Chapter 73

Chapter 73

"Ahhh, Uncle Zhang is so kind, actually hoping that Blackie can be reincarnated as a human in the next life. I heard from a friend who’s into metaphysics that when a pet is given a surname, it actually has a chance to be reincarnated as a human in the next life."

"Well... honestly, being a human isn’t as great as being a dog, hehe. The societal pressure is too much these days; being a human isn’t all that happy."

"The comment above is talking about ordinary folks. If Blackie is reincarnated as a rich kid, life would be way more comfortable than that of an average person."

"What’s the point of being a pet? Your life and death are completely controlled by humans. If humans want you to live, you live; if they want you dead, you end up as a dish on the table. The right to choose should be in your own hands—that’s what really matters."

"Anyway, I don’t want to be a human in my next life; I’d rather be a pampered little dog~"

Zhang Dayong had no idea that the live stream had sparked a debate. He earnestly expressed his opinion, "We’re out in the countryside here; cats and dogs roam free, and there are plenty of dog thieves around."

He could guarantee that the whole family would cherish the newborn Blackie, but he couldn’t risk the malice of outsiders.

He gained attention by linking up with Chengde Medical Hall, and starting tomorrow, Blackie might become a celebrity dog, with all sorts of people—good and bad—keeping an eye on their home.

Just yesterday, a dog-catcher truck pulled into his yard, asking if the 'Samoyed' that wandered into his house was for sale, offering a flat rate of fifty yuan each, and he shooed them away.

After working hard for him for over forty years, he wanted Blackie to have a say in its own fate.

Hearing this, the family fell silent.

Dr. Wu nodded, "Humans are at the top of the food chain, truly the first in line for reincarnation."

For animals to become spirits, they must cultivate and wait for enlightenment, enduring countless hardships to have a chance at transforming into human form.

Even a weasel aiming to become immortal needs to seek human recognition, asking, 'Do I look like a human?' Only with a 'yes' can it achieve enlightenment.

Reincarnating as a human is incredibly tough, yet it’s the goal of countless animals. Ordinary animals, without opportunity, find it hard to reincarnate as humans.

Zhang Dayong has truly thought deeply about Blackie, even if they never meet again.

Zhang Dayong asked anxiously, "Dr. Wu, does Blackie have a shot at this?"

Dr. Wu nodded, "Yes."

Zhang Dayong suddenly crouched down and hugged Blackie; he could touch the dog, but couldn’t feel its warmth.

Zhang Dayong, at Blackie’s furry ear, choked up and said, "Blackie, be good, go and be a human in the future, okay? Go see the world, eat whatever you want, no more waiting under the table for a scrap of meat, no more worrying about dog-catcher trucks in the village, no more fearing dog thieves."

Blackie didn’t quite understand, just vaguely sensed the owner’s emotions, its two black front paws desperately pawing at Zhang Dayong, letting out anxious, pitiful whimpers.

It seemed to sense that the owner... didn’t want it anymore! Blackie couldn’t figure out what it had done wrong.

His wife gently patted Zhang Dayong’s shoulder and said softly, "Since you want it to have the right to make its own choices, why not let Blackie decide for itself? To truly take control of its own fate."

Zhang Dayong was shocked, looking at his wife through blurred tears.

Zhang Dayong sat softly on the cement ground, looking at the anxious big black dog in front of him, and said with utmost seriousness, "Blackie, if you want to come back as our family’s little dog, press my left hand, if you are willing to go be..."

Before Zhang Dayong could finish, Blackie pounced on his left hand, sticking out its cold tongue to eagerly lick his left hand, from the palm to the back of the hand.

The viewers couldn’t see Blackie, but they saw Zhang Dayong’s left hand suddenly get pressed down.

"I knew it, wuwuwu, I knew Blackie could choose, it definitely still wants to be the owner’s little dog."

