Chapter 44 Part 2
Yang Zhiyuan, panicking, naturally listened to his father.
He frantically pushed his father’s wheelchair towards the elevator, the wheels almost sparking, pressing the down button repeatedly, but nothing happened.
“What’s going on? What’s wrong?” Yang Zhiyuan stared at the bright red display, which wasn’t showing the third floor, but two numbers –
85.
This number was even more terrifying than 18 now.
“Let’s take the stairs!” Yang Zhiyuan screamed, not caring about his father in the wheelchair, and pushed him towards the staircase.
Father Yang, looking at the spiraling staircase, shouted, “Zhiyuan, slow down, be careful—ah!”
Yang Zhiyuan, in his panic, lost his footing, and both he and his father tumbled down the stairs, losing consciousness.
The morning sun shone brightly, the autumn air in Beijing crisp and cool, golden leaves covering the campus grounds.
Han Ye, waking from a good night’s sleep, felt something in his hands and sat up.
In his left hand was a medicine packet wrapped in old yellow paper, a secret character written on his right palm.
“Last night…!” Han Ye instantly remembered the underworld exam, and the medicine was prescribed by Doctor Wu Heng for his perfect score.
His studious senior at the desk said, “Last night? You slept like a log! Something big happened last night!”
Fan Xuan and his other roommates were also there, even the studious one, all discussing the gossip.
“Mr. Yang and Yang Zhiyuan from Yang Shoe Company had an accident last night, they both fell down the stairs, Mr. Yang hit his head and died instantly, Yang Zhiyuan survived but…” Fan Xuan’s voice trailed off.
Han Ye swallowed nervously, his voice trembling slightly, “Is Yang Zhiyuan… paralyzed?”
85cm, besides paralysis, he couldn’t imagine anything else.
Fan Xuan gave him a thumbs-up. “You guessed it. Yang Zhiyuan was taken to our affiliated hospital. Somehow, he ended up just like his father, paralyzed from the waist down.”
Another roommate added, “The police investigated, checked the security footage, it really was an accident, no foul play involved. See? Don’t do bad things. Karma’s a bitch. What a coincidence.”
Playing dirty tricks, wanting to crush Han Ye’s organs and kill him, it was no wonder they suffered such retribution.
With such malicious intentions, who knew what other bad things they had done? Now they were paying the price.
Han Ye was speechless. So Doctor Wu wasn’t kidding, the underworld truly recognized that exam.
Yang Zhiyuan wasn’t his father, he couldn’t handle the crisis at Yang Shoe Company now.
When a whale falls, a thousand creatures thrive. Perhaps other domestic shoe brands would benefit from this.
Then, he… he really had a chance of becoming 185cm?
“Han Ye, what’s that in your hand?” a roommate asked, pointing at the old-fashioned medicine packet. “Isn’t that the medicine Teacher Wu Heng gave you?”
“Can we see the prescription? We can also learn from it!”
Han Ye carefully unwrapped the packet. Inside were a dozen Chinese medicinal herbs, which they, as medical students, easily recognized.
“There aren’t any rare or expensive herbs in this prescription. Can it really make you grow back to 180cm? But most of these have properties for dispelling evil qi in Chinese medicine,” the studious roommate said, stroking his chin.
Han Ye looked at the secret character on his palm, feeling that this was the true key.
Without any doubts, he booked the nearest flight while preparing the medicine.
On the plane to C Province, Han Ye saw a familiar face.
“Examiner? Principal Li? You’re here too?” Han Ye asked, surprised, looking at the elderly man.
Wasn’t this the examiner and grader from the underworld exam, the current principal of Beijing University of Science and Technology?
What a coincidence to be on the same flight.
Principal Li nodded, “The government and the university are investigating. The official announcement should be out in the next two days.”
The university would revoke Father Yang’s degree and remove all mentions of him as a distinguished alumnus.
As for those who had helped him, they would be dealt with accordingly after the investigation.
Han Ye sighed, feeling a sense of loss. “By the time the investigation is over, they’ll be dead.”
Even though Father Yang and his son had received their retribution, Yang Xing’s youth and hard work couldn’t be returned, there was no true compensation.
This world wasn’t truly fair.
The two arrived at the airport in the provincial capital of C Province, then took a long-distance bus to Nan Nuo village, finally reaching Wu Heng after a long journey.
“Teacher Wu, my height is back to normal!” Han Ye said excitedly.
