Chapter 76 Part 1
Wu Heng’s Adam’s apple bobbed, he wanted to say something, but seeing Shi Xuan’s lowered eyelashes, the moonlight casting shadows on his handsome face, the usual coldness replaced by a soft vulnerability, his heart stirred.
He instinctively reached out, a practiced movement now, and supported him, his arm around Shi Xuan’s waist, “Oh.”
Lai Jun, the Yin messenger, observing them, couldn’t help but comment, ‘Hey, he’s faking it.’
Wu Heng glared at him. “You think I can’t tell? Are you the shaman doctor, or am I? Questioning my professional judgment?”
Lai Jun: ‘……’
A bully when alive, bullied after death, how unfair!
Resigned, this having nothing to do with his merit points, he turned to leave, deciding to check the town hospital, hospitals being prime locations for his line of work, many deaths, he and a few other Yin messengers often waited there like taxi drivers, even fighting over clients.
Lai Jun thought for a moment, then detoured to Wu Heng’s Second Uncle’s guesthouse, now the “inpatient department,” perhaps someone there was dying.
As soon as he entered, he saw Chen Zhao, pinching his nose, rushing out. He took a peek inside, his stomach churning as he dry heaved.
That guesthouse charged high prices but hadn’t earned much.
Shi Xuan’s voice, “If you don’t hold my waist, I’ll fall.”
Wu Heng’s ears burned, what a shameless request. But he gently placed his hand on his waist, thankfully the winter jacket hid everything.
“Are you this kind to all your patients?”
Wu Heng wasn’t sure if it was just small talk, the casual question hanging in the air.
“Of course. I even change the clothes of the deceased, their final dignity.”
Shi Xuan, “If I die, will you change my clothes too?”
Wu Heng, although accustomed to death, felt a strange pang of annoyance, he accidentally stepped on Shi Xuan’s foot, apologizing profusely.
Shi Xuan, looking at the shoe print, smiled faintly.
They slowly walked back to Chengde Medical Clinic, the wooden door slightly ajar, a faint light spilling out. Inside, You Jin was sitting on the sofa, crying.
This might be the worst day of his career, he was even questioning his decision to study medicine.
If not for Xiao Heng arriving in time, he would have actually killed someone!
Old Doctor Wu had run this clinic for decades, never a single incident, he had tarnished their reputation!
“Brother You Jin, you didn’t prescribe the wrong medicine, he just didn’t want to return to his body.”
You Jin, tears streaming down his face, “Xiao Heng, are you comforting me? Or does he not want to live anymore?”
Wu Heng chuckled. “He wants to live more than anyone. Why give up such a good life?”
Zhou Yi, standing nearby, was confused. He knew that Xie’s life wasn’t good, forced to drop out of school, his desire for gender reassignment not accepted by those around him, no friends, what good life?
“Master, do they reimburse for work-related injuries?” Just then, Chen Zhao rushed in, pinching his nose.
“Ew, what’s that smell? Did you fall into a toilet?”
They covered their noses and backed away from Chen Zhao.
He had shamelessly contacted his master in advance. Now they were on equal footing! That old man must be furious.
Seeing them distance themselves, Chen Zhao frowned and said, “Even that patient who arrived last night, staying at Second Uncle’s now, if Master wasn’t vaccinating students at the school today, he would have come to the clinic.”
Chen Zhao, wanting to prove his worth, had taken the medical kit and gone to the guesthouse, hoping to help Wu Heng.
He described vividly, “Oh my god, you haven’t smelled it, that room! Second Uncle will have to renovate, it’s unbearable!”
He suddenly regretted not charging hazard pay.
“I asked how long he hadn’t showered. Guess how many days.”
Seeing their curious faces, he revealed, “Six months. I couldn’t take it anymore.”
‘It’s not body odor!’ a sweet voice said, and they looked down to see a chubby white fox, wearing a small outfit and a heart-shaped backpack.
Zhang Da Yong’s wife, worried the Fox Immortal would be cold, had bought a dog outfit and stuffed a few hundred yuan into the backpack for emergencies before sending her off in the ride-hailing van.
Su Da Yi, attempting to jump onto the consultation table, missed and crashed into the side, yelping, then hopping around the clinic on three legs before sitting down and crossing its legs smugly. ‘The great Fox Immortal has arrived. Bow down!’
Everyone: “…”
You Jin, his crying ceasing, staring at the fluffy white creature, “Did a fat dog just wander in?”
Su Da Yi was enraged. ‘Who are you calling a dog? I’m a fox! A fox spirit!’
You Jin didn’t understand.
Wu Heng, amused, tugging at the little backpack, “Are you here for school?”
