Chapter 1

Chapter 1

As the evening sky gradually darkened, wisps of cooking smoke rose from the village in the southwestern borderlands, mingling with the aromas of various meals.

Wu Heng slowly opened his eyes, sniffing the scent of food. Above him hung a milky-white mosquito net, its stripes uneven and with a few small tears.

Wu Heng pushed himself up groggily from the wooden bed, noticing a handcrafted desk in the dimly lit room. Near the door, several handwoven bamboo hats hung on the wall.

A wave of memories rushed into his mind, and Wu Heng quickly absorbed them. His confused gaze gradually sharpened as he murmured softly:

"Father... Grandfather..."

Since he could remember, Wu Heng had been alone. Three hundred years ago, he had received a divine revelation: if he became an outstanding shaman of his time, he would have the chance to reunite with his family.

Although his grandfather and father were not home at the moment, Wu Heng was not worried. He believed they would meet soon.

As Wu Heng envisioned that reunion, the sound of footsteps echoed from the wooden staircase. Soon, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy with a round head and round glasses climbed up, slightly out of breath. "Wu Heng, dinner's ready at my place. My mom made crispy roasted pork knuckle today."

At the thought of the tender, crispy pork knuckle, Zhou Yi's eyes behind his thick glasses sparkled. Wu Heng's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and the two of them, with perfect tacit understanding, immediately headed downstairs.

Wu Heng's grandfather was the only village doctor in the mountain village, running a forty-year-old Chengde Medical Hall. The upper floor served as their private residence, while the entire lower floor was the clinic. The main hall was adorned with paintings of Hua Tuo, Zhang Zhongjing, and others, and various medicinal herbs were housed in the cabinets.

Emerging from the clinic, which was permeated by the faint scent of herbs, the two walked through the winding, maze-like cobblestone alleys.

Amidst the aroma of food, a strange tune of drum music echoed from the brightly lit distance, followed by the crackling of firecrackers.

Zhou Yi pushed his glasses up his nose and whispered in surprise, "Why does that drum music sound so odd?"

This was a distinctive funeral custom of the Nan Nuo Village. When a villager breathed their last, firecrackers were set off at their doorstep to announce the death. The number of firecrackers was fixed: three long rolls for the elderly, two for adults, and one for minors who died before the age of eighteen.

Judging by the quick succession of firecrackers, it was likely a minor who had passed away.

Wu Heng gazed at the distant courtyard and said, "The soul-summoning drum music for untimely deaths is played in a lower key."

Zhou Yi was about to nod when he suddenly looked at Wu Heng in surprise. "Wu Heng, is your mind... clear now?"

Wu Heng turned his gaze back, his lips twitching slightly.

His mind had always been sound.

Everyone in Nan Nuo Village knew that since the day Wu Heng was brought home, he had been a child with cognitive impairments. The words "normal" and Wu Heng were never associated.

As a result, many in the village bullied Wu Heng. Zhou Yi, of course, dared not offend the troublemakers, but he secretly informed his grandfather, the village chief, who the next day severely reprimanded the gang led by the Lai family's son.

Zhou Yi couldn't help but examine the suddenly clear Wu Heng. He had always known that Wu Heng was exceptionally handsome, with eyes as dark as the night sky and fair skin that seemed resistant to tanning, especially the vermilion mole between his eyebrows, which was identical to the statue of the river god his grandfather had taken him to worship.

Wu Heng looked at Zhou Yi's round, out-of-shape body and said, "Watch your weight, or you'll be next."

As soon as Wu Heng finished speaking, Zhou Yi's mother, wearing an apron, came out and waved to them. "A-Yi, Xiao Heng, come and eat!"

Thinking of the crispy roasted pork knuckle, the two hurriedly scrubbed their hands in the kitchen and eagerly sat down at the table.

Zhou Yi first served Wu Heng a piece, then stuffed a particularly tender piece of pork knuckle into his own mouth, mumbling, "Mom, where's Grandpa?"

Just as he finished speaking, an old man in a white vest, with bare arms and two cigarettes tucked behind his ears—one a hand-rolled cigarette and the other a white cigarette—entered from outside.

The village chief washed his hands and sat down, sighing, "The Lai family's child has passed. After dinner, we'll need to go and help."

In the village, when a funeral was held, every household would lend a hand in some way.

Zhou Yi, who was almost burying his face in the bowl, suddenly looked up as if he had misheard, "Who died? I just saw him yesterday..."

"Cut it out!" The village chief glared at Zhou Yi. He had been extremely busy lately and turned to look at Wu Heng, who was sitting next to his grandson and eating heartily, with a worried expression, "Wu Heng, why hasn't your grandfather returned from the mountain to collect herbs?"

