Chapter 77

Chapter 77

Mr. Xie looked at Dr. Wu on the screen as if he had heard a fairy tale, exclaiming in shock, "What do you mean it's true?"

The person is still the same person, but the essence is no longer their daughter? Even legally, this is difficult to determine.

Mr. Xie looked at the familiar face kneeling on the ground, thinking that although his daughter often did outrageous things, she was still their child, and they had somewhat spoiled their only daughter.

Mr. Xie's expression darkened immediately, pointing at Xie Zhi on the ground and angrily saying, "Soul transmigration? What kind of filthy spirit are you? A wandering ghost? How did you possess my daughter's body? Get out immediately!"

Mrs. Xie was also initially shocked, but she tugged at her husband's sleeve, urging him not to speak so harshly.

In the past two days of interaction, she felt that this entity had decent behavior, simply buying her some in-season clothes, which caused her to burst into tears and hug her repeatedly, saying thank you. At that time, she was scared, thinking her daughter had been mistreated in the entertainment industry.

Xie Zhi knelt on the ground, sobbing, "Sir, I don't know what happened either. I was originally planting vegetables in the garden, suddenly fainted, and when I woke up, I found myself in the body of your daughter. I really didn't do anything bad."

"Is this... soul transmigration? A plot straight out of a Green River novel? If it weren't for Dr. Wu often involved in those supernatural events, I would definitely think the female celebrity is acting for attention."

"I'm stunned, if you tell me a ghost king will descend tomorrow, I would believe it! Soul transmigration is real, could it be a parallel world transmigration? Then holding a script to silence critics and become famous in the entertainment industry?"

"This ghost is so naive! Xie Zhi's family background ranks in the top 50 in the entire Beijing circle, right? This is a real wealthy young lady, why didn’t she pretend to have amnesia like those soul transmigration heroines? Then live a happy life."

"Although Xie Zhi's original self wasn't a good person, why should a wandering ghost usurp her life? This female ghost has a bit of conscience, after enjoying herself for two days and knowing to return."

"If I were a poor child from the countryside, transmigrating into a wealthy young lady... I might not be able to come clean."

Many netizens secretly thought this wandering ghost was really foolish. If Xie's parents didn't know, it would be fine since the body is their biological daughter, but once they know the essence is not their daughter, how should they interact with her?

Treating her well feels wrong, and treating her poorly feels just as wrong.

"So I connected with Dr. Wu, hoping he could find a way to send me back," Xie Zhi sobbed and explained everything.

But little did she know Dr. Wu said she was fine and told her to end the call. How could this be considered fine?

Xie Zhi was filled with anxiety, but thinking of the custom in the Nuo River Eighteen Villages of keeping the deceased for seven days regardless of the season, she should not have been buried yet and could return. But she didn't know where the original soul of Miss Xie had gone, even fearing that she was occupying the body, making Miss Xie a wandering ghost for no reason.

Xie Zhi quickly introduced herself in dialect, "Dr. Wu, didn't you just agree that my soul transmigration is true? I am Xie Zhi from Wuwa Village, we are fellow villagers, please help me."

You Jin, who was organizing herbs in the pharmacy, heard the voice from the phone and instantly looked up, "Xie Zhi?!"

You Jin was almost PTSD from this name, as it was the patient he had "killed" yesterday.

Dr. Wu said, "Your soul transmigration is true, but you really don't need to go back. You are just returning to your own body, setting things right."

Both online and offline fell silent at the same time, then completely exploded.

"I thought it was soul transmigration, but it turns out to be soul swapping? No, to be precise, it was soul swapping before, and now it's returning to normal?"

"I understood the dialect, she said she was the male patient Dr. Wu brought back to life yesterday! So there was a male soul in Xie Zhi's body before? No wonder I didn't feel wrong, Xie Zhi's gaze at female celebrities was so male-gazing and disgusting, I thought she was a lesbian before."

