Chapter 87

Chapter 87

The timid netizens nearly passed out when they heard Wu Heng's words.

A living corpse! Who would’ve thought 'living' and 'corpse' could go together?

Some netizens had never seen a real corpse in their lives, and today they finally did.

"Wahhh, Hengbao, you’ve changed. Why didn’t you give us a heads-up? I’m not gonna sleep a wink tonight. I’m scared to death, ahhh!"

"This teacher’s face does look pale, but I just thought she was in poor health. I didn’t think of her as a corpse. This is freaking terrifying!"

"A walking corpse... Oh my god, wouldn’t her students be scared out of their minds?"

Wu Heng glanced at the chaotic barrage of comments and said, "I likely won’t give warnings in the future. You all need to brace yourselves."

This was almost a clear hint. The netizens realized that what they might encounter in the future could be even scarier, and the situation of this young teacher was nothing in comparison.

A hint of guilt crossed Zhou Fenghua’s pale face as she said, "I’m sorry, everyone. I didn’t know I was in such a state. Sorry for freaking you out."

After Teacher Zhou apologized, the netizens felt bad and thought it wasn’t fair to blame her since she herself didn’t know.

"Am I... a living corpse? A walking dead person?" Zhou Fenghua murmured the term, still not fully understanding.

Why is there such a term as "living corpse"? Is it some kind of zombie variant?

Wu Heng understood that Xiao Zhou might struggle to accept this at first, so he patiently explained, "A living corpse is a body that can walk and has self-awareness. The body doesn’t stiffen or decompose, which is different from zombies in literature."

"Teacher Xiao Zhou, you must have died three years ago. Think back—did anything happen three years ago?"

Zhou Fenghua recalled, "I remember that day, a student from Wuwazhai suddenly didn’t come to class. I decided to visit their house. It was raining heavily that day... I... slipped and fell down the stone steps of the village. I was immobilized after that. A few hours later, a male student happened to pass by and found me. He and other students took me to the hospital."

The eighteen villages of Nuoriver are pretty remote, and Wuwazhai is built around a mountain with dense trees. She missed the moss on the steps and slipped.

Apart from that, there were no other strange incidents.

Wu Heng nodded, "That day, you died from the fall on the stone steps."

Zhou Fenghua's expression suddenly changed. She thought she’d gotten off easy, just with some scratches.

If she’d died, her class, prepping for the college exams, would’ve been hit hard. She started teaching high school English at the age of 22, and this year's class was her first batch of students.

Three years ago, she was only 22.

"So I just died like that, huh? When people die, shouldn’t their souls leave their bodies and be taken by yin emissaries to the underworld? Why can Teacher Zhou continue to live?"

"Actually, as long as others don’t know she’s a living corpse, she can be treated as a living person with poor health. But now that everyone knows, it’s a mess."

"What should we do now? Teacher Xiao Zhou’s goal was to make it to the June exams, but now, forget June, she might not even last till Spring Festival! We shouldn’t have connected with Wu Heng!"

"+1, apart from the unlucky female celebrity Xie Zhi, I think Teacher Xiao Zhou is the second one who shouldn’t have connected with Wu Heng."

"But I feel like I’m alive. I have body temperature, I can feel my heartbeat and pulse. And... I eat, drink, and use the bathroom normally."

As she spoke, Zhou Fenghua touched her wrist. Although it was slightly cold, she could feel a faint warmth. When she touched her left chest, she could also feel the beating of her heart.

Wu Heng sighed softly. That’s the power of obsession.

"The reason you became a living corpse and didn’t reincarnate normally is because... there’s a type of gu called the 'living corpse gu' inside your body, helping you maintain basic living symptoms."

The so-called body temperature, heartbeat, and even breathing are merely the work of that gu inside the corpse.

Dr. Wu paused, clasping his hands together and softly said, "So, you don’t need to follow Old Zhao’s method of prolonging life by gazing at the heavens."

Because she’s not alive at all.

