Mutated Tao

“Yang Na, go to the address Qian Fu gave us and see if you can find anything.”

“Okay, but the houses here are built in a very disorganized way,” Yang Na said.

The camera shook as she moved. After searching for a while, Yang Na quickly found the address Qian Fu had given them in a small alley.

At the end of the alley, there was a two-story cement house. The cement was roughly applied, and there was colorful graffiti drawn by children.

The door on the second floor was locked, which was the address indicated.

Smack! The sound of a bowl breaking came from inside the house, followed by the crisp sound of a slap.

Yang Na stepped back in fright, but then cautiously moved forward.

“Money, money, money! All you care about is money! How much do I earn in a month?!” A man’s rough shouting came from inside.

A woman could be heard sobbing, “You promised when you married me! You said you’d take care of Dad’s medical expenses!”

“And you still dare mention your father! No wonder he loves money so much! How much has he swallowed over the years?! Why isn’t he dead yet?! How long is he going to keep tormenting our family?!”

The sound of bowls breaking and furniture falling echoed from inside, mixed with a girl’s suppressed cries.

Li Huowang heard their argument and realized they had found the right place. He quickly thought it over and had an idea. “Excuse me, is Qian Peiling here?”

“Who is it?” A scruffy man with a beard wearing a yellow scooter helmet came out, looking displeased.

His face showed a trace of impatience when he saw the face of a young student on the phone screen.

If it weren’t for the fact that the person holding the phone was a beautiful woman, he would have started cursing immediately. “What do you want?”

“Hello, Mister Qian has asked me to tell you he doesn’t want to stay at Kangning Hospital anymore. He wants to leave. Nana, I sent you a video. Play it for them.”

Soon, Qian Fu’s thin face appeared on the screen as he complained miserably. After his daughter and son-in-law watched the video, their argument became even more heated.

As the argument grew louder, their neighbors started peeking out to watch. The couple felt embarrassed, and they shut the door to resume their argument inside.

Yang Na did not leave. She quietly waited as instructed by Li Huowang.

After lunch, when he saw the man leave on his scooter, Li Huowang quickly told her to follow him.

“Did you know that there’s a hospital better than Kangning Hospital? It’s cheaper and treats patients well, so it would burden you less.”

“But, there’s one downside. There are fewer surveillance cameras.”

Li Huowang quickly engaged in conversation, but the man remained indifferent.

“Huowang, it’s useless,” Yang Na said. From her expression, it was unclear if she was disappointed or relieved.

“No, it’s useful. If it weren’t, he wouldn’t have listened to my nonsense just now.”

“But he didn’t agree to anything in the end.”

Li Huowang smiled slightly and said, “It’s our first meeting, and he doesn’t know us well. How could he share his true thoughts with us? Look at him just now. Does he really want Qian Fu to keep wasting money at Kangning Hospital?”

He continued, “He doesn’t want to be the bad guy or be seen as an unfilial son. He needs us to give him a push.”

“How do we give him a push?” Yang Na asked.

Li Huowang opened his mouth to speak but then shook his head. “Never mind. You should come back. We’ll revisit Kangning Hospital tomorrow.”

Three days later, Qian Fu had to undergo gastric lavage after he swallowed a foreign object. His daughter and son-in-law also conveniently found out about it.

The issue was quickly resolved, and Qian Fu was transferred to the hospital Li Huowang had mentioned.

Li Huowang chose this place, and not just because it was cheaper. He was familiar with it since he had stayed there before, plus it was close to his neighborhood.

After the transfer, Qian Fu’s condition seemed to improve. He no longer had to stay in a locked ward.

Time passed and the surveillance around Li Huowang eased up. One night, Li Huowang climbed over the neighborhood wall with his prepared supplies.

He rode the scooter Yang Na had arranged and went to the psychiatric hospital where Qian Fu was staying.

Li Huowang skillfully climbed the wall, avoided the cameras, and quietly sneaked Qian Fu out of the hospital.

Qian Fu changed from the striped hospital gowns into the clothes Li Huowang had prepared.

Qian Fu was finally free. Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked around and breathed in the fresh air of freedom. Suddenly, he rushed to a garbage heap, picked up some leftover food, and ate ravenously.

“Stop eating that!” Li Huowang pulled him away forcibly and led him into a secluded alley.

After nervously checking that no one was around, Li Huowang asked urgently, “I’ve set you free, so it’s time for you to help me. How can we deal with those people?”

“Don’t worry. You were alone before, which was inconvenient. Now we’re on the same side, so I can help you fight them!”

“Stop with the nonsense! I asked how to deal with them. Don’t tell me that you have no way. If you say that, I’ll throw you back in the psychiatric hospital right now!”

“No, there is a way.” Qian Fu quickly waved his hands, seemingly frightened. “They are watching you, but not me or my friends.”

“I’ll go find our friends now. You saved me, so my friends are your friends. You can be the bait once we have enough people, and we’ll catch them all. Don’t worry—they’re not as powerful as you think!”

Li Huowang was somewhat skeptical but decided to meet Qian Fu’s friends out of curiosity. He wondered if Qian Fu’s friends could also see those people.

“Alright, here’s my old phone and an unregistered SIM card,” Li Huowang said, handing him the phone. “Contact me through this phone from now on.”

Li Huowang was about to let him go when Qian Fu grabbed him tightly with a terrified expression on his face. “No! They’re targeting me now! They’re trying to turn me into one of them! Help me, please!”

“What?” Li Huowang was baffled. He saw Qian Fu suddenly change and look at him in surprise.

“Li Huowang? Where is this? What’s going on? Why am I not in the hospital?”

“Damn it!” Li Huowang almost spat out blood in frustration at this sudden change. He had forgotten that Qian Fu had a split personality!

“No! I need to go back! I need to go back to the psychiatric hospital! I need to receive treatment!”

Qian Fu struggled to leave but was tackled by Li Huowang. A sharp knife was pressed against his throat. “Don’t move!”

Qian Fu was clearly terrified by Li Huowang’s actions. “Li... Li Huowang, calm down. You need to calm down. Did you not take your medication today? Be good. Take your medicine first.”

Qian Fu continued, “We may be psychiatric patients, but we can’t give up on ourselves! If we persist with treatment, we’ll get better.”

“Shut up! Get up!”

With a fierce expression, Li Huowang dragged Qian Fu deeper into the alley by the neck.

Qian Fu was visibly scared of Li Huowang, and his face had turned ashen.

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