"Then everything makes sense! Before it was usurping, now it's returning to the rightful place, so Dr. Wu told her not to treat it if there's no illness."

"Fainted, how much do Xie's parents not care about their daughter, not even knowing her essence has changed?"

Xie's parents originally thought it was a script of true and false heiresses, hearing she lived in the countryside, they privately thought about raising both, but hearing it was soul swapping, they were at a loss.

This, this is too bizarre!

Moreover, their daughter grew up before their eyes, any slight abnormality they could detect immediately. Over the years, Xie Zhi had always been this character, never suddenly changing!

Mr. Xie thought the explanation was just too ridiculous to believe, while Mrs. Xie chimed in out of the blue, "Honey, do you remember when Zhi Zhi had a high fever at the age of four? After that fever, she seemed quite different."

When Xie Zhi was four, she suddenly developed a persistent high fever. After recovering, it was like she became a whole different kid—she went from loving pink princess dresses to being into toy guns and wearing boys' clothes.

At first, the parents were both surprised and a bit thrown off, but then they realized they were being old-fashioned—they shouldn’t be stuck on gender stereotypes.

Who says girls have to be into pretty dresses and sparkly stuff? Girls can dig toy guns and car models, and boys can have fun dressing up Barbies. As long as the child is healthy, isn't that what matters?

So the parents didn’t make a big deal out of their kid’s sudden personality shift. As Xie Zhi got older, they got used to her tomboyish look. When rumors popped up online about her harassing other female celebs, they could only try to smooth things over.

Same-sex marriage had been legal for years, and the couple had assumed their daughter would eventually bring home another daughter.

But what the heck did they hear today on that Chengde Medical Hall livestream?!

Could their daughter’s soul have been swapped when she was four?

"How is that possible?" Xie Zhi muttered, staring at her clearly feminine, delicate hands.

Had she always been a girl?

Xie Zhi found it tough to admit. Growing up as the only boy in a remote mountain village, she’d always wished she was a girl.

As a kid, she’d often dream about a big villa with a gorgeous princess room full of pretty dresses.

Even though she stopped having those dreams, she always felt deep down she was meant to be a girl—not just a preference, but her true self. But no one around her got it; they just thought she was nuts.

Once the internet became available, Xie Zhi scraped together enough to buy a cheap phone and get online. The internet was a game-changer. She picked up dancing from short videos. Even though she wasn’t great at it and her body didn’t quite cooperate, she was thrilled. But the villagers often called her a weirdo.

Was Dr. Wu for real? Or was she still stuck in a dream?

A distant bell chimed, starting slow and then speeding up. Xie Zhi’s eyes glazed over, her body went limp, and she started to collapse.

Mrs. Xie shrieked and rushed to catch her, cradling Xie Zhi’s head as she gently hit the floor.

Mrs. Xie panicked and looked to Dr. Wu for help, "What's happening?"

"That's the bell of soul exchange," Dr. Wu said, then asked, "I gave her a medicinal charm earlier. Where did she put it?"

Mrs. Xie vaguely remembered the charm. Yesterday, while shopping with Xie Zhi, she was holding the charm, muttering, "It seems useless."

Mr. Xie, alarmed, quickly searched Xie Zhi's room and found a medicinal charm with a faint scent of traditional Chinese medicine on the bedside table. It had a dark brown medicinal inscription of secret characters.

Mr. Xie hurriedly took it and placed it in Xie Zhi's hand. In Mrs. Xie's arms, Xie Zhi suddenly shivered, her body twitched, and she woke up again.

She was still here!

Just now, it felt like her soul was being forcibly pulled out of her body...

"Zhi Zhi used to have low blood sugar," Mr. Xie said, looking at the barrage on his phone, still unable to resist giving a proper medical explanation.

"Really? I don't believe it! After so many strange illnesses, I only believe Dr. Wu now!"

"It's really hard to believe without seeing it, especially for the older generation."

