Chapter 77 – Suspicion

Cheng Ling and Yun Rui returned to the mountain and hurried to the clinic to find Daoist Wuwang. They wanted to talk about his illness, about the merit he mentioned, and about the miraculous healing methods of Daoist medicine.

The clinic still had a long line of people waiting.

Daoist Wuwang glanced at them and waved his hand dismissively.

“What needed to be said was said yesterday. Go enjoy yourselves.”

They were ushered out of the clinic by a young Daoist priest.

Just like that?

So casually turning a terminal cancer patient into a mid-stage case?

It gave the impression that, in the face of Daoist medicine, cancer was “no big deal” — light and effortless.

He really was still too young.

The mysterious legacy left behind by the ancestors of China was vast and profound. Looking at it now, he hadn’t even glimpsed the tip of the iceberg.

The young Daoist priest brought over a large bowl of medicinal decoction.

“Ordered by Master Wuwang—one bowl a day to help regulate the body.”

Without hesitation, Cheng Ling tilted his head back and drank it in one gulp.

Seeing how decisively he took the medicine, the young Daoist priest was delighted.

He led them to the storeroom to collect their uniforms.

“No freeloaders on the mountain. Those receiving treatment must help out in the temple.”

Cheng Ling nodded in understanding.

“I’m Xinghe,” the young priest said. “May I know your names and ID numbers? I need to register you with the senior brother who manages volunteers. Are both of you staying, or just one?”

“I’m staying too,” Yun Rui said quickly, then added, “My name is Yun Duoduo.”

Both Yun Rui and Cheng Ling were stage names. Their real names were still on their ID cards.

“I’m Cheng Dawei,” Cheng Ling said.

Xinghe noted down their names and picked out robes for them according to their height.

The robes were gently worn and loose, but freshly laundered.

Cheng Ling was concerned that Yun Rui’s face was too recognizable. If someone recognized her, it might cause trouble.

He discussed with Xinghe, “Would it be possible to assign my wife to a post where she won’t be seen by visitors?”

Xinghe glanced up and gave an “oh” of realization.

“Social anxiety, huh? Then send her to the kitchen to peel potatoes. The dining hall is full of folks with social anxiety—no one will bother her.”

Cheng Ling: “…”

Well… sure, that’s one way to put it.

Cheng Ling himself looked half-dead from illness, and when Xinghe had seen Yun Rui earlier, he didn’t even bat an eye. Cheng Ling had assumed it was composure. Turns out, he hadn’t recognized them at all.

Xinghe turned to Cheng Ling again.

“Master said your lungs are bad, so you won’t be assigned to anywhere with smoke or dust. Let’s see… can you do arithmetic?”

“I think so…” Cheng Ling replied, uncertain.

“Either you can or you can’t. Don’t lie,” Xinghe said seriously. “If I assign you to something you can’t handle, you’ll feel worse.”

Cheng Ling had always thought he could manage, but now he wasn’t so sure.

“How complex is the math?”

“Not much,” Xinghe replied. “If you can do elementary school math up to third grade, that’s enough. If you can, I’ll put you on shifts at the convenience stall.”

Cheng Ling: “…”

He was sick, not stupid.

“Don’t give me that look,” Xinghe said. “We once had two college students on summer retreat take shifts there. They ate two packets of instant noodles from the store and threw the day’s accounting into chaos. The temple’s accountant spent half the night fixing it.”

Cheng Ling sighed. “I should be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“…Yes. I’m sure.”

Xinghe closed his notebook. “It’s late today. Official duties start tomorrow morning. Make sure you sleep early. When the morning bell rings at 5 a.m., you have to get up.”

Seeing that Xinghe was about to leave, Cheng Ling hurriedly grabbed his sleeve.

“Daozhang, yesterday when Master Wuwang treated me, there were two female Daoists present. Why haven’t we seen them today?”

“Female Daoists?” Xinghe eyed him. “Why do you ask?”

“Don’t misunderstand. I just wanted to thank them in person.”

“Oh, them…” Xinghe replied. “They’ve gone to work.”

Just that. Nothing more.

Cheng Ling knew pressing further wouldn’t yield results. He didn’t ask again.

Though they had looked like novices, the way the other Daoists treated them made it clear they held elevated status.

Especially the one with the child—Master Wuwang even seemed to defer to her at times.

Well, since they’d be staying at the temple, he was sure they’d meet again.

Back at the monk’s quarters, Cheng Ling and Yun Rui sat in silence.

The emotional turbulence of the past two days hadn’t left much room for processing. Even after returning, they’d been busy talking with Xinghe about mundane matters.

Now, finally quiet and alone, everything felt real.

They looked at each other—and saw in each other’s eyes a joy and excitement that was bursting to be released.

No words were spoken. They simply clung to each other and sobbed.

Ever since the doctor pronounced Cheng Ling’s death sentence, all the repressed emotions had been locked deep within them. Now, they all spilled out.

Here, in this remote Taoist temple where no one knew who they were, they cried their hearts out.

When they were finally exhausted from crying, they noticed the sky outside had darkened.

There was a knock at the door. From the voice, it was the young Daoist Xinghe.

“Dawei, it’s dinnertime. Come to the dining hall.”

The name stunned Cheng Ling for a moment.

How long had it been since someone called him that?

He and Yun Rui exchanged glances and smiled.

Being “Dawei” felt pretty good.

After dinner, Cheng Ling saw a child playing in the courtyard.

Wasn’t that the same child the female Daoist had brought with her?

