Chapter 46

Chapter 46

"Nobody said that Teacher Yang would still check homework after going to the underworld." The little white snake shivered in fright.

The little ghost was very young when they died, so the little white snake could still bully it, but in front of Yang Xing, it became the one being oppressed. After all, Yang Xing was an educated ghost. He could scold it, and the little white snake wouldn’t even know what he was being scolded for.

The little white snake immediately looked at Xi Xi, who said, "I've finished my homework."

The little white snake was completely shocked. "Xi Xi, you don't even have hands, how did you finish your homework?"

At the very least, it could still transform into a human shape; a human boy would find it much easier to hold a pen and write. The key issue was that Xi Xi couldn't speak human language and couldn't transform into a human shape.

The small gray snake demonstrated by wrapping its beautiful gray tail around a golden french fry. "It's done like this."

The little white snake's eyes were about to pop out. "……"

Did they really have to be that diligent? We're snakes; we don't need to take the college entrance exam!

Xi Xi had betrayed their student class! She secretly did her homework behind their backs!

The little white snake heard Yang Xing's furious roar from the other end, his spit splattering all over the phone screen, extremely agitated.

"In the future, don't you dare say I'm the one who raised you, you beast of a student. You're a real beast."

"What's wrong with scolding you? Saying I have no manners? I'm a ghost; what manners do I need? In my time, I'd still practice corporal punishment!"

Wu Heng was delighted and deliberately placed the phone in front of the two trembling snakes, forcing them to get a lesson!

He should burn more paper money for Yang Xing in the future as tuition. This online class could continue with Teacher Yang.

The little white snake sobbed. "My unlucky brother Lai Yin Chai is doing so badly. Can't we use some connections to help him get reincarnated earlier? Next time, I'll definitely scold him for slacking off."

As long as he wasn’t tutoring elementary students, watching the spectacle was always enjoyable. Wu Heng leaned against the desk, his shoulders lightly shaking with laughter.

"Since your family can connect to the ghost network, I'll come over more often so the future Dragon King of the Well and the young miss can work on their education." Wu Heng's eyes sparkled as he smiled.

Wu Heng finally understood why he liked coming to the Shi family so much. His father worked here, and his goddaughter was attending online classes here. Although he could connect to the ghost network in Nan Nuo Village, the 5G infrastructure there was spotty.

It all made sense.

"Alright, we're all doing this for the children, so you should come often." The two snakes' godfather nodded with a smile, picking up where Wu Heng left off.

As parents, they always had to think harder about the children.

Godfathers had to think like parents too.

Yang Xing, in between scolding the little white snake, took a moment to scratch his head, looking at the two boys with some confusion.

It felt like they didn’t care about the snakes' well-being.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, Yang Xing realized he was worrying too much.

They were both guys.

Shi Xuan placed the little white snake, the small gray snake, and the phone still streaming the online class into the pet snake box. The room immediately became much quieter without Yang Xing's loud, irritated shouts.

Wu Heng ate a strawberry cake, and Shi Xuan's slender fingers slid a black card over toward him.

Shi Xuan said, "Because of what happened last time with Lu Guoliang, we earned some cash through stock trading." Wu Heng picked up the stylish black card and looked at it, surprised. "So this is my cut of the profits? I just helped with the diagnosis; you made a profit from this?"

Wu Heng was, after all, from ancient times, so he didn't quite understand digital ways of making money like financial trading and stock markets, nor did he know how Shi Xuan managed to earn his money.

Shi Xuan's eyes were as gentle as springtime water as he softly said, "Yes, you are my little good luck charm."

Wu Heng's hand holding the small cake just trembled a little. This was a term that felt strange to him. The ancient ancestors feared the arrival of a shaman, who signified witchcraft-related disasters, plague, and even death.

Yet this person called him a little good luck charm, a description that was so unrelated and unthinkable to him, but it gently and steadily landed on him tonight.

Wu Heng rested against the desk, looking at Shi Xuan, seeing his own shadow fall on half his body.

If they had met earlier, he might not have been so lonely, always having a close friend that understood him.

