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Chapter 8 - Home

The recorded audio had no background noise, as if the scene were unfolding live. It clearly captured Yao Bing starting off normally, even trying to bribe the young psychologist conducting his evaluation, before suddenly screaming in panic. After a clatter of noise came the sound of him rushing out, and even the commotion in the hallway was picked up.

Then Yao Bing was brought back to the consultation room, and the psychologist's hypnotic voice rang out. Yao Donghu and Xie Heisha, listening to the recording, felt their minds waver for a moment before realizing it was hypnosis.

The reason Yao Bing had been able to return home quietly from the hospital was likely thanks to the hypnosis.

"It's hypnosis. This doctor is very skilled!"

The Community Doctor, who hadn't left, widened his eyes and remarked.

He had just injected Yao Bing with a sedative. Every drug has its side effects, and no sedative medication has as few side effects as hypnosis, which works directly on the mind.

The art lies in the application. Hypnosis is effective, but not every psychologist knows how to use it.

In a way, the Yao Family had gotten what they deserved, reaping what they sowed. The Community Doctor hid his schadenfreude well.

"Could it be that psychologist's doing?"

Yao Bing's Mother, Xuan Jing, pointed the finger directly at Doctor Li. The suspicion was considerable.

Unexpectedly, her lack of evidence only made her more certain that he was the Murderer who had driven her son insane.

Women's intuition was truly terrifying—she had stumbled onto the truth by sheer luck.

"Well, that's hard to say!"

The Community Doctor didn't dare to engage with that. The waters of family feuds ran too deep for him to wade into.

"Xuan Jing, don't speak without evidence."

Yao Donghu frowned. One crisis after another—he didn't want to stir up more trouble at this critical juncture.

The psychologist evaluating his son Yao Bing had issued a diagnosis of mental illness, just as they'd wanted. They couldn't now slap themselves in the face by claiming Yao Bing hadn't been mentally ill before, and that he was only using the report to evade legal responsibility.

Some things couldn't be brought into the open. If the Yao Family tried to pick apart this report, not only would the money and connections they'd invested go to waste, but they'd also offend many people by going back on their word.

"Bing Bing was always fine. How could he turn bad the moment he met that man? It has to be him. He knows dark arts. Who else could it be?"

Her son had always been the apple of her eye. Xuan Jing wailed and cursed the psychologist who had evaluated her son with venomous words.

The Community Doctor, who was considering giving Yao Bing's Mother a shot of sedative too, could only smile bitterly. Hypnosis was neither good nor evil—it all depended on the practitioner.

By that twisted logic, wouldn't every locksmith who knew how to pick locks be a thief?

"Doctor Wang, do you know any psychologists who could take a look at Bing Bing? Not from the Seventh People's Hospital—anywhere else in the province or outside it is fine."

As the head of the Yao Clan, managing assets worth over a billion, Yao Donghu wasn't swayed by his wife's hysterics.

"There's an elderly psychiatric expert at the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine named Hou Xiaozheng. He's also skilled in hypnosis. We could invite him over for a look."

Colleagues always knew a few people. Doctor Wang thought of a suitable candidate.

The entire audio file was original, without any editing or modification, yet it revealed no anomalies. His son Yao Bing seemed to have snapped suddenly, which left Yao Donghu deep in thought.

While her husband Yao Donghu arranged for the Bodyguard captain Xie Heisha to drive through the night to fetch the psychiatric expert from the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Yao Bing's Mother, Xuan Jing, pulled the housekeeper Aunt Qing into a corner.

"Aunt Qing, arrange for someone to report online and to the newspapers that the doctor who evaluated Bing Bing took bribes. At the same time, find his bank account and deposit one million into it."

Having worked for the Yao Family for fifteen years, Aunt Qing was one of Yao Donghu and Xuan Jing's trusted confidants. The couple rarely kept secrets from her, and sometimes entrusted her with matters they couldn't handle personally.

"Madam, that doesn't seem right?"

Aunt Qing was slightly taken aback. This wasn't just shifting blame and framing someone—it was burning bridges. If word got out, who would ever dare work for the Yao Family again?

"Just do as I say. See if you know any thugs to rough that doctor up a bit—consider it collecting some interest. And don't tell Donghu. Handle it quietly."

