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墨書 Inktalez
I opened my eyes to find myself lying on a hospital bed. The sunlight streaming through the window felt particularly warm, as if nothing had happened before, except for the bandages wrapped around my limbs, constantly reminding me of the reality.
Li Zhisheng approached my bedside, saying, "You're awake? Feeling any better?" I tried to move a bit, but every part of my body ached. I shook my head in response, "Not really. It feels like everything hurts except for my hair and nails."
He chuckled softly. "When we brought you in, the doctor said you were lucky to be alive. You had lost so much blood that it exceeded your total blood volume and you were already in shock." I smiled back at him and replied, "Only 0%? I won't die from that. But speaking of which, where are we now? Where's Hu Fang?"
"It was an emergency situation, so I rushed straight to Qinyang City without thinking much. As for Hu Fang..." He scratched his head and continued, "She stayed with you all night, but this morning she couldn't hold on any longer and dozed off for a bit. Next thing I knew, she had gone out to buy some fruit or something for you. She just sent me a text message."
Li Zhisheng held up his phone in front of me, displaying Hu Fang's text: "I'm going out to buy some fruit for Shen Xu. Call me when he wakes up." I looked at Li Zhisheng and asked, "Didn't she ask you to call her? Did you?" He sighed and replied, "I was so busy talking to you that I forgot about it." With that, he walked out of the room.
I glanced around the hospital room; the environment wasn't too great. However, it was a private room with its own bathroom, making it relatively convenient and ensuring I wouldn't disturb anyone else.
Before long, Li Zhisheng walked back in with a wry smile. I quickly asked him what was wrong. He shook his head helplessly. "Hu Fang got lost, and according to her, she still can't find a taxi. It looks like she won't be back anytime soon."
"Are you not going to pick her up?" I asked. "I wanted to go, but I just checked with the nurse on duty. Since you just woke up, it's best not to leave yet in case something happens," he said as he pulled a chair closer to my bed and sat down. "Now we can only wait for her to find her way back. If it gets too late, I'll go look for her."
"By the way, there's something I've been wanting to ask you but haven't found the chance," he said suddenly. I looked at him curiously and asked, "What is it?" He leaned in conspiratorially and said, "When you drove that evil spirit away from me before, didn't you use the Soul Separation Spell? Show me what it looks like!"
I laughed when I realized what he was talking about. "That thing? If it didn't fall out during the fight, it should still be in my coat pocket."
He quickly grabbed the coat hanging nearby and started rummaging through it. Before long, he held up a piece of wood and asked suspiciously, "Is this it?!" I nodded with a grin.
Seeing my confirmation, Li Zhisheng took the coat off and began examining the piece of wood closely. I almost burst into laughter at his focused expression. When he noticed my amusement, he raised the wood piece and exclaimed, "Wait! This can't be right! You're pulling my leg!"
I struggled to suppress my laughter and replied, "I never had any Soul Separation Spell; this is just something I picked up on the road because it looked interesting. Who would have thought it would come in handy?"
Li Zhisheng's face showed admiration as he listened to me. "I never would have guessed; you're quite resourceful! But seriously, how did you know for sure that I was being haunted by an evil spirit?"
Feeling proud from his praise, I puffed up my chest and said confidently, "Of course! You should know who you're talking to..." Before I could finish my sentence, Li Zhisheng interrupted eagerly with a question: "Who are you?" Caught off guard by his inquiry, I scrambled for an answer and blurted out nonsense: "I am one who knows literature and geography well; who understands human nature; who comprehends the mysteries of the universe; who is skilled in strategy; who can determine victory from afar—comparable to Guan Zhong or Le Yi—sitting cross-legged while laughing at the world!"
Li Zhisheng interrupted me as I was about to continue, saying, "Alright, alright, that's enough. You were talking about Zhuge Xian. But let's get back to the main issue. Why were you so certain back then? Just based on one sentence?"
I straightened up and replied, "It wasn't just that. Actually, I had my suspicions from the moment you handed me the third letter. And then when I went to find Box and saw how well you knew the hospital, my doubts only grew. From that point on, I kept a close watch on your every move. However, when we were at Fengmen Village, I felt that I couldn't wait any longer. Plus, the Evil Spirit seemed to have backed down at that time, so I just decided to play along with the plan."
