Chapter 23 Chapter 6 The Legend of the Dragon King

After learning about the symptoms of strange illnesses suffered by the women in Longdong Village from Dr. Huang in the psychiatry department, I called Xiaona, and the answer I got was: Although their conditions are similar to mental illness, they are unlikely to be mental illness.Since it's not a mental illness, there must be someone who can tell me what it is, and that person is the wretched forensic doctor Ye Liunian. Immediately dial the number of Fleeting Years and inform the situation.After thinking for a moment, he replied: "If I'm not wrong, they should be poisoned."

"Poisoning? Impossible! If he was poisoned, how could Dr. Huang not know? He has been a doctor for more than ten years anyway, and his experience is no less than yours." I wondered. "Do you think I have more autopsies, or he has more patients?" When he said this, I remembered the deserted scene in the hospital lobby.The population of Longdong Village was more than two thousand when it was the largest, and more often the population was less than one thousand. In addition, the rural people had more opportunities to exercise on weekdays, and their physical fitness was better than that of the urban people, so they naturally did not seek too many doctors.And Dr. Huang came back after his internship. Although he has practiced medicine for more than ten years, his experience is not necessarily richer than that of young doctors who have practiced medicine for two or three years in big cities.

The following analysis in Fleeting Years also confirmed my speculation: "He first studied surgery, and then he became a monk and transferred to the psychiatry department halfway. I wonder if it's because he is a minority, and he can't even get a diploma. To put it bluntly, he It’s just a yellow-green doctor. Besides, don’t think that being a doctor can cure all kinds of diseases, even if you have hemorrhoids, you wouldn’t seek treatment from a doctor in the department of facial features!” (In Cantonese dialect, Doctor Huanglu means quack doctor.) Although the metaphor of fleeting years is disgusting, it is indeed true.Dr. Huang is half-baked in both surgery and psychiatry, and his knowledge of poisoning is probably not as good as an intern in internal medicine.Just like Xiaona, when I told her the symptoms, she would only explain to me within her own professional scope, never thinking about the possibility of poisoning.And Fleeting Years is a forensic doctor. Although he is not good at treating diseases, his ability to analyze the cause of the disease is not bad.

"What kind of poison do you think they were poisoned with?" This is the question I am most concerned about. If I know it, I can investigate the source of the poison, and even find out the mountain ghost. "You think I'm a god! Even if you put the corpse in front of me, I'll have to test it to be sure, not to mention you're hiding in a ravine now. However, I can tell you one thing, judging from their symptoms, It should be heavy metal poisoning." His answer not only disappointed me, but also confused me, in such a rural place, heavy metal poisoning, and only women are poisoned... A thought suddenly appeared in my mind, Could the reason why they were poisoned be related to some habits or customs?Maybe I have to find the third wife, but before that, I have to make sure they are really poisoned.

In order not to embarrass Dr. Huang, we went directly to the director when we returned to the hospital.The director of the hospital is Huang Ligao. I told him that the villagers' madness was probably caused by heavy metal poisoning, and I asked him to do relevant tests for the patients immediately.But he said: "Our hospital doesn't have the corresponding equipment, so I'm afraid we can't test it." "Is there a hospital nearby that can do this test?" I asked. "Heavy metal poisoning is not a common disease. Ordinary small hospitals will not purchase related equipment, and hospitals in neighboring counties and cities will not have it, unless it is a large hospital in the provincial capital." His tone was a little impatient.

"Then you should immediately send someone to send all the patients to the provincial capital!" Zidie said as if giving an order to the dean.Just now she kept her head down and didn't say anything, maybe because the dean's attitude was not very good, which aroused her young lady's temper.But that's okay, at least the atmosphere won't be too awkward. "I can't do this. The hospital doesn't have an ambulance, and the manpower is very urgent. Let alone sending all the patients to the provincial capital, even sending only one is very difficult. If you want to send them away, you have to figure out a way yourself!" The dean smoked leisurely, as if he didn't want to pay any attention to us.

This time Zidie was on fire, and was about to scold the dean.I quickly took her hand, motioned her to stop talking, and then said to the dean: "Then we will deliver it. Please make arrangements for us, choose a patient with the mildest condition, and let us take her to the hospital. Provincial People's Hospital for examination. If it is convenient, I hope you can send a doctor to accompany you." My polite request was exchanged for his sarcasm: "If you want to take the patient away, you can communicate with the family members yourself. As for the doctor's company, it depends on who is willing to go crazy with you."

