A month after the woman was discharged from the hospital, she became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter after ten months.
During this period, Huang Youdao took meticulous care of the woman, and her gaze towards him changed. When they first came together, the woman had a self-destructive attitude. But she never expected that a happy life would arrive so suddenly.
However, this happy life was short-lived. Soon after birth, their daughter was diagnosed with a rare disease called Tay-Sachs disease, a hereditary disorder.
The woman was heartbroken. All her life, she had only wanted to have a child, but unexpectedly, she had harmed this child. Huang Youdao, being an expert, knew that this genetic disease would rapidly degenerate the nervous system, and their daughter would die at the age of three.
The assistant, holding the report, was puzzled and asked Huang Youdao, "Professor Huang, why would an Asian child have such a hereditary disease?"
"It's probably related to me."
Huang Youdao said in silence.
The assistant was speechless, resentment towards heaven filling his eyes. Why would heaven treat Huang Youdao this way?
...
Tay-Sachs disease is a hereditary disease found among Ashkenazi Jews. Because Jews have higher IQs than other Europeans, in the evolutionary selection of the year 2000, heaven added a curse upon the Jews: the higher the IQ of a Jewish person, the more likely their offspring are to contract a hereditary disease called Tay-Sachs disease.
In any human population, the increase in brainpower is inextricably linked to disease. God has set a limit on human intelligence.
...
What to do?
Huang Youdao looked at the medicine on his desk. The last time he stopped taking it, another person died. That was not the main point. Huang Youdao believed that women who used living children to raise spirits deserved to die, and that he was acting on behalf of heaven.
The problem was that when Huang Youdao resumed taking the medication, it was no longer as effective. He was now frequently plagued by hallucinations and required both psychological counseling and medication to barely maintain his status as a normal person.
To save or not to save?
Tay-Sachs disease was not a simple genetic problem; it was a restriction set by God for humanity.
At this moment, Huang Youdao experienced a hallucination. He saw the emaciated Tao Yue, who smiled at him, "Old Huang, don't give up!"
"Old Tao, I can't!"
"I did it, why can't you? The doctor gave me a death sentence, but I still lived two more years. I held on until Mr. Wende took disciples, and you inherited my will. You can also snatch your daughter back from the King of Hell."
Huang Youdao smiled, "Yes, I can definitely do it."
"Professor, Professor!"
The assistant shook the grinning Huang Youdao, pulling him back from his hallucination.
"Are you alright?" the assistant asked worriedly.
"Notify our team. From today onwards, we will tackle a new challenge: Tay-Sachs disease."
The assistant saw the long-lost spark in Huang Youdao's eyes and nodded happily, then asked cautiously, "Professor Huang, your health? Do you need to take your medicine?"
"Right, throw the medicine in the trash for me."
...
Huang Youdao went to the woman's bedside, held her, and gently patted her back, "I will cure our daughter."
"But, they said..."
"It doesn't matter who says what. The person you married is a 'demon' that even the King of Hell fears."
...
Beijing, February 2, 1980, Saturday. Today, clear with scattered clouds, wind from the north.
"Boss, a newspaper for me."
"Certainly!"
"Boss, my newspaper."
In an inconspicuous corner of the newspaper, there was a news item: The deceased, sixty-one years old, had imprisoned a fourteen-year-old girl for several months. His body was found in Dongzhimen yesterday. The details of his death are unknown, but reporters learned from the scene that the deceased's right arm was missing, with a clean cut. This was attributed to the serial killer known as the "Man-eating Right Hand Demon" who operated in 1978-79.
Huang Youdao looked at the news item in the newspaper without any expression. He quickly ate his fried dough stick, wiped his hands with the newspaper, and casually threw it into the trash can.
...
Beijing time, May 1981. The "Man-eating Right Hand Demon" reappeared, and for a time, tea houses and restaurants were abuzz with discussions about this demon.
"Master, should we go catch this demon?" Wang Ren asked Mr. Wende.
Mr. Wende sipped his tea, looking at her pregnant belly, "Are you bored? Is the child more important or catching bad guys more important?"
"I... I can't, but what about senior brother and the others!"
"Let them live a few more years. Wang Ren, I'm telling you, if there were true justice in this world, I would have been sleeping in a coffin long ago. Let's go home and eat."
Mr. Wende felt someone was listening to their conversation. He looked up, and Huang Youdao had already left after drinking his tea.
