Saving Someone

"Even though we took heavy losses this time, overall, we won. The Fa Sect tried to ambush us, and instead they ended up losing the chicken while trying to steal the bait—they threw away two Dragon Veins for nothing."

Inside a simple single-story house, Xuanpin addressed Li Huowang.

Xuanpin, the Chief Astrologer of the Great Liang's Supervisory Heavenly Office, sounded deeply satisfied. A note of admiration crept into his voice. "To enter the Earth Dragon's belly and still walk out alive… The day I first saw you, I knew you had potential."

"You've been a great help. If we keep this up, we should be able to eradicate the Fa Sect soon enough."

Li Huowang couldn't be bothered to engage. He sat with a dagger, slicing raw meat into pieces and feeding them into his abdomen to nourish Li Sui.

The kid had been through hell on this journey with him. Her body was badly hurt, too.

"Still, you need to be careful from now on. You made the Fa Sect pay a heavy price. They won't forget your face."

Li Huowang hooked a finger around one of Li Sui's tentacles, then carefully tucked it back into his belly. "When I was inside the Earth Dragon, why didn't you come save me with the others?"

"We avoided the Earth Dragon, but the enemy wasn't just sitting there waiting. It was a trap within a trap. For those of us who didn't fall for the first one, they had other ambushes waiting."

Li Huowang had nothing more to say. He didn't want to speculate about what Xuanpin was really thinking, or whether his words were true or false.

Lean on the mountain, and the mountain falls. Lean on the water, and the water flows. Even someone who seems to be on your side can't be trusted.

"Word is… the White Lotus Saintess isn't doing so well?"

At Xuanpin's words, Li Huowang's expression turned dark. His hands stopped moving. Miao-miao had survived, but she wasn't well. Not well at all.

Her flesh had been too badly damaged. Even with the Bai Clan's animal immortal stepping in, they could only patch her up with the immortal's own flesh. She looked more beast than human now.

And even then, she was dreadfully weak. She needed rest.

"He said he was saving someone," Li Huowang said abruptly, without context. "Who was he saving?"

Xuanpin blinked. "Hm? What are you talking about?"

"I said, he said he was saving someone. Who was he actually saving?"

"Save me! Get me the hell out of here!! What good is it making me talk to a phone all day, answering question after question?!"

"Qian Fu. If you want to get out, you need to do exactly as I say." Li Huowang stood outside the Intensive Suppression Room, staring at him with dead seriousness.

When he finished speaking, he pulled out his phone again and tapped the record button.

This routine didn't last long, though. Qian Fu couldn't keep it up for more than a few minutes before the nurses kicked Li Huowang out.

As Li Huowang walked out of Kangning Hospital, he scrolled quickly through his phone, reviewing the recordings he'd made. It was time to meet Qian Fu's family.

He could feel them lying in wait. They were biding their time, looking for an opening, ready to pounce the moment the opportunity presented itself. He couldn't just sit around waiting for it to happen.

Li Huowang didn't know what else might happen if he waited any longer. His priority now was to get Qian Fu out of the hospital.

But when he reached the hospital's main gate and saw the undercover police pretending to be taxi drivers, he hesitated.

Shaking off his own surveillance and getting Qian Fu out wasn't something he could just pull off on a whim. Besides, he was too conspicuous right now. He needed help.

"Nana, I need you to do me a favor." Li Huowang turned to Yang Na, who was holding his arm.

"You want to break that crazy uncle out, don't you?" Yang Na, who had been with him long enough, had clearly caught on.

"Huowang, I'll help you with anything. But can I ask you one thing first? Why do you want to save him?" Her voice was soft, and she looked seriously into his face.

Li Huowang hesitated for a long moment. In the end, he didn't bring up Qian Fu's whole "alien" theory. That would be too ridiculous for words.

"He knows things. Inside information about the attackers that day. I need to get him out. I can't just sit here and wait for the next one!"

Yang Na's face was troubled. She opened her mouth, then closed it again.

"I know he's a mental patient. But he really does know something! Yang Na! Trust me! Everything I'm saying is true!" Li Huowang grabbed her hands tightly, staring intently at her lovely face.

After a moment’s hesitation, Yang Na glanced at the rideshare car waiting by the hospital entrance. Then, she laced her fingers through his. "Alright. What do I need to do?"

Li Huowang let out a long, deep breath. "Simple. You don't have to take any risks. Just take your phone to a place and find a person. When you see her, call me on video so I can talk to her."

He’d already learned from Qian Fu that his daughter paid the treatment fees to Kangning Hospital every month. To get Qian Fu out, he had to work through her.

"Okay." Yang Na nodded. "Then let's split up. You go home and behave. I'll go find her for you."

When he saw Yang Na reach the bus stop by the hospital and wave at him through the rear window, Li Huowang immediately pulled out his phone and typed rapidly. "Turn on location sharing and recording. Don't turn them off."

Logically, just passing on a message should be safe. But Li Huowang figured it was better to be cautious.

Yang Na's reply came quickly. "Okay. Are you worried about me? (ˊˋ)*."

For the next while, Li Huowang waited anxiously, watching her location dot move bit by bit on his phone.

Yang Na sent messages periodically, updating him on her route. She was more lively over text than she usually was in person.

"Brother Huowang, I'm on the subway now. (ˊˋ)"

"(`) Ugh, no seats. I have to stand. You owe me an ice cream after this."

"() Huohuo, () Huohuo, I'm off the subway. Now I'm switching to the bus."

Finally, after a long wait, Li Huowang was back home when Yang Na's video call came through.

As soon as he answered, he saw Yang Na's puzzled face. "Huowang, are you sure this is the place? It doesn't feel right."

"Hold up your phone. Let me see."

As the camera rose, Li Huowang saw the surroundings. Narrow, uneven streets. Windows draped with drying laundry. Yellowed walls. Houses of mismatched heights. It looked like an urban village.

Li Huowang had stayed at Kangning. He knew it was a private hospital. The fees were steep. If Qian Fu's daughter lived here, she shouldn't be able to afford the bills.