The sky lantern ritual to prolong life is for those with great merit who are on the verge of death but still have breath left. If Zhou Fenghua were still alive, the heavens might have shown her mercy and extended her life. However, she is no longer a living person.

The method of prolonging life is simply not applicable to her.

Zhou Fenghua stood on the playground, lost in thought for a long time. She watched bugs, drawn to her, crawl up her pant leg.

At this moment, she felt no fear, only confusion and bewilderment as she looked at the bugs that seemed eager to devour her.

She remembered summers when she wore pretty dresses, and flies would buzz around her, clinging to her exposed skin.

To those maggots, she was already decaying flesh—a feast for the bugs.

She was just a mayfly in the grand scheme of things—death meant little. Life and death are the natural order of things, and one should learn to accept them calmly. But what about her first batch of students?

How can they see the world’s vastness or experience different lives without leaving the township?

Though Hezipo Town has started developing tourism, it’s still far behind first- and even second-tier cities. She’d studied at a top Beijing university and knew firsthand the gap. She also hoped that her younger siblings, who were only a few years younger, could go out and see the world.

"Ugh, I’m scared of corpses, but this is kind of sad. I hoped she could prolong her life, but now I realize she's already dead. Even if she could prolong her life, she wouldn't qualify."

"Honestly, Hengheng should’ve cut her off the moment he saw her face, letting her stay a living corpse."

"Speaking of that gu, where did it come from? Did she just happen to encounter it when she fell down the stone steps? Isn’t gu supposed to be cultivated in dark, evil ways? Could it be naturally occurring in nature?"

"Although I'm scared of bugs, listening to Dr. Wu and Teacher Zhou describe it, the gu seems okay. It let Teacher Zhou live as a ‘living person’ for three more years."

"Sis, I get it, but cockroaches gotta go!"

Zhou Fenghua stayed silent, phone in hand, as she quietly approached the classroom.

As the black-and-white camera panned, the netizens gradually got a clearer view of Hezipo Town Middle School. The school wasn’t big, but it had three five-story buildings. However, it lacked the various multifunctional labs found in city schools, and the decoration wasn't luxurious, but it was still the best in the town.

Zhou Fenghua peeked into a classroom through the back door. The students were diligently writing their exams, completely unaware that their teacher was watching them from behind.

She noticed Zhou Yi gazing out the window absentmindedly and frowned. But the next moment, Zhou Yi took his exam paper and walked up to the podium, "Teacher, I've finished. Can I hand it in early?"

The Class Three homeroom teacher was at a loss, "Zhou Yi, you can't hand in your college entrance exam early, can you? Do you believe I'll scold you?"

The math teacher quickly scanned the questions and nodded slightly in his heart. Ever since that incident of being possessed and recovering at home, Zhou Yi's performance had actually improved! He’s definitely Tsinghua or Peking University material.

But the homeroom teacher thought Zhou Yi wasn’t mentally tough, so he treaded carefully.

Zhou Yi scratched his head, insisting on leaving, and the teacher relented. As soon as Zhou Yi stepped out, he bumped into Zhou Fenghua.

Zhou Fenghua crossed her arms, about to scold him, "Why are you handing in your exam early again? Next time, will you hand in my English exam early too?"

Zhou Yi smiled without answering, quickly changing the subject, "Teacher Zhou, did you go to Chengde Medical Hall... Oh, Heng, you eaten yet?"

Zhou Yi and Zhou Fenghua indeed had a good relationship. She lived in another village, and in terms of relations, they were distant relatives, hence sharing the same surname.

His parents prized education because they’d seen a successful female college student in the family. She was the first descendant to enter the ancestral hall through the main door for worship, so they hoped their family could have one too.

Dr. Wu on the other end of the camera nodded with a smile, "Yeah, I have."