Wang Ren asked in surprise, "Master, is that the murderer?"
"That's just someone drinking tea..."
...
In 1982, Huang Youdao's assistant rushed to the office with a report. By then, Huang Youdao's team had grown to over a dozen elite doctors. The assistant, holding the report, shouted, "We did it! We did it! The child is alive!"
Everyone cheered.
Huang Youdao's eyes welled up with tears. He looked at Tao Yue by the window and smiled, "Tao Yue, I did it. I held on until the child came back to life."
Tao Yue looked at Huang Youdao and ran cheerfully down the corridor. He was as lively as he was in the past, and Huang Youdao also seemed to have become a child. He chased after her, and the two of them ran and chased, eventually disappearing into the vast sea of people on the street.
...
"Professor Huang, what's wrong? Professor Huang!"
The assistant saw Huang Youdao's abnormal state. He was grinning, drooling, and incontinent. His eyes had lost their former brilliance; he had completely become a demented fool.
The leader arrived and roared at the assistant, "Fix Huang Youdao immediately! Do you know the honor you'll receive internationally for curing Tay-Sachs disease? Do you understand?"
The assistant said helplessly, "Only Professor Huang can cure Professor Huang."
"What are you saying? Do you want to quit your job?"
The assistant also roared, "Do you think I don't want to treat Professor Huang? You can fire me, you can kill me, I still can't do it." After saying that, the assistant squatted on the ground and cried.
...
Finally, the woman also came. Seeing the assistant with tears in his eyes, she asked seriously, "Can't it be cured?"
"Yes, we've done our best. We..."
"Let's discharge him. I'll support him for the rest of my life."
The woman took care of two people: a demented husband and a daughter. In '88, she fell ill from overwork and did not recover, passing away. Huang Youdao was unable to raise his seven or eight-year-old daughter. Later, with the assistant's help, Huang Youdao's daughter was adopted. Huang Youdao was sent to the newly opened Dongyang Psychological Clinic by his assistant. Dr. Duan Shan, who knew Huang Youdao, accepted him free of charge.
...
...
I was a little confused by this ending, and I asked the person eating hot pot in front of me, "Aren't you Huang Youdao? Aren't you mentally sound?"
"Huang Youdao is dead!" Huang Youdao said.
"Then who are you?"
"I am the 'demon' he created. My regaining consciousness is probably related to Mr. Wende. He asked me to do him a favor and protect his disciples."
"Mr. Wende's final move?"
"Probably. From '88 onwards, I've been clear-headed at times and confused at others. I also learned that the 'Man-eating Right Hand Demon' wasn't me, but Duan Shan. To punish him, I told him I could help him find his right hand."
"Does Duan Shan believe you?"
"He believes in Huang Youdao's medical skills. He also knows that my mind is sometimes normal. When I'm normal, I possess Professor Huang's abilities, and my medical skills have always been beyond his reach."
I understood some of it. "So, you've recovered your memories."
"No, Professor Huang is dead. I saw him leave with Tao Yue. I possess Professor Huang's memories; I merely access Professor Huang's data from a partition of my brain."
Sometimes, I can't communicate with someone who is mentally ill. That's what I genuinely thought. I believed Huang Youdao was still mentally unstable.
Huang Youdao understood my thoughts. "To prove I'm not Huang Youdao, I chose your side and dealt with Cao Qian. Do you know that your girlfriend Lin Han didn't have intracranial infection like others because she took a very small dose of medication? Most of it was eaten by me."
"You ate Lin Han's medicine?"
"Yes!"
"Thank you for saving Lin Han and helping her break free from Cao Qian's control. I can understand that. But I don't understand, what is the relationship between Cao Qian and Huang Youdao?"
"You don't know?" Huang Youdao asked me with feigned seriousness.
"Should I know?" I asked back, completely bewildered.
"Cao Qian's IQ is 165. I saw it with my own eyes during the test."
I frowned. "Huang Youdao doesn't help people just because their IQ is high. I know Cao Qian is very smart, but that doesn't mean her IQ of 165 earned her Huang Youdao's approval. The story you're telling me, Huang Youdao was a righteous person."
"A girl with a high IQ who has also suffered from Tay-Sachs disease. There should only be one such case in our country."
I was completely stunned. "You mean, Cao Qian is Huang Youdao's daughter?"