Yang Na

“A complete and utter madman!” Yang Na’s father stared at the hysterical Li Huowang in the distance, his face twisting with deeper disgust. Because of this man, his daughter had become what she was.

Then, grabbing Yang Na’s thin arm, he prepared to drag her back the way they came.

Watching the two figures grow smaller and smaller, Li Huowang, his eyes bloodshot, stumbled and lunged at the chain-link fence. “She’ll turn back! Yes, that’s right! They’ll turn around any second!”

His eyes wide and bulging, Li Huowang stared unblinkingly at their backs, pouring every ounce of his will into controlling the innate pneuma within him that he could not even feel!

“Turn around! Turn around! TURN AROUND NOW!!” As he pressed his face harder against the fence, the crisscrossing wires carved his twisted features into a grid of diamond-shaped segments.

When he saw Yang Na struggle free of her father’s grip and run back toward him, her face streaked with tears, the corners of Li Huowang’s mouth lifted. He was smiling. “Hahaha! It worked!! I can cultivate for real in this world!”

Looking at the tearful Yang Na before him, Li Huowang had never felt such joy. His idea had worked!

He gripped her thin hand, his voice trembling. “Yang Na, wait for me! Give me three years! No—two! Just give me two more years! Everything will go back to the way it was when we were in school together, when it was good!”

Yang Na shook her head violently, her black hair sticking to her tear-streaked cheeks.

Suddenly, she felt her lower body lighten; her father had hoisted her over his shoulder, trying to pull her away from the fence.

“How long are you going to stay obsessed with this! Can’t you see he’s completely lost his mind? If you can’t forget him, how can you ever get better! He’s going to ruin your whole life!”

But no matter how hard he pulled, their hands remained tightly clasped.

In tears, Yang Na strained with all her strength, leaning her head forward. Through the cold wire mesh, she pressed a heavy kiss onto Li Huowang’s cracked lips.

Feeling the softness of her lips, Li Huowang was suddenly back on that rooftop at dusk.

He wished, more than anything, that he could stop thinking about everything else and just stay in this moment forever.

But it was not meant to be. When Li Huowang saw how the strain was pulling Yang Na’s thin waist almost to its breaking point, his heart ached. He quickly let go of her hands.

“Na’na! Go back and be safe! Two years! In two years, I’ll come find you!” Li Huowang shouted after her.

And Yang Na, slumped over her father’s shoulder, finally let out a raw, heart-wrenching sob.

Li Huowang only stopped shouting when she had vanished from his sight once more.

He stared blankly for a long time, then let out a breath. Gripping the fence with both hands, he pulled himself to his feet.

As he turned to pick up the broom from the ground, he saw Sun Xiaoqin standing there with one doctor and three orderlies. It seemed they had witnessed everything.

“Five people?” His alertness spiked instantly. He did a forward roll, grabbed the broom from the floor, and assumed a sword-stance starting pose. “Stay back! Anyone who takes another step forward—don’t blame me for what happens!”

Sun Xiaoqin winced in pain and was about to speak when the young doctor stopped her. He pulled her aside, whispered a few words, and then walked back.

“Li Huowang, don’t worry, we’re not going to come near you. Can you tell me why you’re so concerned about the number five? Is four people not enough?” With a light wave of his hand, the three orderlies and Sun Xiaoqin retreated into the building in the distance.

“Is it because you encountered danger over there? Five people are trying to harm you? You’re not the only one with this kind of symptom.”

Li Huowang, holding the broom like a sword, stared intently at the doctor’s wire-rimmed glasses. “Doctor, I just want some quiet time. I won’t do anything. Just for a little while.”

“Of course, that’s perfectly fine. You see, I’m not doing anything to you, am I? Are you waiting to go back to the other world? That’s okay. As long as you don’t have a stress reaction, you can do whatever you want.”

Having calmed Li Huowang down, the doctor took off his white lab coat, draped it over one arm, then, as if lifting a cap, picked up his toupee, shook it out, and put it back on.

“Li Huowang, since I’ve done what you asked, can you do me a small favor? Honestly, I don’t really want to deal with you, but what can I do? I have to turn in a report. If you don’t give me any material, I have to make things up every day, and it’s making my hair fall out.”

Seeing that Li Huowang was silent, the doctor pushed his glasses up with his index finger. “Really not saying anything? If you won’t help me, then I won’t help you. I’ll just go find five people to come and drag you back.”

“Wait!” Li Huowang frowned at the doctor, his mind racing. What was happening over there that was being twisted into this situation here? Was this doctor one of those five people?

No matter what, I have to placate this doctor first. If I can just stay calm until I come to, I’ll be safe.

After a moment’s thought, Li Huowang spoke. “What do you want to ask?”

“Nothing much. I’m just… not quite sure. Watching you say goodbye to that girl like it was a matter of life and death… do you think this world is real, or do you think it’s fake?”

A flicker of confusion passed through Li Huowang’s eyes. “Fake… No! Real! It has to be real!”

The doctor nodded, taking a small step closer. “Let’s put the ‘real’ part aside for now. First, let’s talk about why you think it’s fake.”

Hearing this, Li Huowang shook his head vigorously. “No! This is real! Everything here is real!”

“I know you want to get better, but forcing yourself to believe a lie won’t work. Let me think… Is it because of too many coincidences? Every time you wake up, something or other happens? Like Yang Na showing up just now?”

At these words, Li Huowang’s mind went cold. He stared calmly at the doctor. “You’ve read my past medical records? I’ve only said that to my previous doctors.”

“It doesn’t matter who I heard it from. What I want you to understand is that these aren’t coincidences. You might be stuck in a hallucination for long periods, but that doesn’t mean you’re completely unaware of what’s happening here.”

“What do you mean?” Li Huowang’s brow furrowed.

Seeing that he had Li Huowang’s attention, the doctor explained slowly. “Li Huowang, when you fall into a hallucination, your subconscious is still receiving information from your surroundings. When it picks up something that matters to you, it calls your waking self back.”

“So you see? The coincidences that happen every time you wake up aren’t random. It’s your own heart that longed for those coincidences, which is why your waking self came back.”

“I even did a small experiment to test this. Earlier, I had your girlfriend call while your mother was feeding you, to tell you she was coming. Your subconscious picked up that conversation. Yang Na was coming, and you… you longed to see her.”