"It will never know what opportunity it missed, Blackie only knows it can meet its owner again. Now, let’s congratulate this little dog for getting its wish!"

"Watching this, I feel a mix of emotions. I also wish my deceased dog could return to my side."

"Congratulations to our little Blackie!"

Zhang Dayong looked at the furry black head, suddenly hugged it, and gently patted Blackie's head, crying and scolding, "You dumb mutt! You silly dog! You stupid pup!"

But it was also his favorite dog.

Wu Heng felt a twinge of sadness and softly comforted, "It's okay, karma can be accumulated. The karma it has earned by helping so many sick pets can be added up, and hopefully, in the next life, you can both become humans together."

The concept of the "Ten Generations of Virtue" comes from this. During the judgment in the underworld, in addition to the karma of this life, the karma of other lives is also reviewed.

It was then that Zhang Dayong understood why Wu Heng, even lying in bed, stayed up all night and even held a temporary pet consultation. The small pets he received during that time all benefited because of Blackie, and a portion of the karma would be credited to Blackie.

Zhang Dayong, with tears in his eyes, looked at the young man on the screen. He and Wu Heng had never met in person, connected only by the internet. Before the consultation, he had only sent a small gift worth a hundred yuan.

In this life, he and Blackie would fulfill their unfinished bond, and in the future, they would be reborn as humans, becoming good friends and brothers. After all, when he rescued the pitiful little black dog the size of a palm, he had always treated it as a good friend.

"Wu Heng really gets to me. Before, some passerby said he was just trying to keep the live stream from getting cold, but that's nonsense. With his personality, he should have just ended the stream and waited until morning to reconnect!"

"Recently, the world has become more and more bizarre, but watching Dr. Wu's live streams every day does bring a sense of calm to my heart."

"Heng Bao is so kind-hearted. I regret not going to the Nan Nuo Village to see the local ritual in person."

A cold wind blew in through the wooden window, gently lifting the curtain and brushing against Wu Heng's face, which was exposed outside the blanket.

Wu Heng glanced at the dark shadow by the window and suddenly spoke to the camera, "Please ask the abbot of Qingfeng Temple to perform two rituals: one to revert the original birth chart and one to guide Blackie's soul. Also, Blackie, remember not to follow the local netherworld envoy. I will invite one from another place."

Netherworld envoys are all ghosts. As the saying goes, "The King of Hell is easy to meet, but the little ghosts are hard to deal with." Ghosts and demons are greedy for profit, and netherworld envoys are even more so.

The karma of guiding an animal's soul is much less than that of a human's. Thousands of animals' souls can't compare to the karma of one human soul, so their journey to the underworld might not be easy.

Zhang Dayong and his family readily agreed to Wu Heng's requests and immediately acknowledged them, though they were deeply shocked.

Previously, Wu Heng's fans had spread rumors online that he had connections in the underworld, and it turned out to be true!

Zhang Tianjun spoke up, "In that case, as soon as it's light, I'll go to Qingfeng Temple to invite the abbot."

The current abbot is not the same as the one from four decades ago but is a disciple of the old abbot, a very capable and kind-hearted Taoist priest.

There were always people from the Qingfeng Temple scenic area lurking in the live stream, and they were thrilled when they saw this message.

Conducting a ritual for a small dog is not hard, and the abbot can also perform the ritual to change Zhang Dayong's birth chart. The key is that it clears the temple's name from yesterday's slander, and with the increased attention from Chengde Medical Hall, Qingfeng Temple will become even more popular, with worshippers flocking in, turning bad luck into good!

Zhang Dayong patted Blackie's head, then stood up and looked at his elderly parents, saying, "After I send Blackie off, I..."

Zhang Dayong wiped away his tears and, with the authority of the head of the household, said coldly, "I will immediately return to the village, open the family shrine, and invite the elders to remove my family's name from the neighboring Zhang family, and return to our original family!"

His wife and children had no objections.

