Chapter 21: The Dragon God Medical Clinic

Two days later, the canteen.

Chu Hengkong was staring at a copy of the *Tuanli Daily*. The headline on the entertainment page featured a large, close-up photo of someone leaping high into the air. Ji Huaisu held the paper and read with dramatic flair: "Master Detective's Flea Technique Perfected; Witnesses Claim He Can Now Walk on His Back!"

Chu Hengkong rubbed his forehead. "You actually kept a newspaper from yesterday..."

The team members eating nearby struggled to suppress their laughter. Jie An, behind the counter, caught the drift and immediately shouted, "Hey, why aren't you crawling today, Great Detective?"

"It seems that after two days of secluded training, the Great Detective has finally learned to walk upright," Ji Huaisu teased with a mischievous grin.

The team members could no longer hold it in and burst into laughter. Chu Hengkong pretended not to hear, waving a tentacle. "It wasn't secluded training. I was sleeping."

He had slept for two days and two nights straight. Even his disciplined internal clock couldn't stop the exhaustion that followed. The three days spent mastering the "Hand of Change" had been truly draining. If the techniques had been melded into his flesh and blood, then the fatigue had been pressed deep into his heart; he wouldn't be able to recover without a proper period of rest.

"I’m taking it easy for these two days," Chu Hengkong said, biting into a fried dough stick. "Any leads on the people who tried to kill me?"

"The employer is very cunning, operating through a single line of contact. Those two idiots don't even know who they were working for," Ji Huaisu shook her head. "But it must be someone very wealthy. People like that are rare in this city."

Chu Hengkong didn't really care. Someone who spends money to hire a killer won't give up easily. Since they could afford to hire assassins once, they would naturally find opportunities to hire even better ones. When the next assassin came to serve themselves up, they would leave new clues. For now, he was concerned with more pressing matters.

"When you have a moment, introduce me to a reliable doctor," he said, rolling his neck. "I trained too hard earlier; I'm worried about lingering hidden injuries."

"A doctor?" Ji Huaisu repeated the word, then seemed to understand. "I get what you mean. As it happens, I have something good to show you."

"A relic for healing?" Chu Hengkong guessed.

"Is there anything in your brain besides relics?" Ji Huaisu grinned. "Finish up and let’s go!"

***

The location of this "good thing" was not far from the haunted Guishui Street; it was on Fuquan Street, where Chu Hengkong had been ambushed the day before. This street was located behind a residential area, and most of its shops had long since closed down. The high-rise buildings were nothing but abandoned shells, making it one of the quietest corners of the Central Court.

Today, however, the desolate alley was bustling with a liveliness not seen in over a decade. People with their families lined up in neat rows; the chatter of the elderly and the laughter of children made the place surprisingly noisy. Street vendors, sensing a business opportunity, hurriedly pushed their carts to grab a spot, filling the air with the smell of cheap oil. Chu Hengkong even saw newspaper reporters on the rooftops, carrying "cameras" the size of small tables, snapping away at a new building.

The building causing the stir stood at the front of the crowd: a square hall with white jade roofing supported by crimson stone pillars. A majestic-looking Coiling Dragon sculpture perched atop the roof, and a gleaming sign in front read: "26 Fuquan Street." Chu Hengkong remembered clearly that it had been a condemned, derelict building, but in the span of just two days, the steel and dust had vanished, and the Shrine of the Coiling Dragon had risen—small in scale, but imposing in spirit.

"It was built so quickly," Chu Hengkong said, feeling a touch of surprise.

"It didn't need to be built; it was already there," Youyou said proudly. It was coiled atop Ji Huaisu's head, its eyes filled with a sense of accomplishment.

To avoid the overexcited crowd, the two and the snake took a detour and entered the shrine through a side door reserved for official personnel. Chu Hengkong had expected to see priests, pastors, or Taoists, but the interior of the shrine was simple and clear at a glance, containing only a few staff members maintaining order and evenly distributed yellow magic circles.

Ji Huaisu gave him an encouraging look. He stood in the center of a magic circle, his tone awkward: "...Do I need to pray?"

"Does praying cure illnesses back where you’re from?" Ji Huaisu looked at him with curiosity.

"No."

"Same here. Don't move, it'll be done in a second."

The yellow magic circle flashed several times, and a soft female voice echoed in Chu Hengkong's mind: "Identification complete. Senior Detective Chu Hengkong, welcome to the Grassroots Shrine. You have 62 injuries, including latent spinal damage, muscle strains, soft tissue contusions, minor hairline fractures, and internal bleeding. Please remain still and wait for divine healing."

As the prompt sounded, the yellow light from the circle seeped into his body, warm as the sun. Chu Hengkong felt a lightness within him; the exhaustion faded rapidly, and even his mental fatigue was soothed. He moved his body in surprise. Such internal injuries usually required long periods of care to heal, yet in mere seconds, the magic circle had completely cured his physical damage.

"Healing complete. We look forward to your next visit."

Chu Hengkong stepped out of the circle, marveling, "What is the principle behind this?"

"I didn't expect you to be interested in the principles!" Youyou lifted its head. "This involves the great Ancient Dragon Totem belief system and the unique trend-setting technology of this city—"

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

Youyou glared at him, and Ji Huaisu said with a giggle, "Simply put, it’s the divine power of Lord Coiling Dragon."

"I haven't seen the Coiling Dragon manifest before."

