Chapter 72

Chapter 72. During this time, the police station was at rest, but Wang Sihua had given advance notice, so the officer in charge of the deceased's body still helped him out. 'You can look, but you can't touch,' the colleague reminded. Wang Sihua said, 'We won't touch.' The group then entered. When Su Fuling saw that small bundle, even though she had seen much of the world, she was still shocked. She only glanced at it before looking away and activating the detection function. [Patient Name: Lin Xiaoli Gender: Female Age: 10 Main Diagnosis: Death by Asphyxiation Patient Condition: Death Predicted Change: Death] The repeated 'death' weighed heavily on Su Fuling's heart. Especially since this was a child... In the past few days, Su Fuling had seen many suffering children at the Orphanage, and seeing this child now brought an indescribable pain. She said to Wang Sihua, 'I've seen enough. Let's go out.' Wang Sihua thanked his colleague and quickly led Su Fuling out. He worried that as an ordinary person, Su Fuling might not be able to handle the scene. After all, the child's face was burned beyond recognition. Moreover, not only was she burned, but she had also been buried in the soil for a long time when found, so ordinary people truly couldn't accept it. Even he had felt terrible the first time he saw it. Only his determination to catch the killer helped him overcome that discomfort. Once outside, he asked, 'Doctor Su, how is it?' Su Fuling said with difficulty, 'Ten years old, died of asphyxiation.' 'Not from burns?' Wang Sihua said, no wonder there were no external injuries. Su Fuling said, 'The burning might have been to cover something up, or for some other purpose—I don't know. But she died of asphyxiation.' Wang Sihua nodded. Although he didn't fully accept this conclusion, he could use it as a direction for investigation. Su Fuling said, 'Her name is Lin Xiaoli.' Wang Sihua looked at Su Fuling in shock. As a doctor, it was one thing for her to determine the age and cause of death, but to even know the name? 'Doctor Su...' Su Fuling said, 'Don't ask. Medicine and Daoism are not separate. I know a little about Daoist aura-reading techniques, and I saw a bit. Maybe I'm wrong—go check it out.' Su Fuling found that the Daoist label was still very useful now. Although it deviated from her original plan, at least not by much. And some of her medical skills were indeed inherited from her grandfather's Daoist friends. Wang Sihua was skeptical, but seeing that Su Fuling didn't want to say more, he didn't press. Still, he was shocked by Su Fuling's abilities. Previously, when catching the murderer, it could barely be explained through medical skills, but now if she could know the name just by looking at the corpse, that was beyond scientific explanation. 'Then I'll take you back.' Su Fuling waved her hand, 'It's not far. I'll walk back myself. I'll stop by my aunt's place for some dessert.' She urgently needed some sweets; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to calm down in the afternoon. Seeing Su Fuling leave, Wang Sihua didn't waste time and hurried to the office. 'Brother Dong, I need to look into the list of missing children from the missing persons cases in recent years.' Cheng Xiaodong was taking a nap in the office and was startled, 'What's up? Found a clue? Wasn't it already announced? No one came to claim the body.' When the child's body was found back then, it was naturally reported in the newspapers. They even brought in people who had reported missing persons to identify, but none recognized her. 'This time I want to look again. Maybe someone didn't come, or didn't report the disappearance,' Wang Sihua said. Cheng Xiaodong pointed to a stack of files and told him to look for himself. This case had no leads at all—the identity wasn't even clear, and too much time had passed. How could they find the killer? Wang Sihua quickly started flipping through the files. Harbor City's public security hadn't been great in recent years, with a very large transient population, so there were quite a few missing persons. Just checking these files would take a lot of time, but Wang Sihua was very excited. He longed to see that familiar name among them. ... Su Fuling ate dessert at her aunt's shop and played with her little cousin Shanshan for a while. The little child now had plenty to eat, was happy every day in the shop, and smiled at everyone. The young people who came for dessert also liked to play with her. Seeing such a child, Su Fuling thought of what she had seen at noon... 'Grow up healthy, little Shanshan.' Shanshan showed an innocent smile. Zhou Huijuan said, 'A Ling, go back tonight and look at the house with your uncle. Granny Sun just came to me and said she found a house.' Su Fuling said, 'So fast.' 