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墨書 Inktalez
Li Zhisheng walked over with an unhappy expression, feeling ignored. "Others are sleeping soundly, why do I have to disturb them?" Hu Fang smiled as she put the last bite of rice into my mouth and said to Li Zhisheng, "Isn't this just to make you look like a good person?" She then took the lunchbox outside to wash it.
"Wow, it's almost over. Good thing I came in to check," one nurse said. "Yeah, look how dangerous it is when no one is watching," the other replied as they walked over to the old man, removing the needle and taking away the empty bottle. As they left, I overheard them discussing, "This old man attempted suicide and was saved by someone." "Really?! At his age, what could he possibly be upset about?" "You don't know? A few thieves broke into his house at night. When they were discovered, they got angry and killed his wife along with their son and daughter-in-law. They didn't even spare his newborn grandson. He only escaped because he was at a friend's house drinking..."
Hearing this made me sigh inwardly. "No wonder this old man would consider suicide. If it were me, I might choose the same path; after all, what's the point of living when all your loved ones are gone?" It seemed Li Zhisheng also heard their conversation; he leaned over and muttered, "No wonder he looks like that; no one can accept such a reality."
I nodded and waved my hand at him, signaling him not to say more. But then I remembered that the old man hadn't eaten a single grain of rice or even had a sip of water since he arrived. I wanted to wake him up and urge him to eat something, so I tilted my head and called out, "Sir? Sir? Can we chat for a bit?"
I called several times but received no response. Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind: "Could he have already passed away?! No way..." In a hurry, I called out to Li Zhisheng, "Hey! Stop looking at your phone and check if that old man is still breathing!"
He was taken aback at first but quickly reacted, putting down his phone and hurrying over to the old man's bed. Li Zhisheng looked at me and slowly reached out his hand towards the old man's nose. Just as he was about to get close, the old man suddenly said, "I'm still alive." Li Zhisheng jumped back in surprise, retracting his hand and nearly stumbling.
The old man slowly opened his eyes and repeated in a low voice, "I'm still alive; there's no need to check." Li Zhisheng probably felt a bit embarrassed; he quickly returned to his original spot and cleared his throat before resuming his phone game.
I hurriedly explained to the old man, "Sir, please don't misunderstand; we didn't mean any harm. We were just worried about you since you haven't eaten or drunk anything. It was indeed our fault earlier; I'm sorry."
But he seemed unconcerned about Li Zhisheng's actions. He slowly sat up and cleared his throat before saying to me, "I know you mean well, but as you heard earlier about my situation—look at me now; besides going down to join them, what else can I do?"
Seeing that he was willing to talk to me made me anxious. "Sir, think about it: you're still alive now. Even though your loved ones are gone, if they have spirits, they would definitely want you to live well. By living on, you're living for them too. If they saw you like this now, it would surely hurt them."
The old man pulled out a photo from his clothing and looked at it. "Buddy," he said, "I know you're kind-hearted, but you have friends and family. You haven't experienced this kind of pain; you wouldn't understand."
From his words, I sensed no glimmer of hope—only despair and helplessness. Yet out of human nature, I still wanted to help him. I continued, "It shouldn't be like this; I've seen friends die right before my eyes too. I'm sad and heartbroken as well, but I want to live well for them."
Just as I finished speaking, Hu Fang walked in from outside. As she entered, she said to me while walking in: "I just heard the nurses discussing that there was a family massacre here—so tragic..."
Li Zhisheng and I quickly exchanged glances and gestures with her, trying to signal her not to say more. But the old man looked at us and smiled bitterly. "It's fine; it's already in the news anyway; sooner or later everyone will know."
Although Hu Fang only half understood what was happening after hearing this, she wisely closed her mouth. I thought to myself, "We were just starting to make some progress; now it's all messed up."
"Buddy," the old man said gratefully, "thank you. After hearing what you said earlier, I've thought about it—it makes sense. Besides, if someone as young as you can think this way at your age, what do I have left to be upset about? If I keep going on like this, it would just show that I'm being unreasonable." Hearing him say this instantly lifted my spirits.
