"Do you really want to take him right now? He is not conscious at all."
"I am glad about your concern doctor but I have to take him back to his condo."
"Very well then."
Hearing those voices, Yang Xiu let out a deep groan. It was Chang Li and the doctor. He slowly opened his eyes to see Chang Li's widened ones, and at that same moment, the incident that had put him out again flashed vividly across his mind, causing him to scream aloud.
"MY FACE!"
Bolting from the bed and hurrying to the mirror to examine his face, he was astounded to discover that it was perfectly normal.
"But..." He could still clearly recall the pain he felt and the red scales on his face. "What the hell is going on?"
Chang Li chuckled uneasily while the doctor gaped at Yang Xiu in disbelief.
"What are you talking about? There was nothing on your face." he answered, his voice and expression stiff.
"Huh?" Yang Xiu was initially shocked, but then he turned scarlet in the face and seized Chang Li by the collars. "Are you calling me a liar?!"
Chang Li gave a scared little cry and quickly shook his head, not really expecting Yang Xiu to react so angrily. "N... no, no. Please calm down."
Yang Xiu's face flushed, his eyes dilated and hept with fury. "I saw my face! I saw scales on my face! Red scales! You can't tell me that I saw wrong!"
Chang Li, feeling suffocated by the firm hold that advanced to his neck, coughed but did not move to touch Yang Xiu. "We... we can leave now, you have been discharged."
"Oh?" Yang Xiu loosened the collars and let out a sigh of relief, smiling as though he hadn't just tried to choke someone. He turned away from the perplexed doctor and left the room, muttering to himself. "I can finally get out of this germ infested institution, have a long bath, eat a large bowl of hot comforting congee..."
He halted and turned to gaze at the door, hoping to see Chang Li. "Yaaaaaa! Don't you want to accompany me?!"
Chang Li exited the room with a frightened look on his face. "I...I.. I will." His brows started to perspire as he spoke.
Yang Xiu gave him a vacant, helpless expression. "What's wrong with you?"
"Eh? Me?" Chang Li questioned, blinking rapidly.
Yi Xiu furrowed his brow. "No one's behind you."
Chang Li looked back and laughed so hard and stiff that Yang Xiu scowled. "Oh... You are talking to me?!"
"Huh?!" Yang Xiu snapped. "Look! I am confused, angry, and incredibly hungry! So don't assume I am a moron. I just want to bathe and get my mind clear before any sort of questioning."
Chang Li gulped apprehensively. "You are mad mostly about your missing knife aren't you?"
"I am." Yang Xiu grimaced and extended his hand.
"Uh huh." Chang Li took a pocket knife out of his pocket and set it down on the extended hand. "Oh my goodness! I just realized that I haven't fed my cat since I've been with you since yesterday. I'll get a cab for you."
Yang Xiu tipped his head to the side, dropping his arm to grasp the pocket knife. "You don't have a cat." He frowned.
Chang Li lowered his head, shouting. "M.. my dog then!" he strode by Yang Xiu who without warning, snatched his collar from behind.
"You don't have a dog either." Yang Xiu became serious both in his demeanor and words. And with a single pull, he simultaneously placed the knife at Chang Li's throat and pinned him to the wall. "Are you okay with me questioning you in this institution infected with germs? Don't you feel sorry for me?"
Chang Li took a deep breath. "I... I..."
Yang Xiu gave him a harsh look. He knew his friend so well to know that he was a terrible liar. However in this case, he didn't understand why Chang Li was lying to him. He had witnessed his fainting episodes which meant that he must have also seen the scales on his face. There was no way that was an illusion!
"First, you were against my discharge and while that was happening, I passed out and now, you are glad. But..... you want to leave me alone to crack my head open in order to figure out what is happening to me!" Yang Xiu let out a loud cry. He then glared harder at Chang Li, who was now staring at him with utter terror. "If I remember clearly, the doctor had a similar expression like you do currently before I passed out."
Those abrupt words made Chang Li's pulse jump a beat.
"You..." Yang Xiu froze, his eyes wide as if he were lost in a trance. And as he attempted to make sense of everything, he felt even more perplexed.
Barrier... That voice... The burning feelings of anger brought on by an act of disobedience... Or was it just something similar to that? and... The red scales and the fiery serpent eyes.
None of those could be ignored! He had to find out what was happening to him and it seemed that his close friend was aware of it.
"The doctor saw my face didn't he? That was why he looked like he saw a ghost." He finally spoke. However, Chang Li, who had been staring at him with pale horror the entire time, blinked in panic due to the eerie calm in his voice.
"W... what?"
Yang Xiu asked, a creepy smile curling on his lips and adorning his delicate features. "I've never hurt you in any way have I?" he then tightened his grip on his pocket knife, allowing the main steel to slide easily into his palm.
"N... No." Chang Li shook his head slowly, his eyes widening at the sight of blood that was beginning to pour from Yang Xiu's palm.
"Good." Yang Xiu tightened his hold even more, intensifying the pain that was only providing satisfaction.
Panicking, Chang Li glanced around the corridor and was relieved that no staff members were around. Even though Yang Xiu belonged in a mental hospital, he didn't want to see him sent there.
Giggling, Yang Xiu threw the knife towards Chang Li, who gasped in surprise.
Hearing his following comments, which were so excitedly spoken, "Is that so...? Come! Let's go to my condo!" Chang Li regretted his choice to visit the studio the other day.
With Yang Xiu walking away and licking the blood off his palm, Chang Li's attitude abruptly shifted from one of fear to one of sternness. He observed Yang Xiu until he disappeared from view, then he returned to the room to meet the smiling doctor.
"Illusory vanish." a whispered word. The doctor's image abruptly glitched and vanished. A frown creased Chang Li's features and his blue eyes glowed brightly. "Did someone actually knock down the barrier? I have to ascertain this situation before he figures anything out."
Subsequently, he left the room, slipping the bloodstained knife into his pocket and bending over, he used a section of his coat to mop up the blood on the floor. When he was finished, he got up and raced to meet Yang Xiu, who was yelling at a security guard, outside the hospital.
"Who do you think you are speaking to me in that tone?! I will gouge out your eyeballs and cut off your tongue!"
Chang Li let out a sigh and shook his head in complete disbelief. "In reality, he is indeed the dragon king's reincarnation. Though, I'm still not sure if this is luck or misfortune, or if it is neither or both."