After listening to me, Li Zhisheng gave me a thumbs up. "Impressive! In this regard, I'm nowhere near your level." Just as he finished speaking, he seemed to remember something and continued, "Wait a minute! Where did that letter from the Death Apostle come from? If what you're saying is true, then this fourth letter doesn't seem like it was meant to harm us at all. Could it be from a different person?"
I nodded in agreement. "You're right; this fourth letter is indeed not meant to harm us but rather to assist us in secret. As for who this person is, I have a good idea already, though it hasn't been confirmed yet. One thing is certain: this person must have some connection with Sheng Dan."
Upon hearing Sheng Dan's name, Li Zhisheng's expression darkened. "A perfectly fine person... sigh..." He let out a long sigh.
I couldn't help but lower my head as well. "But judging by her actions back then, she must have sensed that she couldn't escape this calamity." Thinking of this made my heart heavy. After all, she died because she helped us; it would be impossible not to feel guilty about that.
At that moment, Hu Fang appeared at the door with two large baskets of fruit, panting heavily. "You! Li Zhisheng! You were supposed to pick me up but didn't show up! I ended up getting ripped off by a black cab for over fifty bucks; you have to pay me back for this!"
Hu Fang's entrance immediately broke the somber atmosphere. Li Zhisheng quickly explained, "It's not that I didn't want to pick you up; it's just that the nurse wouldn't let me. Look, even Shen Xu's attending physician isn't here right now—what if something happens..."
"Stop making excuses; I don't believe you! Here, wash these fruits..." Hu Fang handed the two baskets of fruit to Li Zhisheng. He glanced at me and said reluctantly, "The boss has spoken; I'll go wash them." With that, he left with an unwilling expression.
Once Li Zhisheng was gone, Hu Fang sat in his spot and bombarded me with questions: "Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere? Is there any pain? Is there anything you want to eat? Do you need to use the restroom?" I hurriedly stopped her: "I can answer the first few questions, but that last one seems inappropriate for you to ask."
Realizing she had asked the wrong question, Hu Fang's cheeks flushed red.
Just then, a commotion came from outside the door as several young nurses wheeled in a hospital bed. One of them said, "We're short on beds; let's add one here." They pushed the bed close to mine—just about a meter away—and another nurse brought in an IV stand and a bottle of medicine. After tending to the patient in the bed and setting up the IV drip, they left.
Hu Fang and I exchanged glances; I had hoped for a comfortable single room but felt disappointed by this turn of events. Looking at the person lying next to me—a frail old man who seemed to be in his seventies—I felt a pang of sympathy for him.
I decided to strike up a conversation with him: "Hello there." The old man opened his eyes upon hearing someone speak and turned his head slightly towards me. In a low voice, he replied, "Hello," before turning back again. "Looks like he's not much of a talker," I thought.
"I’m back! Oh—sorry, wrong room..." Li Zhisheng walked in and initially thought he had entered the wrong room. He turned around to leave but noticed Hu Fang sitting by my bedside and mumbled as he walked back in.
Li Zhisheng placed the fruit on the cabinet beside my bed. "What's going on?" he asked. Hu Fang shrugged, indicating she didn't know. I explained, "The nurse just came by and said there aren't enough beds, so they need to add another one here. I guess there have been more patients lately."
After I finished speaking, he took a few freshly washed apples and handed one to Hu Fang before walking over to ask the old man if he needed anything. However, the elderly man lay in bed with his eyes tightly shut, ignoring him. I whispered to Li Zhisheng, "He might be asleep; don't disturb him."
Seeing that his attempt had failed, he pulled up a chair and sat down to eat. I gently waved my bandaged hand at him. "Hey, hey! What about mine?" Li Zhisheng glanced at me and replied, "What do you mean 'hey'? You can't eat by yourself like this. I'll have Hu Fang feed you later."
Hu Fang chimed in, "Exactly, just stay put." She lightly patted my bandaged hand. The moment her hand touched mine, it felt like an electric shock ran through my arm, causing me to wince in pain while trying not to move.
The three of us chatted aimlessly until afternoon. When it was time for dinner, Hu Fang and Li Zhisheng finished their meals and then got me a hospital meal. While feeding me, she said, "I noticed no one has come to check on him; should we get him a meal too?" She gestured toward the nearby bed.
With food in my mouth, I couldn't speak but gave Li Zhisheng a look, signaling him to ask. He understood, set down his newspaper, and quietly approached the old man's bed. "Sir, are you hungry? Do you want me to get you something?" he asked softly.
Yet the old man remained with his eyes closed, showing no intention of responding.
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