Please, Don’t Die - Chapter 5

“Ghosts, demons, and spirits, seek a Taoist priest, not a physician.”

Ying Qujie kept his gaze fixed ahead as he carried Yuan Baoyin around a shallow pit.

“Hey, Xiao Ying. Since you study medicine to save lives, you must have a kind heart by nature. The people of Jimo Town suffer from fire toxin deep in their bones. Medicine can cure the illness, but not the root cause. Who’s to say the poison won’t return in three or five years, or spread elsewhere?”

He Qingsheng coaxed patiently, “Now you have the chance to trace the origin of this fire toxin and save countless others. Doesn’t that move you?”

Ying Qujie ignored her, focusing on the path underfoot.

His face might as well have been carved with two words: Not moved.

Ying Qujie stopped before a wooden door and set Yuan Baoyin down.

Before knocking, he glanced sideways at He Qingsheng. “Didn’t expect a vengeful ghost like you to be so public-spirited.”

He Qingsheng replied without a hint of shame, “Flattery. I’ve always been humble.”

Ying Qujie chuckled softly. “I’ll mention what you said to Magistrate Shangguan. The Imperial Preceptor’s disciple is by his side, likely more suited to seize this ‘opportunity’ than I am.”

“What chicken? Is it tasty?” Yuan Baoyin mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she slowly woke.

Spotting the familiar wooden door of her home, her attention immediately shifted.

Ying Qujie knocked several times, but there was no answer. Just as he raised his hand to knock again, faint rustling finally sounded from behind the door.

The person opening the door tried their best to move gently, yet the wood still creaked with an ear-grating screech.

“Husband, why were you gone so long?”

The woman’s scolding cut off abruptly. Madam Wang gasped. “Physician Ying?”

Her eyes swept around and instantly landed on Yuan Baoyin, who was hiding behind Ying Qujie, and the old wooden bucket from their home.

The bucket was filled with water.

In an instant, she understood everything.

Fear and sorrow welled up in Madam Wang’s heart, leaving no room for joy before tears blurred her vision.

“You foolish child, sneaking out in the dead of night, weren’t you afraid?!”

Her voice was hoarse as she scolded Yuan Baoyin, then offered Ying Qujie an apologetic smile.

Ying Qujie shook his head, gesturing for her to go inside.

He stepped sideways through the door and handed the old wooden bucket to Madam Wang. “Have some water first.”

Madam Wang stared at the clear water in the bucket, then at Yuan Baoyin, and nodded. Her throat tight, she wasted no more words and hurried inside to fetch a little boy.

The child’s skin was shriveled, his eyes tightly shut. His cracked lips were stained with dried blood, and strange sucking noises came from his mouth.

The sight was horrifying.

Madam Wang knelt by the bucket, carefully scooping a small spoonful of water with reverent care, as if spilling a single drop would be a sin.

She pried open the boy’s mouth and tipped the spoon to his lips. Yuan Baoyin dutifully supported her unconscious brother, her face full of concern.

The moment the spoon touched his lips, survival instinct drove the boy to gulp down every drop. He drank so desperately that he choked, coughing several times, fresh blood beading on his torn lips.

Madam Wang fed him cautiously, stopping only when his lips moistened and the strange noises ceased.

Only a third of the water had been used.

She drank three small spoonfuls herself, soothing her parched throat, then reluctantly set the spoon aside.

“Baoyin, take your brother inside. I’ll check on Granny Sun next door.”

After instructing Baoyin, Madam Wang took a white porcelain bowl, filled it with clear water, and then smiled sheepishly at Ying Qujie:

“Physician Ying, Aunt Sun next door is barely holding on. I’d like to bring her some water. Could you come with me?”

The two households were separated only by a low earthen wall.

He Qingsheng could easily peer over and see the situation next door.

Hovering beside Ying Qujie, she remarked, “That old woman next door has death creeping over her brow. A bowl of water won’t save her.”

Why go to such lengths and invite unwanted attention?

Ying Qujie naturally understood the unspoken implication in He Qingsheng’s words. He glanced at her, offering a subtle, reassuring smile, but still gently agreed to Madam Wang’s request.

“Alright, I’ll come along to check on Granny Sun as well.”

