Chapter 79

Chapter 79

'Save me, I'm filthy!' the little white snake wailed in despair and fury.

Snakes, especially water snakes, are creatures that love cleanliness, yet now it was covered in the saliva of its natural enemy, the fox. Damn that fox!

'Don't lick Xi Xi, I haven't even licked her, yue—'

In no time, both snakes were covered in fox saliva, instantly turned into a soggy mess.

'Heh hah hah hah hah.' Su Dayi, having had her fun, looked at the two stunned little snakes and rolled around in Chengde Medical Hall, laughing so hard she was sprawled out, her laughter weirdly captivating.

The little white snake snapped furiously: 'You damn fox spirit, just you wait, when I grow into a giant python, I'll swallow you in one gulp.'

This didn't have much effect, as Su Dayi continued to roll around laughing. Xi Xi shook off the fox saliva and soothed the little white snake: 'Big Brother Bai, let's not grow into giant pythons, they get fat.'

Hearing this, Su Dayi suddenly stopped laughing.

Earlier, it wasn't clear if it had hit the snake's vital spot, but now it had definitely stepped on the fox's sore spot.

'Oh my God, how did it come to this!' You Jin rushed out from the pharmacy, quickly fetched two buckets of water from the backyard, and gingerly placed the two wet, saliva-covered snakes into the buckets to rinse them off.

'Wash them thoroughly. If patients come to Chengde Medical Hall and see you like this, it would be a huge embarrassment for the medical hall!' You Jin even brought two bottles of body wash from the bathroom, squeezed them into the buckets, and instantly they were full of bubbles.

Wu Heng silently watched You Jin's actions. Since Chengde Medical Hall became popular, You Jin's image-consciousness had grown. The medical hall had to be spotless every day, and the pet snakes were no exception.

'Not fighting anymore?' Chen Zhao, holding a large handful of fox fur in yellow paper, asked happily.

Fighting every day, he could strike it rich right here, haha.

Su Dayi plopped down on the floor and angrily shouted: 'Wu Heng, I am a guest of your medical hall, and your two snakes attacked me.'

Wu Heng retorted: 'Why did you take their things? Didn't I set up a makeshift nest for you? You know better than I do what happens when one invades another's territory in the animal world.'

How could a makeshift nest compare to the plush, comfy dog beds?

Su Dayi sat up abruptly, her sapphire blue eyes fixed on Wu Heng with a strange look: 'Exactly, whoever can take it, owns it! In the mountains, other animals take from me, and I take from them. The strong took what they wanted, it's fair.'

Su Dayi hadn't come down the mountain many times, but in the mountains, it was survival of the fittest—the strong took what they wanted.

When it was a little fox, it had its prey taken by many larger animals and was chased and beaten. What was wrong with following the same rules?

Wu Heng said: 'This is the human world. The little white snake and Xi Xi are the house snakes of my medical hall, Xi Xi is my goddaughter, you can't take their dog beds.'

Xi Xi hissed happily, it knew its godfather would always be on its side.

The little white snake, with bubbles on its head, spun around in the bucket, feeling that Wu Heng looked quite agreeable at the moment.

Su Dayi seemed to catch Wu Heng's words and asked: 'Wu Heng, what did you just say this nest was?'

Dog beds! Dog beds, naturally, are for dogs.

Su Dayi argued logically: 'Foxes are also canines, so they are the most suitable. Why should snakes have dog beds?'

The group silently didn't respond, they didn't see how this fat fox was suitable for the little dog beds.

The little white snake and Xi Xi didn't care whether snakes should have dog beds, they only knew that You Jin had bought them for them, they were their things.

Wu Heng said: 'My territory, my rules are the rules. Anyway, don't take their things, if you want, I can buy you a new one. If you take theirs again, go back to the mountain and lose some weight.'

Su Dayi, hearing this, tucked in her neck and pouted for a while, then looked at Wu Heng, lifted her front paw, and lightly scratched his trouser leg, saying, "Then get me a new one."

