Boîte corporelle

Chapitre 15

Name: Zheng Haifang Gender: Female Date of Birth: June 19, 1984 Blood Type: B Hobbies: Watching movies, making friends Notes: The deceased had no boyfriend, was very popular, had above-average grades, believed in astrology, and was cheerful and outgoing.

Name: Wang Qing Gender: Female Date of Birth: March 10, 1984 Blood Type: AB Hobbies: Photography Notes: The deceased was aloof and had no close friends. She was passionate about photography and produced a large body of work. Other details are unknown.

Name: Xu Hui Gender: Female Blood Type: B Hobbies: Reading novels, enjoying online chatting Notes: The deceased was a dreamy girl who spent all her time immersed in her fantasies and had poor academic performance.

Ling'er bit her lower lip and fell into deep thought. Apart from all being women born in 1984, the deceased had nothing in common.

Hu Yi was also deep in thought, muttering to himself, "How could three be missing? That's impossible, it's never happened before!"

Ling'er said, "What do you mean three are missing? What are you nagging about?"

Surprisingly, Hu Yi didn't banter: "I haven't thought it through yet. I'll tell you when I have some ideas. If I tell you now and it's wrong, it might affect your thinking!"

Ling'er was surprised by Hu Yi's thoughtfulness and nodded. Suddenly, she thought of something and said, "Hu Yi, you've been cultivating for over a thousand years, haven't you?"

"Yes, Master, it has been over sixteen hundred years."

Ling'er said, "From now on, unless we're in front of other hunters, you don't have to call me 'master' anymore. It sounds too formal! Just call me Ling'er."

"Okay, Ling'er, what are your orders?"

"Release your demonic energy and fill the campus to sense if there is any other demonic energy present."

Hu nodded and said, "That's a good idea." But he stopped immediately after releasing a little demonic energy, worriedly asking, "What if we accidentally attract other hunters?"

Ling'er rolled her eyes at him: "Look at your pathetic self. Don't you still have me? What are you afraid of?"

Hu Yidao: "What if a level one pigman comes? You're only level two!"

Ling'er was immediately stung. If it weren't for the fact that she had become famous among hunters for three years, she would definitely have passed the Level 1 hunter exam. So she swung her Feathered Twin Rings at Hu Yi and said, "You old thing! Just release it when I tell you to, why are you talking so much nonsense?" Hu Yi shrank into the corner and bit his lower lip, slowly releasing his demonic energy.

There were two figures in the woods.

"Huh? Is that demonic energy?"

Another deep voice rang out: "It's a fox demon, and it has already cultivated to the point of having six tails."

The first voice said again, "There's no murderous intent in this demonic aura, so it seems the school's affairs have nothing to do with him."

The deep voice said, "Yes, this demon and the human seem to have made a pact."

"That must be the hunter. Since the hunter is involved, let's not get involved, shall we? Haha, let's go!"

"There's no demonic aura here!" Hu Yi withdrew his demonic aura.

Ling'er was discouraged and said, "Impossible! Judging from the corpse, it must have been torn apart by sharp claws. No human could have that much strength."

The two walked to their dormitory, talking as they went. Just then, Ling'er's phone rang. "Ling'er?" It was Tingting's voice.

"It's me, what's wrong? Tingting, are you living at home too?" As she spoke, she watched Hu Yi, that disgusting guy, pull out her face mask from somewhere and put it on his face. She didn't notice that Tingting's tone was different from usual!

"Come quick, I saw it on the grass behind the stadium..."

Ling'er realized something was happening and said to Hu Yi, "I have to go out right away. Remember to hide when anyone comes!" Hu Yi replied without turning his head.

Ling'er ran quickly towards the gymnasium. When she arrived at the agreed-upon place, she didn't see Tingting. She was so anxious she was about to cry. Tingting was her best friend; if anything happened to her, she would feel guilty for the rest of her life. She called out Tingting's name loudly, but Tingting seemed to have never been there, as if she had vanished from the face of the earth! Suddenly, she felt something at her feet. Looking down, she saw a small Doraemon phone charm, something they had picked out together while shopping not long ago. She picked it up and saw that the charm wasn't broken. Had Tingting deliberately taken it off to send a message? But what could she say? "Tingting, you absolutely can't let anything happen to you!" Tears welled up in her eyes without her realizing it. A vague feeling crept into her heart that she might lose a good friend…

