Chapter 96

Chapter 96

"Ah? How much of a noob must you be to be instantly recognized just by mentioning your ID?"

"Uncle Wu the shaman, how about I take you for a game next time? I don’t mind if you’re bad, just have Dr. Wu prepare a few more doses of medicine for me."

"Artist Zheng really had it rough, having his eyes gouged out by a fierce ghost. Now, even though he got them back and has spiritual sight, he’s become nearsighted."

"I’ve noticed there are quite a few internet-addicted ghosts in the underworld. A master I know said the development down there is similar to the 70s and 80s. I think the underground internet has great potential. I’ll pursue this line of work after I die."

Even Chen Ying couldn’t help but comment in the live chat, offering to play with Wu Su.

Being looked down upon by a ghost is too embarrassing for us living folks.

Wu Su was so angry his face turned red. You Jin, seeing this, quickly ushered Wu Su out of the camera view, skillfully soothing him, "Uncle Wu, don’t bother with a blind ghost. Why don’t you go check on the New Year pig in the backyard to see if it has enough food?"

Ah, he used to coax the young, now he’s coaxing the old.

Both father and son were raised by You Jin’s coaxing!

Wu Su snorted coldly and really went to check on the New Year pig in the backyard.

Shi Xuan coldly watched the fierce ghost who was gasping in pain, "Who told you to speak like that?"

The fierce ghost immediately lowered its head and dared not even cry out in pain, though it couldn’t help but inwardly mutter curses at Shi Xuan.

It’s not your father, the shaman didn’t say anything, but this half-human, half-ghost young man is defending that middle-aged noob.

Wu Heng sincerely advised, "Be careful with your words, lest you end up in the tongue-pulling hell."

Wu Heng then turned to look at Zheng Feiran’s eyes, "Probably around 400 degrees of myopia, not too bad. I’ll write a prescription, roast the medicine on a copper plate, grind it into powder, wrap it in white cloth, soak it in water, and apply it as a warm compress on the eyes twice a day for ten minutes each time. Your vision should recover in seven days."

Wu Heng sat back down at Zheng Feiran’s drawing desk, picked up a brush, and began to write the prescription.

Zhou Yi’s eyes sparkled behind his thick black-framed glasses, "Wu Heng, can this work for high myopia?"

Zhou Yi had originally planned to see Wu Heng about his myopia after the college entrance exams, but hearing that myopia is so easily treatable, why wait until after the exams? Just spare a little time each morning and evening.

Wu Heng nodded while writing the prescription, "As long as it’s not over a thousand degrees, it’s just a common minor ailment."

"Excited heart, trembling hands, this is the first time I’ve looked forward to Dr. Wu’s prescription so much, I want it!"

"Dr. Wu, I beg for this medicine, I’m willing to pay directly for it, I don’t want to undergo myopia surgery."

"Hearing this, the myopia surgery hospitals might feel like the sky is falling. A single myopia surgery starts at five figures, and there’s also the risk. I’ve always been too scared to do it."

Wu Heng didn’t pay much attention, considering myopia a minor ailment incomparable to widespread evil diseases.

"If anyone needs it, I’ll put the medicinal patches up for sale after the New Year. Those in need can purchase them then. Hmm... rest assured, it’s just a few hundred bucks, not too expensive."

Wu Heng finished writing and handed the prescription to the overjoyed Zheng family.

"Who taught you to steal organs like this?" Wu Heng asked after taking the live stream off the mic, "It’s easy for a fierce ghost to harm people, but using organs on oneself isn’t easy. Was it Master Liu? Or some deceased Daoist Physician who taught you?"

Just like in the living world, not everyone can be a doctor. It takes years to train an excellent physician.

The same goes for the underworld, as ghosts and demons respect natural ghostly powers, and medical clinics are scarce. The method of stealing organs for transplantation isn’t something just any Master Liu could do; it requires a Daoist Physician’s intervention.

The fierce ghost looked somewhat unnatural, stammering without giving a clear answer.

Shi Xuan's voice was stern: "Speak up."

An unseen force pressed down, and the fierce ghost almost collapsed to the ground. It cowered in terror, barely managing to utter a single word from its throat: "Xuan..."

