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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 61: Fateful Path (Part Two)
Due to the damage caused by the Demonic Needle, she could no longer stand like a normal person and would likely have to rely on a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
The staff who rushed over assisted us in taking Han Lan directly to the hospital for protection.
We needed her to help us capture the Evil Sorcerer lurking in the shadows, whom she referred to as her master.
Han Lan's true form was now revealed, exposing her ugly reality. The Demonic Needle had the ability to exorcise energy, and the Evil Sorcerer had created a fake human skin mask for Han Lan, resembling Mi but lacking her spirit.
Qin Jian and I sat in chairs, and he handed me a cigarette. Noticing the no smoking sign on the wall, I smiled wryly and said, "We can't smoke, but we can at least smell it."
After a while, we heard that Nurse Han Lan had awakened. Qin Jian stood up, ready to go in, but I grabbed his arm. "Not yet. The first thing she’ll do when she wakes up is cry. Can you face a sobbing woman calmly?"
"I can't." Qin Jian sat back down, fiddling with the cigarette and sighed. "Ma Qi, if Mi really was harmed by someone, I would feel terrible about it. So please don't be angry."
My connection with Mi was shallow; after her incident, I had calculated that if it wasn't an accident this time, there would be another one. The pain in my heart was something I could only swallow alone. I forced a smile and replied to Qin Jian, "Why be angry? I still owe you a meal." After watching the nurse go in and out again, I stood up. "It's about time; let's go check on her."
The ward was an Intensive Care unit arranged by Chi Xinrong, which facilitated our access to Han Lan while keeping unwanted visitors away. Of course, only her family was allowed to visit at the door; no one else could approach her.
As Qin Jian and I entered the room, Han Lan weakly blinked her eyes.
Qin Jian's expression remained unchanged as he asked indifferently, "How are you feeling? Any better?"
"Much better," Han Lan replied weakly, her lifeless eyes turning towards me, glistening with tears. "Ma Qi, actually... I fell in love with you at first sight..."
Qin Jian cleared his throat loudly to interrupt Han Lan's words and muttered, "Should I step outside?"
"No need." I raised my hand to stop him and turned to Han Lan. "You can keep showing off your feelings, but you really don't understand me. The sweeter your words are, the more nauseous I feel. So just cut it out and tell me honestly—who is this master you keep mentioning? Where is he?"
"I... he's really great. At that time, I even thought... Cousin is so lucky. If she doesn't want you, I'd definitely want to be with you—even if it's just for one night."
Qin Jian was visibly flustered, unable to maintain his composure.
I glared at him angrily, "Stop being ridiculous; have some dignity!"
Tears accumulated in Han Lan's eyes surged forth again at my words. Overwhelmed with emotion, she could hardly communicate further and began to breathe rapidly, alarming the nurses and doctors who rushed in, causing chaos in the ward. I was scolded harshly and expelled from the room by the doctor.
Qin Jian was soon ushered out as well. He shrugged helplessly at me; these doctors didn't care whether the patients were good or bad people—they were solely focused on saving lives, indifferent to everything else.
"Lao Qi, I think you should go along with her for now and avoid saying anything too extreme," Chi Xinrong arrived around four in the afternoon.
"Ha. Look at you two big men, looking so downcast. Did your boss reprimand you, or did you fail at work?"
"That's a leading question," I replied coldly and added, "A kind word warms three winters; can't you say something nice?"
"Want to hear something nice?" Chi Xinrong mischievously glanced at the silent Qin Jian and walked over to him, affectionately leaning against him. "Sweet words are only for our dear one; don't even think about it."
"I guess I need to make a trip to the restroom; you two carry on." As I distanced myself from them, I heard Qin Jian scolding Chi Xinrong and her giggling laughter. Turning a corner, I left all that behind and felt my heart settle.
The hospital restroom was cleaner than those outside but felt eerily empty. Upon entering, I inexplicably shivered. The restroom was deserted, with over a dozen squat toilets lined up neatly and cleanly.
After relieving myself, I washed my hands and was about to leave when I heard a crisp sound that resembled metal hitting the floor. Was there someone else in the restroom? I remembered being alone when I came in. Could there be something unclean here that I hadn’t noticed? Doubtful, I stood still, planning to check each stall one by one.
Holding my Demonic Needle, I inspected each squat toilet. The first door revealed an empty stall; the second was also vacant. Soon, I began to doubt my hearing—was there something wrong with it?
When I opened the last door, I found a metal button lying on the floor.
This button shouldn’t have been there; if it had been there all along, I wouldn’t have heard that sound. So where was the person who lost this button? Could they be using some kind of invisibility technique or burrowing underground? I scoffed quietly and took out my Scent Pouch, pouring out some fragrant ash into my hand while chanting an incantation. With a flick of my wrist, the ash dispersed like an invisible net covering the entire restroom.
"Ah, you’re quite ruthless..." A voice from above pierced my eardrum with its sharp tone. Gripping my Demonic Needle tightly, I prepared to strike in the direction of the sound as a cloud of smoke swiftly drifted toward the door. I hurried after it.
As the smoke reached the entrance, it transformed into a person—who had always been a person—and finally revealed themselves. A cold smile crept across my face as I quickened my pace. Once in the corridor where more people were present, I locked onto my target: a man in a suit with a crew cut who walked briskly. With so many people around, I dared not use my Demonic Needle just yet.
The target walked forward, seemingly oblivious to the surroundings, turning at each corner until entering a hospital room.
This was an ordinary ward, and without hesitation, I stepped inside. Upon entering, I was taken aback; there were two beds in the room. One patient was packing their belongings, appearing to be preparing for discharge. The other bed held a person who could not move at all. Strangely, this immobile patient had no IV drip and no caregiver. The bedside table was bare, and aside from the bathroom, the room was just walls with a closed window.
I turned to the woman who was packing and asked, "Excuse me, did you see a man in a suit come in here?"
The woman paused, her hands resting on the neatly arranged clothes. "I didn't see anyone. It's just my daughter and me in this room; there's no one else." It turned out she was the mother of the patient lying in bed. I glanced at the patient before heading straight to the bathroom.
I kicked open the bathroom door as if facing an enemy. The bathroom was empty, and I couldn't help but gasp; it seemed my opponent was quite formidable. Could they have slipped away through the window of this room?
I approached the window, intending to open it for a better look.
"Please don't open the window. If you must, wait until we leave!"
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