Chapter 27 Part 2
Treat, as Chen Zhao said, doctors didn’t choose their patients. Since there was an illness, why not treat it? But whether the patient’s family would be wailing afterward was beyond his control.
Mrs. Wang immediately got up and rushed home, determined to stay awake for 24 hours, for her future grandson!
Wu Heng checked the clock on the wall. It was past 8 p.m., the peak time for ghostly activity during the Hungry Ghost Festival.
You Jin called the clinic’s landline, his voice muffled as if he was speaking under the covers. “Xiao Heng, go to bed early tonight, close the clinic early. Just cover your head with the blanket, and you won’t encounter any ghosts. By the way, Xiao Heng, do you know how to lock the clinic?”
Wu Heng felt that You Jin still treated him like a child, saying he understood.
Every household in the villages would close their doors early tonight. Chengde Medical Clinic usually closed at 10 p.m., but it was indeed time to close now.
A cool breeze blew in from outside, and a clear, pleasant bell sound suddenly echoed through the clinic.
Wu Heng turned to look at the string of bells on the consultation table.
This was one of the two bells offered to the Nuo gods. Xi Xi had sniffed out the other one, which was probably with Shi Xuan, and he couldn’t be bothered to ask for it back.
Now, it was ringing.
One ring after another.
This wasn’t the wind, this was—
Someone was ringing the bells.
He heard it.
The two bells offered to the Nuo gods had gained spirituality, especially after his shamanic dance, resonating with each other.
Wu Heng took out his phone and opened his chat with Shi Xuan. They hadn’t even exchanged greetings since adding each other on WeChat.
[HengHengBaby: ?]
Shi Xuan didn’t reply.
But the bells kept ringing, even more urgently.
Wu Heng paused. He had agreed with Chen Zhao that he would go to Beijing tomorrow morning to treat the graduate student.
Chen Zhao, overjoyed at the prospect of earning five thousand yuan without having to hitchhike to Nan Nuo village, readily agreed, saying he would follow his senior’s arrangements.
He… he would just treat the graduate student in advance, he would go to Beijing now.
Wu Heng, holding the ringing bells, immediately pulled the clinic’s wooden door, intending to lock up and go to the ancient well at the east end of the village.
Several strong figures rushed towards him, one of them quickly stepping up and placing a hand on the closing door.
“Doctor Wu Heng, please examine Xiao Li, he’s having trouble breathing!” Wang Jun panted, helping the officer on his back down, then leaning against the clinic’s door.
They had rushed down the mountain carrying the man, heading straight for the hospital. They were exhausted.
The young officer’s face was pale, his features contorted, unable to speak.
Wu Heng glanced at him and asked, “Did you go to the south side of the mountain?”
Wang Jun was startled, Wu Heng’s words were spot on. “Yes, we heard a child crying, we thought a child who went to the mountain with their family to visit graves might have gotten lost. We followed the sound but couldn’t find anyone. After we came down the mountain, Xiao Li became like this.”
They should have taken him to the town hospital, but somehow they came to Chengde Medical Clinic instead. They hadn’t even stopped at Grandma Lai’s house along the way.
The bells in his hand continued to ring softly. Wu Heng glanced down.
A patient was here, he couldn’t abandon them, no matter who it was. Sorry, Second Godfather.
Wu Heng asked the officers to help their colleague inside. He immediately went to the medicine cabinet and scooped out a bowl of dark medicinal soup.
Wang Jun saw that Xiao Li was in no condition to drink anything, but Wu Heng asked, “Is anyone among you born in the year of the Rooster, during the Wei hour (1-3 p.m.)?”
They thought for a moment, and another officer raised his hand, saying he fit the description.
Wu Heng: “Take a sip and spray it on his face.”
Today was the Hungry Ghost Festival, those with weak birth charts were prone to encountering ghosts, so clinics like his would prepare medicinal soup in advance just in case.
If it wasn’t needed, it would be used to water plants the next day as fertilizer.
The officer immediately followed Wu Heng’s instructions, taking a large gulp of the bitter soup and spraying it on Xiao Li’s face.
Xiao Li cried out, clutching his throat and gasping for air, finally regaining consciousness.
Wang Jun and the others looked at Wu Heng in astonishment. This was a truly capable shaman doctor, no wonder someone from above personally came to issue him a certificate.
Wu Heng chuckled. “It’s nothing, just the effect of the medicine.”