He played with the kid for a while and easily found out that the child was also here for treatment, and that his parents had stayed on to volunteer as well.

The child ran and jumped like any other—completely free of any sign of illness.

So Cheng Ling guessed right: that female Daoist must be someone powerful.

He asked the child about her.

Zhang Haochen was picking up stones and didn’t even lift his head.

“You mean Big Sister Daoist? She went down the mountain to fight monsters.”

—

Qin Qing, of course, didn’t go fight monsters.

That was just something she made up to keep the child from crying when they parted.

She had returned to the office, and everything felt dull.

After such an immersive visit to the Taoist temple, she hadn’t wanted to leave.

On Monday, when she returned to work, her employees joked about her little vacation and asked why she didn’t take them along.

Qin Qing’s face darkened. She slapped a contract onto the desk.

Stern and upright, she declared, “All you ever think about is fun. That wasn’t a vacation—I was there for business. From now on, Baiyun Temple is an official partner of our studio.”

Everyone looked at the document and gasped in amazement.

After keeping them in line, Qin Qing finished sorting the day’s orders and headed to the police station.

She found Lin Feng.

“Can you help me check on this person?”

She handed him a photo of a middle-aged man.

Lin Feng took it and flipped it over. A name was written on the back: Yan Xianghua.

“What’s the situation? Is he a criminal?”

“Not sure. I just have suspicions,” Qin Qing replied. “I haven’t met him in person—just heard about him. Something felt off.”

“Tell me the details.”

Qin Qing said, “Over the weekend I was invited to Baiyun Temple for a short vacation, and I happened to meet a couple there offering prayers. Their child has a congenital heart defect and is close to death. I chatted with them a bit. The reason they came to the temple was because their son had a former hospital roommate—this Yan Xianghua’s daughter.

“Yan Xianghua is a wealthy businessman. His daughter’s condition was even more serious than that couple’s child. She never found a matching donor heart and was discharged when she was near death.

“A year later, that couple ran into the girl again while out somewhere. Not only was she alive—she was engaging in physical activity that no heart patient should be able to handle. She looked perfectly normal.”

“At that time, the couple’s child was also at the final stage. They went to beg Yan Xianghua to tell them how his daughter had been cured. At first, Yan Xianghua was unwilling to say anything and insisted that she had simply gotten better on her own.

“It wasn’t until the last time, when they carried their child there in their arms, that he seemed to be moved with compassion. Only then did he tell them that his daughter hadn’t been cured by a hospital—it was a miracle. That’s why the couple took their child to the same religious site Yan Xianghua had once visited, hoping for a divine cure.”

Lin Feng tapped the photo. “So… you’re worried this Yan Xianghua might be involved in organ trafficking?”

Hiss…

Not exactly.

Qin Qing said, “Something like that. I had Baiyun Temple ask around through their own channels. They confirmed that Yan Xianghua’s daughter did indeed suffer from a serious illness and recovered miraculously. The photo and name were provided with the temple’s help.”

In truth, it wasn’t organ trafficking she suspected.

Just listen to that phrase—miraculously cured. Didn’t that sound eerily familiar?

Wasn’t it the same thing that happened when she treated Zhang Haochen?

After becoming official partners, Qin Qing had subtly inquired with Wuyong under the guise of academic exchange.

Based on the current capabilities of the mystic sect, something like this shouldn’t have been possible.

But Yan Xianghua had used the term “miracle.”

Qin Qing confirmed several times with Chen Xiaoyuan and his wife—they were sure that’s what he said: a miracle.

So now Qin Qing suspected that somewhere out there, someone else might also have a system panel.

And judging by the fact that they were able to cure Yan Xianghua’s daughter over a year ago, if they do have a system panel, their upgrade pace was far faster than hers.

At that time, Qin Qing hadn’t even obtained her system panel yet.

What worried her even more was the incident at Yudai Gorge—it made national headlines.

On top of that, the recent rescue from Lihua Village had stirred quite the sensation, with widespread coverage and trending searches.

It wasn’t unlikely that someone could pick up on a clue from all of this.

Friend or foe—it was still unclear.

Lin Feng took the photo and assured her, “Don’t worry, I’ll have someone look into him as soon as possible and get back to you.”

“Thanks, Captain Lin.”

Lin Feng glanced at her once, then again.

“What? Something wrong?”

Lin Feng said, “In this whole precinct, other than the Bureau Chief, only you and Old Luo look at me like my nose isn’t a nose and my eyes aren’t eyes. Now you’re being all polite with me, it’s giving me goosebumps.”

As he spoke, he even tilted his head and sniffed the air around them.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m sniffing to see if there’s a whiff of conspiracy in the air.”

Qin Qing rolled her eyes.

Lin Feng chuckled and quickly took a sip of tea to steady himself.

“Now that’s more like it. That familiar atmosphere is back.”

He added, “You don’t know this, but ever since the Lihua Village case, a bunch of departments who know the inside story have been trying to borrow you. The stack of transfer requests is this thick.” He held up his fingers to show the height. “No idea what they’re thinking. You’re clearly a consultant for our precinct. Why should you be out there earning silk banners for them? The Bureau Chief shut them all down with a straight face.”

With a grin, Lin Feng pulled out a thick stack of file folders from his desk drawer.

“I had a meeting at the city bureau this weekend. Came back with a mission. These are missing persons cases our city has accumulated in recent years. Some are confirmed human trafficking, others are still unclear. Consultant Qin—how about some overtime?”