Zhou Yi quickly inquired about the condition, "Heng, I don't know what's going on with Teacher Zhou, but I always feel something is off. When she came to our class to teach, a lot of bugs started crawling in. Yesterday, a boy sitting in the first row was scared to tears by the bugs." It was a girl at the next desk who coldly stepped on it and killed it.

"This guy still has no clue what's happening..."

"Is this Wu Heng's friend? So he was from the same school as this female teacher. Another day of envying someone's connections."

"I feel a bit ashamed; my school was much better than this town's middle school. I didn't pay attention in class and even... talked back to the teacher who privately scolded me."

"I'm also a small-town exam crammer, seeing this really hits home. If it weren't for the college entrance exam, I might have stayed in the town my whole life and wouldn't be in a Fortune 500 company now."

Just then, the last male student turned to look out the window and smiled at Zhou Fenghua.

Zhou Fenghua vaguely remembered; it seemed like the male student who first discovered her that day.

Zhou Fenghua stopped observing. She dodged Zhou Yi and hurried away before looking at Wu Heng on the screen, asking solemnly, "Dr. Wu, how much longer can I stay in this world as a living corpse?"

Zhou Yi, who had caught up with big strides: "Wait, what do you mean, living corpse?"

Zhou Yi couldn't help but say, "Teacher Zhou, don't hide it from me. The internet is so advanced now, I can just watch the replay later and find out!"

Zhou Fenghua paused.

Wu Heng: "Less than two weeks."

Wu Heng watched as Teacher Zhou staggered back two steps. He even felt a little cruel himself, saying, "The gu insects are gnawing at your internal organs, they've reached the heart. By then, you'll become a mindless living corpse."

Wu Heng glanced at the comment section and found that the netizens didn't quite understand the last sentence, so he explained further:

"The zombies you see in films and TV shows can be clearly recognized as rotting, stiff corpses."

"Anyone who's seen a dead body knows there's a huge difference in complexion between the dead and the living, you can tell at a glance."

"But a living corpse is one that blends into the crowd and you can't tell it's a corpse controlled by gu insects. You might even smile and say hi, it's hard to distinguish."

The netizens felt their skin crawl.

Zhou Fenghua instinctively asked, "Will I end up hurting the teachers and students at school then?"

Wu Heng didn't answer this question, it was hard to say.

"...Wow, I thought it was just a harmless bug, but it hasn't shown its power yet?"

"Dr. Wu, what you said is too terrifying. There could be living corpses among us, and we wouldn't even know? Damn."

"Tell me this is a one-time thing! Only this young female teacher's case!"

"I hate bugs for a reason, ahhh!! We need to start exterminating them right away!"

Zhou Fenghua stood in the wind, perhaps the cold winter breeze woke her consciousness. After a brief thought, she immediately made a decision, saying, "If I'm already dead, then I can't go on living. A corpse with bugs can't be buried, it must be cremated, only cremation is possible."

She dared not think about what the town's middle school would face half a month later when she truly became a living corpse without consciousness.

She believed that even if she left now, those students could still achieve good grades and leave Hezipo Town.

She... she could let her fellow teachers keep her death from the students, not letting her death affect their exam preparation mentality. She had been a small-town exam crammer herself and knew how hard it was, ten years of hard study for just those two or three days. Because she had been through the rain, she was willing to hold an umbrella for those exam crammers.

Zhou Fenghua murmured, "Yes, yes, this is the only way."

She knew that those city candidates with good conditions had their families to back them up. If they failed, they could perhaps repeat a year.

But the vast majority of her students are not qualified to repeat a grade.

This is a township, and apart from some students' financial constraints, there is also a lack of understanding in their thinking.

Just yesterday, a student's parent came to the school hoping their child would drop out and return home to open a bed-and-breakfast. After all, Nan Nuo Village has become popular, and the Nuo River Eighteen Villages have also been boosted. With the high-speed rail opening at the end of the year, the entire Hezipo Town will prosper. Why bother studying when the ultimate goal is to make money? Isn’t it enough to know a few words and do basic math and bookkeeping?

