Chapter Forty-One: The Life-Saving Medicine

The matter with Xian Hongye had already evolved into something that involved me, Wang Hou, and Xian Hongye herself.

I often asked myself: where did the “snake” at the Yin Shop scene go? Where had Xiao Jiu’er disappeared to? And was that dream in which Jiu’er or Hongye forcefully kissed me real or not?

I didn’t know, nor did Wang Hou.

But there was one thing I understood perfectly well. The parasite of the White Food Gu had likely already taken root in both Wang Hou and me, though we never spoke of it directly.

Because of this, ever since we regained consciousness, neither of us had ever skipped a single dose of our gastrodia and notoginseng powder. As for meat, we didn’t dare touch it. And so, day after day, life continued in this anxious fashion.

Yet even so, I realized in despair that my appetite grew larger by the day. In my mind, there was always a vague, indistinct whisper, as if something was murmuring to me.

The worst part was that at night, I often dreamt of Xiao Jiu’er—her pale, delicate face, those clear, limpid eyes. First she would give me a sly, malicious smile, then her face would slowly crack open, and countless tongues would slither out from within.

Alas, this dream visited me several times a day—it was as if I could recite it by heart.

But even as the condition worsened, neither Wang Hou nor I ever brought up the idea of the parasite openly. After all, what good would it do? Would we just embrace and sob? Scream and wail? It was useless.

There were no moves left to make. All we could do was survive one more day.

I even kept thinking... perhaps before we turned into zombies, Xiao Jiu’er would appear, triumphant, and force us to do something disgusting... but I dared not dwell on that thought for long and eventually stopped thinking about it altogether.

So it was that Wang Hou and I spent five full days in the hospital. During that time, Wang Hou’s relatives visited, as did some former coworkers from the restaurant where I used to work. But most of our care came from Hongye, that little girl who loved to wear red dresses.

To be honest, I felt especially sorry for her.

The thing I did most during those days was to call my old squad leader late at night, when all was quiet.

I felt he was the only one who could truly understand and possibly resolve my predicament.

He was my last hope.

But as for the results... I’d rather not dwell on them. It was as if the squad leader had vanished; every time I called, all I got was the endless ring of an unanswered call. My ears nearly blistered from listening to it.

Yet I kept calling, obsessively, because that number was our last lifeline. Even as hope dwindled, I couldn’t give up searching for it.

In the end, it became a mechanical habit—I would unconsciously take out my phone every hour, even every half hour, dial that number, and listen to that long, lonely ring.

This routine continued until the day before our discharge, when things suddenly changed.

That day, Wang Hou and I were eating our last hospital meal. After this, we’d be leaving, so Hongye had gone out of her way to get us something good. But neither of us dared eat much, no matter how hungry we were, afraid of “provoking” the parasite that might be coiled inside our stomachs.

At that moment, my phone rang.

I picked it up and saw that familiar number—excitement surged in my chest!

“Who is it?” Wang Hou asked, equally expectant.

I told him it was my squad leader, then motioned for everyone to be silent, to listen as reverently as I did, ready to receive the “supreme directive” that might save our lives.

The call connected, and immediately I heard the squad leader’s familiar, low voice.

“Hello? Bu Er? You’ve called so many times—must be urgent?”

His voice sounded so old and familiar, tinged with a fatigue he couldn’t suppress. Instinctively, I knew he must have been caught up in something these past few days, too busy to answer.

But that wasn’t my concern at the moment—it wasn’t selfishness, just that I was at my wits’ end myself.

Hearing his voice, I nearly burst into tears.

Who wouldn’t cry? This was a call for my very life!

Overwhelmed with emotion, I struggled to compose myself and finally cried out, “Squad Leader! You finally called back...”

That call was my salvation from the brink of despair.

My excitement was imaginable. I gripped the phone and told him everything—how Wang Hou and I had fallen into the Yin Shop and been infected with the White Food Gu—without missing a detail.

After I spilled out my story like a machine gun, there was a long silence on his end.

But I wasn’t worried. Maybe it was intuition—somehow, I believed my squad leader would have a solution.

I had a natural trust in him, not only because of experience and instinct, but also because of the tacit understanding between us as master and disciple.

He was my mentor—the one in the army who trusted and appreciated me the most.

This double bond of emotion only deepened my trust in him.

Sure enough, after a few minutes of silence, I finally got the answer I’d been waiting for.