He had brought the medicine with him, intending to take it after arriving. Exhausted from the journey, he fell asleep on the bus and, upon waking up, realized he was gradually growing taller again. By the time they reached Nan Nuo village, he was back to his original 180cm!
Wu Heng smiled and nodded. “Congratulations.”
Wu Heng didn’t stop Han Ye from scanning the QR code at the counter and paying him 100,000 yuan as his consultation fee.
This was the money Han Ye’s parents transferred to him, asking him to personally deliver it to Wu Heng.
“Let’s go,” Wu Heng said, glancing at the shadow in the clinic, then turning to Principal Li and Han Ye.
Village Chief Zhou Dagui, hearing that the principal of Beijing University of Science and Technology had arrived, immediately came to accompany them.
Besides him, the village chief of Wu Wa village, where Yang Xing was from, and Wang Jun with his officers from the town’s police station also came.
Carrying various items, they headed towards the Nuo River, the shared water source of the eighteen villages.
After the flood season, the Nuo River’s current wasn’t as strong. Its clear water was essential to the survival of the eighteen villages.
Since Lai boy’s death in the river, villagers had forbidden their children from playing near it.
But everyone seemed to know what was happening, many gathering by the riverbank, some even secretly live streaming.
“Why is it that foolish grandson from Chengde Medical Clinic? Shouldn’t Grandma Lai from Nan Nuo village handle this?” some villagers from other villages whispered.
“I heard that fool is normal now, he’ll take over as the village doctor, he’s very popular online. If we have any illnesses that can’t be cured, we can go to Nan Nuo village and try.”
Wu Heng nodded at Principal Li, who took out an acceptance letter from an email.
Acceptance letters from Beijing University of Science and Technology were always handwritten by senior professors, a tradition upheld for decades. This one, however, was written by Principal Li himself with a calligraphy brush.
Principal Li, facing the clear Nuo River, cleared his throat and read, “Student Yang Xing, with the approval of the Beijing Admissions Committee, congratulations on your acceptance to Beijing University of Science and Technology, Class of 1994…”
[Someone’s secretly live streaming! Joining in on the fun, hehe, I see Wu Heng.]
[It’s truly karma. That CEO Yang deserved his fate, stealing someone else’s life.]
[Sob sob sob, the principal is so kind, traveling all this way to deliver an acceptance letter thirty years late, but it’s too late now, everything has changed.]
[It’s heartbreaking. A university student from a remote village in the southwest thirty years ago, his life and future stolen, I hope CEO Yang suffers in hell.]
The whispers among the villagers grew louder, their faces filled with shock.
“Yang Xing, that crazy high school student from thirty years ago? He actually got into a university in Beijing? I thought he was just bragging after failing the exam,” a middle-aged man with a cloth wrapped around his head exclaimed in the local dialect.
“We had a student who went to university thirty years ago? How amazing! We don’t even have many university students now.”
“They said he went crazy after failing the exam and disappeared, so he jumped into the river? Such a pity.”
After reading the acceptance letter, Principal Li handed it to Wu Heng.
Wu Heng took a white candle from his backpack, struck the wick, and it ignited.
He lit the acceptance letter with the candle, softly calling out Yang Xing’s name.
As the letter burned to ashes, a gentle breeze by the Nuo River carried the ashes into the air.
Yang Xing’s consciousness, under the shade of a tree by the river, gradually faded, surrounded by whiteness, a figure appearing before him.
It was a postman on a bicycle. He parked his bicycle, took out a red envelope with “Beijing University of Science and Technology” written on it from his bag, and said with a smile, “Congratulations, Student Yang, this is your acceptance letter!”
“You’re the first university student from our eighteen villages! Amazing!”
Yang Xing jumped up from his dilapidated doorstep, his hands trembling as he took the letter, muttering, “I got in! I really got in! I received my acceptance letter!”
The surrounding villagers came to congratulate him, his family happily offering the postman water, and they planned a celebratory banquet in the village.
Everyone was happy for him, this wasn’t an illusion.
‘I knew it! I wasn’t crazy! I really am a university student, a student at Beijing University of Science and Technology!’ Yang Xing clutched the burning acceptance letter, kneeling by the Nuo River, laughing and crying.
Wu Heng, seeing his relief, chuckled and, with his hands behind his back, formed a hand seal, summoning Lai Jun and chanting a spell.
The Nuo River’s current suddenly strengthened, whirlpools forming, and the children being held by the villagers started crying for no apparent reason.
Everyone watched as a human skeleton slowly rose from the riverbed.
Yang Xing’s attachment was resolved.
His path to the underworld was now clear.