Wu Heng glanced at his phone and smiled, "No need, it’s already here."

As soon as he finished speaking, a delivery tricycle stopped at the entrance of Chengde Medical Hall. The delivery guy hopped off, grabbed the package, and walked in, saying, "Dr. Wu, just need your signature for this."

The package was pretty bulky. Wu Heng told Chen Zhao to open it up, then looked at the friendly young man and suddenly asked, "You’re not local, right?"

The delivery guy was a bit surprised and smiled, "No, I’m from the countryside and married a town girl. My wife mentioned two years ago that this area was turning into a tourist spot, so we moved here to live with her father. Why, Dr. Wu?"

The delivery guy also knew that Wu Heng was a recently popular shaman online, and his face changed dramatically, "Dr. Wu, am I sick or something? Do I need to go to a top-tier hospital for a check-up?"

Wu Heng waved his hand, went to the pharmacy to get some herbs, placed them on a copper plate over an alcohol lamp to roast, then ground the roasted herbs into fine powder, wrapped the powder in yellow paper into a triangular shape, and handed it to the guy, saying, "Take one if you’re feeling off."

The delivery guy took it hesitantly, thanking him over and over.

After checking the price with Wu Heng and finding it was under a hundred, he breathed a sigh of relief, scanned the QR code on the counter, and left the medical hall on his delivery bike.

"Wow, that’s a gorgeous dog bed!" Su Dayi had been squatting next to Chen Zhao, watching him take the item out of the box and set it up.

The winter dog bed was practically a little house, keeping the wind out and the warmth in, making it easy for a dog to crawl into.

Wu Heng explained, "Zhang Dayong got this."

Zhang Dayong naturally wouldn't forget Su Dayi. As soon as the fox spirit boarded the truck, he bought this dog bed on an online shopping app, with the address as Chengde Medical Hall and the recipient as Wu Heng.

Su Dayi wagged her tail and examined the dog bed back and forth. It was quite nice, even more luxurious and warm than the small dog beds of the two snakes, but... it looked quite large and couldn't fit under the consultation table, only beside it.

She crawled in to test it out. Hmm, Zhang Dayong nailed it—it’s a perfect fit!

The fat fox curled up inside and hummed lazily, "It’ll do, I’ll manage for a few days."

Then the fox happily rolled around inside, scratching and digging at the bed with her paws, giggling.

The little white snake was pretty annoyed. Why had the fox come here? Living so hard in the mountains and still getting so fat, who knows when she'll successfully lose weight and leave.

"Hey, gorgeous fox spirit," Chen Zhao slid on his knees to the side of the dog bed, like an eager eunuch holding a yellow paper full of fox fur, and asked expectantly, "You still need this fur?"

Su Dayi, nestled in the dog bed, glanced and said, "Nah, but fur that’s not pulled out isn’t much good."

Chen Zhao wasn't picky at all. If the effect wasn't that great, he could just sell it cheaper. Money is something that accumulates bit by bit, and he didn't mind a little less.

Su Dayi glanced at the two snakes and asked Wu Heng, "Wu Heng, want some of my fur? I’ll let you pull a couple strands."

The little white snake was furious and kept complaining to Xi Xi, "She’s just copying what I’ve already done. I even gave Wu Heng my snake scales at first!"

Wu Heng thought for a moment and said, "I might actually need a couple strands."

Su Dayi, apart from her fat, had plenty of fur, so plucking two strands for Wu Heng was no big deal.

Inside the medical hall, Chen Zhao, pretending to clean, was scouring the floor for any stray fox fur when a loud landline phone rang.

Eugene dropped what he was doing, saw who was calling, and leapt up excitedly, "Little Heng, Little Heng! Uncle Wu is calling home, come quick to answer."

Uncle Wu Su hadn't returned home for several years, not even during the New Year. Eugene often saw Wu Heng sitting alone at the medical hall door waiting for his father.