Zhang Tianjun and his wife, with tears streaming down their faces, kept saying, "Good! Good! Good!"

Over the years, the old couple had been fixing bridges and roads, donating money and goods, and kneeling before the goddess, praying to find Da Da's remains. They never expected their son to return, let alone bring a daughter-in-law and a pair of grandchildren. The family joy they had never dared to dream of was finally becoming a reality.

This child was sent by the Child-Bearing Goddess, and no one could take it away.

Since the child was sent by the goddess, it was recorded in her name. To harm the child sent by the goddess would sully her name, and the old couple would surely face harsh punishment in the afterlife.

Wu Heng glanced at the clock, yawned, and said, "Then I won't disturb your family anymore. I'll sign off now."

Before Zhang Dayong’s family could thank him, Dr. Wu decisively disconnected.

Netizens, still processing what happened: "..."

Yep, that’s Dr. Wu for you!

Dr. Wu's gaze shifted from the dimmed phone screen, turning to stare at the ghost officer by the window, utterly speechless, "Can you not come to me in the middle of the night?"

Lai Yin Chai, holding a lantern and sneezing, approached and immediately asked, 'Got any new souls for me to collect?'

Dr. Wu: "..."

This guy’s the underworld’s new workhorse, sneezing yet still thinking about performance.

Where’s he gonna find that many dead souls anyway?

"I think you should take a sick leave and rest now."

Lai Yin Chai immediately shook his head: 'How can that be? My sneezing’s because of the sudden exorcism festival in your eighteen villages.'

The village exorcism festival is for driving away evil and welcoming blessings, very effective against ghosts and demons. Lately, the ghosts and demons around here have been keeping a low profile, not daring to wander around. Although Lai Jun and his team are ghost officers, they are still ghosts, and have been sneezing due to the festival.

Lai Yin Chai looked a bit down, as when he was human, he was the top or at least the second in command of the village exorcism festival.

Lai Yin Chai's dead fish eyes gleamed with a strange light, chuckling eerily: 'All the ghost officers in town are calling in sick to avoid the aftermath of the festival, so it’s like I’m studying while my roommate’s snoring away.'

Dr. Wu: "...6."

This guy’s a real piece of work.

Dr. Wu thought for a moment and said, "Alright, you can ask your boss to send you to Qiuhua Village in the neighboring province to guide a big black dog named Black Charcoal to reincarnate. It’s better to get out of town and avoid the hassle."

Upon hearing this, Lai Yin Chai's dead face grew longer: 'Traveling across provinces just for a dog? That’s barely worth the trip, I won’t go.'

Not only does it barely count as performance, but these animal ghosts are not like intelligent human ghosts, some get really stubborn when they’re scared.

During team-building, the ghost officers shared stories. They mentioned that once a ghost officer went to guide thousands of sheep drowned in a flood. That ghost officer used to be a shepherd, so it was like returning to a familiar job, but as they were walking, the lead sheep suddenly went berserk and knocked the ghost officer into the River Styx.

Then the stories just kept coming. Another ghost officer said he went to guide a dog ghost, the dog ghost was too scared to get on the boat, it jumped into his arms and shivered, he couldn’t shake it off and had to carry it the whole way, and then the dog got seasick and vomited all over the ghost officer.

And don’t even get me started on the skittish cat ghosts. They’d scratch the ghost officers when they got spooked, or even fight with other cat ghosts, cat hair flying everywhere.

Threatening them, they are not very intelligent and only half understand. Only the worst-off ghost officers get stuck with animal duty.

Lai Yin Chai sneezed and said: 'I’ll stick around Hezipo Town. I saw a few old folks on their last legs earlier, I’ll just wait nearby.'

Dr. Wu nodded: "Alright, if you don’t want to go, then forget it."

Lai Yin Chai suddenly paused, his dead fish eyes suspiciously staring at Dr. Wu, his dead face suddenly came closer, 'Is there some hidden perk here?'

