"What's wrong?" Tang Yu, who was standing next to Song Hao, noticed that Song Hao's expression was strange and quickly stepped forward to ask.
"Give it a try, but be careful," Song Hao gestured with his hand.
Seeing this, Tang Yu reached out and lightly touched Sun Baoli's skin. As if touching an electrified wire, she jerked back and exclaimed in surprise, "Such a strong electric current! Brother Sun, can you feel it?"
"No! What's wrong?" Sun Baoli looked bewildered.
"It's nothing. For some reason, these acupuncture needles activated the static electricity in your body. You probably can't feel it yourself. If you experience any discomfort, please let me know," Song Hao said.
"Oh! It's nothing, I just feel a bit better now," Sun Baoli said.
"That's good." Song Hao felt somewhat relieved upon hearing this. Song Hao knew that the strong electric current appearing on Sun Baoli's body was not simply due to static electricity. He memorized the acupuncture points and the order in which he had inserted the needles, so that he could try it again next time to see if it would have the same effect.
When Song Hao removed the needles, he felt a tingling sensation upon touching them, indicating the current was only slightly weaker. After removing all the needles, he touched Sun Baoli's skin again and found the current that had permeated his entire body had dissipated. Upon checking his pulse again, he was suddenly delighted to find it normal; the eerie pulse was gone. Upon closer examination, Song Hao frowned again.
After finishing the consultation, Sun Bao stood up, put on his clothes, and said gratefully, "You wait at home. I'll go to Old Wang's house and get a few pounds of mutton to stew. Their sheep was killed by a monster last night." Then he left.
"How could such an abnormal phenomenon occur on his body?" Tang Yu asked in surprise.
“I don’t know either, but it’s a change caused by acupuncture on the meridians. Just now his pulse returned to normal temporarily, revealing a pathological pulse. We also discovered that there seems to be a foreign object in his brain, which should be the cause of his somnambulism. This disease cannot be cured in a short time. Since we have encountered such a special case, let’s stay here for a while,” Song Hao said.
Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Night-Wandering Family
Tang Yu said, "That's all we can do. Just do your best to treat him. If you give up, he might cause trouble or even get yourself killed. Saving his life is a doctor's duty."
Song Hao said, "He is still unaware of his situation and his illness. It would be best if there were no unexpected changes, otherwise the consequences would be very serious. So I have decided to stay at his home to take care of him and prevent him from going out at night again."
Tang Yu said, "Judging from what Director Zhang said, he doesn't have an attack every night; there are intervals between attacks, which gives you time to receive treatment."
Song Hao said, "I hope so."
"And another thing," Tang Yu said, "I noticed that there seemed to be something hidden behind his blank stare, a feeling that's hard to explain."
Song Hao laughed and said, "You're really amazing! You can even see something behind his eyes!"
Tang Yu said, "I said it was just a feeling! I always felt that there was something else about him."
Song Hao said, "If he changes into two different people sooner or later, he will naturally feel that something is wrong."
Before long, Sun Baoli returned with a piece of mutton. He shook his head and said, "Because of that monster that bites sheep, people from other villages rarely buy or eat this kind of mutton anymore. Even though people from the town have tested it and found no problems, some people from our own village are afraid to eat it. Most of the sheep that died in my family were given away. If this continues, we really won't be able to make a living."
Song Hao and Tang Yu exchanged speechless glances. It was their own doing, but they were completely unaware of it.
That night, Song Hao and Tang Yu didn't sleep; they kept watch on Sun Baoli from another room. Sun Baoli did get up during the night, but he only walked around the floor a few times before going back to sleep.
Tang Yu whispered, "It seems he has an attack every night, just with varying degrees of severity. When it's mild, he doesn't even leave the room."
Song Hao said, "Luckily, he lives alone. If there were other family members, they would be scared to death by him!"
Nothing happened that night. At dawn, Song Hao and Tang Yu returned to the village committee and met Liu Yong.
Liu Yong pointed to the dozen or so packets of herbs on the table and said, "Director Zhang had them delivered last night. Who knew you would be staying at Sun Baoli's house?"
Song Hao said, "This is to make it easier to treat his illness, and more importantly, to take precautions to avoid any accidents."
"You've really put your heart into this!" Liu Yong said admiringly.
Tang Yu picked up the herbs and said, "I'll go and decoct them now. The combined effect of acupuncture and medicine will be even better." After saying that, she turned and went to Sun Baoli's house.
"Village Chief Meng is still wondering why they lifted the cordon right after the incident, thinking we were helpless. Let's have Chief Zhang talk to them today, I wonder if they'll believe him," Liu Yong said.
"As long as nothing else goes wrong, people will feel at ease," Song Hao said.
That day, Song Hao treated several more villagers. In the afternoon, Zhang Yonghe arrived and called a meeting with the villagers. He said that in the morning, someone had found a leopard in the nearby mountains, killed by poachers, but it hadn't been removed. Judging from the signs, it should be the monster that killed the sheep. The "haunted" case in Aken Village was officially declared closed.
The villagers, upon hearing this, began to discuss it amongst themselves, inevitably harboring suspicions. However, the police's announcements were mostly correct, and they all hoped that the vampire monster causing widespread panic was indeed the leopard that had been killed.
Song Hao privately reported the treatment of Sun Baoli to Zhang Yonghe. Zhang Yonghe listened, nodded in satisfaction, and felt grateful but also apologetic.
Song Hao took Zhang Yonghe's pulse again. Although he had only taken the medicine for two days, the effect was remarkable. His old ailments had not recurred during these two days.
"You're such a good doctor! You treated my illness and helped me solve the case. Now it's up to you. If you can control him, great; if not, we'll have to resort to force," Zhang Yonghe said.
Song Hao said, "Since there is improvement, let me continue the treatment. It would be best to resolve this matter quietly, as it concerns a person's life and future."
"Your willingness to help others is beyond touching; on behalf of everyone, I thank you!" Zhang Yonghe said gratefully.
Song Hao smiled and said, "No need to be polite. Just give me time. I have to be responsible for my patients."
Zhang Yonghe said, "You can come first. Without you, we would still be empty-handed and unable to find him. But if you encounter this strange illness, don't force it if you can't cure it. Just leave it to us to handle."
Song Hao said, "I will do my best."
At this moment, Liu Yong walked in and said, "I saw Sun Baoli in the village just now. He doesn't look like a patient at all."
Song Hao laughed and said, "He only has episodes at night, wandering around at night, and the severity varies. He doesn't commit crimes every night."
Liu Yong said, "I didn't dare to look at him too much, for fear of arousing his suspicion. I really couldn't tell that he had the ability to fly over walls when he was having an attack."
Song Hao said, "That's right. He knows you're a policeman. If you pay special attention to him, he'll have a kind of subconscious vigilance when he has an episode. Who knows, he might attack you in his sleep."
Upon hearing this, Liu Yong was startled and instinctively touched the pistol at his waist.
Song Hao laughed and said, "But now that everything is fine, I'm staying at his house. Even if he makes any rash moves, I will stop him in time."
Zhang Yonghe said, "Xiao Liu, even though things are like this, you still need to protect the safety of Dr. Song and that Miss Tang. As long as there are no unexpected changes, you should listen to Dr. Song."
Liu Yong said, "Don't worry, Director. Once the goal is clear, things will be easier. If Dr. Song can't treat it, I will."