The Natives of This World Are Fierce
Chapter 53 - 52: Visit
Thanks to her new venture taking off, Cui Ying had found herself with more free time since last year.
Currently focusing her main efforts on her text-based blog, she instinctively typed out a sentence when she saw the picture.
"What’s the story here? Is this news or Photoshop?"
The admin, whose nickname was Dr. Manhattan, replied instantly.
"It’s not Photoshop. It’s the kid of my aunt’s neighbor. I saw him when I was back in my hometown visiting yesterday. They say he was possessed."
Generally speaking, journalists tend to be extremely curious.
The moment the topic came up, it drew out all the lurkers in the group chat.
Jumping Mouse: "Really possessed or fake possessed? Don’t get taken in by superstitious nonsense. If he needs to see a doctor, he should see a doctor!"
Jumping Ox: "Right, we’ve seen plenty of cases like this. Have your aunt tell them."
Most of the other jesters with zodiac-themed "Jumping" names and the general members below echoed this sentiment.
Dr. Manhattan: "They’d already taken the kid to a lot of well-known hospitals, but none of them could cure him. The boy’s face and his mental state just kept getting worse, until he ended up like this."
Then, Dr. Manhattan immediately added another message.
"My mom mentioned this to me before, but I had no idea it was this serious. But when I went back this time, the kid had already been cured."
As he typed, Dr. Manhattan also gave a brief description of Haohao’s symptoms.
Even without mentioning some of the more sensitive details, it was unsettling enough.
This piqued everyone’s interest even more.
"Holy shit, that’s terrifying!"
"A disease like that actually exists?"
"Cured? Which hospital? What kind of weird disease was it?"
"Yeah, seriously, what’s the story?"
But Dr. Manhattan gave a surprising answer.
"My aunt’s husband said the family hired a ’Great Immortal Mage’ from out of town. He came to their house and performed an exorcism, and just like that, the boy was cured. Now the kid can cry, laugh, eat, and sleep. Besides his face needing plastic surgery, he’s completely back to normal."
The chat went quiet for a few seconds, then exploded.
"A Mage really fucking exorcised it?"
They had seen plenty of stories debunking fakes. They had done similar reports and written similar articles themselves, and had even interviewed patients who suffered serious consequences from delaying medical treatment to drink talisman water.
But a case like Haohao’s was truly rare—in fact, they had basically never seen anything like it.
Dr. Manhattan had already made it clear that he’d confirmed the details with his aunt’s family.
Basically, the whole village knew about that family’s situation, and many were asking the Guo family how to hire that incredibly effective Mage.
It was confirmed that Haohao’s illness was indeed an unprecedented condition that had left everyone helpless.
So, a whole crowd of people in the group chat became intensely interested in the matter.
They were all in a state of disbelief.
From the moment Cui Ying learned the picture wasn’t Photoshopped, she had the idea to go and investigate in person.
Unlike most people who subjectively labeled so-called "Great Immortals" and "Mages" as charlatans...
...due to her grandmother’s influence during her childhood, her attitude toward such things fell into the category of "can’t be dismissed, but can’t be fully believed either."
She had long wanted to publish a few articles on supernatural topics for *Where the Nightingale Flies*, even if just for entertainment value.
Now that something potentially newsworthy had appeared, it was even better.
So, while the group chat was still buzzing with heated discussion, Cui Ying had already started a private chat with Dr. Manhattan.
Qiantang wasn’t too far from Shen City, where Cui Ying lived. She wanted to go there directly to meet Dr. Manhattan, get the detailed story together, and hopefully conduct an exclusive interview with the people involved.
This idea coincided perfectly with Dr. Manhattan’s own thoughts, and it would be more convenient for Cui Ying to be the one to approach them.
The two, who had already met in person more than once at offline meetups, immediately set a time to go together.
With modern transportation being so convenient, they made the decision in the morning and had already arrived in Qiantang by noon.
Dr. Manhattan’s real name was Lu Manfeng. He was already waiting at the high-speed rail station, having borrowed his dad’s car.
Lunch was a quick meal at the station, during which they discussed their strategy for the visit.
After all, from what they knew so far, the Guo family was reluctant to talk about the incident, so the chances of them happily agreeing to an interview weren’t high.
...
Sure enough, when Cui Ying and Lu Manfeng showed up at their door that afternoon to ask about the incident, the Guo family was less than welcoming.
It was before the barbecue shop’s opening hours, so Old Guo and his wife were both at home with their son.
