Chapter 28 Part 1
The courtyard was usually quiet, even the entire Shi residence exuded a deathly stillness. Tonight, being the Hungry Ghost Festival, it should have been even quieter.
As Wu Heng climbed out of the well, he heard the sounds of gongs and drums coming from the Shi family’s small building, along with the chanting of rituals.
While drying his hair with the towel, Wu Heng silently counted the different sounds, figuring there were several groups of people: Taoist priests, Buddhist monks, spirit mediums, Gu masters – probably every practitioner in Beijing was there.
Wu Heng wondered, what kind of grand occasion required so many professionals?
The surrounding Yin qi was heavy, tonight being the Hungry Ghost Festival, with spirits roaming freely, but the Shi residence seemed to be attracting an excessive amount. Was it really safe for his father to work there?
Figuring there were too many people inside, Wu Heng walked towards the wall facing the building’s windows. The bells in his pocket had fallen silent, probably because Shi Xuan had stopped ringing them.
Wu Heng lightly stepped onto the wall, scaling it nimbly, and peeked through the window.
Shi Xuan was bound hand and foot with red cloth strips tied in special warding knots, the strips extending to the four corners of the room. His face was pale, his body radiating a chilling aura, yet he remained silent, enduring the rituals performed by the various masters.
This was Wu Heng’s first time seeing Shi Xuan’s room, and he immediately recognized the layout as the work of a skilled master.
This new friend of his was shrouded in deathly qi, his family must have known, hence tonight’s rituals.
Shi Xuan clutched the bells tightly in his left hand, feeling the choker around his neck tighten, suffocating him.
“Young Master Shi’s Yin qi is even heavier than last year,” the leading Heavenly Master exclaimed.
Another elderly man added, “If this continues, he’ll become a mindless monster controlled by evil.”
Shi Xuan accepted their assessments indifferently. Someone like him wasn’t worthy of having friends.
“Hiss, hiss, hiss—”
A furious hiss suddenly came from the window. Everyone turned to look, and a giant white python with blood-red eyes was coiled around a tree branch outside, staring at them.
“Not good, it’s an evil creature, definitely attracted by Young Master Shi’s Yin qi on this Ghost Festival night,” the leading Heavenly Master declared, his face grim.
“Quickly, after it!”
A group of practitioners chased after the giant python, scattering in all directions, leaving only a few disciples at the door.
The room fell silent, and Shi Xuan’s stiff posture finally slumped, coughing violently.
A rustling sound came from the window, but Shi Xuan didn’t look up.
Every Hungry Ghost Festival, spirits and demons would be inexplicably drawn to him. He was used to it, probably just another one of those things.
A hand suddenly appeared before him, fair, slender fingers holding a brown pill.
Shi Xuan stared at the hand, then abruptly looked up. Wu Heng, carrying the little gray snake, stood before him, dressed in the village’s traditional clothing, the snake-shaped silver earring in his left ear swaying.
It was Wu Heng.
He actually… came.
Shi Xuan was momentarily stunned.
Wu Heng said, “This isn’t a mud pill, it’s made from herbs, for restoring your energy.”
Wu Heng stared at Shi Xuan’s eyes, slightly red-rimmed from suffocation, complementing his cold, sharp features, creating an indescribable beauty.
This person… was truly beautiful. If not for the Yin qi surrounding him, he would surely attract countless admirers.
Seeing that his hands were still bound by the red cloth strips, Wu Heng fed him the pill directly.
His fingertips brushed against Shi Xuan’s cold lips, but he didn’t open his mouth, only staring at him with his dark, chilling eyes.
Wu Heng: “Open your mouth.”
Shi Xuan opened his mouth, and Wu Heng placed the pill on his tongue. He swallowed.
Wu Heng untied the red cloth strips, and Xi Xi licked the red marks around Shi Xuan’s wrists and ankles, the redness fading significantly.
Shi Xuan: “…Doesn’t the Li family… have a well?”
Wu Heng: “?”
Why did his first words sound so strange?
Hadn’t he been ringing the bells like crazy?!
Wu Heng didn’t ask about the ritual in his room earlier. He patted Shi Xuan’s shoulder. “Brother, want to come with me tonight?”
Shi Xuan stared at him, indescribable emotions swirling within him. Tonight was his most vulnerable moment, a scene he didn’t want anyone to see, yet Wu Heng saw it.
Shi Xuan nodded.
Wu Heng grabbed Shi Xuan’s wrist and pulled him to the bedroom window on the third floor. “Jump.”
Wu Heng chanted a spell silently to ensure a soft landing, then Shi Xuan, without hesitation, jumped, not even afraid of breaking his legs.
Wu Heng pulled Shi Xuan towards the small gate of the courtyard, scoffing at the talismans on the door, not even bothering to break them, and simply walked out with Shi Xuan.
As soon as they were outside, Wu Heng released Shi Xuan’s wrist. Shi Xuan looked at his wrist but didn’t say anything.
This was the first time he had a chance to escape on the Hungry Ghost Festival. Despite the eerie night, the moonlight similar to last night’s, it seemed more beautiful tonight.
Wu Heng led him towards the He family’s house.
He Yunxiao, having received the message in advance, was waiting in the car with his driver.
Wu Heng, after getting into the car, handed Xi Xi to He Yunxiao and added, “A certain snake asked me to tell you that it was for Xi Xi’s sake that it risked attracting attention.”
A simple illusion had transformed the little white snake into a giant python.
He Yunxiao looked down at his giggling snake daughter, a bad premonition arising from Wu Heng’s words. Alarm bells went off!
“To the Li family’s.”
Li Hao and his friends, carrying cameras, were waiting eagerly by the well, their eyes full of anticipation.
Li Hao, seeing bubbles rising in the well, shouted excitedly, “Come out, Doctor Wu! Give that idiot He Yunxiao a taste of a shaman doctor’s power!”
A panting white snake emerged from the well.
Li Hao and his friends were stunned, then they heard a servant running towards them. “Young Master He has arrived with Doctor Wu Heng and Young Master Shi.”
They froze. “?”
What? Who brought Wu Heng?
He Yunxiao?
Holy crap! The world was ending.
Before Li Hao and his friends could react, Chen Zhao, upon hearing the announcement, ran faster than anyone else to the gate, bowing three times to Wu Heng and exclaiming, “Junior greets Senior!”
Seeing Wu Heng’s silence, Chen Zhao hesitated for a second. “Three kneelings and nine kowtows are also acceptable. Thank you for your guidance, Senior!”
Wu Heng: “…”
This Chen Zhao was truly adaptable.
Chen Zhao then asked expectantly, “Senior, will you really give me five thousand yuan for treating the patient? Should we write a contract?”
Wu Heng looked at Li Hao, who was on the verge of a breakdown, although no one else knew why, and said, “Give me five thousand yuan in cash, and I’ll transfer it to your WeChat.”
Five minutes later, Chen Zhao’s hands trembled as he received fifty crisp, new hundred-yuan bills, never before having held so much money at once.
At that moment, Chen Zhao had a sinful thought of betraying his master.
Wu Heng was so generous with his money, why did he even bother acting all high and mighty when they first met? He should have kneeled and begged to become his disciple on the spot.
Chen Zhao, overwhelmed with emotion, murmured, “Not just treating a patient, I would even donate my organs to him.”
Wu Heng: “Really? Would you even donate that thing men have?”
Chen Zhao was stunned. “Huh?”
He thought for a moment, was it really a choice between being a eunuch and being rich?
