Chapter 841 — Young Master Bing's New Idea

"That's true enough." Zou Ruoguang nodded. "That A Ku is obviously a common swindler. It takes a pair of fools like the Zhen father and son to hand over fifty thousand yuan to him! They're the dumbest bastards alive!"

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Not only was there no sign of improvement in Zhen Yingjun, but the diarrhea had left him utterly wasted — swaying on his feet, ready to collapse at any moment.

Zhen Dazhou could see that this was going nowhere. His son had not improved one bit; if anything, he looked worse than ever. He hurriedly dialed Master A Ku's number, hoping to invite him back for another look — but the line only played the sound of a switched-off phone...

Only then did Zhen Dazhou realize he had been conned by that so-called Master A Ku! But who could he blame? True, Zou Tiandi had been the one who brought Master A Ku in, but Zou Tiandi had made it clear from the start that he knew no great immortal — all he could do was help find one.

The great immortal had been found, and it was only after Zhen Dazhou's own consent that he had treated Zhen Yingjun. Moreover, the donation to the shrine had been given of Zhen Dazhou's own free will. Zou Tiandi could not truly be held responsible for any of it!

Zhen Dazhou was beside himself with fury. Zhen Yingjun was his only son, doted on beyond measure. He had brought the boy along to Songshan City this time to expand the family business and let the boy broaden his horizons — who could have imagined it would turn into such a catastrophe!

In the space of a single night, Zhen Dazhou had aged a dozen years, and a great many white hairs had appeared in his head.

Seeing Zhen Dazhou groaning and sighing, and Zhen Yingjun writhing in agony on the bed, Zou Tiandi said with something like pity: "This doesn't look like spirit possession to me. Maybe you should take him to the hospital instead?"

Zou Tiandi reasoned that since Wei Zhao had transferred the injuries from that stroke-stricken old woman onto Zhen Yingjun, then what Zhen Yingjun had must be a genuine illness — what did it have to do with possession?

This remark jolted Zhen Dazhou into action. He rushed his son to the hospital in a blind panic. After a thorough examination, the doctors came to a conclusion: Zhen Yingjun's current symptoms were much like the aftereffects left by stroke, epilepsy, or cerebral hemorrhage. There was no quick fix available, and they recommended trying Chinese medical massage and acupuncture.

Hearing the doctors' verdict, the Zhen father and son finally understood. This was no spirit possession — the aftereffects of that paralytic old woman's illness had genuinely been transferred into Zhen Yingjun's body! They did not know how the transfer had happened, but the illness had unmistakably ended up inside him.

Zhen Yingjun wanted to weep but had no tears left. Why did he deserve this? All he had done was kick the old paralytic woman's woven bag! Surely that was no reason for such a vicious punishment — to transplant her very illness into his own body?

The father and son were thoroughly demoralized. They had been duped by a spirit shaman, and when all was said and done, the truth turned out to be nothing like what they had assumed. Worse still, this illness was no easy thing to cure!

The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine was blunt: no one could promise a complete cure. An aftereffect of this kind could only be treated on a trial basis — perhaps it might ease, perhaps there might even be a miracle. For the examination had revealed that Zhen Yingjun's meridians were blocked to an extraordinary degree.

His condition was not the same as the old woman's. She had suffered from genuine aftereffects, while Zhen Yingjun's affliction was one manufactured by Wei Zhao's energy. The pattern of meridian blockage was unlike anything a normal aftereffect would produce.

In other words, from the outside Zhen Yingjun's body appeared perfectly healthy, yet his meridians were sealed by some inexplicable force. This left the doctors at the Chinese medicine hospital puzzled. When they asked about Zhen Yingjun's medical history, he was too ashamed to admit that he had brought heaven's wrath upon himself, so he hemmed and hawed and said nothing of use.

The less he told them, the harder it was for the doctors to find a suitable course of treatment. All they could do was let him try and see.

Try and see? How could Zhen Dazhou settle for "trying and seeing"? This was his one and only son. Now that the boy had been reduced to this state — if he could not be cured, what good would a vast family fortune do him with no one to inherit it?

So Zhen Dazhou became desperate. He begged Zou Tiandi to ask around among Songshan City's high society to see if there was some miracle doctor capable of curing Zhen Yingjun's affliction. Zhen Dazhou was willing to put up one million yuan as a reward!

Zhen Dazhou was truly frantic, or he would never have dangled so much money. He dragged Zhen Yingjun from one specialist clinic to the next, but not a single doctor could offer any promising course of treatment for the boy's condition.

Large hospitals offered their opinions, and so did private clinics, but the verdict was always the same: they could try and see, and not one of them dared promise a guaranteed cure.

Meanwhile, the cooperation between Zhen Dazhou and Zou Tiandi had stalled. In truth, this was exactly what Zou Tiandi wanted to see. He no longer dared have anything to do with the Zhen father and son. These two unlucky wretches had provoked Wei Zhao and brought this calamity upon themselves — and they still expected him to work with them? In their dreams!

What annoyed Zou Tiandi was this: since the Zhen father and son were no longer interested in doing business, why didn't they pack up and leave? What were they still hanging around for? Didn't Donghai have plenty of fine doctors too? Why keep loitering in Songshan City?

In fact, Zhen Dazhou still harbored a measure of superstition in his heart. Since Zhen Yingjun's trouble had started in Songshan City, he believed a solution must also be found in Songshan City. Everything was governed by the cycle of cause and effect! This, too, was why he insisted on remaining in Songshan City for the time being.

At the Geili Fuyun Bar, Li Cihua reported to Zhao Qibing, seated in his wheelchair, on the recent goings-on in Songshan City. The demolition and relocation were proceeding smoothly. The residents of the shantytown had received their compensation and happily moved out — it was just that the total payout had been a bit on the steep side.

Having finished speaking about the demolition matter, Li Cihua recounted the Zhen father and son's plight from Donghai and their plea for help as if sharing some curious tale of the supernatural. But to his surprise, Zhao Qibing's eyes lit up at once: "He said he would offer a million in reward money? This business of treating illnesses seems remarkably profitable!"

"That it is — after all, life is worth more than money!" Li Cihua nodded and said: "And I hear Zhen Yingjun's illness is rather unusual too, contracted because he offended Wei Zhao..."

There are no walls in the world without leaks. Especially with both Zou Tiandi and Zou Ruoguang in the know, there was precious little to keep secret. In Songshan City's upper circles, everyone more or less knew by now that Zhen Yingjun had brought retribution upon himself by offending Wei Zhao!

Who was Wei Zhao? Why, he was the ruthless man who had crippled Zhao Qibing and toppled Qibing Tower! The young masters of standing all knew this perfectly well; it was only out of fear of Zhao Qibing's tyrannical might that none dared so much as mention it casually.

"Wei Zhao? Wei Zhao again?" Zhao Qibing smacked his lips, about to say something — but the Medicine King spoke first from beside him...