Dr. Wu didn’t even bother responding.

Lai Yin Chai stood by Dr. Wu's bed looking at him, thought for a while and said: 'I’ll go.'

Dr. Wu: "You’re cursing at your source of income?"

Lai Yin Chai corrected: '...I said I’ll make a business trip, to guide that black dog you mentioned.'

Lai Yin Chai chuckled slyly; he had thought this through carefully.

Wu Heng often gave him tasks, so upsetting him wouldn’t do any good. Besides, always giving him tasks and then refusing to help when he needed a favor—how could he always come out on top? How could that keep up in the long run?!

Even if it was just a trip, he was putting in real work, and he could also score points with his boss. It seemed like a fair deal.

Most importantly—

Was Dr. Wu worried he’d get caught up in the village exorcism if he stuck around town?

Then he’d take the trip.

Once he’d confirmed the address with Wu Heng, Lai Yin Chai was about to return before dawn to apply for the inter-provincial trip with his boss when Wu Heng’s door was knocked.

Lai Yin Chai’s eyes locked onto the door, his voice brimming with excitement: "Wu Heng, I knew there was a hidden benefit. Got some super yin-heavy spirit here for me to haul off to the underworld?"

As a yin emissary, he could sense the overwhelming yin energy outside, something he hadn’t even felt in the King of Hell’s palace.

Lai Yin Chai tensed up again; he, just a lowly yin emissary, might be out of his depth.

Wu Heng got up to open the door. Shi Xuan, his hair a bit messy, stood at the doorway looking at the yin emissary inside but asked Wu Heng, "Where’s the bathroom?"

Wu Heng pointed to the end of the hallway on the second floor: "Over there. Did you wake up last night? Didn’t you go to the bathroom last night?"

Shi Xuan, eyeing the yin emissary, said indifferently, "Not last night."

Lai Yin Chai was also sizing up Shi Xuan. The yin energy was so heavy; he had never seen a living person with such heavy yin energy. Lai Yin Chai felt like the air was being sucked out of the room and had to avoid Shi Xuan’s cold gaze.

Lai Yin Chai bolted out the window, leaving only a sentence: "I’m leaving first."

Shi Xuan’s cold fingers slid over the wooden window scattered with some yin energy, then turned to Wu Heng and asked, "Does this ghost make a habit of climbing through your window?"

Wu Heng replied, "Occasionally, he’s a yin emissary."

Shi Xuan said, "Yin emissaries are just ghosts; they’re not like us."

Wu Heng silently looked at Shi Xuan, whose yin energy was several times heavier than Lai Yin Chai’s, and couldn’t help but laugh: "You’re right. Come morning, I’ll slap some exorcism charms on the window to prevent that yin emissary from climbing through it again."

"You and I, we’re cut from the same cloth."

Shi Xuan’s icy stare softened into a faint smile, his eyes falling on Wu Heng’s small bed, with the sheets You Jin picked out, pink with little flowers, and the custom-made cotton plush and soft.

"It’s not dawn yet, sleep a bit more." Shi Xuan walked out of the bedroom.

After closing the door for Wu Heng, Shi Xuan walked towards the guest room diagonally opposite.

Wu Heng lay back in the bed, which was indeed very soft. Wu Heng finally fell asleep, his tired body stretching and relaxing, sleeping soundly.

When You Jin came to open the door in the morning, Shi Xuan had already helped open the door. He hadn’t gone to the pharmacy but was watering the flowers in the flower bed.

You Jin couldn’t help but nod; this city boy was surprisingly hardworking.

While flipping through medical records, You Jin asked, "Young Master Shi, I heard you were classmates with those three Beijing big shots. When are you going back to school?"

Shi Xuan said, "In a couple of days."

The school had just dealt with that mess and was bringing in Taoist priests from the Xuanmen to clean things up, but they didn’t dare to suspend classes for too long. They would resume in at most two days.

