The Spectral Realm’s Shadow

By the time Bai Wanwan and Liu Hanzhi arrived at Bai City Hospital, half of the tenth-floor corridor in the inpatient building was already cordoned off with police tape. The bright yellow tape was strikingly conspicuous, and a significant number of police officers and reporters had gathered around, alongside several hospital administrators.

Deng Shuqi stood by the elevator entrance. Upon seeing Bai Wanwan, a flicker of brightness illuminated her otherwise haggard face.

As if clutching a lifeline, she immediately rushed forward, grasping Bai Wanwan’s arm. The sudden press of her ample, soft form momentarily flustered Bai Wanwan, while Liu Hanzhi, standing nearby, frowned deeply.

“Master Bai! You’ve finally arrived…”

“What happened? Don’t rush, tell me slowly.”

Bai Wanwan sensed something was amiss. The sealed-off scene strongly suggested a murder had occurred.

Most likely, it was another inexplicable supernatural incident.

“Please follow me first. I’d like you to watch a surveillance video.”

“Master Bai, last night my brother… he walked out of his room!”

Deng Shuqi’s words caused Bai Wanwan’s eyes to widen. A patient who had been bedridden for so long, a coma victim declared brain-dead by medical professionals… how could he possibly get out of bed and walk out of his room?

“Look at this!”

Deng Shuqi pulled out her phone and played a segment of surveillance footage. It appeared to be recorded by a portable camera Deng Shuqi herself had installed in the patient’s room.

According to the timestamp on the video, the incident occurred around two in the morning. The environment was dim, and the camera’s night vision capabilities were poor, resulting in a somewhat blurry image.

In the footage, a quiet knocking sound first echoed through the silent hospital room. Deng Shuqi’s brother, who had been lying in bed, slowly opened his eyes upon hearing the knock.

His complexion, obscured by the blurry image, appeared somewhat terrifying, with only large whites visible in his eyes.

Deng Shuqi’s brother slowly sat up, seemingly looking around. His gaze then settled on the talisman Bai Wanwan had left behind.

Upon seeing the talisman, he seemed to grow furious. In the blink of an eye, the talisman disintegrated into ash.

Deng Shuqi’s brother then walked barefoot to the door of the ward and slowly opened it.

Standing outside the door were two figures: one dressed in a nurse’s uniform, the other in a hospital security guard’s uniform.

Through the blurry surveillance footage, Bai Wanwan detected something unsettling. She paused the video, then zoomed in as much as possible.

She saw that the security guard and the nurse had their mouths and eyes seemingly sewn shut with needle and thread. Their mouths, in particular, were forcibly pulled up by the stitches, forming a grotesque, eerie smile.

The footage abruptly ended there.

Deng Shuqi’s face was ashen. She could barely bring herself to look at the surveillance footage, clinging tightly to Bai Wanwan’s arm the entire time.

“Master Bai, a nurse and a security guard died in the hospital last night.”

“The police are currently investigating, but I suspect they’ll return empty-handed, just like with my Jin Baihan. After all… this isn’t a murder that ordinary people can comprehend. Apparently, the nurse and security guard were on night duty. They sewed each other’s mouths and eyes shut with needle and thread, as if possessed, constantly knocking on my brother’s ward door.”

“That’s when the surveillance footage I showed you was recorded.”

“Moreover, the police estimate the two died around one in the morning, but they knocked on my brother’s door… at two in the morning!”

Deng Shuqi couldn’t help but swallow, truly terrified at this point. It wasn’t just the shock of the eerie footage, but also the fear that some malevolent entity had taken over her brother’s body.

“Where is your brother now?”

“He’s just lying in his bed…”

Deng Shuqi’s greatest fear lay here. The surveillance footage showed her brother leaving the ward with the two deceased individuals. No one knew where they went; the moment the door opened, both the hospital’s surveillance and Deng Shuqi’s own companion camera lost their feed.

Yet, when Deng Shuqi rushed back this morning, she found her brother lying motionless in his hospital bed. Even his posture and position were exactly the same as when she had left the previous day.

“Don’t be afraid, it’s alright. Let’s go check on your brother first.”

“We can’t yet. The hospital is still investigating this matter, so we can’t access the ward for now.”

Deng Shuqi clutched Bai Wanwan’s arm tightly, then recounted another chilling incident.

“Last night, I dreamed that after taking care of my brother at the hospital, I was going home. The elevator was out of order for some reason, so I took the stairs down. As I reached between the tenth and ninth floors, I saw a carved iron gate.”

“Inside was a very dim, old-fashioned hospital corridor.”

“And my brother was in the corridor, waving at me, signaling for me to open the door and enter.”

“I was in a daze at the time, but just as my hand touched the iron gate’s handle, I suddenly remembered your warning, Master Bai, and I woke up with a jolt.”

Deng Shuqi’s words made Bai Wanwan furrow her brows. Clearly, both the murder and Deng Shuqi’s brother’s bizarre behavior were inextricably linked to the spectral realm within the hospital.

“Master Bai, what should I do now?”

Facing Deng Shuqi’s question, Bai Wanwan found herself in a predicament. To be honest, she didn’t know what to do when confronted with an unfamiliar spectral realm.

She had witnessed the dangers of such realms firsthand. If she hadn’t been livestreaming within one, and a kind ‘old brother’ hadn’t advised her on how to escape, Bai Wanwan might have perished there.

Bai Wanwan had originally coveted the treasures within the spectral realm, but now it seemed best to avoid such places whenever possible.

After all, a mighty dragon cannot suppress a local snake. In a small domain where others held sway, even with all her abilities, Bai Wanwan would have no room to maneuver.

Still…

Bai Wanwan felt a persistent unease. She had escaped from a spectral realm, essentially violating the exit rules set by its master. Could the matter truly be considered closed?

If the master of the spectral realm were magnanimous, it would be fine. But what if they were petty?

“Don’t panic. I’ll draw a few more talismans for you to carry for protection. As for your brother, it’s best not to approach him for now. It’s highly probable that he is no longer your brother.”

“Also…”

As Bai Wanwan spoke, she suddenly saw a woman in a professional skirt suit walk through the corridor. The official investigators, upon seeing her, all showed deferential respect.

“Group Leader Chu, you’ve arrived.”

“Yes, what’s the situation?”

As the woman spoke, she noticed Bai Wanwan in the corner. Her usually cool expression changed instantly, her eyes widening at the sight of Bai Wanwan.