Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Yang Zhiyuan snatched his father's exam number and compared it back and forth. He nearly lost it right there. It was indeed wrong! Filling in the wrong exam number would be counted as zero anywhere.

"Dad, are you brain damaged? You even got the exam number wrong? What wrong exam number did you fill in? Why are you always messing up my stuff?"

His father didn't care about the rest of his life since he had been sitting in a wheelchair for decades, but what about him? They were on a joint score!

Yang Zhiyuan was going crazy now. All he could think of was how Han Ye had gestured at his waist and mouthed that he was a dwarf just a while ago.

85cm? Even first-graders are taller than that!

Han Ye laughed so hard that he specifically said, "Wow, Yang Zhiyuan is still lower than me? What a loser!"

There were only four people taking the exam, two people in a group, so there were only two scores. His score ended up just below Han Ye's because of this mistake.

Han Ye laughed so hard that his shoulders trembled violently. He consoled, "Face it, Yang. You'll always be under me. It's destiny."

This was Yang Zhiyuan's heartache. He had been below Han Ye for all these years! After spending so much time trying to fix things, the result was nothing in the end.

Yang Zhiyuan's mental walls crumbled. His psychological barrier broke down, and he shouted in pain and anger, "Dad!"

Mr. Yang looked embarrassed. He had written it out of habit and didn't pay attention.

He felt somewhat embarrassed, angrily saying, "If you mess with people, why should I clean up after you? You pitiful beast, I'm being nice by not beating you to a pulp."

Mr. Yang thought it was this beastly thing, Yang Zhiyuan, who wanted to deal with his roommate, which led to the involvement of Wu Heng, the online shaman, harming Yang Shoes.

Mr. Yang immediately said, "I want to change my exam number!"

Can't we just fix it?

Principal Li slapped away Mr. Yang's hand that reached out and scolded, "Do you even know how exams work, or are you just spoiled? No changes after time's up—that's cheating!"

Wu Heng glanced and said, "You can't just change it because you feel like it. You've messed with other people's lives enough."

Mr. Yang was instantly silenced.

Thus, Yang Zhiyuan watched in despair as the total score came out: Yang Xing and Han Ye ranked first with 185 points, while his father and he ranked second with 85 points.

"No way! No way! You dragged us into this! I don't agree with this score. I want to go back, I want to wake up! Somebody save me!" Yang Zhiyuan was scared and kept retreating, shouting in terror.

His disabled father didn't care anyway, but what about him? He didn't want to be 85 cm tall!

He had to run, he had to run fast.

Mr. Yang looked at the gray shadow with cold eyes, filled with overwhelming resentment, and dared not stay in the exam room. He wanted to chase his son with an electric wheelchair, but for some reason, the wheelchair was out of power, so he could only push the wheelchair with his hands.

Hurry up!

Han Ye watched as the father and son ran out of the exam room and disappeared into a mist, then quickly turned to Wu Heng, "Dr. Wu, they're gone."

Wu Heng nodded, "I know."

Seeing that Wu Heng had everything under control, Han Ye felt reassured and couldn't help but say, "Dr. Wu, let's not go too far with them. Just spooking them is fine."

Han Ye used to be skeptical about karma, but now he truly believed in it. If Wu Heng really gave Yang Zhiyuan a height of 85 cm based on the underworld college entrance exam score, it should also be considered a sin, right?

Seeing them freak out made Han Ye feel great.

Surprisingly, the underworld actually acknowledges this set of exam papers.

Wu Heng's eyes gleamed faintly. His good friend Shi Xuan created this set of exam questions, which Wu Heng slightly modified.

However, it’s this very set of exam questions by Shi Xuan that the underworld truly recognizes for test scores.

This good friend of his was full of yin energy, which was quite troublesome sometimes but also very useful at times. Wu Heng could see through the life and death of countless people, but he couldn't see through Shi Xuan, filling him with an indescribable sense of anticipation, like opening a mystery box.

Old pal, what other tricks do you have up your sleeve that this shaman doesn't know?

Han Ye was stunned: "Wait... they really count it down there?"

Holy crap, rumors were right—Dr. Wu really does have connections in the underworld.