"Damn, whether she's biologically theirs can be determined by a DNA test, but how do you test if the soul is their child? Is there a DNA testing agency in the underworld?"

Just as everyone felt the situation was not good, Mr. Xie's phone in his pocket rang. He took out his tri-fold phone and saw an incoming call from an out-of-town number.

Mr. Xie, now mentally disturbed by the events, had no time to answer and was about to hang up when Xie Zhi suddenly exclaimed, "That's my number."

Just as Xie's father was about to say he remembered his daughter's phone number, he paused mid-sentence, realizing it was Xie Zhi (male)'s number he was referring to.

Looking at the location of the number, it indeed came from where Wu Heng was. After some thought, he decided to answer the call.

Immediately, a young man's voice came through, deep and with a hint of a sob, "Dad, help me! I've been cursed! I woke up as a farmer, surrounded by endless mountains with no escape in sight. I feel like a woman abducted to a mountain village, calling out to heaven and earth, but no one answers. I'm so scared."

Hearing the last sentence, Xie's father's heart tightened. The tone of voice was exactly like his daughter's!

Wu Heng chuckled and said, "Patient Xie, you're so close to Chengde Medical Hall. I just saved you yesterday, and you can come for a follow-up visit today. Let me see what kind of curse you have that even I, a shaman, can't cure."

Some of Wu Heng's fans noticed that his tone turned cold at the end, as if he were growing angry.

Xie Zhi looked at the well-kept vegetable garden with a blank, somber expression, remaining silent in response to Wu Heng's words.

Soon, Xie Zhi cried out again, "Dad, Mom! Are you abandoning your daughter? When I was a child..."

The male voice on the other end began recounting past events, alternating between crying and laughing at heartfelt moments, stirring the emotions of Xie's parents.

These were the memories of the past decade, filled with both joy and sorrow, all of which should have been cherished memories.

"Mom, Dad, don't you believe in your own daughter? Do you really want me to be trapped in this remote mountain village forever? She also wants to return to her own body!"

Xie's parents were at a loss. If it were a case of mistaken identity, they could simply arrange for her return. But with a soul inexplicably entering another's body, even with all their resources, they couldn't do anything.

Xie's father looked up Wu Heng. This online shaman had a flawless record, never faltering. This...

"Impressive. Even if they really listened to Dr. Wu and stepped away from the spotlight to live their lives, it's like planting a seed of doubt that might suddenly sprout one day."

"The lack of a proper diagnostic facility is indeed troublesome. But wasn't Xie Zhi previously known as an 'airhead beauty' in the entertainment industry?"

"+1, Xie Zhi used to be quite dim-witted, but now she speaks so fluently."

"Oh no, it's come to this. Even if they temporarily follow Dr. Wu's advice and step back from the public eye, if the former daughter calls a few more times, they might consult other masters, and who knows what those other masters are like."

Wu Heng looked at the conflicted Xie parents and even Xie Zhi herself, who couldn't believe it, and his tone softened a bit. "Well, the proof is in the pudding. I'll teach you a temporary soul-separation method, and you can see for yourselves."

Xie Zhi (male) watched the live broadcast on his parents' phone, and seeing the talisman removed, he was overjoyed. As soon as Xie Zhi came out, he could use the soul-swapping method to force his way in.

Mr. Xie and his wife watched their son with great concern. Recently, the eighteen villages of Nuo River had been holding temporary exorcism ceremonies. Wasn't such frequent soul-swapping ill-advised? Too many people had been going to the Nuo Temple to make offerings, and the villagers of the eighteen villages all believed in Nuo. Gods exist through human faith. What if the Nuo gods became wrathful?

Turning around, they saw their son fall back onto the bed, paling visibly, with a soul ready to depart standing by.

Wu Heng sent a private message. After reading the method, Xie's parents steeled themselves and decided to proceed.

First, they sealed all the doors and windows as instructed, and shredded the talisman into fragments, placing them in every corner.

