Ghosts in Medical School Horror Files

Chapter 38

Meng Po walked over to Ye Cheng and examined him, saying, "This young policeman is afflicted with miasma, but it's very similar to the Thousand-Eyed Miasma afflicted by the girl next door, though there are some differences."

Xia Chen immediately asked, "What's the difference?"

The old woman replied, "I don't understand miasma magic, so I can't explain the specific differences, but the feeling is different. These two people are going to enter my dream this time, so I'll remind you in advance that I only have enough medicine for two people. I have to attend a fashion show in an hour, so time is tight, everyone please hurry."

Luo Shimin stepped forward, "I'll go with Xia Chen."

"No way!" Xia Chen and Luo Xie both rejected Luo Shimin's suggestion.

Luo Xie sat in the chair and urged, "Let's get started quickly."

Xia Chen comforted Luo Shimin, "We'll be fine. Just like last time, we'll be back soon."

Xia and Luo sat in chairs, smelling the strange fragrance, and drank the extremely unpleasant yellow liquid. The two of them entered Ye Cheng's head.

Xia Chen opened his eyes to endless darkness. There was nothing but darkness. The brainwave monitor showed that Ye Cheng wasn't dreaming, so it seemed there would be no gain this time. Xia Chen closed his eyes again. He wished he would wake up soon. He felt only a few minutes had passed, but in reality, he had slept for over an hour. The Dream Woman had tried everything to wake them, but to no avail. Luo Shimin was frantic.

He didn't know how much time had passed when an unusually mournful and strange crying sound woke Xia Chen's eyes. The darkness disappeared, and he found himself in an empty house. The pitiful crying echoed in the room, sounding like a woman's sobs, making Xia Chen feel very uncomfortable. Was Ye Cheng starting to dream?

Xia Chen walked to the window. He recognized the window frame; all the old buildings at Yishi Academy used the same type. Looking out, he saw only indistinct buildings in the pitch-black night, resembling terrifying monsters. The bare branches swaying in the wind, like menacing ghostly hands, sent chills down his spine…

Why did this seemingly old building from fifty or sixty years ago appear in Ye Cheng's dream?

What surprised him even more was that there was a figure moving vaguely on the road outside the house, who looked somewhat similar to Su Youqing, and the crying sound was coming from her. Xia Chen stared at it for a while, but he couldn't see the true face of his lover.

Xia Chen blinked, and the figure vanished, but the mournful cries continued. Light footsteps echoed in the hallway outside. A surge of intense fear gripped Xia Chen; his intuition told him that anyone or anything slowly approaching the door was extremely dangerous. Xia Chen slammed the door shut. The room was eerily quiet; he could hear his own breathing and heartbeat, but that was impossible.

The thing reached the doorway, and Xia Chen felt a chill penetrate the door and enter his body, almost freezing his blood instantly.

The door couldn't stop it, and Xia Chen took a few steps back.

A hazy mist slowly seeped in through the gap under the door, drifting outwards. It rose and spread gradually, soon filling the entire house. Like countless white ghosts slipping in from under the door, everything in the room appeared and disappeared in the mist, the surroundings becoming ethereal and unreal, giving a feeling of being in a dream. The problem was, he was already in a dream.

The fog gradually dispersed to both sides, revealing a dark figure in the room. The door was still closed; how did it get in?

As the fog dissipated, Xia Chen saw a skeleton dressed in a black robe, its dark, hollow skull eyes staring at him. Xia Chen sensed a strong resentment emanating from it. Xia Chen didn't have time to investigate why such a thing appeared in Ye Cheng's dream. He felt that it was very dissatisfied with him and wanted to kill him. Xia Chen didn't know what the consequences of being killed in a dream would be, and he didn't want to be killed.

The skeleton walked towards him step by step, making a cracking sound with each step, which made Xia Chen's teeth itch.

"Are you Tian Zi? Were you the one crying outside just now?" Xia Chen tried to stall for time.

The skeleton let out a series of eerie laughs.

"Are you Xuan Xiaotong? Or perhaps Xuan Tong Yui?"

The skeleton stopped, and an aged voice asked in surprise, "How do you know my name?"

Xia Chen was completely spouting nonsense. If the skeleton took another step forward, he would shout out another name. The skeleton in front of him was actually Xuan Xiaotong, and she even wanted to kill him. His situation was very bad.

The skeleton asked, "How did you know my name?"

Xia Chen said casually, "A friend of yours told me this, and now he's on our side. You'll definitely be angry when you hear this."

The skeleton showed no sign of life. "You mean Xiao Sheng? Impossible. Xiao Sheng would never betray me. Who told you that? What else do you know?"

“I know a lot more, such as the ‘Nuwa Project’ and the secrets of the Duan family. I’m not stupid enough to tell you everything. If I did, you would kill me immediately.”