Han Ye thought about his test scores, swallowed hard, and stammered: "Could I really grow into a handsome guy who's 185 cm tall?"

Could it be that he turned bad luck into good fortune?

Clearly, hard work pays off.

Wu Heng took Han Ye's hand, using his index finger to inscribe a secret character on his palm, telling Han Ye to hold it tightly. Then he handed over a package of medicine that had been prepared in advance and gave medical advice in a gentle tone: "Drink this decoction when you wake up, and the height you lost due to this malevolent matter will return. And as for those extra five centimeters, I’ll help you grow them later."

Han Ye was still dazed, holding the package of medicine tightly as he was gently pushed out of the examination room door by Wu Heng. Han Ye’s vision went black, and he passed out.

Principal Li gathered the test papers and handed them to Wu Heng. He glanced meaningfully at the silent Yang Xing, patted his shoulder, and departed. He still had things to do when he woke up.

*

"I refuse to accept this nonsense about the fake college entrance exam scores. It’s all fake! Let me go back... let me go back..."

Yang Zhiyuan squeezed his eyes shut, thrashing about on the bed while muttering incoherently and cursing under his breath.

Suddenly, as if snapping out of it, he bolted upright in bed. He wiped himself with his hand and found his whole body covered in cold sweat, his pajamas soaked.

Due to the online uproar caused by stepping on Han Ye, Yang Zhiyuan returned home by private car that day and was now resting at home.

"Was what just happened...a nightmare?" Yang Zhiyuan wiped the cold sweat off his forehead uncertainly.

Yang Zhiyuan carefully touched his legs, feeling a strong sensation.

It was a nightmare! The incident where he and his father attended the so-called comprehensive college entrance exam of the underworld at Wu Heng's place was all a dream. It must be because he’d just taken the college entrance exam, and daytime thoughts spilled into his dreams.

Yang Zhiyuan exhaled sharply, then sneered: "What can some internet witch doctor possibly do? Making me only 85 cm tall, what a joke?"

Still shaken from the nightmare, Yang Zhiyuan couldn’t fall back asleep. He leaned against the headboard and started scrolling through his phone.

Naturally, Weibo’s trending topics still featured "#Yang Family New Shoes Conceal Roommate's Eight Characters," "#Step on Small People," and related topics.

Yang Zhiyuan sneered twice, believing the hype would surely fade within a few days. Just endure it; netizens always forget quickly.

He suddenly noticed a new trending topic named "#Yang Xing Confession Letter," which made Yang Zhiyuan's heart inexplicably jolt.

In no time, this trending topic rapidly climbed and became a "hit" in the dead of night.

When Yang Zhiyuan saw the post uploaded mere minutes ago, his world went black, followed by an overwhelming wave of dread.

The Weibo post was a short video. Mr. Yang sat in front of his desk, the camera facing him. He didn't say anything, not even opening his eyes as if dreaming, but he was diligently writing something with a pen.

However, his father's eyes were extremely small to begin with, and it was hard to tell when he slightly closed them.

When Yang Zhiyuan finally saw what his father was writing, he immediately felt panic-stricken. His father wasn't writing anything else but the last few questions from Part A of the exam!

In neat handwriting, he detailed how he had falsely obtained Yang Xing’s admission notice from Hezipo Town and how he suppressed this evil matter.

At that time, in order to score high marks and get back on his feet, his father had written everything down without holding anything back, striving for full marks!

Now it was all there, verbatim.

So, apart from the examinee themselves and the examiner, now everyone online knew about the underworld exam paper?!

Yang Zhiyuan couldn’t help but curse loudly: "What kind of underworld exam is this? It's not at all formal!"

Weibo users were all stunned; this was a shock heard across the entire web.

"I said staying up late would lead to juicy gossip. My goodness! What has he written!"

"This is a confession letter after committing a crime, right? So the rumors spreading wildly online today are true? The self-made tycoon I admire most, Mr. Yang, is actually a big liar who stole someone else's life?"

"I'm so disappointed! This afternoon, I was still passionately arguing online, and then Mr. Yang just admitted everything in writing."

