Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Fan Tu, known online as Fan Tu Tu, lay on a soft pink bed in the camera's view, stretching comfortably and turning over to continue sleeping.

No matter how she turned, the live-stream viewers could clearly see—

A fine crack seemed to have split open on her fluffy hair, from which terrifying roots crawled out, winding and sprouting into budding flowers. The flowers were blood-red, as if nourished by flesh, both enchanting and eerie.

A true flower-adorned girl.

The camera was shaking uncontrollably, revealing the state of mind of the person holding the phone.

"Sis, sis, you... please don't sleep, wake up!" Fan Xuan's voice trembled as he pushed Fan Tu's arm, barely holding back his immense fear.

Only then did Fan Tu Tu's fans fully realize why she had sought help in the fan group and refused to send voice messages. The person seeking help wasn't Fan Tu Tu herself but her younger brother!

"...Help, flowers growing on someone's head? Am I still dreaming?"

"Isn't this just a realistic hair accessory or something? This is too scary."

"She's cursed, she must be cursed! Damn, Wu Heng really knows his stuff, even spotting something unusual while watching beauty videos."

"Wu Heng is still awesome. My soul is about to leave my body, and he's still eating."

Wu Heng had seen countless patients with strange illnesses before, and eating or drinking never affected him.

The spicy chicken burger was absolutely delicious. The chicken was crispy, and the spicy seasoning added an extra layer of flavor. Wu Heng felt he could eat another one!

"Big sis!" Fan Xuan failed to wake Fan Tu. With no one else at home, he felt a chill run down his spine and hurried to open the curtains, revealing the glow of the setting sun outside.

"Ugh... who told you to open the curtains! It's blinding!" The girl on the bed finally reacted, her morning grumpiness making her rub her eyes and sit up, only to see her brother's horrified expression.

Fan Tu yawned and leaned closer to the phone, then let out a series of screams, kicking Fan Xuan's calf and complaining, "Stupid brother! Why are you live-streaming? And why this ugly special effect on me!"

Fan Xuan: "..."

Fan Xuan almost cried. If only it were just a special effect.

Noticing her foolish brother's terrified expression, Fan Tu reached up to touch her face and then her hair. The once smooth strands now felt like thin wooden sticks, like branches, even slightly prickly.

Fan Tu's expression changed. Struggling against her drowsiness, she quickly climbed out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. A few seconds later, a terrified scream echoed from the girl.

"My head... my hair..."

"What is this? Flowers? Unopened buds?"

Facing the mirror, Fan Tu reached up and carefully touched the bud on her head. She didn't feel the warmth of human skin; it was like a crimson plant growing in nature, unnaturally enchanting.

She had just been sleeping. Why did she wake up with flowers growing on her head? Was she under some kind of curse?!

Fan Tu's mind was already hazy, and the sudden shock made her collapse to the floor.

"Older sis!" Fan Xuan rushed over to help Fan Tu up. Seeing her too weak to stand, he stuffed the phone into his pocket and carried her to the sofa.

"Wuwu, even though brothers are usually for smacking, at times like this, a younger brother is really a protector."

"When I was a kid, I didn't like spitting out watermelon seeds, and adults scared me by saying my head would grow watermelons if I didn't. Is there some truth to that? Scary."

"Who! Who mocked my husband for watching beauty videos and coming up with bad advice?! Come out and face the music! Now you see how skilled my husband is, don't you?"

"Got it, I'm kneeling and watching the live stream to apologize to the great shaman..."

"So what's going on? This is just too bizarre!"

The famous female streamer Tu Tu from Shark has flowers sprouting from her head, a scene no less shocking than when He Yunxiao once spat out a live snake. Instantly, hundreds of thousands of viewers flooded in, and the barrage of comments nearly crashed the live stream.

Wu Heng took the iced cola handed by Shi Xuan, "This flower is called the Beauty's Blush, nourished by the essence of a beauty's blood to grow."

