A Shaman Doctor’s Live Diagnosis Stream! 72p2

Chapter 72 Part 2

Zhang Da Yong, plucking a hair, placed it on the cart’s seat.

‘Woof, woof, woof!’ Hei Tan glanced at the hair, then at Zhang Da Yong, wagging its tail excitedly.

Zhang Da Yong looked at his family, “I’m going to Qiu Hua village, twenty kilometers away.”

His son, looking at the dark sky, “Now?”

“Now,” Zhang Da Yong said firmly.

His daughter was also surprised, “Dad, you’re walking there?”

Zhang Da Yong nodded. “Walking.”

His dog always walked, why couldn’t he?

“But the bear… they haven’t caught it yet,” his children were worried, it was dangerous at night.

His wife, however, said firmly, “Let him go, we’ll follow behind.”

Zhang Da Yong touched the red nails on his right hand, gifts from the fox, from Hei Tan.

He wasn’t afraid of the dark anymore.

He choked back tears, patted Hei Tan’s head, and said, “Let’s go home from school.”

‘Woof!’

A happy dog pulling a cart, a middle-aged man walking beside it, going home.

Zhang Da Yong had been to Qiu Hua village before, even met Zhang Tianjun a few times.

He hadn’t left the village to work elsewhere, contracting land to grow fruit trees, he had even done business there.

He had driven there countless times, he didn’t even need directions.

There were no streetlights in the countryside. Zhang Da Yong, watching the excited Hei Tan pulling the cart, felt no chill in the night wind.

Every child loved coming home from school.

The air was sweet with anticipation.

He hadn’t realized he had such stamina at his age, walking steadily without stopping.

They passed by the closed gate of the village elementary school. Hei Tan, as if it were forty years ago, stopped by the wall, then, realizing its master was here, turned and headed towards home.

Twenty kilometers, three to four hours on foot, perhaps five for a middle-aged man.

Wu Heng, feeling sleepy, put his phone aside, gently nudged Shi Xuan’s shoulder, and whispered, “Are you drunk?”

Homemade wine in the village was usually strong, but it was just fruit wine. He hadn’t expected Shi Xuan to have such a low tolerance and was about to get him some medicine when Shi Xuan held his wine glass to Wu Heng’s lips, “Want a taste?”

Tempted by the aroma, Wu Heng almost took a sip, but the glass moved away as Shi Xuan finished it, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Forgot you’re still underage.”

Wu Heng stared at the glass, a drop of wine clinging to the rim where his lips almost touched, the aroma warming his face, and he stood, patting Shi Xuan’s shoulder, “It’s getting late. Time for bed.”

After showering and brushing their teeth under the moonlight, Shi Xuan, a toothbrush in his mouth, watched as Wu Heng, in dark blue pajamas, polished his silver earring.

“Wu Heng.”

Wu Heng looked at him, and Shi Xuan said, his voice soft, “On your eighteenth birthday, remove this choker. Return it to its owner.” He had never taken it off, unable to, but its power was weakening, he could probably remove it by force now, but not anymore, not after learning its true owner. He wanted Wu Heng to do it.

Wu Heng nodded slightly. He also wanted to see if he was unleashing a monster.

After washing up, Wu Heng, his phone in hand, went upstairs with Shi Xuan, “Good night.”

Lying in bed, his phone on the nightstand, watching the live stream of Zhang Da Yong walking in the darkness with Hei Tan, he said, “Let’s hold an impromptu pet clinic, connect with the pet owners, stay online until Uncle Zhang reaches his destination.”

[Really?! I want to connect! I miss my dog, he died from an illness, I want to know if he’s in pain as a ghost!]
[Heng Heng looks amazing even lying down! No dead angles! No pets, so I’ll pass.]

[My cat appeared in my dreams and said he was being bullied and injured in the underworld. There are no vets down there! Can you prescribe some medicine for him, Doctor Wu?]

[Heng Heng, aren’t you tired? You can log off and reconnect later.]

Sanshui Zhenren, lurking in the live stream, thought, Doctor Wu was truly kind, using this dog and its owner as an excuse to connect with pet owners late at night, earning merit for these animals.

Shark platform allowed multi-person connections, Zhang Da Yong was the main patient, with other excited pet owners also joining.

Zhang Da Yong, walking with Hei Tan, listened to their stories, the long night not seeming as long anymore.

And the pet owners, after Wu Heng prescribed medicine for their beloved animals, thanked him profusely, “Thank you, Doctor Wu! And… thank you, Uncle Zhang, and Hei Tan!”

