Chapter 7: The Frenzied Pursuit of Information on All Things

As the sinister purple mist around the farmstead grew ever thicker, the ghostly “Celestial Gate” appeared once again.

In the end, the Monkey had no choice but to return to the world of Journey to the West where he belonged.

With the opening of a door of light, two parallel worlds were suddenly connected—a phenomenon so chilling it could have sent shockwaves across the globe.

Sun Wukong bowed repeatedly to Chu Xiaoyu. “Master, your disciple must go. I do not know when I shall see you again.”

Truth be told, the Monkey had no desire to return to that wretched, godforsaken place.

There was nothing to eat, nothing to drink, no amusements to be found. He survived on raw meat and roots, never with a full belly.

Heaven have mercy! Seven whole years he would have to endure there—how unbearably long that seemed.

How could it compare to staying at Master’s farmstead, where every manner of delicious food and novel amusements was at his fingertips?

The Monkey knelt, torn and conflicted, but Chu Xiaoyu saw through him instantly and said, “Hey, this isn’t a matter of life and death. Why the long face? As long as this Celestial Gate is open, you can come to my farmstead whenever you please. Eat and drink your fill to your heart’s content.”

“That’s right! Why didn’t I think of that? Hehe, thank you for not abandoning your disciple, Master!”

Bowing again in gratitude, the Monkey skipped cheerfully through the Celestial Gate.

The ghostly Celestial Gate shimmered.

Chu Xiaoyu tried to approach, but a powerful, invisible force blocked his way.

He could not pass through that eerie, otherworldly gate.

This made Chu Xiaoyu certain of one thing: the opening of the Celestial Gate was a matter of fate—not just anyone could pass through at will.

He, Chu Xiaoyu, simply could not.

As the Monkey departed, the purple mist gradually dissipated.

Afterwards, Chu Xiaoyu discovered two packs of his cigarettes missing, his lighter gone, and even his electric shaver had vanished.

Along with those, a bag of White Rabbit milk candies and some Green Arrow chewing gum were also nowhere to be found.

Well!

Who would have thought the Monkey was such a “habitual thief,” making off with so many things in the blink of an eye?

Especially the electric shaver—was that shaggy Monkey planning to shave himself into a smooth, featherless chicken?

Chu Xiaoyu could only laugh and cry at the Monkey’s bit of pilfering.

A quarter of an hour later, visitors arrived at the farm—none other than the regulars: Madam Feng, Four-Eyes, Frog, and Toad.

No sooner had they entered than they began to complain, “Boss, there’s something weird about your farm. Just now, no matter how we walked or tried to detour, we were stuck outside. The mist was so thick we couldn’t see each other even three or five steps away. What on earth was going on?”

“Ahem… Such strange things? How would I know?” Chu Xiaoyu could only feign ignorance.

The purple mist that had shrouded the farmstead was still a mystery to Chu Xiaoyu himself—he had no explanation to give.

He could only laugh it off and brush aside their questions.

…

Ever since the terrifying God Domain had been unlocked, Chu Xiaoyu felt as if his mind had become a computer, automatically filtering all sorts of bizarre information every day.

Yet to Chu Xiaoyu, it was all just a mess of worthless nonsense.

He rarely needed to watch the news—information of every kind flowed continuously into his mind.

Scandals of famous actors keeping mistresses and getting exposed, dramatic stories of wives beating mistresses; some executive keeping a lover and embezzling millions; all sorts of sensational headlines about young heirs being caught in hotel escapades.

It was all too much for Chu Xiaoyu.

What a load of rubbish! Why did his mind keep churning out this nonsense?

Too much horror, too much absurdity!

Eventually, Chu Xiaoyu learned to categorize and filter the information in his mind.

He stored only what was useful or might be useful in the future.

For instance: The Su family’s patriarch, Su Qingsheng, was gravely ill and hospitalized—an immense reward had been offered for a miracle doctor throughout the city.

After seeing this, a faint and profound smile touched Chu Xiaoyu’s lips.

…

Huatuo Hospital Reborn.

Su Qingsheng had been rushed to the intensive care unit in critical condition.

That night, leading experts from Yanjing and foreign brain specialists flew in at once, all making their diagnoses.

A fragment of shrapnel was lodged in the old man’s skull—a fragment that had been there for decades, by some miracle.

The position of the shrapnel was especially perilous: embedded in the subarachnoid space beneath the cerebellum.

Everyone knew that the subarachnoid space of the brain was laced with a network of delicate blood vessels and nerves; even the slightest touch could cause massive bleeding.

Any hemorrhage in these peripheral brain vessels and nerves would quickly spread, leading to catastrophic bleeding—stopping it would be impossible, and the patient couldn’t be saved.

All the experts—rushed in by night flights from Yanjing and abroad—after examining Su Qingsheng, declared themselves powerless before the shrapnel in the old man’s head.

The Su family was devastated.

The most illustrious aristocrats in Dongdu City lacked nothing—except the means to preserve life.

Su Qingyi, the eldest daughter, even knelt and begged the experts to save her father.

Yet not one of the experts dared to take the case.

Su Qingsheng’s condition was beyond the reach of medicine, and brain surgery was out of the question.

Every last expert refused.

The hospital issued a death notice for Su Qingsheng.

The Su family’s desperate cries went unanswered; the entire household was plunged into utter despair.

The old patriarch was deeply comatose—no one knew if he would survive the night.

Just as the Su family was sinking into hopelessness, a man appeared.

He seemed almost godlike as he calmly presented himself before the Su family.

“I can save your patriarch,” he said.

That man was Chu Xiaoyu.

The Su family was astonished.

Especially Su Qingyi. She stared at Chu Xiaoyu for a long moment before she finally reacted. “You… What did you say? You can save my father? May I ask—where do you practice medicine?”

“No, I’m not a doctor. I run a small country inn.”

A… country inn proprietor?

What was going on?

Had this man been kicked in the head by a donkey? Or had a door slammed him senseless? How could he play such a prank on them at a time like this?

It was outrageous!

Su Qingyi immediately scolded him, “What did you say? You’re just an innkeeper? Are you joking? Leave at once, or I’ll call security.”

Her father was in a deep coma, teetering on the edge of life and death.

Yet this audacious young man appeared out of nowhere to make fun of them?

“Ahem, I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I was only—”

“Get lost, you scoundrel, or I’ll beat you myself!”

A young man immediately shook his fist at Chu Xiaoyu, his face flushed with anger.

So fierce?

Chu Xiaoyu touched his nose, thinking to himself that perhaps he truly was meddling where he wasn’t wanted.