Chapter 224 - Xiaodan, You've Returned

"What are you?" The shaman didn't know what he was facing. There was no way a man like that could take care of those entities without moving. Then, he remembered. "Shit! It's Hades!" He then readied a soul attack, but he suddenly fell down. His body was already too tired to even try and fight this super-monster. "No… I won't let you harm the people in the Rooms Hall… not when… I… am alive..."

"Relax, I'm not harming anyone. I'm here to see my friends, if they're doing well. You don't have to be so guarded against me." Liu Xiaodan continued walking since the barrier faded from the shaman's exhaustion. He was actually wearing a smile when he walked past the shaman, only to stop at the scene before him.

How bad was it for the palace to be like this? Blood was everywhere, and multiple bodies were mutilated on the floor. Three Kings were also dead on the scene… it was like these people tried to stop the Kings from getting any nearer to the patients.

The smile gradually dropped from his lips. Liu Xiaodan then looked down at where Guangru stood. "Guangru, can you do something for him?"

"He's protected. If I break his protection, then other entities would be able to possess him." Guangru walked forward to deal with the bodies. 

Liu Xiaodan was left to approach the struggling shaman, and then he remembered the granola bar Li Feng forced him to keep on his person. Since he didn't really need to eat anymore, he just gave the granola bar to the shaman. "Here, this is for forcing your body to protect them all. I have friends here, and I want to thank you."

"What?" The shaman still received it. "...are you really Hades?"

"Please call me Xiaodan." Liu Xiaodan then turned to the cleaned scene. "I have to go to the fourth floor now, okay? Try to hide while resting. The Sick Hall and the Food and Leisure Hall are both clear at the moment. There shouldn't be anything else that would attack you."

"...okay..." The shaman supported himself and walked to the corner to sit and recover his strength. Even if he was not hungry, he still made use of the granola bar. His trembling hands managed to open the packaging, and his tired body grew excited at the smell of food. When he turned to find Liu Xiaodan while chewing, the young man was already gone. The shaman frowned. "Why do I feel deceived?"

…

The staircase to the fourth floor was locked, but Guangru could deal with the locks. Liu Xiaodan walked into the fourth floor and instantly felt home. However, when he got to his room, the black bear wasn't there anymore. When he turned to the side, he figured the others should be there as well.

Of course, Chen Anna's and Min Ye's rooms were vacant. Then, he passed by a room with someone inside. He took a look at the overlooking box panel and saw the oldest woman among them. She was seated there, rubbing her arms. As if feeling the gaze coming from the door, she turned to find a person looking into her room. She got to her feet and approached the person.

"Xiaodan?" She barely recognized the man, and the young man nodded. "You came back? Wait, aren't you supposed to be in the Treatment Hall? Did everyone come back already?"

"Not yet, but I will fetch them if I could." Liu Xiaodan smiled even if he couldn't get her out of there. Actually, Guangru said that there was a powerful formation on the floor. Kings would surely be scorched by this formation just by standing in this place. It's better to leave her inside. "You're safe inside your room. Don't have to leave. This will end soon."

The woman nodded before twitching, "Right, we have a new boy, and it's even his first day here. He's rooming three doors to my left. Can you check up on him? He was wheeled here earlier by Dr. Jiu, but the doctor left him alone. The boy couldn't move around. He must be very scared on his own."

Liu Xiaodan actually froze when he heard it. His hand trembled against the door, and his face paled as he thought about the picture. The woman wasn't blind to his reaction, but she was really scared to ask about it. However, she still did. "Do you… do you Jin, Xiaodan? He's really protective of your misadventures earlier in the session..."

"I'll check it out." Liu Xiaodan didn't answer her question and just turned away to walk off. The father counted the doors and then slowly walked towards the door the other patient meant. The overlooking panel was closed from the outside so Liu Xiaodan had to slide it open if he wanted to see what's inside. 

"Xiaodan, you've returned. Hurry, he missed you a lot." Old Xiong's voice echoed, and the father slid the panel resolutely. What he saw was a young man sleeping on the bed peacefully. His skin was hidden by a lot of bandages as if he was burned all over. That very image made Liu Xiaodan's aura colder than ice.

Guangru opened the door for him, and Liu Xiaodan carefully walked towards Ruan Jin as if scared of actually waking him up. He didn't know how to face Ruan Jin when the latter was like this. What happened to him? Who did this to him? This shouldn't happen if Ye Ling was still inside him. Liu Xiaodan kneeled down at the side of the bed and stroked at Ruan Jin's head.

All of a sudden, Ruan Jin's eyes opened as if he was actually awake. He felt something stroked at his head, and so he caught the image of the man next to him. However, Liu Xiaodan's face was so pale like Ruan Jin was the one who stopped being human.

"Xiaodan?" Ruan Jin's eyes widened, but he could barely move his body. At least, unlike the last time, his fingers could twitch, and his knees somewhat had movements in them. Moreover… he could talk a little. "Xiaodan..."

"Jin, what are you doing here? What happened to you?" Liu Xiaodan ended up crying at the state of his best friend. Who in the right mind would do this to a human being? If Ruan Jin was like this when they came, Li Feng had probably told him, but from the man's lips, he even said that Ruan Jin was participating in a project along with them. It's just… things changed one night.

"...don't know… but… Dr. Jiu… he's… somewhat… helping… I can't… even talk earlier..." Ruan Jin wanted to move and touch Liu Xiaodan just to make sure it wasn't a delusion. Then again, even his delusions would probably feel so real. It was all a delusion until Guangru popped from the other side of the 'frame'. 

"Hi, Jin."