Shi Xuan continued, "The password is my birthday."

Wu Heng actually didn't know Shi Xuan's birthday, so he took the chance to ask. After receiving the answer, Wu Heng nodded in response, "That will have to wait until next year. I still have a few months until I turn eighteen."

Shi Xuan slightly lowered his eyes, also looking forward to him entering the adult world.

"By the way, do you want to earn some more?" Wu Heng put the black card into his pocket as he asked again.

Shi Xuan had been saving money to leave the Shi family, but as a senior high school student, he couldn't start a business yet, so he had been making money in the stock market.

Seeing his interest, Wu Heng took out the invitation that had been mailed to him, "Here."

As the young master of the Shi family, although not very favored, Shi Xuan was still within this circle and had heard of it.

"It's called a difficult case seminar, but it's actually a consultation meeting for Mr. Zhao."

"This old gentleman is a well-known philanthropist, he..." Shi Xuan stopped and didn't continue.

Shi Xuan vaguely understood something.

"Since you plan to attend this seminar in the capital city, how about staying at my place tonight?"

It was a ten-minute walk from Chengde Medical Hall to the well in the eastern village.

It was quite late now, and he didn't know when Teacher Yang's online class would end. Going back might disturb Zhou Yi.

Wu Heng stared at the two-meter-wide bed and thought about it.

They were all brothers, after all. Occasionally sleeping in the same bed could strengthen their brotherly bond.

Wu Heng scratched his head and said, "Al... alright."

After finishing, Wu Heng quickly lowered his head to eat the strawberry cake, while Shi Xuan finished his homework and went to the bathroom to wash up.

Standing at the doorway, Shi Xuan looked back at Wu Heng, with a bit of light pink cream on his lips, and suddenly asked, "Is it delicious?"

Wu Heng nodded, and Shi Xuan lightly smiled, "Then I'll try it next time."

Wu Heng stared at the empty cake box, realizing that he and his best friend had similar tastes, both liking sweet things.

"Young master, don't study too late." Wu Su walked in with a midnight snack and immediately spotted Wu Heng standing in the room.

Why was her son spacing out again?!

"Xiao Heng, are you thinking about your father again?" Wu Su put down the food, feeling an indescribable sense of comfort in her heart.

In the past, Wu Heng had been a bit simple, but now he was much more clear-headed and expressive with his paternal love!

He traveled a long distance, leaving his body behind, which is the best proof of the deep paternal love his son has for him.

Wu Su took Wu Heng's wrist, his temperament as gentle as ever, and led his "living soul" out of Shi Xuan's bedroom, saying as he walked, "Xiao Heng, if you want to see your father in the future, just leave your body and come find me here. Remember, this is your father's bedroom. Yes, walk like this, this is the way."

Wu Heng: "……Yeah."

"Truly my son, even as a living soul, your hands are still warm."

As a living soul, Wu Heng followed Wu Su step by step slowly to the butler's room.

It was a suite, about 150 square meters in total. As soon as Wu Heng entered, he saw the gaming-themed decor.

"Your grandfather said that when a living soul is sent back, it will automatically return home by dawn. Since you can't go back now, just rest here with your father. Wuwuwu, quickly help your father win a game, I can't get past this level!"

Wu Heng silently took the game controller, looking at the eerie game on the LCD TV where a single shot could blow off a ghost's head.

His father had never suffered from the pains of love or work. All his suffering came from these underworld games.

Bad at them, but loves playing.

When Shi Xuan came out of the bathroom, Wu Heng was no longer in the room, but the bed was unusually lumpy.

Shi Xuan walked to the bed, lifted the blanket, and saw two white and gray snakes sticking out their heads, excitedly flicking their tongues, clearly treating his bed as a playground.

Shi Xuan covered them with the blanket again. There still weren't enough online lessons.

*

Xu Qian wiped away her tears and came out of her mother's bedroom.

This illness was indeed strange, causing extremely rapid aging, but Wu Heng's single needle had stabilized Mrs. Xu's condition. At least now her mother wasn't aging further.

