Mutated Tao

Once Yang Xiaohai saw Senior Li walk out, he sighed in relief, finally allowing himself to relax. Meanwhile, the rest of them continued eating and talking. However, there wasn’t much to talk about and soon, their conversation turned toward the group of beggars outside.

“I don’t recall seeing so many beggars along the way. Where did these people come from?” asked Sun Baolu.

Hearing this question, Yang Xiaohai placed a piece of guokui into a bowl of congee before taking it and going outside. “Let me ask them.”

Puppy stared at Yang Xiaohai’s back and said, “What an understanding child. If it wasn’t for the fact that he needs to return home, I would’ve kept him as my son.”

“Son? You mean to say you would use him as a servant, don’t you?” commented one of the guiding drug ingredients.

Puppy saw that his ploy had been seen through, but merely chuckled.

Meanwhile, when the beggars saw Yang Xiaohai walk out, all of them focused their attention toward the broken bowl in his hand. Some of them even started singing to gain his attention.

Yang Xiaohai ignored all of them and approached the child beggar that was pushed down earlier. The child was standing in a corner and looked ever so pitiful, just like how he was earlier.

“Let me ask you something; if you can answer me, then this guokui will be yours,” said Yang Xiaohai.

“Where did you guys come from?” asked Yang Xiaohai.

“East. We came here from the east! Also, we are not beggars! I followed my parents to run away,” replied the child. “However, halfway through, I was kidnapped by someone else. Somehow, I managed to escape. That was how I ended up as a beggar.”

Hearing this answer, Yang Xiaohai pulled out the guokui that had been softened by the congee and gave it to him.

Immediately, the child scarfed down the entire guokui, ignoring the fact that it was scalding hot.

“Why did you guys run? Was there a disaster?” Yang Xiaohai continued his questions.

As the young boy licked the bits of congee stuck on the guokui and swallowed it, he nodded. “Yeah. But we wouldn’t have left behind our fields if it was just the drought or the floods; we had to run because the soldiers were going to war. All of us had to run away because of the soldiers. There were so many of them. The soldiers ransacked our village and took away everything. Some of the villages were completely destroyed because of that.”

Just as Yang Xiaohai was about to ask something else, a large shadow enveloped him. It was Gao Zhijian. He stuttered, “They… they… they are not soldiers… going… t-to… war… They… they… they are… the defeated soldiers!”

“Senior Gao, does this mean that there is a war going on right now?” Yang Xiaohai raised his head and looked at Gao Zhijian’s wide chin.

When he saw that Yang Xiaohai did not look down on him for his stuttering, Gao Zhijian was pleasantly surprised. He gently patted Yang Xiaohai’s head with his large hands. “Th-that’s… right.”

Yang Xiaohai turned around to the child that had been frightened by the giant Gao Zhijian. “Are they really at war? Why did I not hear anything about it before? Did you say that your house was located in the eastern direction? Can you tell me where the war is happening in detail?”

“I’m sorry but I only know that my house is located in the east,” replied the child.

Looking at how the child did not know much about this matter, Yang Xiaohai turned around to look at the older beggars. “What are you guys doing, talking so much with the beggars? Come back and eat first. We have to wash the bowls later on,” called out one of the guiding drug ingredients.

Upon hearing those words, Yang Xiaohai became a lot more alert.

“Let me wash the bowls! I will wash them!” said Yang Xiaohai as he turned around and walked inside.

When the child saw Yang Xiaohai’s clean shoes and then stared back at his own feet that had turned purple due to the cold weather, he felt quite envious. “I wish I was bought by them.”

“Senior brother Cao Cao, the beggars came here to escape the war happening in the east,” Yang Xiaohai went back to the table and reported his findings.

“It’s fine. The war does not concern us. Sun Baolu was only asking about it out of curiosity. No need to think of his words as some kind of a sacred decree. It’s not like he’s an emperor,” said Puppy.

Meanwhile, Li Huowang was lying down on a white hospital bed, feeling conflicted. Looking at his surroundings, he realized that within his hallucinations, he had been transferred to a normal ward from the ICU.

At this moment, he was holding a round jade pendant. Back on the other side, he had threaded it, wearing it like a necklace.

He could recall that he had given this piece of jade to Yang Na, but now, it had mysteriously appeared here.

As for how it returned back to him, Li Huowang was no longer concerned about that. Currently, he was thinking about what Doctor Li had said to him during their last meeting.

Right, Little Li, didn’t you say that you could bring something belonging to that world back here, and that’s why you thought this world was fake? Then, have you tried bringing something from here to there? Maybe you will find an unexpected answer.

Looking at the round jade pendant, Li Huowang decided what he had to do and placed the jade pendant back inside his hospital gown.

No harm in trying. What if it actually works?

But when that question appeared in his mind, he paused.

What if it works? What would it mean? Would it mean that Bai Lingmiao and the rest are fakes? Or would it mean that both sides are real?

Li Huowang didn’t know, and at this point, he didn’t care. He would try it first before coming up with a plan.

Time slowly passed as he waited for the result. He really hated how time seemed to be passing slower and slower, to the point that it almost felt like he had been waiting for an entire year.

Finally, when a nurse changed his medications, he felt the world around him slowly start to crumble.

Back in the old room, Li Huowang touched his chest and found the jade pendant, causing his expression to freeze.

Then, without even bothering to wear his clothes, he rummaged through the bed before pulling out another identical jade pendant. He was perplexed.

Two? How could there be two jade pieces? Why are there two pieces?

Li Huowang felt his mind going into disarray. He had considered the possibility that he might be able to take something from the other side and bring it back here, but to think this would end up being the result.

“Huowang.” At that moment, a soft female voice was heard. It belonged to Yang Na.

Hearing the voice, Li Huowang looked at the door, astonished.

How did Yang Na get here? Wasn’t she just a part of my hallucination?

“Senior Li” This time it was Bai Lingmiao’s voice.

Then, the door opened with a creak as it was pushed open from the other side.

When he saw the ‘thing’ walking toward him, Li Huowang was extremely terrified.

“NO! NO! STAY AWAY!!” Li Huowang sat up from the bed, covered in cold sweat.

Looking at the old furniture around him, he realized that everything had just been a dream, a result of what he was concerned about during the day.

But just as he was about to lay back down, a sudden thought popped up in his head.

Was that really a dream?

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