Chapter 61 Part 2
Wu Heng deadpanned, “It’s the sun. If you’re blind, be quiet.”
He immediately connected the snakes to Yang Xing’s online classroom, the latter’s non-stop, (mostly) clean, scolding soothing to his soul, and then he carefully embroidered Shi Xuan’s initials, SX, on the inside of the mask.
Done! Easy!
Perhaps it was because Beijing was getting colder, and Jiaming High School was next to a mountain, the fog from the mountain drifting down, enveloping the school.
Even early in the morning, the fog hadn’t dissipated, and many students wandered around lost before finding the school building.
Li Hao took his test paper and sat next to He Yunxiao, doing his homework while asking, “He Yunxiao, do average students like you really study in the classroom in the middle of the night?”
He Yunxiao: “?”
Intentionally mocking his average grades, wasn’t he?
He ignored him. When their homeroom teacher arrived, he noticed about a third of the class was absent, even his roommates.
The well-informed Black Hair Number Three whispered, “They said those guys studied too hard and are still sleeping, but they’re snoring, so they should be fine.”
He Yunxiao was surprised. Wasn’t everyone okay yesterday?
He noticed it wasn’t just their class, many others were also missing a few students.
He glanced at Shi Xuan, no strange occurrences since meeting Doctor Wu.
Perhaps he was overthinking it? Falling ill during seasonal changes was normal.
After class, Li Hao and his friends, feeling cold, were discussing getting hot pot when they saw a message in their group chat.
[HengHengBaby: @Everyone, I’m at your school gate.]
He Yunxiao looked out the window and saw a little gray snake, its eyes bright, looking at him.
His daughter, picking him up from school! Just a little early.
They immediately grabbed Xi Xi and rushed out, forgetting about dinner.
The school allowed an hour break for dinner before evening study.
Following Shi Xuan, they easily navigated through the fog. At the school gate, they saw a slender figure squatting by the stationery store, sheltering from the wind.
Wu Heng never quite adjusted to Beijing’s cold and windy weather.
Shi Xuan, seeing his reddened nose, frowned slightly and moved closer, shielding him from the wind.
Seeing them emerge, Wu Heng rubbed his hands together, stood up, took out a yellow paper-wrapped package from his bag, and handed it to Shi Xuan.
Shi Xuan unwrapped it, slightly surprised. Inside was a dark blue cloth mask with a faint herbal scent, a sun embroidered on it, and his initials, SX, on the inside.
Shi Xuan smiled faintly, holding the mask, and said, “Thank you, I like it.”
He Yunxiao and the others just stood there watching. Were they called here to be the welcoming committee?
Li Hao, staring at the gift in Shi Xuan’s hands, made small talk. “Doctor Wu, did you come through the well behind our school?”
He Yunxiao immediately retorted, “Obviously, it’s the closest, he must have…”
Wu Heng interrupted, “No, I used the well a kilometer away, there’s something wrong with the one behind your school.”
The little white snake, hidden in Wu Heng’s sleeve, had used that well when delivering medicine to Tang Xueshan, it had seen the black mist and ran away, forgetting to mention it to Wu Heng later. Could that be it?
Wu Heng opened his backpack and took out a handful of masks, handing them out. “Here, these are for you, share the rest with your classmates.”
Shi Xuan glanced at them discreetly, ordinary cloth masks, unlike his, plain, with no designs. His was unique.
Li Hao and the others eagerly accepted them, not minding that they were mass-produced.
Wu Heng had actually come earlier in the afternoon but had returned to the village, only arriving now, in the evening.
He Yunxiao, holding the masks, had a bad premonition, “Some of our classmates didn’t come to school today, they’re sleeping in the dorm, could they be sick?”
Wu Heng, looking at the fog, didn’t answer directly. “Your principal should ask the Xuanmen for help, they’re the experts.”
Chen Zhao, the Xuanmen Taoist doctor, was on his way to Nan Nuo village with the cruise passengers, eager to earn the fifty thousand Wu Heng offered.
Li Hao and the others, hearing this, immediately put on their masks, unlike Shi Xuan and He Yunxiao with their protective spirit snakes, their lives were at stake!
“Doctor Wu, it’s still early. Should we have hot pot outside? It’s cold, and the heating isn’t on yet,” Wang Dong, his stomach rumbling, asked.
Wu Heng looked at the sky, it was dark, the Yin messengers were on duty.
That slacker Yin Messenger 014 might clock out on time, but he was still capable, his laid-back attitude didn’t affect his work.
He had sensed Tang Xueshan last night but didn’t take her, he would come tonight.
Although a victim, repeatedly evading an Yin messenger was a serious offense. Yuan Song probably knew this and, if he wasn’t detained, he would be rushing back to Beijing, one last meeting.
Wu Heng: “Should we eat at your place?”
Li Hao and the others readily agreed, their apartment was close to the school, they could just order takeout.
They soon arrived, and as Li Hao took the hot pot from the delivery guy and went to the kitchen, Tang Xueshan, wondering why they were back so early, turned and saw Wu Heng.
Tang Xueshan cried out excitedly, ‘Doctor Wu!’
Wu Heng put a finger to his lips. “Shh.”
He looked at Li Hao in the kitchen, “Make a paper bowl, fill it with some hot pot ingredients, place it by the window facing southwest, and light three incense sticks.”
An offering for the Yin messenger.
A little bribe wouldn’t hurt, perhaps he would be more lenient.
Tang Xueshan, understanding, asked anxiously, ‘Will I see Yuan Song again? I miss him so much.’
