Techniques and Dao

Chapter 93 Crazy
Hana's blue eyes flashed, and with a fierce expression, she lunged forward again.

Young Master Lan held the iron rod with his left hand, pointed two fingers at Hua Sheng with his right hand, and shouted, "Hurry, hurry, as the law commands! No incantation!" A white lightning bolt shot out from Young Master Lan's hand and pierced through Hua Sheng's head.

The spell of non-thought sent Hua Sheng flying off the cruise ship. At that moment, a clap of thunder illuminated the night sky, and he suddenly came to his senses, not understanding what had happened, but he could clearly see the dark figures hovering above the cruise ship in the night sky in front of him.

As the storm approached, the dark figures that had been darting through the downpour were initially thought to be strange beasts like the Gu Diao or Qiongqi, but they were clearly not. They were actually a dozen or so ferocious dragons with enormous wings circling the ship.

This creature has never appeared in the myths and legends of our civilization. Where did it come from?
They were clearly not involved in this incident, yet they remained at a distance and kept a close watch!

But Hua Sheng had no time to think further; he drifted further and further away from the cruise ship and plunged into the dark, icy sea.

The scene Hanamori witnessed ended there. The world before him suddenly vanished, and he fell into darkness.

In the midst of an endless feeling of weightlessness, he saw a glimmer of light appear beneath his feet.

Immediately afterwards, an irresistible, insane suction force pulled him into the light.

But there was no light in the light; there was only endless darkness within it.

Sometimes what saddens us isn't parting, but not saying goodbye properly. And for some goodbyes, we'd rather leave without saying goodbye.

All I could see was darkness.

Hua Sheng felt surrounded by darkness, falling endlessly, falling again and again.

It felt like being in a bottomless abyss.

He didn't know how long he had been falling, how many minutes? But it felt like centuries had passed.

I can't remember where I fell from, nor do I know where I'm going to fall.

Then, he opened his eyes.

Have you ever had this experience in the middle of the night: the room is pitch black, and when you open your eyes, all you see is endless darkness?

You might even wonder if you haven't opened your eyes at all, or if you've suddenly gone blind? The only thing that can convince you that you're awake is your awareness that your eyes are open.

You tell yourself that what you're seeing is definitely the ceiling or something else, and that the darkness is due to limited vision, not because it doesn't exist. So your eyes are deceiving you. But your eyes aren't intentionally deceiving you; it could be your brain that's deceiving you.

Hua Sheng waited for a long time, finally confirming that she was lying on a bed, her whole body aching.

This wasn't the first time he'd experienced this full-body aches and pains. He had more than one injury.

But this time was different; not only did my whole body ache, but it also felt numb, as if my blood had frozen.

He tried to lift his numb left hand, which had regained some feeling. He held his left hand in front of his eyes, and in the darkness, he could vaguely see the outline of his arm.

After a while, his eyes slowly began to see things in the darkness, and then he saw the dim moonlight shining into the room.

There was a window, not too big or too small, right next to the bed, and it was open. Perhaps the moonlight was obscured by thick clouds, making it impossible to see anything just now.

Now that there was a sliver of light, he could finally see the ceiling clearly. He was indeed lying on a single bed, placed in the corner. The room was small and narrow; if single beds were placed side by side, it could only fit a maximum of three.

Hua Sheng rolled over, his entire back numb. He tried to sit up, and after three or four attempts, he finally managed to lean against the edge of the bed. Next to the bed was a desk, and above the desk was the small window. There were some iron bars on the small window, like security bars.

Hua Sheng looked out the window; a new moon hung in the sky.

So, it's been almost two weeks since the Mid-Autumn Festival. Have I been in a coma all this time?

Hua Sheng fumbled around on the desk and finally found a desk lamp, which he turned on with a snap.

The glaring incandescent light stung Hua Sheng's eyes, so he shielded them with his hand and squinted.

The lamplight illuminated the entire room, revealing it to be a tiny single room. The walls were somewhat worn, appearing uneven as if they had been scratched and hammered.

Several hard-shelled insects seemed to be startled by the light and quickly crawled into the darkness to hide themselves.

Hua Sheng looked at the quilt she had just lifted. The quilt was very old, with loose threads in some places, and the cotton filling inside was sometimes visible. There were some stains and oil stains on it, as if it hadn't been washed for a while. There were also some sweat stains on the pillow.

Hanamori saw that he was wearing a blue striped hospital gown, which convinced him that he must be in a hospital.

The battle to defend Qiankun must be over. Hua Sheng recalled the scene from just now; he vaguely remembered Wei Yu turning into specks of dust. Now, the world is peaceful, and so much time has passed; she should have returned to Shengpingning by now.

Thinking of that battle, he instinctively touched his chest, but he didn't feel the iron golden hoop chain that the Victorious Fighting Buddha had given him.

Now that they've changed into hospital gowns, presumably the academy's uniforms, chains, and other such items have been properly stored away.

The extent of the losses suffered by the Shudao Academy in this battle is unknown. Thinking of the many young disciples like himself who were killed or wounded, Hua Sheng couldn't help but sigh.

He was probably taken to the hospital because he had fainted, but the facilities there were vastly different from the hospital he had stayed at when he first arrived in St. Pingning. Hanamori listlessly drifted off into space.

Hua Sheng got up and slowly opened the desk drawer. Inside, there was a thick stack of manuscript paper, pens, rulers, etc., scattered haphazardly. After a quick search, she actually found her iron hoop chain in the corner.

Hua Sheng's eyes immediately brightened, and he gripped the necklace tightly, feeling much more at ease.

The iron cudgel was quite heavy in his hand; Hua Sheng hadn't noticed before, and it felt surprisingly substantial. He had promised the Victorious Fighting Buddha to protect the golden cudgel well, and he absolutely couldn't lose it.

