Chapter 64

Su Fuling had the man extend his hand so she could take his pulse, and at the same time she activated the system's scanning function. He really was the mission target.

Su Fuling began taking his pulse again.

What a coincidence? She took his pulse carefully, twice in a row, and confirmed that aside from a bit of malnutrition, this Liu Afu had no illness. Malnutrition could only be considered a physical state, not a disease.

So it seemed an accident really was going to happen.

Liu Afu said, "Doctor, how did my checkup turn out?" The boss who had sent him for the checkup had said that as long as he brought back the results and reported the situation, he would get paid.

Su Fuling said, "Do you have any plans today?"

Liu Afu said, "No. I was supposed to go to work, but I took the day off."

Su Fuling: "Then do you have any other plans today?"

Liu Afu said, "Besides work, I just go home. My ma is old and her mind isn't clear anymore—she needs me to look after her."

Su Fuling wondered to herself—could he get hurt at home?

Normally Su Fuling didn't like using the detection function. After all, several people came for checkups every day; she couldn't spend all her detection uses on them. But seeing Liu Afu's rough, calloused palms, and hearing about the elderly mother at home who needed his care, she couldn't help feeling some pity. Forget it—she hadn't encountered any major illnesses these past days anyway, and the daily detection function had just been used to store case records. Using it once this time was fine.

Su Fuling activated the detection function.

[Patient name: Liu Afu; Gender: Male

Age: 48

Primary condition: None

Current symptoms: None

Predicted change in condition: At 10:38 a.m., he will be deliberately stabbed in the thigh with a knife while being used as a test subject.]

Seeing this, Fuling's eyes twitched. She glanced at her watch—there was still a little over an hour to go. "Have you offended anyone?"

Liu Afu quickly shook his head.

Su Fuling looked at the words "test subject" on the display, somewhat puzzled. "Mr. Liu, I need to ask you a very serious question. What is your job?"

"Cleaning, doing sanitation work," Liu Afu said, a little self-conscious.

Su Fuling frowned. "Then have you taken on any side jobs recently? Like participating in experiments for someone?"

Liu Afu shook his head at that.

"What about today—any side jobs? Work that isn't part of your regular job?" Su Fuling probed step by step.

Hearing this, Liu Afu paused, and it suddenly occurred to him—did coming here count? But after looking into Su Fuling's eyes, he guiltily looked away.

Seeing his expression, Su Fuling knew things were indeed not simple. "Mr. Liu, it's best not to hide things from your doctor."

Liu Afu nervously rubbed his hands together. "Dr. Su, you just need to tell me the checkup results."

Seeing him dragging his feet like this, Su Fuling simply said, "Anyway, your body is fine, but your complexion is very poor. In my experience, people with poor complexions get injured easily. And a bad mood can lead to many accidents, like... being deliberately stabbed."

Liu Afu froze. "Isn't this a clinic? Are you saying I'm fated for a bloody calamity?"

Su Fuling said, "Don't you know what my checkups can do?"

Liu Afu: "...I do know. I heard about it from others—that you can learn your health status for the day, whether you'll get hurt. Doctor, is what you're saying true?"

Su Fuling said, "Those who believe will take it seriously. For those who don't, no matter what I say it's useless. I suggest you listen to me. Otherwise there's nothing I can do."

Liu Afu said, "But... I haven't offended anyone. Who would deliberately stab me?"

Su Fuling said, "Think carefully. Is there anything special happening today? Or rather—are you about to go somewhere special, or meet someone special?" It was only an hour away, and it involved being used as a test subject—Su Fuling felt the odds of it being an accident were slim.

Hearing this, although Liu Afu didn't quite believe Su Fuling, he couldn't help thinking of where he was about to go. Thinking that he was going to meet a big boss—that really was a very special person.

He looked at Su Fuling in amazement. "Doctor, you can really see that?"

Su Fuling said, "So you need to be careful. It would be best not to go meet anyone."