Xu Qian didn't have many family members. When she was sick, her mother had tried to borrow money from relatives, but few were willing to lend money to the seemingly incapable mother and daughter. Now, it would probably be even harder to borrow money.

Wu Heng had only given her three days; she needed to gather the money quickly.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

When Xu Qian opened the door, a couple walked in.

Wang Lang supported his heavily pregnant wife as she sat down and handed her a package, saying, "Teacher Xu, take this money for now."

Xu Qian glanced inside and saw several bundles of red banknotes, roughly amounting to eighty or ninety thousand yuan.

"Teacher Wang, how do you have so much money? And isn't your wife about to give birth?" Xu Qian instinctively felt she couldn't accept the money. After their child was born, they would need it more.

Wang Lang never cared much about money; his mind was only on his research work.

Ever since Wang Qiang had been deceived by her damned parents and developed a condition, Wang Lang had a huge argument with his patriarchal mother and returned to the university with his pregnant wife.

He was usually busy, and although his wife had no help during the day at home, she was much happier than when she was at home.

Wang Lang occasionally checked on Doctor Wu Heng's recent situation. He never expected the new patient to be someone he knew, the young counselor from the neighboring department, Teacher Xu.

Wang Lang said, "Teacher Xu, don't misunderstand. Two of these ten thousand blocks are from us as a loan, and the remaining eighty thousand are from Professor Zhao."

Xu Qian was stunned. "Professor Zhao? He, wasn't he hospitalized and comatose due to cancer?"

Professor Zhao was diagnosed with advanced-stage lung cancer earlier this year, and his research tasks had to be slowed down. Recently, it was said that he had wasted away to skin and bones and was nearing his time.

Wang Lang was Professor Zhao's student, and a flash of sorrow crossed his face as he whispered, "My teacher regained consciousness today and asked about you, so he told me to bring the money."

After all, Professor Zhao is in the late stages of lung cancer; no amount of money can save him anymore.

He had been frugal all his life, so it’s only fitting that these savings are now put to good use.

Xu Qian held the package, her nose getting a bit sour.

*

"Dr. Wu, good afternoon, achoo!"

As soon as Li Hao and the others saw Wu Heng getting out of Shi Xuan's sports car, they rushed over.

Wu Heng, carrying two snakes, looked at them in surprise. "How did you guys end up here? Did you bring an invitation?"

Li Hao and the others grinned, pointing at a young man in patched clothes who was looking around at the entrance. "Dr. Chen Zhao couldn't afford the rent, so he brought us here to check things out, achoo!"

Ever since Chen Zhao had stayed at the Li family's house for a night, he never wanted to go back to living under a bridge.

Once autumn arrived in the capital city, the weather really turned chilly. Even with his strong aura, he couldn’t handle the cold wind.

So, he unabashedly stayed at the Li family’s house. Master Li thought that although this Dr. Chen seemed inferior to Dr. Wu, he’d still be useful to have around.

At that moment, Chen Zhao looked up at the stone pillar in front of him and muttered, "This pillar is actually covered in real gold. Wow."

"Dr. Wu, why are we sneezing so much every day? Do you think we're coming down with the flu?" Li Hao asked, rubbing his nose in frustration.

Wu Heng looked at their simple but kind of silly faces, hesitating to speak. Hadn't he already told them not to stay in the west-facing rooms last time?

"Alright, stretch out your hands and let me draw a secret symbol for you first," Wu Heng said.

Excited, they held out their hands and each got a secret symbol. As they held it in their palms, their previously congested noses immediately cleared up.

Wang Dong looked mischievously at He Yunxiao in the distance and whispered to Li Hao, "Bro, we've got the secret symbols written by Dr. Wu. Look, He Yunxiao doesn't have one, haha."

The group laughed and followed Wu Heng and Chen Zhao into the building.

Wu Heng saw the color of Chen Zhao's invitation and asked, "Why is yours also bronze-colored?"

Chen Zhao replied, "Intern Daoist doctors and junior Daoist Physicians don’t really count for much here. Later, as long as we get the 500 RMB participation fee, it’ll be fine."

After checking with the staff that live streaming was okay, Wu Heng took out his phone and started streaming.

