Self-Preservation

Chapter 594: Self-Preservation

Wang Wei said nothing, but Li Huowang could still read the answer he wanted from the man's expression. "Back then, you were testing me through them, weren't you?"

Wang Wei took a deep breath, his expression hardening with resolve. "Xiao Li, I was your primary doctor. I have a way to maximize your ability and make you comfortable in both worlds!"

Li Huowang shook his head and casually tossed the paper onto the bedside. "Sorry, no can do."

"What, are you afraid I'm using you? Whether you can bring things back from that side is entirely up to you; I can't force you! First, take out a Yang Life Pill and let me see it with my own eyes. Everything else is negotiable."

Li Huowang shook his head again. "No. What I meant by 'no can do' is that I'm cured. I don't have those random hallucinations anymore."

"What did you say?" The words had barely left Wang Wei's mouth when a tremendous force from behind slammed him to the ground, his face pressed hard against the floor.

By the time Wang Wei's hands were cuffed behind his back and he was hauled upright, he found himself surrounded by several grim-faced prison police officers. He also recognized the man in the white coat beside them—Li Huowang's current primary physician, Yi Donglai.

"Doctor Wang, you're sick. Sick people need medicine and treatment." Li Huowang's tone was very calm.

That was right. He had simply reported Wang Wei's actions to Yi Donglai. Since others could be used, why should Li Huowang have to do it himself? Besides, if things went south with Wang Wei, his own discharge date would probably be delayed again.

Wang Wei, now in the grip of the prison police, struggled fiercely, his eyes locked onto Li Huowang as he screamed wildly: "Locking me away won't do you any good! I'm nothing! But the potential of your ability is too great! You can't hide it forever!"

The struggling Wang Wei was forcibly dragged away by the officers. The ward was left with only Li Huowang and Yi Donglai.

"Don't worry. His illness is quite severe. It shouldn't be a problem for him to bother you again anytime soon."

"I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about something else."

"About your illness? Don't worry. Your condition has been very stable. Even with him provoking you like that, you didn't show any signs of a relapse." Yi Donglai said to Li Huowang.

"Is that so? You really think that's good? Then I want to ask you, what the hell was North Wind talking about just now! How did it feel like you were the one picking a fight this time?" Li Huowang clutched his lotus-root head, now covered in flesh, and shouted his accusation at the Sitian Jian before him.

The Sitian Jian was silent for a moment before speaking. "Something has happened. That's why I need your help now."

"Help? What can I do to help you? Aren't I your Heart-Pan?" Li Huowang retorted.

"On this Way of ours, why be so clear-cut? Aren't I just you?"

Li Huowang rubbed his aching lotus-root head, now wrapped in bloody flesh. "I finally got some peace. Can't I just have a stable period for a while?"

"You chose this path. My choice is your choice. You shouldn't complain."

"Fine. What do you want me to do?" Li Huowang asked, sounding resigned.

"The Zuowandao are all dead now. This is our chance. You need to help me seize the True and False Ways from Yin-Yang Doumu."

Li Huowang nearly laughed in exasperation. "Ha! And how exactly am I supposed to do that? Me, a mortal, helping you fight a Siming who controls two Ways?"

"Besides, don't we control Bewilderment? Can't we just mind our own Way? Why do we have to fight Yin-Yang Doumu to the death? I'm really tired. Can't you let me rest for a few years first?"

The Sitian Jian before him spoke again. "I'm not looking for trouble. I'm just trying to protect myself. Don't forget, helping me is helping yourself. If anything happens to me, everything that has happened before will be rewritten."

"Protect yourself?" A chill ran through Li Huowang's heart as he looked at Ji Zai before him. "What exactly is happening in the White Jade Capital? What could possibly threaten a Siming like you?"

"Think about it. Why did the Sitian Jian want to seize the Mountain God's Eye? And why did The Dice go to such lengths to possess the Dragon Vein? They could all feel this storm brewing. Don't tell me you couldn't feel it too."

His mind starting to churn again, Li Huowang sat there silently, thinking about everything that had happened.

He had sensed it too, vaguely. But Li Huowang had always felt that these major events had nothing to do with him. When the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up.

But he had never imagined that his future self would become one of those tall ones.

"Is it Yu'er Shen?" Li Huowang asked, recalling the crumbling Great Qi and glancing at the autumn-harvest-clad figure beside him.

Everything that had happened before seemed to be connected to this Yu'er Shen. Especially the sun over Great Qi, which Sky Dog had devoured more than half of.

"Yu'er Shen isn't the only one. If it were just Yu'er Shen, things would be easy." Ji Zai's words cast a dark shadow over Li Huowang's heart.

"What else is there besides Yu'er Shen? Where did they all come from? What do they want?"

"I can't tell you that. First, if I tell you, they'll know about you. Second, the you of the future didn't tell the you of the present."

A flicker of confusion passed through Li Huowang's eyes. He couldn't understand what this guy was saying.

"If you want me to help you seize the True and False Ways, you at least have to let me know what the next step is!"

"You could start with North Wind. Find the Heart-Pans that Doumu has hidden and eliminate them. Leave the rest to me." With those words, the Sitian Jian's body gradually dissipated like yellow sand.

"Damn it! You tell me this now? North Wind was just taken away by the Supervisory Heavenly Office! With the Sitian Jian's guard up against me, how can he possibly let me near North Wind again?"

But it seemed Ji Zai could no longer hear him.

Irritated, Li Huowang lay down on the bed and closed his eyes.

He was reluctant, but Li Huowang understood that he had no choice in this matter. It affected his future self, and it affected the future of Great Liang.

No matter what was to come, stacking as much strength as possible now was never a bad idea.

That way, even if he couldn't save the whole world, he could at least save the people he cared about.

"Ji Zai is unreliable. I'll have to find my own way... There seems to be another path. I need to think this through carefully..."

The events of that night did not cause a stir, because very few people knew about them.

After all, it was New Year's Eve. Most people were busy celebrating and watching the Spring Festival Gala, too preoccupied to pay attention to anything else.

But while others didn't know, the wardens certainly did. This knowledge was reflected in Li Huowang's treatment: the handcuffs and shackles he had been wearing were finally removed.

Yet something else made Sun Xiaoqin even happier.