Chapter 8: Aunt and Niece

“Ah…”
Xu Baoguo let out a shout, his injured lungs burning with pain, and his whole body drenched in cold sweat.

“Baoguo, what’s wrong? Did you have another nightmare?” Zhang Huixiang asked worriedly, reaching out to gently pat his back, trying to help him catch his breath.

Only then did Xu Baoguo come back to his senses, realizing he had just awoken from a dream within a dream.

Yet, the scenes from the dream left him so suffocated he could barely breathe.

The midnight wind was bone-chillingly cold as I stood in the courtyard outside the emergency department, frowning as I looked toward the inpatient building.

“Dr. Qin, why are you braving the wind outside in this weather?” At that moment, Wang Meiyu approached with her hands behind her back.

“Oh, I just came out for some fresh air. Is there a patient?” I asked.

“No, I… I accidentally bought two bottles of milk from the vending machine just now. They've already been heated, so you might as well have one, Dr. Qin.” Wang Meiyu handed me a bottle of milk.

“Thank you. Then let me buy you breakfast later,” I replied.

“Alright, it’s a deal!” Wang Meiyu smiled gleefully and skipped back inside.

I shook my head, amused. Wang Meiyu had become increasingly fond of me lately, even going so far as to subtly flirt.

To be honest, Wang Meiyu was sweet and pretty, her big eyes bright and adorably expressive. Having such a lovely girl openly show affection gratified my vanity.

I didn’t reject her, but I wasn’t planning on starting a serious relationship either. I’d just see how things went.

At dawn, right after the shift change, Wang Meiyu came looking for me, worried I might not keep my promise.

I took her to a breakfast shop near the hospital entrance. With minimal effort, I had the little nurse laughing and blushing nonstop.

After breakfast, as I went to pay, I caught sight of a limited-edition luxury SUV slowly entering the hospital. In the passenger seat was Xu Baoguo’s daughter, Xu Bao’er, and driving was a young man with dyed blond hair.

My gaze followed the car until it disappeared from view.

There was a dense, ominous aura about the blond youth that made me uneasy.

Wang Meiyu asked about my plans for the evening. I told her I was too tired and just wanted to rest, which left her a little disappointed as she said goodbye.

Back home, I started reading the Grand Netherworld Yin-Yang Arts, searching for information on this baleful aura.

Baleful aura is a malevolent force; everyone produces a trace of it when angry, but it’s usually faint and barely registers in the magnetic field.

There are three types of baleful aura: Human, Earth, and Heavenly.

Human baleful aura can be innate or acquired. Some people are born with it, making them exceptionally fierce, feared by both ghosts and gods.

Acquired baleful aura usually comes from slaughter—either butchers who have killed too many animals, or people who have killed another human. The baleful aura from murdering a single person far exceeds that from slaughtering a thousand pigs.

“That guy clearly isn’t a butcher, nor does he seem born with such aura. It seems he carries more than one life on his shoulders; otherwise, how could his presence be so heavy?” I thought.

For him to appear at the hospital with Xu Bao’er, he must have been visiting Xu Baoguo—either as her boyfriend or a relative.

I felt uneasy. Though I’d already refused Xu Baoguo, I still felt a pang of guilt and self-reproach.

I’m not exactly a good man, but I pride myself on being a good doctor. I may be a womanizer, using different personas to seduce women, but I’ve never violated my professional ethics.

When faced with a patient—no matter the controversy or responsibility—I’ve always been willing to save a life.

But why, when Xu Baoguo turned to me for help, did I choose to shy away? Was I really going to stand by and watch him and his family die in agony?

The Grand Netherworld Yin-Yang Arts’ Yin techniques are about severing the worldly attachments of spirits, dispelling their grievances and resentments, and granting them peace. The Yang techniques are for slaying demons and monsters, relieving the suffering of their victims. In a sense, it’s an alternative form of medicine—perhaps best called nether medicine.

Given my evasiveness, do I still deserve to be called a doctor?

I was torn by an intense inner conflict—on one side, the instinct for self-preservation; on the other, the values and conscience I’d held since youth.

“Maybe… I’ll just keep an eye on things from the shadows. If there’s something I can do, I’ll step in. If it turns out to be beyond me, I can always walk away.” Thus I convinced myself.

…

Night fell again, and heavy snow began to swirl from the sky.