"He ended up in a wheelchair because of his misdeeds, and then he used it to build an inspiring image? I'm numb."

"Go to jail! The father steals someone's life and indirectly causes their death, while the son tramples on his roommate as if he's a small person. No wonder they're father and son!"

...

There was no need for netizens to analyze or speculate anymore. Mr. Yang had written everything clearly, including the characters, time, and location—nothing was missing. There was no need to doubt whether it was photoshopped either since the entire act of him writing the confession letter was recorded on video.

"Dad, what exactly are you doing?" Yang Zhiyuan cried out in anguish, leaping out of bed in a flash, without even having time to put on his shoes, rushing straight to the study.

When he burst in, the confession still lay there on the desk!

"Quick... push faster!" Mr. Yang suddenly shuddered and opened his eyes, only to be met by his son's angry expression.

Mr. Yang wiped the cold sweat from his face, muttering to himself: "Are we back? We've returned from the exam room? It was a dream, right? Just a dream, wasn't it?"

In that instant when he looked down, he saw the confession in front of him, with ink still wet on the page.

Mr. Yang hastily scanned through it, his pupils shrinking sharply.

Why did the content he answered in the exam room appear here? A cold shiver ran down his spine.

The quiet study room in the dead of night was so silent that the sound of a needle dropping could be heard. The two men, shivering with cold, silently stared at each other, simultaneously seeing fear lingering in their eyes.

"85 cm... eighty-five centimeters... I don't want to become a short person!" Yang Zhiyuan was utterly terrified and began to regret it.

If he had known that trampling others would lead to such consequences, he would have restrained himself.

But the deed was done, and Han Ye had indeed been harmed by him. What should they do now?

"Run! Zhiyuan, I'll arrange a plane immediately. Let's go hide in Nanyang." Mr. Yang made the decision right away.

After leaving the underworld exam room, Mr. Yang had a gut feeling that the karma from the underworld might happen again.

Regarding the things his son had done, the birth data of others he helped conceal in the shoe soles, as Wu Heng said that risk distribution wasn't even, the karma was definitely coming.

But as far as he knew, the underworld temporarily managed domestic spirits. As long as they followed Lu Guoliang's example and didn't retain Huaxia citizenship, dying abroad, they still had a slim chance!

Hurry up and run!

Yang Zhiyuan was panicking and naturally listened to his elderly father.

Yang Zhiyuan frantically pushed his dad's wheelchair, the wheels were screeching, all the way pushing to the elevator in the villa. He pressed the button for the elevator, but it didn’t budge.

"What’s happening? Why isn’t it working?" Yang Zhiyuan glared at the big red screen which didn’t indicate the third floor, but just two digits—85.

At this moment, this number terrified Yang Zhiyuan more than the number 18 ever could.

"Let’s take the stairs!" Yang Zhiyuan screamed in panic, without caring if his dad in the wheelchair was comfortable, and charged toward the stairs.

Mr. Yang looked at the spiral staircase and screamed desperately: "Zhiyuan, slow down! Push slower!"

In his panic, Yang Zhiyuan tripped, and along with his dad still in the wheelchair, tumbled down the stairs and blacked out.

The morning sun was shining brightly, as autumn set in, the capital city was no longer sweltering, and the campus was covered in golden leaves.

-

Han Ye had a good sleep, sat up quickly to check, and noticed something in his hand.

Clutched in his left hand was a package of medicine wrapped in old yellow paper, and etched into his right palm was an unfamiliar symbol.

"Last night...!" Han Ye suddenly became alert; he remembered that last night he took part in the underworld college entrance examination, and this was the medicine prescribed by Doctor Wu Heng for him as the perfect score winner.

The top student studying at the desk said: "Last night? How could you sleep so soundly? Something big happened last night!"

At this time, several seniors in Fan Xuan's dormitory were all present, even the top student who loved studying joined in the gossip session.

"Mr. Yang from Yang Shoes and Yang Zhiyuan had an accident last night, both fell down the stairs. Mr. Yang hit his head and died instantly, while Yang Zhiyuan was saved."

Fan Xuan sighed as he sat on the chair.

