Blutiger Handabdruck - Kapitel 3
The nurses finally came to their senses. Some comforted Lu Minghua, while others ran to find Dr. Park.
Dr. Park initially couldn't believe it. He had been treating Lu Minghua since her admission, trying physical and chemical therapies, all to no avail; in fact, Lu Minghua's condition worsened. The hospital and her family had long since given up on rehabilitation, only trying to control her condition to prevent further deterioration. How could a severely mentally ill patient recover overnight? He didn't believe in miracles, but after a series of thorough examinations, he had to admit that Lu Minghua had indeed recovered—completely recovered.
The hospital originally planned to keep Lu Minghua in the hospital for a few days for observation to see if her condition would relapse, and more importantly, to find out why she recovered overnight.
However, no normal person would want to stay in a mental hospital. Especially when Lu Minghua saw the holes in the walls and her own radish-like fingers, she felt like killing someone. How could she stay there? Under her strong demands, or more accurately, after a huge commotion, the hospital notified her family to complete the discharge procedures.
The whole thing unfolded as fast as lightning. At 9 p.m. the night before last, Lu Minghua was still a critically ill patient. At 6 a.m. yesterday, she woke up as a normal person. At 11 a.m. last night, she completed the discharge procedures and said goodbye to that ward full of holes.
Lu Minghua had long been a celebrity at the psychiatric ward of Jingyun City People's Hospital, a strange patient constantly discussed and debated. Her ward, filled with holes, was known as "the ward's wonder." Her miraculous recovery naturally shocked the entire hospital and became the topic of conversation at lunch today. One nurse exclaimed, "The ward's wonder has vanished!"
Everyone agreed.
But everyone's amazement only lasted a few hours. Yesterday evening, the psychiatric ward of Jingyun City People's Hospital received a new patient. Everyone recognized her, as she worked there. Her name was Dai Xuejuan, one of the night nurses on duty the previous night, and Lu Minghua was under her care. After her night shift, this nurse went home and fell into a deep sleep. When she woke up, she didn't recognize her family and started digging holes in the wall with her fingers, which her family couldn't stop her from doing.
She had often told her family about Lu Minghua's illness as anecdotes, so when they saw her like this, they were all terrified and rushed her to the hospital. Dr. Park conducted a series of examinations on her, and the more he examined her, the more alarmed he became. All her symptoms were exactly the same as Lu Minghua's; to be more precise, all her symptoms were exactly the same as Lu Minghua's before 9 p.m. last night, as if Lu Minghua had "grafted" her illness onto her.
The mental division was shocked once again.
After the initial shock subsided, a chill ran through everyone.
At this point, Dr. Park's tone changed.
Xu Haicheng also shivered, feeling as if the temperature had suddenly dropped two or three degrees. Although he was mentally prepared that Lu Minghua's recovery would not be simple, he had not expected it to be so bizarre.
Realizing something was amiss, the hospital quickly called Lu Minghua, using a medical check-up as an excuse to ask her to return to the hospital. She chuckled coldly twice and hung up. When they called again, she refused to answer.
Meanwhile, rumors were spreading throughout the hospital. Some said that Xiao Dai had been possessed by Lu Minghua; others said that Lu Minghua's previous mental breakdown was due to possession by a ghost, and now that ghost had possessed Xiao Dai... Suddenly, everyone in the hospital was on edge, fearing that they might become the next nurse, Xiao Dai.
Dr. Park didn't really believe in ghosts and spirits, but what was happening before his eyes was truly unbelievable. So, he took Lu Minghua and Dai Xuejuan's case reports and made a special trip to the Nanpu City Mental Rehabilitation Center to visit several experts. He heard that there was a Dr. Hawke who had just returned from abroad six months ago and was very capable.
What do the experts say?
Dr. Park shook his head with a worried look and said, "The experts say this can't be explained by common medical sense. Dr. Hawke went even further, saying that this kind of thing can only be explained by witchcraft or ghosts. He told me to bring Lu Minghua here, but she refused to come..."
Xu Haicheng looked at him with sympathy; he was powerless to help in this situation.
"A nurse from the hospital just called me and said that Xiao Dai's family went to Lu Minghua's house this afternoon..." Dr. Park continued.
Lu Minghua suddenly recovered, and Nurse Dai suddenly fell ill, although there was no evidence to prove a connection between the two events. However, judging from the timing and symptoms alone, Lu Minghua was inextricably linked. Nurse Dai's parents watched helplessly as their young and lively daughter turned into a madwoman muttering to herself in a broken room, and they were filled with murderous rage. They led a group of relatives to the mental hospital and caused a scene several times, creating chaos and even forcing the director to hide.
Part One, Section 6: Chapter One, The Formation of the Calamity ○1(5)
Because Park Jin-hwa was Lu Ming-hua's attending physician, he became one of the targets and was constantly being criticized. At first, they only asked him to cure Nurse Dai, but Park Jin-hwa repeatedly stated that he did not have the ability to do so, and he was scolded mercilessly. The situation was no less severe than the criticism and struggle sessions during the Cultural Revolution.
Seeing that they couldn't cause any trouble at the mental hospital, the family forced the director to hand over Lu Minghua's address, and a dozen or so people marched to Lu Minghua's home.
The Lu family lived in a two-story self-built house, which was quite old, with half-dried ivy climbing the walls. The arrival of the Dai family in a large entourage had already alerted the people inside, who kept the doors and windows tightly closed and the curtains drawn.
