Chapter 21 Dragon God Medical Clinic

Two days later, in the cafeteria.

Chu Hengkong was facing a copy of the Tuanyan Daily. The entertainment section featured a headline photo of someone leaping high into the air. Ji Huaisu, holding the newspaper, read in a rhythmic voice, "Detective Flea has perfected his skills. Witnesses claim he can now walk on his back!"

Chu Hengkong held his forehead with his hand: "You even kept the newspaper from a day ago..."

The team members eating around them tried hard to suppress their laughter. Jie An, who was behind the counter, heard it with his sharp ears and immediately shouted, "Hey, why isn't the Chief Inspector climbing today?"

"It seems that the Chief Inspector has finally learned to walk upright after two days of seclusion." Ji Huaisu grinned.

The team members, unable to contain themselves, burst into laughter. Chu Heng pretended not to hear and waved his tentacles: "I'm not in seclusion, I'm sleeping."

He slept for two days and two nights straight, even his self-regulating biological clock unable to prevent the exhaustion from settling in. The three days of becoming a skilled hand were truly exhausting. If skill was woven into one's flesh and blood, then fatigue was ingrained into one's heart. Without proper recovery, recovery would be impossible.

"I'll take a break for the next two days." Chu Hengkong ate a piece of fried dough sticks. "Do you have any clues about the person who wants to kill me?"

"The employer is very cunning. They have a single line of communication, and the two idiots don't even know who they are working for." Ji Huaisu shook his head, "But he must be a very wealthy man. There are not many such people in the city."

Chu Hengkong didn't really care. People who paid for a hitman wouldn't give up easily. Since they could afford to hire a hitman once, they could naturally find another opportunity to hire a better one. The next time the hitman came back to deliver the goods, he would naturally leave behind new clues. Right now, he was concerned with more important things.

"Introduce me to a reliable doctor when you have time." He twisted his neck. "I trained too hard before, and I'm worried about hidden injuries."

"Doctor?" Ji Huaisu repeated the word, and then seemed to understand, "I understand what you mean. It's just right, I have something good to teach you."

"A relic used for healing?" Chu Hengkong guessed.

"Aside from the relics, is there anything else on your mind?" Ji Huaisu grinned, "Hurry up and finish eating and get going!"

·

The location of "Good Stuff" was not far from the haunted Gushui Street, right on Fuquan Street, where Chu Hengkong had been assassinated the day before. This street was located behind a residential area. Most of the shops on the street were closed, and the high-rise buildings were all old and uninhabited. The courtyard was also one of the most deserted.

But today, the dilapidated alley welcomed a bustle not seen in more than a decade. People with their families lined up in neat queues, and the nagging of the elderly and the laughter of children made the place surprisingly noisy; vendors who sensed business opportunities hurriedly pushed their carts to grab space, filling the air with the smell of cheap oil; Chu Hengkong even saw reporters from the newspaper on the roof, carrying "cameras" the size of small tables and taking pictures of the new buildings.

The building that triggered the change stood just in front of the crowd, a square hall with a white jade roof supported by red stone pillars. A majestic sculpture of a swirling dragon lingered on the roof. A shiny sign in front read 26 Fuquan Street. Chu Hengkong remembered it clearly as a former abandoned building awaiting demolition. But in just two days, the steel and dust had vanished, and the shrine to the swirling dragon had risen from the ground. Though small, it was imposing.

"It was built so quickly." Chu Hengkong was slightly surprised.

"No need to build it, it already exists." Youyou said proudly. It coiled on Ji Huaisu's head, its eyes filled with a sense of accomplishment.

To avoid the crowd from getting too excited, the two men and the snake made a detour and entered the temple through a side door reserved for official personnel. Chu Hengkong had expected to see religious personnel like priests, pastors, or Taoist priests, but the interior of the temple was simple and clear at a glance, with only a few staff members maintaining order and evenly spaced yellow magic circles.

Ji Huaisu gave him an encouraging look. He stood in the middle of a magic circle and said in a strange tone, "...Should I pray?"

"Can prayers cure diseases in your hometown?" Ji Huaisu looked surprised.

"cannot."

"Same here. Don't move, it'll be over in a minute."

The yellow magic circle flashed several times, and a soft female voice echoed in Chu Hengkong's mind: "Identification complete. Senior Inspector Chu Hengkong, welcome to the grassroots temple. You currently have 62 injuries, including hidden spinal damage, muscle strain, soft tissue contusion, mild bone fracture, and internal bleeding. Please do not move and wait for divine power to heal you."

As the notification chimed, the yellow light from the magic circle seeped into his body, warm as the sun. Chu Hengkong felt a surge of lightness within him, his fatigue quickly fading, even his mental exhaustion soothed. He moved his body with surprise. Such subtle injuries usually require long periods of recuperation, but in this case, the magic circle completely healed the damage in mere seconds.

"The treatment is over. You are always welcome to come back."

Chu Hengkong walked out of the magic circle and exclaimed, "What's the principle behind this?"

"I didn't expect you to be interested in the principles!" Youyou raised his head. "This involves the great ancient dragon totem belief system and this city's unique fashion skills—"

"Please explain it in one sentence." Chu Hengkong interrupted quickly.

Youyou glared at him, and Ji Huaisu said with a grin, "To put it simply, it's the divine power of Lord Huilong."

"I've never seen a whirling dragon appear before."

