Chapter 72
Having received praise, Luo Shizhen’s eyes grew even brighter.
At first glance, he simply looked like a little old man with sparkling eyes.
Treating the patient took roughly ten minutes, but watching the patient and his family weep in each other’s arms took nearly half an hour.
Just as Sui An had predicted, when the patient, Zhong Xin, learned that his appearance could not be restored to its original state, he wasn’t overly disappointed.
“This is already good enough.”
He wasn’t very old—only sixteen. Usually, this was an age where one cared deeply about appearances, but as he stroked the bark-like skin on his face, Zhong Xin was filled with joy.
“So what if I’m ugly? As long as it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
It was as if a billionaire were willing to trade his entire fortune for a healthy body. In the face of agony and death, a strange or ugly appearance meant nothing. When the pain had been at its worst, Zhong Xin had even felt that losing his hands or feet would be fine, as long as he didn’t have to suffer like that anymore.
Zhong Xin’s parents, however, were somewhat worried about their son’s inability to regain his original looks. They repeatedly expressed their willingness to pay more money, hoping that the divine doctor, “Zhen Shiluo,” could find another way.
Lu Qiujin cut in to steer the conversation. “Doctor Zhen can only help remove the pollution. If you want to restore his appearance, you can inquire at other hospitals. In this situation, skin grafts might be a solution.”
Zhong Xin, the one actually affected, was the most accepting. “Mom, Dad, it’s fine. Bark skin is actually kind of cool.”
The Zhong parents were filled with joy once again. It had been a long time since they had heard their son speak so calmly. Over the past few days, whenever Zhong Xin opened his mouth, it was usually in hysterics, using the cruelest words he knew to attack his family.
Because his every suicide attempt had been thwarted, he hadn’t hidden his hatred for his parents. Seeing that naked resentment had broken their hearts even more. Now that their son had returned to normal, their regret over his appearance almost faded into nothingness.
“Okay, okay, we’ll listen to you.”
“Doctor Zhen, thank you so much! You’ve saved our entire family!”
In their excitement, they even wanted to kneel before Luo Shizhen, but he quickly caught them and held them up. Even at a moment like this, Luo Shizhen remembered to maintain his persona as a “divine doctor.”
“There is no need for thanks. I am also very happy to be able to help a patient using my family’s ancestral acupuncture techniques.”
The Zhong family thanked him repeatedly and even tried to give “Divine Doctor Zhen Shiluo” a large red envelope, but the doctor rejected it with a righteous expression. This was exactly how it was played out in the TV interviews by the shill and Zou Tangzheng; Luo Shizhen followed their lead perfectly, even mimicking Zou Tangzheng’s rejection gestures.
The Zhong family felt even more strongly that he possessed the bearing of a famous physician. As they supported their son and walked out the door, their faces were still tinged with excitement.
“I’m so glad we came to try it!”
“I told you! If he can get on TV, he definitely has the real deal!”
“Ah-Xin, how do you feel now?”
Zhong Xin was still in a state of euphoria. “There’s no pain at all. I feel as light as a bird!”
In reality, how could it not hurt at all? His muscles were still somewhat sore from his previous violent struggles. But that was human nature—after experiencing ultimate agony, these minor aches that would usually cause two or three days of complaining felt like nothing.
Luo Shizhen watched their retreating backs, then looked at his own hands before turning to Cheng Yunshao.
“Cheng Yunshao, can you arrange an Awakener patient for me?”
“Someone who is only polluted but hasn’t reached the stage of mutation yet.”
Previously, whenever Luo Shizhen purified an Awakener, it was always when they were already in the stage of mutation. At that point, the Awakener would be filled with black pollution mist from the inside out. He only needed to swallow that mist, and the Awakener would return to normal.
But now, Luo Shizhen wanted to take a closer look at the difference between the bodies of Awakeners and ordinary people.
Cheng Yunshao was somewhat uncertain. “If it’s an Awakener, they might not trust a small clinic like this.”
If Luo Shizhen used his true identity, there would be no problem, but he was currently “Zhen Shiluo.” Ordinary people might come to a small clinic for a “try,” not knowing that only Purifiers could treat pollution. But Awakeners knew more; to them, a small clinic like this likely looked like a scam at first glance.
