Chapter 103: Detox Elixir
The two got out of the car at the hospital entrance. By the time they arrived at the People’s Hospital, it was already past 2 a.m. The hospital was nearly deserted, with only a few duty doctors on shift.
When Chu Feng and Illya entered the main lobby, they immediately caught the attention of the night-shift nurse—or more precisely, Illya caught her attention.
Illya looked around curiously, cheeks puffed out slightly.
The young nurse blushed as she looked at Illya. “What are you here for?”
Chu Feng calmly replied, “I’m here to visit a patient.”
The nurse looked at him with some suspicion. “At this hour?”
Chu Feng smiled. “Yeah! I just got off a flight—this was the soonest I could get here.”
The nurse nodded. “Who are you visiting?”
“Chu Anzhi, in the inpatient ward.”
The nurse checked the records and nodded. Then she led them both to the inpatient department.
Chu Feng and Illya arrived at the ward and found Chu Anzhi’s room. Inside, Chu Linsheng was keeping watch. He must’ve been too exhausted, as he had fallen asleep.
Chu Feng pushed open the door and walked into the room, with Illya following closely behind.
Chu Anzhi looked pale with bluish lips—his condition was clearly critical.
Chu Linsheng stirred at the sound of movement and woke up.
“Xiao Feng, you’re here!” he said, and then his expression changed slightly when he saw Illya standing beside Chu Feng.
At any other time, Chu Linsheng might have had the mind to ask more questions. But right now, all he could think about was his son’s condition—he didn’t have the energy to worry about anything else.
Chu Feng looked at his third uncle and felt a pang of sorrow. They hadn’t been apart for more than a few days, yet his uncle seemed to have aged more than ten years in that short time.
Chu Feng took out a bank card and said, “There’s two hundred thousand yuan on here. Use it as needed, Third Uncle.”
Chu Linsheng looked a little embarrassed. “This…”
Chu Feng said calmly, “This is for medical expenses—there’s no room to be stingy. Hospitals are bottomless pits when it comes to money. And this is a hospital in the capital—just one night in the ward probably costs thousands.”
“Alright.” Chu Linsheng took the card, and tears welled up in his eyes.
When news of Chu Anzhi’s illness came, Chu Linsheng had tried borrowing money from his elder brother, but Chu Hongzhi kept dodging the request, eventually avoiding him altogether. Chu Linsheng had also tried calling Chu Feng, but the number never connected. When he told the family patriarch about Anzhi’s condition, the old man just kept criticizing Anzhi for not studying properly in the capital, saying he only knew how to mess around.
His son’s illness had drained Chu Linsheng physically and emotionally, and his relatives’ cold responses left him deeply disheartened. Chu Feng’s card, though, warmed his heart a little.
Seeing his third uncle sobbing so bitterly, Chu Feng felt somewhat awkward. “What exactly happened?” he asked, confused.
Chu Linsheng shook his head. “He was brought here by his classmates. I don’t know the details. I heard it had something to do with going to some place called Ghost Village.”
He sighed and added angrily, “Why was he fooling around with others like that? Ghost Village isn’t somewhere you can just go casually.”
Even in this modern scientific society, people still harbored a deep respect—and fear—for ghosts and the supernatural.
The hospital had tried various treatments for Anzhi, but nothing had worked. Someone even suggested bringing in a spiritual master to exorcise evil spirits. They suspected that Anzhi had encountered something unclean.
Linsheng had considered it, but he didn’t know any real masters. There were fortune-tellers on every street corner, but most were frauds.
Besides Anzhi, two others had also been poisoned. The other two families were locals and much wealthier. They had hired spiritual masters, but it hadn’t helped much either.
“What did the hospital say?” Chu Feng asked.
Linsheng lowered his head, his face pale. “The doctors said… they’ve done all they can.”
Chu Feng frowned, a bad feeling rising in his chest. The implication was clear—they should start preparing for the worst.
Chu Feng knew Anzhi’s phone password. He unlocked the phone and looked for clues.
In his classmates’ group chat, many people were discussing what happened. It turned out that some of Anzhi’s classmates had formed a paranormal investigation club. Although Anzhi wasn’t a member, his new girlfriend, Xu Linlin, was.
The group organized an outing to explore an abandoned village.
The village had once suffered a sudden outbreak of disease. Most of the villagers died, and many of those who remained met mysterious ends. Rumors claimed the place was haunted.
As Xu Linlin’s boyfriend, Anzhi joined the event to accompany her—and ended up in this half-dead state.
Chu Feng shook his head. “That foolish kid… such an idiot.”
He remembered drinking with Anzhi after his high school graduation. The kid had bawled his eyes out over a breakup, claiming he’d been dumped and wanted to die. Yet not long after starting university, he had already found someone new—and now here he was, lying in a hospital bed.
Chu Feng thought, Serves you right. Falling in love with every girl you meet is bound to end badly.
Then again, he had supported Anzhi getting a new girlfriend. He just hadn’t expected the guy to actually succeed.