Liu Afu quickly shook his head. "No, I can't not go. Forget it, let's not talk about this. Doctor, can you write my checkup results on paper? I want to take it back and read it slowly."

Seeing his strange behavior, Su Fuling grew more and more suspicious: he looked very poor, yet was willing to spend twenty Hong Kong dollars on a checkup. But he himself didn't seem to really believe in it. This didn't seem like someone coming for a checkup—more like someone coming to probe... a test subject?

Su Fuling stared at him now, and finally it clicked.

She took a pen and began writing the checkup results on paper. The first line only contained the words "healthy" and "malnutrition." The second line was a sentence, enclosed in big parentheses. Then she folded the note. "Take it back, and give it to the person who sent you."

Then she warned him, "Remember—give it to them early, or that person will stab you."

Those words made Liu Afu shudder. He had only come to complete a task and hadn't thought this doctor was anything special—just a young girl. But now this girl actually knew he'd been sent by someone else! "Doctor... how do you know I was sent by someone, and that someone would stab me?"

"A guess," Su Fuling said. "I'm guessing you were sent here as part of an experiment, and afterward you have to take the checkup results back to show someone."

Liu Afu: "...!!!"

That guess was way too accurate. Liu Afu's heart rose into his throat. No wonder the boss had told him to come here for a checkup—he hadn't understood why before. Now he seemed to understand a little: this doctor really did seem incredible! He almost asked with a sob in his voice, "So if I don't go, I won't get stabbed?"

Su Fuling said, "Maybe. I can't guarantee it. And would you really not go?"

Liu Afu shook his head. He didn't dare. It had already been agreed—he had to report back immediately.

Naturally, Su Fuling wouldn't try to persuade him not to meet the person behind the arrangement. After all, this was a premeditated matter. Even if he didn't go today, he would go tomorrow. Whatever those people intended to do, they would still do. Premeditated things like this couldn't be avoided—only resolved.

What she could do was let the other party know that their actions had been seen through. That way, they naturally wouldn't carry out their little experiment.

"Remember—show the checkup results to them early. It might just save you."

Liu Afu nodded nervously.

Su Fuling watched as the detection symbol above him changed the moment he nodded. As Liu Afu was about to leave, she said, "Mr. Liu, as an ordinary person, you'd best not take on strange jobs in the future."

Liu Afu nodded, now regretting in his heart that he had taken this job. But... he didn't really have any other choice.

Watching Liu Afu leave, Su Fuling speculated about who had sent him. The first thing that came to mind was the Dragon-Tiger Society.

If it were an ordinary person, they could have simply come to experience it themselves. And even if they sent someone to test it, they wouldn't stab that person. Only gang members would do something like that. And the ones she'd recently drawn attention from were the Dragon-Tiger Society. It seemed they had sent someone to probe her.

Thinking that they had sent an ordinary person and were even willing to stab him, this bloody style of doing things really disgusted her.

But it did make Su Fuling's desire to earn merit points more urgent. She needed to save up more merit points so they'd be available at critical moments.

"Aiya, isn't this Ah Ming's niece? You really opened such a big clinic—you're better than your uncle."

Su Fuling looked up at the voice. It was the next patient coming in—a neighbor auntie from her uncle's street, someone she'd greeted a few times before.

The neighbor auntie said, "I've heard all about it—your medical skills here are excellent. I've had rheumatism for a long time. That Dr. Qiao prescribed me lots of expensive plasters, and I don't feel any better. Ah Ling, see if you can treat it."

Su Fuling said, "Let me take a look first."

The auntie added, "Remember to give us a discount—several of us came together this time. Nobody wants to see Dr. Qiao anymore; everyone wants to see you. Ah Ling, treat us well and we'll definitely spread the word for you."

Su Fuling: "..." She could already feel how much the owner of George's clinic must hate her. If her system were that friend's system, she'd probably already have income coming in. But Su Fuling didn't care anymore. When you're deep in debt, you stop worrying—let them resent her if they wanted. Right now she really needed merit points!