'Granny Sun is very well-informed, and she said she was looking for our family, so she worked hard. After I told her this morning, she came to me just now. You and your uncle go take a look. If it's suitable, settle it. Houses are in high demand now; if you're late, someone else might rent it first.' In recent years, since travel between the Mainland and Harbor City became convenient, many people came to live in Harbor City. Plus Southeast Asian immigrants, the population in Yau Ma Tei was growing. Su Fuling said, 'Okay, I'll go look tonight.' At least there was one good thing. Su Fuling returned to the shop, but had no mind to rest, wanting only to keep busy. So she personally gathered herbs from the pharmacy and went to the consultation room to make medicine. She had purchased the course for the antidote to Shixiang Tendon-Softening Powder from the System yesterday, so naturally she had to hurry and make it. After facing death directly, one's desire for self-preservation grew stronger. She didn't want to disappear without knowing what happened. Although she had the prescription, the manufacturing process was truly not simple. Many steps were complex and tedious. The way the herbs were processed was also different from what Su Fuling usually encountered. No wonder such prescriptions weren't available on the market—it was because the processing methods were different, so the effects were different too. If she processed these herbs in the normal way, Su Fuling really wouldn't dare use them, afraid the potency would be too strong. In the afternoon, whenever she had free time, Su Fuling started making the medicine. After a busy afternoon, she finally managed to make some. Su Fuling asked Zhao Facai, 'Uncle Afa, where can I buy lab mice?' 'Oh, Master, what are you buying them for?' 'To test the medicine.' Hearing this, Zhao Facai immediately volunteered, 'Master, let me test the medicine for you.' Su Fuling: '... I can't do that. Just buy me some lab mice.' Zhao Facai then said, 'I'll go now.' Actually, he knew his master wouldn't do that, but he still had to show his loyalty. The flower and bird market was nearby, so soon Zhao Facai returned carrying lab mice. Su Fuling wore a mask, and according to the weight ratio of the mice, she administered the medicine she had made to the mice, then quietly waited for the effect. According to the course description, as long as someone smelled this substance, they would lose consciousness and collapse. The mouse in the cage, after smelling the medicine Su Fuling sprinkled, fell to the ground three seconds later. Su Fuling observed it—it was still alive, just unable to move. It tried several times to stand up but couldn't. Su Fuling then let it smell the antidote. After waiting for more than ten seconds, the mouse finally moved. Then it stood up and walked a few steps. Su Fuling: '...!!!' Herbs were truly magical; different processing methods could bring such different results. Now Su Fuling was becoming more and more interested in traditional Chinese medicine. At first, it was to inherit her grandfather's legacy, then later because of work needs, she slowly grew to like it, and now Su Fuling had completely fallen in love with it from the bottom of her heart. Su Fuling tried a few more times, then asked Zhao Facai to buy several different kinds of lab mice. After several successful experiments, she finally stopped. Su Fuling itched to try it on herself, but thought, she was such a cannon fodder—if she was unlucky enough to poison herself, that would be really unfortunate. So she decided not to test the medicine on herself, and instead prepared to use it on the spot if anyone really tried to harm her, before the System could act. She put the prepared medicine in a sachet and hung it on her bag. Only then did Su Fuling feel a sense of security. At least she had more means of self-preservation. In the evening, Su Fuling returned home early. Granny Sun was already waiting at home, boasting to Su Jueming about how good the house was. When she saw Su Fuling return, she praised the house even more, saying the feng shui was good, and the previous residents were very happy. Later, the landlord made a lot of money in business and moved to another district, so the house started being rented out. Everyone who lived in this house had good luck. Su Jueming said, 'Granny, don't praise it so much to the landlord later. If the rent is too high, we can't afford it.' Granny Sun said, 'I'm just saying this to you. Of course I won't say that to the landlord. A Ling saved me a lot of money, so of course I want to help A Ling.' For Granny Sun, who had been repeatedly tormented by illness, Su Fuling was her lucky star. In the future, her old bones would still rely on Su Fuling for treatment. After all, she was old, and could fall ill at any time. If she met a quack doctor, she'd be done for, so she had to maintain a good relationship with A Ling. Leaving the children at home to do homework, Su Jueming carried his little daughter and went out with Su Fuling. David and Xiao Wei sighed and shrugged. They really wanted to see what the new home looked like. The house was on the same street, just two buildings away. But the building was newer, and the hallway wasn't as dark as the one in Su Jueming's current place. There were fewer households per floor—only four. The landlord was already waiting inside. When he saw them arrive, he quickly showed them around. As soon as they entered, Su Jueming couldn't help but want to say 'wow.' Such a spacious house! Three rooms! And a balcony! This was a Thousand-Square-Foot Mansion! Su Jueming never dreamed that one day he could live in a Thousand-Square-Foot Mansion. Su Fuling, however, wasn't impressed at all; she just considered its practicality. After viewing it, she was satisfied with the house. Seeing Su Fuling nod, Su Jueming had no objections. Granny Sun immediately pestered the landlord to negotiate the price. She also introduced Su Fuling and Su Jueming as great doctors, saying that after they lived there, the house would be easier to rent out in the future. The landlord naturally wanted good tenants; the biggest worry when renting out a house was bad tenants. Hearing that this family were all bosses on this street, with two of them being doctors, he was quite satisfied and willing to lower the rent a bit. However, he was skeptical about Su Fuling being a doctor. 