Back To The 80s-Chapter 574 - 566: The Cause of Illness_1
The saying "in times of illness people become desperate for a cure" was certainly applicable to Gu Xiaobei. He now agreed with what Wen Xiuqing had said: that is, to let Lu Zhanguo find a witch who could perform soul summoning as soon as possible.
Wen Xiuqing considered it, then said, "I’ll ask the neighbors, they will definitely know who can do it; I will go immediately." She originally came to deliver food. Bringing up this matter, she felt an urgency to act without delay.
As soon as Wen Xiuqing left, Gu Xiaobei held Mo Wang in her arms, sitting on the bed, her cheek pressed tightly against the top of Mo Wang’s head, tears silently streaming down her face.
Lu Zhanguo sighed inwardly, fetched a wet towel, and gently wiped Gu Xiaobei’s face, then wiped Mo Wang’s face. Mo Wang was so weak now that he couldn’t even muster the strength to open his eyes and just quietly leaned against Gu Xiaobei’s chest.
Every time Lu Zhanguo wiped Mo Wang’s face or hands, his eyes couldn’t help but well up with tears.
There were still many people who held folk belief that the souls of children were prone to getting lost. They would take the child’s clothes, call out at the crossroads, and ask the soul that got lost to return home.
Others would use a method involving standing an egg upright or balancing chopsticks.
Wen Xiuqing asked her neighbors, who were also eager to help, and quickly sought out Old Lady Wang, who was known to be skilled at summoning souls. She had helped bring back the lost souls of the frightened children in the neighborhood.
Even after Old Lady Wang helped summon the soul, Mo Wang’s condition showed no signs of improvement.
As Gu Xiaobei watched Mo Wang open his eyes less and less frequently, for shorter and shorter periods, she clung onto Mo Wang even more.
Just when everyone was at their wits’ end, a spry, thin-faced old man came to the ward. He looked at Lu Zhanguo and Gu Xiaobei and said, "I might be able to cure your son’s illness."
This old man was Uncle Axing, he had traveled here from Miaojiang. Originally, he was here to buy some special medicinal herbs exclusive to G Province. He had also heard that G Province hospital had a medicine capable of curing the plague, which was imported from abroad, so he came to take a look. As he roamed the hospital corridors, he heard other patients speaking of Mo Wang’s peculiar illness, which aroused his curiosity.
At the moment, as soon as Gu Xiaobei heard anyone could save Mo Wang, she was ready to kowtow to them. She quickly placed Mo Wang on the sickbed for Uncle Axing to examine.
Axing lifted Mo Wang’s eyelid, and took his pulse for a moment, then all became clear to him. The boy had been hexed with Gu, it was still in the early stages. If it went on for a long period of time, within half a year, the boy’s life would be in danger.
Uncle Axing looked at Lu Zhanguo and Gu Xiaobei and said, "Do you believe me? If you do, please leave the room. When I conduct treatments, I prefer not having one as an audience."
Lu Zhanguo carefully looked at the old man, while Gu Xiaobei hesitated, handing Mo Wang over to a stranger was not an easy task for her.
Uncle Axing continued to insist, "If you don’t trust me, then I won’t treat the boy. I’m sure you can see, given the present situation, if nothing is done within half a year, the boy’s life won’t be spared."
Gu Xiaobei was thrown into a panic, and turned to look at Lu Zhanguo. Lu Zhanguo frowned in thought, then said, "Okay, let’s go out."
"But..." Gu Xiaobei was still filled with apprehension. Lu Zhanguo grasped her arm and said, "Trust me!"
After Lu Zhanguo and Gu Xiaobei left, Uncle Axing closed the door to the sickroom and said to Mo Wang, "Child, you are truly blessed to have met me. I can help you expel the Gu worm, and protect your body from being invaded by Gu poison in the future."
Lu Zhanguo stood outside the door, his eyes closed, and his mind focused, listening to the old man muttering to himself, which stunned him.
