Divine Level Witch Doctor

Over seven hours later, the pickup truck drove into Chuncheng County in Liangzhou City. The sky had already grown dark.

Zhao Yuan’s home was in a small mountain village within Chuncheng County.

”Let’s go to the county high school first.” Zhao Yuan took on the role of navigator, directing Huang Jie to the school.

His younger sister, Zhao Ling, was a freshman at the county high school, the same school Zhao Yuan had graduated from.

Upon arriving, Zhao Yuan found the main gate shut tight. The school’s gatekeeper, an elderly man, recognized him. ”Zhao Yuan? Here to pick up your sister? School let out for the holiday yesterday.”

Zhao Yuan slapped his forehead. ’I’ve gotten stupid from excitement.’ He turned, went back to the car, and grabbed a carton of cigarettes for the gatekeeper. ”Uncle Zhang, here’s an early New Year’s greeting for you.”

”Whoa, cigarettes for me? Did you strike it rich at university, kid?” Uncle Zhang, the gatekeeper, was delighted and accepted the gift with a chuckle.

Zhao Yuan just smiled, not answering the question. He waved goodbye and went back to navigating for Huang Jie, directing him toward home.

It was late, and the mountain roads were treacherous. Fortunately, Huang Jie was a former military driver with superb skills. That, combined with the pickup’s good performance, allowed them to reach the village entrance after a bumpy ride.

The pickup truck had to stop there. The roads inside the village were too narrow for it to pass.

After getting out, Zhao Yuan hoisted up the various gift bags, big and small. Huang Jie helped carry a good portion of them as they walked into the village together.

Zhao Yuan’s home wasn’t far from the village entrance; they arrived in just a few steps.

It was a small, single-story house built from a mixture of brick and earth, fronted by a small, fence-enclosed courtyard. The family watchdog in the yard caught Zhao Yuan’s scent from a distance and began to bark excitedly.

Pushing open the wicker gate, Zhao Yuan shouted, ”Dad, Mom, little sis, I’m home!”

But the house was silent. No one came out to greet him, and not a sound could be heard from within.

Zhao Yuan frowned. He pulled out his Key, unlocked the door, and found it pitch-black inside. There was no one there.

Just then, a man walked into the courtyard. It was a neighbor from next door who had heard the noise and came over to see what was happening.

”Who’s there?” The neighbor shone a flashlight on them. Seeing who was standing at the door, he said in pleasant surprise, ”Oh, it’s Yuanyuan! You’re back!”

Zhao Yuan could now see who it was and quickly asked, ”Uncle Liu, good to see you. Do you know where my parents and my sister are?”

”They should still be at the county hospital,” replied his neighbor, Uncle Liu.

Zhao Yuan instantly grew frantic. ”The hospital? Who’s sick? Is it serious?”

”No one’s sick.” Uncle Liu sighed. ”Your dad got extorted!”

Zhao Yuan asked quickly, ”Extorted? What happened?”

Uncle Liu said, ”You know school let out at the county high school yesterday, right? Your dad went to pick up Spirit Woman on his motorcycle. As they were about to leave town, someone suddenly darted out from the side of the road and slammed into the bike. Your dad and Spirit Woman were okay, but the man fell to the ground, claiming he was in pain all over. Your dad is an honest man, so he and Spirit Woman took him to the hospital. The moment they arrived, a group of people claiming to be his family showed up. They insisted your dad had hit the man and demanded your family pay compensation…”

As his neighbor calmly recounted the tale, Zhao Yuan finally understood the whole story.

”Uncle Liu, are you sure my dad didn’t hit him?” Zhao Yuan asked, his expression turning ice-cold.

Uncle Liu replied, ”I’m positive! I was right there picking up my son, so I saw the whole thing clearly. The man rushed out from the side of the road and deliberately ran into the motorcycle. He nearly caused your dad and Spirit Woman to get run over by the car behind them!”

”Alright, I understand. Thanks, Uncle Liu.” Zhao Yuan set down the gifts, locked the door, and turned to leave with Huang Jie.

”Yuanyuan, what are you going to do?” Uncle Liu asked quickly.

Zhao Yuan replied without looking back, ”I’m going to the county hospital to take a look. If the man is actually hurt, I’ll heal him. But if he’s just a scam artist, I swear I’ll teach him a lesson he’ll never forget!”

Afraid that Zhao Yuan would do something rash and get himself into trouble, Uncle Liu quickly tried to dissuade him. ”Yuanyuan, don’t do anything stupid! I’ve heard those people are bad news.”

”Don’t worry, Uncle Liu,” Zhao Yuan replied. ”I know what I’m doing!”

Back in the pickup, Zhao Yuan didn’t have to say a word. Huang Jie started the engine and sped toward the county seat.

Despite driving at night and having only been down the road once, Huang Jie had memorized the route perfectly. He needed no directions from Zhao Yuan and quickly made it back to town.

Once they were in town, Zhao Yuan started giving directions again, guiding Huang Jie to the county hospital.

As he walked into the inpatient wing of the county hospital, it suddenly occurred to Zhao Yuan that he didn’t know which ward or room his parents and sister were in. Fortunately, a nurse at the desk clearly remembered the incident from the day before, when a crowd had cornered a man and his daughter. When he asked, she had an immediate answer: ”The surgical ward on the fourth floor.”

”Thank you. Oh, by the way, I heard the patient’s injuries are quite severe. Is that true?” Zhao Yuan asked.

”What injuries?” The nurse pursed her lips. ”We’ve run every test. He’s in perfect health, but he keeps whining about back pain and weakness in his legs.”

It was clear she also found that group’s behavior despicable.

Zhao Yuan nodded, feeling more certain of the situation than ever. He led Huang Jie up to the fourth floor and quickly found his parents and sister in one of the rooms.

The three of them were currently cowering in a corner of the room, surrounded and threatened by more than a dozen people.

”I’m telling you, hurry up and pay!”

”That’s right! You’re not leaving until you do!”

”Medical fees, nutritional supplements, lost wages… We’ll be generous and call it one hundred thousand yuan. Now, hand it over!”

”And don’t even think about calling the police. We’re the victims here; they won’t help you! But I’ll give you a friendly warning: if you do call them, we’ll make sure you regret it!”

Seeing this, the rage in Zhao Yuan’s heart instantly ignited.

The ’patient’ lying on the bed started wailing about his back pain again. Zhao Yuan activated his Qi Observation Technique and swept his gaze over the man. His Qi was abundant and his Five Elements were in harmony—the man was in perfect health.

’Just as I thought. He’s faking it! They’re all a bunch of extortionists!’

At that moment, one of the men reached for Zhao Ling and said with a lecherous grin, ”This little lady is a real looker. How about this? Let her spend the night with me, and I’ll knock off ten thousand yuan from your bill. What do you say?”

Zhao Ling’s face went pale with fright, and she quickly hid behind her parents.

”Get your filthy hands away from her!”

With a roar, Zhao Yuan burst into the room.

His roar, like a deafening clap of thunder, startled the dozen or so people in the room.

Zhao Ling and her parents, however, looked overjoyed. They cried out:

”Yuan’er!”

”Brother!”