Chapter 112
If Scenario: If Wu Su had actually taken Shi Xuan to Nan Nuo Village to raise as his godson.
The winter dawn barely breaking, three-and-a-half-year-old Wu Heng sat on the doorstep of Chengde Medical Clinic, his chubby cheeks resting in his hands, puffing out breaths, his round eyes fixed on the village entrance.
Little Wu Heng wore a bright red padded jacket embroidered with golden dragons, a small braid peeking out from under his red hat, the jade choker around his neck making him look like a New Year painting doll, his hearing and eyesight exceptional. He heard Zhou Yi, the village chief’s grandson, reciting a poem in the distance, “Goose, goose, goose, bending its neck towards the sky and singing…” Then, “Goose, goose, goose, I’m hungry, Mom, can we have goose for dinner? I don’t want to recite poems anymore.”
Seven-year-old You Jin, yawning and rubbing his sleepy eyes, walked towards the clinic, his master teaching him about herbs today, “Why are you up so early, Xiao Heng?” he asked, pinching his rosy cheeks, and Wu Heng jumped up, clapping his hands excitedly. “I hear Daddy coming!”
His little braid swinging happily, and a few minutes later, a young man with stylishly messy blond hair, holding a serious-looking little boy’s hand, an imposing figure, tall and silent, following behind, he ran towards them.
The blond Wu Su picked him up, kissing his cheeks. “My little Heng Heng! Daddy missed you so much!”
He swung him around, pretending to fly, eliciting happy giggles, and Wu Heng, in his father’s arms, looked curiously at the quiet boy beside him. “Daddy, who is he?” he asked.
Wu Su lifted the boy with one arm, so the children could see each other face to face. “Have you forgotten? We even stayed at their house before you could even walk, remember? Shi Xuan, your gege (older brother), he is older than you, call him ‘gege’, a good friend for you. Daddy found you a best friend. This is my Xiao Heng,”
He then playfully bounced Shi Xuan on his hip. “Do you remember Xiao Heng?”
Shi Xuan, grabbing his arm to steady himself, his gaze on Wu Heng, who looked like a New Year painting doll. “This didi (younger brother)… I remember him.”
Wu Heng, his memory of this new friend hazy, this handsome gege! A new playmate, a new friend, how exciting, Old Doctor Wu emerged from the clinic. Ignoring Wu Su’s atrocious hair, he smiled at Shi Xuan, “Did Mr. Shi actually agree?”
When Wu Heng was almost one, Wu Su had taken him to Beijing to deliver medicine and show him the city.
That’s when he met Shi Zongguang. Who took a liking to the jade choker around his neck, wanting to have one made for his own son. But, after borrowing it, he refused to return it.
Wu Su, afraid of offending the influential Mr. Shi, considered letting it go. That night, Wu Heng developed a high fever, burning up, crying incessantly, and he panicked, calling his father, who immediately said, “Get that choker back immediately! Or the child’s soul will be damaged, he’ll become a fool!”
He rushed to the Shi residence and after much arguing, finally got it back. But Shi Zongguang wouldn’t let them leave, and after some time, with his suspicions now certain after seeing Shi Xuan and the effect of his son’s choker. The young Shi Xuan was creepy and kept having odd episodes, they suspected his spirit or energy would be affected if the wrong thing happened, only Xiao Heng’s choker calmed his Yin energy down enough to suppress it.
Wu Su even offered to take Shi Xuan to Nan Nuo and raise him with his own son, Wu Heng. Shi Zongguang had refused.
Recently, though, he had agreed.
Apparently, tormented by his deceased wife every night, unable to sleep, he sought help from a practitioner. Told it was due to his wife’s lingering attachment. He couldn’t stop it.
After some consideration, Shi Zongguang had agreed to a compromise. Wu Su would take Shi Xuan to Nan Nuo for half a year, and for the other half, take both Shi Xuan and Wu Heng to Beijing. He found him a steward job, a high salary, and Shi Xuan would go to school normally in Nan Nuo. With the stipulation that Mr. Shi could visit whenever he wanted. After much negotiation, and with his usual father Wu Tai around to help, they finalized an agreement and with A Mu. Mr Shi’s personal driver and bodyguard sent to look after him. That is what they were doing there.
“Xuan Xuan, pat, pat,” Wu Heng, pointing at something on Shi Xuan’s shoulder, patted it with his chubby little hand, curious, he would pat all the strange, dark things away.