Suddenly, the fierce ghost screamed in agony. Its whole body was consumed by eerie blue-green flames, and the room's temperature plunged below freezing.

The Zheng family huddled protectively around Zheng Feiran, clamping their hands over their mouths as they watched in disbelief.

Shi Xuan quickly yanked Wu Heng behind him, aware that these ghostly flames could harm even the living. But he was immune—he was a being of the underworld.

With a casual flick of his wrist, Shi Xuan's sleeve unleashed a surge of ghostly energy, effortlessly snuffing out the ghostly flames.

Wu Heng peeked out, thankful his father hadn't witnessed this. Otherwise, Shi Xuan might have gained another nickname, like 'fire hydrant,' to go with 'vacuum cleaner.'

Still, the fierce ghost was left covered in bloody blisters, its mouth blackened, already out cold.

Shi Xuan inquired calmly, "Do you still want to ask anything?"

Wu Heng shook his head, "No, I’ve got it figured out."

Wu Heng snatched a sheet of Xuan paper from the table, folded it into a triangle, and punched a hole in it. He stuffed the fierce ghost inside, planning to hand it over to Lai Yin Chai as a job well done.

Wu Heng’s expression was grim. He understood that ghosts and demons weren’t like regular folks; they were fueled by their obsessions. Ghosts missing organs were fixated on them, and if someone dangled organs as bait, these fierce ghosts would go on a rampage.

It was like an unspoken deal—let them wreak havoc, and if they got hurt, any living person could become their blood supply!

Without eyes, they could grab a living person, gouge out their eyes, and burn them to transplant into their own sockets.

Without legs, they could grab a living person, amputate their legs, and burn them to attach to their own.

From then on, they would have no worries.

And these Masters couldn't do it; only those Daoist Physicians who ate the mystical rice and studied medicine could.

He had finally returned to this world with family and friends... Wu Heng glanced at Shi Xuan and smiled slightly.

There were too many people he cared about in this world; he was attached to it.

This couldn't go on any longer.

Wu Heng said to the Zheng family, "It's all right now, we're going back."

The Zheng family snapped out of their daze and hurriedly escorted Wu Heng and Shi Xuan to the door. Mr. Zheng even promised that he would transfer the consultation fee shortly.

Wu Heng waved the painting in his hand, "This painting will be the consultation fee."

The painting in Wu Heng's hand was the one he had shown during the live stream, depicting his participation in the village exorcism festival.

Zheng Feiran murmured, "What's this painting worth?"

All the scenes were drawn from his imagination. When he opened his eyes and saw Wu Heng, Zheng Feiran felt that his painting hadn't captured even a thousandth of Dr. Wu's essence.

"Rewards, you can give rewards as gifts." Zheng Feiran calmly shifted his gaze from the ghostly floating road back to his personal studio, picked up the phone that Wu Heng had just used to end the live stream, and re-entered to frantically send gifts, becoming the top donor of the night.

Zheng Feiran had been blind before, so even when he listened to Chengde Medical Hall's live streams, he only used his ears and had never seen the live stream's visuals.

Seeing that Chengde Medical Hall's live stream was still on, but the video had turned black and white, Zheng Feiran thought it was just a bug in the streaming software and didn't pay it much mind.

When Wu Heng and Shi Xuan returned, they didn't ride shared bikes. Wu Heng let Shi Xuan hold his hand as they walked leisurely towards the well.

"Wu Heng, I have something to tell you during the Spring Festival holiday."

Wu Heng nodded: "Alright."

The underworld opens its ghost gates on specific festivals, with the Zhongyuan Festival being the foremost when all ghosts can pass through. During holidays, as long as there are still living relatives, ghosts can return home to celebrate, and the ghost gates will open on that day.

Lunar New Year's Eve is the last day of the year.

Counting the days, it's almost here. People everywhere have started buying festival supplies, and the festive atmosphere in Nan Nuo Village is even stronger, with every household beginning to decorate with lanterns and couplets.