"A seminar on difficult and complicated diseases... Our Heng Bao is attending this kind of conference? He's too amazing."

"Wu Heng is sitting quite far back. It seems like this is really a gathering of important people."

"For someone Wu Heng’s age, it’s pretty impressive that he’s at this kind of conference. Let’s watch and learn."

"Wait, why are there Taoist priests and monks here? Isn’t this a medical conference?"

"Isn’t Wu Heng also a Daoist Physician? Let’s just see what happens."

The host of the seminar gave a grandiose opening speech, then, with a slightly more excited tone, said into the microphone, "We are honored to have Mr. Zhao Qingyun, the elder, attend this conference and contribute to the medical field."

An old man in a wheelchair was pushed out, waving energetically at everyone.

"Mr. Zhao, the elder, is a well-known philanthropist. It’s true that good deeds lead to good fortune and a long life."

"Mr. Zhao is ninety this year, isn’t he? He looks really lively. Here’s to hoping he lives to be a hundred."

"I have a feeling the real focus of this 'seminar on difficult diseases' is actually Old Mr. Zhao. Everyone’s really here to treat him."

"Ah, we must seize this opportunity, Hengbao! If you cure Old Master Zhao, you'll make a fortune!"

Xixi slithered out from the right sleeve of Wu Heng’s arm, staring at the elder on the stage. Her tongue flicked in the air, uncertainly saying, 'Daddy, there seems to be a faint black aura around him.'

The little white snake emerged from Wu Heng’s left sleeve, her tongue tasting the air but detecting nothing, and dryly said, 'Xixi is right.'

Wu Heng suddenly smiled and asked, 'Then tell me where she’s right?'

The little white snake: '...'

Wu Heng glanced at He Yunxiao’s expression and felt that even if Little White were to become a security guard at the He family, he would still be looked down upon.

The big shots sitting at the front took turns to diagnose Old Master Zhao, with one senior doctor even demonstrating the technique of diagnosing through a suspended thread.

It was quite a busy scene.

Chen Zhao, holding a number card, excitedly went up for the 500 yuan prize. In less than five minutes, he came back down, clutching five consecutive red banknotes.

This move instantly made the eyes of the office workers in the live stream turn red with envy.

"Knowledge is indeed power. He went up, felt the pulse for five minutes without saying much, and earned 500 yuan??"

"I should have studied medicine back then. I can’t earn 500 yuan in three days now!"

"A healthcare worker here. You guys are really overthinking it."

"Office workers shed tears of envy. I’m so poor I want to sell my blood now."

Chen Zhao happily folded the five red banknotes and put them in his inner pocket, grabbing some snacks nearby and stuffing them into his pocket as he ate, saying, "Old Master Zhao is in great shape for an octogenarian. There’s nothing serious, just organ aging."

The term "a person in their nineties" refers to someone who is ninety years old.

"People are like the plants and animals in nature; we bloom and we fade, same as them. When it's time to go, you just have to let nature take its course."

"That's true, but I still hope Mr. Zhao can live a few more years. There aren't many people like him who are truly committed to charity."

"Yes, Mr. Zhao is truly a good man. My daughter had leukemia and I had no money for treatment. It was Mr. Zhao's charity team that donated to help me."

While they were talking, a video of Old Mr. Zhao was played on the large screen at the conference.

The old man personally visited the patient in the ward, bringing the charity funds with him. The patient's parents clutched the money, weeping bitterly as they cried out, "Thank you so much, Mr. Zhao. If this money can cure my daughter, I'd gladly give up ten years of my own life."

They even knelt down and kowtowed while crying. The person making the short video was clearly an expert, and the powerful scenes touched countless viewers in the live stream room.

"A staff member asked Wu Heng softly, 'Young Dr. Wu, would you like to go up and take a look?'"

Wu Heng nodded and walked towards the stage. Many of the colleagues sitting there looked over at Wu Heng, their eyes filled with curiosity.

This Daoist Physician, playing up the online hype, claimed to follow ancient teachings and practice shaman medicine. From the earlier videos, there seemed to be some exaggerations, but he probably had some real talent.

