Truth? Lies?

Chapter 204: Truth? Lies?

“Senior Brother Li, what’s wrong with him?”

“I don’t know either. He was fine just a moment ago. How did staring at a book turn him into this?”

“Junior Sister Bai, maybe you should go check on him? He hasn’t relapsed, has he?”

Urged on by the others, Bai Lingmiao walked over and asked cautiously, her voice laced with anxiety as she addressed Li Huowang, who was squatting on the ground. “Senior Brother Li, are you alright?”

She stole a glance and saw rows of characters in front of him. He was just staring at them.

Since Bai Lingmiao couldn’t read, she didn’t know what was written. Judging by his expression, those words must be very important to him.

Seeing that he wasn’t responding, Bai Lingmiao thought for a moment, then unhooked the drumstick from her waist, used it to prod the book beside Li Huowang, and flicked it away with a forceful shove, sending it tumbling a good distance.

“Senior Brother Li turned like this right after looking at that book. Maybe it’s bad luck.”

After doing this, Bai Lingmiao asked again, “Senior Brother Li, are you alright?”

Li Huowang, whose senses were usually so sharp, couldn’t hear a thing anyone was saying. He was completely fixated on the several lines of characters he had scratched into the dirt.

— I am Peng Zhi, one of the Three Corpses of a certain existence. (False) — I am one of the Zuowandao’s Big Three, Red Center. The Zuowandao deceived me before. I ordered them to do it. (False) — I am the one who killed the people in that dead town. (False) — *One of the Zuowandao’s higher-ups is also a Heart-Element. He lived for one hundred and ninety years and completely escaped the hallucinations. (?) *

Li Huowang stared at the fourth line, his mind churning through possibilities. “Could this one be true?”

Since others wanted Heart-Elements, they must be valuable. If they could use a Heart-Element, why couldn’t a Heart-Element use their own nature? Judging by the new ability he had just gained, a Heart-Element’s potential was probably far greater than he had ever imagined.

“If there really is a way, then it means this sickness of mine can be cured! I can become normal. No, maybe I can even completely control this power. If that really happened, no one would dare to deceive or harm me ever again!”

As he grew excited, Li Huowang felt his whole body fill with strength. Even the gloom that perpetually clung to his mood began to lift, replaced by a surging fervor.

But gradually, Li Huowang calmed down. All of this rested on one huge premise: that the Zuowandao had been telling the truth when they said that last bit.

Given his past dealings with the Zuowandao, that seemed pretty unlikely.

Li Huowang had no idea what the odds were that this last piece of information was true. But even if it was only a one-in-ten chance, it was still incredibly tempting to the man he was now.

He wanted it so badly.

It wasn’t just about getting stronger power. It also meant escaping this torment.

The constant, unpredictable shift between hallucination and reality was agonizing. The feeling he had experienced before, a pain worse than death, was something Li Huowang truly never wanted to go through again.

“Not now. After I escape Western Shu, maybe I can try to gather information on this. Step by step, making rational judgments.”

“I have to be cautious right now. I can’t just believe anything the Zuowandao says. True or false, I’ll take it one step at a time. Everything I do has to be based on what’s real.”

After carefully sorting through his thoughts, Li Huowang stood up. The next thing he saw was the others standing at a distance, looking at him with strange expressions.

“What are you all staring at me for? Do I have something written on my face?”

“No, nothing, nothing!” Yang Xiaohai picked up the big iron pot to carry on his back, but Gao Zhijian’s large hand reached over and lifted it for him.

The others also began gathering their luggage, acting like they were ready to get moving.

Li Huowang looked around, picked up the Book of Deception from where it had fallen, and stuffed it into his robe, preparing to continue on.

But just then, a sudden flash of insight struck him. “Wait a minute! Could those two swindlers be from the Zuowandao, too? And are they trying to trick me again?”

“No, I have to go back.”

His expression darkening, Li Huowang immediately pulled the Book of Deception back out of his robe and threw it on the ground. He then turned and headed back toward that flat-topped mountain without a moment’s pause.

This sudden turn of events left the others stunned. No one could figure out what was going on. For a moment, they were all silent.

“I’ll keep an eye on him. Just in case he has another episode on the way.” Chun Xiaoman finished speaking, then immediately picked up her sword and followed after him.

The rest of them waited. Two hours passed. When it was almost dark, they finally saw Li Huowang coming back down from the flat-topped mountain. Chun Xiaoman was following behind him, her face full of pity.

Li Huowang’s expression was noticeably better than when he had gone up. He looked like he had just let out a huge sigh of relief.

“What happened? What did he do?” Gouwa ran over to Chun Xiaoman and asked quietly.

“Those two swindlers… it was too cruel. Ah… way too cruel. Scamming people is wrong, but it’s not a crime that deserves death.”

“Why did Senior Brother Li do it?”

Chun Xiaoman’s lips parted, but no words came out, as if she didn’t know how to explain. “He wanted to see how many faces those two had. Turns out, they only had one.”

“Sss—” A chill ran down Gouwa’s spine.

“Enough talk. Let’s move while there’s still light. Don’t forget we’re still being hunted.”

Li Huowang’s words snapped them back to reality. The two hurried to catch up, making a silent pact not to discuss what had happened on the flat-topped mountain anymore.

Just as the others were about to set off again, another unexpected incident occurred.

“S-Senior Brother Li? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Li Huowang’s face was a mask of agony as he clutched his head with both hands. “Chains! Tie me up, now! It’s coming!”

“Senior Brother Li, we don’t have any chains! They’re all on the cart!”

“Dig a hole! Dig a hole and bury me! Hurry! Don’t let me run off!”

Before they could finish digging, Li Huowang was already back in the sterile-smelling hospital room.

Standing in front of him was a bespectacled young man in a white coat.

The man in the white coat smiled warmly and adjusted his glasses. “Li Huowang? You’re awake. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m your primary physician. My surname is Hou.”

“How are you feeling now? It seems like the periods when you’re lucid are getting shorter than before.”

Li Huowang looked around the room, then asked, “Where’s my mom?”

Doctor Hou’s face showed a warm, kind smile. He spoke to Li Huowang gently. “Your mother had to step out to take care of something. She was here just a few minutes ago, but you happened to be unconscious.”

“Li Huowang, if you truly care about your mother, then you need to cooperate with my treatment and get well as soon as possible. That’s how you can repay everything she’s doing for you.”

“Let’s talk. I know you think this place is an illusion. That’s fine. So tell me about that real world of yours, how about it?”

“It sounds like a lot of… interesting things have been happening over there lately.”