Chapter 106

The moment Tan Wenbin walked into the operating room, he saw Fan Shulin collapsed on the floor, still kicking with both legs as he scooted backward toward the door with rapid scraping sounds.

“Brother Fan, how were you so careless that you fell over? Come on, I’ll help you up.”

Fan Shulin turned to look at Tan Wenbin while pointing at the shirtless Runsheng.

“And you call this a thorn?”

“There’s no clear standard saying how long or thick a thorn has to be, right?”

“This is what you call taking root? Count them. How many are there already?”

“Listen to yourself. Who counts how many grains of rice are in their bowl while eating?”

“No. I can’t do this. I really can’t.”

Fan Shulin got to his feet and tried to leave.

Tan Wenbin quickly wrapped his arms around him. “Brother Fan, the banner, the banner!”

“I don’t want it anymore!”

“Brother Fan, please help. A healer’s compassion, a healer’s compassion.”

“My compassion got eaten by a dog!”

“Right, right, I ate it. I’ll spit it back out and return it to you now.”

“You…”

“Look, this friend of mine was the one you treated last time. You saved his life. Can you really bear to throw that life away now?”

“I…”

“Hurry up. I’m worried that if we don’t get them out in time, tetanus will be a problem.”

Fan Shulin’s head felt dizzy and foggy. Before he knew it, he’d been pushed back in front of Runsheng, changing into a fresh pair of gloves and taking up his tools again. Only after he pulled the first nail cap out a little with force did he suddenly snap awake.

“What exactly am I doing?”

Tan Wenbin shrugged, his tone returning to calm. “It doesn’t matter, Brother Fan. You’ve already started.”

Fan Shulin swallowed hard and kept pulling.

Facts proved that as long as things were done step by step, with the pressure increasing layer by layer, a person’s adaptability often exceeded even their own imagination.

He was starting to get into the rhythm.

When the first nail was nearly out, Fan Shulin called, “Help me hold this. I need to get ready to stop the bleeding.”

Tan Wenbin said, “Alright, coming.”

Runsheng said, “No need to make it so troublesome.”

He reached out himself, grabbed the nail head, and gave it a pull. The nail came all the way out.

“Hey, hey, hey, what kind of nonsense are you—”

Then Fan Shulin saw something that stunned him. After the nail was pulled free, the original wound actually began closing on its own. Closing, not healing.

The flesh tightened by itself and stopped its own bleeding.

Fan Shulin’s mouth fell open. His brain had already been driven into a strange state of confusion by the nonstop shocks, and the thought that appeared in his head now was actually this:

If every patient on every operating table in the country had this ability, wouldn’t doctors wake up laughing?

Right after that came another thought:

There goes any hope for my paper. If I wrote about a patient like this and tried to publish it, the problem wouldn’t be academic fraud. They’d think I’d lost my mind and revoke my medical license.

“Brother Fan? Brother Fan?”

“Ah, mm, I’m here.”

“There are fifteen more. You’d better hurry.”

“Oh. Right.”

Fan Shulin continued with the second nail. It was the same as before. All he had to do was pry the nail loose, then the patient standing in front of him would reach out and pull it the rest of the way free himself. The wound would still close on its own.

“No, wait. I forgot. I need to check whether there’s infection or pus inside.”

Runsheng said, “Oh.”

The two symmetrical wounds opened again, like a pair of eyes snapping open.

“Mm. No infection. Very good.”

The moment Fan Shulin finished speaking, he collapsed to the floor with a thud, so frightened by that terrifying sight that his eyes began rolling back.

Tan Wenbin hurried over to help him up again. “Brother Fan, Brother Fan, Brother Fan?”

Fan Shulin recovered, nodded numbly, stood up numbly, and numbly started pulling nails again.

This time, he didn’t wait for Runsheng to reach out. He pulled it all the way out himself.

Then he kept going.

It was as though he had lost the ability to think. He no longer felt like he was performing surgery. He felt more like he was out in the countryside helping someone work a two-man saw.

At last, all sixteen nails were removed.

Fan Shulin sat on the operating table, exhausted, while Runsheng stood up.

“Thank you for your hard work, Doctor Fan.”

Fan Shulin turned his head and looked at the tray beside him, piled full with sixteen thick, long coffin nails. Then he looked at Runsheng, who was already getting dressed as though nothing had happened.

For the first time, he suddenly began to doubt all those years he had spent studying medicine.

