Chapter 35: A Clash of Wills

There was fifty thousand in one large leather bag, and exactly one hundred thousand in two.

"Mr. Zhang, this hundred thousand isn't so easy to earn, is it?" Chen Dabao smiled.

Don't let Zhang Wei's current politeness fool you; one doesn't rise to the position of a big boss by being a pushover. If Chen Dabao took this money and failed to cure Zhang Wei's son, he would likely have to pay a steep price for it later.

"Divine Doctor Chen, with your medical skills, this money is well-earned!" Zhang Wei also smiled. Chen Dabao showed no sign of greed, truly resembling a master who lived apart from the mundane world.

"Our boss's money isn't easy to take. If you take it, you'd better do a good job!" A-Qiang piped up arrogantly from the side, only to be met with a fierce glare from the burly man standing next to him.

"My subordinates are uneducated, please don't mind them, Divine Doctor Chen!" Zhang Wei lowered his posture, apologizing on A-Qiang's behalf.

"Let's go. Take me to see your son."

Chen Dabao remained noncommittal and followed Zhang Wei into his Mercedes-Benz. Two luxury cars drove off one after the other, leaving Peach Blossom Village behind. Many villagers saw the scene and immediately sensed that Chen Dabao had reached a new level of success.

"Dabao is doing well for himself now; he's even riding in a car!"

"That's not just any car; that's a Mercedes!"

"Dabao has finally come out the other side of his hardships!"

"Who would've thought? He really is the 'star' of our village!"

As the villagers chattered away, Liu Dafu and Liu Qiang happened to pass by. They spat on the ground in indignation.

"Hmph, that little bastard just got lucky. I’ll have him behind bars soon!" Liu Dafu muttered, then picked up his gifts, climbed onto his motorcycle, and headed off with Liu Qiang to fetch Xia Xiaoxue from her parents' home. If they couldn't bring her back, the village chief's plan couldn't move forward.

Meanwhile, the two Mercedes-Benz cars arrived at the town’s winery, where an imposing five-story building stood in the open space behind the factory. It was designed in a European style with large floor-to-ceiling windows and a small, meticulously landscaped garden out front—bright and grand. This was merely one of Zhang Wei's properties; he owned several more in the city.

"Honey, did you find the divine doctor?"

As soon as the car stopped, a stunning woman in her thirties, wearing a tight-fitting skirt and sporting long, wavy hair, hurried out of the small mansion. Despite her age, she still exuded a charming allure.

"I found him!" Zhang Wei opened the door and stepped out to introduce them. "This is my wife, Zhou Wan. Dear, this is the young Divine Doctor Chen. He's the one who brought that man back from the brink at the health center!"

Previously, Chen Dabao had saved Li Zhuang's father at the clinic. The man had been in the middle-to-late stages of liver cancer and was already considered hopeless. Chen Dabao's intervention had caused a sensation at the clinic and become the talk of the town. Zhang Wei, whose son had been suffering from a mysterious illness, had taken note of this.

"The Divine Doctor is this young?" Zhou Wan looked at Chen Dabao with suspicion. Weren't divine doctors supposed to have the grace of immortals and long, flowing white beards? Chen Dabao seemed far too young.

"Age doesn't matter; curing the patient is what's important. Let's see the patient first."

Chen Dabao followed them inside and soon saw a young boy lying on the bed. His eyes were wide open, yet they were vacant, staring at the ceiling without focus.

"Divine Doctor Chen, my son suddenly became like this a few days ago. He keeps his eyes open day and night; we can't wake him, and he doesn't respond when we speak to him. We've been to several hospitals in the city, and none of them know what's wrong." Zhang Chen hesitated, then lowered his voice. "Later, an old acquaintance said my child might be possessed. We brought him home and went to a remote village to consult a shaman, but that didn't work either."

"It is indeed a case of possession, not a medical illness. Hospitals won't be able to help," Chen Dabao said, his expression turning grave after a brief examination.

"It really is possession? Then what should we do?" Zhou Wan grew anxious, not knowing how to proceed.

"What era is this? Possession?" A-Qiang curled his lip in disdain. He was becoming increasingly convinced that Chen Dabao was a fraud.

"A-Qiang, shut up!" Zhang Wei’s gaze sharpened, and he glared at A-Qiang. A-Qiang gave a hollow laugh and quickly fell silent. Chen Dabao ignored him, his eyes scanning the boy.

"Divine Doctor Chen, how do we handle this possession? As long as you can save my son, money is no object," Zhang Wei said in a deep voice. He was out of options and had to treat the situation as a last resort.

"Possession generally implies coming into contact with something unclean. Before your son fell ill, did he visit a crematorium, a graveyard, or attend a funeral?" Chen Dabao asked.

Possession, or "spirit-striking," wasn't exactly common, but it wasn't unheard of either. Most people who encounter such things only suffer a bit of bad luck, nightmares, or the feeling of being pinned down while sleeping—nothing too serious. Cases as severe as Zhang Wei's son were rare, and usually, a visit to a powerful temple would suffice.

"No, the child is so young; how could we have taken him to a crematorium or a funeral? And no elders in our family have passed away recently," Zhang Wei replied, shaking his head firmly after careful consideration.

"That's strange!" Chen Dabao stroked his chin. Usually, a child gets possessed by accidentally crossing paths with something unclean. If the boy hadn't gone anywhere, how could this happen?

A thought struck him. He activated his Divine Eye of Heaven and saw a faint, lingering grudge wrapped around the boy. Following the trail of the grudge, Chen Dabao bent down and reached under the bed.

"A photo?" Zhang Wei was shocked. He had no idea such an eerie black-and-white photograph was hidden under his son's bed, especially one with a corner burned away.

"This is not just a photo; it’s a funeral portrait," Chen Dabao said heavily.

The woman in the photo looked to be in her thirties—beautiful and refined, but her gaze seemed to lock onto the viewer, leaving one feeling unnerved.

"Honey, why would a funeral portrait be under our son's bed?" Even Zhang Wei, who considered himself well-traveled and experienced, felt a chill run down his spine.

A-Qiang scoffed, convinced that Chen Dabao had brought the half-destroyed portrait himself as a parlor trick. Before he could speak, however, the burly man beside him shot him a fierce look.

"This... could this be Zhang Shuya's mother?" Zhou Wan said, suddenly panicked. "Zhang Shuya's mother died in a car accident last week. I heard other parents talking about it, but why would her funeral portrait be in our house?"

Zhang Wei's expression shifted. Zhang Shuya was his son's classmate. He didn't usually pick his son up from school, but upon reflection, he remembered seeing the mother once or twice. She had been young and beautiful; he hadn't expected her to die in an accident. But even so, there was no reason for her to haunt his son!