Divine Level Witch Doctor

Hu Bin pressed the answer button and began listening to the report from the other end of the line, grunting noncommittally from time to time. The people inside the house and out in the courtyard were on pins and needles, unable to hear the contents of his call.

Shi Yong was also anxious. After all, this result would determine whether he’d be the one eating chicken poop or if Zhao Yuan would be the one proven wrong. Although he was convinced Zhao Yuan was spouting nonsense, he couldn’t help but fear that the guy had gotten ridiculously lucky and his prediction had come true.

Unfortunately, besides the few expert professors closest to him, no one else could hear Hu Bin’s phone conversation—especially since he was standing out in the courtyard, which was simply too far away. To ease his own tension, Shi Yong could only try to make small talk. ”These test results came back a little too fast, don’t you think?”

Someone beside him answered, ”Of course they’re fast. The outbreak of this strange illness in Xiaqiao Village has been all over the city’s newspapers and on TV lately, and it’s being talked about all over the internet. In a situation like this, any tests related to Xiaqiao Village are given special priority and completed at top speed. Normally, waiting two or three days for results would be standard.”

”I wonder what the results will be?” another person chimed in. He glanced at Shi Yong, who was clearly nervous but trying to act calm, and grinned. ”If they really find Toxoplasma gondii, Shi Yong, you’re going to have to eat chicken poop.”

Shi Yong’s face instantly darkened. He remained stubborn. ”Absolutely impossible!”

The words had barely left his mouth when a series of gasps erupted from inside the house.

The people in the courtyard grew frantic, cursing their own ears for not being sharper or regretting not having arrived earlier to wait inside and learn the results right away. All they could do now was cup their hands and shout to their colleagues inside:

”What is it? What’s going on?”

”What are you all yelling about in there?”

”What are the test results? Hurry up and tell us!”

Hearing the crowd’s shouting from the courtyard, Hu Bin walked to the doorway and announced loudly, ”The test results are in. The patient does, in fact, have Toxoplasma gondii! Our previous diagnosis and treatment plan were both wrong. We must adjust them immediately and begin antiparasitic treatment with drugs such as Spiramycin and Azithromycin!”

The moment he spoke, the previously raucous courtyard fell deathly silent.

The eerie silence lasted for a full several minutes before people finally came to their senses and broke out into a flurry of exclamations.

”It’s really toxoplasmosis?”

”Damn, how did none of us think of this disease before?”

”The incidence of toxoplasmosis is low in our country to begin with, let alone an entire village breaking out with it at once. It’s understandable that our considerations were incomplete! Thankfully, the error was corrected in time. Otherwise, it would have led to disastrous consequences!”

”Good heavens, who is that young man who was so certain the Xiaqiao villagers had toxoplasmosis? His eye is just too sharp! Forget about us—even Director Hu and the other expert professors didn’t think of it, yet he identified it at a single glance. I’m impressed. Truly, I’m beyond impressed!”

Meanwhile, Shi Yong’s face turned deathly pale. He staggered back a few steps, muttering in disbelief, ”How can this be? How could his diagnosis actually be correct? There must be a mistake somewhere!”

Someone nearby noticed his odd reaction and said with a teasing smile, ”Hey, Shi Yong, you said earlier that if the young man in the house made the correct diagnosis, you’d eat chicken poop. So, when’s the big meal? If you don’t want to, that’s fine too. Just treat us all to dinner instead.”

The crowd chimed in, razzing him and demanding he buy them dinner.

No one had any real malice; they were just joking. Unfortunately, Shi Yong didn’t see it that way. ’They’re just kicking me while I’m down,’ he thought. ’They’re mocking me, slapping me in the face.’

Shi Yong’s expression turned terrifyingly dark. He suddenly ripped out a roar, ”All of you, shut up!”

Everyone was startled by his reaction, confused about what had set him off.

Hu Bin was also taken aback and shot him a frown.

Shi Yong shrieked, ”Impossible! That kid couldn’t possibly have gotten the diagnosis right! Director Hu, these results have to be wrong!”

”Wrong?” Hu Bin’s expression turned grim. He said in a cold voice, ”Shi Yong, I don’t understand why you’re so insistent on questioning this young man’s diagnosis, and I don’t care if the two of you have some personal beef. All I want to tell you is that there is absolutely no mistake with this result! Because it wasn’t done at just one hospital.”

Seeing everyone’s astonished gazes, Hu Bin explained, ”My earlier phone call caught the full attention of the Municipal Health Bureau. To guarantee the accuracy of the findings, the tests were conducted by three different hospitals simultaneously. Furthermore, each hospital collected and tested more than one sample. Every single result came back positive for Toxoplasma gondii! How could a result like that possibly be wrong?”

”But...” Shi Yong’s mouth fell open. With three hospitals conducting multiple tests and all getting the same result, the possibility of a mistake was indeed eliminated. But he still couldn’t accept this reality—and he definitely didn’t want to eat chicken poop. His mind raced as he came up with another objection. ”Even if they found Toxoplasma in one patient, that doesn’t prove all the patients in Xiaqiao Village have the same disease.”

Hu Bin said, ”Who told you they only found it in one patient? These tests were conducted simultaneously on the four patients transferred to the city for treatment. The results show that all four of them have Toxoplasma gondii!”

This time, Shi Yong had nothing left to say.

If one or two patients had tested positive, it could have been dismissed as a fluke or a coincidence. But now, all four patients transferred to the city had been found with this parasite. That was enough to basically confirm that the illness plaguing the people of Xiaqiao Village was caused by this parasite infecting the brain.

A wave of quiet laughter spread through the crowd.

People hadn’t intended to mock him, but his behavior and his words were simply contemptible. It left everyone feeling both annoyed and disgusted. They started pointing at him, their whispers laced with disdain.

Shi Yong’s face flushed and then went deathly pale.

The laughter, the comments, the whispers—each one felt like a resounding slap across his face. The sting of humiliation was so intense he couldn’t bear to stay there a moment longer.

Shi Yong spun around and fled.

However, morning mist in the mountains had left the ground damp. Luo Jun’s courtyard was no exception, and there were even patches of moss growing on the ground.

Fleeing in shame, Shi Yong accidentally stepped on a patch of moss and—SPLAT!—he face-planted. As if by cruel design, his face landed right in a pile of chicken poop. An indescribable stench and a wave of nausea assaulted him. Overcome by shame, panic, and rage, Shi Yong almost passed out.

The courtyard fell silent once more.

It wasn’t until Shi Yong had scrambled to his feet and disappeared into the distance that someone remarked with a sigh, ”Instant karma! If you want a perfect example of someone digging their own grave, this is it!”