The old woman's voice caught in her throat as she wiped away a tear. "But he's my son. How could I bear to send him to a place like that? I've heard that even sane people are driven mad in there..."
Li Xu nodded, signaling for the old woman to calm down.
He turned to the man, his voice rising slightly as he said sternly, "Don't just sit there in silence. You're a grown man. Don't you want to get better?"
"Look at your mother. Her hair is all white. At her age, she has to watch over you every day, constantly on edge, terrified that something might happen to you. Can you really bear to let her worry like this forever?"
Those words seemed to strike a sensitive nerve deep within the man.
His cheek twitched slightly, and the hand on his knee clenched into a tight fist.
After a long moment, he finally spoke.
His voice was hoarse and he stammered slightly, a clear sign he hadn't spoken much in a long time. "It's... it's been five years."
"How often, roughly?" Li Xu pressed.