“Oh right, Brother Fan, when does your classmates’ gathering start?”

“Late… late tonight. Everyone’s on duty, so it’ll have to be around midnight.”

“Alright. If I can make it, I will. If I can’t, I’ll call your infirmary ahead of time and let you know.”

“Mm… alright.”

“Get some good rest, Brother Fan. We’ll be going first.”

After saying their goodbyes, Tan Wenbin left the infirmary together with Runsheng.

As they headed back toward school, Runsheng asked, “Something urgent?”

“How could you tell?”

“You’re walking very fast.”

“My lightness skill has improved lately.”

“If it’s urgent, you shouldn’t have waited there for me just now. You should’ve gone and told Little Yuanhou right away.”

“There is something. We got another clue. But it’s not urgent enough to matter right this second. Little Yuanhou said that even if we’re going to start moving, we still have to wait until you and Yin Meng are back with the team.”

“I understand.”

“Uh, Runsheng, about the injuries on your body… how long will they take to heal?”

“These aren’t injuries. This is a qi sea.”

“You call this a qi sea? I’ve at least read some old texts with Little Yuanhou. Since when does anyone make a qi sea by drilling holes in their own body with a hammer and nails?”

“Master said… Uncle Qin said everyone’s characteristics are different.”

“So how do you feel now?”

“My stomach’s a little hungry.”

Tan Wenbin and Runsheng first returned together to the dormitory. When they opened the door, no one was inside.

“Little Yuanhou probably went to the old lady’s place. Let’s go there too.”

They shut the door and headed downstairs, where they happened to see Lin Shuyou, leaning on a crutch with his left hand and carrying a thermos in his right. He had probably just come back from fetching hot water.

The moment Lin Shuyou saw Runsheng, his whole face lit up.

Tan Wenbin chose that moment to ask, “Runsheng, feeling itchy inside?”

Runsheng nodded. “I’ve used up all the incense. I need to go back to the room in the store basement and get more.”

“That’s not what I meant. Do you want to find someone to spar with?” Tan Wenbin said as he flicked his gaze toward Lin Shuyou.

Lin Shuyou proudly puffed out his chest.

Runsheng shook his head.

During the special training, the one who had fed him moves and sparred with him was Uncle Qin, and time and again Uncle Qin had beaten him flat to the ground.

If before he had only known that Little Yuanhou hoped he would become the next Uncle Qin, then now Uncle Qin’s image had become something concrete and vivid in his mind.

Once he had such a clear, towering goal in front of him, even though the special training was over, he no longer felt the slightest bit smug or eager to test himself.

Tan Wenbin lowered his voice. “Runsheng, we’re about to act soon. Actually, even Little Yuanhou probably wants to see how much you’ve improved so he can make a proper plan.”

If he fought Runsheng himself, it would be impossible to get a useful measure. Whether it was Runsheng before the special training or after it, beating him would be easy.

But Lin Shuyou was a very good reference point, a clear unit of measurement.

Runsheng said, “If Little Yuanhou tells me to fight, then I’ll fight.”

“Of course. No matter what, we can’t just start private fights.”

“Let’s go find Little Yuanhou.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

Tan Wenbin and Runsheng left.

Lin Shuyou stood there in a daze. Hadn’t they said that once Runsheng came out of seclusion, they’d fight him? So why weren’t they doing it now?

He tossed aside his crutch and wanted to chase after them to ask why, and perhaps start a proper sparring match along the righteous path.

He used to think that righteous people killing each other would delight evil and anger Heaven. Now he felt that healthy internal sparring and competition would be even better for striking down malevolent spirits.

But before he could take even two steps, he saw some classmates from his class walking over. The instant Lin Shuyou noticed them, he quickly turned around and picked up his crutch again.

Sometimes, once you tell a lie, you have to keep patching it up forever.

“Classmate Shuyou, let me carry your thermos for you.”

“Come on, let me help you upstairs.”

Lin Shuyou had no choice. He could only let his kindhearted classmates escort him upstairs while pretending to limp the whole way.

…

Li Zhuiyuan had originally been on his way to the Liu Clan’s place, but when he passed the athletic field, he was drawn in by two “booths” inside.

That morning’s freshman military training had just ended, and at the same time the student union and clubs had begun recruiting.

Tables were set up all over the field with signs standing tall. The older students were pulling out every trick they had to recruit the younger ones whose eyes still held that fresh, innocent confusion.

