Chapter 56

Chapter 56

For a moment, the live chat fell into silence, followed by a flood of comments, refreshing at an incredible speed.

"??? What did Dr. Wu say about the head? I didn't quite catch it."

"Fish head with a human body? Isn't it supposed to be a mermaid? The kind with a human upper body and a fish tail!"

"What’s the deal here? Not a mermaid but a sea demon?"

"Human head with a fish tail, awesome! Fish head with a human body, no way!"

"No wonder Su Chenyu's fish scales are growing on the upper body... Help, I don’t want to see a fish-headed freak! This is too scary."

"Is it like the carp demon from 'Journey to the West' in the Tongtian River? Oh my god, it’s so ugly."

They said that hanging out in Chengde Medical Hall’s live chat would bring some wild excitement, right?

Before, they accidentally connected with a web novel author who didn’t know she was already dead, letting countless netizens see a ghost for the first time, and today they’re witnessing a new condition.

A fish head with a human body!

Hmm, let’s just say whether it counts as a mermaid or not. After all, it’s half-human and half-fish. It’s just that others are beautiful mermaids, and he’s an ugly one.

Su Chenyu sat by the shore for a long time, completely stunned. He had talked about competing in the Olympics to bring glory to the country. If he couldn’t make it in sports, he could become the world’s first mermaid prince, boosting the country’s tourism. But now??

"A fish head with a human body?" Su Chenyu’s throat felt tight, and it took him a while to choke out these words.

No way! No way! No way!!!

He’s just being picky, what’s wrong with that? He can accept a human body with a fish tail, but he absolutely can’t accept a fish head with a human body!

Su Chenyu is the campus heartthrob at Capital City’s Medical University. When it comes to looks, he has never lost since he was a child.

And now they're telling him that he's about to become a monster with a fish head and a human body?

"Dr. Wu, no, I can't accept this, I really can't accept it." Su Chenyu changed his previous excitement and sat by the shore, almost crying in anxiety.

He couldn't imagine how he would survive if he became that monstrous appearance.

Han Ye has been unlucky, his height has been shrinking. He went from a handsome 180cm college guy to 168cm, but at least he still looks like a human.

A 168cm man may not be considered tall, but Huaxia does have men of that height, and Han Ye's face is still quite handsome.

But what about him? Directly becoming a big fish head! Is that even acceptable?

A human body with a fish tail, that's a mermaid prince adored by thousands. A fish head with a human body, that's a fish demon studied in labs and chased away by everyone.

Hearing this, Wu Heng breathed a slight sigh of relief. He thought he was an ancient relic from the ancient times, unable to keep up with the advanced thinking of the young people of this era, who could happily accept a fish head with a human body.

Now, they didn't even attend the swimming class. A group of interested students simply sat by the pool to watch the live stream.

The physical education teacher woke up from his previous excitement, even feeling a bit disappointed.

So, the promising talent they found for the national swimming team is gone?

A girl saw Su Chenyu sitting dejectedly by the shore and took a clean, unused towel to drape over him. Another male classmate saw this and handed Su Chenyu a cup of warm water.

The classmates are indeed friendly.

"If I really become a fish-headed creature... a merman, can I still live on land?" Su Chenyu tried to digest his strange condition and then asked seriously.

Wu Heng said, "You’re amphibious now; the ocean will be your new home."

Su Chenyu: "..."

Su Chenyu never thought the word "amphibious" would ever describe him.

The ocean is now his new home?

With Huaxia’s 4.73 million square kilometers of ocean territory, can it all become his home? He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

The worst part? He had thalassophobia! He didn't want to live in the ocean. The deep sea is pitch black—what’s even down there? No internet, unless Huaxia finds some underwater dragon palace.

Soon, Su Chenyu thought of something else, so shocked he could only stammer, "Wait! So I'm not a freshwater fish, but a marine product?"

Wu Heng nodded, "Yep, that’s right."

"Hahaha, sorry, I couldn't help but laugh. A merman from the deep sea—at least you’re from the deep, Su, the campus heartthrob. We all come from the same place."

