Chapter 11 The Haunted Veterinarian Clinic

I looked at Zhu Xuan in surprise, but he just smiled and beckoned to me. “Let’s go.”

“How did you know I would get up early today?” I caught up with him and asked.

“I told you, I’m Bai Ze.” Zhu Xuan’s answer stayed the same. He smiled at me and didn’t stop walking.

“Where are we going? The veterinarian you mentioned, does he live far from here?” I asked.

“No, it’s actually quite close. It’s only a ten-minute walk away from here.”

Just as Zhu Xuan said, we exited the school and walked around the foothill for a few minutes, and then we saw a forlorn pet hospital. There were no neon lights or conspicuous signboard on its roof. The hospital was quiet with no customers inside. I trusted that Zhu Xuan wouldn’t have picked such a quiet veterinarian clinic if he wasn’t extremely anxious and desperate back then.

“Speaking of which, where is Ye?” I looked around and did not see the golden retriever.

“Oh, I was going to bring him with me today, but he can’t fully adapt to his new body yet, so I let him stay in the old residence.”

I stared at him with my eyes wide open. “You let Ye stay in Wen Jiubo’s old residence?”

“Yeah. Is there anything wrong?” Zhu Xuan asked in reply.

He actually asked me if something was wrong with that… Should I say he was reckless, or should I say he was very courageous? How dare he leave Ye in Wen Jiubo’s old residence given his poor relationship with him? Wasn’t he afraid that Wen Jiubo would make dog broth out of him?

“Don’t worry, he wouldn’t do that.” Zhu Xuan seemed to see through my thoughts and patted me on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s go inside and meet the old veterinarian.”

We stood in front of the quiet clinic. The door was closed, but with a little push, it opened. It was not locked.

“Mr. Yang, are you there?” Zhu Xuan shouted after entering the door.

Soon, an old man, who looked over fifty years old, came out of the room. He smiled when he saw Zhu Xuan.

“Young man, it’s you. Come in, come in.” Then the old man saw me. “Is this your friend? Come on in!”

“Yes, this is my friend,” Zhu Xuan replied casually. “He’s the Taoist priest I invited for you.”

Huh? Wait a minute, what did he just say?

The expression on the old man’s face also suggested that he was suspicious. He asked doubtfully, “Him? He looks like a college student, how can he be an exorcist?”

Before I could retort, Zhu Xuan opened his mouth.

“Mr. Yang, although my friend looks young, he has trained for hundreds of years,” Zhu Xuan said solemnly. “Otherwise, how would he be able to keep such a youthful appearance after all this time?”

“Rea…really?” The old man excitedly looked at Zhu Xuan.

Zhu Xuan answered firmly, “Of course.”

I tried to refute but all of a sudden, the old man knelt down in front of me.

“The deity has appeared. Our prayers have finally been answered!” The sound he made when he banged his forehead on the ground was so loud that I was startled and hurriedly helped him up.

However, before I could say anything, the old man became emotional and grabbed my arm.

“My lord, you have finally arrived. You must save me and my wife, save our family!”

I couldn’t break free from him, so I helplessly looked at Zhu Xuan. However, instead of helping me, Zhu Xuan stood by the side and snickered.

I had no choice but to pretend I was a Taoist priest. “Mister, please get up. Well, since I’m here, I will certainly help you. But you have to tell me exactly what happened here.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Yang, this person I invited has achieved enlightenment and he will definitely not disappoint you.”

Zhu Xuan was still talking nonsense. I angrily glanced at him. Though I felt helpless, I had to stick to his fake story.

Zhu Xuan promised the old man to come back with Wen Jiubo, but since he was temporarily unavailable, so Zhu Xuan made up this story.

“Mister, please sit down so we can talk.” I helped the old man to sit down. He wiped the sweat on his forehead with his sleeve and then sighed.

“Since you are, my wife will be saved. God has finally answered our prayers.”

Zhu Xuan frowned. He instantly sensed something wrong. “Your wife? She was fine when I visited you last time. What happened?”

The old man immediately let out a long sigh and shook his head with a sad look. “After you left, she became sick.”

“Sick? How?” I asked.

“The night after you left, we cooked a simple dinner and ate while talking as usual. My wife enjoyed her dinner while chatting with me and then, all of a sudden, something strange happened. She suddenly had a seizure and vomited all the food she had eaten, and she then fell to the ground, convulsing uncontrollably. At that moment, I was terrified and quickly helped her up. After that, I found that she had a severe fever and had lost consciousness.”

