Chapter 80

Chapter 80

As soon as Shi Xuan finished speaking, the butler suddenly threw down the game controller and jumped up, shouting in anger, "You old jerk, who are you calling fat? Am I fat? Open your eyes and take a good look, am I really fat?"

Shi Xuan was not the first time hearing Wu Su calling him an old jerk, and after getting used to it, he didn't care anymore. He looked up and down at the butler and affirmed, "You really got fat."

In just that short moment, it felt like he had ballooned up, not just a little bit.

At Shi Xuan's memorial banquet, who knows how much the butler ate alone, and he suddenly got fat.

The butler angrily commented, "You blind old jerk!"

After cursing, the butler picked up his controller again and continued playing the ghost game on the large LCD TV.

Shi Xuan turned around and exchanged a glance with the Taoist priests, who nodded slightly, indicating to leave. Except for the slightly plump figure, there was nothing unusual about the butler for the time being.

Well, let's just chalk it up to sudden middle-age weight gain...

One of the Taoist priests couldn't help but secretly pinch his own small belly. Everyone gains weight in middle age, it's not that strange.

The group left the butler's room, and Shi Xuan instructed the servants, "Keep a close eye on the butler, do not allow him to leave the Shi family."

Meanwhile, Wu Su had already dragged his suitcase several kilometers away from the villa area. When he took out his phone again to check the date, Wu Su was moved to tears.

The phone... it's back to normal now!

All those eerie and terrifying apps were back to normal, filled with positivity and light.

Wu Su didn't know how long the butler transformed from fox fur could last, and felt it was best for him to leave the capital as soon as possible.

Wu Su had a fear of flying, always worried about plane accidents, so he usually took the high-speed train back to his hometown. But he had been trying to get a ticket for a long time, and no matter how he tried, he always ended up with the same train ticket.

The train was indeed much slower than the high-speed train, but he had managed to get a sleeper ticket for this train that departed in the early morning. He could just sleep through the trip, since he wasn't in a rush.

Wu Su checked the time and, seeing it was still early, quickly hailed a taxi to buy some local specialties to take back.

Wu Heng was turning eighteen in a few days, so he needed to get a birthday gift. There were also many familiar villagers back home, and with the New Year approaching, he needed to buy quite a few gifts.

Wu Su knew his father wasn't in the village at the moment. As a family member, he had received a call saying that old Doctor Wu had been specially recruited by higher-ups to develop some kind of medicine, and it was unclear if he'd make it back for the New Year.

-

Wu Heng received a text from his father right away, saying he had left the Shi family and was going to buy some local specialties before catching the train.

Wu Heng curiously asked, "Su Dayi, how long can your fox fur illusion last?"

Su Dayi was gloomily inhaling the incense, while constantly eyeing the fried chicken in the bowls of the two snake-like dogs, "More than a week."

"Wahhh, I really want to eat chicken too! I'm sick of diet food."

As she spoke, she kicked the incense mountain, not noticing that the white fur on her foot caught fire from the incense, and she could only roll around to put it out.

Shi Xuan came back from school, carrying a large bag of chicken products, including a portion for Su Dayi. But reason made Su Dayi afraid of gaining weight and she didn't dare to eat it, so she had Wu Heng build an incense mountain for her.

But the two snakes were feasting nearby, the tempting aroma and the sound of the little white snake gnawing on the bones, whether on purpose or not, were driving Su Dayi crazy.

"Why do I gain weight just from drinking water? Is this the price I have to pay for the heavenly beauty I’ve been blessed with?" Su Dayi lay on the ground, wailing in despair towards the door.

The little white snake, gnawing on a chicken foot, said to Xi Xi, "She’s so shameless."

After a moment, Su Dayi got up again and rushed toward Wu Heng like a spinning top. Shi Xuan quickly grabbed Wu Heng’s wrist and pulled him aside, and Su Dayi bumped into the leg of the consultation table, making it let out a slight crack.

Wu Heng: "..."

It’s literally a fox.

Su Dayi rubbed her head, which wasn’t really hurting, and asked expectantly, "Wu Heng, do you know how to do painless liposuction?"

Wu Heng replied, "No, but without bones, you’d be lighter."

Su Dayi was puzzled: "What?"