An hour later, the door to the sickroom opened. The old man came out, smiling, "It’s done. I can assure you, the boy will be bouncing around in three days. Moreover, your son is a blessed child, a huge blessing."
Overjoyed, Gu Xiaobei didn’t wait for the old man to finish speaking. She rushed into the sickroom, and saw Mo Wang sleeping peacefully, his breath even, the color on his small face seemed to be not as waxen yellow as before.
But Lu Zhanguo stopped the old man and said, "Old man, may I have a word with you?"
Uncle Axing nodded his head, "I know what you want to ask, follow me."
The two of them found a quiet place. Uncle Axing took the initiative and said, "The Gu poison in your son was made with Mandala flower paired with hair from the Gu master. If the Gu master dies, your son would have been doomed."
Lu Zhanguo clenched his fists, his veins bulging. Was the person who hexed his son Xu Yanhong?
Uncle Axing added, "All the Gu poison inside your son’s body has been eliminated now. Rest assured, from now on, he won’t be harmed by any Gu." After saying that, before Lu Zhanguo could even speak, the old man turned around and walked away.
The next day, Mo Wang was able to sit up on his own and call out for his mother, with eyes wide open.
By the third day, Mo Wang could move freely, climb out of bed on his own, his eyes became bright and alert, and his little face broke into a smile.
It was then that Gu Xiaobei’s mind was finally at ease. After being dazed for a while, she realized that her throat and corners of her mouth were hot and in pain, even swallowing hurt.
"Mommy, the old man gave me something." Mo Wang snuggled against Gu Xiaobei, pulling out a cord from beneath his shirt, on which was strung a blood-red bead.
Gu Xiaobei had seen this bead when she was giving Mo Wang baths in the past few days, and guessed it was left by that mysterious old man.
"Mommy, the old man said it’s a treasure. What kind of treasure is it?" Mo Wang asked, blinking his large eyes in curiosity.
Gu Xiaobei shook her head. Her voice hoarser and unpleasant sounding, like sandpaper, the moment she spoke, "I’m not sure. It may keep you healthy so you’ll never fall sick again."
Mo Wang nodded his head, tucked the bead back into his clothes, and said, "Mommy, I don’t want to stay here. I want to go home. I miss granny and grandpa."
Gu Xiaobei kissed Mo Wang’s little face and said, "We will stay for another day. Wait until Auntie He Qin says you can be discharged from the hospital, then you can leave. Is that okay?"
Mo Wang nodded his little head understandingly.
"What would you like to eat? I can get daddy to cook for you when we get home. Is that okay?"
After thinking for a while, Mo Wang whispered, "Mommy, I want to eat the chicken dumplings that granny made. Can I?"
Embracing Mo Wang, her eyes teared up, Gu Xiaobei smiled and said, "Of course. From now on, whatever you want to eat, just let us know."
Mo Wang broke into a smile, but he wasn’t greedy, he was content just to be with his mom and dad.
When Wen Xiuqing heard that Mo Wang wanted to eat chicken dumplings, she did not argue and sacrificed the family’s laying hen to make dumplings. During this period, everyone at home suffered, eating and sleeping poorly. Finally, they could breathe a sigh of relief.
Lu Zhanguo saw that Mo Wang’s health was completely restored as the old man had promised, and the heavy boulder that had weighed on his heart was finally lifted. Now, he had to find out who was out to harm him.
After this incident happened, Lu Zhanguo had approached his old superior, Min Zhonghua. Min Zhonghua had been transferred to the provincial capital’s military district, as the commander of Division C.
Lu Zhanguo knew that if an incident occurs, he would definitely seize weapons privately, and might even shoot and injure people. Therefore, he preemptively discussed this with his old superior.
Min Zhonghua was a leader who protected his subordinates. At that time he banged on the table and said, "Rest assured, as long as I am here, I can smooth this out for you."
Now, he had to find Min Zhonghua to take care of the aftermath. He believed that Wang Wenbing would soon rush at him like a mad dog, ready to bite him.
