The two junior nurses and the security guard were taken away, but the incident was far from over. The relatives of the female psychiatric patient, allegedly abused to death within the hospital, refused to let the matter rest and began to cause a commotion.
This commotion quickly escalated, as other patient families joined the protest. Faced with the growing unrest, Principal Liu had no choice but to intervene personally.
“I apologize to you all,” Principal Liu pleaded. “I assure you, these nurses and security guards were isolated incidents. I beg for your continued trust in our hospital.”
“Principal Liu, I will not gamble with my daughter’s life. Please, proceed with our discharge paperwork immediately.”
Melissa made this decision without consulting her daughter, her resolve clear and unwavering.
‘If I leave, what will become of Ni Shanshan?’
A wave of concern washed over Chen Xuanqiu at the thought of Ni Shanshan. This hospital was clearly tainted, and remaining here would inevitably lead to trouble for anyone.
‘Still, what could she do? She could barely protect herself; what right did she have to worry about others?’
Chen Xuanqiu offered a self-deprecating smile, then joined her mother in packing their belongings. She had yearned to escape this accursed place for quite some time.
****
With two nurses taken by the police and another having resigned, the inpatient department found its daily care operations severely hampered.
The hospital, left with no alternative, instructed the HR department to temporarily assign three intern nurses to fill the sudden vacancies.
Though staffing levels were now technically met, the shift schedule required a complete overhaul. Consequently, the Nurse Manager summoned all six junior nurses for a discussion.
“As you all know, the two nurses on duty last night were taken away by the police,” the Nurse Manager began. “We now need to reassign shifts. The attendance system remains the same: four nurses during the day, two at night. Please consider whether you prefer day or night shifts.”
The Nurse Manager carefully sought their opinions. Modern nurses were often quite particular, and she knew better than to impose work arrangements, lest they simply resign on the spot.
After a period of deliberation, five of the six opted for day shifts. Given the inpatient department’s long-standing unsettling rumors, compounded by a recent death, it was only natural for the young women to feel apprehensive.
The sole remaining nurse was Ni Shanshan. A conflicted expression crossed her face, her thoughts clearly in turmoil.
“Is there truly no one willing to take the night shift?”
The Nurse Manager reiterated her question, but regrettably, silence was her only answer.
A flicker of disappointment crossed the Nurse Manager’s face. Yet, what could she do? She was, after all, dealing with a group of young women.
It was then that Ni Shanshan’s voice broke the silence.
“I’ll take the night shift.”
A look of surprise and delight instantly brightened the Nurse Manager’s face. She lavished praise upon Ni Shanshan, exclaiming, “Excellent, excellent! Ni Shanshan, you are a truly outstanding nurse, worthy of commendation! I will certainly inform Principal Liu of your dedication.”
Ni Shanshan offered a noncommittal smile. She cared little for being excellent, and commendations were of minor concern. Her heart was solely focused on the young girl in Room 302. She knew that if she didn’t take the night shift, that poor child would never sleep soundly again.
“One isn’t enough; we still need another,” the Nurse Manager declared. “Xiao Tong, you’re up.”
Having lost her patience, the Nurse Manager pointed directly at the tallest, most striking nurse among them.
“What? Why me?”
Xiao Tong looked on the verge of tears.
“You’re the oldest among them. If not you, then who?”
The Nurse Manager retorted, her gaze sharp.
“Okay.”
Left with no choice, Xiao Tong reluctantly agreed.
****
As Chen Xuanqiu and her mother busied themselves with packing, Ni Shanshan unexpectedly entered the ward.
“Are you leaving?”
Ni Shanshan asked, a hint of surprise in her voice.
“Yes,” Melissa replied bluntly. “After such an incident, I no longer trust the nurses here at Fourth Hospital.”
Chen Xuanqiu subtly observed Ni Shanshan, noting the flicker of disappointment that crossed her face. A strange pang of reluctance stirred within her.
“Ah, well,” Ni Shanshan sighed softly. “I even specifically switched to the night shift, hoping to keep you company. It seems it won’t be necessary now.”
