Chapter 22: The Old Man Seeking Medical Help

  "How dare you disturb the poor monk's stall?" It didn't seem like Lian Cao, who had left Lingquan Temple, still had such a domineering side. After finishing speaking, Lian Cao stretched out his hand and that somewhat ruffian-like guy, who was shouting "yo" in his mouth, retreated several steps before falling backwards onto the ground.

  "Wow, when did even monks become so powerful? What's going on? Do you want to fight one-on-one or in a group? Don't say we're bullying people. Today you've drawn your lines, and our brothers are all following your lead!" Seeing their leader at a disadvantage, the scattered thugs immediately gathered around. After helping up the thug who had been knocked to the ground by the lamp post, they stood with their arms crossed, surrounding us in the middle of the alley!

  "Why bother with a dead man, little brother?" I saw those thugs not giving up and my patience was wearing thin. I glanced at the leader of the thugs, whose forehead was blackened by the lamp post, and said to the prepared gang.

  "You damned Taoist, dare to curse me?" As soon as I said that, the thug who had been crippled by the lamp cord immediately backed off. Don't look at how they normally act tough, in fact they're more afraid of death than anyone else. Have any of you seen thugs extorting money from pork vendors? No! Because those people are ruthless, with their gleaming knives for slaughtering and cutting bones right on the counter. You dare to cause trouble, they'll kill you!

  "Sneer, you? What qualifications do you have to be worthy of my curse! I advise you to hurry back home today, maybe you can still avoid a disaster." I looked at this thug's forehead which was already dark and shiny, and coldly laughed as I advised him. His forehead was as black as ink, it was no longer something that could be solved by hiding. This situation of his was already one of being doomed to suffer. My advice to him was just for my own peace of mind.

  "Hey, you're getting more and more spirited as you speak, huh? What's wrong? Scared? Want to learn from those blind fortune tellers and coax me back so you can make a quick escape?" The hoodlum was probably still feeling embarrassed from being tricked by the lamp earlier, and now he just wanted to save face. As for what I said, it wasn't even worth a fart in his ears.

  "Hey, look at the Qiantang River!" Just as we were about to clash with that group of thugs, a woman's voice came from the banks of the Qiantang River. But somehow, this phrase sounds a bit strange to me!

  The Qiantang River's tide is spectacular, and more and more people are gathering on the shore to watch. Not only tourists, but many locals also don't want to miss this opportunity to watch the tide. Those thugs were no exception, they looked at each other, decided to temporarily let me and Dengcao off, and then come back to us after watching the tide.

  "Hey, big brother, look at that chick up ahead!" By the time a few hoodlums had pushed their way to the riverbank, there was no longer any room for them. Tens of thousands of people crowded along the Qiantang River embankment, waiting for the yellow "water dragon" in the middle of the river to surge forth. Meanwhile, a slender girl caught the attention of the hoodlums!

  "Haha, you guys wait and see the show." The leader of the thugs, who had just been taught a lesson by Dengcao, rubbed his fingers together with an evil grin, saying to his underlings. It seemed he was going to make a move on her.

  "Hehehe, go ahead, big brother, we've got your back!" A few hoodlums were egging on their leader to go and grope the girl's butt.

  "Look, look, the big shot is reaching out!" A few hoodlums stood in the crowd, sneering and shoving each other as they prepared to watch a good show.

  "Ah, the big guy fell into the river!" Unexpectedly, just as their big guy was about to touch it. The tide rushed over, and in order to avoid getting splashed with water, the girl tilted her body to one side. As soon as the girl did this, a seam appeared in the tightly packed human wall. Adding to that, the surrounding tourists all wanted to catch a glimpse of the Qiantang River tide, so they squeezed! And thus, the person who was about to take advantage of the situation was squeezed through the gap created by the girl and pushed down from the riverbank.

  "Quickly call the police, someone has fallen into the river!" There were kind-hearted people around looking for a phone everywhere. In the mid-1990s, everyone was still using beepers! Only a few people were using Motorola's brick-sized mobile phones. So wanting to make an emergency call wasn't that easy of a thing to do!

  Some people were ready to call the police, while others continued to surge towards the dam to watch the tidal wave. More and more people saw someone fall into the river and began to leave in twos and threes. It was clear that lives would be lost if they didn't leave soon, and when the police arrived to investigate, wouldn't that be asking for trouble? At this point, the crowd along the dam became chaotic.

  "Let's go too!" Seeing that rascal fall into the river, I estimated he was dead for sure. I packed up my fortune-telling stall and said to Dengcao.

  "Go, go! Later the police will come to investigate and who knows, they might point their suspicions at us." Lantern Grass spoke in a manner similar to his master, Qinglian Dashi. That's why he said "officials" instead of "police". He wasn't an idiot either, earlier we had a dispute with that thug and I even said he was going to become a dead man. Now that he really is dead, if the police were to investigate, my suspicion would be the greatest. To avoid trouble, Lantern Grass also agreed to leave this place of conflict first.