Su Da Yi huffed, ‘That Zhang Da Yong’s wife insisted I wear this, so I reluctantly agreed, just to be polite.’
It didn’t mention it was a perfect fit. The red outfit made it look like a seductive fox demon, it loved it!
Wu Heng looked around, “Everyone here is quite open-minded, you can transform into your human form and speak normally.”
They all looked at it curiously, Zhou Yi even polishing his glasses.
This was a legendary fox spirit, renowned for its beauty, he wondered what its human form looked like.
Su Da Yi, puffing up its nonexistent chest, “You think I’ll transform just because you tell me to?!”
‘…Or, you could prescribe me some weight loss medicine? I’ll transform after I lose weight.’
Wu Heng didn’t reply. Su Da Yi, sniffing the air, darted under the consultation table, seeing the two dog beds, one gray, one white, and immediately jumped into the larger white one, struggling to fit its chubby body inside, only half of it managing to squeeze in, its fluffy tail sticking out, then, as if convincing itself, ‘Perfect fit, just my size! I’m so slim!’
Wu Heng: “…”
You Jin, feeling sorry for the snakes being cooped up in their enclosure, had bought two dog beds, and Da Bai and Xi Xi had been using them. As soon as they left, their beds were occupied.
Wu Heng said, “The residual effects of the Nuo opera festival make it difficult to treat spirits and ghosts. I’ll give you a weight loss prescription in a couple of days. Don’t wander off.”
With the current situation in the eighteen villages, all the spirits and demons within a hundred miles wouldn’t dare cause trouble. And Su Da Yi, instead of staying at Zhang Da Yong’s, enjoying the life of a guardian deity, had come here to suffer.
Su Da Yi, patting its backpack, its voice deliberately high-pitched, “Fine, I’ll pay for my stay then. I have a few hundred in my bag!”
Her sweet, seductive voice sent shivers down their spines.
You Jin, stunned, muttered, “The Samoyed is talking.”
Su Da Yi, smugly looking at the men present, knew its charm was irresistible, especially that Taoist priest who reeked of sickness, his gaze fixated on her.
A Fox Immortal’s allure!
Chen Zhao, staring at its fluffy fur, muttered, “A fox spirit’s fur with illusion magic, that must be worth a fortune! And foxes shed, right…?”
He wanted to buy Su Da Yi a dog brush, he could collect the fur and sell it!
Su Da Yi: “?”
What was this creep talking about?!
Wu Heng’s lips twitched slightly. At this rate, his clinic would become a pet shop.
He was looking for some scraps to make a temporary bed for Su Da Yi, he still needed the other two for his snakes.
Su Da Yi agreed readily, its true intentions hidden.
“Chen Zhao can’t sleep upstairs tonight, he’s too stinky. I’m going home,” Zhou Yi said, pinching his nose.
Wu Heng knew Chen Zhao wouldn’t pay for a room at his second uncle’s guesthouse, even though he had almost eight hundred thousand in savings, his stinginess was legendary. He’d rather sleep outside the clinic.
“Go to Da Bai’s well at the east end and draw two buckets of water,” he said, “One for your bath, the other to sell to that patient at Second Uncle’s guesthouse.”
Chen Zhao’s eyes lit up, working for free? Never. But selling things? Always! A bucket of well water for five hundred? And if he boiled it first, a thousand? He immediately rushed out.
You Jin, spraying air freshener, his condition much better now, went to help Chen Zhao.
After Wu Heng finished showering and confirmed that Shi Xuan’s discomfort from the vaccine was gone, he went to bed, scrolling through Weibo.
As expected, netizens were discussing the “resurrection” of that villager.
[This is insane. I won’t question the existence of supernatural powers anymore, they’re real!]
[Wu Heng’s live stream has had so many ghosts and spirits and his account isn’t even banned. I think the government is subtly introducing us to the supernatural. Everyone, be prepared. I’m definitely buying those masks.]
[I’m still skeptical. I heard that vaccine at Jiaming High School has some weird metaphysical properties, students are acting strangely. Like Xie Zhi, she’s a student there.]
[They started vaccinations already? Xie Zhi… can’t say it’s strange, she’s just… too normal now. It’s shocking.]
[I heard it’ll be available to everyone soon. I hope it’s my turn, I’m scared.]
Wu Heng scrolled through his short video feed and saw a video of a pretty girl in a mall, her face a mixture of gratitude and sadness as she accepted a gift from her mother.
He scrolled through the comments, liked the video, and went to sleep.
Wu Heng decided not to audit classes today. After Shi Xuan and Zhou Yi left for school, he leisurely finished his breakfast, built a shrine for the freeloading Su Da Yi, and started his live stream.
As soon as he went online, tens of thousands of viewers joined, and in the blink of an eye, over 999 connection requests.