A Mu, the bodyguard, his expression hardening, this Wu Heng, he could see it, the young master’s Yin qi?
This Shi Xuan, such a trouble.
Wu Su knew A Mu wasn’t just a bodyguard but Shi Zongguang’s eyes and ears. He arranged for the two to share a bedroom, sometimes even sleeping together on that narrow little bed, which was fine for Wu Heng since Shi Xuan never kicked or moved, unlike him.
And being just children, they became friends easily. Wu Heng, with his outgoing personality, introducing him to the other kids, Shi Xuan enjoyed having a friend, no longer being stared at with fear and apprehension. Except Old Doctor Wu who warned Shi Xuan not to touch any of his herbs. Something about disrupting the medicinal properties, Which he ignored because the world of Chinese medicine was of no interest.
Now, the two boys, their clothes dirty from playing hide-and-seek, stood by the stone water basin.
Wu Heng climbed onto a small stool to reach the basin. “Xuan Xuan, wash your face,” he said, struggling to wring out the wet washcloth.
Shi Xuan obediently leaned closer, Wu Heng wiping his mud-stained face with the dripping cloth, water running down his neck, he shivered involuntarily, and Wu Heng scolded, “Don’t move! You’re dirty, he was very particular about cleanliness, this new playmate. Always covered in some dark, dirty substance. His father trying to clean him up often, it never worked, only when he did, “Dad’s getting a big wooden bathtub! You’re taking baths from now on! Every day!” Wu Heng declared seriously, and Shi Xuan, nodding meekly, “Okay,” a bathtub, Wu Su soon regretted buying, those two turning it into a water park, rubber duckies on their heads, splashing each other with toy water guns, soaking the wooden floor, You Jin screaming about mold, Old Doctor Wu spoiling his grandson, and Wu Su, scolding Wu Su again, Feeling a little wronged, life so boring! He wanted to take over the clinic, but his father, his delicate flower of a father, afraid he’d kill people and ruin their family’s reputation! Then wanting to start his own clinic in town. That wouldn’t do, he would ruin lives, losing all their life savings, they wouldn’t be able to rest in peace, so be it, fine, just freeloading then, waiting until his son grew up,
A small family, 3 mouths to feed and support, and Shi Zongguang paid a small fortune every year, a seven-figure sum, an incredible amount, a life-changing sum of money, enough to support his retirement in Nan Nuo and his growing little family. He went to an internet café. That’s the only way he felt truly happy.
Playing that called World of Warcraft and losing constantly. Getting angry once there and accidentally yelling loudly. A high school student secretly playing video games during his school holiday noticed and whispered ‘loser’ to his friends. Wu Su, embarrassed, was very mad!
Shi Xuan rarely contacted his father, but one day he requested a computer to study on, which was hard to find in the remote village.
Shi Zongguang immediately ordered the best one available and was later shocked seeing Wu Su playing video games on it instead, clearly having fun, Shi Xuan. so considerate of their steward? Was it because it allowed Wu Su to live on without his dream?
Of course, Wu Su wasn’t just a lazy gamer, shortly after he enrolled both boys in kindergarten, there were complaints. “Mr. Shi Xuan? The parents are worried. Their children have high fevers after interacting with him, only those Gu masters helped.”
Wu Su’s heart sank, couldn’t let him miss school. if Mr Shi knew, who knew what he might want from them? Probably something to do with Shi Xuan.
“What’s going on? I had the teacher arrange for their naps together, and their classes. And they even eat together, how… contagious is he,” he wondered.
A Mu, Shi Xuan’s bodyguard, watching him anxiously. “Young Master Shi’s Yin qi… it’s growing stronger. Even Heng Heng can’t control it…”
“That’s not true,” Wu Heng, raising his hand, objected, “I, I don’t let Xuan Xuan follow me into the bathroom.”
At least there were some boundaries, Wu Su. Then, trying to find a way to decrease his son’s aura “Xuan Xuan, hold your breath like this,” Wu Heng said, demonstrating, sucking in a large breath and holding it, his face turning red.
Shi Xuan imitated, his face scrunching up.
Wu Heng, finding his reaction amusing, poked his cheek, the pent-up Yin qi dispersing harmlessly.