“Thank you, Physician Ying!” Madam Wang had already turned and stepped over the threshold.

Ying Qujie whispered to He Qingsheng, “The people of Jimo Town are simple and kind-hearted. Neighbors helping each other isn’t unusual.”

He Qingsheng scoffed at this. To her, “simple and kind-hearted” was a neutral term at best.

Not because of anything else, she simply didn’t believe in human nature.

Especially in times of scarce resources, natural disasters, and human suffering.

Madam Wang’s husband had tricked a young girl into fetching water at night, and now she herself, having obtained a little water, wanted to save someone else? How generous… with someone else’s resources.

He Qingsheng slipped into the neighboring house. She wanted to see if Ying Qujie would be foolish enough to regret his own naive ideals.

The wooden door creaked open and shut as Madam Wang hurried inside.

The old woman on the sickbed seemed to sense their arrival. She turned her head weakly, her face sliding toward the edge of the bed, her skin wrinkled and sallow like aged tangerine peel.

“Blood… drinkable,” she rasped, spotting Madam Wang and feebly pointing at the porcelain basin before her.

Her bony hand dangled over the bedside, her wrist covered in horrifying gashes, some already scabbed over, the freshest still oozing blood.

The basin at the foot of the bed had already collected a layer of blood so dark it was nearly black.

Madam Wang rushed to the bedside, trying to tilt the small bowl of water into the old woman’s mouth.

Ying Qujie swiftly pulled bandages from his robe and wrapped the wounds on the old woman’s wrist with practiced ease.

“Madam Wang… don’t waste it on me,” the old woman murmured weakly. Despite lacking even the strength to lift her neck for a more comfortable position, she still had the energy to push away the bowl’s rim.

Why should the dying spare so much thought for the living?

In years of famine, children were bartered for food. In years of drought, blood was spilled to survive.

He Qingsheng felt as though she, too, were being scorched by the relentless heat, her spirit parched with thirst.

She didn’t want to watch this farce anymore.

…

“Shijie, don’t save me, run!”

Run! Run! Run!

Where could she run to? She couldn’t.

“Shijie, escape!”

Escape?

Where could she escape to? There was nowhere left.

He Qingsheng was furious.

She wanted to kill someone.

The red bracelet on Ying Qujie’s wrist, once cool to the touch, suddenly burned fiercely. Startled by the overwhelming malice filling the room, he turned his head.

He quickly pressed a few acupoints on the old woman and strode toward the corner where He Qingsheng hovered.

Her eyes were blood-red, brimming with bloody tears.

When she saw him approach, she blinked mechanically, and the tears spilled down her cheeks. A vivid red streak traced her pale face, not terrifying, but oddly pitiful.

Ying Qujie sighed. Who would have thought a ghost could be so moved by human compassion?

He had misjudged her before.

But her current state seemed like she was trapped in a nightmare. He could save a person, but how could he save a ghost?

Could ghosts even be saved?

Ying Qujie pondered for three seconds. Ghosts took human form, and in living humans, acupoints connected the energies of heaven and earth, yin and yang. Perhaps a ghost’s acupoints could also be stimulated.

Without hesitation, he swiftly pressed two points on He Qingsheng’s shoulders, then brought his fingers together and pressed firmly on the Yintang acupoint between her eyebrows.

He Qingsheng was jolted out of her nightmare by a sharp pain.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Ying Qujie pressing on her forehead.

Seeing her tears had stopped, he whispered soothingly, “Are you alright now? Don’t be too upset.”

He Qingsheng stared at him. The previous two times her violent energy had surged uncontrollably, any contact with Ying Qujie had repelled her fiercely.

But this time, she had lost her senses and hadn’t actively tried to possess him. Instead, he had touched her first, and by sheer coincidence, that mysterious power had dispelled her rage.

If he possessed such a selective protective artifact, she shouldn’t have been unable to sense it.

She wasn’t sure whether this physician was cunning, deliberately hiding his trump card, or genuinely unaware.

He Qingsheng narrowed her eyes and made a very simple decision.

If the physician knew, she’d kill him.

If he didn’t know, she’d kill him depending on her mood.

“Are you stupid? So, acupressure really doesn’t work on ghosts,” Ying Qujie waved a hand in front of her face.