The squad leader’s voice came, urgent: “The parasite you’ve got is much more severe than what Batu had back then. Gastrodia and notoginseng alone won’t suffice...”

He paused, and I heard his weary, muttering voice, like a complicated incantation—it was almost calming to listen to.

Hearing that sound, hope flared in my heart.

There was a cure for the White Food Gu—my squad leader was thinking it through.

I knew this was how he always mulled over decisions. Back in the army, whenever he had to make a choice, he’d murmur to himself, as if consulting with himself or something unseen beside him. Once the matter was settled, he’d make a firm decision.

Two minutes passed. The murmuring stopped abruptly.

My heart clenched.

With a sigh, the squad leader ordered, “Bu Er, get paper and pen. I’ll dictate, you write!”

I was so excited I couldn’t even get out of bed. After agreeing, I covered the phone and had the equally thrilled Wang Hou fetch pen and paper.

He dashed out and, not even half a minute later, returned amidst a nurse’s startled shrieks, clutching a hospital chart and a pen.

Neither Hongye nor I cared about these details.

I grabbed the notebook, ready to transcribe every word, eager even to jot down the very sound of the squad leader’s breathing.

Once everything was set, the squad leader dictated, “For such a potent parasite, you’ll need double the dosage. In addition to gastrodia and notoginseng, add kudzu root, one jin each, and powdered snake medicine from Nantong. Take twice daily, seven qian each time, best formed into pills with yellow wine as the binder...”

I was so elated I nearly jumped out of bed. Before the squad leader even finished, I burst out, “Will this cure us? Thank you, Squad Leader, for saving our lives!”

But his answer hit me like a brick.

“This prescription won’t get to the root. Unless the woman controlling the parasite dies or her brain is destroyed, you’ll never be completely cured. At most, it suppresses...”

“What?” I blurted, stunned.

His words dashed me from the heights of hope to the depths of despair.

How was I supposed to find her brain stem? How could I possibly destroy Xiao Jiu’er’s mind? Even if I caught her, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

But as I once again lost hope, my squad leader lit another lamp for me.

“Don’t be discouraged, Bu Er... Come here. I have a way to eliminate it entirely, but you must come in person.”

“What?” I thought I’d misheard, but the squad leader’s words restored my hope.

“Come to Shandong, Bu Er. I’ll be waiting for you at ‘Shiren Gu, Zhao Family House’ in southern Shandong. I’ll drive out the parasite for you and Wang Hou. Besides... I have something I need your help with. I’ll explain when you arrive—it’s not convenient over the phone...”

His words carried a sense of urgency and concern. I suddenly realized he must be facing a thorny problem himself—otherwise, he wouldn’t need our help, nor would he have been unreachable for days.

As for whether to go—well, I didn’t have a choice.

When a mentor is in trouble, the disciple is duty-bound. And besides, we needed him to rid us of the parasite.

So I agreed at once and wrote down his address, then hung up.

After ending the call, I glanced at Wang Hou and Xian Hongye. Seeing their expectant gazes, I waved the address before them.

“Let’s go to Shandong! Once we find my squad leader, we’ll all be cured.”

Naturally, neither of them objected.

The three of us exchanged knowing smiles.

I had to admit—it was the most relaxed I’d felt in days.

I had a new prescription, we were about to leave the hospital, and, most importantly, my squad leader had a way to solve our parasite problem once and for all. Not just for me, but for all those girls afflicted by the parasite and dismissed by experts as “hysterics.”

Hysteria—what did that even mean... But in my excitement, I didn’t dwell on such details.

But just as the three of us were about to celebrate, a piercingly sharp, cold laugh suddenly sounded in our small hospital room.

The sound came from beneath my bed.

“Who’s there!” Wang Hou shouted.

With his shout, I leapt to the floor, and exchanged a look with Wang Hou.

At once, we both lifted the bed.

To our shock, we found not someone else but the former subordinate of Boss Bai, cannon fodder, and Xiao Jiu’er’s personal plaything—“Doorman A-Si.”

“What the hell is this!” I was startled by A-Si’s grotesque face and shrill laughter. Wang Hou, furious, grabbed the little “monster” who had once bitten me all over and threatened to strangle him.

“Wait!” I stopped Wang Hou’s impulsive act. After all, this was a hospital—not a place to do as we pleased. And with Hongye present, we had to be mindful of appearances.

