Wang Cailiang shuddered, especially when his hand brushed against the remaining fur on his back. Cold sweat instantly broke out all over him. Picturing the horrors Chu Qiguang described, he felt that such an existence would truly be a fate worse than death.
Still uneasy, Wang Cailiang asked, "Is that dog ghost really dead?"
"A single slide tackle from my master took care of it," Chu Qiguang affirmed. "You see, when that dog ghost pounced, my master dropped into a slide tackle right beneath it and slit its belly open with his dharma sword. The beast was done for on the spot."
Wang Cailiang nodded. He wanted to plead for help now, but remembering the insults he had hurled only moments before, asking outright felt like slapping his own face. Embarrassment tied his tongue.
Seeing his constipated expression, Chu Qiguang knew exactly what was going on. Boys of this age often cared about saving face above all else; their skins were not yet thick enough to act as if nothing had happened.
With an expression full of relief, Chu Qiguang remarked, "I once heard of a wealthy merchant family in the south whose only son was suspected of demon possession. His parents tied him up, dragged him up a mountain, and threw him off a cliff. Fortunately, I arrived in the nick of time today and managed to temporarily suppress the canine poison in your body, Young Master, sparing you such a tragedy."
Hearing this, lingering dread washed over Wang Cailiang. Thinking it through, if he could never be cured, there really was a slight chance his father might kill him off to protect the family.
At this thought, Wang Cailiang decided it was best to bend with the wind. Better to admit fault and beg Zhou Ergou for help.
Seeing the subtle shift in his expression, Chu Qiguang grasped what he was thinking. Chuckling, he stepped forward first, took Wang Cailiang by the hand, and spoke with utter sincerity: "Rest assured, Young Master Wang. My master sent me to the Wang manor specifically to treat your illness. Even if it means walking through fire and water, I will surely save you."
Moved, Wang Cailiang looked at Chu Qiguang, finding Zhou Ergou more reliable by the second. He wished he could head straight to the pleasure houses in the county seat with him to share wine and talk through the night.
Chu Qiguang continued, "My master and I never accept silver for saving lives. However, curing this affliction will require purchasing medicinal herbs and refining pills."
Wang Cailiang patted his chest at once. "Hero... whatever you need, just say the word. Be it ginseng, spirit grass, pigs, sheep, or sacrificial offerings—so long as it exists in Qingyang County, I will fetch it for you!"
Chu Qiguang said with concern, "The elixir pills required to purge canine poison are not cheap."
Wang Cailiang laughed. "Put your mind at ease, Young Hero. My father is the wealthiest man in Wang Family Village, and I am his only son. How could he begrudge the expense?"
Chu Qiguang slapped his forehead and chuckled heartily. "My mistake! I only remembered Master telling me about families who begrudged silver and ended up drowning their own sons, completely forgetting Young Master Wang's circumstances."
The corner of Wang Cailiang's mouth twitched, and an underlying trace of dread crept into his heart. He resolved that whatever the cost, he had to get this illness cured.
Chu Qiguang smiled faintly. "Still, with the canine poison temporarily suppressed today, there's no rush for the rest of the treatment. The urgent task is for you to step outside and settle everyone's minds."
***
Outside, Master Wang Chengwang stood anxiously in the courtyard, glancing toward the room from time to time. Unfortunately, the doors and windows were tightly shut, leaving him blind to what was happening within.
Behind him stood Housekeeper Wang and Zhang Da, alongside more than thirty others—pages, guards, handymen, and retainers of the Wang household. Wang Chengwang had summoned them all, and they stood armed with wooden clubs and pitchforks.
The housekeeper also held a tray of silver, prepared under Wang Chengwang's orders.
The big stick in one hand, the silver in the other—both were ready, yet Wang Chengwang had no idea which one he would be using.
*Who knows how things are going in there...*
Beside Zhang Da, Chen Gang restlessly fingered the stone inside his robes and muttered softly, "Brother Zhang, if you ask me, we should just smash the door open with a rock and rush in to see for ourselves..."
Under Zhang Da's fierce glare, Chen Gang swallowed the rest of his words, clutching the stone in frustration as he stared toward the room.
Just then, the doors swung open. Wang Cailiang and Chu Qiguang emerged arm in arm, their faces brimming with joy.
The moment he saw his father, Wang Cailiang hurried over and lifted the back of his robes, revealing a back where the fur, while somewhat thick, remained well within the realm of an ordinary human.
Wang Cailiang whispered, "Father, it's all right now."
At the same time, he deliberately allowed the assembled servants and maids to catch a glimpse, putting their minds at ease.
During these past few days of the young master's bizarre illness, not only had he and his family been frantic with worry, but the servants throughout the household had been panicked as well.
Seeing this, Wang Chengwang exhaled in relief, feeling as though a great stone had finally fallen from his chest.
"As long as my son is safe, as long as you are safe!" Wang Chengwang patted his son's shoulder, then stepped before Chu Qiguang and bowed deeply. "Worthy Nephew Zhou, this is all thanks to you and your esteemed master."
Wang Chengwang then dismissed the servants, keeping only the housekeeper at his side.
Housekeeper Wang gazed at Zhou Ergou with mixed feelings, never imagining that the boy would become an honored guest of his master.
Yet he was no fool. Squeezing out an ingratiating smile, he stepped forward, bowing deferentially to curry favor: "Little Brother Zhou has remarkable skill. This old servant has been utterly blind all these years, failing to recognize a true master right before my eyes."
Chu Qiguang gave a careless nod, not bothering to waste words on him.
"Haha, a servant like you wouldn't understand—a true master keeps his talents hidden!" Wang Chengwang picked up the silver from the housekeeper's tray and presented it to Chu Qiguang. "I know that you and your master slay demons, eliminate evil, and uphold righteousness, so you surely pay no heed to gold and silver. But this is merely a token of my regard, so that you need not trouble yourselves over such worldly trifles."
Chu Qiguang glanced at the six ingots on the tray, totaling thirty taels of silver. That was roughly the price of ten Ergous.
Shaking his head, Chu Qiguang replied with righteous resolve, "I cannot accept this silver."
Before anyone from the Wang family could speak, Qiao Zhi, hidden behind the nearby eaves, could no longer sit still. He shouted in his mind, *How can you refuse the silver?! That's thirty taels! It's enough for you to buy a portion of Hundred-Refined Ointment at a Taoist monastery to aid your cultivation and help you break into the first stage of martial arts!*
Chu Qiguang naturally knew how valuable thirty taels of silver were. His family's farmland currently fetched only five taels per mu; thirty taels could buy six mu of land. Used for grain, it could purchase nearly thirty dan—over three thousand jin, enough to sustain his family for two to three years.
With this money, he could at least forgo farmwork and focus entirely on cultivating for a year. Or he could buy pills from the Heavenly Master Sect, which, combined with his aptitude, would let him step into the first stage of martial arts even faster.
Chu Qiguang replied flatly in his mind, *Is the life of the Wang family's young master... worth only thirty taels? He is an only son, and his illness still requires follow-up treatment.*
Qiao Zhi paused in confusion. *Huh?*
Chu Qiguang said, *I mean, we need to demand more money.*
Vivid memories instantly surged through Qiao Zhi's mind—landlords and gentry ruined, high officials and dignitaries torn from their families, demons and ghosts forced to toil in mines and fields, little cats and dogs trudging forward under heavy burdens... As these memories churned within him, his body couldn't help but shudder.
He cast another glance at the Wang father and son, and could already picture them stripped of every last coin a few months from now.
Chapter 21