How could families with such a mindset allow them to repeat a year?

If they miss this opportunity, the small Hezipo Town will be where they’ll spend the rest of their lives. Given the choice between the ocean and a stream, one can choose either, but the premise is that they have seen both.

Families like Zhou Yi’s, who value education so highly, are extremely rare in the entire Hezipo Town Middle School.

Dr. Wu sighed, "The living corpse fuels your obsession. Even if your body is cremated, your ghost will leave this shell and become a wandering spirit stuck in the mortal world."

Resentment can turn a ghost into a vengeful spirit, like Nie Wei.

Obsession can also turn a ghost into a powerful ghost, until it forgets its life and only remembers the obsession.

Even if such ghosts have high merits, they are unwanted by most yin emissaries. Because of their strong obsession, they are prone to incidents on the way to the underworld, some quietly escaping, others directly fighting and running away. In the end, not only will they not get the merits, but they will also be reprimanded by their superiors, which is not worth it.

"Damn, stay human, and in half a month become a living corpse controlled by gu; cremation is a quick and brutal solution to the source, but then I'll have to become an obsessed ghost lingering in the mortal world. How do you choose?"

"I’ve got a crazy idea... isn’t Dr. Wu Heng connected in the underworld? When the time comes, we can round up dozens of yin emissaries to forcibly tie up Teacher Zhou and take her down..."

"I'm curious, Dr. Wu mentioned lighting the sky lanterns to extend the life of a meritorious living person, but how does the heavens deal with meritorious ghosts? Is it reincarnation into a good life? Reincarnating into a good life sounds nice, but it's not the original obsession, so the compensation isn't complete."

Lai Yin Chai drifted in through the main door and said, 'I can bring a few more yin emissary colleagues, even those two shameless guys from the capital, and together we can tie her up and send her to the underworld. It shouldn't be a problem, since it's convenient in our town.'

With dozens of soul hooks latching onto her, hands, feet, and neck all hooked, even a powerful ghost with strong obsession won't be able to escape, right?

The phone suddenly vibrated, and Dr. Wu saw a WeChat message from Yuan Song, probably watching the live stream too.

"No long-distance relationship for me: Dr. Wu, I can come to help for free, but Senior Zero One Four has completely checked out on this month’s quota, seems like he's on a five-night, four-day Ming River vacation tour, probably can't make it."

After reading the message, Dr. Wu couldn't help but look Lai Yin Chai up and down.

Wow, when did Lai Jun get so enlightened? He's willing to guide troublesome ghosts now, he's grown.

Dr. Wu noticed the code on his lantern had changed to '88'. It really became a two-digit number, his promotion came quick.

Dr. Wu retorted in the language of the underworld, 'A powerful ghost born from obsession can be forcibly taken to the underworld by a group of yin emissaries, but can she cross the Naihe Bridge? How many obsessed ghosts are lingering outside the Naihe Bridge? The underworld still hasn't come up with a solution.'

The wife of the former cultural relic police officer Liu Jianguo had been lingering at the Naihe Bridge since her early death, and if not for the family reunion, she would still be waiting there.

Moreover... Teacher Zhou, both in life and death, was a person of merit. Why should she be subjected to such a humiliating treatment after death?

Even the deceased livestock are not subjected to such suffering on their way to the underworld.

Educators have merits in the underworld, and they are prioritized even in the queue for reincarnation.

Su Dayi, hiding in the big doghouse, licked her fur and complained, 'They’re really stripping the young lady of her dignity.'

Lai Yin Chai: '...'

He had no solution.

Lai Yin Chai pouted, 'I’m just worried she’ll turn into a mindless living corpse and hurt people.'

He had to turn to Chen Zhao, 'Where's Eugene?'

Chen Zhao pointed outside and whispered inaudibly, as he couldn't speak the language of the underworld, "He went to fetch Dr. Wu."

Zhou Yi exclaimed in shock, "Xiao Heng, what are you talking about? What exactly happened to Teacher Zhou?"