I smiled, "That's right! Once you're discharged, we can invite a few good friends over to play some chess, watch the birds, and listen to some music. It'll be so relaxing." The Old Man chuckled softly in response, "Yes, yes, yes. Having some interests really makes life much more enjoyable."
Although his tone seemed a bit brighter, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was still a lingering gloom in his heart. "Would you like to eat something first? It looks like you haven't had anything," I suggested. The Old Man hesitated for a moment and then pointed to the fruit that Li Zhisheng had placed on the table. "Can I have an apple?"
Hu Fang quickly brought both large baskets of fruit over to him. "Here, take whatever you want! Don't hold back at all."
After the Old Man had eaten a bit, we chatted for a while longer. As it approached ten o'clock at night, the lights in the hospital corridor began to turn off one by one. Li Zhisheng turned to Hu Fang and said, "Why don't you go out and get a room for the night? It's not good to rest here in the hospital." Hu Fang urged Li Zhisheng in return, "You stayed here last night; it's your turn to take a break tonight."
They argued for a while, but neither was willing to budge. Seeing this, I interjected, "What are you two arguing about? Just go together! If you stay here, I won't be able to rest properly. You both need a good night's sleep after everything that's happened recently and taking care of me."
Seeing my insistence, they reluctantly agreed and said their goodbyes before leaving the hospital. I lay alone on the hospital bed, gazing out the window. Perhaps because I was on a higher floor, there were no obstructions outside, and with such clear weather tonight, I could see the night sky clearly.
In the quiet hospital room, looking at the starry sky made me think of Yin Li once again. Just then, I heard the Old Man's voice beside me. "It's getting late; you should sleep. With your injuries being so serious, how can you recover without rest?"
"I'm going to sleep now; you should get some rest too or else you won't have the energy to chat with me tomorrow," I replied. He chuckled softly and wished me goodnight before drifting off.
I continued to gaze at the tranquil night sky while my mind replayed everything that had happened before. "Was it really him who sent the fourth letter? How did he know all of this..." As I pondered these thoughts, drowsiness washed over me, and before I knew it, I fell asleep.
I don't know how long it was before a rustling sound woke me from my dreams. I struggled to open my heavy eyelids but felt too sleepy to do so; soon enough, I drifted back into slumber.
Just as I was about to fall asleep again, that rustling sound returned. A chill ran down my spine as I opened my eyes wide and strained to find the source of the noise in the dark room, but I couldn't see anything.
Then came another sound—nails scraping against metal—a sharp and uncomfortable noise that seemed to come from beneath my bed!
"What could possibly be down there?! A wild cat? No way. A mouse? Even less likely." My mind raced with guesses when suddenly that grating sound stopped, replaced by a piercing laughter that was faint yet hard to decipher.
Now every hair on my body stood on end as my eyes darted around the room. I desperately wanted to know what was making that sound but was terrified of seeing something. I felt completely immobilized—unable even to flee—like a lamb waiting for slaughter.
As I felt the cold sweat trickling down my back, that sharp laughter slowly transformed into quiet sobs, gradually moving toward the Old Man's direction.
I trembled all over, tightly closing my eyes and trying to keep my mind blank, not thinking about anything. But I found it impossible; horrifying ghostly faces kept flashing through my mind.
The Vengeful Spirits I had seen before seemed to reappear before me. However, just as the sobbing sound reached beneath the Old Man's bed, it abruptly stopped, and the surrounding area fell into a deathly silence.
Driven by curiosity, I slowly opened my eyes and involuntarily glanced toward the Old Man. Suddenly, my eyes widened in terror as I looked under the bed. A pale hand slowly emerged from beneath it, looking withered and bony, its fingers long and devoid of any color.
The hand stretched out further, followed by a second hand, as if something was trying to crawl out from under the bed. At that moment, it suddenly quickened its pace and shot out, standing between the two beds.
Now I could see its appearance clearly; it was completely pale, its insides seemingly non-existent, with a sunken belly pressed against its back—truly a living skeleton. Its neck was nearly severed, with its head hanging at an odd angle, staring at me with hollow black eyes while I lay helplessly on the bed.
At that moment, fear gripped my heart to the extreme. What did it want?!
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