Xuan Jing gritted her teeth, her face twisted with hatred. With no one else to vent her anger on, she had to take it out on that young doctor.

"Yes!"

Aunt Qing hesitated for a moment, then arranged for people to carry out these dirty deeds.

Capital had never been clean from the moment it was born. The Yao Family's current strength didn't come from honest, lawful business.

Certain unsavory matters were always handled by professionals, with no connection whatsoever to the Yao Clan, who were so devoted to charity and public welfare.

A few phone calls, a bit of cash changing hands—what could that prove?-

Doctor Li, completely unaware of the storm brewing, had just returned home. The first thing he did was tear open two packs of Braised Beef Instant Noodles.

He lit the fire and boiled water.

Added an egg, added a sausage.

Two tender green vegetables.

The soup bubbled, the noodles softened.

The warmth of everyday life.

He twirled a chopstickful of noodles and chicken leg, took a big bite, and finally let out a satisfied groan.

This was true earthly delight!

Life was all about this bowl of instant noodles.

"Ah! Ah! This servant wants some too, Young Master, This servant wants some too!"

Demoness Qingyao had never seen anything like this, and immediately grew restless.

Her slender, chopstick-thin mini flood dragon body loosened from Li Bai's arm, writhing as she tried to transform.

But green light flickered around her a few times, and she didn't manage to take human form.

"This isn't the original world. The laws of heaven and earth have changed. Give it up!"

Li Bai sipped his noodle soup with a look of pure enjoyment, ignoring the demoness's frustration.

The special spice blend brought out the full flavor of every ingredient—rough, direct, brimming with the forceful, industrial-era character. There was no lingering sentimentality, no trace of painstaking artisan craftsmanship.

For Li Bai, this was the perfect gift to welcome his return.

"Ah? Young Master, where is this?"

Everything around her except the Young Master had become utterly foreign, catching the Azure Flood Dragon demoness off guard.

"This is Earth. No demon realm, no Great Wu Dynasty. To you, it's a completely unfamiliar world. To me, it's home."

Li Bai cheerfully stabbed his noodles and wolfed them down. He'd added two eggs to his bowl—this was exactly the taste he wanted.

The cramped apartment was small—one bedroom, one living room, one bathroom, barely forty square meters—but it was his refuge in this world.

"Home? Young Master's home?"

Qingyao Demoness forgot to covet the instant noodles in Li Bai's bowl. She darted around the room, every object brimming with novelty.

She accidentally bumped the remote, and the TV hanging on the wall suddenly lit up. The Azure Flood Dragon demoness tumbled into the soft sofa, staring blankly at the screen as images and sound began to appear.

The fluffy, plush cushion was perfect for curling up on. The demoness had stumbled onto the right way to use it without meaning to.

A bowl of instant noodles down, Li Bai—returned from another world—felt utterly satisfied. Still, his conscience finally stirred, and he cooked a bowl for the demoness too.

Just as he finished washing the dishes, his phone rang. Li Bai glanced at the screen and quickly dropped the dishrag to answer.

"Hey, Dad. Yeah, just ate... What? Another blind date? Come on!... Fine, fine, I'll go. Just don't worry about this stuff anymore. How have you been feeling lately?... Working overtime again? The Public Security Bureau stuff is already enough to keep you busy. Let that mess at the Investment Promotion Bureau sort itself out—if you can't attract investment, it's not like they'll dock your bonus. That's the mayor and the party secretary's problem. Otherwise, everything gets dumped on you. How do oxen die? From overwork, of course. Are those Qing Tian Family Japanese bastards ever going to stop? Tell me, are they just masochists or what, coming over every year to get beaten up—like it's a pilgrimage! Alright, alright, I won't meddle in this crap. Take care of yourself, eat well, drink well. Gotta go!"

As the son of an official, Li Bai had plenty of his own grievances.

Unlike the deadbeat rich brat of a father in the other world, his dad in this one was born to toil. Not only was he the director of the Public Security Bureau, but he also held a concurrent post as deputy director of the Investment Promotion Bureau.

All because some stubborn Japanese family clan insisted on forming some damn connection. Damn it, that head of the family was like a piece of sticky toffee—kicked away and still wouldn't leave.

But that's another story entirely.