They had been tormented by Haohao’s situation for days. Seeing strangers at the door, Old Guo already had the words "Get out" on the tip of his tongue.
When he realized they were indeed here to reopen old wounds—and for a journalistic interview, no less—
Old Guo immediately started cursing.
"Get the hell out! Our family’s business doesn’t need to be broadcast to the whole world! If you don’t leave now, I’m calling the police!"
If Cui Ying hadn’t been a young woman, and if the two of them hadn’t been so polite, the broom handle clenched in Old Guo’s hand would have already come swinging.
Cui Ying and Lu Manfeng had no choice but to play their trump card.
A private plastic surgery hospital with a top-quality reputation and excellent ratings.
Putting their journalistic eloquence to full use, they explained the risks of modern plastic surgery and the necessity of a good hospital, even offering a Gold Card that would let them cut the line.
That’s right. Because this private hospital’s results were so good, it had a year-round waiting list. Even if Haohao’s family knew where it was, for a full-face reconstruction like his, just waiting for the surgery would take until next year.
In truth, Cui Ying didn’t even need to introduce it; Old Guo’s family already knew about this hospital. They had pulled many strings, but had only managed to find out that a surgery might be possible before the end of the year.
Before the end of the year? What did that mean? It meant Haohao would have to hide at home, looking neither human nor ghost, for nearly another year. That would be a huge trauma for the child.
And journalists were the kind of creatures that any business owner was wary of. A particularly resourceful member of their group chat had, for certain reasons, obtained a Gold Card, which they could now borrow.
His son was the apple of his eye. Besides, the reporters repeatedly emphasized they would use pseudonyms and obscure the address. In the end, Old Guo compromised.
However, Old Guo still had his principles; he didn’t say much about the "Master" and his companions.
...
Ghosts and monsters!
’Are there really ghosts and monsters? There are really ghosts and monsters?!’
’Is this family really not exaggerating?’
These were the thoughts running through Cui Ying and Lu Manfeng’s minds as they listened, goosebumps prickling their skin.
"Back then, that thing seemed terrified of the Master. Just because I was bringing the Master close to the house, the thing inside was already getting violent."
"Honestly, if I didn’t know he was my son, I wouldn’t have dared to get close!"
Old Guo recalled the terror of that moment.
Although he had insisted to everyone at the time that "Haohao doesn’t bite," only Old Guo himself knew that he, his wife, and his brother-in-law had all been bitten.
The worst time was when his son’s uncle was bitten on the calf. Blood poured from the wound. Even after getting a rabies shot, it was swollen for a week, and only started to get better after a course of antibiotics.
"You’ve seen how old my son is, but his uncle and I, two grown men, couldn’t hold ’it’ down. Yet the Master only needed one hand!"
"That incantation! I’ll never forget it for the rest of my life!"
Old Guo had finally reached the climax of the story.
"The incantation the Master chanted... it just made my throat itch and my whole body tremble. It felt like my very soul was about to be shaken loose."
At this, Cui Ying and Lu Manfeng thought Old Guo was exaggerating, little knowing that he couldn’t even describe half of what it was truly like.
"There was this sound, like tearing cloth and something searing, all around us the whole time. Thinking back on it now, the Master must have started the ritual the moment he stepped through the door!"
As he got to this part, goosebumps suddenly erupted all over Old Guo’s skin, so pronounced they were visible even on his face.
His voice trembling slightly, he described the scene he would never forget for as long as he lived.
"That thing... that transparent thing... that evil spirit covered in claws..."
"...was plucked right out of Haohao’s body by the Master. If I hadn’t been holding her up, my wife would have collapsed from fright right then and there."
The most terrifying and crucial part was the exorcism of Haohao. What followed was relatively simple. The Master destroyed the evil spirit, and an overwhelmed Old Guo saw the Master and his companions off.
Once he had said his piece, Old Guo demanded the two immediately make good on their promise.
Fortunately, the Gold Card didn’t need to be physically present. Even though they didn’t have it on them, after a few phone calls to have the card’s owner make the appointment, Old Guo received a confirmation call from the hospital within minutes.
On the way back, Cui Ying kept pondering something Old Guo had said.
When telling Old Guo to keep things quiet, the mysterious Master had mentioned, "If anyone asks, just say, ’We hired a Master to perform an exorcism.’"
That statement was very ambiguous.
’A real "Master" probably wouldn’t say something like that, would he?’
PS: Thanks to book friends GangFaDeYo, JoyfulDay, Dragon Witch, and Bloodlamp_Witheredbone for the 100-coin tips!~~