Chapter 24: Wife! How can I live without you?

"Let's go."

Fang Xiu uttered only one word before heading toward the emergency exit.

His spiritual energy was only at one percent, so his recovery was swift.

Since he had already recovered, there was no need for hesitation.

He walked slowly, frantically activating his senses, constantly monitoring his surroundings to ensure he could react immediately if anything went wrong.

Soon, he passed the sign, and nothing happened.

He continued forward, the door growing closer, with Zhao Hao and the others following closely behind, none of them encountering any danger.

But the more things went smoothly, the more uneasy he felt. If this place could scare away a female doctor, how could it possibly be safe?

Finally, he reached the door, and nothing had happened so far.

Could it be... that the real danger was hidden behind the door?

Bang!

He pushed open the door, and behind it was complete darkness, not a single ray of light, like a black hole.

"Xiu Ge, is this really a path inside? Isn't there any danger?"

"Even if there's danger, we have to go."

Fang Xiu replied, then stepped directly into the door. The darkness, like the gaping maw of an abyss, slowly swallowed his figure.

Darkness.

Complete darkness where one couldn't see their hand in front of their face.

Inside, nothing could be seen at all. What was most eerie was that not even sounds could be heard—it was silent to the point of deathly stillness.

No footsteps, no voices from Zhao Hao and the others—so much so that Fang Xiu still didn't know if the three had followed him.

He tried to open his mouth, his vocal cords vibrating, but no sound came out.

He tried to turn around, but the door behind him had already vanished. All around him was darkness. He waved his hand, but couldn't touch anything solid, let alone Zhao Hao and the others.

There was nothing left to do but keep moving forward.

One minute passed, then two, until ten minutes had elapsed, yet the surroundings remained pitch-black, as if this path had no end.

This isolating darkness could drive a normal person mad, but it had no effect on Fang Xiu.

Because his heart was darker than the path itself.

Just as Fang Xiu thought he would be trapped in the darkness forever, a faint light suddenly appeared before his eyes.

The light grew brighter, and the darkness receded rapidly.

The surroundings came into view like a tidal wave.

Fang Xiu was stunned.

Because... he had escaped.

That's right, he had left the mental hospital.

After the darkness receded, he found himself standing in the middle of a road, surrounded by rows of bright streetlights and beautifully landscaped green belts on both sides.

This was the tree-lined avenue he had walked before, leading to the Bai Liu Academy.

He turned around and saw Zhao Hao and the others with expressions of surprise, as well as the Bai Liu Academy in the distance.

Really... he's out?

"Great news, Xiu Ge! We've survived and left the eerie realm!" Zhao Hao exclaimed excitedly.

The other two were no exception, their faces brimming with the joy of having narrowly escaped death.

"Quick, let's get out of this eerie place!"

The two of them didn't want to linger here for a moment longer, and without any hesitation, they immediately fled.

"Xiu Ge, let's leave quickly too. What if the strange things inside escape?" Zhao Hao suggested.

But Fang Xiu didn't respond. Instead, he stared intently at the Bai Liu Academy, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

Why is the Qing Shan Mental Hospital gone?

Earlier, they couldn't see the Qing Shan Mental Hospital because they were inside it, so they couldn't see the whole picture like they could from the outside. But now that they were outside, they should be able to see the mental hospital.

Yet it was gone, leaving only the Bai Liu Academy.

Also, why did they leave so smoothly without encountering any danger?

The female doctor merely glanced at the sign and turned to run away.

They hadn't encountered any danger either.

Could it be... that the female doctor had some kind of restriction preventing her from leaving the mental hospital, so she fled in fear upon seeing the exit?

Puzzled beyond comprehension, he was eventually forced to leave first under Zhao Hao's constant urging.

But as he walked on, Fang Xiu discovered another thing that shocked him to the core.

The eerie... had disappeared!!

The strange phenomena that had once filled the streets, even the indescribable strange phenomena in the sky, had all vanished without a trace!

What on earth was going on!?

Fang Xiu's mind was completely thrown into chaos at that moment. He could accept escaping for no reason, he could accept the mental hospital disappearing—he could accept all of that.

But the one thing he couldn't accept was the strange phenomena disappearing from the streets!

Because then he couldn't take revenge.

The strange phenomena couldn't leave! They could only die!!

At this point, Fang Xiu ran home like a madman. Zhao Hao, who was beside him, couldn't keep up with his speed and was left behind long ago.

As he ran, Fang Xiu muttered frantically, "No, no, no! You can't disappear! You can't disappear!

At least... at least my wife can't disappear!

Wife! Wife!! You can't disappear, you must wait for me at home!!"

After running for a while, he finally spotted a taxi and hurriedly got in, urging the driver to head straight to the rental house.

After a long time, the taxi stopped at the entrance of Fang Xiu's residential complex.

"We're here. The total is... Hey! Don't run away! You haven't paid yet! The driver shouted, but Fang Xiu had already bolted out like a cheetah, disappearing into the night.

The driver's expression was one of shock, as Fang Xiu had run away too quickly, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

He dared not go after Fang Xiu to demand payment, not only because of the man's inhuman speed, but also because of his behavior in the car.

That man was not normal!

Who in their right mind would have bloodshot eyes, tremble constantly in the car, and keep muttering, "Wife, wife, you can't leave, you can't leave"?

"Ah, probably his wife ran off with someone else. He's a pitiful man," the driver sighed, then left.

....

Fang Xiu sprinted all the way home. The neighborhood was just like the outside world—nothing unusual could be seen, which made his mental state even more unstable.

Bang!

Fang Xiu pushed open the front door and burst inside like a madman.

"Wife! Where are you? Come out quickly!" He frantically searched.

Living room, bedroom, bathroom...

Nothing, nothing, still nothing!

"Wife, I can see you, come out!" Fang Xiu shouted with bloodshot eyes.

But the beautiful, gentle wife never appeared again.

"No!!"

Fang Xiu's mental state completely broke down, and he screamed and shouted as if he were collapsing.

"You can't disappear! The whole world can disappear, but not you... not you! Wife, how am I supposed to live without you?"

"Wife, you've killed me eighteen times already! If you disappear, what am I supposed to do with the rest of my life?"