GHLCS Chapter104

Mid-July is the Ghost Festival. Ghosts and monsters are everywhere.

 

Chan Yi made a dough sculpture to ward off ghosts in the morning, bought a lot of lotus lanterns, and placed a bowl of five-flavored cakes at the door.

 

She was busy there, and Xu Hang patted her shoulder from behind, frightening her so much that she almost jumped up: “Young Master! Today is the Ghost Festival, you can’t pat shoulders. Be careful of attracting ghosts!”

 

Legend has it that there are three lights on a person’s shoulders, and tapping the shoulders will extinguish the lights.

 

Xu Hang then remembered that today is the day to worship ghosts. If the gates of hell really open, he wonders how many souls will follow to Jinyan Tang?

 

He’s not afraid of the dead, but he’s afraid of those living ghosts who are still restless.

 

It seems that the Zhang brother and sister left Hezhou City on the ship today. He heard that it was not supposed to be so early, but Zhang Yinxi’s health suddenly worsened. She fainted several times in the past few days and had to be sent back to Shanghai for treatment.

 

Duan Yelin pretended to send someone to give them a farewell party, thinking that he could finally get rid of these troublesome people.

 

After Xu Hang found out, he also packed a box and asked someone to send it on the ship, saying that it was sent to Gu Fangfei in Shanghai.

 

“I find it strange that they left just like that.” Duan Yelin looked at the workers carrying luggage on the dock and had a bad feeling in his heart.

 

On the deck, Zhang Xiuming, who was leaning against the railing, smiled at Duan Yelin from a distance, picked up his hat, and waved it.

 

It truly sends shivers down one’s spine.

 

In the medical hall, Xu Hang taught the new medicine boy knowledge, pointed to a tuberculosis patient, and wrote a prescription, specifically instructed, “For patients with tuberculosis, the most important thing to avoid is eating fish without scales; otherwise, the disease will easily relapse. I will write a list of taboos for you later, you must remember it well.”

 

“I remember,” the medicine boy nodded while jotting it down. “But it’s really just for reminding the wealthy—poor folks can’t afford fish anyway!”

 

“Being careful is good.”

 

Xu Hang’s words stirred the medicine boy’s cravings. “Come to think of it, the fish ban was just lifted today,” he said, eyes lighting up. “I haven’t had fish in ages. Just thinking about it is making my mouth water.”

 

Xu Hang glanced at him and moved away without leaving a trace.

 

Poor people cannot afford to eat expensive fish during the fishing ban period, not to mention those selected scaleless fish. Only the rich and powerful can afford to drink and eat meat all the time and become sick because of their wealth.

 

Obedient patients are always favored by fate, but someone like Zhang Yinxi would never imagine that the meals she eats daily at the Japanese consulate are actually carefully crafted curses disguised as food, designed to make her ill.

 

Even if she knew she shouldn’t eat scaleless fish, the young lady, pampered and unfamiliar with the hardships of daily life, wouldn’t have paid it any mind. Besides, she was in the consulate, not her own home in Shanghai—there were no trusted servants around to manage her meals.

 

This time, he wanted to know where the Zhang family could find the next Shen Jingmo.

 

When the sun was high in the sky and the local dogs were squatting on the steps, lazily sticking out their tongues and panting, Xu Hang finally had time to rest and drink some tea.

 

Before he could swallow the tea, a little kid rushed in from outside, shouting, “Help, help! Help!”

 

The little guy was dressed in rags and seemed to be from a poor family. He looked anxious and rushed to Xu Hang and knelt down. “Physician Xu, my mother is sick. Can you please help me and save her?”

 

Then he kowtowed desperately, as if he would die here if Xu Hang didn’t agree.

 

Physician Hu hurried forward to help the little guy and said kindly, “Don’t worry, get up and talk.”

 

That child refused to get up and knelt stubbornly. Xu Hang looked at him for a while and asked, “Where is your mother?”

 

“At home, my home is in a dilapidated temple on the side of Shangjiu Road.”

 

Xu Hang nodded, put a small bag of acupuncture tools from the cabinet into his sleeve, and then stood up with the medicine box: “Then you lead the way.”

 

The little guy was very happy and hurriedly led Xu Hang out of the door, all the way to Shangjiu Road.

 

Shangjiu Road is the road closest to the river, relatively remote, and is also where many poor people gather. More importantly, Shangjiu Road is close to the dock, and many poor people make a living here.

 

There are several dilapidated temples near the dock, where some poor people who cannot afford to buy houses live.

 

Along the way, although the kid was walking in front, he would look back at Xu Hang from time to time, as if he was afraid that he would disappear out of thin air.

 

The kid walked in twists and turns and stopped in front of a dilapidated temple. Then, with a nervous look on his face, he pushed the door open carefully.

 

“Physician Xu, this is it.”

 

Xu Hang stood in front of the door but didn’t step in for a long time, just staring at him. The child was frightened by his gaze and broke out in a cold sweat: “Physician Xu… my mother is in there…”

 

“It’s so quiet ah.” Xu Hang said this out of the blue.

 

“Huh?”

 

Xu Hang’s eyes became sharper. “Little guy, there are always many people living together in a dilapidated temple. Don’t you think that the dilapidated temple where your mother lives is a little too quiet? It’s like… there’s no one there at all.”

 

The kid swallowed his saliva, his eyes widened, and then he suddenly ran away, whistling as he ran. Almost in an instant, several people rushed out of the dilapidated temple, grabbed Xu Hang’s arm, and dragged him inside!

 

The medicine box fell to the ground, and the bottles and jars inside smashed all over the floor, mixing the medicines together. Xu Hang almost stumbled and then was pulled hard by someone, barely standing up straight.

 

In the dilapidated temple, the sound of leather shoes stepping on the ground gradually came. Looking up, Zhang Xiuming, who was supposed to leave by boat at the dock, appeared in front of him. He slowly took off his hat and played with it in his hands.

 

He smiled and slowly approached. The sunlight leaking through the dilapidated wall cast a half shadow on his face, which looked particularly strange.

 

Xu Hang adjusted to the dim vision for a while before he spoke in a low voice: “You haven’t left yet?”

 

“I’ve dropped my things, how can I leave?” Zhang Xiuming stretched out his hand to touch Xu Hang’s face, but Xu Hang turned his head and dodged. He struggled for a while, but his hands were clamped tightly, and he could not move at all.

 

Zhang Xiuming chuckled, “Don’t struggle, it will be bad if you damage my beauty’s bones. Honestly, I should’ve done this long ago. I went about it the wrong way before. This might be rougher, but it’s the quickest route.”

 

After saying that, he took out a needle from his pocket and unscrewed the needle cover. Xu Hang saw a little medicine dripping from the needle. Zhang Xiuming approached step by step.

 

“What do you want to do?” Xu Hang felt a chill down his spine and glared at him.

 

“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared…” Zhang Xiuming said softly as he grabbed Xu Hang’s hair and lifted his neck. His tone was soothing, but the needle pressed coldly against Xu Hang’s skin. “Have a good sleep, and I’ll take you to a good place.”

 

The needle pierced his skin, it felt slightly cold. Xu Hang frowned, and his body quickly became numb, and gradually even his eyelids became heavy.

 

As the needle was pulled out, Xu Hang fell down. Zhang Xiuming picked him up horizontally. The servants pushed open the door of the dilapidated temple, walked all the way to the dock, and boarded the boat.