You Jin originally planned to showcase his culinary skills, but fearing that Shi Xuan, an outsider, might be scared off by his cooking, he sent Zhou Yi, who was up early studying, to grab some food.

Zhou Yi came back with a few bowls of their signature rice noodles. Figuring Wu Heng would sleep in, the group gathered around the dining table for breakfast.

The usually quiet morning was now buzzing with tourist chatter outside.

You Jin noisily slurped his noodles and asked, "Is Second Uncle's homestay fully booked?"

Zhou Yi, eating the beef slices in his bowl, nodded and said, "Yeah, I heard a strange patient arrived last night, even got my grandpa all worked up. They were dead set on staying at Second Uncle's, apparently because of some online rumor that his homestay is the official inpatient department of Chengde Medical Hall."

Second Uncle's homestay is just a hundred meters away from Chengde Medical Hall—it's the closest homestay to the medical hall.

Chen Zhao, bowl in hand, squatted outside and looked at the inpatient department in the distance. Besides some unlucky Dream Cruise passengers, there were also patients with strange illnesses who had come after hearing the news.

There were quite a few people.

Patients meant cash in hand.

Chen Zhao bit off a mouthful of noodles and sighed, another day, another thought about switching masters.

The patients who caught some nasty stuff from messing with ghosts and demons on the cruise ship didn’t come to Nanluo Village. Instead, they headed to a top-tier hospital in Beijing as instructed, waiting for the Daoist Physician arranged by Wu Heng to arrive.

Chen Zhao, worried his slowpoke master might miss out on this golden opportunity, called him while eating his noodles.

"Master, have you packed up and set off for Beijing?"

The old man on the phone said, "I'm here."

Chen Zhao: "Where?"

The old man: "At the hospital."

Chen Zhao: "..."

Like master, like disciple! He thought the old man was still packing at the Xuanmen, but he was already at the hospital.

Money talks, and his 500,000 was in the bag, hehe.

Hearing the hospital noises on the phone, Chen Zhao said, "Master, I want to switch masters."

The old man's radar went off, and he immediately started cursing, "You greedy little brat, have you lost your mind? What nonsense are you spouting? Do you want to be the laughingstock?"

Chen Zhao: "I'll bring you along."

The old man hesitated, then said, "...Disciple, that's not quite right."

Chen Zhao clicked his tongue, typical.

*

Last night's Chengde Medical Hall live stream blew up. It was almost the first time Wu Heng had streamed for over six hours, but it was just for a dog.

Considering Wu Heng's exotic pets, he's basically a pet owner.

Pet lovers online were all over the black dog, while others were shocked that those who made a living from metaphysics could actually alter birth charts.

Qingfeng Temple went viral. The Goddess of Fertility truly blessed her devotees with children, and the temple master, endorsed by Zhang Tianjun and his wife, was a powerful Daoist with the real ability to use birth charts to track children's whereabouts.

Nearby influencers went to Qingfeng Temple with their equipment, clearly noticing the huge flow of people, many of whom were couples trying to conceive.

The Zhang Dayong family met the temple master, the former high disciple of the previous temple master.

The temple master looked at the big black dog sitting at the temple entrance, the dog avoiding the crowd of tourists, and said to Zhang Dayong, "Humans and dogs are different. To change your birth chart back, you need to choose an auspicious day and time. The hour of You three days from now is a good time."

Zhang Dayong agreed to the abbot's arrangements, nodding and then asking, "Abbot, what about the ceremony for my Hei Tan?"

The abbot smiled and said, "The ceremony for the puppy will be simple and held in the back room of the temple, and it can be done at any time."

The abbot handed Zhang Dayong a list of items needed for the ceremony, instructing the Zhang family to prepare them.

Tearfully, Zhang Dayong decided to send Hei Tan off for reincarnation first, and then deal with his family matters.

This loyal dog had been by his side for over forty years, so it was only right that he prioritized its affairs.

