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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 65: A Shattered Heart
Every woman has a heart that yearns for beauty.
Whether beautiful or not, they all wish to be seen as goddesses in the eyes of others. I called her a beauty, and the nurse's face lit up with joy, even abandoning her idea of calling Dr. Mao to verify things. Privately, she led us to the Ultrasound Room to check on Lao Luo's examination before his death.
The technician in the Ultrasound Room had arrived at the hospital around the same time as this nurse and they had a good relationship.
Soon, an order and a set of test images were placed before us. I grabbed a set of images, looking them over from side to side, but before I could make sense of them, I heard screams and hurried footsteps coming from the corridor outside.
The nurse and the Laboratory Doctor rushed out to see what was happening. "Something's going on," I said, grabbing the images and other materials, and exited the Ultrasound Room with Fat Yi. We saw many people running toward the Storage Room.
A sudden feeling of dread washed over me, as if Fat Yi was planning to take advantage of the chaos to leave the hospital.
As we passed the Nurse Station, I overheard nurses speaking in hushed tones, their faces filled with fear.
“She was fine this morning; she just said Aunt Flo was bothering her and would come by later.”
“Yeah, she looked terrifying when she died.”
“Do you think it could be...”
“Don’t scare me like that.”
“Who’s covering my shift tonight?”
Not only were the nurses whispering, but patients in their rooms were also forbidden from leaving. The corridor was eerily quiet as Fat Yi and I sneaked toward the hospital entrance. We saw several police cars entering the hospital parking lot. Afraid of being seen and not daring to linger, we dashed toward the restroom, waiting for the police to enter before we finally emerged.
Fear manifests in unexpected ways. Why be afraid of the police? After all, we had merely taken Lao Luo's inspection images and data without permission. My heart raced with anxiety; retreat was not an option. I had to muster my courage and move forward.
I had entered and exited Station several times, yet I had never seen this face before. His expression was serious, and his sharp eyes scanned the crowd like searchlights, piercing through to reveal inner thoughts.
I was so nervous, so very nervous!
"What are you doing?" he demanded in a commanding voice, causing me to flinch and nearly drop the plastic bag in my hand.
After a moment, I feigned calmness, cleared my throat, and shook the bag slightly. "Patient. These are my images."
The officer stood with his hands behind his back, his authoritative gaze fixed on the plastic bag. "Stop dawdling and leave quickly."
"Okay, okay." Fat Yi and I hurried out of the hospital, not daring to look back even after we had walked quite a distance.
"Damn it, they've set up a perimeter. Is something serious going on?" Fat Yi asked, bewildered.
"Isn't that obvious? If nothing were happening, would we be leaving like this?" I leaned against a construction site wall, crouched down, and pulled out the images. Looking at them was futile; they seemed to require a darkroom to be properly seen.
Returning to the Funeral Home was out of the question; my mind drifted to that Dilapidated House.
We headed toward the Haunted House.
Fat Yi shook his head vigorously as if it were a rattle drum. Seeing my determination to go there, he helplessly kicked a trash can behind me in frustration. Even at such a critical moment, he still had the energy to kick trash cans—what a character!
Once we reached the street, we walked without concern. I believed that the strange man Li Gui wouldn’t dare come out openly to catch us both.
I held a plastic bag in one hand while occasionally checking my backpack with the other, worried that I might accidentally lose Yin Yin's Skull.
We avoided the main streets and chose to walk through the quieter alleys.
After a while, I couldn't shake the feeling of being followed. I turned around several times, but there was no one there. Was I just being paranoid, or was it an illusion? I didn't dwell on it for long.
The further we walked, the quieter it became. I knew this alley led to the Dilapidated House. The walls on either side were covered in moss, and glass shards were embedded in the wall tops as a measure against thieves climbing over.
A few pots of neglected orchids, overgrown with weeds, were piled at the base of the wall.
Seeing this, I knew we had arrived at the Dilapidated House. I remembered that last time the door had been ajar, but this time it was locked.
A large iron padlock hung rusted and corroded; it seemed like it hadn't been opened in a long time.
