Chapter 88

Chapter 88

Wu Su hurriedly ran into Chengde Medical Hall and saw Wu Heng brewing medicine in the pharmacy, indeed bearing a resemblance to his grandfather.

"Xiao Heng, Shi Xuan ——"

Without turning his head, Wu Heng gently fanned the medicine pot with a small fan, "I know what you're going to ask, Dad..."

Wu Su interjected, "Shi Xuan wants me to be his godfather!"

Wu Heng paused his movements and looked up, "?"

Wu Su pulled Shi Xuan over, "This child says this is his home; he must want me to be his godfather."

"Xiao Heng, he's half a year older than you, so you can call him brother from now on."

Shi Xuan: "..."

Wu Heng: "..."

Wu Su understood Shi Xuan well. This young master was an extremely reserved child. When he said he was coming home while looking at Chengde Medical Hall, it was likely a hint.

Although he had Shi Xuan as a father, it was as good as not having one. In short, the boy lacked paternal love.

"Xiao Heng's coming-of-age ceremony is just around the corner. I plan to host a grand banquet with dozens of tables. How about you officially recognize me as your godfather then?"

Shi Xuan politely declined, "No need, thank you, Uncle Wu."

Wu Su studied Shi Xuan's face, confirming that he wasn't just being polite, and felt a sense of disappointment, "I thought I was going to have another son."

Shi Xuan stared at Wu Heng and said, "The future is unpredictable."

Wu Su thought Shi Xuan was just feeding him empty promises. Seeing You Jin coming down the stairs, he said, "Uncle Wu Su, I took your suitcase up to the bedroom."

Wu Su immediately stepped on the creaky wooden stairs to the second floor, "My suitcase has gifts in it, why did you take it upstairs? I’ll have to carry it down myself again."

Seeing Wu Su going upstairs, Shi Xuan, with his backpack on, leaned on the pharmacy counter and looked at the person brewing medicine inside, saying, "Uncle Wu just told you to call me brother."

Wu Heng asked back, somewhat helplessly, "Why should I call someone my age 'brother'?"

Shi Xuan smiled and went to sit on the sofa, taking off his backpack.

Su Dayi peeked out, looking around furtively, and curiously asked the little gray snake beside her, 'Xi Xi, is the human breeding season in winter?'

Xi Xi looked confused as the little white snake immediately wrapped around her, shouting, 'Xi Xi, don’t listen to the fat fox talking about these inappropriate topics!'

Su Dayi disdainfully glanced at the little white snake, pretending to be all innocent.

Wu Su, panting heavily, carried the suitcase back down, opened it, and distributed gifts, ensuring everyone got something.

Wu Heng held up a new jacket, understanding why left-behind children look forward to the New Year so much.

Chen Zhao, holding a Pi Xiu statue for attracting wealth, was deeply moved: "I actually got one too?"

Xuanmen, that lousy place, doesn’t give out such things during the New Year. What’s up with his master’s efficiency? Why hasn’t he taken him to leave Xuanmen yet?

Wu Su took out a large box of ginseng and proudly said, "This is the pricey ginseng I got for the old man. Make sure to put it in the cabinet carefully when he gets back, You Jin."

You Jin, holding the gift, replied, "Okay."

Wu Heng opened the box and inspected the ginseng without a word. If his father was happy, that was enough.

As the New Year approached, Wu Su, who had been idling at the Shi family's, suddenly became active back home. He said, "Tomorrow I’ll get up early to secure a few pigs for the banquet. By the way, Shi Xuan, your uniform is from Jiaming High. How do you even get to school every day?"

Wu Su couldn’t wrap his head around it, no matter how much he tried.

Wu Heng looked out at the night sky, sensing a major shift was coming, where regular folks would soon live alongside the supernatural. He decided not to keep it from his father anymore.

Wu Su was dumbfounded, slowly realizing that what happened earlier wasn’t Wu Heng’s soul leaving—it was him all along.

He was speechless. You Jin patted Wu Su’s shoulder anxiously, "Uncle Wu Su, what’s up? Can’t handle it as well as me?"

Wu Su was upset, "So, Xiao Heng, you weren’t so heartbroken over your old man that your soul left? I was just an afterthought?"

Wu Heng pointed at Shi Xuan, "No, he was the afterthought."

What? An afterthought to visit Shi Xuan? Why visit the boss’s kid?

Wu Su glanced between Wu Heng and Shi Xuan, sensing something odd. "Shi Xuan, your dad doesn’t know you’re crashing here, right?"

Seeing Shi Xuan shake his head, Wu Su quickly came up with an idea, "I’ll call the old man and tell him you’re here. When he comes looking, you bounce back to Beijing. When he chases you there, you come back here. Keep him running in circles till he’s worn out."