To a shaman doctor, not only ginseng, but all herbs had spiritual properties, their medicinal power could ward off evil. If the herbs weren’t strong enough, then he would use his shamanic power.
Wang Jun patted Xiao Li’s back, his sharp hearing picking up a faint sound. He looked at Wu Heng. “What’s that sound?”
Wu Heng put the softly ringing bells into his pocket, ignoring the question, and looked at the shadowy figure on Xiao Li’s shoulder. “Spirits wander freely during the Ghost Festival, but causing trouble tonight won’t end well for you.”
Holy crap, a ghost?
Wang Jun and his colleagues’ expressions changed drastically. His daughter had just had a high fever from picking up something unclean, but that was nothing compared to this. Had they encountered something powerful?
The shadowy figure sitting on the officer’s shoulder didn’t speak, only making faces at Wu Heng.
One of the officers asked, “Aren’t we police officers? Our uniforms carry righteous qi, how… how could we be targeted?”
This was true. Police officers generally had strong birth charts, and due to their profession, they carried a natural righteous aura. Even malicious ghosts would hesitate before approaching them, they were the least likely to be affected by such things.
Wu Heng said, “Because it’s the child of a police officer.”
So, despite being a ghost, it could still approach these righteous police officers.
Wu Heng reached out and picked up the child ghost from Xiao Li’s shoulder. Xiao Li instantly felt lighter, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, and looked up, clearly seeing the child in Wu Heng’s arms.
A pale face, dark pupils occupying two-thirds of his eyes, seemingly four or five years old, but with no teeth, a chilling sight.
Wang Jun instantly knew that the child’s teeth had been knocked out.
‘So noisy!’ The child ghost covered its only remaining ear and tugged at Wu Heng’s pocket containing the bells, whimpering.
Wang Jun calmed himself, forcing himself to accept this bizarre scene, and asked, “Child of a police officer? Is it the child of a fallen comrade?”
Hearing that it was a comrade’s child, and thinking of his own daughter, Wang Jun’s wariness decreased.
Wu Heng pinched the child ghost’s face. “That’s why it confused you, it doesn’t remember who its father is, or its own name, it just wants to go home with you, to find its dad.”
That made sense.
Wang Jun immediately said, “We can check our internal database, it shouldn’t be difficult.”
The officers, looking at the child ghost, felt a pang of sadness, even though they didn’t know the details yet.
Wu Heng, sensing their distress, said with a smile, “Let the child stay at the clinic for now, we’ll talk after you find its parents tomorrow.”
Wu Heng glanced at the bells, their ringing growing fainter, patted the child ghost’s head, told it to stay put and not touch the herbs inside, as they would harm it, and said he was closing up.
Wang Jun sensed that Wu Heng had other things to do, noticing him lock the clinic door while remaining outside. “Are you going out so late, Doctor Wu?”
The child ghost peeked through the glass window, its voice carrying through. ‘Big brother is going on a date, right?’
It had heard from other ghosts that the Hungry Ghost Festival was a good day for ghosts and their living relatives to reunite, which was called a “date.” It also wanted to find its parents for a date, but it didn’t know where to find them.
Wu Heng chuckled without explaining, parted ways with Wang Jun and his colleagues, and sent Li Hao a WeChat message before jumping into the well.
[Li Hao: Hehe, understood, we’ve already brought Doctor Chen Zhao to my house, just waiting for you to arrive and treat that graduate student. Doctor Wu, we’ll roll out the red carpet for you and make you feel at home.]
Wu Heng: ?
What did that mean? Why welcome him?
Li Hao was smug and immediately sent a message to He Yunxiao.
[Li Hao: He Yunxiao, what do you think of my well? [picture]]
[He Yunxiao: ? Well? Why are you always talking about your well? Are you crazy?]
[Li Hao: Hehehe.]
Last time was just an accident, Shi Xuan, that green tea bitch, just used some tricks to lure Doctor Wu away. This time, Doctor Chen Zhao was at his house, and Li Hao guaranteed that Wu Heng would emerge from his well. He had already prepared a camera to record this epic moment, there wouldn’t be any mistakes, He Yunxiao would definitely be furious and go crazy upon seeing it.
Li Hao and his friends chuckled, their shoulders shaking with glee, imagining the scene.
Ten minutes later, Wu Heng climbed out of the Shi family’s well.