A tall black hat appeared by the window, a pale face leaning in, a sinister smile on its lips, ‘Probably not.’
Yin Messenger 014 had arrived.
Wu Heng sat with them, enjoying the hot pot, while Li Hao and his friends kept their heads lowered, almost buried in their bowls.
014 sniffed the air, a strong smell of Yin-nourishing medicine.
His gaze immediately locked onto Wu Heng. He had checked his records after returning, it was this guy who prevented him from escorting Professor Zhao!
Wu Heng smiled and asked, “Master, would you like some food? Doesn’t the underworld provide meal allowances?”
His last question struck a nerve. Indeed! No such thing as meal allowances.
014 looked at the bowl of hot pot ingredients offered to him, hehe, snacking during work hours, he picked it up and sat by the window, savoring the aroma.
The doorbell rang. Before Black Hair could open the door, Tang Xueshan darted forward and opened it.
A panting young man, covered in dust, appeared, his eyes reddening upon seeing her.
Yuan Song had thought he would be detained for a while after stabbing Heavenly Master Liu. But after being transferred to the special department, they took his statement and released him, saying he acted in self-defense. Metaphysical incidents couldn’t be judged by conventional standards.
He immediately took the earliest flight back to Beijing, still a step behind the Yin messenger, but thankfully, Tang Xueshan hadn’t left yet.
Su Chenyu followed him, waiting outside.
He had planned to join the others and go to Nan Nuo village, but his brother frantically called him back, so he returned with Yuan Song, intending to visit his brother, then fly to Nan Nuo for the festival.
The wealthy Su family had arranged a private jet, otherwise, Yuan Song wouldn’t have made it in time.
Su Chenyu hadn’t intended to come in, only wanting to make sure Yuan Song was okay, but seeing Wu Heng and his friends enjoying hot pot, he couldn’t resist.
Unexpectedly, he encountered Doctor Wu here.
Tang Xueshan watched as Yuan Song rushed towards her, his arms around her, tears of blood streaming down her face, *’Why did you have to die? We almost had a home…’
They were both orphans, finding warmth in each other during the cold winter nights, and now, alone again.
They had planned to get married as soon as he reached the legal age, two lonely souls creating a new family, a light in the vast darkness.
But now, it would never happen.
Yuan Song, both laughing and crying, his tears mixing with the salty taste of blood, “Wait for me down there, I’ll be there soon.”
Wu Heng put down his chopsticks. “You know suicide is a grave sin in the underworld, right?”
Suicides were forced to relive their deaths repeatedly, until their natural lifespan ended.
Wu Heng looked at Yuan Song, his heart heavy. Yuan Song’s lifespan was long, he could live to his eighties.
Yuan Song nodded silently, he knew, but at least he would be closer to her.
Tang Xueshan sobbed, ‘I want you to live a good life! Don’t do anything foolish!’
Yin Messenger 014, having finished the hot pot offering, the meat in the bowl now deathly white, said, ‘Finished your goodbyes?’
Tang Xueshan clutched Yuan Song’s sleeve, ‘I don’t want to go to the underworld.’
014 chuckled, the worthless attachments of spirits.
How many spirits, clinging to their attachments, had evaded the underworld, becoming lonely ghosts? And then they wouldn’t have another chance, only those lucky enough to encounter a free reincarnation ritual could return.
They didn’t understand, the living had decades ahead, filled with countless experiences and encounters, family at least had blood ties, but love was fickle.
How many wept for lost love one year, only to marry someone new the next?
Yuan Song said firmly, “Absolutely not!”
Having been raised by his uncle, whose family were practitioners of metaphysics, and with his own Yin birth chart, Yuan Song knew about these matters.
He would rather endure decades of loneliness, like that old man on the cruise, than let Tang Xueshan become a wandering ghost. She had to go to the underworld, register for reincarnation.
“A tragic love story. Poor guys,” He Yunxiao said, feeling sentimental, “Doctor Wu, can you… revive her?”
Wu Heng, sipping his soup, looked at him incredulously. “?”
“Do you think it’s as simple as watching a thirty-second ad?
He was a shaman doctor, not a genie.
The dead couldn’t return.
Even Professor Zhao had only been granted a few more years when he was on the verge of death.
Tang Xueshan didn’t have the merit for such leniency.
She had to go.
“Yuan Song, if you truly love her, personally escort her to the underworld.”
Li Hao and his friends, like a chorus, nodded immediately. Escorting someone on their final journey, a common saying.
Then they realized what that actually meant.
Personally escort? To the underworld?
“What do you mean, Doctor Wu? Didn’t you say suicide is a sin? How can he personally escort her?” He Yunxiao, feeding Xi Xi, was confused.
Shi Xuan’s expression shifted subtly as he picked up a piece of meat and placed it in Wu Heng’s bowl, remaining silent.
Wu Heng looked at Yuan Song, “Consider applying for a position as an intern Yin messenger?”
Yuan Song froze, staring at Wu Heng, dumbfounded.
Wu Heng added, “No salary, no holidays, no 9-to-5, twenty-four-seven on call, and your lifespan might be shortened due to exposure to Yin qi.”
Yin Messenger 014 couldn’t help but comment, ‘Only an idiot would take that job.’
Even Yama wouldn’t want it.
Then he looked at Yuan Song, seeing a flicker of interest in his eyes.
014 was speechless, ‘Holy crap, there really are such people.’
Su Chenyu, not close to these high schoolers, was quietly eating hot pot.
But hearing this, he couldn’t help but ask, “No benefits at all? Do they at least give you an internship certificate?”