Tragedy struck! Tingting's body was found in the grass beside a small river at the southernmost part of the school. However, her body hadn't been torn apart; only her throat had been cut. Ling'er collapsed onto Tingting's body, weeping uncontrollably. She was filled with self-reproach for not being able to protect her best friend. What good was being a Level One Hunter? Tingting's face still held a look of terror, her eyes slightly open. Ling'er held her still-warm hand, recalling their daily moments. Her hand was still so soft and delicate… Suddenly, she noticed three tiny scratch marks on the back of Tingting's hand. What had happened? Before she could think further, the police arrived. Since Ling'er was the first to discover the body, and Tingting's last phone call was to her…

After an investigation, based on the testimonies of Tingting's parents and classmates, the possibility of Ling'er committing the crime was ruled out. She remained silent, tightly clutching the phone chain left by Tingting in her hand.

It was almost dark when Ling'er left the police station. She kept reminiscing about the happy days they had spent together. She couldn't believe they were now separated by death. Although she was a hunter accustomed to death and didn't even care much about her own, she couldn't let go of the loss of her dearest friend. Before she knew it, she had arrived at the school gate. Looking up, Ling'er saw a restaurant she and Tingting used to frequent, and tears streamed down her face again. She slowly went inside, sat in their usual spot, and ordered several of Tingting's favorite dishes. She sat there silently, lamenting how everything had changed.

"That son of a bitch! Stealing food again! Damn it!" A vulgar remark reached Ling'er's ears. She looked in the direction of the voice and saw the restaurant owner standing at the kitchen door with one hand on his hip and the other holding a stick. Seeing Ling'er's curiosity, he explained embarrassedly, "Ever since Granny Wang from your school died, her big tabby cat has been coming to steal food all the time! It's been two weeks, every day! I don't even know where it comes from!"

Ling'er's body jolted! Her voice trembled as she asked, "What did you just say? Granny Wang? She's dead?" "Yes! Granny Wang was just a street sweeper, how would you students know her? She was hit by a car and killed on her way home two weeks ago! Tsk tsk! Such a tragic death..." Ling'er didn't wait for the shopkeeper to finish before throwing down the money and running away! Granny Wang had been dead for two weeks? Impossible! I saw her just a few days ago! If it were a zombie, there should be death energy; if it were demonic transformation, there should be malevolent energy. Even if it was some other monster in disguise, Hu Yi wouldn't be unaware! She really, really couldn't figure it out! Ling'er quickened her pace; she wanted to go back to her dorm to discuss it with Hu Yi.

Two dark figures, one large and one small, darted through the campus! When they reached the girls' dormitory, a sudden shout rang out: "Freeze!" The two figures abruptly stopped. It turned out that Ling'er, who was on her way back, had seen a suspicious figure resembling Granny Wang and a cat running towards the dormitory. She quickly chanted a spell to freeze the two! Ling'er looked at the hunched-over Granny Wang, who slowly raised her head. "Ah!" Ling'er was terrified, her whole body going numb! She screamed! What a face it was! Granny Wang—or rather, it couldn't be Granny Wang anymore; its face was completely inhuman, with cat-like markings, a few whiskers growing from its split lips, and green eyes gleaming with a cold light. Although Ling'er had seen many demons and monsters, this was cold to the bone!

"Master, don't look into its eyes! It will bewitch your mind! It's no longer human, you should call it Cat-faced Granny!" Hu Yi's timely arrival and reminder moved her so much that she thought she would definitely buy him a whole bunch of Za L'Oreal Up2U powder and face masks to repay him in the future!

"Just as I thought!" Hu Yi said with a serious expression.

Ling'er asked in confusion, "What do you mean, 'it really is like this'?" "It's true that Granny Wang herself is dead, but! It did Granny Wang a great favor!" Hu Yi said angrily.

"You mean it's always been the big tabby cat causing trouble?"

"No! It was Granny Wang who did everything! It's just that without the big tabby cat, there wouldn't be Granny Cat!"

Ling'er suddenly remembered something and exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be...could it be a life-borrowing?"

Hu nodded, turning his gaze to the big tabby cat: "I was puzzled when I first saw it. Cats have nine lives, but after losing two, they become extremely cautious and won't let themselves lose another. Cats are creatures that would rather die than lose all seven of their lives unless absolutely necessary! I've lived for over 1,600 years and have only seen this twice, once 800 years ago and once with this cat!"

"It really was a life-borrowing! The big tabby cat willingly lent its life to Granny Wang, who took care of it! But how did you come up with that?" Ling'er finally remembered why the bodies of the first three people who died were completely shattered but she couldn't sense any demonic aura at all, because Granny Wang herself was neither a demon nor a monster!