"What do you mean by that!" Zidie's almond eyes widened, she stared at the dean, feeling as if she wanted to eat the dean. "I'm also a doctor. I know what heavy metal poisoning is all about. It's not like some half-baked people who want to blame the hospital if they can't catch the mountain ghost." The dean seemed to be angry too. "What are you talking about, you want to accuse Sang and scold Huai, don't you! If it's not poisoning, is it the curse of the mountain ghost? Are you a doctor or a witch doctor!" Zidie yelled at the dean.I finally understood why she always failed to find any results in her investigations. If she loses her temper at every turn, there will be witnesses who are willing to cooperate and tell the truth.

However, the dean did not show any weakness, and said with an angry snort, "Do you think that heavy metal poisoning can be easily contracted? I'll let you have a long-term experience. Generally speaking, only heavily polluted places, or long-term Only people who are engaged in smelting, chemical industry, etc. will suffer from this disease. But, have you seen any pollution here? Except for the development of rosin in the 1980s and 1990s, there is almost no industry in our village. Where is the pollution? ?Even if there is pollution, everyone will get sick, especially the elderly and children. But you should be very clear about the current situation."

Although the dean's attitude was bad, what he said was not unreasonable, so Zidie couldn't refute him for a while, so she could only stamp her feet angrily.It seemed that it was time for me to smooth things over, so I said to the dean: "You are very reasonable, but it is also true that your hospital cannot find out what disease the patient is suffering from. You should understand that it will be harmful to no one if this situation continues. There is no benefit. The Provincial People's Hospital has advanced testing equipment, and sending patients for examination is not a bad thing."

