Just as Li Huowang turned to head back, he saw the Albino Girl shyly slip off one shoe and remove a Golden Anklet wound with red thread from her ankle, so pale it was almost transparent.
Li Huowang's eyes widened as he accepted it. He weighed the Golden Anklet in his palm. It was rather thin, but gold was gold—it had to be worth quite a bit.
Satisfied, he stuffed the items into the wide sleeve of his Daoist Robe, then pointed at the white-haired girl. "Listen up. From now on, she's in charge of the Material Room. Whatever happens, you listen to her."
After seeing everyone nod hesitantly, Li Huowang picked up the prepared pill ingredients and hurried toward the Pill Refining Room.
As he walked, he stole glances at the others' waists, hoping to find another Jade Pendant. Unfortunately, he found nothing.
When Li Huowang returned to the Pill Refining Room, he saw the stiflingly oppressive pill furnace slowly opening.
With a sweep of Danyangzi's wide sleeve, several dark-blue pills swiftly lined up and flew into the earthen-yellow Gourd at his waist.
The sight made Li Huowang burn with envy. This was probably the divine ability Xuan Yin had mentioned. He wondered if he could find a way to learn it. Making money? My vision really was too narrow. If I could bring this ability back to reality, then...
Li Huowang bent down and set aside the pill ingredients, then prepared to stand quietly to one side, watching with his eyes and listening with his heart. He still understood nothing, so it was better to watch and listen more.
"Xuan Yang~"
Another job? This soon? I've really become an errand boy. I can't keep running errands forever—I need to figure out a way to make Leper Head teach me divine abilities.
Li Huowang clasped his hands and bowed to Danyangzi, who had called him. "Master, what are your instructions?"
"Go. Bring me a Medicinal Guide from the Material Room named Bai Lingmiao."
Li Huowang's heart skipped a beat. His right hand, still held in salute, slipped into his sleeve and felt the anklet tied with red thread. Bai Lingmiao seemed to be the Albino Girl's name.
"Hmm?" Danyangzi turned to look at his new disciple, who had failed to react for so long.
Li Huowang's teeth immediately began to ache. Honestly, he had just said he would protect her, yet now he had to go back and tell her to die. There was no way he could justify that.
"Didn't you hear what I said?"
Feeling Danyangzi's tone turning hostile, Li Huowang sighed helplessly and closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, he was back in the pristine white hospital ward. What am I supposed to do now?
In the past, he would have carried out the order without another word. But that world might now be real. If he truly brought someone over, he might really be sending someone to her death. He simply could not get past that hurdle in his heart.
After the nurses released him, Li Huowang bit his thumbnail and paced back and forth around the room. What do I do? What do I do?
Before he could think of a solution, the ward door was pushed open from outside. Li Huowang saw his Attending Physician walk in.
He immediately gave a bitter smile. Great. Both sides had boxed him in now. He could not run even if he wanted to.
The doctor pointed at him with an expression of disappointment. "You... once your visiting family leaves, we need to have a talk."
"Visiting family?"
Before Li Huowang could react, he saw his haggard mother hurried in from outside, leading Juzi along with her.
"I heard you got into a fight with someone at the hospital? What happened to your head? Why is it wrapped up like that? Does it hurt?" The woman rushed over, nervously examining him.
"Mom, it doesn't hurt. I'm fine, really, I'm fine. They're the ones who got hurt," Li Huowang hurriedly reassured her.
After comforting her for quite some time, Li Huowang finally kept his mother's tears from falling.
Before his closest family, no matter which world's troubles they were, they had to take a back seat for now.
"Don't worry, I'm doing well. I'm much better now, and I haven't fallen behind in my studies either. Once I'm discharged, I can take the college entrance exams." Li Huowang did his best to report good news and hide the bad.
"Stop hiding it. The doctor already told me. Tell me, what exactly happened that day? Who started it?"
Li Huowang explained it to his mother in the gentlest tone he could manage, but it did not seem to soothe her much.
"We were in the right, so why should we pay compensation? Pay what compensation?! They were the ones in the wrong! Even if they were sick, that was the hospital's responsibility to supervise them! Our household has never bullied anyone, but we absolutely won't let anyone bully us either! If they have the nerve, let them sue us! Even in court, we'd be the ones in the right!" Sun Xiaoqin slammed the table so hard it boomed.
Seeing the doctor awkwardly rubbing his nose beside them, Li Huowang continued to calm her. "Mom, Mom, don't get worked up. You came all this way, so just spend some time with me."
Sun Xiaoqin suppressed the rage in her heart and bent down to take fruit from the bag. "Don't worry about this. Mom will handle it. Here, these are the milk grapes you like. Eat more. Look how thin you've gotten. The hospital food must be terrible, right?"
"No, no, the hospital food is actually pretty good." Li Huowang sat beside his mother and began eating.
Listening to his mother complain and eating the sweet grapes, Li Huowang's heart gradually settled.
He liked this feeling. Ever since entering the hospital, he had not experienced the warmth of family for a long time.
Looking at his mother, Li Huowang seemed ready to tell her everything that had happened to him, but when the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back down.
No. She was different from Yang Na. If he told her, she would only think his condition had worsened. He could not make her worry anymore. He would tell her once everything had stabilized.
Just as mother and son were chatting happily, the Attending Physician's phone rang beside them. "Ms. Sun, the family of Patient Liu has arrived too. What do you say..."
"Son, stay here and relax. Eat plenty. Once you finish, I'll buy you more."
After speaking gently to Li Huowang, Sun Xiaoqin puffed out her chest, turned around, and strode toward the door like a rooster about to enter a duel.
For some reason, seeing her departing back made Li Huowang feel incomparably safe.
His mother might be forceful, but as long as he was by her side, Li Huowang felt secure. She was like a great umbrella above his head, shielding him from wind and rain. At this moment, all the anxiety brought on by his previous troubles vanished.
"Hehe, the lobby is definitely going to be lively in a bit." Li Huowang picked another yellow-green grape, popped it into his mouth, and bit down. Fresh, sweet juice burst across his tongue.
Just as he thought that, Li Huowang's body suddenly swayed, and everything around him began changing color again. Damn it, Mom coming here made me forget to think about how to fool Leper Head. What do I do now?
When his surroundings stabilized once more, Li Huowang found himself standing in the Material Room. Danyangzi stood some distance away, his expression grim. The other Medicinal Guides stood in a circle with their heads bowed low.
Danyangzi flipped his filthy right hand over, and a clump of sticky, writhing black matter appeared in his palm. Every twitch produced the sound of a toad licking an eyeball.
Huh? Wasn't Bai Lingmiao supposed to be refined into pills? Has he turned the page already?
After hesitating for a second, Li Huowang asked, "Master, what is that?"
"Hmph. Good stuff. Tai Sui. Black Tai Sui."
Before you continue