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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 40: Vicious Cycle
The sound of the motorcycle echoed far down the empty road. Now that the Ghost Festival had passed, there was hardly any trace of burning paper ash along the way. The streetlights emitted a dim glow, and under the light of photosynthesis, our shadows quickly retreated behind us, one lamp after another, lined up with rows of street trees.
We soon arrived at the mangrove.
A vast expanse of mangrove stretched for several kilometers, and suddenly, amidst the silence, something in the forest began to laugh.
Fat heard it, and so did I. The sound was jarring; the old motorcycle was loud enough, but we could still hear it clearly.
Fat shifted uneasily in his seat, causing my handlebars to wobble. I cursed, "Damn it."
"No, I think I heard a baby laughing."
Fat had never heard that owls could laugh either. I had; the old folks used to say that while you shouldn't fear an owl's hoot, you should dread its laughter! I kept my mouth shut but thought to myself that it seemed something else was about to happen.
"Brother Qi, didn’t you hear it?"
"Nonsense, it's just the motorcycle noise."
"No, I can clearly hear a baby laughing," Fat insisted.
We had already left the mangrove far behind. "Stop daydreaming."
My words were carried away by the wind; Fat didn’t catch them and kept asking, "What? Speak louder."
"Fatty, I can't be bothered with you." I muttered under my breath and accelerated.
There were cars on the road, but they were few and far between. Occasionally, a vehicle would rush by, kicking up a cloud of dust that swirled away. After a blinding flash of brightness passed, everything returned to darkness.
In the distance, Fat spotted a Red Cross sign. "We're almost there."
Stepping out of the house, Fat didn't mention anything about Master Nian's place. I knew he was scared. Plus, after hearing that baby-like laughter earlier, he was now Alexander, eager to get to the hospital, finish up, and go home for a quick nap.
The car wasn't going too fast or too slow; we arrived soon enough.
Once at the hospital, I parked the car in a dimly lit spot, under a slightly larger street tree, so we wouldn't have to worry about it being stolen or stripped for parts.
As we entered the hospital, the guard at the door was sound asleep. We smoothly made our way inside and saw an early-rising Bald Old Man cleaning up fallen leaves and puddles on the floor. Two aunties hurriedly walked toward the Ward Area with their buckets.
No one seemed surprised to see us at the hospital so early.
The Leaf Sweeping Old Man was quite friendly; upon seeing us, he muttered, "You guys came early. The on-duty doctor and nurses were exhausted last night and just managed to catch a quick nap."
"What happened last night?" I asked.
"You don't know?" The old man glanced around cautiously and stepped closer to me. "Unfilial descendants, sigh! Sin and retribution!"
Hearing him say that piqued both my and Fat's curiosity.
Under the incandescent light, I noticed the old man didn't look too old; he was fit from working, his face flushed. I asked, "Old man, can you tell us what happened?"
"As long as you're not afraid of me," he replied.
"Here!" I pulled out a Zhonghua cigarette and handed one to him. His eyes lit up as he eagerly accepted it, took a sniff, and said, "Good smoke! Truly worthy of our Great China." He then solemnly tucked the cigarette behind his ear and lowered his voice. "Last night was serious; even the police came. Apparently, an unfilial descendant held a grudge over being imprisoned and harmed his elderly father."
"Oh!"
With the police involved, would Qin Jian find out? I had questions lingering in my mind but hadn't voiced them yet when Fat jumped in first. "Old man, was that family named Nian?"
The old man glanced at Fat and lazily replied, "Not sure. I've got to get back to sweeping."
I noticed that the old man was unwilling to say another word, so I picked up the broom and dustpan and left. I shot a glare at Fatty, saying, "Just because you're quiet doesn't mean no one thinks you're mute."
Fatty pouted as he adjusted his bag. "That old man has such a low opinion of people."
"Stop being ridiculous. What happened at the hospital can't be leaked. If you ask so carelessly, of course they won't tell you," I retorted, rolling my eyes at him. I headed straight down the hospital corridor, not towards the mortuary or looking for the on-duty doctor, but directly to the emergency room.
Fatty followed behind me, acting like a thief, glancing around nervously. Clumsy as ever, he accidentally kicked over a bucket of water that was sitting in the hallway, spilling it everywhere.
"Hey, what are you doing, Fatty?" an auntie exclaimed, her forehead glistening with sweat. She was furious but didn't dare shout too loudly, lowering her voice to scold him.
I turned back to see the water all over the floor; it was definitely a problem. If a patient came out, they would surely slip.
"Fatty, go get another bucket of water and help the auntie clean this up."
"Brother Qi, I'm here to work; you..." I shot him a look that silenced his protest. Damn it, I didn't want to make things worse in front of the auntie.
Seeing my expression, the auntie was more than willing to help. She quickly picked up the overturned bucket and handed it to Fatty. "You should exercise a bit with your size; go to the corner where the water tank is and bring me some water."
While Fatty went to fetch water, I made my way straight to the fifth floor's burn unit emergency room.
I took the elevator up and stepped into an empty corridor that felt cool from the air conditioning. In the distance, I could hear the cleaning lady sweeping the floor; there were no other sounds.
I quickened my pace and rushed to the emergency room. The door was half-open. As I raised my hand to knock, it swung open on its own.
Inside the emergency room were two people: a patient and a nurse.
The nurse was feeding the patient something. I cleared my throat softly, not wanting to barge in and startle them.
I never expected that when I let out a light cough, the nurse and the patient in the emergency room seemed completely oblivious to it. They continued with their tasks as if nothing had happened; the patient appeared to be enjoying himself as he continued to eat, while the nurse patiently fed him.
I carefully examined the emergency room. There were many footprints on the floor, but no bloodstains. A faint burnt smell lingered in the air, reminiscent of charred flesh. Eager to find out what had happened last night, I stepped around the nurse and approached her politely, saying, "Excuse me, miss..." But I was startled; before I could finish my question, fear gripped me, and I dashed out of the emergency room.
As I ran outside, that pale face and a sense of death still haunted me.
Wasn't she Peng Yan? The old man in the hospital bed was her father, Peng Kaifu. I had heard that Peng Kaifu had died in prison; how could he possibly be here?
I must have been seeing things.
What was in Peng Yan's bowl—
I felt nauseous. It was a bowl of maggots. She held up a soup spoon, and I could see clearly that it was filled with wriggling maggots. The old man chewed noisily, and some maggots fell from the corners of his mouth.
"Ugh..." My hand gripped the chair as my throat tightened violently, my insides churning.
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