After thinking for a while, the dean restrained his anger: "If you want to take someone away, I can arrange it, but I will not be responsible if something goes wrong!" "You can rest assured that I will personally explain to the family members. I don't think any family members will object. After all, there is at least a glimmer of hope in sending them to a big hospital, but if they stay, they will have to wait for death." I smiled slightly. The dean looked at his watch: "It's already past three o'clock, how about it, I'll take care of you now, you can come over tomorrow morning and send the person for inspection!" After I thanked the dean, I went to Zidie leave. After leaving the dean's office, Zidie stopped talking again, but this time it was not because she was embarrassed to be alone with me, but because the dean was so angry that her face turned black.It seems that I have to enlighten her again.I suddenly felt like a part-time dad. "Have you always investigated cases like this before?" I asked Zidie after getting in the car. "It's none of your business!" Her tone was not very good, it seemed that the city gate was on fire and the fish in the pond were affected. "I have a friend who is an insurance company. He always looks like a familiar servant. He calls everyone Big Brother and Big Sister. If you scold him, even if he did nothing wrong, he will continue to apologize to you. But, when he was in school, he was a well-known bastard who did nothing but good things, do you know why he became like this?" I looked at her and said softly. "How do I know." Her tone was still not very good, but she was obviously attracted by my topic. I opened the car window, lit a cigarette and said leisurely: "Because he needs money, a lot of money, so he can't let go of anyone who might buy insurance from him." "Hmph, hypocrisy!" She showed a disdainful expression, "This kind of person is the most hateful, he will do anything for money." "Do you know why he needs money?" I asked. "Which of you men don't want money, if you have money, you can spend a lot of time drinking and fooling around." She glanced at me, as if thinking that I was the same thing. "He needs money because his father is ill with cirrhosis of the liver. It costs a lot of money to treat this disease, and his father's condition is very serious. If he has money, he can't be cured. It can only take a long time. He I want my father to live more comfortably in his last days, and I also want my father not to worry about his future life, so he works very hard, and even his temper can be changed." After I said that, I smoked leisurely and stopped talking . She was silent for a while before she spoke: "I will not sell my dignity for money like him." I laughed and said, "Then why would you sell your dignity?" "Nothing can make me betray my dignity!" She spoke with dignity. "Really? If I give you a hundred yuan and ask you to call me brother, will you call me?" I said and took out my wallet. "You're crazy!" She gave me a blank look. "Haha, I just said what if." I took my wallet back and said, "What if I pay 10,000 yuan?" "It's still the same, I'll just say you're crazy." She gave me another look. "What if I offer one million? Just call me brother, and you can get one million. Will you call me?" She was silent for a moment before saying: "No, no matter how much money you give me!" "Then what if I pay 100 million? You can get 100 million as long as you ask. How many people can't earn 100 million in their lifetime, you can get it just by calling your brother." I looked into her eyes and smiled slightly. She avoided my expression unconsciously, and said vaguely after a while: "You have so much money." "Haha..." I laughed out loud.She stared at me angrily and cursed, "What are you laughing at, what's so funny." I put away my smile, looked into her eyes and said seriously: "Everyone has a value in their hearts. The reason why you are unwilling to sell your dignity is that the price I offered has not yet reached your value. One hundred million yuan I can’t take it out, but I think other than money, there should be things worth giving up your dignity, such as catching mountain ghosts, and gaining more respect from people.” "Do you have to give up your dignity if you want to catch the mountain ghost?" Although her tone was a bit harsh, it had already softened. "Whether you need it depends on what you think, just like my friend. Although in the eyes of others, he looks like a slave, but in order to treat his father's illness, he always took out tens of thousands of money , and never said a word of complaint. So in the eyes of relatives and friends, he is a person worthy of respect." After listening to my words, she didn't make a sound, and I said, "If you just want to get up early, you can send If you have a bad temper and curse, you can ask Director Hua to transfer you to some anti-pornography and anti-illegal positions. If you want to catch mountain ghosts, you can't lose your temper, because our job is to find out the truth, and we have to find out The truth, first of all, is to collect intelligence. Information will not automatically appear in front of you, you must ask patiently and politely to find out, after all, ordinary citizens are not obligated to provide you with information.” "Hmm..." She replied silently, I think she was digesting my teaching. "It's getting late, we have to hurry up and find the third wife." After that, I started the car and set off. Although it has not been confirmed whether the strange disease suffered by the villagers is heavy metal poisoning, but anyway, if you have time now, you might as well visit the third wife.I don't know her address, but Longdong Village is a small village the size of a palm, so if you just ask, you can find her quickly.However, as soon as she saw us, she immediately asked, "Did you catch the mountain ghost? People in the city do things differently. As soon as we arrived, we caught the mountain ghost!" I was so embarrassed by her, I laughed and said: "Not yet! But I have a little idea, but I need your help, third wife." "Haven't you caught the mountain ghost yet?" The third woman was a little disappointed, but she cheered up quickly, "If you can use me, an old woman, just ask, as long as you can catch the mountain ghost, ask me to do it." Anything is fine." "I want to know if there are any special customs in your village, or if the villagers have some special habits?" I asked. "I've told you before that our village is just named after the Yao people, and our living habits are not much different from yours, and there are no special habits..." She suddenly thought about it, and said: "But if you say In terms of customs, the most special one should be worshiping the Dragon King." "Dragon King? Can you explain in more detail?" "The reason why our village is called Longdong Village is because there is a Dragon Palace near the pine forest..." She opened and closed her mouth, which was sunken due to the loss of teeth, and spoke to me in slightly vague words that I could barely understand. Tell a story about the Dragon King—— Dragon Palace is actually a cave, and some people call it Dragon Cave.When I was young, I heard from my grandma that a long time ago, there was a man in our village who was very poor, so he went to work for the landlord. He was killed by the landlord and became the Dragon King after his death.Since the establishment of the Dragon King, our village has never experienced a severe drought. I heard from my grandma that there was no rain in other places in a year, but it was heavy rain in our village.Therefore, people in our village go to the Dragon Palace to worship the Dragon King every year. Not everyone can worship the Dragon King, because the Dragon King was killed by the landlord when he was very young, and he hadn't asked for a wife when he died.Therefore, only women can go to worship the Dragon King, and none of the men can go, and young and beautiful women have to go, which can be regarded as asking for a wife for the Dragon King. There are also many rules in the process of worshiping the Dragon King. From the entrance of the Dragon Palace, there are three steps and one worship, all the way to the statue of the Dragon King in the Dragon Palace.There is an underground river next to the statue of the Dragon King. We call it the Dragon River. After burning incense, candles and ingots to the Dragon King, everyone has to drink a cup of water from the Dragon River.After drinking the water, you can leave the Dragon Palace, but you must not turn back when you leave. Turning back means that you really want to marry the Dragon King, and you will be left behind by the Dragon King... Everyone who worships the Dragon King must drink the water of the Dragon River, so if the water contains heavy metals, wouldn't all the women in the village be poisoned?But the third wife in front of her didn't show any signs of being poisoned, so how could this be explained?To know the reason, the best way is of course to ask her directly: "Did you also go to worship the Dragon King?" "When I was young, I happened to meet the broken four olds. How could anyone dare to worship the Dragon King! If it weren't for the hidden location of the Dragon Palace, even the statue of the Dragon King might have been smashed. By the time I can worship the Dragon King, I will be old , the Dragon King doesn't like it, so of course he won't pay homage." "The mother-in-law of your age in the village has never worshiped the Dragon King?" "Nothing, it's just some young girls who go to pray. I haven't even entered the Dragon Palace. I've heard these things from others." Could it be that the reason why the villagers suffer from strange diseases is because they drank the water from the Dragon River?It seems that it is necessary to break into the "Dragon Palace".