As Li Huowang confirmed the sticky lump of candy on his chest was real, his heart pounded. The first thought that came to his mind was: I have to tell Dr. Li!
But as he raised his right foot to take a step, he froze. Other thoughts quickly crowded his mind.
He realized that his hallucinations weren't limited to just candy—there were other things, potentially far more valuable treasures hidden within.
Pacing around his hospital room while savoring the dissolving sweetness, a spark of excitement ignited within him.
"This is an opportunity! A chance for Yang Na and me to get rich overnight! Maybe even a shot at turning my life around!" His thoughts raced with exhilaration.
"But I can't tell Dr. Li. I don't want to end up as some lab rat," Li decided. "This isn't something he'd understand, anyway."
Determined, he resolved to uncover the truth himself. As he finalized his thoughts, the room around him began to twist and distort. The clean, sterile hospital environment faded away.
This was nothing new to Li, and he had grown used to the sensation. Quickly, he stuffed his study materials into his bag and tossed it into the far corner of the room to prevent himself from tearing it up while lost in the hallucination.
Then, he pressed the red button by his bed. Within seconds, he saw the hospital nurses enter the room and secure him to the bed with wide straps.
When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the cold, barren cave. Around him, his "junior brothers and sisters" with various physical deformities looked at him curiously.
Rising from the icy stone floor, Li once again surveyed his surroundings with a unique perspective.
This hallucination, though terrifying, was no longer just a nightmare—it was a treasure trove.
"Maybe I'm not sick at all," he thought. "Maybe I have a rare ability those quack doctors can't detect."
"I'm not crazy. I've never been crazy," he muttered, seething at the stigma he had endured for years.
His mood lightened with the thought of shedding the title of "madman." In high spirits, he reached out and playfully rubbed the bald head of a nearby boy. "Hah, this is too funny."
"What are you all standing around for? Get to work!" a grating voice called from the cave entrance. "If you don't finish preparing the medicinal ingredients, you'll ruin the Master's plan for immortality. He'll skin you alive!"
Li turned to see the speaker—a haughty Daoist named Xuanyang, the same man who had delivered the Master's summons before. His face oozed arrogance, as if merely speaking to the others was beneath him.
Li's gaze lingered on the circular jade pendant hanging from Xuanyang's waist.
"That has to be an antique," Li mused. "If I can take it back to the real world, it'd sell for a fortune."
"Should I just grab it and hold it to my chest, like I did with the candy?" he wondered.
Xuanyang, oblivious to Li's thoughts, sneered and turned away.
Watching him leave, Li made up his mind. That pendant would be his next experiment.
A small, pale hand tugged at his sleeve. A soft voice spoke beside him. "Senior Brother Li, please, we need to work. If we don't finish, we won't get to eat."
Li turned to see the albino girl he had helped earlier.
With a faint smile, he took the half-melted candy from his pocket and placed it in her hand. Then, he returned to his workstation and began pounding herbs with his pestle.
For now, he decided to play it safe, blending in until he fully understood the rules of this strange phenomenon.
That night, as the cave filled with the sound of snores and grinding teeth, Li lay awake on the shared stone bed. He opened his eyes, the pitch-black darkness surrounding him like a thick curtain.
Feeling his way to his workstation, he picked up a faintly glowing greenstone to light his path. The soft light might attract attention, but Li wasn't worried.
"What's the worst that could happen? I'll just retreat back to the hospital," he muttered smugly to himself.
The layout of the cave was familiar to him now. Navigating its dark corridors, he soon reached Xuanyang's private chamber. Though crude, the large bed inside clearly marked Xuanyang's status above the other apprentices.
To Li's surprise, Xuanyang was not there. His robes, however, were neatly folded on the bed. Without hesitation, Li rummaged through them and pulled out the jade pendant.
Sneaking out of the chamber, Li studied the pendant under the greenstone's glow.
It was exquisite—translucent and smooth, with intricate cloud patterns carved into its surface. Even someone with no knowledge of antiques could tell it was valuable.
"If I can bring this to the real world, it'll cover all of Yang Na's and my college expenses," Li thought gleefully.
"Yang Na, you're about to become a rich girl," he whispered, tucking the pendant into his pocket.
Everything was going smoothly until he rounded a corner near the staircase and came face-to-face with a group of teenagers holding lanterns.
Their faces, illuminated by the flickering light, were pale with terror.
For a moment, both sides froze.
Finally, Li broke the silence, pointing his greenstone at Xuanyang. "Senior Brother Xuanyang, what's with the getup? Did you get assigned to the storeroom?"
Among the group were not only Xuanyang but also other apprentices, including a boy who had fanned the alchemical furnace earlier.
Now, however, they all wore plain hemp clothes, carrying nothing else.
Xuanyang's haughty demeanor was gone, replaced by a strained expression. He stepped forward and lowered his voice. "Come with us! We're escaping. The senior guarding the gate has been bribed."
"Escaping? Oh, so you're trying to—"
Before Li could finish, Xuanyang clamped a hand over his mouth.