Chapter 1032: That Door (2)

A strand of golden sunlight streamed through the gap in the curtains and spilled into the room. Li Xiaofei’s eyes snapped open, and felt an unprecedented weakness overwhelm him. He struggled to lift his hand as he rubbed his eyes, slowly adjusting to the brightness around him.

A noisy broadcast was playing the morning news; it was the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine war. The faint scent of disinfectant lingered in the air.

Li Xiaofei realized he was lying on a hospital bed, dressed in a light blue striped patient gown. There was a hospital wristband fastened to his arm.

A phone lay quietly on the table beside the bed. He instinctively picked it up and glanced at the screen.

September 17, 2023. Sunday.

What’s going on? Did I return to the past? Is this an illusion... or something else?

thought Li Xiaofei.

He forced himself to sit up, scanning the surroundings once again to confirm that he was indeed inside a hospital. Yet the environment felt unfamiliar; it was not a place he recognized.

Li Xiaofei massaged his temples. His Immortal Force and energy was completely gone. He felt no different from a weak, ordinary human being.

Loud voices echoed nearby. Li Xiaofei turned to see two young men, also dressed in hospital gowns, sitting on the adjacent bed playing Chinese chess. One of them, seemingly out of moves, flipped the board in frustration.

Li Xiaofei froze. He recognized both of them. They were Ding Hao and Ye Qingyu.

Why are they here too?

"You’re awake?" Ding Hao turned and looked at him. "Nurse Little Tan said you should take your meds now that you’re up."

He pointed to the white plastic box on the nearby table. There were five or six white and blue pills inside that Li Xiaofei didn’t recognize.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Why are you two here?" Li Xiaofei asked, ignoring the medicine.

Ye Qingyu replied, "We’ve been here for five years already. You’re not having another episode, are you?"

Li Xiaofei was stunned, Was

I really asleep for five years?

He hadn’t died after the battle with Oblivion, but fallen into a deep slumber? But then what about Ding Hao and Ye Qingyu? Why were they here too?

He glanced down at the band on his wrist. Aside from his personal information, it also listed the hospital name and the name of his attending nurse.

Municipal First Psychiatric Hospital. Attending Nurse, Tan Qingying.

Li Xiaofei stared at the information in silence.

"Nurse! Nurse! The author is awake!" Ding Hao shouted loudly from beside him, as if he were reporting a great achievement.

The door to the ward swung open and a nurse in a white uniform walked in. She had a slender figure and a refined, elegant appearance. She had flat white shoes and stood about 1.68 meters tall.

When she saw Li Xiaofei, she smiled and said, "Awake now? Have you been taking your medicine like a good boy?"

Li Xiaofei stared blankly at her. "Young lady?"

It was Tan Qingying. The nurse before him looked exactly like his wife. Clad in a fitted nurse’s uniform, she gave off the uncanny impression of a role-playing fantasy brought to life.

"Hehe, I’m not the heroine from your stories, Writer Li. Now be good and take your medicine."

Tan Qingying brought a glass of water to his lips, gently arranging the pills for him as if coaxing a child. Her voice was soft as she said, "Come now. You didn’t behave yesterday and upset Doctor Sun. If you don’t take your medicine today, your dosage will be increased."

Li Xiaofei said nothing. His thoughts were in disarray. This didn’t feel like he was recuperating from injuries after that apocalyptic battle. It felt more like... he had returned to the past.

He brushed the pills aside and jumped out of bed. He said, "I need some air."

Without heeding Tan Qingying’s attempts to stop him, he walked straight toward the door.

"Hey! Wait! You haven’t taken your medicine yet. You can’t leave... Someone, stop him!" Tan Qingying shouted from behind him.

Ding Hao and Ye Qingyu also leaped out of their beds to try and hold him back, but Li Xiaofei threw them off with a single motion. He charged out of the room.

He found himself in a long corridor. A door stood slightly ajar at the end of the hallway. Li Xiaofei picked up speed and sprinted toward it.

Tan Qingying chased after him, yelling, "Quick! Stop him! Number 25’s schizophrenia is acting up again..."

Two men in doctor’s coats darted out from rooms in front of him. One grabbed him around the waist, and the other pinned his arms. Li Xiaofei struggled with all his might, but it was no use. He was incredibly weak, and worse off than an ordinary person. He was quickly dragged back into the ward and strapped down to the hospital bed.

The entire process was carried out with practiced ease. It was clear that something like this had happened more than once. Li Xiaofei’s mouth was pried open, and more than a dozen pills and capsules, varying in size and color, were shoved in all at once.

Ye Qingyu and Ding Hao stood off to the side, giggling as they watched.

"See? Taking your meds like a good boy is so much better."

"Exactly. Only after taking your medicine can you go outside. Otherwise, you’ll die."

"Your delusions are worse than ours. That’s why you need more pills."

"Never skip your meds."

"Hehe."

"Haha."

The two of them clearly weren’t mentally sound.

Then again, this was a psychiatric hospital. Li Xiaofei studied their expressions and demeanor closely. There were no signs of pretense or performance. Nor could he sense even a shred of the noble presence they had once carried as human Immortal Emperors.

"I..." Li Xiaofei swallowed hard and said, "Did we win in the end? Is this reincarnation?"

He needed to know the truth,

Could Ding Hao and the others have all died in combat, and were now reincarnated into this era? But if that were the case, if we had truly died, then Oblivion should have restarted the universe and annihilated all life. How could we possibly have a chance at rebirth?

"You mean that war between the immortals and demons? The one where we fought against... uh... what was it again?" Ding Hao wiped his mouth and looked over at Ye Qingyu.

Ye Qingyu grinned widely. "Oblivion."

"Oh, right, right, Oblivion," Ding Hao laughed foolishly. "That’s what you were talking about?"

Li Xiaofei’s heart surged with joy. It seemed things weren’t as he had feared. Could it be that in the end, they had actually won?

"Yes," he answered quickly.

Ding Hao wiped his mouth, looking rather dim-witted, and said, "You didn’t finish writing it yet, so how would I know? Writer Li, your illness is serious. Doctor Sun said it’s gotten worse because you think too much. That’s why you’re not allowed to write those weird ghost stories anymore."