Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Lu Guoliang was momentarily speechless and even felt a bit confused.

After he was caught, he spent a long time replaying what had happened. He once suspected that the pills made from the prescription given by Wu Heng were behind his deadly hallucinations.

And the final ingredient Wu Heng mentioned—cartilage—was just something he made up on the spot when he decided to confront Liu Ziyang, that brat, for revenge.

But, it turned out that Wu Heng actually cured him?

Given that, why did he even confront Wu Heng? He could have just gone to buy some chicken feet or pig cartilage to snack on, and that would have been the end of it! Why go through all the trouble?

Wu Heng let out a soft snort from his nose, speaking in a sincere tone, “Mr. Lu, they say that doctors don’t pick and choose their patients, not even the worst criminals lose the right to treatment.”

“Consider it an act of kindness, just a free consultation from me. I truly am an extremely benevolent shaman.”

Lu Guoliang: “……”

Listen, listen to Wu Heng’s tone, as if he’s the one getting the short end of the stick!

In this instance, Wu Heng didn’t actually gain much. The online attention was one thing, but the most important was the merit he accumulated, which money can’t buy.

Wu Heng sat up in bed and said, “Mr. Lu, here's my final piece of advice. If you don’t want to be severely punished in the underworld after death, hand over all the smuggled cultural relics.”

Wu Heng gave a slight smirk and said, “Otherwise, you’ll experience all eighteen layers of hell.”

Lu Guoliang felt a chill all over his body.

He knew he was done for. The massive crimes he committed—killing the son of a police officer, brutally murdering women, raping young girls, illegally entering the country last night, and just now endangering public safety—were enough to get him several bullets.

Dying would be bad enough, but being punished in the underworld…

He originally thought that if he died in the South Sea, he would be reincarnated there, and the underworld of the small South Sea wouldn’t have the authority or jurisdiction to punish him for his crimes in Huaxia. He could just not be a Huaxian in the next life, no problem.

But, he was caught and brought back to Huaxia!! Now the underworld of Huaxia would be dealing with him.

Lu Guoliang shivered all over, truly finished.

“You committed heinous crimes for wealth, and now you’re arrested because of wealth, completing the karmic cycle.”

Lu Guoliang’s throat tightened. “You know?”

Wu Heng sneered, “I already told you, when I take your pulse, I know everything about your past and future.”

Lu Guoliang had suspected that someone was setting him up when he encountered a female ghost with a contagious disease.

Later, Lu Guoliang indeed received a letter from an organization, claiming they knew about his disease and would cure him for half of his wealth. If not, he would die within three days.

He had built his fortune from nothing, and now all his life’s work was being taken away by a scam? Lu Guoliang couldn’t accept it!

But neither his masters nor doctors could help him. To protect his wealth, Lu Guoliang decided to take the risk and return to Huaxia to find Wu Heng, only to be caught?

At that moment, Lu Guoliang’s regret was so deep that his guts turned green. He should have just handed over half of his wealth, instead of ending up like this. Being punished both in the living world and the underworld—how could he bear it?

Wu Heng felt slightly worried. The scam Lu Guoliang fell for happened during a dinner with a domestic tycoon, and the ones behind it might be in Huaxia.

In this world full of demons and evil spirits, peace was truly elusive.

"Thank you, Dr. Wu, it's good to know there's no risk of getting infected." Wang Jun breathed a sigh of relief, picking up his phone and urging the hysterically crying young nurse to get up quickly so she could go handle things with Xiao Li, who was also affected.

Although there was no risk of contracting the disease, it was still an occupational exposure, a misfortune.

Wang Jun was still very busy, so Wu Heng hung up the phone without further bother and got up instead of sleeping more.

When Wu Heng went downstairs, Eugene had already opened the clinic and set out a dozen dishes on the dining table, which left Wu Heng astonished. "Eugene, is it an early New Year's celebration or something? Why are we eating so well in the morning?"

Eugene carried a bucket in from the courtyard outside the clinic, hurriedly came over, and urged Wu Heng to sit down. "Didn't you get scared last night? I asked my mom to make some good food. Eat more to calm your nerves."

Eugene crossed over the long bench and sat down next to Wu Heng, his face troubled as he nagged, "What kind of mess is this? Our courtyard is all bloody. I've just scrubbed it many times with water and a brush, but you can still see it. I just don't understand why they had to freak out at our clinic entrance."

