns aimed at him!
Li Huowang looked at the Eighteenth Lunar in his hand and then stared at them. He smiled coldly. "Trying to trick me again? This is fake! Everything is fake!"
The girl in Li Huowang's arm started crying even louder.
Just as Li Huowang was about to end the Eighteenth Lunar with his own hands, a figure suddenly ran out from the surrounding crowd and stood between him and the gun. "Stop! Don't shoot! Don't shoot! He's my son! He... He's always been a good son. He turned into this because of an illness. Please... please let me talk to him, alright? He will listen to me... He will listen to me for sure... He's my good son."
Hearing the familiar voice, Li Huowang stopped his hands. Then, he saw the figure with whitening hair slowly turn around. It was none other than his mother, Sun Xiaoqin. But... her face looked very disheveled. Compared to the last time he had seen her, she looked like she had aged quite a lot.
Looking at her son behind the iron fence, Sun Xiaoqin tried to force out a smile but ultimately failed. Her warm tears fell as she pleaded. "My good son, please listen to your mother. Let the little girl down, alright? Let's go home. You can play video games for as long as you want. I will not stop you."
Li Huowang once more felt conflicted. He stared at his mother, who looked ever so real, and then gazed back to the Eighteenth Lunar in his hand.
Just as Sun Xiaoqin gingerly walked toward Li Huowang, he took a step back, his face twisting in pain. "No, no this is fake! Everything is fake! All of these things are just hallucinations made by the Eighteenth Lunar! The world over there is real! I will not let the hallucinations control me again!"
Li Huowang tried to persuade himself but he couldn't move the sharp glass in his hand. His breathing turned rapid as his pupils dilated and shrank over and over.
Meanwhile, Sun Xiaoqin slowly closed in on the fence, to the point that she could almost touch it, and then she slowly kneeled down. "Son, please... Please stop. We sold our house because of you. We don't have any money left for compensation."
Her words broke Li Huowang. He hugged the girl in front of him and cried, tears streaking down his face.
"Mom!" Veins started to bulge on his face as opened his mouth and shouted. Saliva and tears dripped down onto the floor tiles with the image of a kids' cartoon.
Then, looking at his mother in front of him, he took a deep breath and shouted out everything he had kept in his heart, including his struggle and confusion.
"MOM! I CAN'T! I REALLY CAN'T DETERMINE WHICH SIDE IS REAL!!"