"Yeah, definitely from the sea. I've never heard of mermaids coming from rivers."

"Inland folks say seafood’s way pricier than freshwater fish. At least being a marine product ups your value, right?"

"By the way, I like watching ocean documentaries. The fish in the sea... they look pretty wild. What kind of fish head is it? Will it be super ugly?"

"If it’s a shark head, that’d be pretty badass. With that bite force, one kid per bite, you’d have to warn the cops, right?"

Su Chenyu silently watched his live stream. Back in the day, his stream was all about how hot he was. Now, they’re all debating whether freshwater or seafood tastes better, and some trolls even started joking about making chopped pepper fish head.

As Su Chenyu was thinking, he silently saw blue V accounts with IDs like "Huaxia Fish Expert," "Director of Ocean University," and "Polar Ocean Park" entering his live stream.

They probably just heard the news and came to check out the freak show.

"Ocean Expert XXX: Streamer, are you a mammal or a vertebrate now? Can you breathe underwater, or do you gotta hold your breath like a whale and come up for air? The current world record for underwater breath-holding is 24 minutes."

Su Chenyu: "..."

How the hell would he know? Until last night, he’d been a total landlubber for twenty years!

Wu Heng said, "Once his ears turn into gills, he’ll be able to breathe freely in the deep sea."

Su Chenyu touched his delicate ears, feeling a chill all over.

No way, his ears are gonna turn into gross gills?!

His only experience with gills was cutting them out when cleaning fish.

But Wu Heng's words excited a group of marine experts.

"Da Run Fa, fish killer for twenty years: The deep sea also has pressure. What type of fish is this patient suffering from? How deep can he dive into the seabed?"

Wu Heng saw that the number of online viewers in the live stream had reached tens of millions, and it was still a weekday working hour.

To protect the patient's privacy and Su Chenyu's safety, Wu Heng smiled and said, "I don't know; he needs to find out for himself."

"Dr. Wu probably knows, but he’s not saying."

"+1, but I think if Su, the campus heartthrob, can't be cured, he can still get a government job."

"Seriously, no matter what happens, Su Chenyu can always secure a government job with his condition, while I'm still struggling for a stable position. It’s a real bummer."

Once he sprouted fish scales, he effortlessly mastered every swimming style, aiming to join the national swimming team.

Becoming a mermaid, his stunning looks would immediately boost Huaxia's tourism industry.

Even if he becomes an unsightly fish-man who can't be seen in public, since Wu Heng said he's a deep-sea fish species, wouldn’t he have to check in with the South China Sea archaeological unit? If he's powerful enough to withstand immense pressure, there are countless ancient shipwrecks hidden in the country's vast waters, filled with priceless cultural relics!

He’d undoubtedly be the go-to guy for underwater archaeology.

At the very least, he could help search for foreign spy gadgets in the sea. There's always a place for Su Chenyu to shine.

Su Chenyu silently watched the flood of comments where netizens were deeply concerned about his future career path.

Who even remembers he's studying at Capital Medical University?

Su Chenyu made one last plea, "But I’d much rather be a mermaid with a human top and a fish tail."

Fan Tu, who was lurking in the live stream chat, deeply agreed. One can die, but must never die ugly. Fan Tu figured she’d get to know her goofy younger brother’s old roommate soon enough.

Su Chenyu felt his mermaid dream slipping away. He looked at Wu Heng on the other side of the camera and asked, "Dr. Wu, what’s the plan? Are you prescribing meds or... surgery?"

Would the surgery mean cutting off his head? Better stick to meds.

Wu Heng smiled, "I’ll prescribe some meds. Someone will bring them over later."

Su Chenyu eyed Wu Heng’s faint smile, sensing something was up, but he just kept thanking him.

After the call ended, it was almost time for lunch, and everyone went back to the locker room to change.

To keep up appearances, Su Chenyu ruthlessly hollowed out his backpack to hide the fish fins sprouting on his back. It was late fall, and everyone was bundled in windbreakers, only showing their necks and heads. So, his fish-scale-covered body and arms were hidden, and his outfit actually looked pretty sharp.