"Because the city's security was too poor before." Ji Huaisu curled his lips. "When the city prospers, the gods are strong, and when the city declines, the gods are weak. Whether in the Divine Tree City or the Ancient Dragon City, the gods and the city will always share weal and woe.

Previously, people didn't trust the City Lord's Mansion and didn't respect the rules, so the temple couldn't unleash its power. But recently, thanks to someone's remarkable achievements, everyone has regained their faith in the city, and Lord Huilong can once again unleash his divine power."

This description was quite different from what he had imagined. In the stories Chu Hengkong had read, so-called "gods" were either immense beings beyond human comprehension or advanced beings driven by spiritual energy like faith and emotion. But Huilong seemed more like a folk god of the land or the patron saint of an ancient Greek city-state. He sought the prosperity of his domain without requiring worship or devotion, sharing their common prosperity and their common suffering, a kind of alternative symbiosis.

"A very friendly god." Chu Hengkong commented.

Youyou snorted with pride, his face looking up to the sky. Chu Hengkong added slowly, "But if the Huilong's combat effectiveness is also linked to the city's conditions, then it probably can't be relied upon at the moment."

"What do you know? I... Lord Huilong is also very powerful!" Youyou immediately glared at him, and Ji Huaisu reached out to comfort him without being surprised.

Chu Hengkong chuckled, "I hope so," and briskly walked out of the temple. Passing by a street stall, they bought some cheap fried skewers and happily ate them away from the crowds. The sky beneath the water curtain remained gloomy, but a rare touch of hope appeared on the faces of the people. Almost all the citizens in the group had families with them. Elderly people needed medical treatment, and children with weak immune systems needed urgent medical attention. No matter how society developed, reliable medical care would always be the most important thing for every family.

If you can cure the disease, you can survive, and if you can survive, there is hope.

"When I was a child, there were many temples in Huilong City," Ji Huaisu said. "But as the wars continued, the temples gradually disappeared. Treating illnesses required expensive medicines, and those without money could only go to the lower classes to try unclean herbs."

She turned to look at Chu Hengkong, her pure smile like sunshine.

"This is the first temple built in the city in ten years. It's a great achievement by you!"

The corners of her mouth shone with oil, and when she smiled, her pointed little fangs were exposed. She clearly had a pretty face, but she could only be described as cute. Chu Hengkong's heart moved slightly, thinking that he had really seen something good. This kind of smile should not appear in the workplace. The eyes clearly showed that there was no thought at all. The youthfulness was overflowing like the sun, which could dye even the most gloomy person's heart into a dazzling golden color.

"Just finishing the job." Chu Hengkong touched his nose. "I'm going on patrol first. Call me if you need anything."

"Hey~~ Why are you so reserved today?" Ji Huaisu came over excitedly, "Are you shy because you can't handle the compliments? Inspector Chu is so shameless!"

"Miss Ji, if you have time to tease, why don't you go get some work done..."

Ji Huaisu's eyes lit up: "Youyou, did you hear him call me Miss Ji? This guy is really shameless!"

Youyou turned his head away, thinking that no matter which island they were from, humans were all late bloomers, and no matter how mature they looked, they would still make mistakes sometimes.

But this is not bad either. After all, with more young people, there is hope for the city.

The young men joined the crowd and began their work for the day. Inspector Chu finally had a chance to show off his skills. He busted three small gangs and apprehended a wanted criminal that day, returning to headquarters to rest contentedly. He had become quite famous, so much so that even criminals with bounties on their heads would avoid him.

Only in the dead of night can stalkers walk in the dark.

Atrium, west. An old house, a candle, six people of different appearances sitting around a wooden table.

They were thugs, murderers, the weapons they carried and the murderous intent in their eyes proved it. Everyone was wary of others killing them, fearing their heads would be taken away for a bounty, and therefore they would never gather together in the past. But today, the thugs broke their rules, because of the recent changes in the city, because they sensed that they were about to fall.

The room was eerily quiet. After an anxious wait, a man with broad hands spoke first. His name had long been forgotten, and people in the city, young and old, called him "Hundred Palms."

"Those who are supposed to come have come, and those who are not supposed to come have also arrived. Pharmacists never take on human lives, so why are you joining in the fun?" Bai Zhang asked.

On the left, the gloomy young man said in a hoarse voice: "With the temple together, no one will come to me for treatment anymore, and no one will want to buy my poison."

"Where's the gunman?"

"To seek revenge for my brother who was put in jail." The middle-aged man sneered.

Bai Zhang nodded: "And what grudge do you two brothers have to avenge?"

Two tall, thin men, their faces nearly identical, squatted beside the table. They spoke in unison, "The 120,000-yuan shrimp boss was caught today. Tomorrow, won't it be our turn, the 130,000-yuan ones?"

"Yes, it will be soon. By next week, my 170,000 will probably be gone soon too." Bai Zhang sneered and looked at the main seat at the wooden table. "I don't want to hide here and there like a rat. I still need the noble people in the swamp to show me the way."

So far, only the man at the main table had remained silent. But his words were crucial, for it was this formidable figure who had brought the villains together. He was draped in a white robe, his face hidden in shadow, and his voice was muffled and slow, like bubbles rising from a swamp.

"The evil dragon is taking advantage of the situation to show off its power, so let's kill its arrogance."

He placed two iron boxes on the wooden table. The boxes were filled with dark blue beads, which shone seductively in the candlelight.

"I'll give you one million Liuzhu." The white-robed man said, "Five hundred thousand for Chu Hengkong's 'hand', and five hundred thousand for his life."

(End of this chapter)