Chapter 405: Premature Plot

Main Text: badaoge

"You said you're bringing your wife over to visit?" Su Lin had just cleared Guangyuan's current negative states and was about to shift his form, attempting an experiment with different compositional ratios:

"Of course no problem—this isn't even something you need to ask me. You're far more decisive than Xiao Huowang."

The water surface mirrored the sky like a perfect mirror, evenly scattering the clear moonlight.

The evening breeze was cool, spiritual flowers bloomed, the Dao's resonance drifted faintly; apart from the waterfall's flow and insect chirps, no other sounds existed.

A young Daoist with snowy white hair held a fly whisk, a long sword at his waist, hovering three inches above the lake, his pure white Dao robe untouched by worldly dust.

It should have been a scene brimming with immortal tranquility…

Unless you counted the cross—and the bound, recently returned-to-normal Black Hand Guangyuan strapped to it.

"Kill… kill me…"

"Should've kept that Immortal Palace's Supreme One alive. Come on, repeat after me: A—mi—tuo—Fo."

Buddha's light illuminated all, sacred chants echoing, countless bronze eyes sprouted across Black Hand Guangyuan's body, each eye bearing a golden swastika mark.

"Amitabha…"

"Indeed, I can deliberately increase the proportion of different forces. I felt like I was preaching—yet ordinary lifeforms can't withstand it…?"

Red Middle: Didn't you want to sabotage the Dice Boss's plan? Take Mr. Light to Daoliang and Bai Yu Jing! If he preaches there, won't that solve everything!?

Zhuge Yuan: Brother Li, think thrice before acting.

Monk: Is that the Buddha?

Li Huowang felt he'd arrived at the wrong time—this place was far too sinister. For Suisui and Miaomiao's safety, he should deliberate further before proceeding.

"By the way, I'll give you some advice," Su Lin said casually, having purged all information from Black Hand Guangyuan's body and soul.

"Yang Na and Bai Lingmiao are indeed the same person—but if you bring her here, don't let her see future stories, and don't mention Yang Na at all."

"Ultimately, if you're bringing her over just to visit, you'd better invent a reason to lie and tell her Yang Na doesn't exist."

"Or prepare a good way to soothe her in advance."

Li Huowang froze. "Why?"

"Young man… do you really need to ask?" Su Lin withdrew the nearly collapsing, "immortal and indestructible" Black Hand Guangyuan, and simultaneously retracted all his aura:

"Luckily your wife has reverted to her old soft personality—if she'd heard this, she'd likely launch a classic cleaver scene."

"She isn't like you, with two bodies sharing one mind. Even if they're fundamentally the same person, if they can't share thoughts and perceive their connection, they'll almost certainly develop emotional turmoil."

"Jealousy is one of humanity's seven deadly sins, boy."

As both participant and director of the repeatedly enacted "I Kill Myself" script within the chat group, Su Lin was temporarily in the mood for something different.

Watching Li Huowang suffer from this mess might be amusing, but the middle-aged Li couple's romantic life was nowhere near as entertaining as the fledgling, awkward stories unfolding in the group.

Li Huowang frowned, lost in thought, yet instinctively added: "Really? I thought it wouldn't be an issue."

"What, you think they're both your wings?" Su Lin teased. "Fine then, I didn't know you were bolder than Yan Di, Li Huowang."

Li Huowang felt awkward and explained:

"When Brother Ye told me to collect resources in Zitian Capital, I saw Sister-in-law promoting you to the other versions of herself. I thought these things weren't a big deal."

"Now that I think about it, if I saw Yang Na or Miaomiao interacting with another version of me, I'd probably get jealous too. I was just being naive."

"Brother Su, why do you look so pale? Are you unwell?"

"Wait a moment—I'll check." Su Lin drew his sword and stepped into history. Moments later, he returned with the blade sheathed. "Fine. Say that last line again."

Su Lin studied Li Huowang from head to toe, his expression strange.

"Face color"

"The sentence before that—what did you say someone was doing?"

"Sister-in-law was introducing your virtues to the other two Yi Leina ladies, saying they'd once turned into zombies and slime, and you rescued them."

"Uh… let me confirm again—your 'sister-in-law' is who?"

"Yi Leina."

