Mutated Tao

Qian Fu felt his hands and feet tied securely to the chair, and his face turned pale with fear. His eyes widened and his lips lost all color.

If I had been kidnapped by an ordinary person, there would at least be a reason—money or something else. But this guy’s just a lunatic!

He had heard Li Huowang’s story and knew this guy had taken several lives. Now that Qian Fu had been tied up by him, he didn’t even dare to imagine what he wanted.

Qian Fu glanced around fearfully to look for some hope.

This place seemed to be an abandoned house, possibly an unfinished building. Regardless, it seemed impossible to seek help from others. He could only find a way out through this lunatic.

“Li—” Qian Fu had barely uttered a word when he felt Li Huowang’s five fingers clamped tightly around his neck. “Quiet!”

Li Huowang continued with his work when he saw Qian Fu sensibly fall silent.

After making sure Qian Fu was completely tied up, with no chance of escaping his restraints, Li Huowang finally breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up and looked at the man in front of him again.

Qian Fu pleaded, “Li Huowang, calm down. You need to calm down. Don’t do something you’ll regret for the rest of your life.”

“Shut up!” Li Huowang grabbed a piece of cloth and stuffed it into Qian Fu’s mouth, finally bringing some silence to the room.

Li Huowang felt a headache coming on. Of all times, he had to switch to his second personality now.

Fortunately, he had brought some equipment just in case. Otherwise, it would have been tricky to handle.

Li Huowang stared at Qian Fu and was at a loss about what to do next.

Having an ally with a mental illness was already troublesome enough, but this one even had episodes from time to time. It was genuinely tormenting.

After some thought, Li Huowang reached out and pulled the cloth from Qian Fu’s mouth. ”Let me ask you, how often does your personality switch? Are there any triggers for the switch?”

Qian Fu was stunned by the question and suddenly understood what was going on. “Did he ask you to save him? Did he instruct you to do all this?”

Then, Qian Fu leaned forward excitedly. “Li Huowang, he’s a lunatic! How can you believe the nonsense of a madman? Everything he said is a lie that he made up!”

Qian Fu pressed on, “You still have a long life to live, so don’t let that lunatic deceive you! If this continues, your condition will only get worse! Think about your worried family, your classmates, and your teachers!”

Swish! Li Huowang pressed his knife against Qian Fu’s neck. The blade cut into his skin, and a drop of blood slowly oozed out. He stared fiercely at the bearded man. “I don’t need your lectures! I’m not sick! I’ve recovered!”

“Also, don’t avoid my questions! Answer me! How often does your personality switch?! What triggers the switch?!”

Qian Fu felt the sting on his neck and dared not provoke Li Huowang further. He quickly replied, “I don’t know. After a personality switch, I just lose large chunks of memory and find myself in different places for no reason. If there was a pattern, I wouldn’t have been in the psychiatric hospital for so long.”

“No pattern? No triggers?” Li Huowang looked at him skeptically, finding it hard to believe. After all, they were enemies—Qian Fu could be lying to him.

Should I torture him? The thought made Li Huowang shake his head violently. He wondered why he would have such thoughts.

There’s no good solution for now. Forget it. I better find a safe place to tie him up and wait for his personality to change back. Li Huowang grabbed the cloth to gag him again.

He needed to hurry back to his neighborhood. If his mom found out he had sneaked out, there would be big trouble.

Just as the cloth was about to cover Qian Fu’s mouth, Qian Fu suddenly became frantic and shouted to someone behind Li Huowang, “Miss, don’t come over! Run! This guy is a lunatic! Call the police quickly!”

Li Huowang felt a chill down his spine. Damn! Someone saw me tying up Qian Fu!

He turned with his knife raised, only to freeze in place as he locked eyes with the newcomer.

“I know what you’re thinking. I’ve been watching all your moves recently. I’m not that naive.” Yang Na used her phone as a flashlight and slowly entered the room. A complex expression crossed her face when she saw Qian Fu bound to the chair.

After opening and closing his mouth several times, Li Huowang finally sighed deeply. “Yang Na, you have to believe me. I’m not crazy!”

“Call the police! Quickly! This guy is a lunatic! He’s killed people! More than one!” Qian Fu continued to shout frantically.

Angered by his outburst, Li Huowang punched Qian Fu in the face, silencing him.

Yang Na set down her phone and walked over to Li Huowang. She gently leaned her head against his chest.

Her voice was soft and a little aggrieved. “Huowang, I believe you, but can you tell me what’s going on? No matter what it is, I don’t want you to hide it from me.”

“Also, why are you carrying a knife? Don’t do such things.” Yang Na gently placed her hands around Li Huowang's hand as he tightly held onto the knife.

Li Huowang sensed her warm touch. He struggled internally for a while before explaining everything to Yang Na.

“He has multiple personalities. The other personality is my ally, but this one isn’t. That’s why he’s struggling and trying to escape, so I had to tie him up. As for the knife, I need it for self-defense. I don’t know when those people will come after me. I can’t be careless.”

After he finished his explanation, he felt a bit anxious. He was unsure how Yang Na would react.

Then, Yang Na moved. She took the piece of cloth from Li Huowang’s hand. To Qian Fu’s shock, she stuffed it back into his mouth.

She saw Li Huowang’s astonished expression, and she smiled. She wrapped her arms around him and pecked him on the lips.

She smiled even more as she looked into his eyes. “I told you. I believe you, Li Huowang. No matter what you say, I believe you!”