...

After leaving the clinic, Liu Afu took a ride all the way to Mong Kok.

In the office building of a KTV in a certain block of Mong Kok, Wang Jinhu was smoking a cigar. The office was full of smoke, and beside him a subordinate was playing with a knife.

"Godfather, why did you send such a simple-minded guy? Won't he mess things up?"

Wang Jinhu took a drag on his cigar. "If the other party really is a capable master, wouldn't sending one of our own boys make it easy to be seen through? What if that old fox Wen tipped her off in advance? She'd definitely recognize the air of a jianghu man. So it's better to send an honest, simple fellow—people don't guard against those types. Anyway, it's just a checkup, no other issues."

"Godfather, you really think of everything. Otherwise we'd have fallen for that old fox Wen's scheme."

Wang Jinhu said, "Of course I have to guard against Wen Tao. He may be a tiger about to retire, but his claws are still there." Then he glanced sideways at his subordinate. "Hu Er, be more polite to people. Don't learn from Long San's rudeness."

Hu Er was a junior from Wang Jinhu's hometown. After Wang Jinhu made it big in Hong Kong, he had specially brought him over from the mainland to groom him. He himself fought and killed, but he didn't want his own children dragged into this life, nor did he want to be without security after retiring. So he took in juniors from his hometown as their godfather, while sending his own children abroad to study and run legitimate companies to launder the family's image.

Hu Er said, "Got it, Godfather. Godfather, shouldn't we make some arrangements? If the checkup result is good, that doesn't prove anything. How about this—if the result is good, I'll stab that Liu Afu."

Wang Jinhu said, "You're right. If you stab him, it really would be easier to find out whether what Wen Tao said is true or false."

Hu Er grinned at once, twirling the knife in his hand again, determined to earn merit in front of his godfather.

After a while, there was a knock at the door.

The gang member guarding the door came in and said, "Boss Hu, that Liu Afu is here."

"Let him in."

Hu Er immediately perked up, and even Wang Jinhu put down his cigar.

When Liu Afu came in, he was so nervous his face had gone pale. Although he cleaned at the KTV and saw these gang people all the time, this was his first time speaking with a gang boss. He was truly afraid of these people. He also had no idea why they'd made him get a checkup. That young doctor at the checkup had said strange things too, which scared him.

Wang Jinhu said, "How did the checkup go?"

"B-boss... I..."

Hu Er said, "Why are you stammering?"

When Liu Afu saw the knife in Hu Er's hand, he thought of the young doctor's words, and his body immediately began to shake.

He dropped to the floor with a thud. "Don't stab me, boss, please don't stab me!"

Hu Er was taken aback. "What are you going crazy for? Where's the checkup result?" He hadn't even made a move yet.

With trembling hands, Liu Afu handed the checkup result to Hu Er.

Naturally, Hu Er didn't dare look at it first himself and quickly passed it to Wang Jinhu.

Wang Jinhu took the result and glanced at it. Suddenly, the sentence enclosed in parentheses shocked him so much the cigar fell from his mouth.

(Don't hurt innocent people for the sake of an experiment. Those who stab others with knives will one day be stabbed themselves!)

Hu Er said eagerly, "Godfather, how's the result? Should I make my move?"

Wang Jinhu placed the result on the desk and said gravely, "Let him go."

Hu Er froze. "Huh?"

"Let him go," Wang Jinhu repeated quickly.

Hu Er kicked at Liu Afu, whose legs had gone soft on the floor. "Get out of here, now!"

Liu Afu scrambled up from the floor on hands and knees.

"Wait." Wang Jinhu stopped him, pulled a few bills from the drawer and tossed them on the floor. "Take them. Don't tell anyone about what happened today."

Liu Afu quickly picked up the money and scurried out.

Hu Er turned back to look at Wang Jinhu. "Godfather, what's going on?"

