Definition
A karmic curse or parasitic entity that clings to its victim, causing endless suffering. In this novel, it is implied that the only release may be death, as Zhuge Yuan was forced to grant his own friend.
Spiritual
A karmic curse or parasitic entity that clings to its victim, causing endless suffering. In this novel, it is implied that the only release may be death, as Zhuge Yuan was forced to grant his own friend.
Story context
Li Huowang plays a new, delicate game: he pretends to cooperate with an eager young doctor in the psychiatric ward, using online gaming small talk as both a shield and a potential escape route from constant surveillance. The moment he masters the timing of his own psychotic breaks, he slips back into the Dao-Twisted World, where the meal he eats is split between two realities—his mother feeding him in a hospital bed while he physically chews the braised rice in a small caravan camp. The chapter then pivots to a new investigation: a silent, resin-dripping peach grove that might hold the key to the elusive “Spiritual Scourge.” Zhuge Yuan’s voice returns, carrying a tragic memory of a friend who begged for death, as Li Huowang steps into the uncanny stillness.
Why it matters
Get ready to see Li Huowang at his most strategically detached. This chapter is a masterclass in compartmentalization—he can now smile at a doctor, chew rice in two bodies, and lie to his own companions with a straight face. The horror isn’t in the monsters but in how smoothly he’s learning to wear masks. Pay close attention to the double-feeding scene: it’s the novel’s most intimate visual of his split between worlds, and it’s *sad*, not triumphant. And that peach grove? The silence is a promise. Something is waiting inside, and Zhuge Yuan’s tragic confession is the first real hint that this hunt might not end with a cure—but with a mercy kill.
Quick facts
Source novel
Dao Gui Yi Xian
First appearance
Conversation
Chapter references
1
Type hints
Li Huowang, Yi Donglai, psychologist
Guide tags
psychological horror, body horror, split reality
Appears in chapters
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Related terms
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