Severe-case

Story context

Get ready for a breather chapter—though in *Dao Gui Yi Xian*, "breather" means "Li Huowang walks around a psychiatric hospital feeling almost normal, which is suspicious in itself." Fresh off having his ankle shackles removed (a good sign for discharge!), our protagonist wanders the corridors of Kangning Hospital. He mediates a minor food theft, drops some harsh truths about the Chinese mental health caste system, and makes a chilling discovery about the empty severe-case ward. It’s a meditative, observational chapter that lets the reader catch their breath before the inevitable supernatural storm. But don’t get too comfortable—that banging at the far end of the hall? Yeah, that’s not nothing.

Why it matters

This is a palate-cleanser chapter that serves a few crucial narrative functions. First, it re-establishes Li Huowang’s baseline humanity and morality—he’s still the guy who will step in for the weak, even in a padded room. Second, it deepens the contrast between the mundane horror of systematic neglect (the rich idiot vs. the chained poor idiot) and the supernatural horror that usually plagues him. The world is broken even without the Dao-Twisted stuff. Finally, it plants a seed: that empty wing with a single banging door. In this story, empty spaces are never truly empty. They’re waiting. Fellow Daoists, I wouldn't get too attached to this quiet interlude—the other shoe is very likely a flesh-shoe, and it’s about to drop.

Quick facts

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Source novel

Dao Gui Yi Xian