Chapter 35 Part 1
Liu Jianguo, whose eyes had been slowly closing, suddenly snapped them open, startling the relatives and friends surrounding him.
He murmured, “I… I think I heard Yang Yang’s voice, it was his voice.”
Almost thirty years had passed, and with their family’s financial situation back then, they couldn’t afford a video camera or even a tape recorder, so there were no recordings of his son’s voice, but he still remembered it.
Soft and sweet, with some mispronunciations.
His relatives looked around, tears welling up in their eyes.
The older generation believed that seeing or hearing deceased loved ones meant one’s time was near. Old Liu probably only had a few hours left.
‘Dad!’
The voice became clearer. Liu Jianguo was certain he heard Yang Yang’s voice. He looked around frantically, his hand reaching towards the sky, his voice urgent,
“Yang Yang, is… is that you? Are you… are you and Mom here to take Dad away?”
Liu Jianguo’s cloudy eyes scanned the small, old-fashioned bedroom, then landed on the strange little white snake, his voice hesitant. “You’re Yang Yang, aren’t you?”
The little white snake, with the bamboo tube on its head: “?”
It was the renowned (Intern) Well Dragon King, how could it be a little ghost?!
Some of the relatives present were afraid of snakes, but after hearing Liu Jianguo’s words, they didn’t dare to move.
They had heard from the older generation that deceased family members would return in the form of animals, sometimes butterflies, sometimes moths.
Liu Hui, his nephew, a staunch materialist, simply considered this his uncle’s dying wish and humored him.
Liu Jianguo suddenly seemed more alert, as if afraid of scaring the little white snake that his son’s soul had possessed. He weakly waved his hand, gesturing for them to leave.
Liu Hui was worried, carefully observing the snake, and, judging from its appearance, confirmed it wasn’t venomous, then led the relatives outside, leaving the door slightly ajar. “Uncle, call me if you need anything, I’ll be right outside.”
Liu Jianguo, his gaze fixed on the little white snake, his eyes unusually gentle, his voice stronger, “Yang Yang, how have you and your mom been all these years? Did anyone bully you?”
“Don’t be afraid, soon… Dad will be there to protect you.”
The little white snake was speechless. It only had one godfather! How did it inexplicably gain another, a police officer father?
The little white snake, carrying the bamboo tube, climbed onto the bed and approached Liu Jianguo.
Liu Jianguo, fully convinced that the little white snake was his son, wasn’t afraid as it approached, he even felt a surge of joy.
The little white snake, wanting to finish this quickly and go eat fried chicken, used its fangs to open the bamboo tube. The warm, bitter smell of the medicine filled the air, making Liu Jianguo slightly more alert.
Liu Ziyang urged from the side, ‘Dad, drink the medicine.’
Even if it was poison, Liu Jianguo would drink it now, he only had a day or two left anyway, he had long given up on living.
Seeing his weakness, the little white snake nudged the bamboo tube towards his mouth with its head, grumbling inwardly.
That Wu Heng, that villain, making it a caregiver!
The bitterness of the medicine filled his mouth, but Liu Jianguo drank it all. Afterward, he gradually felt something was different, his cold body warming up, his hands and feet feeling warm!
His failing organs seemed to be working again, one last surge of activity.
Confusion filled Liu Jianguo’s gradually clearing mind, then, as he turned his head, he froze, tears streaming down his face before he could even process what he was seeing.
‘Dad!’
Liu Ziyang cried, throwing himself into Liu Jianguo’s arms, his small hands gripping him tightly.
Although his father was old, his embrace still gave Liu Ziyang an immense sense of security. This was his dad, the police officer dad that all the kindergarten kids envied.
Liu Jianguo’s trembling hands held his son, the small, soft being from his memories, repeating his nickname.
The little white snake, watching from the side, asked, ‘I’m done, little ghost, are you coming with me or…’
Liu Ziyang, clutching Liu Jianguo’s arm, quickly said, ‘I’m staying with my dad!’
The little white snake beamed. ‘Great!’
Then the KFC family bucket Godfather bought would be all for him! It would take the leaf and go to Beijing to find Shi Xuan, bringing Xi Xi back with him.
Afraid that the little ghost would change its mind, the little white snake quickly slithered out the window.
Liu Jianguo wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating or not, why was Yang Yang talking to a snake?
Liu Ziyang, being a child, couldn’t explain things clearly, relaying Wu Heng’s words in a jumbled manner.
Clarity and coldness filled Liu Jianguo’s eyes. He knew that before he died, he had to personally bring Liu Ziyang back from that place!
“Uncle? Uncle, are you okay? We… we’re coming in,” Liu Hui, waiting outside, hadn’t heard any sounds from inside for a while and, worried, pushed the door open and entered.
As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Liu Jianguo out of bed, the bed neatly made, the blanket folded into a perfect tofu block. He was standing in front of the mirror, meticulously buttoning his neatly ironed light blue uniform, then putting on his cap and adjusting it slightly.
The relatives and friends stared at the revitalized Liu Jianguo, dumbfounded. Was this a final burst of energy before death? Should they cry or not?
“Uncle? Where are you going?”
Liu Jianguo picked up the small metal box and the urn, then carefully took the slightly vibrating bamboo tube and said firmly, “To catch the murderer!”