Wu Heng picked up the soy milk and savored the golden fried rice, casually saying, "Eugene, later, just throw a handful of soil from the flower bed into the bucket of water, and you'll be able to clean the blood stains at the entrance."

"By the way, this soy milk tastes really good. Did Uncle Yu grind the soybeans by hand? Do we have any leftover soybeans? Can you give them to me?"

Eugene, munching on pickles with his steamed bun, didn't give much thought to Wu Heng's request and nodded. "There are some leftovers. I'll pack some for you."

After finishing breakfast, Wu Heng left the clinic, carrying a small bag of soybeans as he headed toward the Village Chief's house.

Upon knocking and entering, he saw Zhou Yi's mother washing clothes in the courtyard, pouring the water to irrigate the vegetables. When she turned around and saw Wu Heng, she smiled. "Little Heng, did you come to see Ah Yi?"

Wu Heng nodded, and Zhou's mother smiled at him. "Little Heng, our Ah Yi has gone to school. It's the start of the semester, after all."

Wu Heng remembered that the town's school was supposed to start the day after tomorrow. Or was it a day earlier for an entrance exam?

Zhou's mother hesitated for a moment, offering Wu Heng a small stool to sit on, and said, "Little Heng, there's something I need to tell you. You're different from Ah Yi. His studies are the most important thing right now. Our whole family hopes he can succeed and see more of the world, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't distract him from his studies."

Some time ago, Zhou's mother had discovered that her diligent son was messing with strange herbs, seemingly the raw materials for Wu Heng's mosquito repellent.

She found over a hundred mosquito repellents hidden in his study drawer, which were seemingly meant to be packaged and sent out by a courier.

That night, Zhou's mother couldn't help but get into a big argument with Zhou Yi.

Zhou's mother was furious. What time was this? Senior year! In June next year, he would be taking the college entrance exam. How could he focus on such things now?

When caught, Zhou Yi looked uncomfortable, not daring to look his mother in the eye as he muttered, "Mom, I've got it under control. I have to finish what I promised. It'll only take two or three days."

Zhou's mother's voice rose uncontrollably. "Who told you to do these things? Is this what you should be doing now? Stop it! We don't need the little money you're earning!"

The mother and son had a cold war, and Zhou's mother hadn't expected her usually shy and introverted son to be so stubborn.

The cold war continued, but a few days ago, it seemed like her son suddenly realized and began to study seriously. His grandpa even said he saw him studying late at night.

Zhou's mother got up and went inside, bringing out a large bag and placing it in front of Wu Heng. "Little Heng, is this your mosquito repellent? Do you want to take it back yourself to send out, or should I call a courier for you?"

"You like eating braised pork trotters. Aunt Zhou had some free time today and made it for you, okay?"

Wu Heng looked at the packaged mosquito repellent in the cloth bag, brought it to the front, and smiled. "No need, Aunt Zhou. I'll ask Eugene to help me send it out."

Wu Heng paused, curious. "Is studying that important?"

Zhou's mother quickly replied, "Of course, it is. For young people your age, studying is the most important thing."

"Ah Yi has been reviewing so diligently lately. He's sure to top the entrance exam this time."

A cold look flashed in Zhou's mother's eyes. "No one should delay Ah Yi's studies!"

"Little Heng, please don't look for Ah Yi to play for the time being, okay?"

Housework can be done next year, internet can be used after the exams, friends can be made after the college entrance examination, and even entertainment should also be postponed until after the exams.

Zhou Yi now has only one goal: to study!

If a person could go 24 hours without resting, then studying for 24 hours is no big deal. As long as you don’t drop dead, keep studying till you drop.

As parents, would they ever harm their own child when it comes to their education?

Wu Heng said nothing, simply tying the cloth bag. Just as he was about to leave, Village Chief Zhou Dagui walked in. Seeing Wu Heng, he was so shocked that he immediately grabbed him, extremely delighted.

The old man slapped his thigh in excitement, "Wow! When I was at the police station giving my statement and heard them mention you, I thought they were talking about someone with the same name."