Zhou Fenghua taught English and, because she was close in age to her students and got along well with them, they affectionately called her "Teacher Zhou" in private.

Dr. Wu ignored Zhou Yi but glanced at the live chat area, where netizens were still fervently discussing what choice should be made. He gently asked Zhou Fenghua, "Teacher Zhou, what would you like to choose?"

Zhou Fenghua remained silent for a moment before saying, "The dead belong in their rightful place. Since I'm dead, I should become a ghost."

Zhou Fenghua didn't know what the gu insect might do with her broken body in the future, but she still had the ability to eliminate those possibilities in advance.

Zhou Fenghua had just seen Dr. Wu's free clinic, where people had fallen ill due to accidentally coming into contact with yin energy or evil energy. Teacher Zhou thought that if she became a ghost and stayed at the school, her yin energy might make the students sick.

Take Zhou Yi, for example, the school's only recognized candidate for Tsinghua or Peking University. What if he got sick because of her? Even with a friend like Dr. Wu, recovering would still take time.

Besides physical pain, there was also fear.

So—

"If I become a powerful ghost because of my obsession and linger in the mortal world, frightening the students at the school, please have the village's spirit mediums lock up my soul first," Zhou Fenghua said. She had once seen the gu ladies in the Eighteen Villages, who mysteriously shook black jars, saying they contained dirty things and warning her not to get close.

Even if she were locked up in the dark, it would be okay, as long as it didn't affect the students.

Dr. Wu's Adam's apple moved, but he couldn't find the right words. At twenty-five, in many big cities, girls like her were still being spoiled by their parents.

"Ah, don't do this! Why should Teacher Zhou end up like this? Isn't this what happens to heinous criminals? I truly admire her for having such a mindset at such a young age."

"Damn it, why can't the college entrance exam be tomorrow?! Just let Teacher Zhou fulfill her obsession and get it over with!"

"Damn, you're like the King of Hell! You're practically asking for the lives of this year's exam candidates, cutting their study time by nearly half a year!"

"No wonder they call it an obsession. Isn't this teacher being too naive? Why worry about others' fates?"

Zhou Fenghua gently patted Zhou Yi's shoulder, looking at him with reddened eyes, as if speaking of her own obsession, "It's incredibly hard for someone to leave a rural town on their own. I want to be the one who helps them, cutting through the thorns on their path to education."

Let the stream of knowledge flow unimpeded into this land, and let the young lives sail smoothly downstream.

Zhou Yi and these kids are all small-town exam warriors, just as she once was. She could empathize deeply.

Zhou Fenghua's gaze was resolute as she said, "Dr. Wu, please prescribe me the medicine. Thank you."

Dr. Wu sighed softly, picked up a pen, wrote a prescription, and then stood up to head to the pharmacy. "This is an antiparasitic medicine. I'll prepare it and have someone deliver it to you."

Zhou Yi thought it was for him and sniffled, "Should I pick it up on my way to school tomorrow?"

While preparing the medicine, Dr. Wu replied, "No need, Zhou Yi. I have someone here who needs to lose weight, so this will be good exercise for them. They'll deliver it. By the way, you're not allowed to let them ride your electric scooter."

Dr. Wu knew Zhou's mom had bought him an electric scooter for commuting. If he rode the scooter, where was the exercise?

Su Dayi suddenly popped her furry head out of the doghouse, sneaking a glance at Dr. Wu.

Su Dayi turned to the snake in the doghouse and loudly asked, "It's not me, right? Is it you, little white snake?!"

The little white snake was incredulous, "?"

"Look at your size, then look at my slender figure. Are you sure?"

Moreover, the little white snake realized that Su Dayi was a bully who picked on the weak. Although Xi Xi was soft and obedient, Su Dayi knew she might not win an argument with Xi Xi, so she always targeted the little white snake!

He’s the Dragon King of the well. You think he’s an easy target?