Customs vary by place. Wu Heng knows that in Nan Nuo Village, on the morning of Lunar New Year's Eve, they light incense and candles, place offerings, and open the front door to invite deceased relatives home for a reunion meal.

The two quickly returned to Nan Nuo Village via the well.

From the nearby hillside came the sound of noisy chatter, and occasionally the flashlight beams carried by the police could be seen.

"Little Heng, are you two going too?" The elderly Village Chief was putting on his coat and hat as he walked up from behind and asked.

He, being elderly, sleeps early, but who knew he would be woken up in the middle of the night by Zhou Yi's dad, saying there was trouble again.

Zhou Dagui suddenly noticed Wu Heng and Shi Xuan holding hands, "You two are..."

Wu Heng calmly said, "Shi Xuan's hands were cold."

Wu Heng felt he wasn't lying; Shi Xuan's body was naturally cold, like a living air conditioner, cold all year round, radiating a deathly aura, no different from a dead person except for breathing, and it's hard to imagine him ever being warm.

Zhou Dagui had no time to bother with the young people's affairs and hurried towards the hillside.

"It's said that Luo the Butcher suddenly took the police up the mountain, and who knows what's happened again." Zhou Dagui kept sighing.

These days, an increasing number of ghosts and demons are causing trouble, and they all like to do it at night, which is very unfriendly to the elderly like them.

"Little Heng, it's almost New Year in a few days, do you have any ideas? It's really bad luck to have incidents during the New Year."

Wu Heng thought for a moment and said, "Let the villagers stock up on fireworks and firecrackers, and set them off then."

Although fireworks are mainly for show now, in ancient times they were used to drive away ghosts and demons, and to welcome the gods.

This is easy; Nan Nuo Village is a rural area with no fireworks restrictions, so they can be set off freely.

They hadn't walked far into the hillside when they heard the heart-wrenching sobs of a villager.

Wang Jun and the others nearby looked troubled.

Just as Zhou Dagui was about to ask what had happened, he saw the villager who was crying and kneeling on the ground suddenly get up and wail to Zhou Dagui, "Village Chief, what is all this? Our son's grave has been dug up!"

Zhou Dagui remembered this villager; their son had died of illness, and a few days ago he had arranged for villagers to help with the funeral.

It's already hard enough to lose a family member, and now before the grave had even settled, it's been dug up, with the dark coffin faintly visible beneath the mud.

Zhou Dagui quickly said, "We have cameras on every road in the village, I'll arrange for someone to check?"

Wu Heng suddenly spoke up from the crowd, "Village Chief, you won't find any leads, this wasn't done by the living."

As everyone turned to look at Wu Heng, he glanced at the moon in the sky, calculated the time, and said, "Open the coffin in thirteen minutes."

The family looked at Wu Heng in disbelief, open the coffin? Their son had died of illness, in so much pain when he passed, and now they have to open the coffin?

But Wu Heng's words now held more sway than even old lady Lai's, and the family grew increasingly uneasy.

Zhou Dagui quickly called the village's strongest men for help.

Lai Yin Chai drifted back from the coffin, visibly shocked, and said, 'Wu Heng, what's in that coffin... What on earth is going on? Fierce ghosts are running wild, causing all this trouble. Is Yanjun still in charge or not?'

'If he can't handle it, maybe he should step down and let someone more capable take charge?' Lai Yin Chai paused, a hint of shyness appearing on his dead face, 'Like me.'

Wu Heng remained silent.

Lai Wazi sure has a vivid imagination.

Wu Heng threw a triangular block from his pocket to Lai Yin Chai, speaking in the tongue of the underworld, 'Inside is a fierce ghost I caught at the painter's house.'

Lai Yin Chai glanced inside and saw a ghost lying there, its body charred black, and sighed slightly, 'Zero One Four was spot on. No matter how diligently I guide these ghosts, I can't reach his level.'

He once aspired to be the nation's top yin emissary, but now, if he could just become the top yin emissary in Hezipo Town, he would consider it a success.

Wu Heng smiled and said, 'It's tough to make a mark in peaceful times, but you're about to get your chance.'