Wu Heng hurried to the counter and picked up the phone, "Dad."

Hearing Wu Heng’s voice, Wu Su nearly cried. What he had seen before was his son's wandering spirit, not the real person. Suddenly hearing his voice, Wu Su was overjoyed.

Wu Heng heard the sound of gongs and drums on the other end and asked with a smirk, "Are you setting up a memorial service over there?"

Wu Su nodded, glancing at the grand funeral setup and curling his lips, thinking that glory after death is meaningless.

"That's right, I'll resign and come back once the young master's funeral is over. Dad has tried several times and finally bought the train ticket home." This was the main purpose of Butler Wu's call.

Wu Heng asked, "What if Shi Xuan doesn't let you go?"

Butler Wu was surprised, "His son has passed away, why wouldn't he let me go home? Would he dare to forcibly detain me? If he dares, I'll report him... never mind, better not call the police. I'll find a way to come back."

Last time when he reported to the Shi family, the call somehow ended up with the yin emissary office, causing tension on both sides.

Shi Xuan is very sharp. He knows that Butler Wu has a good relationship with Shi Xuan, having practically watched him grow up. So if Butler Wu doesn't attend Shi Xuan's "funeral," what would Shi Xuan think?

Last time when Shi Xuan reported his safety, he didn't clearly state where he is living now. He definitely wouldn't dare to use the Shi family's credit card, and who knows if he's suffering outside, surely not eating or dressing well. Poor guy.

Wu Heng thought his father's idea was a bit naive, that old bastard is really capable of doing such things.

In the original book, it was briefly mentioned that his father was fired after learning the Shi family's secret and eventually faked his death, with poverty being just a trick Wu Su played on his father before his death.

Wu Heng thought for a moment and said, "Alright, I'll clean up your bedroom these days and wait for you to come home for a good New Year. When Shi Xuan holds the banquet, I'll call a few friends to attend, Dad, you take care of it."

Butler Wu understood and reluctantly hung up the phone that had finally gone through normally. He asked about Wu Heng's recent situation and the weather back home.

Wu Heng said everything was fine, "It's completely cold these days, I'm planning to wear a coat."

Butler Wu was about to remind Wu Heng to keep warm when he noticed the window and suddenly laughed, "Little Heng, it's snowing heavily in Beijing today."

The children of Nan Nuo Village have never seen snow. Although Wu Heng had seen it during his travels, the opportunities were rare.

Wu Heng couldn't help but think, maybe I should go to Jiaming No.1 Middle School to see the snow?

After chatting with Wu Su for a while, a Taoist priest called for Butler Wu to help, and Butler Wu reluctantly hung up the phone.

Butler Wu looked around his butler's room filled with underworld gaming vibe, sighing that this was the only thing he would miss about the Shi family. He wondered if he could still play underworld games when he returned.

Butler Wu went out to help. Even though the Shi family didn't have many guests, the funeral banquet for Shi Xuan still had to be prepared.

Wu Heng leaned on the counter and sent a message in the group.

"Baby Heng Heng @everyone, you guys attend Shi Xuan's funeral banquet, and help me pass something to the butler later."

"He Yunxiao: @SX, when did you die again?"

"Group owner - Li Hao: Huh? Did I just see a living Shi Xuan?"

"Group admin - Black Fur No.2: Banquet, great! I want to attend Shi Xuan's banquet."

"Group admin - Wang Dong: Wuwuwu Dr. Wu, my goddess Xie Zhi is actually a man inside, heavens I'm straight."

"Group owner - Li Hao: Wang Dong, are you off-topic and want to die? Wait to be beaten."

He Yunxiao sent a video of a group of high school students having a snowball fight during their lunch break in the snow, each more fierce than the last.

The key point was fighting in the snow.

The playground was filled with the laughter of boys and girls.

Wu Heng searched for a figure in the brief video. He Yunxiao and Li Hao were the most active in the snowball fight, but Shi Xuan was nowhere to be seen.