Shi Xuan: "...It’s late. You should get some rest."

It was indeed late. After You Jin shut things down, everyone got ready to sleep. Wu Heng watched Wu Su pacing around the house. He hadn’t been back home in years and missed it terribly. He sighed, thinking the old man might skip the New Year, and the family wouldn’t reunite.

Wu Heng smiled faintly as he watched Wu Su’s back. In the original story, Butler Wu, knowing too much about the tycoon, was kicked out of the Shi family and died in poverty.

"Poverty" was just the Shi family’s cover story. Wu Su’s real fate was death.

But now, his dad had returned safely from the Shi family to Chengde Medical Hall. He must’ve altered his father’s fate.

As for Shi Xuan, the final villain in "Ghost Fetus," it was unclear if his fate had changed.

Wu Heng recalled that in the original story, Shi Zongguang battled the ghost fetus in his home for eighteen years. He was confused, indecisive, and tied down by the ghost fetus’s weak sense of family. In the end, with ghostly and divine help, he destroyed the ghost fetus, and the world entered a so-called peace, living alongside demons and evil spirits.

Though Wu Heng made a living in metaphysics, he didn’t want to live with the supernatural. Regular folks would just become prey for demons and evil spirits. From then on, they’d be too scared to go out at night—no dancing, no night markets, no nightlife. Walking the dog would be confined to home, and overtime would be a life-or-death gamble.

No life, just stillness. That kind of world had no charm.

Zhou Yi went to school early, riding his electric scooter to the outside of Chengde Medical Hall. Seeing that the medical hall wasn’t open yet, he was about to leave when a gas canister ran out from the backyard, shouting loudly, "Don’t go!"

-

Su Dayi, wearing a pet outfit with a small backpack containing the potion Wu Heng had prepared and bottled, immediately jumped in front of Zhou Yi’s electric scooter and sat down, "Let’s go, to the town’s middle school."

Zhou Yi remembered Wu Heng’s instructions. He thought for a moment, then propped up the scooter and went back to get a large dog leash, which he used to tether Su Dayi.

Su Dayi protested, "What are you doing? I’m a fox spirit, not a pet dog! You don’t need to leash me; I won’t bite or run around! I’ve had my rabies vaccine."

Zhou Yi tied the end of the leash to the electric scooter and placed the plump fox spirit on the ground.

Su Dayi sensed something was wrong but hadn’t had time to ask when Zhou Yi twisted the scooter’s handle, and it immediately started moving. Su Dayi was yanked by the leash and forced to run on all fours.

Su Dayi waved her limbs in disbelief, still shouting, "You jerk, what are you doing?"

Zhou Yi: "Losing weight."

Su Dayi thought Zhou Yi was quite plump himself, and he was in sub-health. Why should she, a fox, be the only one running?

Su Dayi rolled her eyes and slowed down her running speed. Zhou Yi had no choice but to reduce his speed. However, seeing the speed on the electric scooter's display was less than two digits, even pedestrians were faster than his ride. Zhou Yi couldn't help but say, "Gu Gu, if you don't run faster, I'm going to be late. Never mind, maybe you should just handle it yourself."

Su Dayi bet that Zhou Yi wouldn't really drag her along, but now this guy was about to ditch. There were still several miles to the town’s middle school, and she didn't want to walk all the way. Just as Su Dayi was thinking about forcing herself onto the scooter, she saw a young woman carrying a bag walking up the path: "No need, I'm here."

The speaker was Zhou Fenghua.

Zhou Yi quickly stopped the scooter, "Ms. Zhou, cousin, why did you come by yourself?"

In terms of family relations, Zhou Fenghua was the granddaughter of Zhou Dagui's younger brother, so it was appropriate for Zhou Yi to call her cousin.

After yesterday's live stream, the town middle school administration immediately found out and suggested other teachers handle the final exams, allowing her to rest first. She was also afraid that her students would be scared of her, so she left first.

Zhou Yi patted the back seat of his scooter and said, "Cousin, let me give you a ride."

Zhou Fenghua immediately replied, "If you take me, you’ll miss the morning session."

But Zhou Yi pulled her onto the scooter and said, "Those who’ll pass will pass even with less review, and those who can't won't benefit from an extra day."

Su Dayi quickly hopped on and crouched down.

Zhou Yi turned the scooter around and headed back to Chengde Medical Hall. Zhou Fenghua sat on the scooter and asked, "A Yi, you’re not scared of me? I remember you were quite timid. Even I'm afraid of myself now."

"Not afraid," Zhou Yi said. With close ones, there’s no fear of death. They were not just teacher and student but also relatives. "Besides, Xiao Heng said that the time when humans and spirits coexist is coming soon."

By then, everyone will gradually get used to it.

