Chapter 75 Part 1
Li Hao felt a surge of gratitude towards Shi Xuan. He used to think Shi Xuan was a cold, unapproachable person, but after interacting with him, he realized he was actually quite decent. Knowing Doctor Wu had arrived, he wanted to make a good impression, showing that he was a well-behaved student, urging him to return to his seat.
Li Hao immediately scurried back, sitting up straight, his neck stretched out, his arms folded neatly, like a first grader.
The homeroom teacher looked around the classroom, “Student Wu Heng, you can sit…”
Wu Heng pointed at the empty seat next to Shi Xuan, “Teacher, I’ll sit there.”
The teacher’s heart softened, his impression of Wu Heng improving.
Wu Heng was just an auditor, after all, not disturbing the other students was the priority. The classroom was crowded, books piled everywhere, sitting at the back was the least disruptive.
And more importantly… no one ever sat next to Shi Xuan. The other students, both male and female, avoided him. His seat was by the window, last row, far in the back.
With the teacher’s permission, Wu Heng walked towards Shi Xuan, a smug smile on his face,
“Hello, Classmate Shi.”
Surprise!
He hadn’t told him intentionally, curious about his reaction.
Shi Xuan’s gaze, unwavering, followed him from the podium, his usually cold eyes now bright, the thirty or so students in the class all noticing his intense stare.
Wu Heng shifted uncomfortably, he… he was just becoming his deskmate, why was he so happy?
Shi Xuan, pulling out the chair for him, lowered his eyelashes, hiding the emotions in his eyes.
He had never had a deskmate before. His classmates both admired and feared him, friendship a luxury.
He lacked many things compared to ordinary people, and Wu Heng was filling those voids, one by one, so many firsts.
Wu Heng’s arrival was just a small interlude. The homeroom teacher quickly started the lesson, reviewing yesterday’s math test. Senior year had no new material, only review and practice.
“Student Wu Heng, here’s a new test paper,” the teacher was about to grab one from his desk when Shi Xuan nudged it towards the center. The teacher, slightly startled, “You two can share, we’ll start the review now.”
Wu Heng looked at the paper, not a single correction, all answers correct, and then Shi Xuan moved his chair closer, close enough for him to smell the faint Yin qi.
Shi Xuan whispered, “Too far, can’t see.”
Wu Heng: “?”
He wasn’t even nearsighted.
Class ended quickly, more practice papers assigned, and as soon as the teacher left, the classroom became lively.
Wang Pengzheng immediately rushed over, whining, “Doctor Wu, I mean, Classmate Wu, Hei Tan can be reborn as a human eventually, we’re adding my Hei Bao to our family registry, does he have a chance too?”
Having witnessed Hei Tan’s reincarnation, he had been worried about his dog godfather.
Wu Heng replied, “It’s possible, but not guaranteed.”
Hei Bao, a loyal dog, now in the family registry, Yama would consider it, but his merit might not be enough, the requirements for animal reincarnation strict.
Wang Pengzheng said, “Then I’ll send him to the police academy to be a police dog.”
Wu Heng: “…”
Indeed, a filial son.
The other students gathered around, asking about the masks, wanting to buy some for their families.
Shi Xuan, watching him interact with his classmates, so many around his desk, for the first time, a strange feeling.
“Are you feeling unwell?” Wu Heng suddenly asked, seeing Shi Xuan release a surge of Yin qi, quickly grabbing it and molding it into a fluffy ball.
“Did the vaccine affect you?” He Yunxiao also leaned closer, worried.
Wang Dong said, “That vaccine might be problematic. Xie Zhi is acting strange after getting it, speaking in a dialect I can’t understand. It… sounded similar to your dialect, Doctor Wu.”
Xie Zhi, the celebrity student. Wang Dong had tried to give her the talisman, but then he heard her speaking in a dialect, acting strangely, like a different person, and after handing her the talisman, nothing happened, so he returned, embarrassed.
“Her situation is normal,” Wu Heng said, placing a hand on Shi Xuan’s forehead, which felt slightly warm. “Can you skip evening study?”
Wu Heng, being an auditor, could leave anytime. Not Shi Xuan.
He Yunxiao helped him request a leave of absence, and as they walked towards the back mountain and the well, Wu Heng couldn’t help but complain, “I told you not to get that vaccine.”
Shi Xuan lowered his eyelashes. “I’m not feeling well, can you… help me? My friend.”