After weeping and consulting old lady Lai, who gave her approval, the family said, 'Dr. Wu, it's the time you mentioned. Shall we open the coffin now?'

The village's strong men chanted as they worked, shoveling the dirt off the coffin, pulling out the nails, and with a creak, the coffin lid cracked open, letting out a faint stench and... a heavy metallic smell of blood.

Wang Jun and the other officers peered inside the coffin and were instantly horrified, their hearts nearly skipping a beat.

The family also glanced inside, stunned into silence before bursting into wails, sitting on their son's grave, kicking the wet mud.

Because, inside the coffin, their son's corpse... was missing its head.

Luo the butcher turned pale, looking at Wu Heng in horror, 'Did my butcher's knife take the He family child's head...'

Luo the butcher was too scared to finish his sentence.

Wu Heng nodded gently. The butcher's old knife had a strong killing aura, easily exploited by fierce ghosts to cause trouble.

'This has nothing to do with you, Uncle Luo. Can you blame the knife seller for a murderer's crime?'

Luo the butcher always kept his knives secure, but that didn't deter thieves.

'Dr. Wu, what is all this about? What are we supposed to do about our child? It's almost New Year. We must find his head,' the family cried, crawling towards Wu Heng to ask.

Wu Heng noted it in his heart, 'I get it. Once we find his head... we'll cremate him.'

The couple wept bitterly. Before their son died of illness, he had expressed a wish to be cremated, but the family, preferring burial, had buried him whole. If they'd just cremated him as he wished, none of this would've happened.

The next steps were left to the police, and Wu Heng and his group went down the mountain.

Zhou Dagui was so furious his face turned ashen. 'Things have really changed. In the past, most ghosts would avoid the living, but now they're getting more and more brazen, even stealing the heads of the dead! What do they want?'

The typically mild-mannered Village Chief was genuinely furious tonight.

Nannuo Village isn't large, and the children of the village have practically grown up under everyone's eyes, yet they've been harmed like this, making Zhou Dagui's blood boil with anger.

Lai Yin Chai, walking alongside, couldn't resist touching his own head, considering whether to have his grandmother dig him up and burn him.

'Tomorrow, first thing tomorrow morning, I'll arrange for the villagers to buy firecrackers and fireworks. This is just outrageous!'

'I don't know what the King of Hell is doing, with so many ghosts causing chaos and he does nothing. Tomorrow, I'll head to the City God Temple and burn a petition to oust him.'

As the Village Chief vented his anger, they made their way back to Chengde Medical Hall.

Chengde Medical Hall had already closed, but the lights were still on inside, and You Jin and Zhou Yi were still there.

At this moment, Zhou Yi removed his thick black-framed glasses and held two snakes poised to attack.

Xi Xi flicked her tongue, her gaze fixed on the phone's camera.

Zhou Yi's vision was completely blurred, and he couldn't see clearly, but he felt a wave of relief at Dr. Wu's voice, "Xiao Heng, take a look at the live stream."

"After you disconnected Zheng the painter's mic, the live stream unexpectedly connected to another patient, and the video quality turned grayscale."

Zhou Yi and You Jin had some experience by now; seeing the grayscale video, they knew it might be connected to a patient from the underworld.

You Jin, after all, was an apprentice of Old Wu and had spent a lot of time with Wu Heng. He stumbled through the live stream, waiting for Wu Heng to return.

Then the situation quickly deteriorated.

'Doctor, doctor, why do I have this headless illness?' A figure appeared on the other side, wearing a bright red coat, the only vivid color in the grayscale video, looking particularly eerie.

'Look, look, doctor, which head do you think looks best? Can you help me choose the one that suits me the most?'

There weren't many viewers who could watch Chengde Medical Hall's live stream connecting to the underworld. Initially, they felt some sympathy for the fierce ghost, as there were no medical halls in the underworld, and they had to seek help from Dr. Wu.

But when the fierce ghost pulled out other heads and lined them up, many viewers were so terrified they froze, and their hands moved faster than their brains, quickly leaving the live stream.

Only a small portion of viewers covered the camera screen, focusing only on the scrolling chat, squinting as they sent new ones.