It was all thanks to them, and Hei Tan, that Doctor Wu was holding this special clinic, how lucky!

Although some said he was just doing it to keep his live stream interesting, the gratitude was real.

Hei Tan, having never been thanked by so many cats, dogs, rabbits, rats, pigs in its forty years, felt… special.

They reached Qiu Hua village. Zhang Da Yong paused, then entered with Hei Tan.

His wife and children followed at a distance, silent.

He vaguely recognized the village, the mud walls and tiled roofs replaced by brick houses, the wooden doors now red metal ones.

He gently patted Hei Tan’s head and knocked with a trembling hand.

He saw the light from inside, then footsteps approaching, an old man’s voice, “Who is it?”

Tears streamed down his face, landing on Hei Tan’s head. He forced a smile, his voice thick with emotion. “Dad, Hei Tan and I are back from school, I want to eat Mom’s fried pork! I’m starving!”

The old man inside froze, then quickly opened the door.

As the door opened, Zhang Da Yong fell to his knees.

The old man, Zhang Tianjun, stared at him, bewildered, then recognized him, the fruit farmer from a few villages over.

Zhang Da Yong sobbed, “Mom, Dad, Hei Tan and I are home, he brought me back from school.”

Hei Tan, the hunched old man’s cloudy eyes flickered.

That walk home from school, forty years, they finally made it.

His wife, hearing the commotion, also came out. Seeing his face, she exclaimed, “It’s our Da Da!”

[Holy crap! I was right! The Goddess didn’t make a mistake, Uncle Zhang really was a prayed-for child, just not their prayed-for child.]

[So that’s what happened! Welcome home, Da Da, Hei Tan!]

The old couple fussed over him, tears and laughter mingling.

“You were the child we prayed for. So we immediately sought the help of Qingfeng Temple’s master,” his mother said, her voice choked with tears.

“The master is very skilled at locating missing children using their birth dates. But he said your birth date… no longer existed.”

Wu Heng nodded, skilled practitioners could locate children using their birth dates and their parents’ facial features, this master wasn’t lying.

But someone was more skilled, using a dog’s blood to deceive Heaven, create a fake birth chart.

Birth charts were crucial in rural areas. Fortune tellers, seeing Zhang Da Yong’s fake birth chart, calculated his parents as his deceased “parents,” unable to detect the deception.

[… So even birth charts can be faked?! Fake food, fake products, fake everything, now fake identities?! What’s even real anymore?!]
[No wonder Wu Heng keeps telling us to ask for credentials! These charlatans, forging identities, that’s illegal!]
[So, the Goddess of Childbirth is real! Qingfeng Temple is effective!]

[All thanks to Hei Tan, finding a powerful fox friend, Fox Immortals are the best!]

They were welcomed inside, and he saw it, in a bedroom, a small, dilapidated dog cart, identical to the one conjured by Su Da Yi’s fur, one an illusion, the other a memory frozen in time.

Zhang Da Yong, seeing Hei Tan wagging its tail happily, burst into tears, silly dog.

Wu Heng’s gentle voice came through the live stream, “Reincarnation is different for humans and animals. Human souls have a long wait. Animals reincarnate much faster, just a month or two.”

“If you want, I can tell you which dog Hei Tan will be reborn into.”

[Really?! Uncle Zhang, this is fate! You can have Hei Tan again!]
[I envy you, I also want my dog back!]

[I remember those people spending fortunes to clone their pets, but the soul is different.]

[Uncle Zhang, don’t miss this chance! You can watch him grow up, grow old, make up for lost time.]

His wife said, “I won’t stop you from getting another dog. If this is true, we can bring the mother dog home, plenty of space in our yard, we can afford another pet.”

“Yes, Dad!” his children chimed in.

His daughter, who loved animals, was especially excited, she’d have a playmate.

Even the elderly Zhang Tianjun couple, tears in their eyes, remembering the dog, nodded their agreement.

Life was impermanent. The dead wouldn’t return, and they wouldn’t live to see their reincarnated loved ones. But perhaps… pets were different.

Zhang Da Yong, watching his dog, tears streaming down his face, looked at Wu Heng on the screen and shook his head.

“Doctor Wu, if possible… I want to add Hei Tan to our family registry. Let him be reborn as a human.”

Being a beloved pet was a good life, but their happiness depended entirely on their owners’ whims.

A life of pampering, or becoming food? They had no say.

He wanted his loyal companion, who had guarded him for forty years, to have a choice, to choose his own destiny.