"You know too much. I'll kill you even if you don't tell me." The skeleton instantly appeared in front of Xia Chen, grabbed Xia Chen's neck with one hand, lifted him up, and breathed cold air on Xia Chen's face. "You don't need to tell me. I will soon find out who leaked our secret."

Xia Chen struggled to break free from the skeleton's grasp, but he couldn't breathe properly; the last bit of oxygen in his lungs was about to run out. In the ward, Xia Chen's body began to convulse, causing Luo Shimin great distress, but Meng Po was helpless.

Just as Xia Chen's life hung by a thread, someone burst through the door, kicked the skeleton in the head, and the skeleton's grip loosened, causing Xia Chen to fall to the ground. Then came a barrage of attacks, shattering the skeleton into a pile of bones. He gasped for breath, his mind finally clearing, and he recognized his savior as Luo Xie.

"Thank you for saving my life." Xia Chen stood up, tears streaming down his face, clutching his neck.

Luo Xie patted Xia Chen on the shoulder, "You're welcome. I'll keep saving you until my sister stops liking you."

Xia Chen was taken aback, but Luo Xie laughed and said, "I was just kidding."

"How did you get here?" A hoarse female voice came from the pile of bones on the ground.

Luo Xie was greatly surprised, "You're still alive?"

The skeleton stood up again. "This isn't a dream. It's a mental world I created in this lowly policeman's mind using miasma magic. In this world, I am a god, the absolute ruler. How could I be killed by a pitiful ordinary person like you? Answer my question. How did you get in?"

Luo Xie remained cautiously on guard. "I was in complete darkness when I suddenly found myself in the hallway outside the door. I don't know how I got here."

“Impossible!” the skeleton roared. “This is a world of miasma; you can’t possibly get in. Whatever, you two are going to die. No one can leave here alive.”

Xia Chen asked, "Before I die, can I ask you one question? Why did you attack my friend? This policeman and a poor girl named Zheng Yubing?"

"Attacked your friend?" The skeleton scoffed. "I saw this policeman collapsed by the steps of the old building. Out of curiosity, wanting to see what he knew, I planted a miasma spell in his brain, and then you all came. Wait, the steps... Could it be... Could it be... it was him! Impossible..."

Xia Chen wondered, if it wasn't her who attacked Ye Cheng and Zheng Yubing, then who could it be?

Taking advantage of the skeleton's distraction, Luo Xie swept it away and pulled Xia Chen out the door. The skeleton's roar came from behind, "You can't escape, you will die! You will definitely die!" The two rushed through a long corridor and out the door, only to find themselves in a completely unfamiliar world.

The two found themselves in a mountain forest, surrounded by dense trees shrouded in white mist. The sky above was oppressive, a hazy gray. Xia Chen turned around, and the door behind him vanished. The roar of a skeleton echoed from all directions, "Die! You must die!"

"This way." Luo Xie pulled Xia Chen through the forest.

The dead trees and withered leaves around them kept increasing, and the fog thickened considerably. This didn't seem to be an escape route. Xia Chen asked, "How did you know to run this way?"

“I guessed,” Luo Xie said without turning his head. “I’ve always been very lucky.”

Xia Chen was speechless. He had forgotten that Luo Xie was a true outlaw. Xia Chen ran while looking around. They had fallen into a trap set by the enemy. All around them were dark trees and thick white fog, and the forest seemed to have no end.

The fog ahead grew thicker, and the number of dead trees increased, making running increasingly difficult. "Let's walk for a while. The skeletons shouldn't catch up so quickly. As long as we stall for time, the Dream Granny will find a way to wake us up." Luo Xie also felt exhausted. Xia Chen was panting heavily; if Luo Xie hadn't been holding him up, he would have been unable to run any further.

After resting for five minutes, the two supported each other and continued on their way.

"There seems to be something ahead," Luo Xie said.

Xia Chen looked up and saw a village faintly visible through the hazy white mist. "How can there be a village in a place like this?" Xia Chen asked in surprise.

"We'll find out if we go take a look." Luo Xie walked over, the village houses appearing and disappearing in the mist. Xia Chen hesitated for a moment; this could be a ghost village, a trap. Should he go over? After five seconds, curiosity won out, and Xia Chen followed Luo Xie.

Luo and Xia walked to the village entrance, where there was a stone tablet. Xia Chen glanced at it and his body trembled. Luo Xie turned his head and saw three words written on the stone tablet—Duangan Village! The roar of the skeleton came from behind them again, "Where is this place? Why can't I get in?"