“Didn’t you see a doctor?” I asked.

The old man replied with a frown, “Alas, what’s the point of finding a doctor? We all know that she isn’t suffering from an illness, she’s sick because of the ghost. What does a doctor know about how to deal with ghosts?”

“But…” I wanted to add something, but Zhu Xuan glanced at me to stop me.

“But anyway, I gave my wife some antipyretic pills. As I expected, not only did the pill not work, but she vomited all of them.” The old man sighed and shook his head. “It’s been two days since my wife caught this illness. She hasn’t drunk or eaten until now!”

Zhu Xuan immediately stood up and asked, “Where is your wife now?”

The old man was startled by Zhu Xuan’s sudden action. “She…is lying in the guest room.”

“Take us to her.”

After we followed the old man to the guest room, we saw an old woman with a wrinkled face lying on the bed. Her face was red and she had trouble breathing. Even though I was not a doctor, I knew at a glance that she had a severe fever.

It was already very dangerous for a person of this age to have such a high fever. According to the old man, she hadn’t eaten any food or drank any water for two days.

If Wen Jiubo came, he would be able to save the old woman. Just as I was thinking this, Zhu Xun who stood behind me opened his mouth.

“Excuse me, let me have a look.”

The old man and I moved aside to make a path for him. Zhu Xuan looked solemn. He held up the old woman’s arm, put three fingers on her wrist and began to take her pulse.

That’s right, he was Bai Ze. In ancient Chinese legends, Bai Ze was in charge of vegetation and was proficient in everything, not to mention medical skills.

“Her pulse is fairly stable. I’m afraid this haunted house is the reason why her high fever won’t go down.” After a while, Zhu Xuan turned around and said to us, “This fever is fake and it won’t endanger her life.”

Hearing this, the old man breathed a sigh of relief. But, in the next second, Zhu Xuan added,

“However, if it goes on like this, she won’t die due to the high fever but to dehydration. She will soon die due to dehydration and hunger.”

“What?” The old man was frightened, he suddenly looked at me and cried out. He begged me, “Master, please, please save my wife! I have lost our only son, I can’t lose my wife, Master!”

After hearing this, I realized in embarrassment that I was the exorcist master as Zhu Xuan had told him. Now the poor old man placed all his hopes on me to save his wife.

“Uh, yes … as I just said, I can certainly help you.As for your wife, it’s…” I stammered, looking at Zhu Xuan for help.

“Master, why don’t you put some charms in the room to restrain the evil spirit?” Zhu Xuan suggested.

I knew it! I knew you wouldn’t abandon me!

I felt a little relieved and said firmly, “Yes, then we’ll first put some charms in this bedroom. Perhaps it can improve your wife’s condition.”

“Good, good, no problem!” The old man said hastily. “I’ll fetch you some brushes, ink, and paper!”

The old man turned around and went to fetch the items. As soon as he left the room, I panicked again and hurriedly whispered to Zhu Xuan,

“Hey, Zhu Xuan! What should I write on the charms? Zhu Xuan!”

I called him several times, but he didn’t answer me. I found that he was crouching in a corner, studying something with his brows knitted.

I became more anxious. “Zhu Xuan! What are you doing? Hurry up and help me!”

However, Zhu Xuan turned a deaf ear to my question. He murmured, “Weird… this is really weird.”

I asked him despite the anxiety and anger in my heart, “What’s weird? Isn’t it just a corner, what’s so strange about it?”

“No. Gu Yu, come and see.” Zhu Xuan slightly moved aside and pointed at a wet spot in the corner and said to me, “Look here, there is a large wet spot in this corner.”

“What’s wrong with water stains?” I was even more impatient. “This house is old so it’s not in a good state. Isn’t it normal to have leaks if it rains?”

“I know, but that’s the problem.” Zhu Xuan frowned. “It hasn’t rained in Yan City for at least half a month. Where did this water stain come from?”

I was confused. However, just before I could open my mouth, I heard the old man’s voice,

“Master, master. I brought you all the things you need, brush, ink, paper and inkstone, it’s all here. Please write the charms!”

The old man held a tray in his hand. He looked at me with expectation and put the tray in front of me.

“Urm…” My palms started to sweat and I whispered, “Zhu Xuan, Zhu Xuan!”

However, Zhu Xuan completely ignored me, he seemed to be completely focused on the water stain in the corner.