Besides the student cafeteria, there are various restaurants at Capital University of Science and Tech.

Su Chenyu, masked up, didn’t dare eat at the student cafeteria and asked Fan Xuan to join him at a restaurant.

Han Ye, who hurried over after class, walked into the restaurant’s private room to find the table loaded with fish heads.

Chopped pepper fish head, fish head tofu soup, clay pot fish head stew, braised fish head—you name it. It was a fish head fest.

Han Ye: "..."

Really? Can't get away from fish heads?

Fan Xuan laughed heartily, "He’s going for the whole 'like cures like' thing."

The two noticed Su Chenyu holding chopsticks but barely eating. Assuming he was worried about his condition, they were about to ask when Su Chenyu blurted out, "If I turn into a fish-head person, would eating my own kind give me prion disease?"

Only humans eating humans can cause prion disease!

But Han Ye and Fan Xuan, considering Su Chenyu was a patient, didn’t bother to argue with him.

"Can't you stomach it?" Fan Xuan looked at the table full of fish head dishes and said, "Then, should we feed you some fish feed?"

Su Chenyu: "..."

Never had fish feed in this lifetime.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Several students thought it was a part-time waiter from the school restaurant, but in walked a young man with patches on his clothes.

"Dr. Chen Zhao, what brings you here?" Han Ye and Fan Xuan, both familiar with Chen Zhao, quickly greeted him.

"Dr. Wu asked me to help deliver some medication," Chen Zhao said without any hesitation, immediately sitting down at the table full of fish heads.

Needless to say, those who know how to eat fish heads are in a league of their own; there's an indescribable deliciousness to them.

Su Chenyu felt a headache coming on just watching Chen Zhao gnaw on a fish head. Was this the legendary fear of encountering a fellow species in danger?

He quickly asked, "Dr. Chen, how should I take the medicine Dr. Wu prescribed for me? These two packages seem... quite different."

"The pills wrapped in white paper on the left, take one daily to delay the transformation of your upper body into a fish head."

"The herbs wrapped in yellow paper on the right, brew them with well water and drink the decoction. You'll be cured in seven days."

Su Chenyu thought the choice was obvious; of course, he wanted to recover. But then he felt something wasn't right. If that were the case, why would Dr. Wu Heng make him choose?

Su Chenyu pondered and asked, "What if I choose the pills to delay turning into a fish-headed person?"

Chen Zhao chuckled, "If you choose that, Dr. Wu wants you to bring me along on the Dream Cruise."

He’d heard the Dream Cruise costs 49,999 per person. He had never experienced a luxury cruise before. Now, it’s like a paid work trip, right?

Working with Wu Heng is just awesome!

Previously, working for his master at the Xuanmen sect, he had to hitchhike over 3,000 kilometers from Nan Nuo Village to the capital. Now, from Li Hao's house to the capital city's medical university, just over ten kilometers, he doesn't even need to walk; he takes a Didi.

Talk about a leap in quality!

Su Chenyu’s expression changed slightly, "How did Dr. Wu know I have a ticket for the Dream Cruise?"

Han Ye and Fan Xuan sat across from him, staying out of Su Chenyu’s decision.

Su Chenyu hesitated for a moment in front of the two packages of medicine, then grabbed the pills.

He’d come down with this strange illness out of nowhere; he couldn’t just recover out of nowhere either.

Judging from Dr. Wu Heng’s tone, his illness must be closely linked to the Dream Cruise.

Watching Su Chenyu take the pill, Chen Zhao couldn’t help but smile. A five-day luxury cruise—oh yeah!

After taking the pill, Su Chenyu took out his phone and sent a message to his older brother, "This cruise ticket was booked by my older brother. I asked him to book one for Dr. Chen as well."

Soon, a message came back confirming the purchase.

Su Chenyu then asked Han Ye to help him video call Wu Heng on WeChat. Only a few patients who had recovered from rare illnesses had Wu Heng’s private contact info, and Su Chenyu still didn't have it.

On the other end, Wu Heng, dressed casually, was practicing Nuo dance with a group of young men by the Nuo River.