Just as she was about to retort Wu Heng, a foul, indescribable stench drifted in from outside Chengde Medical Hall. Su Dayi and the gray and white snakes quickly darted into their respective hiding spots.

A couple entered, leaning on each other for support. Both were decked out in gold and silver, the woman wearing a white fur coat, and the man’s hefty gold chain around his neck made Chen Zhao’s eyes pop.

Chen Zhao quickly hurried out to serve tea.

When the couple saw Wu Heng pull out a dark blue cloth mask from the drawer and put it on, they looked embarrassed. The man quickly sniffed himself and whispered to his wife, "Do I still reek that badly?"

"It’s gotten a lot better."

They had been in Nanzhai Village for two days already, having urgently checked into the inpatient department of Chengde Medical Hall, which, according to online rumors, was the homestay of Dr. Wu’s second uncle.

For the past two days, Dr. Chen had been bringing him hot water for bathing, and he felt the odor had diminished, so he decided to visit.

Wu Heng asked if they were okay with being live-streamed. The man fawned, "Not at all, not at all. Thanks to Dr. Chen, a student of Dr. Wu, who brought me the miraculous medicinal bath water, I finally dared to take my first bath in half a year!"

Wu Heng shot a glance at Chen Zhao: "Miraculous medicinal bath water?"

The man nodded eagerly, "Yes, Dr. Chen said that bucket of hot water was infused with over thirty rare herbs, boiled and filtered, making it crystal clear and pure."

Of course it’s clear—it’s just a bucket of boiled well water!

Wu Heng inquired, "How much did he charge you?"

The man replied casually, "Just two thousand."

Wu Heng: ...Total scam artist.

"Dr. Wu’s live again—is the patient here in person? It doesn’t look serious—is it another case like Xie Zhi? Already cured?"

"How many people got vaccinated after Xie Zhi left the mic? Although our population is large, I've seen over a hundred cases of soul-swapping supernatural illnesses online! The world has really changed, I wonder how many people have already noticed and taken advantage of it!"

"Is the mask Dr. Wu wearing the anti-supernatural illness mask that's going on sale tonight? I'm ready to buy it!"

"Wow, as soon as the stream started, I heard the patient talking about a two-thousand-yuan bucket of bathwater. Another wealthy patient. I notice many people with supernatural illnesses are rich."

"What nonsense are you talking about upstairs? The rich exploit money, the poor lose their lives and health. No one can escape."

Wu Heng took the honey water brought by Shi Xuan, pulled down his mask to take a sip, then put it back on. He first took the man's pulse and inquired about his symptoms.

Sun Zhengtao hurriedly said, "Dr. Wu, I'm afraid to take a bath. Whenever I scrub, a lot of dust comes off."

Sun Zhengtao rolled up his sleeve to reveal his arm and continued, "At first, I thought it was a good thing. Scrubbing off dust means you're clean, and if you don't get mud, it's not a real bath. But then more and more came off, to the point where I got scared."

Sun Zhengtao spoke more urgently, using his fingertip to dip into the warm water from the tea Chen Zhao brought over, then rubbed his arm.

A group of netizens watching this scene exclaimed that this Mr. Sun was really unpretentious, not treating the viewers as outsiders.

As the skin rubbed, the arm gradually turned red, and streaks of white-gray dirt appeared.

As Sun Zhengtao rubbed harder and harder, the skin on his arm turned increasingly red, almost blood-like, and the dirt accumulated more and more. He felt a pain in his body, as if it was coming from deep within his bones. Sun Zhengtao quickly stopped and gently shook his arm, causing the dirt to fall off in flakes.

A group of netizens found this scene both disgusting and satisfying. Some even estimated that if all the dirt were collected, it could make a "pill that makes you stretch and stare."

"Dr. Wu, I was so scared that I didn't dare to scrub anymore, but gradually, a disgusting layer of dirt appeared on my body, like a thick layer of lard, and it started to emit a strong odor," Sun Zhengtao said helplessly.

Not scrubbing was bad, but scrubbing was also bad.

"Gross—this is so nasty! I watched the whole thing with a frown. No wonder Dr. Wu is wearing a mask; the smell must be really strong. Hats off to all medical workers who sometimes have to deal with patients' vomit and excrement."

