Chapter 32 Part 1
Chen Zhao thought about the Xuanmen’s jurisdiction. They didn’t seem to handle ghost marriages. Besides, if he could get Wu Heng such a certificate, would he still be this poor?
He couldn’t even get it for five thousand yuan… He could consider forging one for Wu Heng.
Wu Heng, seeing Chen Zhao’s expression, knew he was overthinking it. The Xuanmen didn’t manage ghost marriages, and the underworld didn’t offer premarital checkups either. It seemed official positions weren’t easy to come by these days.
Chen Zhao didn’t want to let such a big fish go. He rubbed his thumb and index finger together excitedly, hinting, “But I can try applying for a Xuanmen Taoist Doctor certificate for you, just needs a little… this.”
A certificate without the word “intern” would be recognized by any tertiary hospital nationwide, a prestigious credential.
However, this certificate was very difficult to obtain. Besides requiring a recommendation from someone within the Xuanmen, one also had to pass various assessments.
Wu Heng wasn’t interested. A free one was fine, but he wouldn’t pay for it.
Seeing Wu Heng’s refusal, Chen Zhao was disappointed, the money slipping through his fingers. He picked up some sunflower seeds and, while cracking them, explained, “Senior Wu, don’t underestimate the certificates issued by the Xuanmen, they’re recognized nationwide. These days, in the metaphysics world, only these certificates can silence doubters.”
“Do you think this is still the ancient era? My master’s master said that ancient shaman doctors with sufficient merit would receive a shamanic decree personally bestowed by the Heavenly Dao. With that decree, the entire Xuanmen would kneel and welcome you as their ancestor. But legends are just legends, nowadays, only Xuanmen certificates hold weight. Are you sure you don’t want one? This opportunity might not come again!”
Wu Heng: “Then I’ll wait for the day you all kneel and call me ancestor.”
He was unmoved.
Wu Heng’s indifference made Chen Zhao sigh, while He Yunxiao and his friends were intrigued.
He Yunxiao, speaking before Li Hao could, asked Wu Heng, “Doctor Wu, how about I pay for Doctor Chen to pull some strings and get you a Xuanmen Taoist Doctor certificate?”
Wu Heng refused flatly. “No.” He wasn’t about to spend money on useless things.
Chen Zhao felt a pang of pain, stuffing more sunflower seeds into his pocket, not forgetting to add, “You’ll regret this.”
In the current metaphysics world, besides undeniable power, seniority was highly valued. When Wu Heng, as an intern Taoist doctor, was looked down upon, he would know how valuable his offer today was!
“Doctor Wu, a towel to dry your hair,” Li Hao said, barging in and shoving He Yunxiao aside, taking a towel from the tray the butler brought over.
The little gray snake and the little white snake immediately hissed at Li Hao, warming He Yunxiao’s heart. Forget about his daughter, perhaps he was overthinking it, this little white snake raised by Doctor Wu might just be kind and friendly by nature, see, it was even protecting him!
Wu Heng took the towel and looked at it, not as beautiful as the one at Shi Xuan’s place, which had pretty little flowers embroidered on it.
Boys had short hair, and it being summer, Wu Heng’s hair quickly dried.
Wu Heng, looking at Shi Xuan still sitting obediently inside the circle, felt his posture was the same as when he left, unusually well-behaved.
He was truly obedient.
Unlike the Tang Sanzang in Journey to the West that You Jin showed him a few days ago, stepping out of the protective circle drawn by Monkey King and offering himself up.
Wu Heng suddenly wondered, what if he hadn’t returned all night?
Wang Dong leaned closer, eager to please. “Doctor Wu, if you hadn’t returned, we would have brought Classmate Shi a chamber pot, making sure he felt at home.”
Wu Heng: “…”
Shi Xuan: “…”
Wu Heng ignored Wang Dong and turned to Shi Xuan. “I’m back, you can come out now.”
Shi Xuan smiled faintly. “Welcome back.”
Shi Xuan stepped out of the circle and sat on the other side of the sofa, making space for Wu Heng to rest.
Wu Heng took out his phone and saw that Fan Tu had added him to the “Wu Heng Protection Squad Fan Group 5” after he ended his live stream. The last message in the group chat was a red packet from Guo Jiang.
The red packet hadn’t been fully claimed yet, Wu Heng immediately claimed one.
As soon as “Chengde Medical Clinic” appeared in the red packet’s claim list, the netizens who had been lurking in the group chat exploded with activity.
[Wu Heng, Poke Me: Sob sob sob, Doctor Wu, you’re finally here, I can finally speak, it was so scary just now, so many people were affected.]
[Shaman Doctor Mwah: @Chengde Medical Clinic, Doctor Wu, what should we do? My roommate clicked the wedding red packet, and she’s been feeling cold, now she has a high fever! I just checked, it’s almost 40°C! Will she become an idiot?]
[Always Last In Queue: I accidentally clicked it too, now I keep sneezing and feeling dizzy. I think I’m going to faint, I’m usually very healthy, Doctor Wu, please say something!]
[Heng Heng Baby: Doctor Wu, are you tired? Can you do an online emergency consultation? My child has been shivering since claiming the red packet. Is she possessed? I’m so scared!]
As soon as Wu Heng claimed the red packet, fans flooded the group chat, seeking help.
