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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 41: Inseparable Shadows
Standing there, I felt a chill in the air. Suddenly, a pair of hands reached out towards me without warning. I felt my shoulders sink, instinctively shivering and jumping back, alertly looking at the newcomer.
"Ma Qi, what's wrong with you?"
"Peng Yan? Why are you here?" It felt like Peng Yan was always following me. But she seemed perfectly normal now; I couldn't quite figure it out. I glanced at her face, which was still pale, but I didn't sense any Deathly Aura around her. Without that aura, she couldn't be dead; she had to be alive. Yet something about her felt off. After all, I wasn't a Yin-Yang Master, and my lack of cultivation meant I couldn't see through many things.
"I work at the hospital; you haven't forgotten that, have you?" Peng Yan said, her eyes fixed on me as if I had a blooming flower on my face.
I glanced over at the emergency room a few wards down and stammered, "Were you just in the emergency room?"
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Are you... human or a ghost?"
"You can find out by touching me. Besides, you're the famous Mortician; are you really afraid I'd eat you?" Peng Yan took a bold step forward, grinning as if she were eyeing a plate of delicious red-braised meat.
I felt an inexplicable tension and stepped back. "Fine, I'll consider you human. But you were just in the ward..."
"I was cleaning up in the ward. You know how it is for interns like us—no background or connections—we're just here to do menial work. After a month, the pay is pitiful, and we have to endure so much unfair treatment."
Could it be that I was mistaken? No way! Such a vivid scene couldn't be misinterpreted! Yet facing Peng Yan still gave me an indescribable feeling. I had a premonition that we would always be entangled in some way; all I wanted was to keep my distance from her.
However, I really needed her help right now.
I couldn't owe her any favors, so I had to pay up this time. I rummaged through my pocket and pulled out a crumpled bill. Just as I was about to hand it over, she asked, "Do you need something from me?"
"Hi, it's nothing much. I just heard that a patient was brought in here last night after an incident."
Peng Yan smiled and said, "You want to know about that? Well, come here, let me tell you." She beckoned me with her finger, a mischievous expression on her face.
"That's enough!" I didn't want to risk going anywhere with her. Although I had no idea how she ended up in this hospital, I didn't want to know more about her.
"What do you want to know?" Peng Yan clasped her hands behind her back, trying to appear calm, her eyes fixed on me intently.
"Could you not look at me like that? A girl should be modest and composed."
"If I become modest and composed, does that mean you’ll marry me?"
What the hell, this idiot girl... finally showing her true colors. Bringing up old topics again. I forced a smile and said, "Forget it. I have things to do, so I'll be on my way."
"Ma Qi, don't go. Let me tell you," Peng Yan stared at me with a dreamy look, not moving forward but standing there seriously. "Ask whatever you want!"
"Last night, someone had an accident. Did they bring them here?"
"Absolutely. When you arrived, I was just getting ready to clean the ward."
"Can you tell me in detail what happened?"
Peng Yan bit her lip and nodded. "A year ago, he was driven to death by anger. The old man was already dead when kind-hearted people brought him in. The young one got hit in the back of the head with a brick; we don't know if he's alive or dead yet. Oh, and that young one is still in intensive care."
"Oh, thank you." I turned to leave when Peng Yan suddenly let out two light laughs. The laughter was grating; I walked away without looking back, feeling as if she was still watching me. Unable to resist, I glanced back only to find no one there.
As I walked on, something felt off; ahead was the emergency room.
I had been to the emergency room before, and I distinctly remembered walking away in the opposite direction. How did I end up back here? This hospital has so many wards that it's easy to get lost. However, I was sure I hadn't gone down any stairs or taken the elevator; I should still be on the fifth floor in the burn unit.
As I passed by the emergency room, I didn't go in, but out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of someone inside.
The figure looked familiar, seemingly tidying up a bed. I froze; it was Peng Yan.
She seemed to sense someone watching from the doorway and paused her movements, raising a hand to brush back some hair from her forehead as she turned to look at me.
"Ma Qi, what are you doing here?" she asked, her tone slightly puzzled.
I found it strange too. Peng Yan's expression was one of surprise and delight, accompanied by a gentle smile. No matter how you looked at her, it didn’t seem like an act.
The same person, the same ward, yet different things were happening. Frustrated and confused, I snapped, "Peng Yan, what’s going on?"
"Huh? What do you mean? Do you really hate me that much? Just seeing me makes you angry?" Peng Yan looked hurt but struggled to hold back tears. "Ma Qi, who are you looking for? Is there something wrong?"
"No, I have something urgent to attend to. I'll go ahead."
I was left bewildered.
This time, I couldn't afford to keep wandering around. Fatty was still on the fourth floor. I activated my Demon Eyes.
Once activated, the scene before me transformed completely.
Shadows—lots of shadows—filled the space, accompanied by intermittent cries and wails coming from the ward. There were children clutching dolls and calling for their mothers. Nurses rushed by, shouting orders amidst the cries of infants—helpless wails echoing through the air. A man in a black trench coat quickly passed by me, heading straight toward the source of the baby's cries.
I followed him.
I don't know what the reason was for following him.
Seeing that the man was running fast, I guessed that his son must be crying! I hurried after him, and when the man stopped, I saw a nurse approaching with a pink bucket labeled Mother-Infant Room.
"What's going on?"
"That's the one. The needle missed and didn't hit any vital spots, so I just left him in the bucket to fend for himself. Sigh, every day someone dies, and every day someone is born. This child shouldn't have met such a fate. Meeting a good person like you is his blessing. You have no idea how many poor souls are born crying, ignored until they turn cold and are finally placed in a box to be taken for Cremation."
The man seemed not to hear what the nurse was saying; he simply bent down and embraced the shivering, purple baby. He unbuttoned his coat and tucked the baby directly inside, pressing him against his chest before fastening the buttons again.
"Ma Wu, this child was born at exactly the time you needed—August 8th at 8:08:08."
"Very well, here's your payment." The man cradled the child with one hand while pulling out money with the other to place it in the nurse's hand. He picked up the child and turned to leave without looking back at the nurse. She watched him until he reached the door, and I clearly heard her call him Ma Wu, while that child's birth time was exactly the same as mine.
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