"Isn't this simple? Just skip the scrubbing and rinse off daily."

"To me, not scrubbing isn't really bathing, but his level of dirt is indeed a bit high, and his skin is red like it's congested."

"Kid, how did you end up with 50 million followers as a big influencer? Oh my god?!"

"? Isn't Wu Heng's fan following a bit over the top now? Can't we respect the doctor? Why are you calling him son?"

Wu Su was sitting in the train station waiting area, holding a perfectly normal phone.

Originally, he was just sitting and waiting, but he noticed that many passengers around him were watching live streams, and quite a few were watching the same streamer. He couldn't help but lean over to take a look.

He was in for a shock!

The doctor in the live stream was Wu Heng, and occasionally You Jin could be seen passing by. Even the background, with just a glance, he recognized as their own Chengde Medical Hall.

Wu Su quickly asked the passengers and learned how to download the Shark Short Video app to enter the Chengde Medical Hall live stream. Watching the barrage of comments, Wu Su couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

It was a real eye-opener. Before leaving the Shi family, he had no idea his son had become so famous.

It's all thanks to that blasted Shi family. Otherwise, he could have accessed the normal internet, watched Wu Heng's live streams, and wouldn't have missed home so much.

Wu Su kept watching the live stream on his phone, never getting bored. He wasn't interested in the patient Sun Zhengtao and just kept sending gifts to Wu Heng. Soon, he topped the real-time leaderboard with the ID "Wu Heng's Dad."

The loudspeaker blared a station announcement: "Passengers, the G4044 train from Beijing to XX is now boarding. Please proceed to Gate A for ticket inspection and boarding."

A passenger nearby quickly threw his instant noodle cup into the trash and wiped his mouth, saying, "What bad luck, the train number G4044 just sounds cursed. I wouldn't have booked it if I had other options."

Many other passengers nodded in agreement, including some young college students.

Wu Su felt like a hick fresh out of the sticks. Why is everyone so superstitious these days? Even this is off-limits?

Wu Su didn't ask further. He held his phone with the live stream in one hand and pushed his luggage with the other to join the boarding queue.

On the live stream, Wu Heng inquired, "Are there any other symptoms?"

The wife replied, "After scrubbing, my husband was in a lot of discomfort, with severe pain all over his body, and... he lost weight."

Hearing that last part, Su Dayi's ears perked up.

Darn it, why does weight loss seem so easy for others? Just scrubbing in the bath can shed pounds?

Su Dayi thought about her own baths, which felt like a soaked blanket from Guangdong, weighing a ton!

"Hmm... first time I've heard of weight loss from bathing. How much dirt is on his body?"

"This is obviously some weird illness. No matter how rarely you bathe, it shouldn't be this bad."

"My friend is still on a trip in Nanluo Village and said the stench from the inpatient ward can be smelled from over ten meters away. The weird part is, this couple seems pretty well-off, right? I heard they're reluctant to shell out extra for Dr. Wu's uncle."

【Speechless, isn’t today’s top donor’s username way over the top? Calling yourself 'Wu Heng's Dad' crosses the line.】

Chen Zhao picked up the two plastic bags handed over by Sun Zhengtao, opened a small slit to reveal the contents.

A bunch of hygiene-conscious netizens nearly gagged.

It was all the grime scrubbed off his skin—grayish-white flakes filling two entire plastic bags!

Sun Zhengtao awkwardly smiled and said, "I actually scrubbed off more than this; this is just what I managed to collect. Dr. Wu, what kind of weird illness do you think this is?"

Wu Heng looked at his facial features and made a diagnosis: "The gunk you scrubbed off isn’t just skin flakes, oil, and sweat—it’s mud from the bones inside your body, called 'bone mud' in shamanic medicine."

The little white snake curled up in the dog bed blurted out, 'Starch sausage?'

The little white snake had seen the news earlier, reporting that some starch sausages had crumbled and turned out to be made of bone mud.

Xi Xi asked curiously, 'Big White Brother, are you hungry again?'

Hearing this, Sun Zhengtao nearly toppled off his chair in disbelief, stammering, 'You... what did you say? Mud from my bones? Bone ash?'