The scooter soon stopped at the entrance of Chengde Medical Hall. The clinic had just opened, and You Jin was sweeping with a broom. Outside, a courier's tricycle was parked.

Wu Su had gone out early in the morning to order a New Year pig, and Wu Heng was still washing up in the backyard. Inside the hall sat a courier.

Su Dayi shook the medicine bottle from her backpack and begged You Jin to make her a mountain of incense.

"Fenghua!" came Zhou Dagui’s distressed shout at the entrance of the medical hall.

Zhou Dagui and Zhou Yi's parents marched in, followed by some old women with facial tattoos, hunched over in traditional homespun clothes and holding several black jars.

Wang Jun from the Hezipo Town Police’s Special Affairs Unit stood outside the medical hall, with an ambulance parked nearby.

Zhou Fenghua rose, her eyes brimming with tears, and greeted, "Uncle Dagui, Auntie, Uncle."

The Village Chief strode over and took Zhou Fenghua's hand, "How did it come to this? You were our family’s brightest hope."

Zhou Fenghua's ancestral home was in Wu Miao Village, but the ancestral hall of the entire Zhou family was in Nan Nuo Village.

When Zhou Fenghua was admitted to Beijing Normal University, they celebrated with gongs and drums all the way, opening the main gate of the Zhou family ancestral hall to enter. At that moment, Zhou Yi's parents also wished for such a promising child in their own family.

"Xiao Jun, why are you here? Why aren't you resting during the day?" Old lady Lai suddenly began muttering to herself in the crowd of elderly women.

The other gu practitioners stayed composed.

'Granny, don’t fret, I’ll be fine.'

Lai Yin Chai was used to working overtime during the day. He stood in the shadows, pulling a tablet from his lantern to check Zhou Fenghua's life record, "Zhou Fenghua, died normally at the age of 22, cause of death was falling down stone steps and hitting the back of her head. You should have gone with the yin emissary to reincarnate. Staying in your body, taken over by gu, turned you into a living corpse.'

The ghost had been in this decaying body for too long, so the obsession became heavier, leading to the current dilemma.

Zhou Fenghua realized she could see shadowy figures and said, "But Dr. Wu said it was the gu from the living corpse that caused my condition."

Wu Heng walked out from the backyard after washing up and sat down at the consultation desk, saying, "Your death was natural. That gu entered your body only after you fell to your death."

In metaphysical terms, the moment a person takes their last breath, the soul remains but can no longer control the body. Within twelve hours, the soul slowly departs from the body. That's why modern medicine says hearing is the last sense to go after death.

Zhou Fenghua gave a bitter smile and said, "None of this matters, as long as I don't mess with my students' heads before their college exams."

Zhou Fenghua looked at the gu ladies, whom she had contacted the night before, agreeing to meet at the clinic.

She eyed the dark jars they held, wondering if this was where she'd end up.

Zhou Fenghua glanced at the bag in her hand, which contained a shroud she had personally chosen. She grabbed the bug spray and followed You Jin to the back room.

Wu Heng sat down at the desk and folded a little paper doll, writing Zhou Fenghua's birth details on the back with cinnabar. He then looked at the courier sitting quietly in the clinic and asked, "What's the problem?"

The courier was startled and looked towards the inner room, saying, "Dr. Wu, maybe see to Teacher Zhou first? I can wait."

"Dr. Wu, it's strange. I've got this crazy static cling—I keep zapping customers on my rounds."

The courier took out a voltage tester from his pocket and poked it into the back of his hand, causing the tester to light up immediately.

The courier then demonstrated other areas: "It's not just my hand, Doc. My hair, face, legs—heck, even my nose hairs are live wires!"

Chen Zhao, who was studying nearby, couldn't help but say, "You're like the Thunder God reborn."

The courier was also frustrated, "Showering's a real trip these days. I've been living on the pills Dr. Wu gave me, but I'm nearly out."

"That weird, huh?" Wang Jun, who had just walked in, frowned as he examined the courier and asked.

Wang Jun placed his hand on the courier's shoulder, and upon touching his skin, he immediately felt a surge of electricity, causing him to let go.

There was actual juice, not just static.

"It's nothing major. You've just picked up some bad vibes," Wu Heng prescribed medicine for the courier. "A kid who got zapped wandered into your place, and now you're charged up."

The courier was shocked: "What?!"

'Where do you live?' Lai Yin Chai's eyes lit up, and he immediately asked loudly.

Old lady Lai, noticing the courier missed it, quickly repeated the question for her grandson. The courier hurriedly gave his address, and Lai Yin Chai, carrying his lantern, rushed out of the clinic and floated towards the address.

"Wandered in? So where's he supposed to be?" Zhou's father muttered.

Zhou's mother glared and whispered, "Where else? School, obviously! What's he doing in an apartment?"