Su Lin's gaze sharpened. In an instant, a cold smile appeared. He stepped forward and gripped Li Huowang's face.

Li Huowang's eyes widened: "Brother Su Lin?!"

"You sneaky Red Middle." He pulled out half a dagger glowing with chilling spiritual radiance and gently traced its back across Li Huowang's cheek. "Let's see how many faces you've got!"

"I'm Li Huowang! Don't believe me? Look!" Li Huowang snatched the dagger and raised it to carve his own face.

This kid was genuinely honest with those he knew.

"." Su Lin canceled the historical projection before the blade could cut. "I'll help you fake your cultivation, but don't play these hellish jokes."

He could tell Li Huowang was himself—but the words were absurd, the kind that made your skin crawl.

"It's true!" Li Huowang said admiringly:

"No wonder you're Brother Su Lin—you've effortlessly achieved what ordinary people never could in romance."

What nonsense—when had he ever done anything like that?

Since last month, he'd been either working overtime or cultivating—why did some weird rumor keep sticking to his head?!

"Who spread this? Hahaha, you actually believed it?" Su Lin narrowed his eyes, waved his hand, and laughed carefree. "Romance? I've never dated a single person since birth!"

"Huh?" Li Huowang froze. "But after Brother Song entered my dream, they all confirmed it at the banquet—they even said they were just one step away and wanted to help! I thought it was already settled…"

"They…" Su Lin's smile grew even warmer as he draped an arm around Li Huowang's shoulder and headed toward the training ground.

"They sure know how to joke. So—who exactly are 'they'? And how exactly do they plan to help?"

"I…" Li Huowang suddenly felt he'd said something wrong—he might have messed up.

Su Lin gazed toward the heavens, the silent night sky so beautiful:

"Huowang, be honest—since we met, how have I treated you? Don't ever hide anything from your Brother Su!"

"Big Brother Su Lin has always been kind to me," Li Huowang recalled, remembering how Su Lin had helped him ever since he gained the chat group, but others also...

He felt deeply conflicted.

Su Lin didn't look at Li Huowang's expression; he pulled out a precious jade and pressed it into Li Huowang's hand, his voice tinged with weariness:

"This is the cultivation art I've optimized for you using my omniscient ability, synthesizing the Daoist canons of all realms. The speed at which your inner divine light condenses the Primordial Qi is now at least several times faster than before, and it also grants you partial resistance against higher-tier entities."

"After gathering relevant information from special beings like Qing Tian and Hei Shou Guangyuan, I spent these two days conducting experiments—only just now completing this."

As the jade touched his palm, it felt cold yet sharpened his spiritual awareness; its true essence naturally flooded into his soul, and Li Huowang gradually comprehended the brilliance of this cultivation art.

This art was crafted specifically for a Heart-Su, for no other Heart-Su possesses a Wheel Sea, the acupoints for the Hundred-Day Foundation Establishment, or a pure Immortal cultivation method—it was made solely for him!

"Brother Lu said he's reserved a table for you and Sister Yi Leina at Chateau Jol Robuchon in Tokyo, and will send the invitation to your home this Sunday."

A classic French restaurant—probably still nostalgic for the last home banquet Su Lin prepared for him.

"Hmm." Su Lin wrote Lu Mingfei's name on his notebook, then asked, "How did he get my address?"

Li Huowang fell silent for two seconds, then answered: "Provided by Brother Ke."

"I see."

Su Lin continued writing Shang Mingrui's name.

"Did Song Shuhang say anything?"

"No. After failing to get Song Ge drunk, Brother Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan analyzed the feasibility from multiple dimensions."

Hmm. After all, he's the King of Verbal Dominance—no surprise. Song Shuhang gains one point; Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan loses ten.

"Are there many others involved?"

"Yeah, the head chef is—"

"Don't tell me."

Su Lin never imagined human nature could sink so low—what a cold and cruel world.

But what about that filthy witch?

After pondering for a moment, Su Lin suddenly realized a possibility, and with some difficulty, opened the chat group to send a message:

"You there? I have a question—I need to ask you, it's important!"

Yi Leina: ".... Here."

Su Lin: "You didn't develop feelings for me, did you? You're not actually interested in me, are you?"

Yi Leina: "???"