Sun Zhengtao instantly panicked, wondering why he’d lost weight but still looked the same.

Could his bones have shrunk?

Sun Zhengtao looked at the two plastic bags, his hands slightly trembling.

Is this bone ash? Did he somehow produce his own bone ash ahead of time?

Good grief, others get their bone ash after cremation—he’s making his own!

Sun Zhengtao and his wife knew full well how important bones are without Wu Heng saying so—they were practically scared to death.

Luckily, they kept the scrubbed-off gunk; if they’d tossed it out as trash, they’d have regretted it forever.

"Dr. Wu, Dr. Wu, didn’t you just say I have a skin infection? Isn’t that a skin disease? Why’s it tied to my bones?" Sun Zhengtao anxiously pressed.

Deep down, Sun Zhengtao thought a skin disease would be way easier to handle than bone issues.

Wu Heng asked: "Did you wear someone else’s hand-me-downs?"

The couple instantly got embarrassed, avoiding Wu Heng’s gaze and not daring to look him in the eye.

"Second-hand clothes? These two are decked out in gold and silver, and the woman’s even wearing fur—people like them wouldn’t buy hand-me-downs, right?"

"There’s nothing wrong with buying second-hand clothes. I’m a broke college student, so I sometimes buy stuff that’s 70-80% new, especially winter coats—new ones are crazy expensive, but second-hand ones are warm and cheap. Personally, I don’t think buying second-hand makes you less of a person."

"I work at a jewelry store, and I’ve been dying to say this but was scared of getting flak... that gold necklace on the patient’s neck looks fake."

"Maybe it’s clothes swapped between rich friends? Could the previous owner have had a skin condition, and wearing them caused an infection? But shouldn’t they have been cleaned first? Are rich people really that careless?"

Sun Zhengtao coughed, tugged at the gold necklace as thick as his pinky on his neck, and echoed Wu Heng’s words: 'Is it because we wore hand-me-downs from a friend that caused the skin infection and this weird illness?'

Wouldn’t some anti-allergy meds do the trick?

Wu Heng glanced at the two and said bluntly, 'It’s because you only asked for a refund.'

-

Wu Su wheeled his luggage onto the train, watching Wu Heng make the diagnosis, and couldn’t help but praise, 'That’s my boy—the way he takes the pulse is just like his grandfather’s.'

Wu Su stashed his luggage on the rack, freshened up quickly, then pulled out some snacks he’d bought and lounged on his bunk.

As the train finally departed and the night scenery flew by outside the window, Wu Su's anxious heart finally settled down.

He looked at Wu Heng on his phone, feeling a wave of relief. Finally leaving the capital, he was on his way home!

Wu Su held his phone, watching Wu Heng diagnosing patients, and noticed that some passengers across from him were also watching Wu Heng's live stream. His son had become this famous.

Holding his phone, Wu Su relaxed and grew drowsy. He tilted his head and soon fell asleep.

Wu Su didn't know how long he had slept. Half-asleep, he heard the sound of a cart rolling through the train, and a train attendant was asking if anyone wanted to buy food.

The noise woke Wu Su, and he noticed others were still asleep. He yawned and looked at his phone, only to find the live stream had already ended. Had he slept so long that Wu Heng’s broadcast ended?

"Sir, would you like to buy some food?" a pretty train attendant asked.

Wu Su looked at the stack of lunch boxes and felt a bit hungry, so he nodded and bought one.

But when he took it, he found the lunch box icy cold, with no trace of warmth. It was also quite heavy.

Wu Su was surprised but calmly opened the lid. Inside lay a box of ashes.

Wu Su’s eyes widened as he stared at it for a moment, then looked up at the pretty train attendant.

The attendant gave him a strange, unsettling smile. The cold moonlight from the opposite window fell on her back, casting her in severe backlight. Wu Su squinted and could see the attendant's deathly pale face.

Wu Su calmly placed the ashes aside and took out his phone again. The screen was pitch black as usual, and the app icons had turned eerie and sinister. The normal network was disconnected; this was the underground network he was familiar with.

They were trying to spook him, weren’t they? Wu Su skillfully opened the underworld version of a matching game and cheerfully said, "Haha, I can play underworld games again."