The Zhang family also believed it was right to handle Hei Tan's affairs and quickly set about making arrangements.

By the afternoon, the back room of Qingfeng Temple had been set up simply. The abbot, dressed in formal Taoist robes, held various ritual instruments in his hands and chanted solemn incantations.

"Woof?" Hei Tan perked up its ears, barking nervously in the back room.

The room grew still yet seemed to stir, and Hei Tan felt itself becoming lighter and more comfortable, as if invisible chains were being broken.

Its simple mind couldn't grasp much, but it vaguely understood that it was about to leave. It frantically burrowed into Zhang Dayong's arms, pawing at him and whimpering in fear.

Tears poured down Zhang Dayong's face as he tightly held the squirming black dog, resting his bearded chin on the uneasy dog's head, and choked out, "Hei Tan, go now. It’s not that we don’t want you."

The abbot watched as the incense candles by the window quickly extinguished, and a gray shadow stood by the window, bowing respectfully towards it.

"The yin emissary is here."

Zhang Dayong fiercely wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and cried towards the cold, windy window, "Great Lord, thank you for your help. These are small offerings for you, please take care of Hei Tan."

The Zhang family quickly burned the prepared paper money, a pile of gold ingots they had learned to fold from Wu Heng's live stream, some paper horses as offerings to the yin emissary, and some paper dog food and freeze-dried treats purchased from a pet funeral shop.

Lai Yin Chai selected some usable paper money and two barely passable gold ingots from the pile of useless items and tossed them into a paper lantern. He glanced at the frightened black dog with a softer expression, 'Let's go.'

He was eager to return and take on new tasks.

"Woof woof woof?" Hei Tan panicked, clutching Zhang Dayong tightly, unwilling to leave. Its owner had finally seen it, so why did it have to go?

"Go, we'll prepare your home first," Zhang Dayong said, holding Hei Tan tightly. "There will be a doghouse for you, a cozy little nest, and plenty of meaty bones you love to eat."

"We'll meet again."

Hei Tan glanced at Zhang Dayong and then at the yin emissary, as if finally understanding something.

Lai Yin Chai came in, grabbed a rope to use as a leash, and looped it around Hei Tan's neck, 'Let's go, the sooner we leave, the faster you can reincarnate.'

Zhang Dayong watched as Hei Tan step by step left the back room, until the tail that had always wagged for him vanished from sight.

A single black dog hair drifted down from the air, landing right in Zhang Dayong's palm, and he wept once more.

As evening fell, the worshippers slowly left Qingfeng Temple.

Zhang Dayong wiped away his tears, took out his phone, and sent a private message to Chengde Medical Hall.

"Nails Higher Than the Sky (Follow-up): Dr. Wu, Hei Tan has left, leaving behind a dog hair."

Perhaps the fox spirit’s hair was still working, as only Zhang Dayong could see the black dog hair, but he felt that one day he might not even see this hair.

"Chengde Medical Hall: Hold this dog hair in your hand, close your eyes, and walk five hundred steps south. You will see the mother dog that Hei Tan will reincarnate into in the future."

Zhang Dayong didn't quite understand but still followed Wu Heng's instructions.

With the help of his family, Zhang Dayong counted his steps as he walked southward.

"497, 498, 499, 500." Zhang Dayong nervously finished the last count when a faint dog bark reached his ears. He abruptly opened his eyes.

In the grass behind the Qingfeng Temple, a skinny, pregnant stray dog had suddenly appeared, wagging its tail and begging for food.

Zhang Dayong vaguely recalled his childhood, when he had found a small black dog in the roadside grass, wagging its tail but clearly scared.

Zhang Dayong crouched down in front of the stray dog with a small piece of bread, just as he had in his childhood, and asked, "Would you like to come home with me?"

When his little dog opened its eyes again, besides its loving owner, there would also be a loving mother dog and siblings by its side.

In this life, the dog would experience more joy.