"Meow—" the big tabby cat meowed, trying to break free from Ling'er's immobilization spell. Granny Wang also struggled, but failed.

“Master, think about it. The first three victims were all born in 1984, which means they were all born in the Year of the Rat. Cats are naturally inclined to catch mice. Although Granny Wang is not a cat, she has feline instincts. This can explain the deaths of the three victims. Furthermore, the little Doraemon that Tingting left on the grass, if I remember correctly, is a hint that you are connected to cats. Unfortunately, she was still kidnapped by them and could not escape death. Luckily, you arrived early and left Tingting with a complete body!”

Mentioning Tingting brought tears to Ling'er's eyes again. Just as a thought crossed her mind, Granny Wang suddenly lunged at her, her right hand lashing out with three long claws aimed at her throat. Ling'er drew her double rings to parry, but Granny Wang was too fast; the claws were already close to her skin. At that moment, a wolf howled in the distance. Granny Wang trembled, and Ling'er retreated, her right hand holding the rings, her left middle finger and thumb interlocked, pointing at the wolf's forehead and mouth, shouting, "Sure!" A white light descended from the sky, enveloping Granny Wang. Seeing the opportunity, Ling'er held the rings to her chest with both hands and shouted, "Clear!" Another white light shone from the ground. Granny Wang struggled violently at first, then slowly became still, her body gradually becoming transparent until she disappeared. Ling'er looked at the big tabby cat and said, "You defied the will of Heaven, causing the deaths of four people; you cannot live! Go!" With a wave of her hand, a flash of silver light appeared, and the big tabby cat vanished!

Ling'er walked up to Hu Yi and was about to thank him when he knelt down in the direction from which the wolf's howl had come, saying, "Thank you, Wolf King, for saving your master!" He then bowed three more times before getting up.

Ling'er was puzzled. Hu Yi was usually carefree and irreverent, and she rarely saw him like this, so she asked, "Who is it? Who is the Wolf King?"

Hu Yidao said, "You'd better not ask. This is a taboo for you hunters. Although you are currently on unpaid leave, you will still have to become a hunter after two years!"

Seeing that he wouldn't speak, and considering it was related to the hunter's taboo, Ling'er didn't press further. She took out her phone and looked at Xiao Dingdang, saying, "Tingting, rest in peace. This is all I can do! I know you're unwilling, but I'm useless! I can't keep you by my side anymore!"

"Let's go, I still need to do a face mask~ The weather has been so dry these past few days, I've even got some fine lines on my skin, sigh! Luckily you have to buy me a lot of Za L'Oreal Up2U powder and face masks to repay me! Haha! It saved me a lot of money! I heard from my friend on Fox that L'Oreal seems pretty good, so you don't need to buy anything else!" Hu said, touching his skin.

"Wait! Who said I was going to buy you the Za L'Oreal Up2U powder mask? Don't get too cocky!" Ling'er was puzzled. She had only thought about it casually and hadn't told him!

"Hehe! We made a heart-to-heart contract! You can figure it out with just a thought, otherwise how would I know you were downstairs in the dorm and how would I have been able to get there in time to save you?"

There are three types of contracts between hunters and their demon servants. The first is a blood contract, requiring the demon servant to have cultivated for over five hundred years. Once the contract is made, the servant can only find another master after the master's death. The second is a heart contract, requiring the demon servant to have cultivated for over a thousand years. The person who makes this contract is bound to their master in life and death; if anything happens to the master, the demon servant will not only lose all their magic power, but may even lose their life! The third is a spirit contract. Many people only know of its existence, but no one has ever actually made one! Or rather, there is no one on record who has ever suffered such a fate!

"Stop talking nonsense! How can you go back on your word as the owner? Go and buy it for me right now!" Hu Yi pressed his advantage.

Ling'er glanced at her watch: "Hey! Don't you even know what time it is? Even if I promised to buy it for you, I should at least wait until dawn, right?"

"You wish!! I want you to go now. Did I save you for nothing? I'm your savior! Hmph! A person should repay kindness! Without me? Without me, you'd be a corpse by now..."

Ling'er listened to Hu Yi's rambling on and on, trying hard to control the urge to punch him. After all, he had just saved her life. She had to hold back!

Seeing that Ling'er remained unmoved, Hu Yi boldly stepped forward, reached out and tapped Ling'er's forehead, saying, "I need you to go right now!"