Tu Tu's fans immediately understood and became even more nervous and scared.

"No wonder Tu Tu has been so drowsy lately, sleeping up to twenty hours a day. It's because this flower has been sucking her essence? Her brain is naturally foggy due to insufficient blood supply."

"What? Beauty's Blush? Did the Third Prince grow taller again?"

"Damn, I just checked out that video. This streamer really knows their stuff, diagnosing a strange illness just by watching a video?"

"Wow, flowers sprouting from a human brain, truly something you see after living long enough... Please let me know when you mutate and ascend."

Fan Tu muttered, "So I'm officially recognized as a beauty?"

Fan Xuan: "...?"

Concerned fans: "?"

Is that really the point you should be focusing on?

Receiving Fan Tu's puzzled look, Fan Xuan awkwardly said, "Well, sis, didn't you not believe it? I watched this shaman's live stream and found it quite credible, so... so while you were asleep, I washed your hair with cold water."

Fan Tu slept like a rock, not even waking up when cold water was poured on her head!

Just as he was about to dry her hair with a hairdryer, he turned around and saw a small red sprout slowly emerging from his sister's head.

Yes, not a fresh green sprout, but a tender blood-red one!

"Usually, plants are watered with cold water, especially well water, which is yin in nature and can detect yin evil."

Everyone suddenly understood—no wonder Wu Heng's comment was so bizarre! That's what he meant.

Someone in the barrage commented, "So pouring cold water on my head can prove if I'm a great beauty?"

"So, if I shave my head, will I be saved?" Fan Tu asked heartbrokenly, having nurtured this beautiful hair for many years, now having to shave it off to save her life.

Fan Tu could only comfort herself: It's okay, I can wear wigs later, haha...

Fan Tu even regretted a bit, wondering if she had listened to Wu Heng and shaved her head, would she have avoided this strange occurrence?

"It's all the same, treating the symptoms not the root cause," Wu Heng said, biting his straw. "The roots have spread through all the blood vessels in your brain."

Fan Tu suddenly grabbed the flower, trying to pull it out, causing instant severe pain in her scalp, as if all the blood in her body rushed to her head, making her gasp, "Oh my, it hurts!"

Wu Heng paused mid-sip of his iced cola—this girl is quite fierce.

He Yunxiao, feeding his snake daughter, couldn't help but admire her. Impressive, even more so than when he found out he was carrying a snake fetus—she just yanked it out?

Fan Xuan is a sophomore at the capital city's medical university, born under the red flag and raised in the spring breeze, now facing the greatest challenge to his materialistic beliefs. After pondering for a while, Fan Xuan asked, "Teacher, what exactly is my sister's condition? Is it a bacterial infection? I once read about a disease called tree man syndrome, which is actually a skin disease."

Wu Heng was surprised, he thought he had made it quite clear.

"Simply put, someone planted a seed in your sister's head as if it were a flower pot."

Fan Tu and Fan Xuan, the siblings, both looked extremely pale and distressed, never expecting to encounter such a dark and sinister event.

Fan Tu, trembling with fear and confusion, asked, "What does this person want to do?"

Wu Heng, drawing out his words as if narrating a tale, said, "You all must know about ginseng, right? Cultivated in deep mountains for many years, it gains spiritual properties and becomes a rare tonic herb."

A shiver ran through everyone as Wu Heng leisurely continued, "A flower nourished by the essence of a beautiful woman is a hundred times more potent than ginseng."

Fan Tu, recalling the excruciating pain from just lightly tugging at the flower, shivered and asked, "Are you going to dig the flower out of my head?"

Wouldn't that kill her from the sheer pain? Could she even survive that?

Wu Heng chuckled, realizing the girl still didn't grasp the mindset of a herbalist. He said, "Such a potent herb, of course, we would take the flower, pot and all..."

The flower, pot and all...