Chen Xuanqiu’s body stiffened, and she turned her head as if on a swivel, her vision blurring. She understood the immense courage Ni Shanshan had mustered to make such a decision.
‘To find someone so compassionate and righteous… could she truly abandon them? Could she stand by and watch them suffer?’
Chen Xuanqiu searched her conscience, and in the end, she simply couldn’t bring herself to leave.
“Mama, I’m not leaving. I’ll continue my treatment here.”
Chen Xuanqiu turned to her mother, her voice resolute.
“What? Why?”
Melissa rose to her feet, staring at her daughter with utter bewilderment.
“There’s no ‘why’,” Chen Xuanqiu insisted. “I’m simply not leaving.”
Ni Shanshan, too, gazed at Chen Xuanqiu with a puzzled expression, utterly baffled by the girl’s sudden change of heart.
“Absolutely not,” Melissa declared, her tone firm. “I cannot rest easy with you staying here, and your father would never allow it.”
“Even if the King of Heaven himself descended, it wouldn’t change my mind. I’m staying.”
Chen Xuanqiu plopped onto the hospital bed, a picture of childish defiance.
Melissa pleaded with her for a long time, but to no avail. She eventually had no choice but to call her husband.
Chen Degao, too, tried to reason with his daughter over the phone, but his efforts proved equally fruitless. In the end, he had to concede.
And so, Chen Xuanqiu remained at Fourth Hospital.
‘Before I am discharged, I, Chen Xuanqiu, will purge all evil from this place.’
Chen Xuanqiu silently hardened her resolve. She had to repay Ni Shanshan’s kindness, and she desperately needed to conquer her own fears, lest she be forever branded as mentally unstable.
As for how to cleanse the hospital of its malevolent entities, Chen Xuanqiu recalled the two female ghosts she had previously incinerated. A daring idea began to form: ‘If these specters make contact with me, the internal heat flow within my body will eradicate them.’
However, Chen Xuanqiu dared not attempt this lightly. The last time, had her sister not performed CPR, she would have certainly perished. This incident clearly demonstrated that the ‘hot current’ was far from an invincible power.
Regardless, Chen Xuanqiu resolved to first assess the situation within the inpatient department, to ascertain the true number of malevolent spirits lurking within.
Chen Xuanqiu gritted her teeth and began her inspection, starting from the third floor where she resided, checking each room one by one. After completing a circuit, she realized she might have been overly naive. In broad daylight, there weren’t as many evil spirits as she’d anticipated.
On this floor, she discerned a total of three malevolent entities: an infant spirit, a female ghost astride a man’s neck, and a translucent old woman whose surrounding black mist was considerably weaker than the first two.
Of particular note, however, was the absence of the infant spirit from Room 305.
‘If it’s not in Room 305, then where could it have gone?’
A faint unease stirred within Chen Xuanqiu. Previously, the infant spirit had always remained confined to Room 305, offering a measure of safety to those outside. Now that it was free to roam, what fate awaited the other patients and staff?
Her worry deepening, Chen Xuanqiu began to search the other floors of the inpatient department.
An hour passed as Chen Xuanqiu meticulously scoured over a dozen floors of the inpatient department. Yet, the infant spirit remained elusive; she couldn’t find a trace of it anywhere, nor could she guess its hiding place.
Though the infant spirit remained undiscovered, she did encounter five or six other malevolent entities on different floors. However, none of their forms were as solid as the infant spirit she’d observed on her own floor, and their surrounding black mist was significantly less dense.
‘What does this signify? Does a denser black mist correlate with a stronger evil spirit?’
Recalling her two previous encounters with female ghosts, Chen Xuanqiu formed a bold hypothesis. The female ghost she had first encountered in Dengtai City Hospital possessed a very ethereal form with almost no discernible black mist, consequently inflicting little harm upon her.
In stark contrast, the female ghost by the river had been shrouded in an astonishingly dense black mist, nearly claiming Chen Xuanqiu’s life.
‘Very well, then. I’ll begin with the weaker ones.’
Chen Xuanqiu mused, a plan beginning to solidify in her mind.