Some, scared, had wanted to go to sleep, but after claiming the red packet, they developed a high fever, their bones aching, unable to sleep, tossing and turning, waiting for Wu Heng.
Wu Heng checked the red packet’s claim list. Besides himself, 256 unlucky people with fast fingers had claimed it.
One consultation per patient, he wouldn’t be sleeping tonight, but that was the life of a doctor, meals forgotten when emergency patients arrived.
This profession, like police officers and teachers, accumulated a lot of merit.
[Sanshui Zhenren: There are too many of you, waiting in line for a consultation will take too long. Are there any temples near you? Go there now, pray for a consecrated protective talisman, wear it for a week, and you’ll be fine. If you can’t get one, eat vegetarian meals at the temple for a month, and you should be okay.]
Sanshui Zhenren, the somewhat famous metaphysics blogger from Shark, had been lurking in Chengde Medical Clinic’s live stream since Huang Zhigang’s swollen throat incident. Many people trusted his words.
But his suggestion caused an uproar in the group chat.
[Heng Heng Baby: Do we have to go to a temple? My child is starting school in a few days, lots of homework, how could this happen? I told him to sleep early on the Hungry Ghost Festival, but he didn’t listen.]
[Always Last In Queue: Master, is there really no other way? Us office workers have to go to work tomorrow. Can’t we just tough it out if it’s just a cold or fever? Besides, I can’t afford consecrated talismans, they’re so expensive, sob sob sob. I need to pay next quarter’s rent, my landlord is urging me. I won’t have any money for food next month!]
[Bright Future: Oh, I see, I happen to have a consecrated Bodhisattva pendant. I’ll wear it now. Thanks, Master Sanshui.]
Some netizens with weaker birth charts who already had a fever were now crying, realizing the trouble they had gotten themselves into. Consecrated items were expensive!
They should have listened to Doctor Wu Heng and gone to bed early on the Hungry Ghost Festival. Now they were in trouble because of their curiosity.
Wu Heng didn’t mind Sanshui Zhenren offering solutions in his fan group, as long as the patients were cured.
[Chengde Medical Clinic: @Everyone, no need for online consultations or temple visits. Everyone should have ginger at home, right? Slice it, soak it in water, drink it, and take a bath with the ginger water. Sleep early, wake up early, get some sun these next few days, and you’ll be fine in three to five days, don’t worry. Those with weaker birth charts can also carry a small piece of ginger with them.]
Although Zhao Li was a malicious ghost, these were still over two hundred living souls. The netizens who claimed the red packets were now scared, their qi weakened, making them more susceptible to the Yin qi.
If they weren’t afraid, their own righteous qi would eventually overcome the small amount of Yin qi, and they would recover naturally.
Guo Jiang also appeared in the group chat, sharing his experience and confirming the effectiveness of ginger.
Guo Jiang felt incredibly guilty. He hadn’t expected that dropping his phone in his panic would affect so many people.
[Really? Just ginger is that effective? That’s great, I have some in my kitchen, I’ll go make some now.]
[I’ve heard that ginger wards off evil, I thought it was just superstition, so it’s actually true!]
[I was already packing, ready to go to the nearest Gratitude Temple tonight for a consecrated talisman, now I’ll just make ginger soup at home. Thank you, Doctor Wu Heng, love you!]
Since Guo Jiang’s return and online confirmation of his safety, Wu Heng’s credibility soared. Many fans believed him, and even those who were skeptical decided to try it.
Sanshui Zhenren, however, posted a wry smile emoji in the group chat.
He Yunxiao, also in the group, saw it and turned to Wu Heng with a serious expression. “Doctor Wu, you… might have offended someone.”
Having been influenced by his CEO father, He Yunxiao was sensitive to such things. He was certain someone had already taken screenshots of Wu Heng’s message in the fan group. He was too slow to stop him.
“Consecrated talismans from renowned temples aren’t easy to obtain. My parents spent 180,000 yuan on a top-tier talisman for me. Ordinary talismans for the masses probably aren’t cheap either. You just told everyone that ginger is a substitute, effectively cutting off some people’s income.”
Taking away someone’s livelihood was like killing their parents.
Not just temples, but also those practitioners dealing with the supernatural, like Yin-Yang masters, spirit mediums, Gu masters, Feng Shui masters, and so on. Almost all of them drew talismans, and selling them often accounted for over a third of their income.
Wu Heng’s words had effectively taken away their rice bowls.
Sanshui Zhenren’s wry smile emoji in the group chat expressed his surprise at Wu Heng’s bluntness. He was still a seventeen-year-old minor after all, unaware of the dangers in this world.
Li Hao immediately pledged his loyalty. “Doctor Wu Heng, our Li family will protect you, don’t worry!”
Wang Dong and the others also stepped forward, patting their chests, guaranteeing Wu Heng’s safety.
Wu Heng wasn’t concerned at all. “It’s fine.”
To him, these metaphysics practitioners in this world were all just kids, he didn’t take them seriously.
As a shaman doctor, he had always prescribed affordable yet effective remedies for the poor, not for profit, accepting whatever payment they could offer.
Revealing this information wasn’t a big deal.
Only Chen Zhao sat there dumbfounded, muttering to himself, “A talisman for 180,000 yuan? My master buys the talismans I draw for twenty yuan a batch…”
