Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
âWhere are we going?â Su Xiaoxue asked.
âA hill called Fulai Hill,â Wang Yao said. âIâve never been there before, either.â
To be honest, it was not the best time to visit Fulai Hill. They should wait until late autumn when all the ginkgo tree leaves turned yellow. At that time, the tree would create a breathtaking view for visitors. Most people went to Fulai Hill to see the ginkgo tree.
âBy the way, the lamb there is also famous,â Wang Yao said.
âWow, we can have a lamb dish for lunch? Do you go there often?â Su Xiaoxue asked.
âNo, I passed this place twice in the past,â Wang Yao said.
Although the place was next to Wang Family Village, Wang Yao only passed it twice. The place was much bigger than Lianshan, almost twice as big. The economics there were also better, and there were more people living there.
Fulai Hill was not tall. It was smaller than Nanshan Hill. At this time of the year, which was not during the holidays or weekends, there were not many visitors around.
There was a temple on the hill, which looked really old. After Wang Yao and Su Xiaoxue entered the temple, they saw the big ginkgo tree. The tree was huge. It stood inside the yard, which was quite big. The branches and leaves of the tree almost covered half of the yard. The trunk of the tree was very big. It took a number of people holding hands to circle it. It was nice and cool to stand under the tree.
âI think the tree is at least several thousands of years old,â Su Xiaoxue said as she looked up. The leaves blocked the sunshine completely.
âProbably,â Wang Yao said.
She walked around the tree several times and took many pictures of it.
âWhat are these?â Su Xiaoxue pointed some red silks hanging on the tree.
âSome people come here to make a wish and leave these red silks on the tree. I heard most of them had their dream come true,â Wang Yao said.
âMaybe we should make a wish, too,â Su Xiaoxue suggested.
âOK,â Wang Yao said.
They made a wish under the tree. Su Xiaoxue closed her eyes and put her palms together. She was really sincere about her wish.
After they finished making a wish, they walked around in the temple. Actually, there were old temples in Lianshan, too. However, it was a shame that those temples had been destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. It was fortunate for this temple to have survived. Almost nothing inside had been destroyed.
Su Xiaoxue seemed to have a lot of faith in temples. She also made a wish in front of the Buddha statue. Wang Yao did nothing but look at her.
In the corner of the temple, an old monk set up a stall. He was lying on a chair with his eyes closed. He seemed to have fallen asleep.
âDr. Wang, there is a fortune teller over there. Shall we speak to him?â Su Xiaoxue asked.
âOK,â Wang Yao said.
Their conversation woke up the old monk. âHow can I help you two?â
âWe would like you to tell us what will happen to us in the future, Master,â Su Xiaoxue said.
âIâm not a master. Iâm just an old monk,â the monk said with a smile. âSo, what do you want to know? Your career, marriage, or family?â
âAll of them, please,â Su Xiaoxue said.
She and Wang Yao gave the details of their birthdays and eight characters of a horoscope to the monk. The monk thought for a while.
âYou are from a wealthy family, probably a prestigious family. According to the features of your face, you are a person of fortune. According to your eight characters, you experienced a horrible disaster in your early 20s, which threatened your life. It was not easy for you to survive,â the old monk gently said.
âYes.â Su Xiaoxue kept nodding.
âIt was a disaster you were destined to experience. After that, you future will be very bright and smooth,â the monk said.
âWhat about marriage?â Su Xiaoxue asked.
âYouâll have a happy marriage,â the old monk said.
The monk turned to Wang Yao.
âAccording to your eight characters alone, you donât have much fortune in your life. But, your facial features...â The monk took a close look at Wang Yaoâs face and shook his head.
âWhatâs wrong, Master?â Su Xiaoxue anxiously asked while Wang Yao stayed calm.
âI canât tell,â the old man said. âBy the way, do you practice Taoism?â
âOh, yeah,â Wang Yao said with surprise. He didnât expect the old monk to notice that. He started to take the old monk seriously. âMay I ask how you found out Iâm practicing Taoism?â
âJust a wild guess based on my feelings,â the monk said.
âYou are right, Iâm practicing Taoism,â Wang Yao admitted.
âThatâs right. So, I said I couldnât work out the indication of your facial features,â the monk said.
âYou canât figure it out?â Wang Yao asked.