For most freshmen who had managed to get into this university, high school had often been rather dull. Much of what kept them going was their beautiful imagination of university life.

Broadly speaking, it came down to two things.

First, colorful campus activities.

Second, romance.

Campus activities came first on the list because for most people, the illusion shattered quickly. After the initial three minutes of excitement, they would feel it was nothing special after all.

But the second one often endured from start to finish. Whether someone actually found a partner or managed to date anyone or not, it would remain a perennial topic in the small social circles of the dorms. And the more single someone was, the more enthusiastically they talked about it.

Of course, for freshmen, those rare geniuses who found a partner right after school started were few and far between. Joining a club or the student union, on the other hand, was easy enough.

A few especially strong departments, or those with names that sounded impressive, along with a small number of clubs that obviously matched current trends, faced the problem of being overwhelmed with applicants. They even had to conduct interviews and selection tests.

But the overwhelming majority of the other departments and clubs were in a state of desperate hunger.

If they didn’t shout hard enough, promote themselves, and pull in enough people, they would be just like declining sects in the martial world, able only to wait quietly for extinction.

This field was a jianghu of its own.

Walking through it, one felt youth and vitality everywhere, and the club names were a dazzling jumble as well.

The traditional clubs had already been split into the finest subcategories imaginable, while nontraditional clubs were equally abundant.

What had attracted Li Zhuiyuan from outside the fence and drawn him all the way in had been the small cluster tucked away in the corner.

Blocking the way to that little cluster was the Go Society. Go was very popular these days, and many freshmen had come to take forms, fill out applications, and ask questions.

Several tables even had boards already set up, with senior students and proud, ambitious freshmen playing games while others stood around to watch.

Although Li Zhuiyuan often played Go with Ah Li, what interested him had never been Go itself.

He squeezed through the crowd and finally reached the farthest corner. There were only four tables in total. Not many freshmen stood in front of them, but the older members were all patiently keeping up their recruiting efforts.

The president of the “Alien Society” was holding a scrapbook of newspaper clippings and telling several freshmen about UFOs and various unsolved mysteries of the world.

The president of the “Qigong Society,” together with two older members, sat cross-legged on the ground with aluminum pots balanced on their heads, meditating.

A member standing nearby explained that this was how they observed the trajectories of artificial satellites, and that when necessary they would control their own satellite to collide in combat with those of other countries.

Perhaps feeling that this claim was a little too absurd, and that the president and the two members looked a little too foolish, the member doing the explaining simply flipped over the display board and changed tactics.

On the back it read: Practicing qigong helps improve your romantic luck.

Clearly, the moment the board was flipped, it worked wonders. Several freshmen immediately started asking whether it was true.

Those two were at least somewhat popular in that desolate little corner. As for the other two further inside—the very ones Li Zhuiyuan had come for—not a single person stood in front of them.

On the table to the left stood a sign reading “Fortune-telling Society,” behind which sat a balding senior dozing off.

A tragic senior indeed. It was probably hereditary.

That sort of problem was practically unsolvable. No amount of care or maintenance helped. The main symptom was that once a certain age arrived, even a head full of thick hair would vanish in no time.

On the table to the right stood a sign reading “Physiognomy Society.” A young man and woman sat there, each wearing thick glasses.

These two weren’t asleep, but they looked awkward and uneasy. Even with nobody at all standing in front of them, they still looked tense and nervous.

Really, if the two tables had just been combined into one, and they’d copied those wandering fortune-tellers by putting up a banner saying things like “Iron Diviner,” “Love fortunes, career fortunes,” and “No charge if inaccurate,” then added a few Daoist or Buddhist robes for effect, they would definitely have attracted a lot of traffic.

But unfortunately, the two reading faces were obviously so introverted they were terrified of social interaction, while the bald senior beside them looked like he had already seen through the emptiness of worldly life.

Li Zhuiyuan walked up to the young man and woman and noticed that they had even made themselves name placards: President Liu Tao, Vice President Lu An’an.

“Hello, senior brother and senior sister. I’d like a face reading.”

“Huh?” Liu Tao looked surprised. “Little brother, we’re recruiting for the club.”

Lu An’an reached out and nudged Liu Tao. “Just give the little brother a reading.”

Sitting there doing nothing was even more awkward. It was better to at least have something to do.