Since Old Doctor Wu had seemingly vanished, Zhou Dagui hadn't expected Wu Heng to actually make a success of the "Chengde Medical Hall" account on Shark Video Platform. It wasn’t until he overheard others talking about it and checked it out himself that he was blown away!

The "Chengde Medical Hall" account was close to 10 million followers! There were hundreds of fan groups already.

Zhou Dagui had been worried that the strange old man who had wandered into their Nan Nuo Village would scare off tourists. After all, if safety couldn’t be guaranteed, who would come to visit?

Fearing that news of the previous night's incident would spread, it ended up becoming common knowledge. Reporters swarmed the police station, and Zhou Dagui found himself in the celebrity spotlight for the first time in his life.

Initially, the old village chief thought he had really messed up and was close to tears the previous night. At his age, he had hoped to rely on the government to help develop tourism in the village and improve the villagers' lives.

As the situation gained traction, he heard that netizens were discussing Chengde Medical Hall and Wu Heng, and that #NanNuoVillage# had even become a trending topic.

Who would have imagined that their tiny Nan Nuo Village would be put on the map? It was so small that even the most unreliable maps hadn’t marked it!

On his way back from the police station, Zhou Dagui received numerous phone calls and was in a daze the entire time.

"Village Chief, did you know? My guesthouse officially opens next week, and it’s already fully booked!"

"Some tourists also called to ask if we offer pick-up services. All I have is a tricycle."

The call was from Wu Heng's second uncle, who owned a guesthouse. It wasn’t scheduled to open yet, but Li Hao and a few wealthy Beijing guys had invested a lot of money to get it opened early.

With the Beijing big shots back to school, the second uncle had been worried that the guesthouse, which had cost hundreds of thousands to build, might suffer a huge loss.

Turns out, it was booked solid in advance! When he asked, it turned out it was all because of Wu Heng.

It was less a guesthouse and more like an inpatient department for Chengde Medical Hall.

The old village chief was ecstatic, hardly able to believe that young Wu Heng had actually revived the account and drawn in so many tourists.

Lost in thought, he said, "We must keep the first batch of tourists. Our village's Nuo ritual is only held in the first month of the lunar year. Should we hold it earlier? Since Lai Wazi is gone, who will be the lead dancer?"

When he got home and saw Wu Heng, the main character, Zhou Dagui was even happier. He kept holding Wu Heng's hand, praising him for surpassing his master, saying he was even better than Old Doctor Wu.

"Good child, well done! Although you've never been to school, you've acquired a skill to make a living. Old Doctor Wu can finally rest easy knowing you're capable." Zhou Dagui looked at Wu Heng with great satisfaction, as he had watched him grow up.

Zhou's mother was surprised to hear this and felt happy for Wu Heng. At the same time, she said, "Once Ah Yi gets through this year, after studying hard and getting into college, both of the children we've been watching over will have found their paths."

Zhou Dagui, aware of the argument between mother and son some time ago, said, "Daughter-in-law, Ah Yi's studies are important, and we understand that. But let's not keep emphasizing it and put too much pressure on him. Doing his best is enough."

Zhou's mother didn't agree with her father-in-law in her heart, but she nodded outwardly.

Wu Heng looked and suddenly pulled out a cloth bag from his pocket, handing it to Zhou Dagui. "Uncle Zhou, these are soybeans from the hall's pharmacy. If Zhou Yi feels too much academic pressure, let him snack on these to relax."

The Village Chief casually accepted it, treating it as a small snack from a friend.

Wu Heng left the Village Chief's house holding a cloth bag with mosquito repellent, then turned back to look at Zhou Yi's study.

Diseases of the body are easy to treat, but diseases of the heart are hard to cure. Sometimes, getting sick is necessary.

Wu Heng returned to Chengde Medical Hall and arranged for delivery, contacting a courier nearby to send out the pre-ordered mosquito repellent to avoid delays.

Zhou Yi had already started school, and Wu Heng found himself thinking of He Yunxiao and his group. The school start dates across the country should be roughly the same, shouldn't they?

The group leader was Li Hao, and the administrator was Wang Dong, along with a few other administrators.

"Baby Heng Heng: Have you guys started school?"

Li Hao replied first, "Yes, as soon as school started, the homeroom teacher started creating a tense atmosphere and asked if students wanted to stay in dorms."

