Chapter 342 - Huanhuan

“Hehe. Sir, if there’s anything else you need, please just let us know.”

The station master’s flattering smile reminded Li Huowang of his own superior.

“Go to sleep. And don’t come near my room if there’s nothing,” instructed Li Huowang.

“Alright, have a good rest~ I will go back now. If you need anything, just call out for Old Wu, and I’ll arrive as soon as I can,” said the station master as he turned back.

The door shut with a creak. Then, Li Huowang fastened the door and took out the soaked rations from his bag, and began to gnaw on them.

Without Bun around, he was even more wary and dared not eat random food from outside, even if it was at a relay station of the Liang Kingdom.

At that moment, Li Huowang suddenly stopped eating and looked at the scabs on the back of his hand. There seemed to be something moving there.

When he examined it carefully under the candlelight, he found a fine, black tentacle there. It resembled an earthworm, and was continuously wriggling around inside his blood vessels. Li Sui’s tentacles had followed along his blood vessels and reached his hand, which was something unprecedented.

“I called it, didn’t I? See, the omen has appeared. This is just the beginning. The Black Taisui will gradually occupy all the meridians in your body. At that point, you will be dead meat. Even the Immortals won’t be able to save you then. Do as I say, and quickly get rid of the Black Taisui!” said Hong Zhong.

However, Li Huowang just continued to chew on the flatbread in his mouth while eyeing Hong Zhong coldly.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

“Daddy?” Li Sui’s voice rang out again, this time with a hint of grievance and hesitation.

Li Huowang withdrew his gaze, and then placed the reminder of his rations back into his pocket. Then, he directly blew out the candle. At this point, he was too lazy to even take a bath, and just directly decided to lie down. He was exhausted. The moment the back of his head hit the pillow, he had already entered dreamland.

Li Huowang woke up to the pitter-patter sound of rain outside his window. He had finally had a good sleep after a long time.

Still in a daze, he was suddenly hit by a strong bout of queasiness.

What’s going on?

Li Huowang walked over to retrieve his water gourd and hydrate himself.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, before the water had even poured in, several tentacles burrowed out from within his throat.

“What are you doing? Get back in!”

However, as he spoke, more and more tentacles started to emerge.

“Li Sui! What are you doing?!” Li Huowang bellowed in his mind.

“Daddy, you... won’t die!”

As Li Huowang bent over to vomit, the wriggling tentacles that came together to form Li Sui were soon vomited out, covered in mucus. Then, the mass of tentacles quickly crawled its way underneath the bed.

Meanwhile, Li Huowang swallowed a mouthful of saliva mixed with blood, and then glared at Hong Zhong with annoyance. “Will you die if you don’t speak?”

He turned back and walked toward his bed. But before he could even reach it, he clutched his head in agony as the surroundings around him started changing rapidly. When he finally came to, he found that he was no longer standing, but lying on the cold, muddy ground.

Li Huowang looked around dumbfoundedly. He was still in the area under the bridge, but now, he was much dirtier than before.

Back again...

Li Huowang sighed helplessly. He turned around to lie flat on the ground, and watched the spiders spinning their webs at the bottom of the bridge.

The only fortunate thing was that his mother and Yang Na were no longer around. Thus, he did not need to carefully mull over what was real or what was fake. He just had to quietly wait for time to pass.

Li Sui is beginning to recognise words faster and faster now. Now, it can even understand what Hong Zhong is saying. But I have to teach it that not everything some people say is definitely true.

Covered in his tattered clothes, Li Huowang thought to himself as he continued lying on the ground underneath the bridge.

At that moment, footsteps rang out from the entrance along with a voice. He remembered that it was Huanhuan’s voice.

Li Huowang turned around to look and saw the cute little girl carrying her red bag while holding out a few shumais. She was just standing there uneasily. At this point, she seemed slightly taller than before, and her clothes had also been changed. The only thing that did not change was the cherry-colored hairpin on her head.

“Huanhuan, there’s no need to bring me food. I won’t starve to death. Actually, it might even be better if I do starve to death,” said Li Huowang.

Li Huowang’s words caused Huanhuan’s eyes to widen. “Uncle, you can recognise me! You haven’t recognised me in a while.”

Hearing this, he chuckled silently, then stood up and walked toward her. This time, she did not move away as usual, and just stood there uneasily as she looked up at Li Huowang.

Then, Li Huowang took the five shumais from her hands and stuffed them into his mouth as he said, “Back at the kindergarten, I’m sorry about what happened. You know too that I have a mental illness. Sometimes, I cannot differentiate things very well.”

Huanhuan smiled sweetly as she watched him eat, then shook her head, her two ponytails swinging from side to side. “It’s alright, I know that you are not intentionally trying to harm me.”

Li Huowang raised his hand to pat her head, but decided against it when he saw just how filthy his palm was.

“Thank you for your shumais. Remember, don’t bring food for me in future. I might end up harming you when I am mad,” said Li Huowang before pausing abruptly. Why was he spouting such nonsense in this obvious hallucination?

“Mm, I got it! Goodbye Uncle! I’ll head home first!” Huanhuan gave Li Huowang a big hug, and then turned to leave.

Li Huowang walked to the edge of the area under the bridge. Standing in the shadows, he watched the petite figure dashing off in the sunlight. There was a sense of warmth in his eyes.

Back there, he would treat every act of kindness with extreme wariness. Conversely in this hallucination, kindness was everywhere. If he could choose, then he would much rather this side be the real one.

Just as he was going to turn around and head back to the area under the bridge, a fatty emerged from a corner in the distance. He was smoking and was wearing a large golden chain on his neck. This made Li Huowang’s expression freeze.

The fatty occasionally stole shifty glances toward this direction, which made the warmth in Li Huowang’s expression slowly turn into chilliness.

What’s he trying to do to Huanhuan?

Li Huowang immediately thought of a movie scene, which made his skin twitch. Even if this was just his hallucination, he would not let such disgusting events unfold.

He looked around and picked up a cobblestone that was within reach from the riverside, and then started moving toward the fatty.

By the time the fatty turned to see Li Huowang, he had already been hit on his head.

Immediately, the fatty’s head started bleeding, causing him intense pain. By the time he realized what was going on, Li Huowang had already dragged him to the area under the bridge. When he looked down, he saw that a piece of shattered glass had pierced through his left palm, causing him to start screaming in pain.

At that moment, Li Huowang suddenly punched the fatty’s chest, causing the fatty’s cries to stop abruptly and lose his breath. “What are you screaming for? I haven’t even started yet.”

When the fatty finally regained his composure, Li Huowang looked at him coldly and asked, “Speak. What were you trying to do with the little girl?”

The fatty looked extremely wronged as tears almost fell from his eyes. “Why would I be watching the little girl? I have been keeping an eye at you!”