Wu Heng's grandfather had said a few days ago that he was going into the mountains to collect herbs and had entrusted Wu Heng to the village chief's family for meals. The old man wasn't worried about feeding an extra mouth but was concerned that Dr. Wu hadn't returned yet.

If it hadn't been for the text message confirming he was safe, the village chief would have considered going to the only police station several miles outside the village to report him missing.

Wu Heng looked at the nearly empty bamboo basket of roasted pork knuckles, put down his chopsticks, and pinched his slender, pale fingers to calculate, comforting, "Grandpa Chief, my grandpa will be fine. Don't worry about him."

The village chief looked at Wu Heng in surprise, "Wait, has this kid recovered?"

Zhou Yi wiped his greasy mouth and said, "Grandpa, Wu Heng suddenly became normal just now."

The village chief looked at Wu Heng, whose eyes were now clear and no longer dazed, and was greatly surprised.

The old man slapped his thigh in amazement, "That Lai Mazi from years back really had some skills!"

Seeing everyone's curious looks, the village chief cleared his throat and said, "It's Lai Mazi, who read Wu Heng's fortune when he was brought back, saying Wu Heng was missing one of his three souls and that it would return after a few years."

Wu Heng was adopted by the Wu family, and it was no secret in the village.

This story goes back to Wu Heng's dad, Wu Su. When Wu Su was a kid, he was playing in the small river east of the village when his ankle cramped, as if someone was yanking him hard into the river's depths.

At that moment, Wu Su was so scared that he struggled and shouted, choking on several mouthfuls of water. Just as he was about to be swept away by the undercurrent, the crazy Lai Mazi yanked Wu Su out of the river.

Dr. Wu had planned to prepare gifts to thank Lai Mazi for his kindness, but Lai Mazi vanished completely. He was gone for seven or eight years until one stormy night seventeen years ago when Lai Mazi suddenly showed up at Chengde Medical Hall with a child and handed the child over to the grandfather and grandson.

That child was Wu Heng.

The next morning, Lai Mazi died. He drowned in the same small river where he'd saved Wu Su.

The grandfather and grandson reported to the police to confirm the baby wasn't kidnapped. Wu Su, looking at the adorable Wu Heng in the swaddle and remembering Lai Mazi's life-saving act, formally adopted him.

This story spread through the village, and the villagers initially thought it was Lai Mazi's way of quickly offloading the baby to comfort the Wu family. Who would've thought that Wu Heng would one day become normal?

Zhou's mom couldn't help but pull Wu Heng to look him over, finding it quite extraordinary.

After telling this well-known story in the village, the village chief paid special attention to Wu Heng's expression and added, "Wu Heng is a child who has been entered into the Wu family genealogy. Old Wu treats this grandson as his own, very dearly."

Wu Heng smiled understandingly. The village chief was probably worried that now that he had suddenly become normal, he might feel estranged because he was adopted by the Wu family.

Wu Heng said, "Grandpa Chief, don't worry."

When Wu Heng woke up, he had an additional memory in his mind. It turned out they were living in a book. His father, Wu Su, had by chance become the butler of a wealthy family in the capital. Later, after learning the secrets of the domineering CEO, he was discarded by the CEO and expelled from the wealthy family. In the end, his father would die "in poverty."

And Dr. Wu, already advanced in age, would be devastated by the loss of his son and pass away within a year.

Over the years, Wu Su had been sending large sums of money home every month, allowing the grandfather and grandson to live comfortably in the village. It seemed his salary as a butler for the wealthy family was not low.

Perhaps because they were insignificant supporting characters, the book did not detail why Wu Su ended up dying in poverty, and it was unclear if there were other hidden reasons for his "poverty."

Wu Heng, who had finally gained a family, would not let anything happen to them. Since his father might end up dying "in poverty," he decided to earn some money for his father before the CEO's secrets were exposed.

So Wu Heng sincerely asked the village chief, "Grandpa Chief, what is the most profitable thing to do now?"

Zhou Yi burped and instinctively answered, "The most profitable thing now is probably being a celebrity, an internet influencer, or doing live streams."

Zhou's mother glared at her son, afraid he would lead the newly normal Wu Heng astray, and admonished, "You should focus on studying and not always think about fooling around."

"Since Xiao Heng is now a normal child, let's talk to the school and see if he can enroll normally? Only by getting more education can he leave the mountains."

Zhou Yi's lips twitched, but he didn't say anything.

Wu Heng remembered from his memory that Wu Su had called home recently, saying that he had already communicated with his employer and planned to take him and Dr. Wu to live in the capital city in three months. The capital is a big city with greater tolerance for children with intellectual disabilities.

Seeing the warning look in his daughter-in-law's eyes, the village chief put down his medicinal wine cup and smiled, "Ayi's mother, times have changed, and the internet has its benefits too. If we get a few more influencers to promote Nan Nuo Village, and once the high-speed rail is operational, we can develop tourism and let the villagers enjoy prosperous lives."

