My House of Horrors

Chapter 1008: Votive Master

The man hugged his head and screamed while Chen Ge turned around and pushed open the door. “Please come in and help me. I don’t know what came over him!”

The two ladies looked into the room and saw the large Jiang Dawu covering his ears, rolling on the ground.

“He was about to swing the bottle at me, but this suddenly happened. It gave me quite the shock.” Chen Ge walked to hide behind the two ladies. “You know that I was in there for less than a few minutes. Do you think this is some kind of scam to trick medical fees out of me?”

“With this man’s personality, that’s not impossible, but don’t worry, we can be your witnesses. We will not let him scam someone as kind-hearted as you.” Ms. Lee looked down on Jiang Dawu and hated him intensely. The two women stood to the side and observed. This was the first time that they had seen something like this.

“How about we call the ambulance? We can’t just allow him to do this. Everything should be cleared up when the doctor is here,” Chen Ge suggested.

“You are too kind. We should just ignore him and let him experience the pain for a while.” Ms. Mei had a sharp tongue but soft heart. After a while, she still called the emergency number. The ambulance carried Jiang Dawu away. Jiang Ming’s mother sidled up to Chen Ge with the letter. She kept gesturing something like she was trying to say something.

“Don’t worry.” Chen Ge knew that the woman would not hear him even if he spoke, so he asked for help from the ladies next to him. “Ms. Lee, actually, I knew about this family’s situation before I came. Can we find a private place to talk?”

“Sure.” The two ladies led Chen Ge and Jiang Ming’s mother back to the neighborhood watch’s headquarter. They found some stationary and placed them on the table.

“Please calm down. I will help you refresh your memory first.” Chen Ge picked up the pencil from the table and started to write. That was the only way the two could communicate with each other. “I know you are familiar with the art of horsetail embroidery. You can survive independently with this art. In fact, you used to make money using this skill. Do you still remember who taught you this skill?”

Seeing the words on the paper, Jiang Ming’s mother was shocked. She held the pencil, but she did not know what to write.

“You should remember the old lady living on the second floor above your flat. I am her relative. Before the old lady passed away, she worried about Jiang Ming the most. She had a soft place in her heart for that little guy.”

What Chen Ge wrote was the truth. Now that the old lady was inside his comic, she would live in his haunted house in the future, and thus, she was naturally his family. The mention of the old lady caused the mother’s emotions to get more agitated again. This was the second time that she teared up after meeting Chen Ge.

“The time of misfortune has passed. After this, you will enjoy a happy life with Jiang Ming.” Chen Ge turned to the two ladies. “The earlier the cochlear implant surgery is done, the better. I have prepared 150,000 and I will find the doctor as soon as possible. But I will be a bit busy the next few days, and I might need help from the neighborhood committee.”

“Just say the word, and we are ready to help. The neighbor and the women’s committee know about her family’s situation. We will help as much as we can.”

“Understood. At the end of the day, we only want the best for them.”

Chen Ge had no idea how much money was on his card. He had not taken account of his haunted house’s income from the past few months, but it would not be less than 200,000. After a few days, the mission for the ghost fetus would be over. If everything was successful, he would earn more money, but if there was a problem, it would not matter how much money sat in his card. Chen Ge was not a stingy person, but he wished to spend money on the right thing.

“Wait a moment.” Chen Ge took out his phone and called the number for a hospital in Xin Hai. After explaining the situation, he made an online appointment with the doctor recommended by Doctor Wei. The doctor’s name was Fang Zhiming. After getting Doctor Fang’s number, Chen Ge sat in the neighborhood’s committee’s headquarters and made the call several times, but no one answered. Just as he was about to give up, the call was finally pulled through.

“Is this Doctor Fang?” The other side of the phone was unusually quiet. He could not hear any sound. After a long time, a middle-aged man’s voice finally replied. “I am sorry, but I am temporarily not available for any appointments.”

“It’s Wei Jiuqin who told me to find you.” Chen Ge dropped Doctor Wei’s name immediately.

“Who?”

“When you were studying at Jiujiang Medical University...”

“I’m asking who you are. My teacher passed many years ago. I was there to give him the send-off. You’d better not joke about something like this.” Doctor Fang was angered, but from this, it showed that he still had a great deal of respect for Wei Jiuqin.

“Actually, Doctor Wei was my relative. He admired you a lot and often mentioned you to me.” Chen Ge said something that only Doctor Wei and Fang Zhiming would know, and only then did the latter start to believe Chen Ge.

“I think I get what is going on already, but for now, I am unable to help the boy do the operation.” Fang Zhiming sounded increasingly tired. “Lately, I have been spacing out at work, and some time ago, there was a medical incident. Currently, I am in no position to conduct surgery. I still need some time to recuperate.”

“What happened to you?” Chen Ge could hear the lethargy in Fang Zhiming’s voice like it drained him even to speak.

“Actually, it was nothing serious. Previously, the hospital was renovating an old sector. I found a letter in the old storeroom. I opened it out of curiosity, and the letter told to go to some abandoned hospital in the middle of the night. If I refused, I would have hell to pay. Never mind, why am I telling you this?”

“It’s fine. Perhaps I can give you a good suggestion. Even if I can’t help you, it is better to share this with others than to have it cooped up inside you.” Chen Ge’s interest was piqued.

“The letter was probably some prank from a patient. I did not think too much of it, but later, I kept having this recurring nightmare. I dreamed about this smiling person.” Fang Zhiming sighed. “The man stood under my building every night at the same position, staring at my window.”

“A smiling person?” Instantly the term ‘non-smiler’ appeared in Chen Ge’s mind.

“Initially, I thought it was because of work pressure getting to me. But one night, I woke up in the middle of the night and saw the curtain fluttering. I climbed out of bed, attempting to close the window, and when I was by the window, I saw that there was this man with his giant grin standing under my building, just like the scenario from my dream!”

“Are you being followed by some strange admirer?”

“I have no clue, but that man only appeared once and never showed up after that. But my work and life have both been seriously affected. My mind keeps wander to this issue.” Fang Zhiming was in a bad spot. “You are my beloved teacher’s relative, but in my condition, I really cannot help you. However, I can recommend other good doctors to you. Bring the boy over as soon as you can. The earlier the cochlear implant surgery is done, the better.”

“Doctor Fang, I will bring the boy over as soon as I can, but other than that, I have run into the situation that you mentioned earlier.” Chen Ge lowered his voice. “Certain things cannot be explained so openly. Trust me this time. I will recommend a contact of mine. He is a good friend of Doctor Wei’s. If you feel like you have reached your breaking point, you need to contact him.”

“My teacher’s friend?”

“When you communicate with him, you have to remember one thing. Do not hide anything from him. Only by telling him everything you know will he be able to help you.” Chen Ge sent the man his other social account. “I do not know that man’s real name, but Doctor Wei called him the Votive Master.”