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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 57: Dreaming of You
I held my breath, focused my mind, and returned my Primordial Spirit to its rightful place. I burst out of Mi's dream, and before me lay a bright light. I found myself back in the hospital room. Just as my Primordial Spirit settled, I heard a rhythmic knocking at the door. I glanced back at Mi with concern; she was still in agony, being chased by a faceless version of herself in that dark nightmare. It was all quite strange.
The knocking continued.
Without asking, I went to open the door.
In that moment, I thought it might be the Head Nurse coming for her rounds. Due to Chi Xinrong's situation, Mi had a designated nurse for her care, and that nurse was the Head Nurse.
However, what I didn’t expect was to see a face I utterly despised—Peng Yan—standing at the door with a smile, holding a tray.
The Head Nurse had lied, or this Peng Yan was just a fake nurse.
"What do you want?"
I questioned coldly, but it didn’t seem to bother her. Her professional smile remained plastered on her face as she attempted to step inside, saying, "I'm here to give you an injection."
"No need," I flatly refused.
"You need it; you can only get better with the injection," Peng Yan repeated like a mantra.
I pointed firmly and said, "Get out."
"Ma Qi, is it that you like her and not me?"
"Who are you? What do you really want?" I pressed her. She took a step back, her hands trembling, causing the items on the tray to rattle loudly.
"I am a nurse, and I'm here to give the patient an injection."
"You are not; you don't exist at all."
Peng Yan froze, the tray in her hand clattering to the ground. Suddenly, she lunged at me. I quickly flicked a talisman and pressed it against her forehead. Ah—just as the talisman made contact, a puff of smoke enveloped her, and Peng Yan vanished. The discarded needles and medicine emitted a foul, acrid odor, and I saw the Head Nurse hurrying toward us.
I stood up, covering my mouth and nose. "What is this?"
The Head Nurse, wearing a mask, squatted down in surprise and picked up the needle and medicine with her gloved hands. "Where did you get this?"
"Peng Yan—she was about to give Mi an injection."
Upon hearing this, the Head Nurse shuddered, her face turning pale. She hurriedly gathered the items from the floor and whispered, "This is industrial waste. Injecting it into someone's skin can cause severe necrosis and infection; it could be very serious."
"What exactly happened to Peng Yan here?"
"N-nothing happened," the Head Nurse stammered before turning to leave.
If it weren't for Mi's cries echoing from inside the room, I might have pressed her further. I felt that Peng Yan's presence here was not just about being a Temporary Worker who left without explanation; something significant must have occurred. Moreover, the Head Nurse seemed to know something—her reaction when she heard Peng Yan had been here was telling.
Mi was mumbling in her sleep again.
She was pleading for help in her dreams, calling my name.
I was truly at my wit's end. I had no choice but to seek help from my master in the latter half of the night. He would appear whenever I chanted his name three times in difficult situations.
“Qin Ye, Qin Ye, Qin Ye.”
Calling out my master's name three times, it seemed there was no response. The surroundings were eerily quiet, with only Mi occasionally letting out screams in her dreams. Suddenly, the temperature dropped sharply, and a thin layer of frost crept up the walls.
My master had appeared.
“Master... A-choo…”
The cold air he brought made me hurriedly cover Mi with all the blankets I had prepared for the night watch.
“Ma Qi, have you encountered a difficult situation?”
“Yes.”
“The bond between us as master and disciple is limited to eight times. Each time you call for me, we lose one opportunity to meet. So unless it's something serious, it's best not to summon me.”
“Master, Mi is very important to me. She's in trouble, and I can't help her. It's distressing.”
My master glanced at Mi and sighed. “She has lost her soul.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve seen lost souls before, but it wasn’t like this. In her dreams, there’s a strange version of her without facial features chasing after her.”
“Ma Qi, the Eighteen Cubes I gave you are actually shrunk versions of the Eighteen Layers of Hell. They can't be used carelessly at any time. Your reckless use of the Eighteen Cubes has caused Han Mi's soul to be drawn away. Now it’s trapped within the Eighteen Cubes. That faceless woman chasing her in the dream is the real Han Mi; the one running ahead is her lost soul.”
It was my fault! I felt ashamed. I couldn't face my master, lowering my head like a child who had made a mistake. Not daring to meet my master's gaze, I whispered, "Master, please help me."
"Take out the Eighteen Cubes."
"Okay." I retrieved the Eighteen Cubes and handed them to my master. I watched as he chanted an incantation, his fingers barely moving. Suddenly, a wisp of Shadow flew out and darted into Mi's Yintang position. Before long, she began to cough violently.
My master handed the Eighteen Cubes back to me. "Use it cautiously; I must leave now."
As my master stepped away, Mi opened her eyes and exclaimed that she was thirsty.
I quickly brought water to her lips. She took a sip, frowned, and looked around. "Why am I in the hospital?"
"You collapsed from exhaustion and were hospitalized for observation."
"Oh."
Mi was fine, which eased my heart a little. We would be sleeping in the hospital room tonight, but how could we fit on this one bed?
"Brother Qi, you can hold me and then sleep until morning." My adorable Mi was blissfully unaware that if I held her, I wouldn't be able to control myself and might make a mistake. I kept that thought to myself, smiling at the idea.
Then, with a blanket separating us, I lay next to her, trying hard not to let myself slip up.
I was so tired that when I finally fell into a deep sleep, it was Mi who woke me up. "Brother Qi, my arm is sore; can you move a bit?" Only then did I open my eyes, hearing the sounds of street vendors selling sweet rice balls and the rumble of car wheels rolling by.
"It's morning; good morning, my wife." I kissed Mi's forehead. The temperature felt normal; she wasn't running a fever. I sighed in relief and silently thanked my master: Thank you, Master.
Today is the day of Zhu Gang's father's funeral. I arranged the rice next to Chi Xinrong and hurried to the Zhu Family with the fat one.
When we arrived, everyone who was helping had gathered. There was a large basin of green leaf porridge, stacks of bowls, and a table full of various dishes. People surrounded the table, busily scooping porridge. When they saw me, they greeted me warmly, saying, “Master Ma has arrived.”
“I’m here.”
As per tradition, everyone took their places, with Filial Piety’s virtuous grandson attending to the needs.
The relatives in mourning gathered around. Filial Piety’s virtuous grandson wore mourning cloth and offered prayers. Zhu Gang cried out a few times with some close relatives as a show of respect, then it was time for the Fire Basin. Here, the final viewing of the deceased was omitted; I did this for Zhu Gang's mother because Zhu Gui's appearance was indeed not pleasant.
The final viewing is a procedure that is usually arranged at the funeral home; in rural areas, it can be skipped altogether. It’s just a hassle and a waste of time. The deceased is gone; the living must continue to survive. I recited, “Dust returns to dust, earth returns to earth; come and go without attachment, reborn as a human.”
Early in the morning, a light rain fell, shrouding everything in mist.
Zhu Gui has passed away, and Zhu Gang did not have time to observe mourning, which has drawn some criticism. Regardless of their reasoning, people only see him as unfilial.
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