Han Ye swallowed and asked in a trembling voice: "Is Yang Zhiyuan... paralyzed?"

Besides paralysis, he couldn't think of anything else related to 85 centimeters.

Fan Xuan gave Han Ye a thumbs up: "You guessed it right, Yang Zhiyuan was sent to our medical university hospital for emergency treatment, and somehow ended up like his father, paralyzed in the lower body."

Another senior shared the news: "The police went to investigate, checked the surveillance in their house, and it really was an accident between the two of them, no one else's fault. So don't do evil deeds, I think these two got what they deserved, how coincidental."

Playing the game of harming others, wanting to crush Han Ye until his organs burst, they deserved such a huge retribution.

With such malicious intentions, they might have done other bad things before, now everything has been settled.

Han Ye didn't know what to say, originally Doctor Wu wasn't lying to him, the exam papers were indeed recognized by the underworld.

Yang Zhiyuan is not his father Yang Xing, at this point Yang Shoes has big problems, and he can't handle it.

When a whale falls, all life thrives, perhaps other domestic shoe industries will welcome a new spring.

Then he... really has the chance to become a man who is 185 cm tall?

"Han Ye, what is this in your hand?" A senior curiously pointed at the ancient medicine package in Han Ye's hand, "Could it be the medicine prescribed by Teacher Wu Heng for you?"

"Can we see what kind of medicine it is, let us learn too?"

Han Ye carefully opened the medicine package, inside were more than ten Chinese medicinal herbs. They were studying medicine, so they carefully looked and recognized them.

"This prescription does not use any precious herbs, can it really make you grow back to 180 cm? However, according to traditional Chinese medicine, most of them are used for driving out evil qi," the top student stroked his chin and said.

Han Ye looked again at the mysterious mark on his right palm, feeling that the real secret lay here.

Han Ye didn't hesitate. He booked the nearest flight on his phone and prepared the medicine.

When Han Ye boarded the plane to Province C, he met a familiar older man beside him.

"You're the proctor, Principal Li? What are you doing here?" Han Ye was a bit surprised as he looked at the old man.

Wasn’t that the proctor and examiner from the afterlife high school examination? He was also the current principal of Capital City Science and Technology University.

He didn’t expect they’d end up on the same flight.

Principal Li nodded and replied, "The government and the school are reviewing things recently, and announcements will be made in the next couple of days."

Mr. Yang's degree at Capital City Science and Technology University will be revoked, and all public recognition of him as an outstanding alumnus within the school will be removed.

Regarding those who aided Mr. Yang, the state will handle them accordingly once the investigation concludes.

Han Ye sighed, "Even if more culprits are uncovered, they’re long gone."

Even though Mr. Yang and his son received their comeuppance, Yang Xing’s lost youth can’t be regained, nor can he be fairly compensated.

Life isn’t fair.

The two stepped off the plane at the provincial capital airport of Province C, then took a bus to Nan Nuo Village. After a lot of effort, they finally saw Wu Heng.

"Teacher Wu, my height has been restored!" Han Ye came excitedly and said with enthusiasm.

When he set out to see Wu Heng at Nan Nuo Village, he had taken the medicine with him. Due to the tiring journey, he fell asleep on the bus. However, upon waking up, he discovered his height slowly returning. By the time he reached Nan Nuo Village, he had returned to his previous 180 cm young self!

Wu Heng smiled and nodded approvingly, "Congratulations."

Wu Heng did not stop Han Ye from scanning the QR code on the counter in the clinic and paying 100,000 yuan as a medical fee.

This money was transferred by Han Ye’s parents, telling him to give it directly to Wu Heng.

"Let's go," Wu Heng looked briefly at the shadow in the clinic and turned to say to Principal Li and Han Ye.

When news spread that the university principal was visiting, Zhou Dagui, the village chief, quickly joined them to accompany them.

Apart from the chief of Nan Nuo Village, the chief of Wu Wa Village where Yang Xing was from, Wang Jun, the head of the police station in the town, and officers also arrived.

Everyone brought various items and headed towards the Nu River outside the Eighteen Villages where everyone drew water.