  "Two masters, two masters please stay!" After we mixed into the crowd and wandered far away from the riverbank, an old man who was panting for breath grabbed my Taoist robe.

  I was startled, thinking that this old man might be an undercover agent. I was pondering whether to take advantage of the crowd and knock him out and run away. Just then, the old man spoke up...

  "Two masters, save me!" As soon as the old man finished speaking, he didn't care that there were people all around and immediately knelt down in front of me and Deng Cao. This one kneel was enough to shock heaven and earth and move ghosts and gods. The tourists around us mostly looked over with unfriendly faces. In their eyes, these two were just a couple of charlatans cheating an old man. Some hot-blooded young people even rolled up their sleeves and were about to step forward.

  "Alright, old man, you get up first and then talk. If you do it this way, we'll all become ancient criminals!" I and Dengcao supported the old man on either side and whispered in his ear.

  "Oh, I see. It was my oversight. Why don't the two masters and we find a quiet place to continue our conversation?" The old man came to his senses and hastily stood up, saying this. Seeing the old man stand up and enthusiastically talk to us there, those young men who were ready to take justice into their own hands finally dispersed.

  "What are you talking about?" I asked the old man in a puzzled tone, Ni Ma had been quietly following me and Deng Cao all along. Just now, he made such a scene on the street, what else did he want to talk about? How was I supposed to know if he was a human trafficker or not, if he wanted to abduct Xiao Ye and Deng Cao to go mining in Datong? Keep talking, screw you!

  "There are many people here, and it's noisy. Don't worry, masters, I'm not a bad person. It's just that some strange things have been happening at home, and after seeking medical treatment for several months, there has been no effect. Just now, I saw Master Iron Mouth make a decisive statement about life and death with one word, so I came to seek your help. You two masters are Buddhist monks, and as Buddhist monks, you should be compassionate and not abandon those in need."

  The old man calmed down and had a good mouthful. This big hat was smashed onto my and Lamp Grass's head one after another, as if we didn't agree with him today, we would be guilty of a great crime. And damn it, he saw me decide life and death with just one word. Is this the rhythm to threaten me?

  "Speak up if you have something to say, otherwise we'll take our leave! Besides, the police should be arriving soon. You can go tell them that the person who was just here is the one I've been calculating for life and death! See if they believe you!" My heart wasn't feeling right, so the words that came out weren't very pleasant either. I'm a person who has always been soft on those who are gentle but tough on those who are aggressive. If you speak nicely, maybe I'll even be willing to lend you a hand! But if you dare threaten me, then you've miscalculated!"

  "This, just now was too rude, please don't mind, Master! I'm also anxious about my family's granddaughter, that's why I spoke nonsense. Master, I think you two Masters are really skilled people. Please help my family's granddaughter!" As he said this, the old man was preparing to use his old trick again and kowtow to us! He had also figured out that I'm a person who yields to softness but not to force, can't bear to see others kowtowing and whatnot.

  "Is she your granddaughter? What's going on? Tell me first and let's listen, whether or not we can help is another matter. Besides, my fellow disciples aren't free labor either. I also need to make a living, you know?

  As the saying goes, 'first come the petty men, then the gentlemen', it's better to clarify the issue of money beforehand."

  "I understand, I understand. As long as the two masters can cure my granddaughter's strange illness, whatever price you name, I'll pay it without hesitation!" The old man brought up the topic of money with a somewhat arrogant tone, as if he was used to getting his way with wealth. This actually surprised me - if they were really wealthy, wouldn't one of the many hospitals in the world be able to cure his granddaughter's illness?

  "Do you know what illness your granddaughter has? You should know, my fellow disciples can only tell fortunes. As for treating illnesses, we are completely clueless. I advise you to find a reputable hospital to take a look instead, don't delay the patient's condition!" I saw that old man seemed to be frantically seeking medical help everywhere, so I hastily and kindly advised him. If something unexpected happened to the old man's granddaughter because of me, I wouldn't be able to bear the consequences!

  "Hospitals, not just national hospitals. Even American hospitals, Japanese hospitals, I've been to them all! Without exception, the test results showed that my granddaughter was only slightly malnourished, everything else was normal! But her condition, is that a state a normal person should be in? For over a year, she's been like a living dead person. Occasionally waking up, with eyes that make people shiver!" The old man found a long bench and sat down, slowly telling us about his experiences over the past year.

  "If you put it that way, maybe we should go take a look." When I heard this, I roughly judged that the old man's granddaughter wasn't actually sick at all. There was a huge possibility that she had been possessed by something! As for what exactly had taken hold of her, I'd have to see it for myself to know.