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墨書 Inktalez
One day, I overheard two nurses talking about the "Imperial Army" waiting outside the Emergency Room, so I hurried over.
He was different from what I had imagined—a rather young man with short hair and a small patch of beard styled according to the trends of the time.
He was dressed in civilian clothes, but he was clearly a soldier. Whether he was walking or sitting, he carried himself with a rigid precision, as if he were crafted by a machine.
He had brought in a critically injured patient. The patient was a young girl, probably in her twenties, covered in blood and reeking of burnt flesh.
It seemed that aside from her face, there wasn't a single intact piece of skin on her body.
Her face was delicate, her lips tightly pressed together, but bright red blood flowed uncontrollably from the corner of her mouth.
I recognized this as a symptom of having bitten her tongue. If it were internal bleeding, blood would flow from the esophagus into the mouth and take longer to surface, appearing dark red.
This blood was as bright as peach blossoms; the injury must have been to her tongue—if you were speaking at the moment of an accident, it would be just like this.
When the girl was brought in, she was already unconscious, covered with a white sheet as she was wheeled into the Emergency Room.
The "Imperial Army" wanted to follow her inside but was stopped by the Abbot.
"Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter," the Abbot's face was as cold as ice.
The young man wanted to insist, but ultimately he gave up, his shoulders slumping as he sat back down in defeat.
"Don't worry," I gently sat down beside him. "The Abbot's medical skills are exceptional; he will surely save her. This girl is injured all over, but the wounds are superficial. As long as she is treated properly and doesn't get infected, her life won't be in danger. As for the severed tongue, it's not a major issue.
In ancient times, people often bit their tongues to death, either from excessive blood loss or from blood entering the trachea and suffocating them. But since you brought her here in time, there shouldn't be any threat to her life."
Years of exposure to the hospital had given me a fair amount of medical knowledge.
"I'm not worried about that," the Imperial Army said, furrowing his brow as he turned to look at me. "What I'm concerned about is the legend of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in this temple."
"Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva vowed not to attain Buddhahood until hell is empty. He wanders through Avici Hell, saving the souls of the deceased. Why are you worried about matters of gods and spirits?"
"Are you pretending to be ignorant?" The Imperial Army stared blankly into space, no longer paying attention to me. "We've already received intelligence that there is a serial killer hiding in this hospital. He calls himself Ksitigarbha. Unfortunately, his form of salvation involves killing seriously ill patients."
After that, he fell silent, and I found no opportunity to continue our conversation.
When the Imperial Army saw me, he did not show any sign of recognition from our previous encounter.
Could it be because I was locked in that dark room that the Imperial Army didn't see me when he came to my house?
If the Imperial Army had seen me that day, would I have been with my parents instead of living in this hospital-temple?
But I had no regrets about it.
When I came back in the morning, the rescue efforts that had lasted all night were finally drawing to a close.
The Imperial Army sat at the door like a statue, perfectly still. He seemed to have not rested all night, his eyes bloodshot.
I was surprised that not a single passing medical staff offered him a cup of tea.
The Abbot wearily pushed open the door and stepped out of the Emergency Room without saying a word.
The Imperial Army blocked his path. "How is she?"
"Even if we save her, she will eventually die."
The Abbot pushed past the Imperial Army and strode away.
It was nine in the morning, and the Abbot still had rounds to make before he could rest.
The Imperial Army could not comprehend the underlying meaning in the Abbot's words and stood there in a daze.
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