Cheng Yunshao suggested, “Alternatively, you could apply to Eternal Day to treat Awakeners under your own identity.”
Luo Shizhen hesitated. “But we’ve already gained some fame. If we have people come to the door now, won’t we be exposed?”
The “Divine Doctor Zhen Shiluo” was a hot topic lately. Many people had come seeking collaboration, and there were even gossip reporters trying to take candid photos. However, the purpose of those photos was likely to unmask the “divine doctor,” as the TV advertisement was simply too fake and looked exactly like a scam.
Yet, he was incredibly popular. For some reason, various TV stations were willing to air his ads. Therefore, if someone could expose him, it would definitely become a trending topic.
Sui An spoke up. “I can bring someone in without alerting the media outside.”
Luo Shizhen was delighted. “You can actually do that!”
That’s right, Teacher Sui is so capable; of course he can.
Lin Ke, who had followed them but had been hiding in the corner to minimize his presence, quietly raised his hand.
“Um… actually, I can try too.”
“We unaffiliated Awakeners have a forum. I can post an ad; it might draw someone in.”
Luo Shizhen was even more surprised. “That’s great! Then I’ll leave it to you!”
He didn’t find it strange that Awakeners had a forum. His school had a forum, and students had QQ groups; why wouldn’t Awakeners have a forum?
Sui An glanced at Lin Ke but said nothing.
Only after realizing Sui An wasn’t going to object did Lin Ke breathe a sigh of relief. Although unaffiliated Awakeners like them weren’t very aggressive, they were still more powerful than ordinary people. According to the rules, if they were to gather privately, they had to report it. Of course, under normal circumstances, Eternal Day turned a blind eye to Awakeners hanging out.
Still, it wasn’t something meant to be brought into the light. If it weren’t for the fact that Luo Shizhen was a Purifier who was extremely friendly and had offered to help him or his friends, Lin Ke wouldn’t have exposed it.
He took out his phone and immediately posted an ad for the Zhen Family Clinic.
Luo Shizhen leaned over curiously. “How is it? Has anyone replied?”
Lin Ke refreshed the page and was overjoyed.
“In such a short time, there are already seven or eight replies!”
Luo Shizhen was also thrilled. “Great! Let’s see what they’re saying!”
Lin Ke scrolled down.
[1st Floor: You fcking scammer! I’ll fcking kill your f*cking…!]
[2nd Floor: Get lost!]
[3rd Floor: Where’s the admin? Kick this idiot out already! Fck, scammers are targeting Awakeners now? I’ll fcking…]
Luo Shizhen’s eyes widened in surprise.
Then, a screen of shimmering white spiritual threads blocked his vision, hiding the content of the phone screen.
Luo Shizhen instinctively brushed aside the spiritual threads in front of him and looked toward Teacher Sui. Sui An was standing far away, but his spiritual sense acted as his eyes; he had naturally seen the replies.
He looked at the bewildered Luo Shizhen. “Foul language. It will dirty your eyes. Don’t look.”
“Oh, okay.”
Luo Shizhen obeyed and turned his head away from the phone.
Sui An then looked at Lin Ke. “Are the remaining replies also insults?”
Lin Ke: … So Shizhen can’t look, but I can?
He complained inwardly but didn’t dare show it. Lin Ke didn’t know Sui An’s identity as an Inspector, and he rarely saw him, but to a low-level Awakener like himself, the aura of a high-level Awakener—even when suppressed—felt like a deep, dark sea. Even without being close, it made him instinctively want to stay away.
“They aren’t all that foul. It’s just that the guys on the first three floors have bad tempers.”
“The people after that are a bit more… subtle with their insults.”
Luo Shizhen: “So they’re still insulting us?”
“It’s fine.” Lin Ke was very confident. “The admin is a friend of mine. He won’t delete the post.”
Luo Shizhen came to a sudden realization and nodded happily. He continued to lower his voice, slowly mimicking the way an old man spoke. His simple tone somehow managed to sound slightly sinister as he practiced:
“That’s good. As long as the post stays up, there won’t be a problem. Should we post on more platforms? We should cast a wide net to catch more fish. Someone is bound to fall for it!”
