My House of Horrors

A nurse’s office was essential for a school, but this was the first time that Chen Ge had encountered one that was so large. The man who was weirdly dressed should be the doctor here. He covered himself up as much as he could, but Chen Ge could still see the dark red underneath all the layers.

“Red Specter…” No matter the occasion, a Red Specter was a dangerous existence. They were cunning and cruel. Even with his employee’s protection, Chen Ge could still be hurt.

“Hello, I’m here to see a student.” Chen Ge was very polite.

“Are you sick?”

“I’m here to look for someone. His name is Yan Fei; he’s my classmate.”

“Are you sick?” The doctor appeared like he only knew that sentence. He kept repeating it, and with each repetition, he took one step closer to Chen Ge.

A thick stench of disinfectant rushed at Chen Ge. The doctor appeared to have doused himself in the stuff to cover up his original body odor. Although he was unable to communicate, Chen Ge did not dare do anything rash. He gripped the nail in his palm and prepared for the worst.

The doctor walked closer and closer when he suddenly stopped before Chen Ge. The pair of dark red eyes scanned Chen Ge up and down. The doctor stared at Chen Ge for a long time. Just as Chen Ge thought that the man was about to make his move, the doctor suddenly said, “You are seriously ill. I see a broken body. Your soul is like a low-quality toy that has been tampered with. It is filled with cracks and will crumble with a single touch.”

“Are… you serious?” Chen Ge realized that the doctor did not sound like he was kidding.

“I can see the flower deep inside everyone’s heart. Some of them are blooming; others are wilting. You only have a grave in your heart and a seed that has been chewed on and will never germinate.” Doctor’s eyes seemed to see through everything. Unfortunately, his mask covered most of his face, so Chen Ge could not read his expression.

“Based on that, doesn’t it mean that I won’t be alive for long?” Chen Ge was unsettled by the doctor’s words. This Red Specter was very weird, but then again, all the Red Specters that he had encountered in the School of the Afterlife were strange. Compared to them, the others that he had met like Men Nan, the woman in the well, and the mother in the tunnel could not have been more normal.

“I don’t have the medicine to save you, and I am unable to save you.” The doctor suddenly turned to the other bed halfway through his sentence. Based on his reaction, the only course of action for Chen Ge appeared to be waiting for death. Even so, the doctor did not want to have anything to do with that process.

“No, wait! Doctor, I think I can still be saved. At least explain the situation to me!” Chen Ge followed behind the doctor, who took a pen and paper as he paused at each bed. The beds were isolated behind the white curtains, so one could not see through, but the doctor kept writing on the paper. He did not chase Chen Ge away; he merely acted like he was not there.

How come I feel like he’s ignoring me? The doctor treated Chen Ge like air, and Chen Ge did not know whether that was a good or a bad thing. It’s rare that I run into a more reasonable Red Specter, but he treats me so coldly. He must have seen something on me that warrant this kind of reaction.

“Doctor, how about you take a look at me again? What does the seed in my heart look like? You said it has been chewed, what does the print look like? What kind of creature has bitten it?” Chen Ge grumbled in the doctor’s ears. Probably because he had interrupted the doctor’s work, the latter sped up to enter the fourth room and closed the door behind him.

“Are you the only doctor here?” Standing outside the door, Chen Ge still had many questions.

Quite a temper he has. When there’s a chance I should take him to the underground morgue so that Dr. Wei can have a chance to chat with him.

The doctor probably saw that there was no malice in Chen Ge, so he did not harm him. Of course, it was like that the doctor had seen something special in Chen Ge so purposely avoided him. No matter what, Chen Ge could now explore the sickroom freely. As long as he did not cross the line, the doctor probably would not stop him.

“Which bed did I look at earlier?”

Chen Ge pulled the white curtains back, the front few beds were unoccupied. As he was about to pull open the fourth curtain, the curtain moved on its own.

“Yan Fei?” His fingers reached toward the white cloth. Before Chen Ge touched the curtain, a pale hand shot out from inside. There was a needle left in the arm. It was thin, pale, and bloodless like the person was suffering from serious malnourishment.

“Hi.” Chen Ge touched the hand lightly. Just as his palm touched the other hand, he could feel the other person shake. The owner did not seem like they were used to physical contact with others. Using his other hand to pull open the curtain, Chen Ge looked at the bed. A girl as thin as a stick was lying in the clean bed. She looked like a wounded swan. Her one hand was held by Chen Ge while her other hugged her knees as she curled up on one side of the bed. The girl realized that it was not the doctor who held her hand, and she looked scared. She tried to pull back her hand but swiftly gave up as if worried that it might make things worse. The child was not Yan Fei, but Chen Ge did not leave immediately because the other children who could become the door pusher might be there.

“What’s your name?”

The girl looked weak, like a beautiful butterfly fluttering in one’s palm. As the palm closed, she would be crushed.

“Yin Bai.” The girl spoke so softly that Chen Ge had to lean in to hear her.

“Yin Bai? I met a girl called Yin Hong outside. Is that your elder sister?” Chen Ge realized that the girl was rather afraid of sunlight. He pulled the curtain back so that only a sliver was left open. Hearing the name Yin Hong, the girl’s body shook even harder. Her lips were clamped shut as if worried that she might say something that she should not.

“How are… you doing?”

“No one bullied me. They were just playing with me. I am fine,” the girl suddenly said in an urgent tone. She kept repeating this like a mantra, but she was on the verge of tears.

“There is no one else here; there’s no need to be afraid.” Chen Ge did not know what the girl had experienced, but her state was very unstable. “Take a good rest. If you need any help, just holler.”

Chen Ge let go of her. He looked at the girl, wishing to get more information. The girl did not have any visible wounds, but she was impossibly thin.

Taking out the document from his backpack, after ensuring that the doctor had not returned, Chen Ge looked through it. He found the information on Yin Bai on the page before Yan Fei. The girl suffered from bulimia. The source of the illness was unknown. The suspicion was that she had been forced to consume something disgusting, and that had left a mental scar on her.