"My god, I'm terrified! It's almost New Year, can you not scare me?"

"Dr. Wu, when are you coming back? I'm about to be scared to death by this fierce ghost. If Dr. Wu isn't back, maybe Zhou Yi, you should just end the stream. It's too scary, I can't watch anymore."

"Indeed, Mrs. Tang Xueshan is just too cute and normal, making me assume all ghostly patients were like her. This is the kind of scare that makes you wet yourself."

Dr. Wu patted Zhou Yi's shoulder, telling him to go aside, put on his glasses, and go home to sleep.

The spirit snake was furious: 'Wu Heng, this fierce ghost is provoking you!'

The spirit snake and Xi Xi were spirit snakes; they could keenly sense the malice of the other party. This was not like Tang Xueshan, who genuinely came seeking help and consultation.

Dr. Wu sat down at the consultation table, watching the headless ghost on the other side of the camera, slapping the seven or eight heads laid out before it like watermelons, smiling and enthusiastically asking Dr. Wu to help it choose one.

Luo the butcher had originally planned to come to Chengde Medical Hall to get a couple of prescriptions for exorcism medicine. He nervously glanced at the phone and was instantly startled.

"The second one on the left... isn't that the kid from the He family?"

Luo the butcher looked closer, making sure he wasn't wrong. How did he end up there? Could it be that the fierce ghost on the other side used his butcher knife to cut off the He family kid's head? And now it's flaunting it in Dr. Wu's live stream?

Dr. Wu looked coldly at the headless ghost on the other side and asked, "You're not here to seek treatment, are you?"

The fierce ghost on the other side smiled and said, 'No, I have this problem where my head keeps falling off. I sincerely want Dr. Wu to help me attach a suitable one.'

"...Oh my god, I'm terrified! Where did it get all these heads? It's terrifying to think about!"

"Indeed, the government's cremation policy makes sense. I'm now determined to be cremated when I die."

"I'm really angry; these evil spirits are pushing us to the brink. I'm ditching accounting to study the occult. I'm dropping out of school to learn Taoism, and I don't care about the five misfortunes and three lacks."

"But where is the head of this headless ghost? Could it also be a poor soul who turned into a ghost in the end?"

The fierce ghost touched the cold head attached to its neck, feeling the jagged edge where the head and neck were separated.

It didn’t know where its head had gone. It had searched for a long, long time but couldn’t find it, so it stopped holding onto hope. Wearing someone else’s head wasn’t bad either; it could swap them out daily, trying a new look each day.

But it didn’t matter anymore. This world would be shared with ghosts and demons, and the underworld would welcome its true new master.

Yanjun ruled too harshly, and the new master would grant them the greatest freedom.

Wu Heng looked at the headless ghost over there and said, "Don’t mess with me."

The headless ghost pouted. Who in this vast world could know where it was? Nowadays, it could flee to the underworld or hide anywhere in the mortal realm.

Wu Heng turned to Lai Yin Chai and said, "Check its Ghost Network IP and report it. Lai Yin Chai, it’s time for you to hit your year-end performance target."

Lai Yin Chai’s eyes lit up, and he immediately pulled out a work tablet from the paper lantern.

The headless ghost said suspiciously, "Who are you kidding? Who would bother being a part-time Ghost Network cop? There’s not much money in it."

There weren’t many ghostly netizens in the underworld with the means to access the internet, so yin emissaries could voluntarily apply to be part-time Ghost Network cops.

After all, learning cyber cop skills rarely allowed one to track down a few ghosts and demons through the Ghost Network—it was a hassle. Ghosts and demons were profit-driven; they wouldn’t lift a finger without a payoff.

They say the skilled get stuck with more work. Yin emissaries in the underworld had job security; whether they worked or not, they couldn’t be fired. If they were caught doing extra work, wouldn’t that be asking for trouble?

Lai Yin Chai scoffed, "Money? What I want is power!"

The headless ghost’s heart skipped a beat when it heard this. Seeing the yin emissary actually checking the IP in a professional manner, it immediately panicked and wailed, "Don’t do this, you guys! I’m telling you, doxing is illegal... Dr. Wu, my bad."