This was my second night spent in Wu Guodong's military camp, and the difference between the two occasions was like night and day.
The first time, I was a companion to pythons and leopards. This time, I was an honored guest, sleeping on a Simmons mattress and being personally attended to.
People are like performers on a stage, their fates held in the director's hands. He pulls countless red strings, loosening or tightening them according to his mood.
This invisible red string tugs at everyone's destiny. Life or death, fortune or disaster, is never truly in our own hands.
We gave him a resounding name: Heaven!
Heaven determines the good or bad of one's fate.
The next day, after breakfast with the divine doctor, an officer came to escort us to Wu Guodong's bedroom.
Yesterday, he had consumed a day's worth of medicine in one go. Today, his complexion had visibly improved, and he could even sit up and talk to us.
His complexion had also significantly brightened, his speech was much faster, and he no longer gasped for breath.
This was the power of Chinese medicine that I witnessed firsthand. The dark, murky medicinal soup could bring about such miraculous results. It was no exaggeration to call the divine doctor's touch miraculous.
I inquired about his condition and asked a guard for the day's medicinal herbs. I took them outside to warm them.
I needed to re-boil them and then let them cool before giving them to Wu Guodong.
At this moment, Wang Dong and a few others entered. They saw me fiddling with the medicine and glanced around, but no one spoke. The group either sat or stood in the living room.
I had promised Wang Dong I would give him an answer today. As I watched the herbal soup boil, I took it down and placed it on a table to cool. Then, I walked through the hall and out the door.
I stood outside the door for a moment. Wang Dong walked out, and I said, "My master said he can use his connections to put in a good word. He can't guarantee the extent of his influence, so don't get your hopes too high."
Wang Dong replied, "I can wait. But if you play me for a fool, don't blame me for being rude."
I said, "A true practitioner does not speak falsehoods. Since he promised, he will certainly do this with sincerity. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."
After saying this, I returned to the room without looking back. I touched the cup with my hand to test the temperature. It was just right. I carried it into the inner room.
This time, Wu Guodong did not ask to be fed. He took the cup himself and drank it down in a few gulps.
I marveled once again at the divine doctor's medical skills. He had recited the prescription last night as if it were a divine scripture, and after preparation, it had produced such astonishing effects overnight.
After finishing the medicine, Wu Guodong said, "Young man, sit here for a while and keep this old man company."
Upon hearing this, the guards quickly brought me a stool and placed it by Wu Guodong's bedside. I sat down next to the divine doctor.
Wu Guodong continued, "Young man, though you are young, your vision is far-reaching. Unlike the people around me, who are solely focused on immediate gain and fight fiercely for trivial benefits, even at the cost of their lives. I just don't understand, what's the use of those benefits when life is gone? But no one listens to such platitudes. That's why my camp is filled with all sorts of underhanded dealings. This isn't an army; it's just a rabble! But I am old now, and there are things I see that are displeasing, yet I am powerless to act. I can only watch these disheartening events unfold before my very eyes."
I said, "General, please don't talk too much. My master often says that speaking too much depletes vital energy. You should simply refrain from concerning yourself with things you cannot control and focus on recuperating your health."
Wu Guodong nodded and said, "You are indeed eloquent. If only I had more people like you around me. Alas, I am not destined for that. I promote one, and they fail. But the greatest failure is mine; I misjudge people!"
I seemed to understand what he was implying, which further confirmed our suspicions. He had brought in someone he couldn't control. If this situation were allowed to continue, this place would change hands sooner or later.
Even Principal Sun would not be collaborating with Wu Guodong himself; he was merely a figurehead.
Wu Guodong's reputation was so great that his army was generally left undisturbed.
Had it been someone else, it would likely have invited trouble.
Therefore, we had focused on Wu Guodong himself and had not anticipated such an internal situation, a scenario where things were clearly out of control.
It seemed our assessment was correct. First, the person in power was not his son. Second, this individual had been promoted by Wu Guodong but was now engaged in treacherous activities against him.
Who exactly was this person?
Where were they?
These questions still required us to work on Wang Dong. It was evident that Wang Dong was playing both sides, navigating between two leaders. He must know a great deal about the inside story.
Wu Guodong fell silent, sitting on the bed with his eyes closed, perhaps reminiscing about his glorious years, his commanding past, when he had the power to command the wind and rain. Everywhere he went, the people cheered, and all submitted to him.
Alas, all of that had turned to dust, swept away by the march of time, buried under the wheels of history. What lay before us now was merely an aged elder; the once mighty lion had become a sickly cat!
I felt a deep sense of pity for Wu Guodong. Once a national hero, an invincible drug lord, now betrayed by his subordinates, reduced to a useless, superfluous old man.
This was perhaps the cruelty of time, the cycle of karma. Even if you were Qin Shi Huang, Genghis Khan, or Caesar, old age would eventually catch up. As the saying goes, "An old Yama king cannot control ghosts," a fitting description of Wu Guodong's current predicament.
The divine doctor stood up and whispered to Wu Guodong, "General, please rest for a while. My disciple and I will return in the afternoon."
Wu Guodong replied, "Very well. I will have someone accompany you on a tour, perhaps to see the poppy fields. They are in bloom now and stretch as far as the eye can see; they are quite beautiful."
The divine doctor said, "Thank you for your kind offer, General. I still need to teach my disciple some medicinal principles, so we will not trouble them. Perhaps another time."
Wu Guodong responded, "Very well. When you return this afternoon, I will chat with the young man again. To be honest, I am reluctant to let him leave."
The divine doctor said, "If the General likes my disciple, he can visit often. We will take our leave now."
After the divine doctor finished speaking, we both stood up, bowed, and turned to leave.
After walking a considerable distance, the divine doctor looked around to ensure no one was present and told me, "Our suspicions were correct; there is indeed such a person, and it is not his son. Furthermore, this person is no longer under his control and is using his reputation to engage in despicable acts. I suspect Wu Guodong is completely unaware of the attack on your location. It's even possible that the person responsible for plotting your harm here was that individual."
I replied, "I think we still need to extract some solid information from Wang Dong. After lunch, I'll invite him to our room. You mentioned helping him with his cousin, right? Use that as an excuse to inquire about his cousin's condition and see if we can glean anything useful."
The divine doctor said, "Excellent, that's the plan!"
I then said to the divine doctor, "Senior, please return to your room and rest for a while. I will go and inform Wang Dong to come to our room after lunch."