Luo Xie led the way, taking the first step into the village. The houses, weathered by time, were dilapidated. A thick layer of dust covered everything, indicating the village had been uninhabited for many, many years. Judging by its size, there were at least a hundred households. Where had everyone gone? Why was Duangan Village abandoned? What secrets lay behind its ruin? Was it related to the subsequent series of events? The abandoned village rekindled Xia Chen's desire to explore.

The two quickly found part of the answer. Behind the village was an open space, and even Luo Xie was startled when he first saw it. The open space was densely packed with skeletons, most of them half-buried in dust, with only their heads or half their bodies showing. Xia Chen could still feel the aura of despair from the dark eye sockets of the skeletons. In the very center of the open space was a grave, too far away to see the inscription on the tombstone. Luo Xie walked to the nearest skeleton, looked at it, and said, "These people were all hacked to death. The person who did it was a veteran; one fatal blow, clean and swift."

Xia Chen hesitated whether to walk through the piles of white bones to see the names on the tombstones. The vicious voice of the skeleton came again, "Don't think you can stop me by doing some tricks. You two brats are dead."

Luo Xie shielded Xia Chen, and the black-robed skeleton appeared before them as they passed through the village. Upon first seeing the vast expanse of white bones, the skeleton was startled. "How come I didn't know this place existed? What's going on here? It's alright, I'll have plenty of time to study this after I kill you two brats. Hmph, let me tell you, if I kill you here, you'll become vegetable-like beings in reality, never to wake up again."

"Old monster!" Luo Xie roared, "If you can't kill me today, I'll break your legs and stick them in a flowerpot one day, so you'll know what a real vegetable is like." Xia Chen looked at Luo Xie in surprise. At the critical moment of life and death, this guy suddenly became so humorous.

"Boy, don't be so quick to talk. I'll shut you up forever soon." The skeleton's hands transformed into two white bone blades, and it rushed towards the two men with lightning speed. Xia Chen tightly closed his eyes, only three thoughts flashing through his mind: It's over!

A minute passed, and nothing seemed to have happened. Xia Chen slowly opened his eyes. The black-robed skeleton was bound like a dumpling by long black hair that sprouted from the ground. Behind the skeleton appeared a woman with a perfect figure, but her face was shrouded in a layer of black mist, making it impossible to see her features.

The skeleton spun 180 degrees and saw the woman behind it. It cried out in horror, "Impossible! How could you be here? You're long dead! Who's playing tricks on us? Show yourself!"

"I am who I am, Xiaotong." The black mist on the woman's face dissipated somewhat, revealing the outline of her face in the haze, along with a pair of eyes that almost took up half of her face. These eyes were exceptionally terrifying; Xia Chen couldn't find any words to describe them. Countless scarlet pupils on the eyeballs emitted a faint red glow.

The skeleton pleaded, "No...please...don't!"

Xia Chen exclaimed, "Are you Tian Zi?"

The woman glanced at him, and Xia Chen took two steps back in fright. A red light flashed in the woman's eyes, and Xia Chen and Luo Xie woke up from their dream. Xia Chen opened his eyes and saw the hospital ceiling.

Luo Xie wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked at the exhausted Meng Po, saying, "You woke us up at the worst possible time. If it had been any earlier, we would have been in danger; if it had been any later, we could have seen a secret. But you woke us up at the most crucial moment."

"Do you know how many hours you slept?" The old woman held up five fingers. "Five. You two slept for five hours, and I didn't wake you. Four hours ago, I tried everything to wake you, but failed. Just when I thought you wouldn't wake up, you both woke up." "Who did you see?" Luo Shimin asked, her face still bearing faint tear tracks. Xia Chen said, "I think that woman was Tian Zi!" Luo Xie nodded as well. Bang bang bang… Someone knocked on the door. Luo Shimin, who was closest to the door, opened it. A woman stood outside. "It's you!"

015 Tian Zi = Su Youqing?

Luo Shimin's tone was tinged with disappointment, "So it was you!" Standing outside the door was a policewoman in uniform, Li Xiao, a newly arrived trainee policewoman and Ye Cheng's apprentice.

"Who else could it be but me?" Li Xiao pushed open the door and entered, seeing Xia Chen and Luo Xie's ashen faces, he asked in surprise, "What happened to you two? Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?"

"We really saw a ghost!" Although it was in Ye Cheng's dream, Xia Chen saw Xuan Xiaotong in a black robe and skull shape, and Tian Zi, who was even more frightening.

Li Xiao said angrily, "I don't have time to joke with you. I've called your phones so many times I can't get through to anyone. I have extremely important information to give you. My information will definitely surprise you. What's infuriating is that you actually want me to deliver such an important discovery in person. Who's going to reimburse me for the travel expenses?"

Xia Chen rubbed his temples and said, "What did you find? If it's really useful, I'll have Ye Cheng reimburse you."