Wu Heng smiled and said, "Begin the chant."

Wu Heng had just sent a temporary incantation. Xie's father swallowed lightly, staring into Xie Zhi's eyes and began to chant.

Xie Zhi's eyes became dazed again, her body going limp, and a faint gray shadow emerged from the limp body.

"Zhi Zhi!" Xie's mother covered her mouth in shock at the sight of the shadow without a silhouette.

The soul, from height and build to the shape of the eyes and lips, was a perfect replica of the body!

With just one look, the couple no longer had any doubts! The strange Xie Zhi of the past two days was indeed their real child.

Xie Zhi stood in front of the mirror, staring at the unfamiliar figure, and couldn't help but gently touch her face, murmuring, 'Is this what I'm supposed to look like?'

She had always dreamed of getting gender reassignment surgery, but now it seemed unnecessary, as this body was exactly what she wanted.

Suddenly, Mrs. Xie noticed that Xie Zhi's ghostly form was covered in bruises, as if she had been beaten, and she couldn't help but feel heartbroken, saying, "Dr. Wu, what's wrong with Zhi? Was she beaten? Did they treat her badly over there?"

After speaking, Mrs. Xie realized her words might not make sense. After all, how can you even beat a living soul? It's not like they could just pull out the child's soul, beat it, and then send it back, right?

Dr. Wu explained, "When the soul and body don't match, rejection happens. Bruises on the soul are one of the signs."

"Other signs include slow speech, delayed reactions, and poor coordination. Once she returns to her original compatible body and rests for a while, she will fully adapt."

"Dr. Wu got it exactly right! Xie Zhi used to be really slow, always a step behind in everything. I once suspected her body couldn't keep up with her mind."

"This is it, everything Dr. Wu said fits me. I'm screwed."

"I just want to know, was this soul swap an accident? Did it happen by chance, or was it an accident that caused the souls to switch?"

"If it was just an accident, then that guy Xie Zhi is really unlucky. He was happy for over a decade, only to wake up one day as someone else."

"Following the 'true and false heiress' story, shouldn't the other one be brought back too? But this situation is a bit complicated."

Mr. Xie had to ask, "Was this an accident?"

Dr. Wu thought about past medical cases and said, "Accidental soul swaps do happen, but usually between people of the same gender, as their body structures are more similar, making accidental compatibility more likely."

Upon hearing this, the Xie couple's faces turned grim. They understood the implication of Dr. Wu's words. It wasn't an accident?

Dr. Wu looked at the faces of the Xie family and said, "Artificial soul swaps are as tricky as heart transplants. They require compatibility in birth charts, zodiac signs, and even the parents' personalities. In your case, despite the gender mismatch, your family's wealth made you a good fit."

It seemed that after much consideration, the Xie family was the most suitable.

Even though Old Man Xie and his wife wished for a son, at least they were rich!

Su Chenyu saw the shocked looks on the Xie couple's faces and felt for them. They thought their family was at the top, but they were still being manipulated!

Mr. Xie was so mad he felt lightheaded. He never expected such a huge scandal to come from his own family.

The couple urged Xie Zhi to get back into her body while thanking Dr. Wu over and over, "Thanks for the talisman, Dr. Wu. We'd still be clueless without it."

The couple naturally assumed that the change in Xie Zhi was due to the talisman Dr. Wu had given her the day before.

Xie Zhi opened her mouth but chose not to call Dr. Wu out right then. That talisman didn't really do much.

Dr. Wu didn't take credit. He spotted two snakes slithering into the clinic corner and said, "Your daughter came back because she got an official vaccine. My talisman was just to prevent certain individuals from secretly swapping souls again when no one was looking."

The vaccine, made by the mystical community and the government, was a strong traditional Chinese medicine formula with remarkable effects in boosting yang energy.

After receiving a dose, Xie Zhi was quickly forced out by the anti-evil energy in the vaccine, while Xie Zhi happened to be in the midst of the temporary village exorcism ceremony in the Luo River's eighteen villages. She must have been feeling unwell these past few days.