Wu Heng sat next to the old man, took his pulse, and asked, "Mr. Zhao, how long do you really want to live?"

Old Mr. Zhao smiled at Wu Heng, his gaze kind and affectionate, as if looking at his own grandson. "Can I live as long as I want?"

Wu Heng replied, "Immortality is a scam. The first victim, Qin Shi Huang, is still in his grave. Surely you've got the Anti-Fraud app, right, Mr. Zhao?"

Old Mr. Zhao couldn't help but laugh at this joke: "I just want to see my great-grandson come into the world."

"The more family members you have, the more you have to worry about."

Wu Heng smiled. Yes, people's greed only grows. They wanted to live to see their grandchildren, and then they wished to see their grandchildren grow up, marry, and have children, and finally, they looked forward to the arrival of their great-grandchildren.

Greed is endless.

Wu Heng smiled and said, "You're fine. You were only supposed to live until seventy."

Old Mr. Zhao's expression changed slightly, and he gestured to the staff to take Wu Heng away.

Chen Zhao saw Wu Heng receive a stack of red envelopes from the staff and was completely stunned: "Dr. Wu, you only said three sentences up there. How did you get so much money?"

Chen Zhao received five hundred, but Wu Heng got five thousand!

Who was the apprentice Daoist Physician and who was the real deal? Did he even bother getting a Daoist Physician certificate?

"Five thousand. Wu Heng made five thousand just by saying three sentences... and he didn't say anything important? This Old Mr. Zhao is really a philanthropist!"

"Let me go up, I'd do a comedy routine, and I'd only ask for a thousand."

"What does it mean by 'only supposed to live until seventy'? Indeed, heaven is fair. Being good and doing good really can make you live longer."

"I understand now. What Heng means is that Old Mr. Zhao was only supposed to live until seventy, but because of his good deeds, he has lived this long."

Seeing how heartbroken Chen Zhao looked, Wu Heng proposed, "Brother Chen, help me with something, and I'll give you this five thousand."

Chen Zhao looked at Wu Heng suspiciously, and hearing the request, he was shocked: "Holy crap, such an easy task for five thousand? I thought for that kind of money, you'd ask me to commit murder and bury the body!"

Wu Heng thought the money was dirty and didn't want to keep it, so he stuffed the stack of money directly into Chen Zhao's pocket.

Chen Zhao beamed, immediately got up, and walked out.

In less than ten minutes, Chen Zhao returned with a young woman. They didn't attract much attention.

Xu Qian, clutching a plain backpack, quickly approached Wu Heng, who was sitting far back, and whispered nervously, "Dr. Wu, I've already prepared 200,000 yuan. When would you like to treat my mother? She's in the school dormitory now."

Xu Qian didn't quite understand why Wu Heng had privately sent her this location, but she came anyway. If she wasn't worried about her mother's condition deteriorating on the way, she would have brought her mother along. She left her mother at home, and Wang Lang and his wife offered to help take care of her, promising to call if there were any changes.

The 'smart' viewers in the live stream instantly realized the moment they saw Xu Qian!

"I get it now! Finally, I understand why Wu Heng asked the patient to prepare 200,000. There are many medical experts here, and if he can't cure her, other experts might help."

"200,000 is just the entry fee. If they can really cure my mother's illness, it's worth every penny."

"I said it before, and I'll say it again, Heng isn't a greedy doctor. Some people even said he was corrupted by capitalists!"

"Exactly, exactly, when I encounter difficult cases in the hospital, I call in favors and bring in a bunch of professors."

Seeing that there were many doctors around, some of whom were involved in metaphysics, Xu Qian had vaguely heard that some practitioners borrowed spirits to perform treatments.

This 200,000 might indeed be an opportunity given by Doctor Wu for her, a chance to meet a famous doctor!

Wu Heng pointed to the stage: "Go and hand over these 200,000."

Hearing this, Xu Qian's eyes lit up. It was exactly as she had guessed. As long as it could save her mother, even one million wouldn't make her flinch, let alone 200,000.

Wu Heng casually said, "Go and repay the life-buying money."