For a moment, the room fell into complete silence.

The chat was flooded with exclamations, and the netizens were equally terrified.

"Oh my god, it's not even midnight yet, but the streamer's words really freaked me out. I got goosebumps in the middle of summer!"

"Shouldn't we call the police? Could this turn into a murder case? Would the police even believe it?"

"!!! So scary! Baby Heng Heng, don't scare me! I'm such a scaredy-cat."

"My Tu Tu has to be okay, she's my favorite blogger, absolutely perfect!"

"Brother Heng, please help our Tu Tu out. If you can help, we fans will collectively raise money to send you a thousand Carnivals."

He Yunxiao, sensing something was off, put down the chicken slice he was feeding Xi Xi and gently tugged at Wu Heng's sleeve under the table, coughing lightly.

This wasn't like that dumb snake causing a pregnancy scare with a snake fetus. If someone was using the essence of a beautiful woman to cultivate a flower for tonic purposes, the person behind it surely wouldn't be a good person, right? Wu Heng seemed to be just an ordinary shaman running a small clinic.

Shi Xuan, watching the tugged sleeve, withdrew his outstretched hand.

Fan Tu's face turned pale, her fear unable to stave off her drowsiness. Her eyelids began to droop, and soon she was leaning against Fan Xuan, asleep.

"Sister! Fan Tu, Tu Tu, wake up, please don't sleep!"

Fan Xuan shouted anxiously, never having been so worried about his sister, who had always been tough on him since childhood.

Fan Xuan half-hugged his sister's arm to prevent her from slipping, while also holding the phone for the live stream. He was even thinking about kneeling to beg Wu Heng for help, completely flustered and unsure of what to do.

Everyone was staring at Wu Heng, who was still quietly drinking his iced cola in the live stream. The hopes of countless viewers rested on him, waiting for Wu Heng's response.

Before signing off, Wu Heng finally said, "I'll send a prescription via private message later. The flower will bloom in three days, come back for a follow-up on that day."

That statement was truly reassuring!

*

He Yunxiao couldn't help but give Wu Heng a thumbs-up. The kindness of a healer was indeed not just talk.

Wu Heng got up and headed towards the ordering counter again. He Yunxiao was amazed by how much Wu Heng could eat.

Wu Heng planned to buy some food to bring to Zhou Yi and Eugene. The nearest KFC was in town; Nan Nuo Village didn't have any.

With Wu Heng gone, only He Yunxiao and Shi Xuan remained at the table, along with a small gray snake.

He Yunxiao had actually been a little intimidated by Shi Xuan before, but after spending the afternoon together, aside from Shi Xuan being a bit gloomy and unhealthy, he seemed alright?

He Yunxiao glanced at the small gray snake still vigorously gnawing on the chicken, thinking about the reason for its birth—it was because he had heard Shi Xuan casually mention it. Xi Xi also had a slight connection to Shi Xuan, right?

He Yunxiao pressed Xi Xi's head and suddenly, on a whim, turned to Shi Xuan and asked, "Shi Xuan, would you be interested in being my snake daughter's god-dad?"

Shi Xuan: "No."

The rejection was quick and to the point.

He Yunxiao rubbed his nose. At their age, probably no guy would want to take on another goddaughter, right?

He got it. He really did.

When he first got a snake daughter, he couldn't accept it either.

He Yunxiao chuckled awkwardly, "It's fine, it's fine. My daughter has already recognized Wu Heng as her primary godfather anyway."

Shi Xuan suddenly stood up and walked toward the ordering counter. Wu Heng immediately blocked his view and said, "This is for my family. I'll cover it myself."

Shi Xuan nodded and said something to the server.

Shortly after, Wu Heng came back with a KFC takeout bag, walking with Shi Xuan toward He Yunxiao and Xi Xi.

Shi Xuan extended his hand, offering a KFC kids' meal card, and said, "A little something from the second godfather."