Su Dayi said with absolute certainty, ‘Yes, it’s you who will deliver it!’

As he prepared the medicine, Wu Heng explained to Zhou Fenghua, "You don’t need to swallow this deworming medicine; just rub it on your chest."

Wu Heng didn’t bring up how Teacher Zhou’s body was completely decayed, with internal organs beneath the skin completely eaten away, and even the esophagus gone, so how could she take medicine? Putting the deworming medicine on her neck was the best way.

Wu Heng paused and then added, "Once you’ve used the medicine, feel free to come back for a check-up."

Zhou Fenghua, though confused, smiled and thanked him, "Alright, thank you, Dr. Wu, for taking the time."

"Wait, a follow-up? After deworming, won’t she just leave this body and turn into a ghost?"

"Is this like flea treatment for pets? If it’s applied to the neck, does it protect the skin from bugs?"

"If there’s a follow-up, does that mean there’s still hope? I still believe in karma."

Wu Heng ignored the viewers’ questions but instead looked at the clock in the medical hall and said, "That’s it for today’s free clinic."

He figured his dad was probably at the village gate by now. It was also around the time Shi Xuan finished his night study session.

With that, Wu Heng signed off.

*

At the entrance of Nanluo Village

Wu Su, riding on You Jin’s scooter, had just arrived at the village entrance when someone called out to him from behind, "Hey, is that Dr. You Jin from Chengde Medical Hall?"

You Jin braked and turned around to see a delivery guy on a trike, who took out several packages and handed them over, "Here’s Dr. Wu’s stuff."

You Jin reached out to take them, intending to place them on Wu Su’s luggage to carry back, but as soon as he touched the package, he got a shock, and the scooter wobbled and tipped over.

"You Jin, what the heck are you doing?" Wu Su cried out, quickly getting off the fallen scooter.

You Jin stared at the courier and said, "You’re like a walking static shock!"

The courier was baffled, "Wait, cardboard doesn’t conduct electricity, right?"

You Jin couldn’t figure it out, pushed the scooter up from the ground, and said, "Must be my dry skin causing the static. It’s okay, thank you."

The courier smiled shyly and said, "Dr. You Jin, I saw Dr. Wu was busy with the online clinic, so I didn’t bother him. Could you let him know I’ll stop by for a check-up on my days off?"

You Jin nodded in agreement, then looked at Wu Su, "Hop on, Uncle."

Wu Su shook his head vigorously, "No way, I’m not getting back on that thing. I’ll walk. Just take my stuff back for me."

You Jin wasn’t worried about Wu Su getting lost at the village entrance, so he rode the scooter with the luggage and left first.

Wu Su strolled into the village like a tourist, constantly marveling at how well Nanluo Village had developed under the leadership of the Village Chief in recent years. There were many young girls on the road enjoying their skewers happily.

Some even recognized Wu Su and wanted to take photos with him. After taking several photos, Wu Su felt it was too slow to return this way, so he took a shortcut back to Chengde Medical Hall.

He walked out from the stone path and saw a tall figure with a backpack in front of him, looking more and more familiar.

Wu Su rushed up with a few quick steps, pulled the person over, and under the moonlight, he was shocked to see the face, "Old man, it doesn’t seem like he had twins."

Wu Su confirmed it was indeed Shi Xuan and was utterly shocked, "Shi Xuan, what are you doing here?"

Looking at the backpack, it didn’t seem like he had dropped out of school. But Nanluo Village is over three thousand kilometers away from the capital city. Could he have transferred to a town school?

Impossible. Back then, when the old man asked him to handle the withdrawal from Jiaming High School for the 'deceased Young Master Shi,' he agreed but did nothing. But for a major transfer, Shi Xuan would surely have been informed.

Shi Xuan looked at the not-so-distant Chengde Medical Hall and said, "I’m going home."

Wu Su followed Shi Xuan’s gaze and was even more shocked, "That’s your home? Then where’s mine?!"