After the flood season, the Nu River was not as turbulent as in summer. The clear river water was the resource on which the Eighteen Villages depended for survival.

Since Lai Wazi met a mysterious end in this river, villagers of the Eighteen Villages have forbidden their children from playing near the river.

However, it seemed that everyone knew what had happened. Many villagers crowded around the riverbank, and some were quietly live-streaming.

"How come Chengde Medical Hall's fool grandson is here? Why isn’t old lady Lai from Nan Nuo Village present for such matters?" Some villagers from other villages whispered.

"It’s heard that the fool grandson’s brain has improved, and he can take over Doctor Wu's position as village doctor in the future. He’s quite popular online. If we have headaches or fevers that can’t be resolved in the future, we can try going to Nan Nuo Village."

Wu Heng nodded to Principal Li, who then took out an admission notice from an email.

Admission notices from Capital City Science and Technology University have always been handwritten by old professors within the school, a tradition that has remained unchanged for decades. But this particular admission notice was personally written by Principal Li with a brush pen.

Facing the clear Nu River, Principal Li cleared his throat and read aloud: "Dear student Yang Xing: Approved by the Capital City Admissions Committee, congratulations on being admitted as a freshman of the Class of '94 at Capital City Science and Technology University..."

"There are villagers secretly live-streaming, let’s check it out, hey, I see Wu Heng."

"Finally, justice from the heavens. Mr. Yang deserved to fall to his death for stealing someone else’s future."

"The principal did something commendable, traveling thousands of miles to deliver a thirty-year-late admission notice. But it's too late, things have long changed."

"Hard to imagine that thirty years ago, a college acceptance from a tiny southwestern village was so precious, a life and destiny completely stolen by someone. Hopefully, even in the afterlife, Mr. Yang won't have an easy path."

The whispers among the surrounding villagers grew more and more, their expressions filled with shock.

"Wasn’t that high school student Yang Xing who went mad thirty years ago? He actually got into Capital City University? I used to think he was just boasting after failing the exam." A middle-aged uncle with a cloth wrapped around his head said in local dialect, shocked.

"Thirty years ago, we already had students from our Eighteen Villages going out to study? That's amazing! Even now, there aren’t many college graduates in our villages."

"It was said he went mad and disappeared because of failing the exam, did he jump into the river? What a pity."

After reading out the information on the admission letter, the principal handed the document over to Wu Heng.

Wu Heng took a white candle from his fabric backpack, and it lit up as he gently rubbed the wick.

Holding the admission notice under the flame, he ignited it while softly calling out Yang Xing's name.

As the admission notice turned to ash, a gentle breeze came from the Nu River, cool winds swirling the fiery ashes towards the sky.

Under the shadow of the riverside trees, Yang Xing's consciousness gradually blurred. Everything around him became white, and all he could see was a figure ahead.

It was the postman riding an old-style bicycle. He sprang up, secured his bike, and took out a red envelope marked "Capital City Science and Technology University" from his bag full of letters. Smiling, he said, "Congratulations, Yang classmate, this is your admission notice."

"You're the first university student from our Eighteen Villages, remarkable!"

Yang Xing jumped up from the worn-out doorstep, ecstatically stretching out his trembling hands to receive it, murmuring under his breath, "I’ve been admitted! I really have been admitted! I’ve received my admission notice."

Villagers gathered upon hearing the news to congratulate him. His family happily offered water to the postman and planned to hold a grand feast celebrating his academic success.

Everyone was truly happy for him—it wasn’t just in his head.

'I know, I’m not crazy. I am a university student, a Capital City Science and Technology University student.' Yang Xing tightly held the freshly burned admission notice, kneeling by the Nu River, crying and laughing wildly.

Seeing his acceptance, Wu Heng smiled behind his back, making a hand gesture to summon Lai Yin Chai while muttering an incantation.

The currents of the Nu River grew stronger, whirlpools swirling in the river. The children held by the villagers started crying for no apparent reason.

All present witnessed a human skeleton slowly surfacing from the riverbed.

Yang Xing's emotional burden was lifted.

Heading toward the afterlife, there will only be an easy path.