"He Yunxiao: I signed the form agreeing to stay in the dorms, but don't let me be in the same room as @Group Leader Li Hao."

"Group Leader - Li Hao: You want to be our roommate, but we don't want you either, to be honest."

Shi Xuan sent a voice message, his voice as deep as ever, "I commute."

"Administrator - Wang Dong: ? No sense of decency! Can't you see that Dr. Wu asked in writing?"

Li Hao and the others felt that Shi Xuan shouldn't be in this group; he lacked the awareness to support Wu Heng.

He Yunxiao breathed a sigh of relief. He would rather stay with Li Hao and the others than with Shi Xuan. Luckily, Shi Xuan commutes.

The school wasn't far from the villa. It was just that Shi Xuan, being the top student in his grade, was fine with the extra time.

"Baby Heng Heng: @Group Leader - Li Hao, don't rent a place to the west when renting."

Li Hao and the others were thrilled, feeling valued by Dr. Wu.

Of course, they weren't going to rent just any place. It had to be in a good school district and a luxury apartment. In such places, feng shui orientation is important, and with enough money, getting a good apartment is easy.

Li Hao had already scouted around the school district and had his eye on a place.

A few others were complaining in voice messages, "Dr. Wu Heng, we dyed our hair black for the new school year. Don't forget about us, alright?"

"He Yunxiao: Without the mark, you'll be forgotten."

Wu Heng looked at the group chat, where Li Hao and the others were teasing He Yunxiao. It seemed like everyone in this age group was studying, making him feel a bit out of place.

"Baby Heng Heng: @He Yunxiao, I'll come to pick up Xi Xi tonight."

With He Yunxiao starting school, he wouldn't have as much energy to take care of Xi Xi, so it was time to return her to Wu Heng.

He Yunxiao thought about how the entire internet was discussing Chengde Medical Hall and how much attention Wu Heng was getting. He was worried that Wu Heng might be recognized by someone with ill intentions, making it hard to explain his sudden appearance in the capital city.

So, He Yunxiao stroked the smooth scales of the small gray snake and pouted as he replied.

"He Yunxiao: Dr. Wu, should we have the little white snake help come pick her up instead?"

"Baby Heng Heng: No, I'll come to pick her up myself."

He Yunxiao was slightly surprised, and then overwhelmed with gratitude!

He really is Xixi's godfather through and through! Look at this! Look how good he is to their precious daughter Xixi. Her godfather doesn't trust those outsiders with dyed yellow hair to mess with his precious daughter, so he's coming personally.

He Yunxiao switched out of the chat group and privately messaged Wu Heng.

"He Yunxiao: Hehe, Dr. Wu, you can inform me of your schedule separately in the future, no need to post it in the group. That way, we can have exclusive access."

"Baby Heng Heng: It's just a convenient thing to do."

Seeing this reply, He Yunxiao interpreted it in his own way—

This is real favoritism, Wu Heng's special treatment of him.

A moment ago, everyone in the group saw that string of messages. Li Hao, Wang Dong, and the others are probably green with envy that he had carried a snake fetus before!

Haha, the luckiest thing this summer was having a small gray snake.

Wu Heng heard He Yunxiao mention that the senior third students in their school get out at nine in the evening, so when he went up through the well, it was already half-past nine.

*

Apparently, these students have to take an entrance exam as soon as they enter school. He, on the other hand, seemed idle.

The speed at which senior teachers graded exams was incredibly quick; all the exams from today's test were graded by the evening.

Zhou Yi's parents immediately contacted his homeroom teacher. The middle-aged teacher couldn't stop smiling on the other end of the phone.

"Zhou Yi performed exceptionally on this entrance test! He directly claimed first place in his grade! If he keeps working this hard, getting into a top 985 university won't be a problem. With a bit more effort, Tsinghua or Peking University can be his."

He's a promising candidate for Tsinghua or Peking University; not many have come out of their town.

The homeroom teacher continued, "He was somewhat negligent, though. He got the easiest math multiple-choice question wrong. But it didn't affect his first place."

Zhou's father frowned and said, "A multiple-choice question carries four points! He lost them just like that over a silly mistake?"

Zhou's mother nodded. "I heard that one point can change a person's rank by a thousand. How could this child have made such a careless mistake? I must have a good talk with him when he comes back."