"I'm sorry, Hu Yi..." Ling'er sighed.

"Sorry won't do, you have to go buy it right now!"

"I'm sorry, Hu Yi! Although you saved me, I really can't hold back anymore!! You old bastard!!!!! You'll be climbing on the roof if I don't beat you for three days!" With that, she swung her double rings and smashed them hard across his face! Hu Yi's screams echoed for a long time in the quiet campus...

On a distant building, two people stood, and a deep voice said, "Wolf, this fox demon actually knows you. He's really something!"

Another said, "He's the only remaining member of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan; I should protect him."

The deep voice said, "Let's go. The story of this female hunter and this demon servant has only just begun. We'll be involved in many things in the future."

The other said, "Laughing? You've never been interested in hunters before, so what...?"

The man named Xiao said, "She and I have a connection."

"Could it be her?" He smiled and nodded, then turned and disappeared into the night...

(2) Reunion after a lifetime

Summer vacation has started, and Ling'er bids farewell to her parents to visit her master, the Hunter Saint, whom she hasn't seen for a year. The beautiful scenery along the way is delightful, but Hu Yi follows behind, constantly complaining. Ling'er, exasperated, must occasionally brandish her twin rings in exasperation to silence him. "What's so interesting about this? Broken mountains, broken waters, broken clouds!!" Hu Yi says, equally exasperated.

Upon arriving at the foot of the nameless mountain where the Hunter Saint resided, Ling'er tidied her clothes and prepared to ascend the mountain. Just then, she spotted someone who caught her eye.

A little girl, only fourteen or fifteen years old, knelt before the mountain, her large eyes brimming with tears, as if they would fall at the slightest movement. Ling'er went over and asked, "Little sister, what's wrong? Why are you here all alone?" When her outstretched hand touched the little girl's tear-stained cheek, her heart skipped a beat, for the little girl's skin was so cool. Ling'er looked up; the sun was blazing overhead. Although there were trees in the mountains to provide shade, she was still drenched in sweat. This little girl was definitely not from an ordinary family, Ling'er thought to herself. What kind of demon dared to come to the foot of this nameless mountain?

At this moment, Hu Yi, who had fallen behind, also caught up. He glanced at the little girl and rushed over, blocking Ling'er's path. He shouted angrily, "Ice Demon! Don't hurt my master!" With a flick of his wrists, a ball of foxfire flew towards the little girl! The little girl didn't even raise her head. She simply stretched out a hand and gently brushed the foxfire away, and it disappeared!

Hu Yi was startled and was about to use his internal energy when he heard an old voice in mid-air: "Little fox, don't hurt her!" As soon as the voice fell, an old man descended from the sky. Ling'er was overjoyed and said, "Master!"

The old man had an upright and dignified appearance, a long beard, and wore a scholar's robe. He was Ling'er's master, the legendary Hunter Saint. The Hunter Saint kindly patted her head and smiled, "Disciple, it's been over a year since I last saw you. I thought you had abandoned your master!"

Ling'er shook the Hunter Saint's arm like a little girl and said, "I've come to see you, sir!"

Hu Yi looked at the Hunter Saint in disbelief. Was this the Hunter Saint who had captured countless demons, who was feared by demons and cried at the sight of monsters?

Seeing Hu Yi standing there in a daze, Ling'er reached out and pushed him, saying, "Come and pay your respects to my master!"

Hu blushed and knelt down, clasping his hands in greeting, saying, "Greetings, Hunter Saint!"

The Hunter Saint hurriedly said, "Get up quickly. Since you have made a contract with my disciple, you are no longer an outsider." After saying that, the Hunter Saint said to the little girl, "Ice Maiden, I will grant your request. However, I had a distinguished guest arrive just now, which delayed me for a while. Don't worry! Ling'er, come with me. Your master wants to have a good talk with you."

The two reached the summit of the nameless mountain. The Hunter Saint asked, "Ling'er, how are you at school?" Ling'er nodded, then shook her head, recounting the whole story of the cat-faced old woman at school. When the Hunter Saint heard that someone's wolf howl had saved Ling'er's life, he couldn't help but sigh deeply. After she finished speaking, he said, "Everything is predestined! What is meant to happen will happen!" The two sat down on the prayer mat, and the Hunter Saint continued, "Ling'er, do you know that your master is the former Hunter Emperor?"

