Wang Chengwang was immediately able to read between the lines. Ergou was his master’s only direct disciple, which meant that his master held him in very high regard. Ergou had been taught the method to treat Wang Cailiang’s condition and had been tasked with doing so, meaning that he was here to act in his master’s stead, while his master wouldn’t personally get involved.

However, this mysterious master was clearly still watching over the situation, ready to intervene at any moment.

In the end, Wang Chengwang had no choice but to trust Ergou, so after some contemplation, he nodded and gave Ergou the go-ahead.

He led Chu Qiguang to Wang Cailiang’s room, where a servant opened the door to reveal Wang Cailiang slumped in a taishi chair with a dejected look on his face, clearly tormented by his condition.

Wang Cailiang turned at the sound of the door opening, and his brows furrowed in confusion at the sight of Ergou. He couldn't understand why he, of all people, had been brought here by his father.

After all, Chu Qiguang currently still had Ergou’s outward appearance as an ordinary resident of the Wang Clan Village. If he were in a game, then he would’ve undoubtedly been an NPC that no player would ever bother interacting with.

Even after Wang Chengwang stated the purpose of Ergou’s visit, Wang Cailiang remained unconvinced.

Over the past few days, Wang Chengwang had invited many people to treat his condition, and he had been forced to swallow countless bowls of talismanic water and incense ashes as part of the arcane treatments, yet his condition hadn’t improved in the slightest.

As a result, it was extremely frustrating and exasperating to him that his father was so desperate that he would even be willing to believe the lies spouted by someone like Zhou Ergou.

“I know you’re desperate, Father, but you can’t just believe anyone!” Wang Cailiang snapped. “He’s nothing but an illiterate idiot! What treatment is he suggesting? Does he want me to eat cow dung or drink the piss of a virgin boy?”

Wang Chengwang immediately put on a stern and imposing expression as he reprimanded, “I’ve always told you not to judge a book by its cover! Nephew Zhou here may be younger than you, but he’s found a great master. Not only does he know how you ended up with this condition, he also knows how to treat it!”

In Chu Qiguang’s eyes, Wang Cailiang’s reaction was very much understandable. After all, seventeen was a prime age for rebellion, not to mention that Chu Qiguang’s current appearance did little to inspire confidence.

He knew that the more Wang Chengwang insisted, the less willing Wang Cailiang would be to comply, so he grabbed Wang Chengwang’s hand with a smile and said, “You’re far too kind, Master Wang. A quiet environment is required to treat this condition, so I’ll have to ask you to step outside for now.”

After Wang Chengwang was convinced to leave the room, Wang Cailiang turned a cold gaze to Chu Qiguang as he said, “My father is so desperate right now that he’s willing to try anything, but just because you managed to fool him doesn’t mean you can fool me! Get out of my sight! Otherwise, you’ll be reported to the authorities for spreading lies and—”

Wang Cailiang was knocked unconscious with a dull thump before he had a chance to finish.

Qiao Zhi emerged from behind him, licking his paw as he scoffed, “He really needs to learn to shut up!”

***

Over the past few days, Wang Cailiang had been living under constant and unbearable pressure.

Every night, he could only fall into a restless sleep with his entire room illuminated by candlelight and servants stationed outside.

However, the whistling of the wind, the footsteps of the servants, the chirping of insects in the courtyard, the barking of dogs in the village... Even the slightest sound was enough to jolt him awake in an instant. Whenever that happened, he would get up to make sure that the doors and windows were properly closed, and that the servant was still standing on lookout duty outside.

In fact, he would even check beneath his bed, under his table, and inside his wardrobe.

Even so, every time he fell asleep, he would relive the dog ghost attack in his nightmares and wake up drenched in cold sweat.

During the day, the fear wasn’t as debilitating, but whenever he thought of his ruined future and the possibility that his condition could even implicate his entire clan, he would be consumed by an almost suffocating sense of dread and despair.

He began lashing out both physically and verbally at his servants and maidservants. He even turned violent against the witches and wizards, who were clearly incapable of treating his condition and were only scamming his father out of money.

After some time, he woke up in a daze on his bed. He sat up with a puzzled expression as he tried to recollect what had happened.

Did someone knock me unconscious? Was it that bastard, Ergou?

All of a sudden, he spotted Zhou Ergou sitting calmly on his taishi chair. He immediately leaped to his feet and shouted, “What did you do?!”

“Take a look at your back,” Chu Qiguang said in a slow, casual voice. “I’ve already temporarily suppressed the canine poison in your body, but your condition hasn’t been completely cured. It could still come back.”

Wang Cailiang didn’t even hear the second half of Chu Qiguang’s sentence. He was simply too distracted by the joy he felt after discovering that most of the black fur on his back had disappeared.

He noticed the clumps of black fur on the ground, and he was ecstatic as he asked, “Have I been cured?”

“You were bitten by a dog ghost and fell prey to canine poison,” Chu Qiguang explained. “A dog ghost is a malicious dog that was killed and still held onto its resentment even in death. They often go after the people who killed them to inject canine poison into their bodies, exacting their revenge by turning their killers into dogs.

“They take pleasure in seeing their killers suffer as they’re turned into dogs, and once the transformation is complete, the dog ghost will possess their body in an attempt to resurrect themselves.”

Wang Cailiang’s attitude had changed drastically, and there was now a respectful look on his face as he said, “I’ve heard of dog ghosts before, but no one has ever told me about them in such great detail.”

Dog ghosts weren’t something Chu Qiguang had made up. They truly existed in this world.

Chu Qiguang and Qiao Zhi had prepared extensively for this plan.

First, Qiao Zhi sent a dog to bite Wang Cailiang and bring back a blood sample. This allowed Qiao Zhi to find the type of blood best suited to stimulating Wang Cailiang’s bloodline, which turned out to be rat blood.

After that, Qiao Zhi snuck into the Wang Manor, then used the Heavenly Fiend Foundation Establishment Technique on Wang Cailiang to make him undergo fiendification.

Just now, Qiao Zhi had used the Heavenly Fiend Foundation Establishment Technique to temporarily suppress Wang Cailiang’s condition.

All of this was combined with the story of the so-called dog ghost to create a very convincing case.

“If I hadn’t partially cured your canine poisoning today, the fur would eventually spread across your entire body, and you would have become more and more like a dog,” Chu Qiguang lied. “In the end, you would lose your mind and truly believe yourself to be a dog. At that point, you would no longer be able to return to being a human, and the dog ghost will possess your body. Now then, do I have your permission to continue treating your condition?”