Su Chenyu felt uneasy and couldn’t resist asking, "Dr. Wu, how about you come with me on the Dream Cruise? I'll buy you a cruise ticket too."

Wu Heng, moving with the dance steps, said, "I’ve been practicing for the village Nuo meeting every noon lately, so I can’t bail. You can keep the live stream going, and I’ll keep an eye on it. I'll remind you when the time comes."

Seeing this, Su Chenyu had no choice but to give up and immediately went to request leave from the counselor.

Nowadays, whether the university town has gotten some news or not, as long as it's related to Wu Heng, previously hard-to-get leaves are easily granted.

*

"He's just average at dancing. With the mask on, who knows it's him?"

Wu Heng heard a couple of young men murmuring about him but ignored them, turning to pick up a bamboo cup with hot water under the tree.

Lai Jun, with a new ghost in tow, stood under the tree with his arms crossed, watching the scene. Seeing Wu Heng coming over for a drink, he asked, "Wu Heng, why did you pass that assignment to an outsider, an outsider ghost last time?"

Wu Heng asked in the underworld language, "Are you talking about the yin emissary from the 014 district of Jingbei who came to guide Professor Zhao Qingyun? You can’t work across provinces, right?"

Moreover, that’s Jing City, where local minor yin emissaries don’t get a say. Although that yin emissary had his money taken by Chen Zhao, he ranks fourteenth in the Jingbei district.

Lai Yin Chai couldn’t help but pout at the number 198 on his lantern, obsessed with getting a promotion and a raise. He also wanted the opportunity to work in Jing City.

"In that case, since we’re closer to the South Seas, why don’t you ask your boss for a sea assignment in the next couple of days?"

Lai Yin Chai’s pale eyes instantly lit up. He had been diligently sending ghosts to the underworld these days, working harder than oxen and horses in the mortal world. Yin emissaries usually work at night, but he had been working overtime at noon. Despite all this effort, it didn’t seem to help as much as the promotion Wu Heng’s introduction could get him.

"Let’s go!" Lai Yin Chai immediately urged the new ghost hiding from the sun, shouting sternly, "Let’s go, don’t slow me down—I need to apply for this trip."

As he hurried the new ghost along, Lai Yin Chai looked back at Wu Heng, thinking to himself that Wu Heng wasn’t straightforward after all.

-

Su Chenyu, excited, took Chen Zhao on an express train to the port where the Dream Cruise was about to dock. After checking their tickets, they boarded the cruise.

The Dream Cruise docks at multiple ports, with its final stop in the South Seas.

As soon as Su Chenyu and Chen Zhao boarded, they saw many people taking photos on the deck. The cruise was brightly lit, like a city that never sleeps on the sea.

"Is this the Dream Cruise? It’s been hyped for over a year. If the tickets weren’t so pricey, I’d go too."

"Chenyu, has your fish head illness been cured? Are you here to relax? The sea view is really beautiful, great for photos."

"I heard the Dream Cruise was a gift from Mr. Wei to his late wife for her thirtieth birthday, absolutely dreamy."

"Dr. Wu is amazing. Yesterday, he privately sent medicine to Su Chenyu, and today he’s out playing, cured. Shamans are really something."

At that moment, a blood-red comment popped up in the chat:

[Yuan Song, you’re really something! Spending my money on girls!]

ID: Muyu Yimian.

Li Hao and others were still at school for evening self-study. At this time, only the female ghost Tang Xueshan was in the school apartment. Since she found out that her ex-boyfriend had taken her money to the Dream Cruise, she’d been checking if any Dream Cruise passengers were live-streaming, wanting to take a look.

Perhaps because she was connected to the ghost network, she couldn’t find any, but then she saw Su Chenyu’s live stream and could enter.

Even if it was just a back view, Tang Xueshan immediately recognized the person, who was laughing and drinking with a woman, making the yin energy around her go wild.

Tang Xueshan was so angry that she screamed at home, and an evil thought emerged in her mind—

She’d heard that reincarnation in the underworld isn’t instant. When she goes to the underworld to create, she’d make Yuan Song the ultimate villain in her next book—how’s that?