Yi Leina, who had been about to send "You're a good person, but I'm not interested in men," stood frozen, silently deleted the message, and retyped:

"That's truly revolting."

"It still won't work," Li Huowang frowned, lying on the bed and staring at the surveillance camera in the upper-right corner of the observation room.

He was still an ordinary person; in this world, he could perceive no power and could not cast any spell.

"I've already begun practicing the improved art—my inner divine light now contains far more Primordial Qi than before..."

"It seems unrelated to my own cultivation method. Last time, that state must have been caused by contamination from Big Brother Su Lin—under that condition, I could freely use spells in this world without restriction..."

Through these experiments, Li Huowang had eliminated variables arising from his own changes.

"That technique was too dangerous. Last time, it triggered terrifying events in this world—things I shouldn't know..."

The Seasonal Calamity hasn't appeared yet; certain information isn't meant for him to know now.

But he could infer from ambiguous clues—it was likely the final boss of his own story.

"Seasonal Calamity..."

Li Huowang grew confused again. Could he still become Confused Siming? It seemed many things were beginning to become clear.

So was he confused—or not confused? Confused... not confused...

"Li Huowang!"

Just as Li Huowang felt his scalp begin to itch, a male voice came from outside the iron door.

Shh! The iron door opened, and a young doctor walked in.

It was his psychiatric attending physician, Yi Donglai.

"What's going on?" Li Huowang asked. He noticed several staff members in white coats following Yi Donglai, one of them a square-faced man leading the group.

"Good news," Yi Donglai told Li Huowang. "We just received notice from higher-ups: your recent condition has been rated stable. With a bit more observation, you can be discharged."

"Perhaps due to public opinion—on my end, you should ideally be observed for at least a year."

"This is good for you."

Discharged?!

Li Huowang was puzzled. This wasn't supposed to happen yet—why was this plot point appearing now?

"Let me introduce you. This is Wu Cheng, my junior brother and attending physician at Kangning Psychiatric Hospital."

"You'll be transferred to Kangning Hospital for observation and treatment. If your mental condition remains normal during this period, you'll be allowed to return to normal life."

"We've already communicated with your mother. She's delighted and asked you to cooperate fully."

Li Huowang's mind went numb. He heard nothing else Yi Donglai said after that.

"This shouldn't be..."

The plot's been accelerated!

The Seasonal Calamity hasn't appeared yet, and the Grand Minister of Liang hasn't shown up—why is he being sent to Kangning Psychiatric Hospital?!

Something... something has changed...

As Li Huowang stared in shock, four burly men in white coats—none resembling medical staff—stepped forward and unfastened his restraints.

"You haven't eaten dinner yet, have you?" Wu Cheng smiled cheerfully.

"Boxed meals are prepared in the car—just make do for now."

"I won't eat." Li Huowang said to Bai Lingmiao before him:

"Eat more—it's good for your health."

Bai Lingmiao withdrew her chopsticks and placed the meat she had offered to Li Huowang into her own mouth.

The beef emitted a faint milky aroma, and the vegetable called tomato was sweet and sour; she loved how they were stewed together until tender.

"Brother Li, have you encountered something troubling over there?" Bai Lingmiao, noticing Li Huowang's expression since earlier, worriedly asked:

"You can deal with matters over there first; rest assured, everything here is fine."

She worried Li Huowang's delusions were returning, which was why she offered such reassurance.

"A minor issue." Li Huowang's brow relaxed; he said to Bai Lingmiao: "Where is Gao Zhijian? I need to speak with him."

He could now control two bodies across worlds simultaneously without behavioral or linguistic conflict—this was a benefit of his soul's enhancement.

"He's at the academy with Yang Xiao'er; I'll go get him."

"Wait until you've finished eating."

Li Huowang watched the men load him onto the transfer vehicle; after much thought, he made up his mind and used the Cross-World Talisman to return to Lin's World.

"Doumu... if you want to play, then I'll play with you!"

Li Huowang walked straight into the portal and the next moment appeared atop Shuijing Peak.

At that moment, on the training ground, Lin—who had been using daily sparring as an excuse to enhance Lu Mingfei, Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan, and others' abnormal resistance—heard Li Huowang's voice:

"Brother Lin! Show me your true form!"

Might have been hit—head feels dizzy... everyone, please be careful with protection these days...

(End of Chapter)