I told Wang Hou to let go of his neck, then asked the little A-Si, “Did Xiao Jiu’er send you? Come to spy on us?”

A-Si shook his head and, in his unique sharp voice, insisted, “I was caught by the police in the cold storage too! I’m not Xiao Jiu’er’s spy. I’m a victim, just like you.”

“What?” Wang Hou and I demanded, incredulous.

I pressed him, “If you’re not a spy, what were you doing under my bed? And you’ve got the White Food Gu too—how could you not obey her? Who’d believe that?”

A-Si shook his head like a rattle-drum and, desperate to clear himself, recounted his recent experiences.

He said that after I’d locked him in the cold storage, he’d passed out from cold and lack of oxygen within half an hour, and woke up in the county hospital.

Seeing he was disabled and had been locked up with other victims, the police assumed he was a fellow sufferer. Thus, A-Si became the only “slippery fish” among the Yin Shop helpers, and spent the past few days in the hospital as a “victim.”

Initially, knowing he was a suspect, he wanted to run, but ultimately didn’t.

The main reason he didn’t flee was actually quite amusing—he’d studied criminal law!

He figured his crime wasn’t that serious. If he ran, it’d be considered absconding, and he’d never clear his name. If he stayed, maybe he could muddle through.

So, A-Si opted for silence, undergoing treatment while pretending to be just another victim.

Still, A-Si suffered. Without Xiao Jiu’er’s control, the parasite began to act up—he was not only hungry but miserable. At night, he even tore open his quilt to eat the cotton stuffing inside.

Until he discovered we were also in the hospital.

Thanks to his small stature, he found us first. Even better, he learned we had a “pill” that could temporarily suppress the parasite.

So, he’d sneak into my room at night to steal my medicine. Eventually, emboldened, he dared to hide under my bed in broad daylight to steal it.

Just now, he’d been under my bed, eyeing my medicine. When he overheard us discussing a real cure, he got so excited he couldn’t help laughing and exposed himself.

After his explanation, he pleaded, “Brother, let me come with you! I want to live too! If you leave me here, the parasite will make my life worse than death. Please, take me with you...”

“No way!” I refused flatly. “Taking you along is like carrying a time bomb! Absolutely not! You just take the medicine and wait for us to return. Meanwhile, reflect on why you broke the law despite knowing it.”

Surprisingly, A-Si didn’t beg further.

His small frame trembled, and, to my surprise, he nodded slightly. Then, turning away, he shuffled towards the door, muttering in a dejected voice:

“...Everyone hates me. I have nowhere to go.”

“...Even if I’m cured, what then? It’s just begging on the streets...”

“...I studied so much law, but you normal people still look down on me and make me beg...”

Damn—he was trying to guilt-trip us.

Hearing his pathetic muttering, my heart softened halfway.

But someone else softened even faster.

At that moment, Xian Hongye could no longer stand it. She walked over, scooped up the dwarf I didn’t want to look at, and pleaded with Wang Hou and me, “Take him with us. He’s so pitiful. Wandering everywhere—you can’t understand how that feels...”

Her voice broke, as if she truly understood what it was to beg for a living.

The scene gave me chills.

With Hongye taking a stand, I could no longer insist. Still, with a last shred of hope, I looked to Wang Hou for the final decision...

Forget it. There was no need to ask—Wang Hou, ever the softie, would surely side with Hongye.

In the end, Wang Hou summed up, “We’re poor folk too; we shouldn’t make things harder for one another. But remember this, A-Si—no betrayal! Or I’ll tear you apart!”

The moment he realized he’d succeeded, A-Si wiped away his fake tears, grinned his real grin, jumped off Hongye’s arms, and bowed deeply to us. “Thank you, sirs! I, A-Si, will follow you from now on—through fire and water, no complaints.”

Then he laughed, and that sound... I wanted to crawl into a crack in the floor.

I grabbed him and added, “One more rule! You’re not allowed to laugh like that anymore—it’s too creepy...”

Amid that unbearable laughter, we hastily packed up. The four of us, hearts complicated yet excited, left the hospital.

At last, we had hope and a goal.

We were about to set off for Shandong, where my squad leader awaited us—and so did a dense fog of the unknown.

Ahead of us lay hope, strangeness, conspiracy, and tears.

But we could not give up, and we would not.

Southern Shandong—here we come.