Maybe he didn’t join in on this kind of thing, Wu Heng thought.

Wu Heng went to pluck two strands of fox fur from Su Dayi. The freshly plucked fox fur had the natural illusion magic of a fox demon. He wrapped it in yellow paper and handed it to the little white snake: "Go check out your turf in Jing City."

Hearing this, Su Dayi couldn’t help but glance at the little white snake. You really can’t judge a snake by its looks. This clumsy snake is actually the Dragon King of the well and has turf in Jing City? It was hard to imagine.

This time, the little white snake nodded obediently. The well outside Jiaming No. 1 High School was now its turf, so it had to check on it regularly and not slack off.

-

"Shi Xuan, what are you doing? Why are you hiding during a snowball fight?" He Yunxiao, sweating from playing, ran over and asked, panting, "Seriously, you don’t like snowball fights but you’re into building snowmen?"

Shi Xuan stood under a hidden tree, holding a big skewer of candied hawthorn he’d just grabbed from the cafeteria, staring at the round thing in front of him.

"Hmm," Shi Xuan said, sticking the big skewer of shiny candied hawthorn into the snowman’s left hand.

He Yunxiao watched, confused, as Shi Xuan picked up the snowman and put it into a cardboard box. "Wait, are you taking it to our classroom? Won’t it just melt?"

As he stood there puzzled, he saw a small path form in the thick snow, like something alive was tunneling through.

"Uncle He, Wu Heng asked me to bring this to you," the little white snake said, poking its head out of the snow.

He Yunxiao took it and noticed it was super light, like the yellow paper only had two strands of fur inside. He stuffed it in his pocket right away.

"He Yunxiao, where are you hiding? Come out and face your doom!" Li Hao’s wild shouts still echoed on the playground.

Seeing Shi Xuan wasn’t joining in, He Yunxiao rushed back to the fight.

Shi Xuan looked at the little white snake, which was practically freezing, and said, "I’ll get you roast chicken in a few days. Take this box back with you."

Hearing this, the little white snake instantly turned into human form and carried the box out the school’s back gate without a word.

When it got back to Nan Nuo Village, the little white snake noticed the box was leaking. It hurried to Chengde Medical Hall and, as soon as it stepped inside, quickly set the box down.

"Wu Heng, Wu Heng, godfather told me to bring this to you."

The little boy with small horns got tired and turned back into a little white snake, curling up in his doghouse, eyes glued to the box.

Wu Heng, a little surprised, walked over. As he got closer, he felt a slight chill. He opened the loosely sealed box and found a cute snowman inside, wearing a black cashmere scarf and holding a huge candied hawthorn in its left hand, slowly melting.

Wu Heng’s eyes widened a bit, "A little snowman?"

The little white snake’s eyes lit up, "Candied hawthorn!"

It had smelled something sweet inside earlier.

Wu Heng took out his phone and took several photos. Looking at the recent weather, he decided to move the little snowman to the backyard of the medical hall. He quickly wrote a spell on a talisman and tucked it into the snowman’s scarf.

This way, the little snowman could stay with him until spring.

He had witnessed the snow in Jing City with his own eyes.

Wu Heng gently pulled the candied hawthorn from the snowman’s hand and took a bite under the little white snake’s expectant gaze. "Why are you looking at me?"

The little white snake was a bit tempted. It wanted a lick too. After all, it had acted as a courier again, shouldn’t it get a bite?

"This one’s not for you. I ordered roast chicken for you; it’ll be here soon."

The little white snake thought for a moment. The candied hawthorn looked delicious, but after all, it wasn’t meat. Wu Heng’s brain must be frozen; meat is still better.

Su Dayi watched as Wu Heng sat on the sofa eating candied hawthorn and couldn’t help but swallow. It needed to lose weight.

Dr. Wu didn't share a bite of the sugar-coated haws with the two key snakes, so he probably wouldn't share with it either.