“He still owes me a meal.” Li Xiao handed the folder to Xia Chen. “Remember the old-fashioned cloth shoes we found at Su Youqing’s house? They were confirmed to be Su Youqing’s. I recently looked at cases related to Yi Shi. Remember the murder in the medical ward not long ago? In that case, a nurse surnamed Song went insane. The police found a footprint at Nurse Song’s house, and it turned out to be from Su Youqing’s cloth shoes. I also reviewed the statements from that time. Su Youqing didn’t know Nurse Song at all, and no one saw Su Youqing go to Nurse Song’s house the night before the incident. Considering that Nurse Song had no mental problems before the incident, I speculate that Nurse Song’s sudden madness may be related to Su Youqing.”

“Impossible.” Luo Shimin immediately stood up to object. “Teacher Su is a gentle and kind woman. She is so thin and frail. How could she possibly drive Nurse Song crazy? I don’t believe it.”

Xia Chen said, "Never judge a person based on your feelings. There may be many amazing secrets hidden under a seemingly weak exterior." Xia Chen closed the folder and handed it to Luo Xie. "Li Xiao's speculation is very reasonable, and her evidence is very convincing." Luo Xie also said after reading the information, "This woman named Su Youqing is indeed problematic. There are many suspicious points about her."

Li Xiao smiled and took out another red folder. "You two handsome guys, your judgment is very reasonable, because I have another document to show you. I went through some trouble to get this document, and it's a little bit illegal. I'm sorry, I can't tell you the source of the document."

Xia Chen took the folder. "What documents are so important?"

Li Xiao explained, "It's confidential psychoanalytic data from a leading psychologist in our city, concerning Su Youqing. Five years ago, she saw the psychologist, and the test results showed she had multiple personality disorder, commonly known as schizophrenia. I also checked her household registration information, and there's no such person as Su Youqing. The personnel department of Yishi College also doesn't have her file. Surprisingly, they only discovered there was no file when I contacted them. If no one was helping her behind the scenes, only one type of person could have done this."

The old woman said, "Hypnotist!"

Luo Shimin was still a little incredulous, "Why would Teacher Su do that?"

Meng Po said, "Hypnosis is a profound subject. Even the most talented person cannot become a hypnotist on their own. If Su Youqing, whom you mentioned, is really a hypnotist, then she must have someone teaching her."

“I have a bold hypothesis,” Xia Chen said. “Teacher Su is afraid of thunder. We know that many years ago, on a night somewhere in this academy, Tian Zi, Xuan Xiaotong, a foreign teacher named Ade, the mute woman, and two children surnamed Duan experienced a terrifying event. After that, Tian Zi’s life changed drastically. If Tian Zi is Su Youqing’s teacher, she might have passed on her fear of thunder to her students. If Su Youqing can hypnotize, it would explain why she and her husband never argued; her husband is a pitiful puppet without self-awareness. If my hypothesis holds true, many of the doubts can be explained.”

After a long pause, Li Xiao praised, "Xia Chen, you're really amazing. I just thought Su Youqing was a bit suspicious, but you said a whole bunch of things. You should be a policeman."

Luo Shimin didn't quite understand and asked doubtfully, "You mean Tian Zi is Teacher Su's mentor? Is that possible?"

"Impossible." A female voice came from outside the door, sounding somewhat like Su Youqing, but with a cold tone.

Luo Xie flipped over and drew the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow. Xia Chen asked, "Who's outside the door?"

"I am Tian Zi. May I come in?"

Apart from the clueless Meng Po and the unconscious Ye Cheng, everyone in the room was taken aback. Tian Zi, Tian Zi, the legendary Tian Zi was standing right outside the door! Everyone looked at Xia Chen, who gestured for everyone to get ready, cleared his throat, and said, "Please come in."

The door was slowly pushed open, and Xia Chen and the others stared wide-eyed, eager to see what the legendary Tian Zi looked like.

The door opened, and Su Youqing walked in!

Luo Shimin's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "How could it be you, Teacher Su?" Xia Chen carefully examined Su Youqing. Her appearance hadn't changed, but her temperament was completely different. The Su Youqing of the past was gentle as water, but the Su Youqing in front of him was strong despite her gentleness. Her eyes were like sharp knives, somewhat similar to Luo Xie's eyes.

Su Youqing did not answer Luo Shimin's question. He picked a comfortable chair, sat down, and looked at everyone expressionlessly.

Xia Chen reached into his pants pocket, gripped the Crow Nine Sword tightly, and asked, "You say you are Tian Zi, can you prove it?"

Su Youqing remained seated, her eyes widening suddenly, countless pupils radiating a terrifying red light. Luo Shimin, startled, nearly stumbled and fell. Xia Chen asked, "Can you explain your behavior?"

"That's why I came here," Su Youqing said, shifting into a more comfortable position.