Fat followed behind me and, upon seeing that the door was locked, smiled broadly and said, "We can't get in."
Suddenly, a Black Umbrella appeared at the end of the alley without warning. Fat Yi's face turned pale, while I quietly chuckled.
That feeling from earlier was right—she was following us.
Before long, the Black Umbrella floated over.
It hovered emptily beneath the umbrella yet seemed to possess a spirit as it drifted toward me. I grabbed the handle and whispered, "How did you know we were here?"
"You carried my Skull around everywhere; I'm tired too, you know." Her response left me speechless. The place wasn't far from Ma Wu Funeral Home; her ability to sneak over here was impressive.
But her presence could easily frighten someone. Imagine, in broad daylight, a black umbrella appearing in an alley with no one holding it—anyone who saw it would surely be terrified.
Fortunately, after that night, Yin Yin had changed significantly.
She was no longer the terrifying Evil Spirit, but rather a pitiful creature in need of my help to break free from the Yin Marriage and gain her freedom.
“Brother Qi, who are you talking to? It wouldn’t be that Black Umbrella, would it?”
“Of course it is,” I replied as I tucked the Black Umbrella away, preparing to leave with Yin Yin. Suddenly, the locked door made a soft click, the iron lock fell to the ground, and the door creaked open.
The lock opened by itself? Pang Qi and I turned to look at the half-open door.
“It was me who opened it.” Of course, it was Yin Yin.
Inside was an empty Yard, with a tree growing wildly, unmanaged yet thriving.
Should we go in?
I didn’t mind either way; the key concern was Pang.
The shadows of his childhood rooted deep in his mind made him timid. He stepped back nervously into the sunlight, covering his face with his hand as he glanced at the tree in the Yard and then at the black umbrella in my hand.
“Are you scared with me here?”
With that, I walked in without waiting for a response.
Don't be fooled by the clear blue sky and the blazing sun; stepping into this yard feels chilly and eerie, as if cold winds are blowing in from all directions.
Yin Yin told me that Li Gui is terrifying. She came here following the same route I took that night. There were no encounters along the way, and she wouldn't scare anyone.
Hearing this reassured me.
Once inside the Dilapidated House, I eagerly pulled out the picture to examine it.
However, no matter how I looked at it, I couldn't discern any issues. In my helplessness, I had no choice but to call for Yin Yin's help.
Yin Yin glanced at it, covering her mouth and widening her eyes in a way that startled me.
"What’s wrong?"
"There's a hand in his heart. I think I've seen that hand before—it's terrifying, so terrifying..." Yin Yin's face was filled with fear as she hugged her head, struggling to speak.
I placed the picture in a shadowy spot and stood in a well-lit area to scrutinize it closely. Upon closer inspection, I couldn't help but gasp; beneath the shape of a heart in the picture was something resembling a hand that was gripping it tightly, twisting it until it seemed almost crushed.
That hand in the picture felt like it was squeezing my own heart. A sharp pain shot through me, causing me to bend over. After a while, I managed to recover and took a deep breath.
I looked to Yin Yin for help with my eyes, but she tightly pressed her lips together and shook her head vigorously. What was she afraid of? Did she fear that mentioning this would attract an even more malevolent Evil Spirit? I was filled with doubts but didn’t press her further, letting my mind race with various speculations.
In truth, some things are indeed difficult; there exists a kind of magnetic field between people. When one person mentions another, that person can sense it. I understood what Yin Yin meant—Li Gui currently didn't know our exact location, but if we brought up this matter, he would feel it.
We couldn't mention this; we had to handle it discreetly. With my guard up, I glanced outside.
The Fat Thief stood at the entrance, glancing around nervously. He hesitated, wanting to go in but also reluctant. Suddenly, the door slammed shut without any wind, startling him into a shout before he turned and ran away.
I couldn't let him leave, so I quickly got up and rushed to see what had happened.
But the door wouldn't budge.
It looked old and worn, yet it was sturdy; no matter what I did, it remained unmoved.
"She won't let you open the door."
Yin Yin had returned to Skull, feeling safer in my backpack than under the Black Umbrella.
"Who?"
"The Woman Under the Tree."
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