Concurrent fractures are common in bone cancer patients.
Due to the damage cancer cells cause to bone tissue, the bones become soft and brittle, making fractures all too easy.
This, too, finally happened to Chen Huaian.
The pain, after a while, became almost numb.
Physical pain was still within his tolerance, and psychological pain? That didn't count at all.
Nothing, he believed, could be more painful than losing both his parents in a fire years ago.
So even as the surrounding tourists looked at him with concern, asking if he was okay, Chen Huaian calmly adjusted his camera, and said to Zhang Rui, who was supporting him:
"Bro, do me a favor—open my backpack."
"What?! Bro, call an ambulance! Why are you still thinking about the backpack?"
Zhang Rui had never seen anyone like him—like the broken leg wasn't even his.
"You call the ambulance. It can't get up here anyway. Just open the backpack—I've got my own way."
Zhang Rui, half in disbelief, opened the pack and handed it over.
Chen Huaian pulled out a small pouch, from which he drew out a foldable cane.
Zhang Rui: "…"
The other tourists: "???"
Wait a second—this was your so-called "own way"?
Everyone thought he was pulling out some kind of powerful painkiller.
"No worries, we continue now."
Chen Huaian stood up using the cane with practiced ease.
Fractures were common in bone cancer, so even before the break, he had gotten used to walking with a cane—so he wouldn't be caught off guard when the time came.
And now, the time had come.
Maybe this was his way of kissing fate.
His livestream audience silently sent likes and gifts.
Some were begging him to stop and get treatment.
At this point, no one questioned if he was really sick.
Actually, no one cared what his illness was anymore.
They only cared whether this man—this madman—could reach the summit.
That twisted right leg… looked like fate's oppression.
And the cane in his hand—wasn't it the middle finger raised against death?
"You got this!"
"Don't stop now, you're almost at 95K in donations!"
"1,000 draws in the Koi Pool!!"
Chen Huaian clenched his jaw, eyes fierce:
"Hunyuan Rebirth Pill! Kekeke! A mere Hunyuan Rebirth Pill!!"
Tourists around were full of awe.
They didn't understand the reference, just thought the pain had twisted his features.
And then—he made it.
As his shaking leg stepped onto the final stone step of Mount Tai's summit,
a ray of golden morning light pierced the clouds and landed gently on his face.
Birds flew past the light.
A distant bell echoed through the mountains.
And then—
From that dawn mist, a mirage rose.
An ancient imperial procession emerged from the light.
Leading it was a majestic figure in black dragon robes, crowned, sword at his waist.
Behind him, civil and military officials, attendants holding ceremonial objects…
They walked on clouds, footsteps forming tiled stone paths in mid-air, headed for the summit.
"What the hell?!"
"A mirage?"
"A movie shoot?"
At first people joked—until, in an instant, the procession leapt across miles and appeared before them.
Silence.
A pressure descended—no one could speak or move.
Chen Huaian stood frozen, as that emperor approached.
He couldn't see the face, but felt a blur stir his eyes.
The emperor passed through the crowd like mist.
Like an image from another time phasing into this moment.
At least, that's what Chen thought.
Until—the emperor stood before him.
And just before passing through, the emperor nodded ever so slightly.
Golden vertical pupils met his eyes.
Chen Huaian felt his scalp tingle—he swore, that emperor saw him.
Just for a second.
Then the emperor passed through his body and vanished into the mountain fog.
…
The vision caused a nationwide stir, shooting straight to the top of trending searches.
Experts said it was the Qin Emperor's Fengshan ritual.
They didn't know how a 2,000-year-old historical event could manifest now—
but of course, the explanation would surely be scientific.
Chen Huaian didn't care.
He was a staunch materialist.
If someone told him there was a ghost in his house,
he'd go buy a box of condoms—just to do his part for species diversity.
As for the Level-57 whale in his livestream?
He kept his word.
66 "Dragon Drum City" gifts, each worth ¥2,888.
That's ¥190K gross—after platform cut, ~¥95K in hand.
And counting smaller gifts, Chen pulled in over ¥120K from the night.
Even said he'd support Chen's future events.
Chen felt truly touched—he loved this kind of genuine fan.
Phone nearly dead, he ended the stream and got ready to go down.
"Taking the cable car or hiring a litter team?" Zhang Rui asked.
"Cable car, obviously. Cheaper and faster," Chen replied,
"I need to get back and charge up—check on my electronic girlfriend."
But just as they approached the cable car…
a falling rock hit someone cutting the line.
Then, when it was Chen's turn—he hesitated.
The cabin had a few rough-looking guys covered in tattoos.
Zhang Rui asked, "Still getting on?"
"Why not? They just look the part."
But just then, his amulet snapped and fell.
He bent to pick it up—
The men mocked him with vulgar slurs—
And then——
RUMBLE!!
A violent quake shook Mount Tai.
Landslide.
A boulder crashed onto the cable car cabin that had just set off.
Flattened.
Chen Huaian rolled back into the ticket office in a daze.
Screams, dust, falling debris.
And then—
Silence.
The incident shook the country again.
That cable car—turned to scrap—contained seven people,
All of whom were drug lords, from both sides of a smuggling deal.
They were the key players in two major cartels.
People said it was the Mountain God's divine judgment.
Others linked it to the earlier mirage of the Fengshan Ritual.