Chapter 4

Xiao Zhang is a local from Jiangcheng. In this place, every household worships deities, burning incense on the first and fifteenth of each month, being quite superstitious and firmly believing that the world is full of strange and mysterious things.

Especially after hearing about the strange symbols under my bed, he was even more convinced.

The more they talked, the more frightened they became. In the end, before Xiao Zhang could finish his chicken soup, his brother-in-law slapped his thigh and said, "No way, we have to transfer hospitals; we can't stay in this cursed place anymore."

Being wealthy, they could transfer at will. They mentioned it in the evening, and by around eight o'clock, Xiao Zhang's sister and brother-in-law had come to pack his things, saying they had already arranged the transfer and were ready to drive him to the First People's Hospital.

Before leaving, Xiao Zhang said goodbye to me, suggesting that if things got too bad, I should also transfer.

I shook my head and politely declined.

He was a local and wealthy, while I was an outsider working here, earning a meager salary with heavy burdens. This hospital was a designated medical insurance unit for our company. If I went to the First People's Hospital, I wouldn't be reimbursed and would have to spend a lot of money.

That amount of money was beyond my means.

The rich leave, the poor stay; the world is so realistic. I felt down, lying in bed and playing with my phone, looking up information about the old temple in Mangshan online.

But I found nothing, not even a word.

This made me feel very desperate, but I wasn't ready to give up. I kept refreshing and flipping through pages until my phone was almost out of battery. Finally, I found a travel post on the Yizhang forum.

In the 23rd floor of the post, a netizen named "I am an experienced driver" commented, "The old temple on the waist of Mangshan, don't go there. It's a place where lives are taken. One misstep, and you might be..."

The comment was left unfinished, with a sense of hesitation.

At that moment, I felt very complex, pondering it over and over. I thought this "I am an experienced driver" must be an insider. With a glimmer of hope, I added him as a friend and found his phone number in his signature.

Having the number, I quickly called him.

The call didn't connect at first, but I kept trying. After several attempts, it finally went through, and a rough, impatient male voice answered, "Hello, who is this?"

The moment I heard the voice, my heart almost stopped.

I recognized it; it was the tour guide who had taken us to the old temple. His voice was a bit like a duck's, and once you heard it, you wouldn't forget it.

I was stunned for a while, and then the voice on the other end said, "You're crazy," and hung up.

I came to my senses and tried to call again, but before the other end could connect, my phone ran out of battery.

I wanted to charge it but realized I hadn't brought a charger. I had been using Wang Lei's charger, but after his incident, his things were probably taken away. I couldn't find a charger for a while, so I asked the other patients in the ward, but they didn't have one either. I could only wait for a colleague to bring one tomorrow.

Unable to reach the person, I felt extremely restless. I thought about the tour guide who knew about the temple's issues but still took us there, clearly intending to harm us.

He might be related to Ah Gui and Wang Lei's deaths.

I wanted to report this to the police but was afraid they would think I was imagining things. I was in a dilemma, and my headache worsened.

While I was lost in thought, the familiar ringtone of my phone suddenly sounded in the ward.

Ding, ding, ding... Ding, ding, ding...

At first, I didn't pay attention, but after a while, I noticed that everyone was looking at me. Then I realized it was my phone ringing.

Huh?

My phone was out of battery just a moment ago, wasn't it?

I grabbed my phone from the table and saw an unfamiliar number. When I answered, it was Xiao Zhang, who had just transferred hospitals.

I was surprised why he would call me. On the other end, Xiao Zhang spoke in a very low, eerie voice, "Wang Ming, they won't let us leave. They say we have to wait for you..."

His voice was so sinister that I felt a chill run through my bones.

My mind was a bit fuzzy, and I asked, "Who are 'they,' and who are 'we'?"

Xiao Zhang didn't answer my first question but said in a sinister tone, "You don't know? It's Ah Gui, Wang Lei, and me..."

Ah Gui, Wang Lei...

They had already jumped to their deaths, so why were they waiting for me?

Ah!

Every name he mentioned brought a corresponding image to my mind.

Whether it was Ah Gui or Wang Lei, they had purple faces, stiff eyes, and expressions that seemed to mock me. When Xiao Zhang mentioned his own name, I instinctively threw the phone away and screamed, burying myself under the covers, shivering.

Ah, ah, ah...

I called out unconsciously, as if only this could give me a sense of security.

After a while, I felt someone grabbing me, and I instinctively struggled, kicking my feet. Unexpectedly, several more people came and pinned me down on the bed, preventing me from moving.

I struggled but couldn't break free. I opened my eyes and saw several dark figures pressing me down, their breaths making me want to vomit.

I thought they were trying to tie me up and throw me out the window, so I screamed for help.

In the end, I only received a sedative.

When the sedative took effect, I realized that the people pressing me down were nurses, on-duty doctors, and hospital security, not the strange things I had seen earlier...

The nurse I was most familiar with, a chubby girl, saw that I had calmed down and opened my eyes to look at them. She patted my face and asked, "Are you awake?"

I nodded, swallowed, and weakly said, "Can you help me contact the two police officers from today? I have important information to tell them."

The nurse, seeing that I was conscious and not causing trouble, nodded and said, "Sure, someone is on duty here. Don't move, and I'll go get them for you..."

She said this but left two security guards to watch me.

With the situation calmed, some people in the ward dispersed. Another patient grabbed the on-duty doctor and asked if he could change rooms.

The recent jumpings had made everyone in the ward nervous. After my outburst, he was naturally very scared and didn't want to share a room with me, fearing bad luck.

The hospital staff discussed it and decided to move him to another room.

Just as the patient was changing rooms, the door opened, and the female police officer who had been on duty at the hospital walked in, frowning. She asked me, "What happened?"

I didn't care about her attitude and told her about the information I found online and the call from Xiao Zhang.

The female police officer was a bit surprised when she heard about Xiao Zhang's call and asked me what time it happened.

I said it was just now, just now...

The female police officer picked up my phone, which had a broken screen, and pressed a few buttons, then said with a mocking smile, "Your phone was out of battery and turned off, yet you could still receive calls? Even a Xiaomi phone shouldn't have that function, right?"

I tried to explain, but she didn't believe me. Just then, her phone rang.

The female police officer didn't talk to me anymore and took out her phone to answer it.

I glanced at it; it was the latest Apple, quite expensive.

I didn't know who was calling, but the female police officer was initially relaxed. After a while, her expression turned serious. She said a few words, hung up, licked her lips, and then turned to me and asked, "Was it really Xiao Zhang who called you just now?"

Eager to prove my innocence, I nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, just now. If you don't believe me, wait until my phone is charged and turned on, and you can check the call log."

The female police officer nodded and asked the security guard to find an Android charger. Then, after a moment's thought, she said, "I have some bad news for you—your company's finance department employee, Zhang Dougang, was involved in a car accident at the intersection of Shiwang Road and Lovers' Road during the transfer and died on the spot..."

Ah?

My back straightened, and cold sweat poured down. After a while, my mind cleared a bit, and I stammered, "W-When did this happen?"

The female police officer looked at me and said, "About an hour ago..."

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