Tales of Folk Feng Shui Mysteries

Everything around me was chaos—only darkness, pitch black. Yet, I knew I was conscious. I felt the loneliness, the emptiness, but how long had I been drifting like this, or where had I even drifted to? I couldn't feel or sense anything. Just as I was about to go mad from the torturous wait, suddenly, I heard a faint "beep-beep" sound. A beam of light pierced through, splitting the vast blackness.

In that moment, I opened my eyes. I found myself in a hospital's intensive care unit. The sound I had heard was the beeping of the heart monitor, and there was an oxygen mask on my face. Something was inserted into my throat. When I tried to move, even the slightest movement of my fingers felt like an enormous effort. My vision was blurry. I blinked several times, tried to focus, and saw Wang Yi sitting on a chair next to me. Lying beside me was Jiang Shiyu.

I wanted to speak, but my mouth wouldn't obey. Fortunately, Wang Yi noticed first. His excited voice rang out, "He's awake! He's awake! Doctor!"

He quickly ran out of the room, and Jiang Shiyu, tears welling in her eyes, gazed at me, saying, "You're finally awake. You have no idea how scared I've been. You've been in a coma for seven days."

Seven days? How could it have been that long? It felt like I had only just woken up. Before I lost consciousness, I remembered the stiff smile of the waiter and the mysterious middle-aged man in ethnic attire. Then, I spat out a mouthful of blood and insect larvae, and after that, I remembered nothing.

Wang Yi returned with the doctor. Several doctors in white coats checked my pupils and said, "The patient is awake now. He can hear everything you say, but I must warn you, he has contracted a rare parasitic disease. According to the tests, there are a large number of parasites under his skin and in his lungs, liver, stomach, and intestines. Fortunately, they haven't spread to his heart yet. However, this disease has never been seen in our country's medical history. We've contacted Beijing for a consultation."

"Is he still salvageable?" Jiang Shiyu asked anxiously.

The middle-aged doctor sighed. "The chances of survival are slim. Please prepare yourselves mentally."

"How slim?" she asked, pressing further.

"We don't know. It's less than a three percent chance. The number of parasites is just too high, and they're still multiplying. Our laser and minimally invasive techniques can only suppress them temporarily. The freezing treatment isn't very effective either." The doctor paused and then continued, "We'll need more detailed information to investigate, but there's something we need to ask you."

"What is it, doctor?" Wang Yi asked as he stepped forward.

Suddenly, the doctor bowed slightly before saying, "If rescue efforts fail, we ask the family to consider donating the patient's body. This kind of case has never been seen in medical history. If we can overcome this, I believe it will save more lives in the future."

Those words felt like a death sentence to me. Jiang Shiyu burst into tears, and Wang Yi wiped his eyes as he watched the doctors leave. At that moment, I felt something crawling in my chest, and I couldn't help but vomit some gastric juices. The tube inserted into my throat sucked up the fluids. Later, I realized that the tube was for suctioning, to prevent me from choking on my own saliva.

"Oh my God! He's vomiting again!" Jiang Shiyu cried out, her voice full of panic.

I was in so much pain that I couldn't comprehend anything around me, not even the vomiting. But then I heard Wang Yi's voice, "Ah, this is a parasitic curse. We don't even know which evil master did this. We have no way of handling it."

"Is there no hope?" Jiang Shiyu asked through her tears.

Wang Yi's face darkened. "This curse... We don't know what kind of poisonous insects he used, nor the toxic plants they fed on. Only a curse master can remove this. Or…"

"Or what? Please, tell me!" Jiang Shiyu urged, desperate. "Wang Yi, just tell me! I really care about Dabao. When we met Huang Daxian in the wilderness, I was moved by his sincerity. When I learned that Dabao had given up 20 years of his life to help others, I admired him so much. During that time, I realized how much I liked him. Even though he only has two years left to live, I don't want him to die like this!"