Chapter 63 Part 2
Wu Heng returned to his live stream, “Tang Xueshan has moved on. Nuo opera rehearsal is tomorrow night. Let’s connect with a few patients.”
A pair of hands with brightly colored nails appeared on screen.
[Double tap to flip, can’t do a proper diagnosis without seeing the face!]
[Girl, where did you get your nails done? So pretty! Salon or press-on?]
[I’m scared of Wu Heng’s patients now, afraid of another ghost, you are alive, right?]
“Alive! Very much alive,” a gruff voice chuckled.
Probably their first time connecting with a streamer, the patient fumbled with the phone, finally flipping the camera to reveal their face.
A middle-aged man with a beard, his complexion quite healthy.
[??? Those hands, that voice… are you messing with us?]
[Dude, you do your nails too? Oh, wait, I shouldn’t be sexist, both men and women can do their nails. It’s just… I don’t know…]
[They’re actually pretty nice, must have cost a fortune, are you using Doctor Wu for publicity? A man with manicured nails to attract attention?]
[Shame on those who use the live stream for self-promotion! Wasting other patients’ time!]
Their suspicions weren’t entirely unfounded. Some people did pretend to be patients to advertise.
The man waved his hands, “I’m not advertising, there’s something wrong with my nails.”
He showed older photos of his hands, rough and calloused, nails clipped short.
“I don’t know why, but I have these nails now, it’s affecting my work.”
[His nails mutated? The only nail disease I know is onychomycosis, but this isn’t that.]
[? I’m so jealous! I would stare at them all day if I had such beautiful nails!]
[Dude, are you kidding? Just clip them!]
[+1, why waste Doctor Wu’s time?]
The man, seeing the comments, quickly said, “Clipping them doesn’t work!”
He picked up a pair of nail clippers and clipped his left index finger.
The nail-loving women in the live stream gasped.
[Nooo! Stop! It takes so long to grow them!]
[That’s so brutal, I can’t watch, if anyone did that to my nails, I’d lose my mind!]
The man, unfazed, showed his hand to the camera.
And everyone watched as—
His nail started growing back.
Within minutes, it was a couple of centimeters long, perfectly pink and healthy.
The netizens: “???”
[Holy crap! What’s happening?! Grew back in minutes?! I checked, normal nail growth is 1-1.4mm per week!]
[Are those nails on steroids?! They’re visibly growing!]
[I’m a Chinese medicine student, those are some healthy-looking nails.]
[He just grew several months’ worth of nails in minutes! Incredible!]
No one dared accuse him of wasting time anymore, this was clearly not normal.
The man continued, “Sometimes, I clip them before bed, and they grow back overnight, even with a manicure.”
He sounded genuinely distressed, “This is seriously affecting my life, it’s… difficult to use the toilet, I can’t work properly, and people keep staring.”
This was definitely an illness, whose nails grew like this?
The women in the comments were green with envy, they’d gladly trade places with him.
Wu Heng, seeing his distress, said, “I’ll prescribe some medicine for you.”
“Not for drinking. Boil it and sprinkle the liquid around your room, leaving a piece of ginger by the window.”
The man said, confused, “I watched your live stream, Doctor Wu, I tried drinking ginger water, even rubbing it on my nails, it didn’t work.”
Seeing Wu Heng writing a prescription, he said, “Alright then, I’ll get the medicine immediately, thank you, I’ll come back for a follow-up.”
Wu Heng nodded, took a photo of the prescription, and sent it to him privately.
He then connected with a few more patients, all with common ailments, offering simple advice, suggesting they go to a hospital, then he ended the stream.
“Young Master, why hasn’t my son’s soul come to see his beloved father recently?” Wu Su, leaning against a wall, casually asked Shi Xuan, who was eating breakfast.
Shi Xuan said, “Perhaps he doesn’t want to play those horror games for you anymore?”
Shi Xuan had also noticed Wu Heng’s absence, although using other wells was more convenient, something felt… off.
Wu Su felt wronged. If it weren’t for the heavy Yin qi in the Shi residence, would he even play those underworld games?
Another day wanting to resign.
Shi Xuan, seeing his expression, quickly grabbed his bag and left.
Mr. Shi came downstairs, his face grim, staring at his son’s retreating figure, and said to Wu Su, “Some practitioners are coming today, make sure everything is prepared.”