Ling'er nodded, and the Hunter Saint continued, "Ever since I took you as my disciple, I have abdicated in favor of the current Hunter Emperor and taken you to travel the world. But just when you were taking the Hunter Rank Exam, I learned something shocking from the Hunter Emperor!" The Hunter Saint frowned, "When you were fourteen, a young man led the Wolf King into the Hunter Guild and defeated the Hunter Emperor and the eight elders in one fell swoop!"

"Ah?" Ling'er exclaimed in surprise, "A mere teenager can defeat the Hunter King and the eight elders? This..." She couldn't finish her sentence. If her master hadn't said it himself, she wouldn't have believed a single word!

The Hunter Saint stroked Ling'er's head and said, "It's absolutely true! Elder Tianxing cast a divination and concluded that no one in this world can subdue him except for one person." The Hunter Saint sighed, "That person is you, Ling'er!"

"What? Me? I could only withstand three moves from the eight elders combined, I..." Ling'er jumped up.

"Elder Tianxing wouldn't be wrong, and you two will meet at the age of twenty..." Ling'er was going to stay on Wuming Mountain for a few days, and Hu Yi couldn't go up the mountain. The Hunter Saint found him a good place - a hidden cave at the foot of Wuming Mountain. He could cultivate there and his efforts would be twice as effective. Hu Yi was so happy that he didn't want to leave!

One day, after receiving a letter, the Hunter Saint hurriedly went down the mountain. Ling'er was very bored on the mountain, so she left a message for her master saying that she wanted to take a stroll in a nearby small mountain village.

Ling'er and Hu Yi settled in a village called Zhangjiaji, a beautiful place with towering mountains and white clouds. However, on the second day after they arrived, a strange thing happened in the village.

Zhangjiaji is home to about two hundred households, mostly surnamed Zhang. The village head is named Zhang Laosan, who lost his wife in middle age, leaving behind four sons: Zhang Jin, Zhang Yin, Zhang Tong, and Zhang Tie. (Ling'er and Hu Yi once discussed why these four sons were all so different, but ultimately found no answer.) All four are in their twenties. Zhang Jin and Zhang Yin farm, Zhang Tong is in university, while Zhang Tie spends his days idly and causing trouble. Zhang Tong brought his girlfriend home for summer vacation. In this backward and isolated village, everyone knows how many bowls each family has, so people naturally pay more attention to someone as learned as Zhang Tong. However, Zhang Tong's girlfriend hasn't left since arriving at the Zhang family home; only every night, the neighbors hear Zhang Tong's loud laughter and the woman's giggling.

The day after Ling'er and Hu Yi stayed at the market, the burly Zhang Tie suddenly went mad! He was running around naked in the street, yelling and screaming, while the two honest men, Zhang Jin and Zhang Yin, chased after him. Ling'er and Hu Yi were eating at the village's only small restaurant when they saw this. Ling'er quickly turned away, her pretty face flushed with embarrassment. She wanted to use a spell to freeze Zhang Tie, to stop him from running around and disturbing public order! But Zhang Tie continued to run and jump, constantly shouting something like, "I...I laugh defiantly at the heavens...beauties embrace me...hahaha!" His mouth was full of incoherent ramblings. Ling'er thought her spell had malfunctioned, so she used a spell to freeze Hu Yi instead, thinking to herself, "Zhang Tie is really a rogue, even in madness he's so uncivilized, completely naked...but he can even spout poetry!" Hu Yi, watching the commotion, was about to stuff a steamed bun into his mouth when, completely unprepared, Ling'er used a spell to freeze him in place! His right hand, holding a steamed bun, stopped at his wide-open mouth. Seeing that the spell hadn't failed, Ling'er shouted "Freeze!" several times at Zhang Tie, but it still didn't work—something that had never happened before! Zhang Tie ran far away, and Ling'er was puzzled, thinking: Does being naked negate the freezing spell? No way! She quickly chased after him, leaving Hu Yi on the stall. Just then, a little boy, looking at his brother who was even prettier than his sister, asked his mother, puzzled, "Mom, this brother is drooling over the steamed bun, why isn't he eating it?" The little boy's mother also looked at Hu Yi and said, "He's crazy too… Run! He's crying! Maybe he'll strip naked and start running around hitting people soon…"

After catching up with the Zhang brothers, Ling'er found that the crazed Zhang Tie had been pinned to the ground, Zhang Jin was thanking someone repeatedly, and Zhang Yin was looking around for a rope to tie up the struggling Zhang Tie. Seeing that they were under control, Ling'er turned to go back, saying, "Miss Ling'er, I didn't expect to see you here."