But the animal's sense of smell was too keen. Su Dayi could clearly detect the faint scent of sugar-coated haws and the foul stench emanating from under the examination table. It clamped its paws over its face and nose, shouting, "Dr. Wu, it stinks! Can you deal with it before eating? How can you eat like this?"

Dr. Wu glanced at the two plastic bags under the examination table, which were brought by Chen Zhao.

Chen Zhao pinched his nose and said, "Dr. Wu, these are the things that patient brought. Last night, he was made to take a bath with well water, which had some effect, albeit minimal."

Dr. Wu chuckled and asked, "Do you have any idea what this is?"

Chen Zhao had a slight guess, "That patient hasn't bathed in half a year, and he reeks all over. He must be terrified of bathing, so isn't this... the grime scrubbed off his body? It looks somewhat similar."

Chen Zhao wondered, "Did he go to the northeast to experience a scrub bath?"

This was pretty gross, but even the filthiest person wouldn't scrub off two bags of grime, right?

Medical practitioners tend to be a bit germophobic; they're all about cleanliness.

Dr. Wu didn't bother looking at the contents of the bags and popped the last sugar-coated haw into his mouth, "To be precise, it's bone mud."

-

Shi Xuan, while idling at the memorial hall, took a moment to check the trending news. "#SoulSwap" and "#YangEnhancingVaccine" were at the top of the trends.

Many students in the capital city have already been vaccinated in succession. Some adults, upon seeing the news, rushed to get the vaccine and immediately rolled up their sleeves.

"I'm floored. I always thought such supernatural events couldn't touch my family, but then my son got his core swapped. He woke up and hugged us, claiming he had been cutting pig grass every day :)"

"Now this is what I call terrifying, alright? Today, I coaxed my husband to go get this vaccine at our own expense. He came back and fell asleep, woke up and hugged me, crying his eyes out, saying he had been in a vegetative body, hearing the doctor call a name that wasn't his. I've been sharing a bed with that imposter for two years—isn't that just criminal?"

"This vaccine really packs a punch, but with the news out, some people with swapped cores probably wouldn't dare to get it, would they?"

"To the person above, skipping it is like dealing with a ghost! I thought Xie Zhi was a one-off, and Dr. Wu was just fear-mongering in the live stream, but turns out Xie Zhi was just the tip of the iceberg!"

More and more netizens started spilling the beans, overturning worldviews and perceptions, making the vaccine even more urgent.

Shi Xuan muttered as he scanned the news, "I never imagined it would come to this."

His son missed the good times; now supernatural diseases are popping up everywhere, becoming the new normal.

The bizarre phenomena Shi Xuan used to conjure up no longer seemed all that remarkable.

The butler announced, "Shi Xuan, we have visitors paying their respects."

Then, several teenagers in Jiaming No.1 High School uniforms walked in, backpacks slung over their shoulders. He Yunxiao and his group looked at the black and white photo of Shi Xuan in the memorial hall and felt like laughing.

Following protocol, they offered incense, flowers, and condolence money before sitting at a table laden with 17 dishes. Funeral banquets have their customs; the number of dishes must be odd.

Li Hao, holding chopsticks, looked around and whispered, "Wow, so many tables are set, but no one's coming. What's the point of setting so many? Waste is shameful!"

He Yunxiao glanced at the other tables, lowered his head to eat, and whispered, "No one means no ghosts? Don't talk, eat quickly."

Upon hearing this, Li Hao started to envy He Yunxiao for having a snake fetus, which now gave him a stronger warning ability against supernatural dangers. He began to lament his inability to have a snake or monkey fetus.

Wang Dong, who was already timid, was almost scared to death by those words. How could he still eat? His hand holding the chopsticks was trembling.

The group of teenagers lowered their heads and ate frantically. After finishing, they didn't linger and quickly left, afraid of being asked to stay for the wake.