"That's because the public security in this city was too poor before," Ji Huaisu pouted. "When a city prospers, its gods are strong; when a city decays, its gods are weak. Whether in the Divine Tree City-States or the Ancient Dragon City, the god and the city are inextricably linked for better or worse. Before, people didn't trust the City Hall and didn't respect the rules, so the shrine couldn't exert its power. But thanks to someone showing off their skills recently, everyone has faith in the city again, and Lord Coiling Dragon can once again wield its divine power."

This description was quite different from what he had imagined. In the stories Chu Hengkong had read, "gods" were either great existences beyond human comprehension or high-level life forms driven by mental energy like faith or emotion. But the Coiling Dragon seemed more like a local deity of folklore or a guardian god of an ancient Greek city-state, not needing faith or offerings but rather the prosperity of its territory—a symbiotic relationship.

"A very friendly god," Chu Hengkong commented.

Youyou flicked its tongue, looking as smug as if its head were in the clouds. Chu Hengkong added slowly, "But if the Coiling Dragon's combat strength is also linked to the city's condition, then it probably can't be relied upon at the moment."

"What do you know? I—Lord Coiling Dragon is quite formidable itself!" Youyou immediately glared at him, and Ji Huaisu reached out to soothe it, unfazed.

Chu Hengkong laughed and said he hoped so, walking out of the shrine with a light step. They bought cheap fried skewers at a street stall and ate them happily away from the crowd. Under the water veil, the sky remained gloomy, but for once, there was hope on people's faces. The citizens in the line were mostly with their families; the elderly needed care, and children with weak immune systems needed quick treatment. No matter what stage a society reached, reliable healthcare was always what every family needed most.

If you can be cured, you can live; if you can live, there is hope.

"When I was little, there were many shrines in Coiling Dragon City," Ji Huaisu said. "But as the wars dragged on, the shrines gradually disappeared. Healing required expensive medicine, and people without money could only go to the slums and try unsanitary herbs."

She turned to look at Chu Hengkong, her clean smile like sunshine. "This is the first shrine built in the city in ten years. It’s all thanks to you!"

Her lips still glistened with oil, and when she smiled, her sharp little canine teeth showed. She clearly had a beautiful face, yet "cute" was the only way to describe her. Chu Hengkong felt a slight stir in his heart, thinking that he had truly seen something good. Such a smile shouldn't appear in a workplace; it was plain to see there wasn't a single ulterior motive in her eyes, vibrant with a youthfulness that felt like a burst of sunlight, capable of dyeing even the gloomiest heart a dazzling gold.

"Just finishing my job," Chu Hengkong said, rubbing his nose. "I'm going to patrol. Call me if anything happens."

"Hey~~ why are you so introverted today?" Ji Huaisu leaned in excitedly. "Too shy to take a compliment? Detective Chu has such thin skin!"

"Miss Ji, if you have the energy to tease, you might as well get to work..."

Ji Huaisu's eyes sparkled: "Youyou, did you hear that? He called me Miss Ji! This guy really does have thin skin!"

Youyou turned its head away, thinking that humans on any Dust Island were late bloomers; no matter how mature they seemed, they still had moments of foolishness.

Still, this wasn't bad. As long as the strength of the young continued to grow, the city had hope.

The young people walked into the crowd and began their day's work. Detective Chu finally had a chance to show his skills; he took down three small gangs and caught one wanted criminal within the day, returning to headquarters satisfied to rest. He had truly gained fame, enough that even criminals with bounties on their heads would take a detour to avoid him.

Only when the night was deep and quiet could the prowlers walk in the shadows.

Central Court, West Side. An old house, a single candle, and six people of various appearances gathered around a wooden table.

They were criminals—murderers with lives on their heads. The weapons they carried and the murderous intent that flickered in their eyes were proof enough of that. Each one was wary of the others killing them; they were all worried about their own heads being taken for a bounty, which was why they would never have gathered together in the past. But today, the criminals had broken the rules because of the recent changes in the city, and because they realized they were about to be driven to the brink.

The room was deathly quiet. After a nerve-wracking wait, a man with large, thick palms spoke first. His name had long been forgotten, and people throughout the city called him "Hundred-Palm."

"Those who should have come are here, and some who shouldn't have are here too. The Apothecary never takes jobs involving murder; why are you joining in?" Hundred-Palm asked.

To his left, a gloomy young man spoke in a hoarse voice: "With the shrine established, no one will come to me for medical treatment anymore, and even fewer will want to buy my poisons."

"And the gunman?"

"Seeking revenge for my brother who was sent to prison by him," the middle-aged man sneered.

Hundred-Palm nodded. "And what grudge do you two brothers have to settle?"

Two tall, thin men crouched by the table, their faces nearly identical, speaking in unison: "Shrimp-Head, worth 120,000, was caught today. By tomorrow, will it be the turn of us two, worth 130,000?"

"It's getting close. By next week, I'm afraid it will be my turn, and I'm worth 170,000," Hundred-Palm sneered, looking toward the head of the wooden table. "I don't want to hide like a rat. I’m asking for a path forward from the noble of the swamp."

Until now, only the man at the head of the table had remained silent. But his words were crucial, for it was this untouchable person who had gathered these criminals. The man wore a white robe, hiding his face in the shadows. His voice was blurry and slow, like bubbles rising from a swamp.

"The Evil Dragon is using its influence to show off, so let's dampen its spirit."

He placed two iron boxes on the wooden table. The boxes were filled with deep blue flowing beads, emitting a seductive glow in the candlelight.

"I will give you one million flowing beads," the man in the white robe said. "Five hundred thousand for Chu Hengkong's 'hands,' and five hundred thousand for his life."