Besides, this boy was really quite handsome. Looking at a good-looking young boy was much better than staring blankly into space.

Liu Tao hesitated, then nodded. “Little brother, what exactly do you want read?”

“My face.”

“Heh. What I mean is, what specifically do you want to know? Your grades? Your health?”

Li Zhuiyuan pointed at his own face. “Start with my facial structure and give me a physiognomic reading.”

The moment they heard that professional term, both of their expressions changed.

Liu Tao took a thick, dog-eared book from a drawer. After opening it, he pulled out a notebook from inside, uncapped his fountain pen, and prepared to calculate.

Lu An’an, meanwhile, took an abacus from the drawer of the bald senior dozing next to them and placed it in front of Liu Tao.

Liu Tao held the pen in his right hand, worked the abacus with his left, stared at Li Zhuiyuan, and continuously muttered mnemonic verses under his breath.

The whole display genuinely surprised Li Zhuiyuan. It meant the other party was truly calculating, not just pretending to pinch his fingers, flipping through a book, and pulling out some entry to fool people.

It was just that their level was probably very, very low—one foot through the door, while the other was still stuck outside.

Because under normal circumstances, if someone calculated his fate right in front of him, he would be able to sense it clearly.

Back at Taigong’s courtyard, Liu Yumei had liked calculating him for a while, even deliberately hiding her hands inside her sleeves or behind a fan.

But every single time, he would still feel a warning rise in his heart. Either he would make a face to interrupt her, or he would simply calculate back at her to cancel it out.

Lu An’an then came out from behind the table and stood beside Li Zhuiyuan. “Little brother, let me feel your bones.”

“Alright.”

Lu An’an was not very tall, and she didn’t carry any fragrance. She was an ordinary-looking girl, but her fingers were rather fine and soft.

And when her fingertips touched your skin, you could feel how skillfully she controlled the force in her hands.

She really did know how to read bones.

After finishing, Lu An’an went over to Liu Tao and said a few words to him. Liu Tao immediately flipped through the book again and then resumed staring at Li Zhuiyuan while working the abacus.

Li Zhuiyuan began to feel it—a very faint sensation, like a mosquito bite.

But that also meant Liu Tao had entered the proper state, though it was clearly built on the combined effort of the two of them.

Only, as he kept calculating, Liu Tao began sniffing constantly. From time to time, he pressed the back of his hand against his nose, and the process was taking rather a long time.

Afraid Li Zhuiyuan might get impatient, Lu An’an comforted him, “Little brother, this takes a bit of time, but don’t worry, it’ll be done very soon.”

“Alright.”

Li Zhuiyuan answered with a smile, while the fingertips of both his hands began lightly flicking.

Now that he knew how to calculate as well, things had actually become a little troublesome.

Lu An’an pulled a piece of candy from her pocket, unwrapped it, and held it up to Li Zhuiyuan’s mouth.

“Little brother, big sister is treating you to some candy.”

Li Zhuiyuan hesitated a moment. His hands were occupied right now, so he could only open his mouth.

“Heehee.”

Lu An’an didn’t think the boy was putting on airs at all. Delighted, she fed the candy into his mouth.

It was a milk candy, very sweet.

“Little brother, do you live nearby, or are your parents part of the school?”

“I’m a freshman.”

“You really are a freshman?”

“Mm.”

“So young? A prodigy?” Then Lu An’an seemed to think of something and said excitedly, “Then join our Physiognomy Society! You can be our next-generation president!”

What mattered was quality, not quantity. If they could recruit a prodigy, it would bring a lot of prestige to the club.

And Lu An’an knew very well that their line of work depended heavily on brains.

Li Zhuiyuan made no comment. His hands still continued their light flicking.

Actually, if he stopped now, then there would be no need to wait for the next generation, because the current president would probably have to step down on medical grounds.

Gradually, the sound of Liu Tao’s sniffing grew louder and louder. Sweat began to bead on his face. Even though it was late summer and early autumn, and the weather was still hot, white vapor began rising from the top of his head.

Seeing this, Lu An’an sensed that something was wrong. “Liu Tao…”

She tried to step forward to stop him, but Li Zhuiyuan grabbed her by the wrist.

Lu An’an instinctively tried to pull free, only to discover that the boy’s grip was far stronger than she had imagined.

“Let senior brother keep calculating. Don’t disturb him.”

Li Zhuiyuan ended the counter-calculation.

“Ah!”

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