Originally, according to funeral customs, the ashes should be buried in a cemetery. But after the invited Taoist priest did the calculations, the Shi family was told to bury the cenotaph directly in the courtyard.

The butler arranged for the helpers to clean up the leftover dishes, seeing the food on them had turned pale, knowing who had eaten it.

Once everything was in place, the memorial tablet was also erected in the courtyard, marking the end of the funeral.

The butler, clutching what He Yunxiao had handed him before entering, looked at Shi Xuan, who appeared disheartened, and said, "Shi Xuan, since the young master's funeral has been taken care of, can I quit? I wish to leave tomorrow."

Shi Xuan stood under the shade of a tree, his gaze flickering as he stared at the butler, then suddenly chuckled, "What's the rush? Isn't the Shi family good enough for you?"

Wu Su's heart raced. Was Wu Heng actually right? Was this old man really going to pull an illegal confinement stunt?

The butler hurried back to his room, eyeing his packed suitcase with anxiety, afraid he wouldn't be able to leave tomorrow and that his train ticket would go to waste.

The phone in his pocket vibrated, and the butler took it out to see a message from Wu Heng.

Without even wondering how Wu Heng's regular message had gotten to his strange phone, the butler quickly read the message.

After reading it, the butler opened a yellow paper package and took out two smooth white fox hairs.

Following Wu Heng's instructions, he took one and lightly brushed it against his skin, then tossed it into the air and gave it a gentle puff.

"Holy cow!" Wu Su was stunned as the fox hair floated down and transformed into a human figure, an exact replica of him.

Fortunately, Wu Su hadn't spent all these years in the Shi family for nothing, and he snapped out of it in seconds.

He held the other fox hair and tucked it into his chest pocket, took a deep breath, and pulled his suitcase towards the exit.

As he passed through the crowd of Taoist priests, Wu Su was super careful. Seeing that they had no reaction, he couldn't help but stop and wave at them.

No one glanced his way; they truly couldn't see him. How amazing! He wondered what kind of incredible luck his son had stumbled upon!

Wu Su couldn't resist mouthing a phrase to Shi Xuan: 'Goodbye, old—bastard!'

After gleefully cursing, Wu Su slipped out of the Shi family's back door.

As soon as Wu Su stepped out of the gate, a chilly wind blew through the courtyard. The leading Taoist priest suddenly pinched his fingers and immediately said to Shi Xuan, "Shi Xuan, looks like your butler's not in the house anymore."

Shi Xuan frowned. Impossible. He had ordered everyone to monitor the butler's every move and not allow him to leave the Shi family. How could he suddenly disappear? Wu Su didn't have such skills.

But these Taoist priests were capable individuals the Shi family had always relied on; they wouldn't lie and had never miscalculated before.

Wu Su knew too many secrets of the Shi family. If he were to go out and blabber, it would be disastrous.

Shi Xuan immediately rushed toward the butler's room, not even bothering to knock, and kicked the door in.

The middle-aged butler inside was holding a game controller. Hearing the loud kick, he looked up and complained, 'What's the matter? Don't you know how to knock!'

Shi Xuan felt that the butler's tone was a bit strange, but upon closer inspection, it was still the same person, still fond of playing that lousy game. And still particularly bad at it.

The Taoist priests followed closely, frowning as they looked at the butler inside the room, also feeling something was off but unable to pinpoint any abnormality.

Shi Xuan suddenly narrowed his eyes and shouted, "Wait—"

The group of Taoist priests were startled and immediately turned their surprised gazes toward Shi Xuan.

Could it be that these Taoist priests couldn't see the situation, but Shi Xuan could? After all, he was Shi Xuan's father; perhaps he had been influenced? Or was it due to some innate talent?

Shi Xuan stared intently at Wu Su, who was playing the game with his fingers curled, and said with some astonishment, "Butler Wu, why have you suddenly gained weight?"

He hadn't lost weight from the funeral arrangements; how had he managed to gain weight instead?