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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Jade Pendant
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When he confirmed that the candy on his chest was truly real, Li Huowang's heart pounded wildly. His first instinctive thought flashed through his mind.
"I have to tell Doctor Li!"
But as soon as he lifted his right foot, it hung suspended in midair. Other thoughts suddenly surged into his head.
He knew that his hallucinations contained not just candy, but other things too—things far more valuable!
Savoring the sweetness melting in his mouth, Li Huowang slowly paced around the hospital room.
"This is an opportunity! A chance to make Yang Na and me rich overnight! Hell, a chance to reach the peak of my life!"
In his excitement, he quickly settled on that conclusion.
"I can't tell Doctor Li. I don't want to end up sliced open in a lab. Besides, this isn't his department anyway," Li Huowang thought to himself.
"But I can't jump to conclusions about this yet. I need to figure out exactly what's going on first."
As he thought that, the surroundings began to twist and shift. The clean, tidy hospital room started to recede.
Li Huowang was used to this by now. He quickly stuffed his papers and books into his shoulder bag and tossed it into a far corner of the wall, so his hallucinating self wouldn't shred them.
Next, he pressed the red button by the bed. A few seconds later, the last thing he saw was several nurses rushing in to strap him down with restraint bands.
When he opened his eyes again, the crude, frigid cave environment returned. The "fellow disciples" with their bodily defects nearby were staring at him curiously.
Sitting up from the icy stone surface, Li Huowang once more examined his surroundings with that special perspective, everything feeling utterly real.
Though this was a hallucination, in his eyes now, it was a treasure trove brimming with riches.
Maybe he wasn't sick at all. Maybe he had some rare supernatural ability that those quack doctors just couldn't detect.
"Maybe I'm not sick at all. Right, that's it—I'm not sick."
Over these years, he'd had enough of the "mental patient" label. Everyone looked at him with those strange eyes.
As if the moment he got sick, he'd stopped being human and turned into some kind of freak.
The thought of possibly shedding that label in the future filled Li Huowang with uncontainable excitement.
In a great mood, he reached out and cheerfully tousled the hair of a big bald head that had scooted over.
"Haha, this is pretty fun."
"What are you bunch huddling for? Get back to work! If Master's medicine catalyst isn't ready and you ruin his path to immortality, he'll flay the skin right off your hides!"
An utterly grating voice echoed from the cave entrance.
Li Huowang turned and saw it was that aloof Daoist who'd delivered messages before. His face still carried that arrogance, as if even speaking to medicine catalysts like Li Huowang dirtied his eyes.
Li Huowang remembered the guy's name. This hallucinated character's Daoist title was Xuanyang.
Meeting Li Huowang's brazen stare, Xuanyang clearly sensed the challenge. He flicked the whisk in his hand and strode over.
"Junior Brother Li, it must be such a shame that you didn't end up as Master's medicine catalyst this time."
Li Huowang couldn't be bothered with his snide barbs. His attention was fixed on the round jade pendant hanging from Xuanyang's waist.
"That thing's gotta be an antique, right? If I could bring it to the real world and sell it, it'd fetch a fortune, wouldn't it?"
"But how do I do it? Same as with the candy—snatch it and stick it on my chest?"
After a few more barbs with no response, Xuanyang figured his opponent was intimidated. He sneered, tossed his head back disdainfully, and turned to leave the medicine catalysts' area.
Watching his back, Li Huowang made up his mind. That jade pendant would be his next test subject for transport.
As for how to get it? Simple: steal it tonight.
"That jade pendant's nice, but soon it'll be mine."
A small, pale hand that gleamed almost white reached over from the side and gently tugged at Li Huowang's hemp sleeve. A soft, sticky voice sounded in his ear.
"Senior Brother Li, get back to work quick. If we don't finish, there won't be any food."
Li Huowang turned and saw it was the albino girl he'd helped before.
After a moment's thought, he reached into his robes, pulled out the remaining half-melted black candy, placed it in her hand, then walked to his spot, picked up the pestle, and started working.
For now, whether here or in the hospital, he decided not to act too out of line.
Something this earth-shattering wasn't suitable to tell anyone about. He had to slowly uncover the rules behind it before making other plans.
The day's work ended amid the dull pounding of pestles. Late at night, amid the snores and teeth-grinding around him, Li Huowang lay on the large communal bunk and slowly opened his eyes.
The windowless cave was pitch black, where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Li Huowang groped his way toward the entrance.
He first went to his workstation and picked up a piece of青石 he'd ground himself. Its faint glow let him navigate the dark cavern without stumbling blindly.
Sure, carrying such a conspicuous stone in the dark was eye-catching, but Li Huowang didn't care one bit.
"If someone spots me, I'll just retreat to the hospital. I've got a way out—what do I have to fear?"
Walking alone through the cavern, he chuckled smugly to himself.
This whole hallucination existed because of him. Was he supposed to fear something he himself had created? Even if he couldn't control it yet.
The entire cavern system had been extensively developed. Li Huowang had been here a while and knew it like the back of his hand.
Soon, he slipped into Xuanyang's cave. Though still crude, the large bed for one person alone proved the fundamental difference between him and the medicine catalysts like Li Huowang.
But to Li Huowang's surprise, Xuanyang wasn't inside. His clothes were, though. Li Huowang didn't bother wondering why—he reached into the Daoist robes with his right hand and yanked out the jade pendant.
Once he'd snuck back outside, he held up the glowing stone and closely examined the round jade pendant in his hand.
The pendant was crystalline and flawless, perfectly smooth and round, carved with exquisite cloud patterns. Even someone ignorant about jade could tell it was top quality.
The more Li Huowang looked, the happier he got. If he could really bring this to the real world, this one pendant could cover at least four years of college tuition for him and Yang Na.
"Heh heh heh~ Yang Na, oh Yang Na, get ready to be a little rich lady."
Li Huowang pocketed the pendant and headed back.
Everything had gone smoothly so far, but some things don't stay smooth forever. Just as he neared the entrance, he rounded a bend in the stone stairs and came face-to-face with a group of people.
They were a bunch of boys and girls about Li Huowang's age, their terrified faces flickering in the light of the fire starter in their hands.
Both sides jumped in fright and froze in place, silent for a long moment.
Finally, Li Huowang spoke up. He pointed his glowing stone at Xuanyang, dressed in hempen clothes amid the group.
"Senior Brother Xuanyang, what's with the outfit? You get demoted to the Material Room?"
The group included not just Xuanyang, but other Daoist attendants too, like the one who'd been fanning the pill furnace earlier.
But no matter their former jobs, they were all in hempen shirts and pants now. Nothing else.
Xuanyang no longer had that daytime arrogance. After his expression shifted rapidly several times, he stepped up to Li Huowang and whispered urgently.
"Come on! Come with us! We're escaping this hellhole! We've already squared things with the gatekeeper senior brother."
"Escape? Oh! So you're all—"
Before Li Huowang could finish saying "escaping," Xuanyang clamped a hand over his mouth.
(End of chapter)