Everything lined up just right—timing, place, and people. Missing any one element wouldn't have worked.

Dr. Wu wondered which mystical team made this vaccine. There were indeed some capable people involved.

Beside him, You Jin suddenly understood. He finally realized that last night, it wasn't Dr. Wu comforting him. The patient really didn't want to return to his body because he wanted to try to return to Xie Zhi's body! His medical skills hadn't let his master down.

As soon as these words were spoken, the live chat blew up with comments.

"A vaccine? What vaccine? How come I didn't know anything about this? The authorities are amazing, they can even develop a vaccine against evil energy!"

"You know, vaccine development takes years. It's not something that can be done overnight. This means it started years ago... think about it, really think about it. This is terrifying when you consider the implications!"

"I heard that the capital city is a high-risk area, especially among the student population. So, they started rolling it out gradually from the students in the capital. When will it be our turn, the working class? Our lives matter too, just like anyone else's."

"Can I pay for it myself? As long as it's below four digits, I can manage to pay for it myself. I'm really scared of these weird illnesses. My body has always been weak, I can't handle these supernatural illnesses. If I don't get it, I'll be the first to fall ill!"

"Wow, is this vaccine really that effective? Oh no, I was worried about potential issues and didn't agree to let my child get it. Can I sign up now? Where can I get the vaccine?"

The Xie couple suddenly understood that it was because the school urged them to go back and get the vaccine that it worked...

This vaccine was originally charged at this stage, but Jia Ming High School covered all the vaccine costs due to the black fog incident.

But if it hadn't been for the talisman Doctor Wu Heng sent, they might have quietly switched it back. In the future, there might be a sudden discovery of DNA mismatch, but if they missed that opportunity, they might never know that the soul in their daughter's body wasn't the original one!

The couple couldn't help but remember Xie Zhi before she turned four, small and soft, stumbling towards them every time they came back, calling out to them softly.

There was actually an outsider inhabiting their daughter's body, which was truly despicable.

"How can you, a doctor, spout such nonsense? There's no such thing!" came the dissatisfied voice of Old Man Xie from the quiet end of the phone, deliberately imitating the Mandarin from TV but still with a strong accent. The Xie parents could only try hard to understand what he meant.

"It was clearly an accident. Your lousy daughter turned my son into neither male nor female, usually wearing skirts and long hair, with the strength of a chick. We didn't ask for compensation, yet you're still spreading nonsense online."

Old Man Xie and his wife watched as Xie Zhi's living soul ran far away, holding the phone and unwilling to hang up, saying, "We don't want compensation, you've worked hard raising the child. I have an idea, no one loses."

Mother Xie, holding back her anger, asked, "What idea?"

"Anyway, Xie Zhi's soul was raised by us, and our son's soul was taken care of by you. Why don't we just become family?"

Xie Zhi, holding the soul-switching bell, ran far away. This is a magical tool that can quickly return to the body, unlike those wandering ghosts who need to wander for days to return home. He wanted to return to Xie Zhi's body.

Even though it's just a woman and not very useful, the life of a young lady in the capital is far better than that of a poor boy in a remote mountain village.

Xie Zhi was still floating, he only dared to float under the locust tree during the day because the yin emissaries come out at night and might mistake him for a ghost and capture him. If he were mistakenly taken to the underworld, he would get seriously ill and waste time, and the soul-switching bell might be confiscated.

At this moment, a soul-hooking chain was thrown from a distance and instantly hooked his neck, accompanied by a strange laugh:

'Hehe, got a performance!'

Xie Zhi looked down at the cold chain around his neck, thicker than a baby's arm, and looked at the yin emissary at the other end of the chain, almost screaming like a ghost: 'Why is it you again? Why are there yin emissaries working overtime during the day? No weekends, shouldn't shifts have days off?!'

'Voluntary overtime, got it?'