Xiao Dai's family rang the doorbell repeatedly until it broke, but no one answered. Already furious, their anger intensified, like oil being heated. They started by shouting insults, the language becoming increasingly vicious, before escalating to smashing the door and windows. Several loud crashes followed, and the windowpanes shattered, but the security bars prevented them from breaking in.
After everyone had cursed until their throats were dry and smashed everything they could find outside, dusk was falling, and they left helplessly. They hadn't gone far when a chill ran down their spines, and they all turned back. They saw that the curtains on the second floor of the Lu family's house were drawn, and Lu Minghua stood by the window, looking down at the exhausted Dai family members below. In the twilight, a malicious sneer was faintly visible on his face, and a cold laugh drifted on the wind like the sound of wind whistling across ice.
Under such scrutiny, Xiao Dai's family slowly left the Lu family's house. As they reached the alley entrance, a truck came hurtling towards them. Everyone scrambled to avoid it; no one was seriously injured, but many suffered broken arms and twisted legs. They confronted the driver, who was terrified and said he didn't know why his brakes had suddenly failed.
Normally, people would just accept their bad luck and be thankful they weren't caught in the crossfire. But today, given Lu Minghua's strange behavior, everyone felt this encounter carried a subtle warning. Xiao Dai's relatives no longer harbored any resentment towards Lu Minghua; they bid farewell to Xiao Dai's parents and scattered like birds, disappearing in moments.
Xu Haicheng found it increasingly strange; among all the people he had met, Lu Minghua's life was undoubtedly the most bizarre.
Note ○1: "Kalpa" is a transliteration of the Sanskrit word kalpa. It is not a term created by Buddhism in India, but rather a general term used in ancient India to measure units of time. It can be considered a long time or a short time; it can be as long as infinitely long or as short as a single instant. In Buddhism, the time of the universe's existence, the time of the earth's existence, and the time of life's existence are all measured in kalpas. The formation and destruction of the world are also divided using kalpas.
Kalpas are mainly divided into three types: minor kalpas, intermediate kalpas, and major kalpas. Twenty minor kalpas make up one intermediate kalpa, and the four intermediate kalpas are: the formation kalpa (the period of world formation), the abiding kalpa (the period of world prosperity), the destruction kalpa (the period of world decay and death), and the emptiness kalpa (the period of world destruction). Four intermediate kalpas make up one major kalpa. It is said that Earth is currently in the decline phase of the ninth minor kalpa of the abiding kalpa.
The terms "formation kalpa," "abode kalpa," "destruction kalpa," and "emptiness kalpa" in this article's table of contents are unrelated to Buddhist doctrines; they are simply taken from their literal meanings, which are: formation, flourishing, old age and death, and destruction.
Part One, Section 7: Chapter Two, The Formation of Calamity (1)
Chapter Two: The Second Tribulation
On the night I graduated from police academy, there was no moon or stars. My instructor and I had drunk too much and were walking on the parade ground. I asked him what the most powerful thing in the world was. He said darkness, it could devour everything…
(Excerpt from "Police Detective's Diary")
After finishing his story, Dr. Park sighed and left. He already knew that this matter couldn't be explained by common sense, and Xu Haicheng couldn't help him anyway; he had only told him to relieve his own frustration. Xu Haicheng was intrigued for a moment, then put it aside for the time being and went to visit the highly accomplished Dr. Hawke, whom Dr. Park had just mentioned.
Hawke's office door was ajar, letting in a sliver of light. Xu Haicheng knocked lightly, and after hearing the word "Come in," he pushed the door open and entered. The room wasn't large, and the lighting wasn't very bright, but a gentle, spring-like warmth permeated the space.
Hawke was sitting at his desk reading a book. He looked up at Xu Haicheng and smiled slightly, saying, "You're late." His tone was as gentle and calm as ever. He was about the same age as Xu Haicheng and his demeanor was very refined. It was said that he had earned a doctorate in psychology in the United States and had worked as a clinical psychologist there, making him a genuine young talent.
A month and a half ago, Xu Haicheng was finally allowed to leave the hospital where he had stayed for more than five months, but he was required by his superiors to undergo psychological rehabilitation treatment, and Hawke became his psychologist.
Xu Haicheng sat down on the stool opposite him, and casually straightened a sign that was lying on the table. The sign had two Chinese characters: 霍克 (Huoke) and an English name: Hawk. "I ran into an acquaintance at the entrance of your compound and chatted for a while."
"What do you want to talk about?" Hawke asked, closing his book and pulling out a notebook. He always took out this notebook when they met, casually talking to Xu Haicheng and writing in it.
"A psychology PhD also believes in ghosts and witchcraft?" Xu Haicheng couldn't help but ask, recalling what Dr. Park had just said.
Hawke glanced at him with surprise and said, "I majored in psychology and also studied religion. Witchcraft is the earliest religion of mankind. And the earliest concept in witchcraft is the soul, which is a universal phenomenon. Regardless of East or West, ancient or modern, every culture has the concept of the soul. Ghosts and gods, as derivatives of the soul, originally did not have the connotation of superstition, but were more of a generalization, a generalization of mysterious forces and things."
The way he spoke involuntarily reminded Xu Haicheng of Fang Li. He paused for a moment, then said, "The way you speak is very similar to a friend of mine."
"Is it Fang Li?" Hawke smiled.
Xu Haicheng paused for a moment, then said, "Sometimes you give me the illusion that you know her."
"Your Director Chen has mentioned her several times."
Xu Haicheng smiled wryly, "It seems he told you quite a bit."