Wu Heng had never seen him like this. He held his arm, about to take his backpack—
Shi Xuan leaned on him, his hand on his shoulder, “You hold me. I’ll carry my own bag.”
Wu Heng, looking at his slightly upturned lips, thought he wasn’t that unwell.
They quickly returned to Nan Nuo via the well. Winter days were shorter, and when they reached the clinic, Wu Heng was surprised to find the door closed, a sign that read “House Call.”
You Jin occasionally made house calls, but this late?
Wu Heng opened the door and led Shi Xuan to the guest room. As soon as he lay down, his skin became visibly redder. Wu Heng knelt by the bed, helping him unbutton his shirt, revealing his slightly flushed collarbone.
Yin qi was emanating from him, like a leaky water balloon.
Wu Heng gathered the escaping Yin qi and molded it into fluffy balls, placing them on his head.
So much Yin qi, enough to nourish several malicious ghosts.
“I’ll make you some Yin-nourishing medicine,” he said, it wasn’t difficult, he had made some for Tang Xueshan before.
Just as he stood up, Shi Xuan grabbed his wrist. “No need.”
Wu Heng sat back down, his hand landing on Shi Xuan’s chest, his strong heartbeat startling him, and he quickly withdrew it.
Shi Xuan was used to this. Since he was a child, his father would invite priests and Taoists to try and exorcise him, he would suffer for a couple of days, then his Yin qi would return, stronger than before.
Wu Heng said, slightly frustrated, “As a shaman doctor, what am I supposed to do? Just watch?”
He couldn’t just do nothing, his professional ethics wouldn’t allow it.
Shi Xuan, his eyes closed, gently held his wrist, feeling his pulse, his voice soft, “Just… stay with me?”
Wu Heng felt a little awkward. Did friends do this too? He looked at his friend’s pained expression and couldn’t help but think that the Xuanmen had some skilled practitioners after all, developing effective vaccines with the government.
The wind chimes by the window suddenly jingled without any wind, their ethereal melody a distant call, ‘Return, soul… return…’
Shi Xuan’s eyes snapped open, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
Wu Heng’s expression changed. He chuckled, slightly exasperated, “They’re trying to summon your soul?”
Mr. Shi’s practitioners must be attempting a soul retrieval ritual.
Truly a bunch of amateurs! This was no different than forcefully extracting his soul, what were they even thinking!
His dad was right, that old Mr. Shi was always messing things up. Shi Xuan had been fine before, this ritual might actually turn him into a wandering ghost!
Wu Heng quickly took Shi Xuan’s hand, their fingers intertwined. Shi Xuan, startled, then tightened his grip, Wu Heng’s power flowing through him, anchoring his soul.
The jingling faded. Wu Heng tried to pull his hand away, but Shi Xuan held on, his thumb gently caressing his palm before releasing it.
His palm tingled, his heart racing.
Wu Heng looked at his hand, his face burning, “That was to help you, friend.”
Shi Xuan, his eyes half-closed, a faint smile playing on his lips, “I know, I’m just… sick, be nice to a sick friend.”
Wu Heng: “…”
He felt like he was punching cotton, Shi Xuan even relishing his “illness.”
At the Shi residence in Beijing
Mr. Shi, standing anxiously beside the priest, watching him ring the bells and chant, asked after the ritual ended, “Is Shi Xuan’s soul back?”
Seeing the priest shake his head grimly, his heart sank, had Steward Wu been right, had he truly ended his family line?
Steward Wu, devastated, Shi Xuan, the only person he still cared about in the Shi family, was gone. “My son’s choker is probably lost forever then, after Young Master’s funeral, please allow me to resign.”
Even without the body, they could still hold a symbolic funeral. But his son’s choker…
Mr. Shi, his expression unreadable, looked at Steward Wu rushing off to prepare the funeral arrangements.
Knowing so many secrets about his family, he still thought he could leave unscathed?
“Doctor Wu?! Doctor Wu, are you home?!” An anxious voice called out from outside.
Wu Heng immediately pulled his hand away from Shi Xuan’s, went to the window, and saw Su Chenyu, who was still in Nan Nuo.
Assuming the clinic was closed because Wu Heng wasn’t there, he had seen a faint light in a second-floor bedroom and called out tentatively.
Su Chenyu looked up at Wu Heng, his voice filled with urgency. “Doctor Wu, come quickly! Your apprentice seems to have… killed someone!”
