Chapter 5: Don’t Worry, There Won’t Be Any Needles
Gou Liang suddenly felt as if he were ablaze with power, his whole body—even his little bean sprout—hard as steel! Back in his school days, he had been weak and frail, enduring endless bullying and beatings. Now, when his bean sprout got angry, he could sweep across thirty thousand miles of desolation! Gou Liang shot up like a bolt and slammed his fist into Zhu Jiahao’s face.
Bang!
Ah!
Zhu Jiahao was knocked five or six meters back, crashing heavily to the ground, his senses reeling. He couldn't fathom how Gou Liang’s strength had suddenly become so overwhelming.
With so many classmates watching, especially in front of Wang Xiaomeng’s mother, he couldn't let this humiliation stand. Compared to Wang Xiaomeng, Zhu Jiahao cared far more about her mother, Wang Xinyao. If he had to choose between the two, he would unhesitatingly pick Wang Xinyao—even though Wang Xiaomeng’s father was still alive.
Zhu Jiahao struggled to his feet, determined to strike back hard, but his legs were weak, his head spinning, and a warm stream dampened his trousers, pooling on the gleaming marble floor.
Now he was utterly disgraced—he’d wet himself from Gou Liang’s single punch!
Unable to fight back, he resorted to something even more damaging—a public shaming. He raised his voice and shouted to the classmates around him.
“Everyone, you saw it, right? This idiot is awful. Not only is he here to commit fraud, he’s also beating me up! Shouldn’t we call the police and have him arrested?”
A chorus of accusations and insults erupted, middle fingers pointed at Gou Liang from all sides.
“Call the police! This is outrageous! Fraud and assault—he should be arrested!”
Seeing someone actually reaching for their phone to call the police, Wang Xinyao quickly raised her hand to stop them.
“Everyone, calm down. Let him treat Xiaomeng first. If he can’t cure her, he probably can’t afford to pay, so then he’ll have to settle it himself.”
Only then did Zhu Jiahao remember: if Gou Liang couldn’t cure Wang Xiaomeng, he would have to end his own life. That was deeply satisfying.
He raised his voice again. “Fine, I won’t pursue him for now. Let him try treating Wang Xiaomeng first. If he fails, we’ll see how he handles his own end.”
A buzz of conversation filled the living room.
“He’s useless. He’s doomed this time.”
“Hey, idiot, leave a message—since we’re classmates, I’ll pass it on for you.”
Ha ha.
Wang Xiaomeng nervously turned to Wang Xinyao. “Mom, I don’t want him to treat me. What if he messes up with his needles and hurts me?”
Before Wang Xinyao could reply, Gou Liang spoke up.
“No need for needles. I just need to take a photo of you with my phone.”
A mere photograph to cure an illness?
The classmates burst into laughter.
Even the unflappable Wang Xinyao couldn’t help showing surprise.
“You’re not joking, are you? A photo with your phone cures an illness?”
At that moment, an elderly man in his sixties, sitting quietly in the corner, allowed himself a contemptuous smile. He was the city’s most renowned medical expert, an undisputed authority—Academician Zhang.
No needles, no medicine, just a photo with a phone—such a thing was possible?
Wang Xinyao nodded slightly to Gou Liang. “Go ahead.”
Gou Liang unlocked his phone. As he opened the camera, invisible red runes shimmered on his hand. When his finger touched the screen, a hidden function interface appeared.
There were seven functions, each corresponding to a color: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet. In other words, there were seven ranks of Healer: the first rank, Red Rune Healer, was the lowest; the seventh rank, Violet Rune Healer, the most powerful.
Gou Liang could only access the first rank, Red Rune Healer; the rest were locked.
The desire to advance to the seventh rank, Violet Rune Healer, burned within him. To become a Violet Rune Healer—that would be truly extraordinary.
Instructions surfaced in his mind.
Following the prompts, Gou Liang tapped the red Soul Revealing Shutter.
Click.
The flash blinked—and something uncanny occurred.
He had aimed the camera at Wang Xiaomeng, yet the photo displayed Zhang Zhihan!
Gou Liang felt as if struck by lightning—his mind buzzing, nearly fainting.
His thoughts were in turmoil, his mind a blank abyss.
According to the information in his mind, he knew exactly what it meant to capture Zhang Zhihan from Wang Xiaomeng.
It meant Zhang Zhihan was a ghost driven by an unyielding obsession!
His nerves were stretched to breaking point, unable to accept such a reality.
He and Zhang Zhihan had fallen for each other at first sight—a mutual attraction, sparks flying, their love erupting like molten lava. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined Wang Xiaomeng was a ghost.
He wanted to cry, to scream, but his throat felt stuffed with cotton; he could neither cry nor shout, only force the immense sorrow down.
His heart twisted in agony, his chest so tight he could barely breathe.
Luckily, as an impoverished student, Gou Liang had endured countless hardships and blows growing up. He had developed a kind of resilience, nerves a bit thick, nearly the perfect adolescent with a touch of bravado.
Whenever faced with overwhelming pain and upheaval, he would take several deep breaths to calm himself.
After a few deep inhalations, fresh air flooded his lungs, his nerves settled, and his mind began working again.
He soon sensed something was off.
If Zhang Zhihan were truly a ghost, Gou Liang had held her delicate hand—warm and soft, unmistakably human. A ghost’s hand should be icy cold.
If Zhang Zhihan wasn’t a ghost, how could she be attached to Wang Xiaomeng?
The nine-year compulsory education offered no explanation for this, and there was no equation or theorem to resolve it.
Now more instructions for healing emerged in Gou Liang’s mind.
He felt reassured; it seemed he truly had become a Healer. As long as he entered another space, he could determine whether Zhang Zhihan was indeed a ghost.
His classmates stared at him, bewildered by the results of his photograph.
Gou Liang held his phone screen up to Wang Xiaomeng, asking calmly, “Do you always dream about this woman?”
On the screen, Zhang Zhihan’s beautiful eyes swirled with black mist, two venomous beams shooting out, chilling everyone to the bone.
Ah!
Wang Xiaomeng screamed, her face pale, and threw herself into Wang Xinyao’s arms, trembling uncontrollably.
“Mom, please save me! That woman wants to strangle me!”
Wang Xinyao was stunned, her expression dazed and uncertain.
As the hospital director and a postdoctoral medical researcher, Gou Liang’s bizarre methods completely shattered her understanding.
Though she was reluctant to believe it, everything was happening to her daughter. To save her, she could only choose to believe.
Her tone toward Gou Liang softened considerably.
“Gou Liang, what do we do next?”