Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Aunt Wang was already past sixty, and deep down, she had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

She told me that after Uncle Cheng was discharged from the hospital, she had already been asking around everywhere for someone to take a look at him.

But after making the rounds, no one had been able to figure out anything concrete.

Only one person with a bit of real ability said that whatever Uncle Cheng had provoked was something that had been around for quite some time, and it would be extremely difficult to deal with.

A few days ago, through someone else’s recommendation, Aunt Wang found a Fortune Teller Liu who had just returned from elsewhere and lived in a small village some distance away.

It was said that Fortune Teller Liu was highly capable. In the past, she had made a living handling these matters for people in big cities.

Now, having calculated that her own end was near, she had come back to her roots to spend her final days.

Fortune Teller Liu handled people’s troubles entirely through written prophecies, using special prophetic verses to help them dispel evil influences and avoid disaster.

It was only last night that Aunt Wang got Fortune Teller Liu’s phone number.

When she called, it was Fortune Teller Liu’s apprentice who answered.

Before Aunt Wang could even say anything, that young apprentice told her directly that she absolutely had to stay home until after ten o’clock today before setting out.

Aunt Wang had originally planned to make an appointment, then take Uncle Cheng out first thing in the morning to seek treatment. But after hearing what the fortune teller’s apprentice said, she forced herself to wait at home until ten.

And as it happened, I drove up to Uncle Cheng’s front door before ten o’clock.

That was why Aunt Wang looked so shocked, frightened, and overjoyed when she opened the door and saw me.

After hearing all this, I immediately decided to take Uncle Cheng to see Fortune Teller Liu.

Aunt Wang had wanted to come with us, but the moment she stood up, her body swayed.

I hurriedly helped her to the sofa. Her face was deathly pale, and even her lips had turned bluish.

She had been running herself ragged over Uncle Cheng for more than half a year. The old couple had only one daughter, who lived far away and was pregnant, so they didn’t dare let her know.

Aunt Wang had been holding everything together alone all this time, and now she was already at the end of her strength.

I strongly urged Aunt Wang to stay home and rest. If she sat in that truck all the way to that little village, I was afraid she might collapse before we even got there.

Aunt Wang was a straightforward woman. She knew the state she was in, too, and if she insisted on coming, she would probably only cause more trouble. So she gripped my hand tightly and said, “Changdong, your Uncle Cheng and I are both old now. We’ve lived our whole lives without many regrets. Whether this trip works out or not, whatever the result is, I will always be grateful to you.”

“Your Uncle Cheng saved so many people. Only you proved he didn’t save you in vain.”

“Don’t worry, Aunt Wang. I’ll take good care of Uncle Cheng and bring him back safely.”

I left Aunt Wang in the care of a neighbor, then took Uncle Cheng to the truck.

After we left town, Uncle Cheng became a little more lucid.

He looked at me for a long while, trying to recognize me, before finally realizing I was Long Changdong.