Chen Xuanqiu opened the door, allowing the corridor’s light to stream into the ward. Although its reach was limited, it was enough to illuminate every corner.
Her gaze immediately fell upon a vague, hunched dark figure seated on the bed, and her breath hitched in her throat.
Not daring to delay, Chen Xuanqiu immediately reached for the light switch on the wall.
“Click!”
The ward light, however, did not illuminate as expected. It flickered twice, then died.
“What’s going on? Is the light broken?”
Ni Shanshan asked cautiously from behind her.
Chen Xuanqiu was just as bewildered, but then the ghost on the bed suddenly spoke.
“It’s late… Don’t turn on the light…”
The old woman’s voice was fragmented and faint. Her back was to the door, her form indistinct, almost like a mere projection. Her snow-white hair, withered and tangled like dying autumn vines, contributed to the unsettling aura that enveloped the entire specter.
Chen Xuanqiu’s eyes were fixed on the figure, her nerves stretched so taut that her temples throbbed violently.
“Xiao Qiu, what’s happening?”
Ni Shanshan whispered, her small frame frozen rigidly behind Chen Xuanqiu.
‘I’ll have to risk it.’
Chen Xuanqiu gritted her teeth, then replied, “Stay at the door; whatever you do, don’t come in.”
Having spoken, Chen Xuanqiu slowly and with great effort shuffled into the ward, gradually approaching the ghostly figure.
“Grandma… I… I can see you… Please… please hear me out.”
As Chen Xuanqiu slowly advanced, she spoke hesitantly, for she was not cold-blooded and preferred to try reason before force.
The ghost on the bed remained unresponsive, seemingly existing in a different plane of reality.
“Your presence… it will cause harm to the nurses here in this hospital. So I implore you to show some compassion and leave this place at once.”
Chen Xuanqiu continued her plea.
Fearing for Chen Xuanqiu’s safety, Ni Shanshan reached out and pressed the light switch on the wall again. With her action, the electric light on the ward’s ceiling flickered once more.
“Are you deaf? I told you not to turn on the light!”
Just then, the ghost on the bed stirred. Without warning, her body rotated a full one hundred and eighty degrees, her blurry, aged face now turned towards them.
Even without discerning its expression, Chen Xuanqiu’s body instinctively froze with dread. She immediately spun around to stop Ni Shanshan:
“Don’t press it!”
As soon as the words left her lips, Chen Xuanqiu whirled back, only to find the ghost’s figure had vanished from the bed.
Chen Xuanqiu glanced around in bewilderment. Then, spinning abruptly, she saw a shadow pressed against Ni Shanshan’s back—who else could it be but the old woman’s ghost?
Chen Xuanqiu’s legs turned to jelly from fright, and she instinctively staggered back two steps.
“What’s wrong?”
Ni Shanshan wore a bewildered expression. A moment later, as if a thought struck her, she slowly and fearfully turned her head, only to find nothing there.
Unbeknownst to Ni Shanshan, the old woman’s ghost clung to her back like an oversized infant, a faint black mist continuously seeping from its form into hers.
“Is… is she right beside me? I suddenly feel so cold!”
Ni Shanshan asked, her voice trembling.
Chen Xuanqiu, summoning courage from an unknown source, unhesitatingly extended both hands and lunged towards the old woman’s back.
Evidently, Chen Xuanqiu touched nothing. Her hands passed directly through the ghost’s form, and a bone-chilling cold immediately enveloped them.
Concurrently, the black mist emanating from the old woman began to spread, creeping towards Chen Xuanqiu’s hands.
Just then, a warm current surged within Chen Xuanqiu. It moved swiftly towards her arms like a darting fish, repelling the cold wherever it passed. The black mist, too, melted away instantly, like ice dropped onto hot summer pavement.
“Ah!”
The ghost, seemingly wounded, instantly recoiled from Ni Shanshan’s back as if struck by lightning. Yet, it was too late; a ball of flame had already ignited at the spot Chen Xuanqiu had touched.
“It hurts! It hurts so much!”
The old woman’s ghost shrieked, frantically batting at the flames consuming her, but it was utterly useless. In moments, her entire form was incinerated.
“Phew! It seems my theory was correct.”
Chen Xuanqiu panted heavily, a wave of relief washing over her. Yet, deep down, she was elated. Having discovered a method to combat malevolent spirits, she would no longer be left at their mercy.
“Xiao Qiu, what… what happened just now?”
Ni Shanshan’s legs trembled violently, and she asked, her words almost incoherent.
“Sister, it’s alright. I’ve already dealt with that ghost.”
Chen Xuanqiu exhaled slowly.
Upon hearing this, Ni Shanshan instantly collapsed to the floor, her forehead already slick with cold sweat.