âWith your practice, something in your life has changed,â the monk said. âYour life is full of uncertainty at the moment. Your facial features will change from time to time. You might have completely different facial features three years from now. You can keep an eye on your own facial features yourself. You will notice the changes.â
âHave you come across any other people practicing Taoism or Buddhism?â Wang Yao asked.
âYes, just one,â the monk said.
âMay I ask where he is?â Wang Yao always wanted to meet other people practicing Taoism or Buddhism. He wanted to know how and what they practiced.
âHeâs a monk practicing on Wutai Mountain. He has a profound understanding of Buddhism. He is a real master,â the monk said.
âThe Wutai Mountain in Shanxi?â Wang Yao asked.
âYes,â the monk said.
Wutai Mountain was a famous spot of Buddhism.
âI see. Thank you,â Wang Yao said.
They donated some money to the temple before leaving.
âYou want to meet the monk on Wutai Mountain?â Su Xiaoxue asked.
âYes, I want to go to meet him,â Wang Yao said.
âWe can go together,â Su Xiaoxue said.
âOK,â Wang Yao said.
After they left Fulai hill, they went to the most famous local restaurant that specialized in lamb cuisine to have lunch. It was a big restaurant. Since it was lunch time when they arrived, the restaurant was very busy. However, the taste of the lamb soup was just average. After all, the chef and kitchen hands were probably too busy to guarantee the taste when they had to serve a large number of customers.
They drove back to Lianshan after lunch.
The lawyers Su Xiaoxue hired from Beijing had discussed Wang Yaoâs case with Zhang Peng. They were pretty confident to win the case. All they needed to do was to wait for the court to reopen.
The judge reviewed Wang Yaoâs case in the court three days later. The verdict this time completely contradicted the initial verdict. Wang Yao didnât need to take any responsibility, and that was the final decision.
Cao He gave up his right to appeal. The whole thing was like a childish game.
âHave you found out who Cao He is?â Su Xiaoxue asked Chu Lian while she was sitting in the court listening to the final verdict.
âYes,â Chu Lian said.
After the judge had announced the final verdict, everyone involved left the court. Wang Yao read through Cao Heâs personal profile in the car.
Apparently, Cao He was from a very poor village. He graduated from one of the best universities in China and obtained a double degree in psychology and law. He achieved well academically and had a scholarship every year.
âHmm, he is a very intelligent young man,â Wang Yao said. âHow did he end up with people like Cao Meng?â
âThey share the same surname, and their hometowns were next door to each other. Maybe they were relatives,â Su Xiaoxue said.
...
Meanwhile, Cao Meng was still in the Haiqu Peopleâs Hospital.
âDoctor, what is exactly wrong with my brother and his friends?â Cao Hui asked the registrar doctor.
âTo tell you the truth, we havenât found the cause of the disease,â said the registrar doctor, who had never come across this kind of condition before. âHis body was extremely resistive to food. As soon as he starts to eat, his stomach will be stimulated and he will start to vomit. Weâve been trying to stop the resistance, but nothing really worked.â
âThey canât live like this forever,â Cao Hui said.
âIf you donât want to wait, you can apply for a hospital transfer. Maybe the doctors from a bigger hospital will be able to help them,â the doctor said.
Since he couldnât make his patients better, the best thing for him to do was to allow his patients to seek medical assistance elsewhere.
âI see, thank you, Doctor,â Cao Hui said.
âYou are welcome,â the doctor said.
When Cao Hui walked out of the doctorâs office, Cao He came back to the hospital.
âHow did you go in the court?â Cao Hui asked.
âHe won. He has a group of lawyers from Beijing representing him,â Cao He said. âI think the judge in the court is under some sort of pressure from his superior. They were just going through the motions. Boss, I think we should give up. You will lose your life if you continue to fight with that Wang Yao.â
Cao He wanted to give up because of Cao Meng, who was still lying on the hospital bed. After Cao Meng had told him what had happened, he was pretty sure Cao Meng and the other gangstersâ condition was caused by Wang Yao. After getting to know Wang Yao better, Cao He knew that he was a fantastic doctor who could treat headaches, leg pains, heart disease, and strokes. Wang Yao could treat almost any illness.
A doctor who could cure people could also make people sick. Cao He suspected that Cao Meng had been poisoned by Wang Yao. However, he didnât have any evidence.