Hua Sheng slowly put the chain back around his neck, and the coolness on his neck made him even more awake.

There was an old white enamel mug on the table. Seeing the mug made Hua Sheng instinctively feel a sudden dryness in his mouth and a burning sensation in his throat. He picked up the enamel mug and brought it to his lips, only to find that it was empty, not a drop of water left.

Fortunately, there was a thermos a little distance away from the desk. There was a pair of old rubber slippers on the floor. Hua Sheng put her feet in them and stood up. A tingling sensation came from the soles of her feet. She had been lying down for too long and her body was not used to it.

He limped forward a couple of steps, picked up the thermos, and the weight in his hand told him it was probably empty. Undeterred, Hua Sheng shook the bottle, opened the lid, and poured some into an enamel cup to prove it was indeed empty. Slightly disappointed, he put it down.

What time is it now? Judging by the moonlight, it must be midnight.

Along with the soreness, Hua Sheng picked up a thermos and prepared to go to the corridor to check on things and get some hot water.

Reaching the door, he found it to be a sturdy, heavy iron door with only one handle. He pulled on it, but it wouldn't budge. He crouched down to check if any lock was jammed, but there were no other handles or latches on the door.

Is this a hospital or a prison? A sense of unease swept through Hua Sheng. He looked back at the long, narrow room, feeling as if he had seen it somewhere before.

There was a doorway in the sturdy iron gate, through which one could see the white fluorescent lights in the corridor. The view through the doorway was extremely limited; it was just a corridor with white walls, and several iron gates on each side opposite, each with a different number written on it.

The two iron gates opposite are labeled "Room 3254" and "Room 3256" respectively. Looking further to either side, there are blind spots, and no other numbers can be seen.

"Hey! Is anyone here?" Hua Sheng banged on the iron gate.

The sound of knocking echoed in the quiet, empty corridor.

After waiting for a while without any response, he pulled the doorknob again, and it was indeed locked.

He immediately thought of Taishang Xiaojun, who had been bound by the Immortal Binding Rope and treated as a sinner in order to use the power of the Daoist Academy to save the mortal world.

Hua Sheng was somewhat anxious, trying hard to recall the reason. Perhaps it was because the Shudao Academy had suffered a major blow, or perhaps it was because of his close relationship with Wei Yu that he needed to be trapped here for investigation?

He examined the iron gate before him again. Although sturdy, it was just an ordinary iron gate, without any markings or protective spells. How could he possibly be trapped?
Hua Sheng smiled disdainfully at the iron gate.

He then chanted the incantation for passing through walls and peered forward. Just as he was about to pass through, he heard footsteps and the sound of wheels rolling from the other side of the corridor.

Hua Sheng stopped and listened carefully. Someone was walking this way. The footsteps were light, the rhythm neither too fast nor too slow, like a woman's.

Hanamori pressed his head against the doorway and then saw a female nurse pushing a trolley towards them. The nurse looked familiar; Hanamori was sure he'd seen her somewhere before. Hanamori tried hard to remember.

Isn't that the cat nurse from St. Pingning Hospital? The cat nurse who once made fun of me, I never thought she'd be back. Maybe she'll give me another laugh and a like.

The cat nurse went to the doorway and looked inside.

"Hey!" Hua Sheng patted the doorway. "Do you recognize me? It's me!"

The cat nurse looked at him and said with a smile, "Hanamori, I knew it was you!"

"Excuse me, is this St. Pingning Hospital?"

“Yes,” said the cat nurse. “This is St. Pingning Hospital.”

"I'm so sorry! I'm back again. I'm always troubling you with your care," Hua Sheng said.

The cat nurse didn't answer, but simply nodded in greeting. Then she took out the key and unlocked the door with a clang.

The light from the corridor shone in, and a slender silhouette appeared at the doorway.

"Hey! Where's your tail?" Hanamori suddenly noticed that the cat nurse's tail was gone, and she had turned into a complete human.

"Huh? The tail?" The cat nurse looked at him and said thoughtfully, "The tail is gone."

"Your cultivation has improved, hasn't it? You can't tell you're a Spirit Clan member anymore, you're just a beautiful woman!" Hua Sheng said with a smile.

"Thank you!" the cat nurse laughed. "How are you feeling today?"

"My whole body aches."

"Yes, you've been lying in bed for many days. You've had a fever and nightmares the whole time."

Hua Sheng lowered his head and pondered, then said, "Yes, I've been through too much. I can't recover in a short time."

"Then let him recover slowly." The cat nurse pushed the trolley into the room, took a thermos from the trolley, and poured a glass of water for Hana.

"Thank you!" Hua Sheng drank the water in one gulp.

The cat nurse took the water glass and poured him another one.

Hua Sheng asked, "What happened while I was asleep?"

"What's up? It's nothing much. Just busywork." The cat nurse seemed a little absent-minded.

"I mean, how is the Daoist Academy? Is everyone safe? Has the moon recovered?" Hua Sheng asked.

"The Academy of Arts and Martial Arts?" the cat nurse said. "You're still thinking about it?"

"Of course! How is Immortal Master Yu Ran? And my classmate, Tai Shang Xiao Jun, was he seriously injured before, is he well now?" Hua Sheng asked anxiously.

The cat nurse looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated.

"What's wrong? Is something bad going to happen?" Hanamori had a bad feeling.

“Hana-sei, we’ve told you many times, this is indeed St. Pingning Hospital.” The cat nurse took the empty thermos from the desk to the trolley, and then placed the thermos full of water on the desk. “There is no such place in the world as the Shudao Academy.”

(End of this chapter)