Just as this thought emerged, Tang Xueshan suddenly froze as she stared at the live stream.

Although Su Chenyu was some distance from Yuan Song, and the image wasn’t very clear, but... why didn’t Yuan Song have a shadow?

"??? Muyu Yimian? Are you still here? Didn’t Dr. Wu send you to reincarnate?"

"No, why can a female ghost watch a live stream of the living? It’s pretty creepy."

"Is it because Su Chenyu had the fish head illness, and the yin energy around him messed with the live stream, so you somehow connected?"

"Your boyfriend is Yuan Song? Indeed, after death, one shouldn’t meddle in the affairs of the living, or it’ll just break your heart."

At this moment, Xu Qian, who was watching TV with her mother, also felt a pang in her heart.

Yuan Song.

Didn’t this guy claim he went back to his hometown because of some family emergency? Turns out he was lying—he’s off partying on a cruise ship!

A cool sea breeze swept across the cruise ship’s deck. Su Chenyu wandered the deck, phone in hand, aimlessly filming, too distracted to enjoy the view. But spotting Chengde Medical Hall in the live chat put him at ease.

An elderly man in a vintage suit sat by the railing, his gaze fixed gently on the distant lighthouse.

Su Chenyu was taken aback to see him there. The Dream Cruise usually attracts a younger crowd, so he wasn’t expecting to run into an old-timer.

The old man seemed familiar, but Su Chenyu couldn’t place him.

The cruise ship was sailing toward the South China Sea. Su Chenyu led Chen Zhao, who was as giddy as a kid in a candy store, to their pre-booked rooms.

They were staying in rooms 401 and 404.

Chen Zhao flopped onto the plush, luxurious bed, thinking working for Wu Heng was the best gig ever.

"Whoa, even the bathroom stuff is fancy! Can I swipe all this? No way I’m leaving it behind," Chen Zhao marveled at the room like a kid in a toy store.

Just then, the doorbell rang. A waiter wheeled in a food cart, set the dishes down, and said, "This is a little thank-you from Mr. Wei to all our guests."

Chen Zhao figured free stuff was always a win.

Chen Zhao popped the lid, revealing a fish with its head tilted upward, its oversized head and lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling.

A chilly white mist wafted up, sending a shiver through his fingers.

Chengde Medical Hall chimed in: "That’s not dry ice—it’s yin energy."

Su Chenyu also received this dish. According to the restaurant staff, the fish were freshly caught from the deep sea.

Su Chenyu couldn’t shake the feeling every fish head was mocking him, and he had no appetite.

Wu Heng, who’d been silent, suddenly popped up in the chat.

Su Chenyu froze. Wasn’t this dish supposed to be a gift from Mr. Wei to all the guests? There were 213 guests on this Dream Cruise; did everyone receive it?

"Yin energy? Damn, there's something wrong with this dish? It looks delicious though."

"Damn it, I'm such a glutton, I would have already eaten it."

"+1, I would have definitely gobbled it up."

"Don't scare me, Su Chenyu, maybe you should stay with Dr. Wu's apprentice Xiao Chen tonight?"

Chen Zhao, being a Daoist Physician from the mystical sect, also felt something was off and was about to warn Su Chenyu when his phone rang.

Seeing the caller, Chen Zhao answered lazily, "Master, what's up?"

An authoritative old man's voice came from the other end, "I sent you to the top hospital to treat a patient who vomited spider silk. Why haven't you come back after so long?"

Chen Zhao leaned on the railing, looking at the night sky over the sea, "I'm not going back, I'm making some extra money!"

If Su Chenyu's fish head disease was cured this time, wouldn't Wu Heng give him some money?

The old man was speechless and advised, "Zhaozhao, as Daoist Physicians of the mystical sect, we should not bend for a little money. Healing and saving lives should be our true purpose."

Chen Zhao: "Dr. Wu gave me 300,000."

The old man paused, then said, "But then again, without money, it's really hard. Can you take me along? The mystical sect really doesn’t treat people well; they haven’t paid salaries for a long time!"