'Such a young doctor? Haven't even graduated from university yet.' Granny Sun said, 'Don't judge by appearances. A Ling can tell what illness someone has just by taking their pulse. She's very skilled.' The landlord said, 'That skilled?' He said, 'Then how about you take a look at me? If you're right, I'll agree to lower the rent.' Su Fuling scanned him. No wonder he asked her to check—he really was sick. Su Fuling carefully took his pulse. Granny Sun and Su Jueming watched from the side, both curious, wanting to see how Su Fuling diagnosed. Even Su Jueming hadn't fully mastered pulse-taking yet. After a while, Su Fuling said, 'The symptom is on the foot.' The landlord was immediately surprised. He had just been looking for an excuse to refuse lowering the rent. He didn't expect her to actually be accurate. But he was tempted to deny it and continue refusing to lower the rent. Su Fuling said, 'This is easy to treat. I'll write you a prescription later, sir. What do you think?' The landlord: '... Then, thank you.' Granny Sun asked, 'A Ling, what's wrong with him?' Su Fuling smiled and said, 'Nothing much, just a foot injury.' The landlord, wanting to save face, nodded and said, 'Yes, yes, I was too careless when walking.' Granny Sun said, 'See? You should lower the price. You can sprain your ankle just walking. This house won't be easy to rent out. If I hadn't introduced such good tenants, you'd definitely lose a lot of money.' The landlord: '...' The house was settled on the spot. Both parties hand-wrote a rental agreement and signed it. Su Jueming paid the rent and deposit. While writing the agreement, Su Fuling conveniently wrote two prescriptions for him—one for drinking and one for foot soaking. 'Internal and external treatment together. Follow these and it won't recur.' Although the landlord was skeptical, the fact that she knew he had athlete's foot just by taking his pulse had already overturned his understanding of medicine. So he decided to give it a try. Granny Sun then took the opportunity to start boasting about Su Fuling's medical skills again, going on and on. Su Jueming quickly pulled Su Fuling to go home for dinner. 'Granny, we're going home to cook.' 'You go ahead. I'm not done yet,' Granny Sun said, waving her hand. Su Fuling also couldn't stand being praised, so she quickly followed her uncle out. After returning home, Su Jueming looked at the small house and finally realized how poor he really was. Before, comparing with neighbors, he thought his home was average and no different. Now, compared to that Thousand-Square-Foot Mansion, he felt this house was really cramped. Good thing they were moving! But he was afraid that after getting used to living there, he wouldn't want to move back. 'It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality. A Ling, I'm really afraid I won't get used to moving back.' Su Fuling laughed and said, 'Then work hard and don't move back! We'll buy a big house in the future.' David and Xiao Wei had been waiting for news. When they saw the two return, they crowded around and asked about the house. Su Jueming immediately put on airs, 'Anyway, there are three rooms and a balcony. Ah, I took a look, it's practically a Thousand-Square-Foot Mansion. But I think it's more convenient to go to school here, so maybe we shouldn't move.' David and Xiao Wei's faces immediately scrunched up. Su Fuling smiled, came over to touch their little faces, and showed them the key. 'I already got the key. We can move tomorrow. Tomorrow evening you can come back to the new home.' The two children took the key as if it were a treasure. They felt this key was even prettier than their own key. 'A Ling Jie, is it really a thousand square feet?' Su David asked. Su Fuling said, 'I don't know. Anyway, there are three rooms, enough to live in.' She really didn't understand the housing sizes here; she felt they were different from back home. Su Jueming said, 'Do you think I'm lying to you?' 'Dad is a liar!' Su David snorted and walked away with the key. Su David really wanted to go to school tomorrow and tell his classmates that his family was moving. He would sleep in a bedroom from now on! And he would make lots of crafts to stick on the walls. The two children couldn't focus on homework anymore, discussing the plans for tomorrow. Su Jueming said, 'Mommy is coming back.' The two children immediately buried their heads in their homework, but the key was still placed in the middle of their textbooks. They would glance at it every now and then while writing, as if to make sure it was all real.