Wu Su was puzzled. “Oh.”
The young master was at school, why were they coming?
Arriving at Jiaming High School’s gate, Shi Xuan saw many students lingering, some holding onto each other as they walked through the thick fog, some waiting for the school bus.
A heavy fog.
Shi Xuan touched the mask in his pocket but didn’t wear it, the fog was dirty, he didn’t want to stain it.
He put his hands in his pockets and walked towards the school.
“Classmate Shi, it’s dangerous to walk alone,” a student called out.
A pregnant teacher had fallen earlier because of the fog, taken to the hospital, and parents were demanding an explanation from the school, asking them to clear the fog. The school said they were investigating.
Entering his classroom, Shi Xuan saw only a few students present.
He Yunxiao said anxiously, “My roommates are still asleep, like logs, this isn’t normal!”
“Doctor Wu’s masks work! We wore them and found our way easily,” Li Hao and his friends entered, their masks on.
“Barely anyone showed up in the other classes, even the teachers are absent,” another female student said, worried.
Something wasn’t right.
With their teacher absent, they had self-study, which was fine for seniors, they mostly reviewed and did practice exams.
“Are we still going to the cafeteria for lunch?” Li Hao, looking at the fog outside, asked.
As he spoke, Wang Dong suddenly exclaimed, “A message in our group chat!”
They checked their phones. The homeroom teacher, the group admin, had sent a message announcing a temporary school closure, urging them to stay safe.
Li Hao glanced at his classmates’ desks. Many hadn’t used the masks he gave them.
“Those who refuse to heed advice are doomed. Let’s go.”
The few other students present, also uneasy, seeing He Yunxiao and Li Hao’s group, those associated with the shaman doctor, safe and sound, quickly put on their masks and left.
They exited the school without any issues, and Shi Xuan got in the car.
Upon arriving at the Shi residence, Shi Xuan noticed several cars parked outside, their rear windows plastered with talismans. Practitioners’ cars.
He entered the house. Wu Su, surprised, “Young Master, why are you home so early?”
Shi Xuan asked, “Why are those practitioners here?”
Steward Wu replied, “Mr. Shi is being ridiculous again, he wants them to fill in the well in the courtyard.”
Shi Xuan’s face hardened, and he rushed towards the courtyard, not even taking off his backpack.
He entered the courtyard, paper money and lime scattered everywhere from the recently performed ritual, a compass in the center.
The practitioners were instructing workers on how to fill the well.
Shi Xuan kicked one of them aside, his voice cold with fury, “Get out!”
Everyone froze. Even Mr. Shi hadn’t expected his son to return so early. He chose this time intentionally.
Shi Xuan never showed his emotions, not even during those rituals, his composure always unshakeable. But now he was radiating a chilling anger.
Mr. Shi stumbled back, sneering, “You wouldn’t react this way even if I died!”
“Bewitched by some demon, bringing ruin upon our family!”
Steward Wu, watching, his eyes filled with disapproval, thought, this old fool, tormenting his own son like this.
Mr. Shi looked at the practitioners, his voice sharp, “Stop him! Fill the well! Now!”
The practitioners joined their hands together, chanting, and Shi Xuan felt the choker around his neck tighten, a familiar sense of suffocation.
His face turned pale, then flushed red as he struggled to breathe, watching helplessly as a worker swung his pickaxe, chipping away at the well’s edge, stones falling into the water with a splash.
The memory of Wu Heng emerging from the well flashed through his mind, his initial assumption of a well spirit, then his frequent visits to the balcony, gazing at the well, hoping for his sudden appearance.
His lifeless existence, transformed by Wu Heng’s presence, he was finally beginning to understand the meaning of life.
Destroying this well was like extinguishing his only light.
Shi Xuan clutched the choker, his hands on the well’s edge, staring at the clear water. Beyond the well, the person he cared about…
Three thousand kilometers, bridged by the well.
If there truly were Well Dragon Kings, deities in the waterways, please take him to Wu Heng.
The practitioners, inexplicably unable to approach Shi Xuan, watched as he jumped.
They couldn’t stop him.
Shi Xuan closed his eyes and fell. The cold well water engulfed him.
Mr. Shi screamed, “Shi Xuan!”
Steward Wu, watching the entire scene, dumbfounded, rushed to the well, then turned and cursed, “You old fool! You just ended your family line! What a brilliant move!”
