Chapter 83: Hex (III) part 1
A head. She was holding it in her hands.
She was cradling a head—a severed head.
Qiu Lingling suddenly let go. The heavy skull hit the floor with a thud and rolled, spinning until it came to a stop at Yun Shu’s feet.
At that moment, Yun Shu hadn’t yet realized what had happened. She only felt everything suddenly go black, and she could no longer see. Thinking her eyes were failing her, she clawed helplessly at the air.
She tried to speak, only to find her mouth sealed shut; no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t open it.
Her cold hands flailed like willow branches in a storm, scratching randomly at the air. She struck the wooden partition of the bathroom stall and then herself, finally following her instincts to grope backward. She locked onto Qiu Lingling’s hand, trying to beg for help.
In Qiu Lingling’s eyes, the headless body suddenly lunged toward her. Because of the angle, the absence of the head allowed her to see the cross-section of the neck with terrifying clarity.
Scarlet blood vessels, white flesh, and the pinkish hue of the cervical vertebrae were still writhing from momentum.
“Aaaaaah—”
Qiu Lingling shoved Yun Shu away and bolted outside.
Her screams triggered the emergency lights, flooding the dim corridor with a brightness like day. The night-shift nurse was jolted awake and rushed out, supporting the nearly collapsing Qiu Lingling. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Over there… over there… there’s… there’s a ghost—”
Qiu Lingling slumped to the floor, death-gripping the nurse’s arm as she pointed toward where she had just run from.
“What are you talking about? Where would a ghost come from?”
In the dead of night, the nurse felt a chill run through her. Qiu Lingling’s nails dug through her sleeve into her skin, forcing her into a state of sharp alertness. She looked in the direction of the gesture, but there was nothing there.
“Did you see wrong?” the nurse asked, confused. “That’s the duty room. Why would you run over there?”
“I—I went to the bathroom. And then… then I saw… I saw someone’s head fall off.” In her terror, Qiu Lingling’s thoughts were strangely clear. She crawled up from the floor by leaning against the wall. “Sister Yun Shu… is Sister Yun Shu okay?”
She didn’t believe the person she saw in the bathroom was actually Yun Shu; perhaps it was some other entity. It couldn’t be Yun Shu. Yun Shu was a healthy person; how could her head just fall off?
“She should be fine.” The nurse was more worried about Qiu Lingling’s mental state. She glanced toward the ward and supported her. “Don’t think about it. It must have been an illusion, or maybe you were dreaming.”
“Impossible.” Qiu Lingling said, breaking down. “I held it. I held that head—I clearly felt it.”
“Goodness, there isn’t even a bathroom over there. You were dreaming and went the wrong way.” The nurse was helpless, turning Qiu Lingling around to show her. A large sign with an arrow pointed toward the actual restrooms. “If you don’t believe me, look over there.”
Qiu Lingling stood there, speechless and incredulous.
Had she really seen wrong?
The nurse helped her back to the ward. Just to be safe, she made sure Qiu Lingling saw the patient in the bed. Yun Shu was lying there peacefully, still unconscious. There was no way she could have gone to the bathroom.
Qiu Lingling sat in a daze by the bed, staring fixedly at Yun Shu, not even noticing when the nurse left.
The hallway lights went out again after a while, reverting to the dim green light. The ward remained silent.
Is this really Yun Shu?
An idea suddenly popped into Qiu Lingling’s head: What if I just tried?
Just a touch; nothing would happen.
With that thought, she reached out a trembling hand and touched Yun Shu’s face.
The skin on Yun Shu’s face was soft and elastic. More importantly, it was warm.
Qiu Lingling covered her face and wept with joy. She was convinced that what had happened was just an illusion—just a dream.
She leaned against the bedside for a while. A heavy wave of exhaustion washed over her, and she drifted into a deep sleep.
Shortly after their flight landed in the middle of the night, Tong Yong had a car pick up the arriving Jiang Si and Luo Shannü to take them to the hospital. As they approached the hospital gates, he didn’t drive straight in. Instead, he took out a mask, a hat, and a coat to disguise himself before getting out.
Seeing the confusion of his two passengers, Tong Yong explained in a muffled voice, “There are several waves of paparazzi staking out the entrance. I’m afraid they’ll recognize me.”
Jiang Si understood and stepped out of the car. Luo Shannü was in high spirits, looking around with a sense of novelty. “So this is what it’s like for a celebrity.”
“Celebrities have no privacy,” Tong Yong said with a self-deprecating laugh.
Jiang Si remained noncommittal. While they walked, he composed a message to Shen Hu, telling him to remember to copy the surveillance footage; Gong Tianye would likely reveal something tonight.
The paper doll he had left under the rug wasn’t just for show.
Even late at night, there were still many people in the hospital; some were even dozing on the stone steps.
Avoiding the crowds, Tong Yong spoke as they walked. “I’ve discussed it with her manager. Regardless of the outcome, we won’t let you make this trip for nothing. Of course, if Yun Shu wakes up, they’ve prepared a thank-you gift of two million as payment.”
“Oh?” Jiang Si hadn’t expected them to be so generous. No matter how tempted he was, he wouldn’t agree immediately without seeing the person first.
Away from home, your status is what you give yourself. He didn’t even move an eyebrow, simply saying indifferently, “We’ll see.”
Seeing this attitude, Tong Yong actually started to wonder if the offer was too low. After all, a human life was involved; how could it only be worth that much? He mentally decided to speak with the manager again later to increase the reward.
As he led the way, Luo Shannü gave Jiang Si a little nudge. “Two million—and you aren’t tempted?”
She had lived in the human world for hundreds of years and had long since integrated into society. Her current income relied entirely on the monthly salary issued by the Celestial Masters Association.
Jiang Si glanced at her. Luo Shannü made a gesture. “My monthly salary is only eight thousand. He’s giving so much.”
“Do you have social insurance and a housing fund?”
“I don’t need those; they just fold it into my salary.”
“Only eight thousand without benefits?” Jiang Si was stunned. A legendary Rakshasa had been recruited for a mere eight thousand.
“But they said that although the salary isn’t high, it’s stable. I don’t have to worry about layoffs or overtime.” Luo Shannü felt the deal was decent. “I’ve seen people working incredibly hard for only three thousand a month.”
“…” Jiang Si hadn’t expected the Celestial Masters to use corporate gaslighting tactics.
Even deceiving ghosts and monsters—it would make any capitalist blush with shame.
“It’s alright.” Jiang Si asked quietly, “Is it enough to spend?”
“I spend every cent every month,” Luo Shannü sighed. “I’m currently trying to save up for a game console, but I’m still a long way off. If I could take private jobs, I’d be rich by now. Once I’m wealthy, I’m definitely going to hire seven or eight handsome men to surround me and make me laugh every day.”
Jiang Si offered his blessing to her grand ambition. “Then good luck with that.”
Tong Yong pushed open the door to the ward. Seeing Qiu Lingling slumped by the bed, he was quite puzzled and went over to wake her. “Why are you sleeping? How is Yun Shu?”
“Alright.” Qiu Lingling rubbed her eyes and moved out of the way. “I was just so tired I dozed off for a bit. Director Tong, why are you at the hospital at this hour?”
“I brought someone to see Yun Shu.” As he spoke, Tong Yong looked at Yun Shu’s face. Her eyes remained closed in deep sleep. All the values on the heart monitor were normal, proving she wasn’t in immediate danger.
“And these people are?” Qiu Lingling looked curiously at Jiang Si and Luo Shannü. Both were so attractive they would stand out in any crowd; she wondered if they were newly debuted stars.
Had they come in the middle of the night to visit a senior?
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