The teacher chuckled. "It's only a diagnostic test. As long as his overall ability is strong, he'll be fine."

The teacher was still discussing Zhou Yi's learning situation with his parents when someone knocked on the office door. The class monitor, panting, rushed in and blurted out in panic, "Teacher, come quick! Zhou Yi has lost it! He got a math question wrong over a silly mistake, and now he's crying and laughing. He's even trying to jump off the building! We can't hold him back!"

Zhou Yi's parents felt as if the world had gone dark. What? Jumping off a building?

Back at Wu Heng's place, he had already climbed up out of the well, calmly taking a towel to dry his hair and picking up freshly baked cookies from the table, still warm and crispy.

Wu Heng looked back at the empty well, checking that the crying little white snake hadn't secretly followed him.

Wu Heng arrived at Shi Xuan's building and looked up to see his bedroom window wide open, with soft light spilling out.

Wu Heng was about to climb up like a stealthy thief when he heard voices from inside.

"Young master, Mr. Shi asked you to stay at school today, but if you don't want to, don't take his words to heart."

Shi Xuan's slender fingers were running through his ink-black hair. He had trimmed and thinned it today for the new semester, though he wondered if it looked strange.

"I know," Shi Xuan replied calmly. He had never expected anything from his biological father.

Wu Su sized up Shi Xuan, wondering why he wasn’t changing into his pajamas and was tidying up instead now that he was home.

Shi Xuan sat down by the window desk and suddenly asked out of the blue, "Butler Wu, have you always wanted to resign?"

Wu Su kept nodding, "It's just that Master Shi won't let me go."

He had secretly let Mr. Shi's money tree die and deliberately acted as a do-nothing figurehead who only took money without working. Yet, Mr. Shi was still unwilling to let him go.

Now that his son had suddenly become clear-headed and the old master was temporarily unable to return, he just wanted to head back to his hometown to see his son.

Shi Xuan had a good impression of this butler. Everyone else either feared or loathed him, but only this uncle of a butler treated him kindly. As for the Shi family, a murky pond, Butler Wu should leave if he could. Ever since he came of age, he had found it increasingly hard to control the rampant yin energy.

Shi Xuan said, "My father will go abroad for business talks in a few days. Butler Wu, if you want to resign, do it then."

Wu Su didn't respond, and Shi Xuan tugged at the collar around his neck that resembled a training device for a dog, sneering, "This thing will also be returned to you, Butler Wu."

Wu Su's heart was filled with surprise, and he nodded repeatedly before leaving the room, "Good, good, good. Then, young master, don't study too late. Rest early."

Wu Heng waited until there was no sound inside before climbing up, perched on the windowsill with his long legs resting on the long table, right at Shi Xuan's chest.

Wu Heng: "..."

Where did this desk by the window come from?!

Wu Heng looked at the slight black shoe print on Shi Xuan's white shirt and awkwardly said, "Sorry, buddy, I made it dirty."

Wu Heng wore cloth shoes, the kind that the grandmothers in Nan Nuo Village all knew how to make, and this pair was sewn for him by Eugene's grandma.

Shi Xuan grabbed his ankle and smirked, "No need to apologize."

The cold touch of the young man's fingers slowly spread from his ankle to his ears, and Wu Heng's hand instinctively gripped the window sill behind him. He was on the verge of speaking again when he heard a faint rustling sound from the doorknob. Wu Heng immediately prepared to jump down from the windowsill but couldn't because Shi Xuan was still holding his ankle. The door opened first.

Wu Su walked in with a tray of desserts, a smiling face, "Young master, have some supper first... Xiao Heng? How are you here?"

Wu Heng's leg jerked suddenly, breaking free from Shi Xuan's grip, leaving him sitting on the windowsill, turning his head to meet Wu Su's startled expression.

Wu Heng was thinking about how to explain when Wu Su, feeling extremely distressed, cursed angrily, "This cursed Shi family is truly a haunted place now, causing my son's soul to wander here."

Shi Xuan's usually calm demeanor flickered with surprise, his eyes darting between Wu Heng and Butler Wu. Father and son?

Wait, had he just told Butler Wu to resign as soon as possible?

Considering today's job market, the Shi family wasn't that bad after all.