Wang Jinhu tapped the paper on the desk with his finger. Hu Er hurried over, picked it up and looked—seeing that line, the knife in his hand clattered to the floor.

His hand trembled inexplicably. "Godfather... is this a coincidence? Or did she... see through it..."

"Even if she saw through Liu Afu, how would she know you were going to stab him with a knife?" As Wang Jinhu said this, his own heart trembled. Only a few minutes had passed since he'd spoken with Hu Er. And it had been a spur-of-the-moment idea. He had originally planned to send several more people to test her—he had that much patience. It was only when Hu Er suggested it that he figured there was no need to waste more time. "The idea of stabbing him—you only just said it."

Hu Er: "..." Right—how did she guess he was going to use a knife? This was getting creepy. When your plans are known in advance, who can feel safe?

Hu Er instinctively circled the study, looking around, then started rummaging everywhere. "Master Hu, do you think someone planted a bug in here?"

"That was written an hour ago."

Hu Er said, "I'm still not at ease. Let me get someone to check, Godfather."

Wang Jinhu waved his hand. "Enough. Whether there's a bug in here, don't you think I'd know?" They were all old hands in the jianghu; everyone knew these tricks best. Although Wang Jinhu's momentum in the Dragon-Tiger Society now didn't match Zhang Long's, it wasn't to the point where he couldn't even protect himself.

He looked at Hu Er. "Not a word about this to anyone."

Hu Er still found it hard to believe. Did such strange things really exist in this world?

As a jianghu man, Hu Er's belief in such things was selective—he believed in Lord Guan, believed in the God of Wealth, but he didn't believe evil got its due. Naturally he was also unwilling to believe some mysterious metaphysical power could threaten him. But now... his understanding had been somewhat shattered.

"Godfather, what do we do now?"

Wang Jinhu stood up and paced the office. His expression was grave, somewhat excited, yet with a chill running down his spine. "Since such a person exists in this world, of course we should befriend her if we can. As for that Wen Tao—telling us about this, he must be plotting something."

Hu Er said, "Then let's invite her to work for us. As long as the money's enough, no one refuses. Then that old We— Uncle Wen's scheme will come to nothing."

Wang Jinhu said, "She's on Four Directions Society turf. They probably have people posted nearby every day. The moment we make any move, the Four Directions Society will know first. Do you think they can't afford to pay?"

Hu Er: "..."

Wang Jinhu said, "I'll contact Wen Tao first. Since he told me something this important, he must have a purpose. Don't act rashly for now."

For a jianghu man like Wang Jinhu, a master of this kind was someone to befriend at all costs. Just like that man surnamed Wen had said—this was a miracle doctor who could bring the dying back to life.

Wang Jinhu also recalled the Four Directions Society's recent movements. Especially how the man surnamed Wen had known in advance about Zhang Long arranging for guns and ammunition, and had then cooperated with the police.

Back then he'd marveled at how well-informed the man was, and had even searched his own circle for a mole. Thinking about it now—perhaps it was this master's influence?

Thinking this way, many doubts could be explained.

He picked up the phone on the desk and dialed.

When Uncle Wen picked up on the other end, he said, "Brother Wen, thank you truly—that one really is a master."

Uncle Wen said, "Oh? You've already been to see Dr. Su?"

Wang Jinhu laughed. "Of course not. How could I go onto your turf without saying hello? I just sent someone to see the doctor. Her medical skill is indeed brilliant—miraculous hands that bring the dying back. I just wonder why Brother Wen takes such good care of me, introducing such a master to me. How about this—I'll host, and treat you and that miracle doctor to a meal."

Uncle Wen said, "No rush. Dr. Su has been very busy lately; she probably has no time for meals. Your Dragon-Tiger Society people keep causing her trouble these days. Ah Hu, it's time you took charge of the Dragon-Tiger Society's affairs. Otherwise, if people take their anger out on you, you'll be the one who loses out."

Wang Jinhu: "..."