Old Doctor Wu, observing this scene, as they grew older, their powers also grew stronger, Shi Xuan’s Yin qi, Wu Heng’s shamanic abilities, “Heng Heng,” he said, picking up his grandson, “Would you be willing to cut off your braid and let me make a bracelet for Xuan Xuan?”
According to tradition, the braid should be kept until twelve, a prayer for good health and longevity.
Wu Heng, touching his precious braid reluctantly, his gaze shifting from his grandfather to Shi Xuan, “If I have no braid, can Xuan Xuan still go to kindergarten with me?”
The other parents, having discussed amongst themselves after seeing Shi Xuan and his growing powers’ effects, looked at him silently. Children were precious, Shi Xuan, left unchecked. could bring harm upon those near them, not a blessing at all. Wu Heng, hanging his head, said, his voice thick with unshed tears, “Th-then just… cut it… I… I don’t like it either. Lai Wa Zi always pulls on it when we play hide-and-seek! It hurts,”
His hair would grow back anyway, right?
And Shi Xuan was more important.
Wu Tai, patting his head gently, his heart aching for his beloved grandson, carefully cut off the braid, sitting down to weave it.
Wu Su turned to A Mu, “He knows some ancestral techniques.”
A Mu: “And you?”
“I didn’t inherit them, Xiao Heng will,” he said quickly.
Wu Tai then called both boys, handing Wu Heng the braid, “Tie this around his left wrist, Heng Heng,” he instructed.
Wu Heng’s tears welled up. “Xuan Xuan… I’m giving you… all my health and long life…,” his voice choked with sobs, Shi Xuan, stunned by his sudden tears, his first time witnessing such open emotion, he looked down at the braid wrapped twice around his wrist, a thought forming, he wouldn’t make Wu Heng cry anymore.
He hugged him, “I’ll take care of your health and long life,” he promised.
And after that, although parents still told their children to avoid him, fewer children fell ill after interacting with Shi Xuan,
Wu Tai watched them and sighed, this braid, just a temporary solution, one step at a time.
Before dawn, Wu Su’s loud voice boomed from the backyard.
“Charge! Let’s go mushroom hunting!!”
You Jin corrected him gently. “Uncle Wu Su, we’re collecting herbs with Master.”
Wu Su, under his father’s watchful eye, chuckled, “Fine, then Shi Xuan, A Mu, and I will hunt mushrooms, Old Man and his apprentices will collect herbs. We’ll have stir-fried mushrooms and meat for lunch!” He swung his basket excitedly and left.
Mushroom season. Even games couldn’t tempt him, and Wu Tai warned, “It’s Ghost Month now. The back mountain has many… things… stay close, don’t wander off,” Too young to go before, but now, elementary school students, couldn’t keep them sheltered forever, As they walked up the mountain, Wu Tai teaching You Jin and Wu Heng about the various herbs. Wu Heng tilted his head, he somehow already knew these, he often dreamt of them, a high mountain covered in plants, he knew them somehow,
“Ah, those are poisonous!” Wu Su would yell, hitting the toadstools with a branch, “Troublemakers,”
Shi Xuan, his flashlight illuminating Wu Heng’s path, offered to carry his basket, which was already getting heavy,
“Huh? You guys too? So early?” Lai Jun, his voice surprised, also on mushroom duty with his grandmother. He usually slept in but jumped at the chance of earning money for his A Po. High demand for mushrooms this year, they had heard the whispers of an offer to purchase and use as ingredients for those from outside the town. So this must mean their herbs had reached far.
Glancing at Lai Jun’s almost overflowing basket, they felt a pang of envy.
Wu Su’s competitive spirit was ignited, and Shi Xuan whispered, “That Gu master asked the mountain spirits for help.”
He had seen the faint shadow of a villager, one of those who lived and then were buried on this mountain, must have told them the best locations, “A helper,” Wu Heng whispered excitedly, He and Shi Xuan could find helpers too! Shi Xuan was a ghost magnet, Wu Heng able to see and command spirits, Lai Jun’s arrogance must be kept in check, he’ll have that “Nan Nuo village king” title soon, A pity Zhou Yi wasn’t here, his help would have been most valuable, no, his parents wouldn’t let him out of the house before the entrance exam, reportedly already learning fourth-grade material, Shi Xuan, touching the braid on his wrist, discreetly released a wisp of his Yin qi, a faint signal, spirits and ghosts emerging, their shadowy forms among the trees.