She turned around and saw the man who had subdued Zhang Tie looking at her. She asked in confusion, "Do you know me?"

The man walked up to Ling'er and said, "We went to the same school, the foreign language department. My name is Chang Xiao. Maybe I should call you Qingling Hunter."

"You're a hunter too?" She wasn't too surprised that Chang Xiao called out the title bestowed upon her by the Hunter King.

He shook his head and said, "I am not a hunter. As for who I am, I think your master should have told you."

Ling'er took a step back. "You wouldn't happen to be...that person, would you?" she thought to herself. Such a romantic thing, and I've run into it. It's fine if the male lead isn't very handsome, but at least there should be some kind of hero saving the damsel in distress, and then he should tell me who he is. The moment he sees me... She suddenly felt a little scared, and without thinking, she turned around and ran away.

Chang Xiao didn't chase after him, but just gave a bitter smile.

Ling'er wandered aimlessly for a while, then realized she seemed to have forgotten something. After thinking carefully, she remembered that Hu Yi was still at the stall, so she turned back to look for him. When she arrived at the stall, she discovered that Hu Yi, whom she had immobilized, was still there. Upon closer inspection… poor Hu Yi, tears streaming down his face, drool pouring from his wide-open mouth, his bun covered in dust, and his face smeared with dry grass and chicken feathers from the drool and tears… Ling'er quickly removed the immobilization spell. Hu Yi burst into tears and ran to the well, frantically rinsing his mouth and washing his face. Ling'er, feeling guilty, went over to apologize, only to see Hu Yi casually pull down a piece of red cloth drying by the well, bite it in his mouth, and stare at Ling'er with teary eyes. Just as she was about to speak, she heard, “Which shameless person even stole my little Si’s diapers? They’re so desperate!” Ling'er slowly, very slowly, turned her gaze to the red cloth in Hu Yi’s mouth, her lips twitched, and she quickly ran towards the inn! Just then, a voice came from behind: "Oh! It's you! You look so respectable, but I never thought you would do something like this..." Hu Yi's miserable cries echoed in Ling'er's ears.

Old Zhang sat in his courtyard, smoking incessantly. He was deeply troubled. Zhang Tie had already caused him endless worry, and now he had gone mad. Although he shouldn't go out causing trouble anymore, how could a perfectly healthy man suddenly go insane? Zhang Tie's strange cries echoed from the doorway. Old Zhang stood up and went out. He saw Zhang Jin and Zhang Yin dragging the bound and gagged Zhang Tie inside, followed by two others: Chang Xiao and Wolf King. Old Zhang immediately ordered Zhang Jin and Zhang Yin to lock Zhang Tie inside. Chang Xiao said, "Old man, you have a leg ailment, don't you?" Old Zhang was startled. Chang Xiao continued, "My name is Chang Xiao, and I'm a doctor." Pointing to Wolf King, he said, "He's my friend, surnamed Lang, named Wang. We've come to treat your son; he seems quite ill!" Old Zhang recovered and immediately offered him a seat and poured him water, saying, "Dr. Chang, what's wrong with my fourth son? How did he suddenly go mad?" Chang Xiao said, "I need to examine him before I can make a diagnosis, sir." "Has your son shown any unusual behavior lately?" At this moment, the Wolf King approached and whispered in his ear, "There's a little fox, and Ling'er and Hu Yi are outside too." Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Zhang Laosan immediately went to open it. Ling'er and Hu Yi were about to say something when Chang Xiao interrupted, "Uncle, that woman is Ling'er, my assistant, also a doctor. That man is a nurse, Xiao Hu." Upon hearing that they were Dr. Chang's assistants, Zhang Laosan quickly ushered them inside. Ling'er, seeing Chang Xiao wink at her, immediately understood. That good-for-nothing Hu Yi trembled incessantly whenever he saw the Wolf King. The Wolf King went over, patted him on the shoulder, and said a few words, which calmed him down. Chang Xiao said, "Uncle Zhang, let us take a look at your son." Zhang Laosan nodded hurriedly, "This way, this way."

The room was simply furnished. Zhang Tie was tied to the bed, struggling and wailing. Ling'er had come to find out why he wasn't bound by magic. Chang Xiao walked to the bedside, placed his hand on Zhang Tie's wrist, and after a while, pressed it against Zhang Tie's head, his brows furrowing slightly. He turned to Zhang Laosan and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't bring a first-aid kit in my haste today. We'll come again tomorrow." He then pulled Ling'er and the others out. Zhang Laosan kept thanking them and saying polite things.