“Sister, don’t go!” Chen Xuanqiu cried out instinctively. She felt utterly unsafe within the hospital’s walls, relying solely on the young nurse’s kindness. What would she do if something happened to her?
“What’s wrong?” Ni Shanshan asked, turning back with a puzzled expression.
“Well…” Chen Xuanqiu stammered, unsure how to begin. How could she possibly say there was a ghost inside? What if the nurse misunderstood her, thinking she was having an episode?
“Just stay put. Li Rui is here too, isn’t she? Li Rui, don’t you dare bully her!” Ni Shanshan instructed, before turning to leave once more.
“Sister, wait! I’ll come with you.” Chen Xuanqiu’s heart wrestled fiercely within her chest. Ultimately, she decided to follow, reasoning that at the very least, she could see those unclean things and offer a warning if danger arose.
Ni Shanshan’s gentle refusal proved futile, leaving her no choice but to let Chen Xuanqiu trail behind.
“Am I really that unlikeable?” Li Rui’s faint complaint drifted to them.
Chen Xuanqiu followed the nurse like a small shadow. The inpatient ward’s corridor stretched endlessly, appearing profoundly deep even under the artificial light. Especially in the dead of night, it evoked an inexplicable sense of oppression.
Having learned her lesson from the morning, Chen Xuanqiu dared not glance casually into the surrounding patient rooms. As Room 305 drew nearer, her heart began to pound with increasing intensity, and her breathing grew ragged.
At that moment, Chen Xuanqiu wished time would simply freeze. That way, she could continue walking behind the nurse indefinitely, whose petite figure had become her sole source of security.
The two finally arrived before Room 305. Ni Shanshan did not immediately open the door, opting instead to peer inside through the glass window.
“Strange, the lights aren’t even on. Why would the call button be ringing?” Ni Shanshan murmured to herself, a hint of confusion in her voice as she gazed at the pitch-black room.
Chen Xuanqiu instinctively glanced inside as well, confirming that the room’s lights were off. Consequently, she could not discern anything within.
Apparently uneasy, Ni Shanshan retrieved her keys and unlocked the room.
‘Is this room locked? It must be a sealed ward, then,’ Chen Xuanqiu mused inwardly.
The door slowly yielded to Ni Shanshan’s push, its faint creak resonating with startling clarity in the silent night.
Recalling the morning’s events, Chen Xuanqiu dared not look inside at all. She merely hesitated near the doorway, standing alone.
“Click!”
Ni Shanshan stepped inside and flipped on the room’s light. Instantly, the interior became as bright as day.
Chen Xuanqiu wrestled with her apprehension for a long moment. Ultimately, unwilling to let the nurse face danger alone, she steeled herself and peered inside.
By then, Ni Shanshan had already reached the bedside. She observed the female patient lying sound asleep beneath the covers, her breathing remarkably even.
“Strange, who pressed the call button then? Could it be malfunctioning?” Ni Shanshan murmured to herself.
At the doorway, Chen Xuanqiu’s eyes, starkly black and white, suddenly widened. To her, the room was far from calm; a blood-soaked infant was crawling across the hospital bed. Its tiny body, appearing newborn, moved with incredible agility, as swift as a cockroach, and faint black mist swirled around it.
Though the infant spirit moved swiftly, its activity was confined to the bed. Its small body flickered in and out of sight beneath the covers. Consequently, the female patient’s body was covered in black mist, making it appear as if a fire had been lit beneath her, with thick, black “smoke” constantly rising from the bedding.
Chen Xuanqiu’s mind went utterly blank; she even forgot to blink. This infant spirit appeared almost corporeal, entirely unlike the translucent female ghosts she had encountered before. Furthermore, the black mist shrouding it was far denser than anything she had witnessed.
Ni Shanshan, of course, remained oblivious to this eerie sight. Curious, she glanced at the call button by the bedside, even extending her right hand to tentatively press it.
Just then, the infant spirit also crawled to the head of the bed, curiously extending its tiny hand to press the call button.
And so, two hands—one large, one small—overlapped on the call button.
Chen Xuanqiu wanted to warn her, but it was already too late. In her perception, the black mist around the infant spirit surged like a torrent finding an outlet, immediately spreading towards Ni Shanshan’s right hand.
Fortunately, Ni Shanshan withdrew her hand after a single press. The contact between the human and the spirit was brief, so she did not absorb much of the black mist.
After withdrawing her right hand, Ni Shanshan seemed to feel uncomfortable. She instinctively used her left hand to rub her right, and with that touch, more of the black mist transferred to her left hand, then spread upwards along her arm.
Chen Xuanqiu watched everything unfold, helpless. She longed to warn the nurse, yet feared that her words would be dismissed as a delusion, rendering her unable to help and possibly leading to her being mistaken for having an episode.
“It’s nothing, let’s go!”
Ni Shanshan switched off the room’s light and walked out, smiling. By then, the black mist on her hand had already spread to her elbow.
Chen Xuanqiu’s heart hammered uncontrollably, her eyes fixed intently on the black mist covering the nurse. A fine sheen of sweat gradually broke out on her forehead.
“What’s wrong with you?” Ni Shanshan quickly noticed Chen Xuanqiu’s unusual behavior and asked, puzzled.
Chen Xuanqiu instinctively recoiled two steps, terrified of touching the black mist. Her heavy, ragged breaths echoed with abnormal clarity in the quiet environment.
“Oh, right! How could I forget you’re a patient?”
Ni Shanshan quickly misunderstood. She cautiously approached, gently extending a hand and calling, “Come here, come with me.”
“Don’t… don’t… don’t touch me.” Chen Xuanqiu stammered her refusal, instinctively retreating further.
“Be good! Come back with me! I have something delicious for you.” Ni Shanshan tried to coax her, but her steps didn’t falter. She advanced relentlessly, step by step, fearing Chen Xuanqiu might act impulsively if her condition worsened.
“Don’t come any closer!”
Chen Xuanqiu, utterly distraught, turned and fled.
“Sigh! Looks like I’ll have to get some exercise again.”
Ni Shanshan sighed helplessly, then moved like a startled rabbit, her petite body swiftly pursuing.
Though Chen Xuanqiu had long legs, her stamina was poor. Coupled with the heavy burden on her chest, she was caught after running only about ten to twenty meters.
“Little one, trying to fight me? Don’t you know nurses at mental hospitals spend every day battling?” Ni Shanshan said triumphantly, pulling Chen Xuanqiu’s hand.
Chen Xuanqiu felt an icy chill pierce her hand. When she looked back, terror seized her; the black mist on the young nurse’s body was spreading towards her like a plague.
“Please, don’t touch me! You have black mist on you,” Chen Xuanqiu pleaded tearfully. At this point, she no longer cared if she was misunderstood as having an episode.
“What black mist? There’s no black mist! Will you come back with me?” Ni Shanshan extended her other hand to grasp Chen Xuanqiu’s shoulder.
Chen Xuanqiu struggled desperately, but she tragically realized she was no match for the young nurse. She could only watch helplessly as the black mist from Ni Shanshan’s body spread towards her, each touch bringing with it an invading cold.