The little white snake arrived at the Shi residence and was immediately greeted with a steaming hot meal. It even asked Shi Xuan to contact He Yunxiao and ask if Xi Xi could come and eat together.
Shi Xuan played He Yunxiao’s voice message: “My Xi Xi wants to eat fast food? She has me, her father! No need!”
The little white snake asked sullenly, “Godfather, why does Uncle He dislike me so much?”
Shi Xuan said, “Don’t reveal your intentions prematurely.”
The little white snake regretted not asking its godfather for advice earlier. How could it be rejected by He Yunxiao? It asked, “What should I do now that I’ve already revealed my intentions?”
Shi Xuan: “…Be shameless.”
The little white snake, feeling dejected, channeled its frustration into appetite, diving into the fried chicken feast.
“Give this to Wu Heng,” Shi Xuan said, handing it a box.
The little white snake took the box, packed some leftover fried chicken, and happily returned home.
Back in Nan Nuo village, the little white snake hid the food before going to deliver Shi Xuan’s item to Wu Heng. Along the way, it saw a familiar figure.
It immediately slithered towards him excitedly. “Zhou Yi, how many of those mosquito repellent ointments you made for Wu Heng have you finished? The delivery deadline is approaching! You… holy crap, what are you doing?!”
Zhou Yi, carrying a heavy backpack and a stack of books, looked coldly at the little white snake he had just kicked aside with his thick glasses. “Get lost, don’t disturb my studies.”
Zhou Yi quickly walked away, leaving the little white snake stunned. It had been too kind to these ordinary humans, and now even Zhou Yi dared to kick it, the formerly shy and timid bookworm! It was a spirit snake!
If they angered it, it would ask Wu Heng to make that Zhou Yi bastard pregnant with snakes too.
The little white snake, whimpering, ran into Chengde Medical Clinic and bumped into Wu Heng, who was live streaming.
The little white snake squeezed onto the consultation table, sobbing angrily, ‘Wu Heng, I want Zhou Yi to be pregnant with 108 snake babies! Difficult births! Make him stay home every day taking care of babies and incubating eggs, make him cry! He just kicked me!’
Wu Heng was speechless and asked using his shamanic power, ‘Are you cheating on He Xixi?’
The little white snake was even more upset. If this was misunderstood by He Yunxiao and Xi Xi, it wouldn’t be worth it. It could only lie there dejectedly, playing dead.
[Wow, that little white snake again, is this the streamer’s pet? People in the southwest love keeping these.]
[The streamer is really bold, still streaming despite all the negative news. Is he diligent? He only streams for an hour a day, besides the free clinics. Is he lazy? He’s still streaming even with all the negative publicity.]
[The snake is so cute. Did that antique collector really have a venereal disease? I heard his company’s stock price plummeted, his investors probably want to kill you.]
[Can Wu Heng talk to snakes?]
Wu Heng chuckled. “Stock price plummeted?”
This was just the beginning!
Wu Heng made a quick calculation. Liu Jianguo, Liu Ziyang, and Collector Lu were all on their way, arriving by tonight at the latest. No rush.
Wu Heng connected with a new patient, a handsome young man.
As soon as the connection was established, the young man said, “Hello Doctor Wu, I’d like you to give me a checkup, hehe.”
Since Guo Jiang’s advertisement, many netizens knew that besides consultations, Wu Heng also offered checkups. A premarital checkup was a checkup, wasn’t a personal checkup also a checkup? A single serving.
Wu Heng looked him up and down, smiling and nodding. “Sure.”
Gifting 588 yuan worth of gifts granted a visual checkup, while 888 yuan allowed for a remote pulse diagnosis. The young man chose the latter.
[This looks like a university dorm, right? Bro, your living expenses aren’t low, 888 yuan for an online checkup, I only have two thousand a month in Shanghai, can’t afford such luxuries.]
[… I advise you not to smile, bro. No one can smile and leave Chengde Medical Clinic’s live stream unscathed, the last one who smiled ended up on the road to the underworld for a ghost marriage.]
[I feel like it’s best not to consult with Wu Heng, if you’re not sick, you’ll become sick.]
Wu Heng had recently printed some physical examination forms. He took one and filled out the young man’s personal information based on the details he sent privately.
After taking his pulse, he filled in the rest of the form. If the person only needed an electronic copy, he would scan it and send it over. If they needed a physical copy, they would pay for shipping.
The camera shifted, showing Wu Heng filling out the form, impressing the netizens.
[Wow, bro, you’re in great condition.]
[Wait, I finally understand this guy’s motive. He’s using Wu Heng’s fame to show all the girls in school that he’s healthy, trying to find a girlfriend, right?]
[Checkup, fake; showing off, real.]
The young man was overjoyed. Exactly! Finally graduating from high school and becoming a university student, now dating wouldn’t be considered “puppy love,” wouldn’t he hurry up? 800 yuan was nothing.
He was much luckier than that Guo Jiang, whose girlfriend was immediately declared non-human by Wu Heng. His consultation was just filling out a form, nothing could possibly go wrong.
As he was thinking this, he noticed Wu Heng’s entry for his height and exclaimed, “Wait, Doctor Wu, did you make a mistake?”