Lin Ke: “…”
He looked at the white-haired “old man” and really wanted to say:
— Respected Purifier, have you forgotten? The ‘scammer’ part is just a disguise; you can actually cure pollution!
In the small Awakener forum, the post that was never deleted quickly grew into a massive thread.
Meanwhile, the Zhong family took their son to the relevant department to request the removal of his status as a “Polluted Person.” Along the way, people looked at Zhong Xin with suspicion and fear. They weren’t afraid of his appearance—with the number of polluted humans increasing lately, everyone had long since grown used to strange looks.
What they feared was Zhong Xin mutating on the spot.
The government had long since established regulations on what to do when a polluted person appeared in public. If a polluted person simply went out, they had to wear a detection collar. If they mutated, the collar would instantly trigger a minor explosion, killing the mutated individual on the spot.
If they traveled to public places, such as trains or planes, they would be placed in special seats with a safety officer following them twenty-four hours a day. For a polluted person, the pollution itself was painful enough; being treated like a ticking time bomb naturally made them feel terrible.
But from a broader perspective, such regulations weren’t wrong. Once a polluted person mutated, it would undoubtedly cause large-scale chaos and safety issues.
The Zhong family didn’t just want to remove his status; they wanted that safety collar off his neck.
After the examination, the staff indeed removed the collar and smiled as they congratulated them.
“Congratulations. The pollution in Zhong Xin’s body is completely gone. He can live a normal life from now on.”
Tears in his eyes, Zhong Xin watched as the collar was taken away. He and his parents wept together once more.
On the way back, because he had obvious signs of mutation but wasn’t wearing a collar, inspectors stopped them along the road to check, and passersby avoided them as much as possible.
Zhong Xin, who used to dodge and hide during inspections, now stood tall. His parents were the same, smiles on their faces, the previous anxiety gone.
“My son has been cured of pollution. You can check if you don’t believe it. He’s fine.”
After checking and seeing the green light, the inspectors nodded. “Congratulations. Please proceed.”
When they boarded the plane, under the astonished gazes of the passengers, Zhong Xin sat in an ordinary seat.
The safety officer on the plane had already received Zhong Xin’s information and knew he had just cleared his polluted status. However, to put the other passengers at ease, he still walked up to Zhong Xin and performed a check in front of everyone.
When the green light flashed, all the passengers around Zhong Xin visibly relaxed, and their gazes toward him became friendly.
“Good for you, young man. You actually survived the pollution.”
“You’ll definitely have a great future. Maybe you’ll even awaken!”
Hearing the words of those around him, Zhong Xin felt a mix of emotions. Thirty-one days. He had finally returned to a normal life. At this moment, he—who used to hate going to school—even felt that going to class was a very happy thing.
Suddenly, a commotion came from the front. “Let me through, let me through! I just want to ask one question!”
Zhong Xin looked up and saw a polluted person with fish gills growing on his head struggling to come over, but he was being held back firmly by a safety officer.
“I’m sorry, sir. According to the rules, you can only move within this designated area.”
“I’m not doing anything! I just want to ask him how he was cured! Please, let me through! I really can’t stand the pain anymore!!”
If Zhong Xin had never been polluted, he might have been like the other passengers—curious, fearful, or annoyed by the noise. But he had been polluted. He had personally experienced that pain, so he slowly stood up.
Zhong Xin, whose body was still a bit weak, was supported by his parents as he walked forward step by step.
The polluted person with fish gills stopped struggling as he saw him approach. A pair of bloodshot eyes stared at him intensely, as if staring at his last hope.
“How did you get better? Can you tell me how you got better? Please tell me! I’m willing to give you all my money!!”
Not only did the polluted person want to know, but the other ordinary passengers also pricked up their ears. Yes, they weren’t polluted now, but in this world, who knew what the future held?
Zhong Xin shook his head. “Keep your money for the treatment. I was cured at the Zhen Family Clinic. My mom and dad took me there. You should go try it too.”
“There’s a Doctor Zhen at the Zhen Family Clinic. He’s incredibly skilled and has an ancestral acupuncture technique passed down for nine generations. His ancestors told him not to share it with outsiders, but he made a decision that goes against his ancestors…”
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