“Dad, are you feeling better?” Xu Bao’er asked anxiously, reaching to hold Xu Baoguo’s hand. Just moments ago, Xu Baoguo had fainted for a while. After the doctor examined him, he said it was nothing serious, just a bit of anemia.

Yet Xu Baoguo recoiled as if bitten by a venomous snake, his gaze toward Xu Bao’er wary, even hostile at times.

“Dad, you…” Xu Bao’er looked aggrieved. She’d noticed since visiting that morning, her father’s attitude toward her had changed—his eyes regarding her as if she were an enemy, sometimes so fierce it frightened her.

Xu Baoguo knew his behavior hurt his daughter, but he couldn’t help it. Ever since he’d had that nightmare last night, every time he saw Xu Bao’er, he was reminded of the dream.

“Bao’er, Daddy’s just a bit on edge. You should go home and rest,” Xu Baoguo said apologetically.

“My cousin drove out on an errand. He’ll be back to pick me up soon,” Xu Bao’er replied.

…

Bundled in a thick black down coat, hat, and mask, I arrived at the inpatient wing.

As I entered, a beautiful woman brushed past me.

I stopped and turned. Wasn’t that Xu Baoguo’s wife, Zhang Huixiang?

I saw her look around cautiously, then head toward the parking lot below the building.

Something told me she might be up to something, so I decided to follow.

The wind and snow outside were fierce. Dressed in black, I crept low, trailing Zhang Huixiang from another direction. She didn’t notice a thing.

In a shadowy corner of the parking lot, I spotted a familiar SUV—Zhang Huixiang was walking straight toward it.

There was someone inside. Though I couldn’t see his face clearly, his distinctive blond hair left no doubt—it was the same youth who’d driven the car earlier.

I watched Zhang Huixiang look around cautiously, then open the door and get in.

“So cautious—there must be something going on…” I was thinking, when my eyes widened in disbelief at what I saw inside the car.

They… were actually… all over each other…

“Damn, I can’t believe it—the big shot Xu Baoguo is being cuckolded so thoroughly. The blond kid’s got quite an appetite. Could he be into both mother and daughter? All my years as a playboy, and I’ve never had such luck. Damn it, I’m almost… jealous…” My mind ran wild.

While I was letting my thoughts run, my hands acted on their own, pulling out my phone to record the scene.

They groped and kissed until finally Zhang Huixiang pushed the blond youth away.

I put my phone away and quietly crept around to the trunk.

I strained my ears, trying to catch their conversation, but the luxury car’s soundproofing was too good—I couldn’t hear a thing.

Fortunately, they hadn’t started the engine. After all that time inside, the air was stale, so they’d cracked open a window.

“Remember, after you take Xu Bao’er home, make sure she takes this medicine.” That was Zhang Huixiang’s voice.

“Alright, Aunt. It’s just a pity I haven’t had a taste of her yet,” the blond youth replied.

“Hehe, isn’t having your aunt enough? Besides, once the Commander’s had his fill, maybe you’ll get a taste of the leftovers. Let’s go,” Zhang Huixiang said.

The two got out of the car and headed toward the inpatient building.

I stood behind the car, stunned for a long moment. There was too much information in their exchange.

No, no, I had to sort this out.

Zhang Huixiang was Xu Baoguo’s wife and Xu Bao’er’s mother. The blond youth called her “aunt,” so the two were aunt and nephew—a sheer destruction of all moral boundaries.

But that wasn’t all. Zhang Huixiang, as a mother, seemed to be instructing her nephew and lover to drug her own daughter, to offer her up for the amusement of a man known as the “Commander.”

And the blond youth was clearly lusting after his cousin, Xu Bao’er, hoping to get his share after the Commander was done.

At first, the whole thing struck me as absurd. Then, anger welled up.

Xu Baoguo, oh Xu Baoguo—what kind of people are you surrounded by? No wonder you’re haunted by evil spirits.

Wait a minute, could Zhang Huixiang be involved in this? Though she carried a trace of ghostly aura, it wasn’t as pronounced as the ghostly mark on Xu Bao’er.

Suddenly, a chill crept over my body and heart. The complexity of this entanglement was already clear from what little I’d learned. Was this really something I could get involved in?

No matter. For now, I’d just observe.

I entered the inpatient building and made my way to the fifteenth floor, pretending to pass by Room 6, where Xu Baoguo was staying.

Just as I walked by, I heard the door open and Zhang Huixiang’s voice: “Hanshan, make sure you take Bao’er home. Be careful on the way.”