Li Huowang rode his motorcycle slowly down the lane, with Yang Na seated behind him.
He intentionally freed one hand to grip Yang Na’s hands, fearing she might fall.
Yang Na clung tightly to Li Huowang, her long hair fluttering in the breeze. “Huowang... where are we going?”
“Home.”
“Home? Why go home? It’s all fake and all just projections. I’m now the Heavenly Mater. I’m like you now—a Siming, a deity of the world.”
Li Huowang felt a sharp jolt in his heart. At that moment, he finally understood the despair his mother must have felt when she knelt at the kindergarten gates.
“Nana, you’re sick. It’s all fake, just... illusions.”
“Then what about yours? Were all the things you said just illusions too?”
Li Huowang’s head began to ache. He felt as though two giant hands were violently pulling at his brain, attempting to crush it into a pulp.
He clenched his fists and punched his own head several times. Finally, he nodded with great pain.
“Yes, that’s right. I was very ill too, with a serious mental illness. During that time, I had all sorts of hallucinations.
“But look at me now. I’m cured. I no longer have any hallucinations.”
“Really?” Yang Na rested her head against Li Huowang’s back, her eyes filled with deep confusion.
She slowly began to cry, and her tears soaked Li Huowang’s back.
“Don’t cry. If something is troubling you, tell me. Keeping things bottled up isn't good for you.”
“I’m sorry... it’s all my fault. If I hadn’t called the police, you wouldn’t have lost an eye. It’s all my fault.
“Huowang, you only have one eye left, and there’s a scar on your face. If I die and no one wants you, what will you do?”
Li Huowang replied, “It’s okay. It really has nothing to do with you.”
Li Huowang’s heart trembled. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out. He understood everything.
Yang Na had external depression. To help her recover, she needed to be far away from her triggers, and he was the biggest trigger.
No matter what happened to Li Huowang, it seemed that misfortune would inevitably strike those who were associated with him.
If nothing went wrong, today might be the last time he saw Yang Na. He was willing to let go if his departure could help Yang Na recover.
“Uncle, if possible, take Nana to live in another city for a while,” Li Huowang said, seated on his motorcycle. Then, he revved the engine and drove away.
The motorcycle sped up, soon reaching a dangerous speed. At that moment, Li Huowang found himself thinking that, perhaps, dying in an accident wouldn't be such a bad thing.
However, things didn’t go as he wished. There hadn’t been any accidents even as he neared White Tower Prison.
By that point, his motorcycle was low on fuel. He tossed it on the roadside and began to walk towards White Tower Prison.
A black car slowly approached from behind on the deserted street, matching his walking pace.
The car window rolled down, revealing Ban Nanxu holding a beer bottle. “Hey, kid, did you forget something? You’re too young to have such a bad memory.”
“Get lost! I’m not in the mood!”
“Don’t play dumb. We went through all the trouble to break you out from there. You’re not walking back. Come on, Zhao Shuangdian wants to see you.”
“I’m not going! Why do they need me so badly? Is the sky going to fall without me?”
“Kid, that’s not how this works. We had an agreement—we help you escape, and you join us against Qing Wanglai.”
Li Huowang turned his bloodshot eyes towards her. “I’m breaking the deal! So what? Come bite me if you don’t like it!”
The screech of brakes echoed as the two siblings stepped out of the car. They looked at Li Huowang with malice. “We’ve been waiting for you to say that. Been wanting to take you down for a long time.”
Li Huowang scanned them to search for weaknesses. I can’t fight both at once. I’ll have to take down the girl first, then focus on the big guy.
Just as the situation was about to escalate, a sharp ringtone cut through the tension.