“Sister, please get up.”
Chen Xuanqiu hurried to help Ni Shanshan to her feet.
Ni Shanshan struggled considerably to stand, her slender legs still unsteady beneath her.
After resting for a moment, the two women made their way towards the nurses’ station.
“Xiao Qiu, why am I so cold? Did some of that black mist you mentioned cling to me again?”
Ni Shanshan speculated.
“Yes, you did. But don’t worry, I’m here. We just need to hug for a bit.”
Chen Xuanqiu reassured her.
The two then returned to the nurses’ station, where they embraced and huddled together.
Ni Shanshan was so thoroughly terrified that her small body almost buried itself completely in Chen Xuanqiu’s embrace.
“Shanshan, why did you bring her here?”
Xiao Tong eyed the pair with a peculiar expression.
“Oh! She’s scared and can’t sleep.”
Ni Shanshan explained.
“It looks more like you’re the scared one, almost burrowing into her arms. Are you looking for a comforting feed?”
Xiao Tong teased, her gaze falling pointedly on Chen Xuanqiu’s ample chest.
“Uh…”
Chen Xuanqiu’s cheeks flushed, and she quickly shifted her body slightly away.
“What ‘comforting feed’? It’s warmer to hug like this, understand?”
Ni Shanshan’s small face also turned crimson with embarrassment.
“In April or May, do you really still feel cold? Are you catching a cold? I remember feeling shivery all over when I had a cold once.”
Xiao Tong asked, a hint of concern in her voice.
“Well, next time you’re cold, you should hug her too. A hug from her will warm you right up.”
Ni Shanshan tightened her embrace around the girl.
“Is it really that magical?”
Xiao Tong studied Chen Xuanqiu with curiosity.
“Why would I lie to you about something like that?”
Ni Shanshan retorted, slightly annoyed.
“With such ample breasts, it certainly looks quite warm.”
Xiao Tong remarked with a straight face.
Chen Xuanqiu’s gaze darted away uncomfortably. Even a fool would have understood she was being teased.
“Ding-a-ling… Ding-a-ling…”
Just then, the call bell unit on the wall began to ring.
Xiao Tong glanced at the unit, then said, “It’s Room 305. I’ll go check.”
“305?”
Chen Xuanqiu felt a prickle of unease.
Xiao Tong took two steps, then her feet froze, and she turned around mechanically.
Chen Xuanqiu also quickly realized the implication: the female psychiatric patient in Room 305 had died that very morning. So who, then, was pressing the call bell now?
Ni Shanshan’s body instantly stiffened, her face turning impossibly pale.
“Are… are you certain it’s 305?”
Ni Shanshan stammered, her voice trembling.
“It appears so, doesn’t it? But that patient passed away this morning, so why would the call bell be ringing? Could I have seen it wrong?”
Xiao Tong murmured uncertainly, the incident so utterly bizarre that she even began to doubt if her eyes had deceived her.
Ni Shanshan did not speak again. Instead, she turned her gaze to the girl beside her. “Do you think it could be…” she began.
“It probably is, because that’s what happened the night before last.”
Chen Xuanqiu replied in a hushed tone.
“Who did it?”
Xiao Tong asked instinctively.
“No one. The call bell in that room is malfunctioning. It rang inexplicably the night before last, so just ignore it.”
Ni Shanshan composed herself before speaking.
“Is that so?”
Xiao Tong was half-convinced, half-doubtful, but she instinctively retreated nonetheless. After all, she was just as terrified.
“Ding-a-ling…”
At that very moment, the call bell rang once more.
The three hurried closer to inspect, confirming that it was indeed Room 305’s light that was illuminated. Their faces instantly turned grim.
“Waaah… Waaah… Mama…”
Just then, the sounds of an infant’s cries echoed through the entire corridor.
Chen Xuanqiu’s body stiffened, her eyes fixed intently on the corridor leading to Room 305.
“What’s wrong?”
Ni Shanshan asked, regaining a fraction of her composure.
“I heard a child crying.”
Chen Xuanqiu replied in a hushed tone.
“Is it that *thing*?”
Ni Shanshan asked, clinging to a sliver of desperate hope.
“It’s its sound.”
Chen Xuanqiu confirmed.
“You two, what are you talking about?”
Xiao Tong, completely bewildered, quickly asked.
“Nothing.”
Ni Shanshan managed a strained, unpleasant smile.
“Just ignore it.”
Ni Shanshan comforted Chen Xuanqiu.
Chen Xuanqiu thought the same. She currently lacked the confidence and courage to confront that extremely malevolent infant spirit.
However, things did not go as planned. Just as Chen Xuanqiu lowered her guard, she suddenly heard the infant spirit’s cries coming from the adjacent corridor, growing closer and clearer!