Illya stood quietly by the bedside, staring at Anzhi thoughtfully.
Chu Feng took her outside and, looking a little troubled, asked, “What do you think is going on with Anzhi? Do you think ghosts are real?”
In his heart, Chu Feng wasn’t a big believer in the supernatural. But since he now had powers and could travel between worlds, the idea of ghosts didn’t seem so far-fetched anymore.
Illya nodded. “There probably are ghosts.”
Chu Feng raised his eyebrows. “Really?”
Illya pursed her lips. “I’ve heard that some ability users can see or interact with ghosts. But I’ve never met any myself.”
Chu Feng thought about the old legends—some people were said to have ‘Yin-Yang Eyes’ and could see spirits. Others, like mediums or shamans, could channel gods. Maybe that’s a kind of power too, he mused.
Illya said seriously, “But your cousin doesn’t seem like he’s haunted. He looks more like he’s been poisoned.”
Chu Feng frowned. The hospital had already issued a critical condition notice—it was basically their way of saying they couldn’t help anymore.
He looked at Illya. “Have you ever seen something like this before?”
Illya tilted her head. “Not exactly. But in the forest, there are lots of poisonous insects. When we travel, the shamans give us detox elixirs to carry.”
Chu Feng’s eyes lit up. “You mean those detox elixirs might help?”
Illya hesitated. “I don’t know for sure. The elixirs the shamans make can counteract the venom of nearly a hundred kinds of poisonous insects. They’re usually effective against common toxins.”
Chu Feng thought to himself: Doesn’t matter if it’ll work or not—we should try anyway. The hospital clearly doesn’t know what else to do.
If there’s even a sliver of hope, it’s worth trying. Better to treat a dying man like a living one than just wait for the end.
Even though Chu Feng thought his cousin had wasted his youth chasing girls, as the older cousin, he couldn’t just sit by and watch him die. His uncle and aunt only had this one son—if something really happened to Anzhi, they’d be devastated.
Chu Feng looked at Illya. “Let’s head back to Crescent Village right away. It might take some time—hopefully we’re not too late.”
Illya shook his head. “No need. I always carry three elixirs with me.”
“Really? That’s great.”
If they went back only to return and find Anzhi already gone, that would be pointless.
Illya pulled a silk pouch from his pocket. “This is a detox elixir. It can neutralize many types of insect venom from our world. But I can’t guarantee it will work on your cousin.”
“Let’s give it a try,” Chu Feng said.
The hospital had already admitted they couldn’t help. Nothing could make the situation worse now.
Illya nodded. “Alright.”
While Uncle Chu Linsheng went to the restroom, Chu Feng took the opportunity to dissolve the detox elixir in water and fed it to Chu Anzhi.
Illya stood beside the bed, observing Chu Anzhi for a while, and said, “The poison in his body seems to be subsiding. His breathing has become much more stable.”
Chu Feng trusted Illya’s sensitivity—if he said so, it was most likely accurate.
He hadn’t expected the elixir to work so universally.
Chu Feng thought about it and realized it made sense. He had taken many supplements made by the shamans before, and those had been quite effective. Illya looked at Chu Anzhi’s complexion and said, “He should wake up soon.”
Chu Feng breathed a sigh of relief. “As long as it’s working, that’s all that matters. Let’s go find a place to rest.”
Illya nodded. “Alright.”
After being turned away from the second hotel, Chu Feng rolled his eyes. “This is ridiculous.”
He closed his eyes, frustrated. Hotels in the capital had stricter regulations. They had already tried two places, and both required ID. Since they’d left in a rush, he hadn’t brought his ID—and Illya, being undocumented, didn’t have one at all.
Illya looked at Chu Feng curiously. “What’s an ID?”
Chu Feng sighed. “It’s a certificate that proves your identity.”
Illya puffed his cheeks. “Without it, we can’t find a place to stay?”
Chu Feng frowned. “It’s not impossible, but not easy either.”
Illya tilted his head. “Actually, I can use my ability to sneak you into a hotel. I used to sneak into noble castles all the time without being noticed.”
Chu Feng gave him a serious look. “Don’t mess around.”
Illya looked back at him. “Are there ability users here with eye-based powers? Ones that can see through my disguises?”
Chu Feng: “…”
He honestly didn’t know if there were, but there were definitely a lot of surveillance cameras. If they were caught on video suddenly appearing or disappearing, that would be a serious problem.
“That method won’t work. And you absolutely can’t use your powers in front of people.”
With his outstanding appearance, Illya already had the makings of an internet celebrity. If something paranormal happened around him, he’d easily end up trending online. Being undocumented, he needed to keep a low profile.
Illya puffed his cheeks again. “This won’t work, that won’t work… so what now?”
Chu Feng shook his head. “It’s really late. Let’s just crash at a KFC for now. We’ll look for a place tomorrow.”
Illya nodded. “Okay! I want fried chicken.”
Chu Feng replied, “It’s the middle of the night. Who knows if they even have fried chicken…”
