In the scorching heat of summer, the fierce sun bakes the earth.
In the village clinic, Li Jiaojiao, dressed in a white gown, hangs a stethoscope around her neck. Her hands repetitively compress upon the chest of the young man lying on the sickbed. From time to time, she performs mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
"How is he? Can he be saved?" A woman, around thirty years old, anxiously waits by the boy's side, looks at Li Jiaojiao, and asks with worry.
"Aunt Liu, I'm giving him artificial respiration. Don't panic; I'm doing everything I can." Li Jiaojiao is currently rushing about busily, her face covered in beads of sweat.
Looking down at the boy on the sickbed, Jiaojiao lets out a deep sigh and continues to press her hands upon his chest.
At this moment, the boy's face is pale, his pulse is non-existent, and even his breathing has become extremely weak, almost on the verge of cessation.
The boy, named Wang Musheng, is a villager from Beigou village. Twenty years ago, during a night bathed in heavy snowfall, some heartless parents left him at the entrance of the village and disappeared.
Later, an old man with the surname Wang took him home. Naturally, the boy took the old man's surname.
The old man also had a son, who, not long after his marriage, unfortunately died in a mining accident. His daughter-in-law, unable to bear the solitude and poverty, silently left home under the cover of night.
She left behind a granddaughter and Wang Musheng to accompany the old man.
However, misfortune doesn't come singly. Two years ago, the old man was diagnosed with lung cancer and, due to a lack of money for treatment, tragically passed away.
Today, the reason Wang Musheng is lying in the village clinic is tragic.
Half an hour ago, the village head Wang Fugui canceled the low-income subsidy given by the state to him.
Enraged, Wang Musheng defiantly went to confront Village Head Wang Fugui with a hoe. However, not only did Wang Fugui ignore him, but he even unleashed his big guard-dog A'Cai to scare Wang Musheng.
However, who could have predicted that the huge and fierce-looking dog, Ah Cai, managed to break free from Wang Fugui's iron leash, baring his fangs with stringy saliva flying everywhere? Fur erect all over, it glowered with blood-red eyes as it pounced towards Wang Musheng.
Soon, a horrifying scream echoed through Beigou Village, the heart-wrenching cries causing shivers down spines.
Everyone saw Wang Musheng laying in a pool of blood, ashen-faced, barely hanging on to life, but no one dared to step forward to help.
In the end, it was a kind-hearted villager who sent Wang Musheng to the clinic.
"Jiaojiao, how is he? Tell us quickly, if his condition is critical, let's transfer him to the county hospital immediately." Aunt Liu could see the panicked expression and sweat trickling down Jiaojiao's forehead, sensing things were not good.
"Aunt Liu, don't panic, let me try again." Jiaojiao wiped the sweat off her forehead, brushed aside the hair on her ear, and bent over to continue performing CPR on Wang Musheng.
Even though Li Jiaojiao graduated from the health school, she was slightly unfamiliar with emergency response procedures.
Beigou Village is a remote place with a sparse population. Everyone here lived a simple, rural life.
On normal days, villagers with sprains, bruises, cold or flu, would be treated in Li Jiaojiao's clinic.
However, many mischievous youths in the village, who were not actually sick, would pretend to be ill just to see Li Jiaojiao.
Because not only is Li Jiaojiao beautiful, but she is also the only college graduate in the village.
Her delicate skin was enough to make one's mind wander, especially her flawless, supple face, which seemed so tender it could drip water.
Of course, the duty of a doctor is to heal the injured and save the dying.
While Wang Musheng was not one of those mischievous youths, for the rural people, the sight of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation was still somewhat taboo.
Just then, several gaping teenagers stood at the door, their hearts filled with longing. If possible, they would willingly let A-Cai bite them too.
In this poor mountainous area, a kiss with a beautiful woman like Li Jiaojiao was considered to be worth it.
At that moment, Wang Musheng on the hospital bed groggily saw a bright white light shining on him, it was so blinding that he couldn't open his eyes.
A few minutes later, the light gradually dimmed and slowly disappeared from Wang Musheng's sight.
Afterward, he felt as though he was floating in mid-air, in a dreamlike state.
"Young man, you're awake," a strange voice resonated in Wang Musheng's ears.
"Big brother, who are you, where are you?" Wang Musheng got a fright and stuttered in response to the unknown voice.
Wang Musheng found himself in utter darkness, seemingly within an invisible space. He also heard someone speaking to him with a half mocking tone, which scared him to the point he almost wet his pants.
"Hehe, who I am is best left unknown to you," the strange voice rang out again, this time hinting at a teasing tone.
"Big brother, Sir, Ancestor, don't screw with me like this. Look at me, I'm already injured. If you need money, houses, girls, cars, I'll burn everything for you, alright?" Wang Musheng finally realized he might have encountered a ghost.
"Heh, kid, not bad. These conditions can basically satisfy me." After a few dry coughs, the pitch of the voice increased considerably.
Upon hearing this, Wang Musheng cursed under his breath, "Basically satisfied, your sister, if I could leave this place, I would surely deal with you and make you wish you were dead rather than alive."
"Heh, you dare to threaten me? Kid, you've got guts and I admire that." After that, the mysterious voice erupted into big laughter.
"Big brother, stop playing around, are you a human or a ghost? It's said that ghosts can scare people to death!" Wang Musheng was quite terrified, thinking to himself, "It's all over now, I am ready to meet my grandfather soon!"
"Hahaha, don't panic, you won't die. I'm just inside your stomach, rest assured, I'm a good person." This time, the mysterious voice burst into even brighter laughter.
"What? You're inside my belly, holy shit, are you still a human?" Wang Muhsheng's heart was racing, panting heavily, and he blacked out again.
After ten minutes.
"Cough, cough..."
Through Jiaojiao's strenuous efforts, Wang Muhsheng let out a few dry coughs very quickly, then clutching his stomach, he yelled, "It hurts, oh God, it's killing me!"
"Hurts? Is it hurting here?" Jiaojiao found that Wang Muhsheng was speaking, her suspended heart gradually sinking.
Then she reached out and touched Wang Muhsheng's stomach, asking in confusion, "Is it here?"
"No, oh God, why did it go down again!" Wang Muhsheng's face was full of agony, he discovered that there was something moving in his stomach.
And it was running rampant all over the place.
"Is it here?" Jiaojiao used her delicate right hand to touch Wang Muhsheng's lower abdomen again with an uneasy and serious expression on her face.
"Oh God, it went down again, and I'm in so much pain!" Wang Muhsheng found that the flow had made its way to the side of his lineage lifeline, which scared him to death.