Catching Zhou Yi's glance, his parents forced smiles, avoiding the topic of school to keep from setting him off.

Wu Heng got Zhou Yi to shut the door, keeping him busy.

At that moment, the gu ladies' dark jars started trembling. They grabbed the jars, but the shaking got worse, like whatever was inside was trying to bust out.

"What's going on?" one of the gu ladies exclaimed.

In these remote mountain villages, there is no shortage of various insects, which is why gu masters emerged. These gu ladies usually live in the most remote parts of the village and have all raised gu.

Their jars hold the cream of the crop—hundreds of vicious bugs fed on animal blood. They fight in a small jar, treating their own kind as food, and the last one standing becomes the gu.

Yet, they had never witnessed such a dramatic fluctuation in the gu they had nurtured for so many years.

"Have I... become a ghost?" Zhou Fenghua didn’t push the door open; instead, she floated right through it, staring vacantly at everyone in the clinic.

Wu Heng looked at Wang Jun, who sternly said, "Get in there and secure the patient’s remains."

The Special Affairs Department of Hezipo Town had been in session all night. They had never encountered a living corpse and were clueless about its behavior, so, as Zhou Fenghua had mentioned in her live stream, cremating her remains was the safest option.

Wang Jun and his team, feeling the talismans in their pockets, opened the door and were met with the lifeless body.

A pitch-black insect emerged from beneath Zhou Fenghua’s body and bolted toward the door at breakneck speed. Wang Jun reacted swiftly, instinctively stomping on the insect.

He did step on the insect, but even through his leather shoes, he felt a sharp pain in his sole, as though he’d stepped on a jagged rock.

Wang Jun pulled back his foot, visibly shaken, and muttered, "What the hell is this thing?"

The insect had already scurried out of the inner room. The clinic’s doors and windows were sealed tight, leaving the insect with no escape.

"Ahhhh, a bug! Such a huge, scary bug!" the little white snake hissed, rearing up, "Xi Xi!"

Xi Xi also reared up, glaring fearlessly at the gu insect and hissing a warning.

Snakes prey on insects.

The gu ladies were stunned by the sight of the formidable gu insect. It was obvious this gu insect was no ordinary breed, and they couldn’t help but wonder what it had consumed to be enveloped in such potent yin energy. They had come today not only to hear Zhou Fenghua's last wishes but also to see what the living corpse gu was like.

The lid of one gu lady’s jar was violently thrust open, and a golden silkworm, no bigger than a pinky finger, crawled out, locking in a brutal battle with the living corpse gu.

But after just a few clashes, the living corpse gu seized the advantage. In a flash, it opened its jet-black mandibles and clamped down hard on the golden silkworm’s wings. As the gu lady who owned the golden silkworm gu wailed in agony, the living corpse gu devoured it in one swift gulp.

The gu lady nearly lost her mind, shrieking hysterically, "My golden silkworm gu—twenty years of nurturing—gone just like that?"

The jars clutched by the other gu ladies trembled violently. The scent of blood from the skirmish outside drew the other insects. These gu insects were ruthless, having thrived by devouring countless of their own. How could they resist such a bloody provocation?

More gu insects emerged, swarming to encircle and devour the living corpse gu.

The scene devolved into an insect battleground, with bright red blood and green ichor splattering from the bites. Insect carcasses littered the clinic floor, reeking of decay.

The temperature plummeted further, and the yin energy grew suffocatingly dense.

Ordinary folks like Zhou Dagui were so terrified their scalps crawled, and they instinctively huddled closer to Wu Heng’s consultation table.

"It ate them all, the living corpse gu ate all those insects..."

In mere minutes, they watched the pitch-black living corpse gu visibly swell, lazily stretching its limbs like it had just feasted.

Su Dayi immediately jumped out and said, "See, eating makes you fat, so it's understandable that I'm fat."

Wu Heng: "..." Are you sure?

Old lady Lai's eerie gaze was filled with strange astonishment as she murmured, "...It's the nature of gu insects to fight to the death."

However, this death was too brutal.

Never before had a gu insect battle been like this. This gu insect must have been raised on human blood...

Zhou Yi tried to understand and said, "Like cricket fighting?"

Cricket fighting involves killing the opponent.

Although Zhou Fenghua had been dead for three years, she had truly become a ghost. Last night, she had thought how pitiful it would be to become a ghost, but after truly leaving her decaying body, she felt somewhat more relaxed, though some uncontrollable thoughts kept surfacing in her mind, like obsessive fixations.

She immediately said to Zhou Yi, "Then after you watch, write a letter to Li Hua describing the interesting insect fight you saw, and write a 100-120 word college entrance exam English essay for me to see."

Zhou Yi silently took off his glasses; he wouldn't watch then.