He didn’t know why, but he could speak their language. ‘Uncle, do you know where to find mushrooms? The delicious kind?‘
‘Yes! Follow me!’
A thick fog descended, obscuring the path. Wu Su and A Mu turned around, a little slow to catch up, but those two boys, vanished, and he looked at his old man in shock and concern, Wu Su almost panicking when Wu Tai said calmly, “Don’t worry, Shi Xuan is powerful enough, and so is Xiao Heng, those small fry aren’t a threat.”
The spirit led them to a patch of brightly colored mushrooms, “Look, so many,” he urged, “Careful, Uncle, those are poisonous,” Wu Heng said, his voice filled with worry. These were, after all, what the locals called “troublemaker mushrooms.”
And the spirit scoffed. ‘Poisonous? How?! I ate these before I died. The most delicious meal ever. Not many get a five-star meal before dying! I’m so lucky.’
Shi Xuan asked mildly, ‘… Is it possible you died from eating these mushrooms?‘
The spirit froze. ‘…’ Huh? Poisonous? That’s impossible! I’ve been foraging for years, mushrooms can’t be poisonous, maybe they weren’t cooked properly…‘
Wu Heng and Shi Xuan looked at the old ghost squatting by the poisonous mushrooms, lost in his own world, ignoring their calls, he shook his head, “Let’s find our own. Come on, Xuan Xuan,” he urged.
As they walked back, the fog thickened, their visibility drastically reduced, and both were slightly apprehensive. Shi Xuan tried to dispel it with his Yin qi, then they were plunged into darkness. A strange green glow in the sky, ghostly wails, and figures floating in the distance. A black-and-white uniformed figure carrying a strange lantern, walking ahead.
Had they arrived in the underworld? As if on cue,
“Let’s find the police,” Shi Xuan suggested immediately.
Wu Heng thought this was a brilliant idea. His father had always told him to seek help from the police when in trouble, as they were turning towards those figures, Wu Heng noticed with dismay, “Eww, my shoes are dirty!” His cloth shoes, covered in mud.
He was fastidious, even at this age, his face scrunched up in disgust, he’d clean them up when they got home, it would be alright, But with every step, his feet heavier, as if weights were attached, his breathing labored, an unusual experience, never before had he encountered such resistance. The mischievous spirits he played with were always wary of him, his powers. Was it the underworld’s influence negating his abilities?, frustrated, he stopped.
“Xuan Xuan, why are your shoes still clean,” he asked, panting as he squatted down for a rest. His gaze on Shi Xuan’s pristine white sneakers, still clean and dry in this muddy, murky mess. He, on the other hand, covered in filth, a grim realization, his Yang energy weakening so fast.
Shi Xuan didn’t know, he was just different, he noticed Wu Heng’s unusual pallor. The usually rosy cheeks, now pale, and Shi Xuan was concerned, this place…
“I don’t want to walk anymore. You go find the police, or Grandpa and Dad. I’ll wait here,” Wu Heng said, his voice slightly weaker, but Shi Xuan immediately refused, “It’s dangerous here alone.” Then, after a moment, discarding their basket of herbs, “Get on. I’ll carry you,” He couldn’t just leave his best friend behind. That wasn’t what good friends did, Uncle Wu Su had taught him. He would be brave, how brave is someone who only protects others at all costs?
Wu Heng hesitated, Shi Xuan was only half a year older, slightly taller. He would be crushed,
“Bros help each other,” Shi Xuan said, “Get on,” and he agreed. They would take turns, his idea, a true friend.
Wu Heng climbed onto his back, feeling Shi Xuan’s strain, his face flushed as he supported his weight, gripping a tree for balance, carefully adjusting his grip to secure him. He carried Wu Heng onwards, and the Yin wind, instead of hindering him, aided him somehow, a gentle push, and in the quiet forest. Stories shared, and they decided they would be brave, like that Monkey King, refusing defeat even under a mountain.
Wu Heng, thinking about the Journey to the West cartoon he had watched with Shi Xuan, looking down at his head, “Xuan Xuan, didn’t Pigsy carry Monkey King too? When we get back, I want to buy a golden cudgel! I want to be the Monkey King!” he said, his excitement growing, every child dreaming of being a hero, and Shi Xuan, thinking about what they did to those pigs for Lunar New Year, “Am I… Pigsy?” he asked, slightly sullenly.