Nan Nuo Village is located in a remote area, and in recent years, under the guidance of the government, it has been preparing to develop tourism to attract visitors, hence many innovative measures have been implemented.

Thinking of this, the village chief's face showed concern again: "Wu Heng, your grandpa probably won't be able to come back in the next couple of days, so what should we do about the 'Hundred-Day Live Streaming Plan' on Shark Video Platform? Should we withdraw?"

Recently, short videos have become very popular, and new capitalists want to get a piece of the pie, hence the launch of Shark Video Platform. To promote the platform, they initiated the "Hundred-Day Live Streaming Plan" event, where new streamers who complete a hundred consecutive days of live streaming can receive at least five thousand yuan in bonuses from the event.

The village chief, in order to promote the tourism economy of Nan Nuo Village, has been inviting the only village doctor, Dr. Wu, to participate in this live streaming event. Dr. Wu, unable to refuse the village chief, had to register an account on Shark Video Platform and sign up for the event.

Who knew that Dr. Wu went up the mountain to collect herbs and hasn't returned yet, and tomorrow is the official start day of the live streaming event.

The village chief thought, annoyed, could that sly old man Wu be avoiding this on purpose because he couldn't say no?

Wu Heng thought for a moment and said, "Village Chief Grandpa, since that's the case, I can participate in the live streaming on behalf of my grandpa."

His grandpa is the only village doctor, the most renowned shaman in three hundred years, so it shouldn't be a problem for him to step in.

These days, not everyone can make a living online. Even though Wu Heng has become normal now, the village chief didn't take Wu Heng's words seriously, but he didn't refuse him outright either.

Young people always have some enthusiasm for new things, and when the enthusiasm fades, it's fine. He didn't want to dampen Wu Heng's confidence. Especially since Wu Heng has just become normal again, he should be very enthusiastic about everything.

As everyone was finishing their meal and setting down their chopsticks, a man with a white cloth tied around his head came in through the threshold, looking scared and nervous, he stammered, "Village Chief, you need to go check on the Lai family. Lai Wazi's coffin... the coffin..."

The village chief had just come back for a quick meal and had to hurry to the Lai family to help. Hearing this, he quickly slipped on his straw sandals and hurried outside.

Zhou Yi's mother, hearing the strange drum music in the distance, also took off her apron and walked towards the Lai family, not forgetting to call back and remind Zhou Yi: "Ayi, you go back to your room and do your homework, I'll wash the dishes when I come back."

Zhou Yi silently gazed at the leftover bowls on the table, and after a few seconds, began to clean up the mess.

Wu Heng, after having a meal at the Zhou family, also got up to help clean the dishes, planning to take them to the kitchen to wash.

The dirty dishes were piled in a basin full of soapy water, with a loofah for scrubbing floating in it.

With the faint sound of mournful drum music in the distance, Zhou Yi, while wiping the plates, broke the silence in the kitchen by saying to Wu Heng, "The pork knuckle tonight was really tasty, but there was too little of it. I wonder when we'll get to have it again."

Wu Heng, lowering his head and washing the plates seriously, with a bit of foam on his nose, casually replied, "Go to the funeral banquet."

Zhou Yi was stunned, couldn't help but lower his voice and said, "Funeral banquet? Aren't we talking about pork knuckle? Are you talking about... Lai Wazi's funeral banquet?"

Zhou Yi frowned tightly. In Nan Nuo Village, it's taboo to attend funeral banquets for unnatural deaths, especially for half-grown teenagers like them.

His grandpa is the village chief, so he has to go to the Lai family to help, but they don't have to go.

Zhou Yi really dislikes that kid from the Lai family, who in the village teases cats and dogs and acts like a ghost fire teenager. Zhou Yi once saw Lai Wazi throw Wu Heng into the dry well at the east end of the village, causing Wu Heng to bleed all over his head. It was Zhou Yi who helped pull Wu Heng up after Lai Wazi and his gang left.

Zhou Yi, seeing that Wu Heng wasn't disfigured, couldn't help but ask, "Wu Heng, have you forgotten how Lai Wazi bullied you now that you're normal?"

Zhou Yi threw the loofah into the water basin and whispered a reminder, "Why are you going to his funeral banquet? Aren't you avoiding it?"

Wu Heng was surprised, "Don't you still want to eat crispy roasted pork knuckle?"

Zhou Yi, thinking of the tender roasted pork knuckle tonight, couldn't help but swallow his saliva, but just as he was about to nod, he was shocked again: "You're going to the funeral just to eat and get a pork knuckle?"

Wu Heng's calm tone carried a hint of confusion, "What else?"

Zhou Yi: "..."

A hero who dares to freeload at a funeral feast.