“You’re the stupid one,” He Qingsheng retorted, drifting to another corner.

Acupressure actually worked on ghosts.

Absentmindedly, Ying Qujie twisted the now-calm bracelet on his wrist, forming a bold idea.

…

Outside, hurried footsteps approached, followed by the wooden door being flung open.

A young man in his mid-twenties stood panting in the doorway.

When he saw Wang Niangzi by the bedside, feeding water to the elderly woman, his words caught in his throat.

The hand holding the wooden bucket trembled violently, and his legs gave way as he collapsed to his knees.

The water in the bucket sloshed violently before gradually settling on the flat ground.

But the young man’s emotions showed no sign of calming. He tried several times to speak, but each attempt was choked back by sobs.

Wang Niangzi set down the bowl, settled the elderly woman, and hurried over to help the young man up.

“Dazhu, what’s wrong? What’s happened?”

Then, as if realizing something, her hands froze, and her voice trembled. “Dazhu… where’s your brother?”

“Sister-in-law, I’ve failed Brother Yuan, I’ve failed you…” The man’s voice was hoarse with grief as he slapped himself repeatedly.

“Brother Yuan said we’d feint east and strike west to fetch water, but I was too slow, it’s my fault Brother Yuan is gone!”

Wang Niangzi staggered, collapsing heavily to the ground.

“Sister-in-law, hit me, curse me, it’s my fault Brother Yuan is dead!”

On the bed, the elderly woman heard the heart-wrenching wails, and a murky tear rolled down her deeply wrinkled face.

Wang Niangzi sat frozen, unable to react for a long moment.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” A clear voice rang out as Yuan Baoyin peeked in through the door. “Uncle Zhao, you’re back! Where’s Dad?”

“Baoyin, come here.” Wang Niangzi snapped out of her daze, pulling Yuan Baoyin into a tight embrace. Like someone possessed, she demanded, “Baoyin, was it your father who gave you the water? Was it him? Tell me!”

“Mother, you’re holding me too tight, it hurts.” Yuan Baoyin was about to whine when her mother’s ghastly expression startled her. “I fetched the water myself by the river, and the physician brother helped me pull it up.”

“Didn’t you see your father by the river?” Madam Wang’s eyes were wide with fury.

“No, Mother. What’s wrong?” Yuan Baoyin imitated her father’s usual way of comforting her mother, patting Madam Wang’s back in an earnest attempt to soothe her.

At this gesture, Madam Wang burst into tears.

There was no longer any reason to deceive herself.

The man-eating fish always left no trace. Naturally, Yuan Baoyin wouldn’t have noticed anything by the river.

Yuan Baoyin hadn’t run into Zhao Dazhu, and Zhao Dazhu had returned even later than they did.

So, what had Zhao Dazhu been thinking during that missing stretch of time?

Fleeing to save himself?

Or perhaps twisting the truth, stubbornly denying he had traveled with Yuan Baoyin’s father?

Struggling till the end, he couldn’t bear to abandon his elderly mother and chose to sneak back home late at night.

But the moment he returned, he saw the wife of Brother Yuan next door feeding water to his own mother.

Water that had cost a human life!

Water he had intended to keep for himself, water bought with a human life!

The weight of his conscience crushed him utterly. No wonder he had broken down so completely.

Amid Madam Wang’s sobs, He Qingsheng suddenly remembered something.

When she had devoured the monstrous fish, amidst the surge of malice, she had indeed been drawn to the riverside by a strange black shadow.

After swallowing the fish, the shadow had vanished. She had assumed it was just the fish’s sinister aura dissipating with the school.

Now it seemed that shadow might have been the lingering resentment of a father, a final, desperate wish to secure a chance for his child’s survival.

Yuan Baoyin wasn’t blindly filial.

She had a father who loved and protected her, a gentle and kind mother. She should have grown up surrounded by love.

But now she could only clumsily imitate her father, awkwardly comforting her grieving mother.

So young, yet already unwittingly experiencing her first painful farewell in this world.

Ying Qujie sighed softly beside He Qingsheng.

He Qingsheng gave him a strange look, then after a long pause, her expression shifted to one of anticipation.

“Physician Ying, still not considering the opportunity I mentioned?”