Translator: Reina Editor: Killian
“Nothing will happen, right? ?” I tugged at Qunfang-jie, who was beside me.
Qunfang-jie didn’t speak.
Not long after Ma Yu entered, there was a sound of rushing water. I glanced towards Qunfang-jie, confused. However, she seemed to have completely melted into the darkness, and I couldn’t see her expression, yet I could tell that she was still composed from how our hands clasped together.
The water came in spurts, sounding like it was pouring onto the floor.
This sound… doesn’t seem like she’s using the toilet, but rather… taking a bath.
My family used to stay in those apartments with more than a dozen families on each floor. There would be a female washroom on one end and a male washroom on the other end of the corridor. When the hot water was ready every week, I would go there with a basin to take a bath.
“Qunfang-jie?” I couldn’t help calling out.
This is really getting too odd. What the hell is Ma Yu doing in the toilet?
The sound continued for a while, and finally stopped.
There was no light around, and it was so dark that you couldn’t see anything, as if you were in a huge black void.
Only the sound of dripping water can be heard.
Drip, drip.
The sound of the water was rhythmic. It got louder, slowly approaching us.
I couldn’t see anything. In my heart, I cursed at Ma Yu for bringing the torch in with her and refusing to switch the light back on when she came out.
Drip, drip.
Someone drenched in water was walking towards us.
What the hell is Ma Yu up to? Was she trying to scare us again?
I could almost feel water trickling slowly towards my feet. It was almost soundless, silent, just like the sound of her footsteps.
Qunfang-jie tightened her grip on my hand.
The sound of dripping water passed by before us, drifting past like a hazy cloud of mist.
The two of us were frightened out of our wits and stood rooted to the spot. We didn’t know who or what just walked past us in the dark. It brought with it the sound of dripping water, but there was no sound of breathing.
Our hair stood on end. Neither of us dared to make even the slightest sound.
Ma Yu? Was it Ma Yu?
I really wanted to ask aloud, but the next sound I heard scared me so much I nearly collapsed onto the ground.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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P tfiv bcab Hecojcu-plf cfza ab wf alutais. P mbeiv offi atja rtf kjr jirb rtjxlcu, jcv tfg rxlc ecvfg ws qjiw kjr mbiv.
The baby was laughing.
In this pitch-black darkness where you couldn’t even see your five fingers, there was the sound of dripping water and an infant’s giggles.
Terrible, this was too terrible!
Ma Yu! Is this Ma Yu’s attempt to scare us?
The giggles echoed right in front of us, like the gurgling laughter of a happy baby.
I have heard this type of laughter countless times while working in this hospital. Babies who were lying down would sometimes suddenly open their eyes and laugh inexplicably. Adults who saw this would also laugh along, and it felt like a moment full of love.
But this moment felt like a complete torment. It felt as if time would grind to a stop here forever.
When babies started laughing inexplicably, was it because there was something teasing them? I have certainly considered that thought before.
So now, I am even more fearful of this giggling voice.
But gradually, the giggling became softer, and the dripping sound also drew further away, deeper into the corridor.
Click. There was the sound of a door opening.
My first thought was that it was the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine where I worked.
“That’s…that was the sound.” After a long pause, Qunfang-jie finally spoke with a trembling voice.
After hearing her speak, I felt like I gained some courage for an instant. There was a coolness on my face, and when I wiped at it, I belatedly realised that I actually cried from fright.
I couldn’t wrap my head around what just happened. I didn’t know if it was all just a hallucination, or was there really something.
Qunfang-jie re-confirmed that it was not a mere hallucination.
“Was there really a person earlier?” I asked with lingering fear.
“Did you… feel anything just now? Specifically, the sound of breathing, body temperature, or anything like that… after all, it was so close to us earlier…”
“N-No… or p-perhaps I just didn’t notice it…” I quickly wiped away all traces of my tears. I was slightly disappointed in my own cowardice.
“Should we go over to have a look, or wait for Ma Yu to come out?” Qunfang-jie asked.
Could that person earlier be Ma Yu?
I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t get the words out.
Ma Yu had been in the toilet for a long time and had yet to come out. If the sound of the rushing was not by her earlier, then who could it be? If the one who walked out earlier wasn’t her, then who could it be?
But the baby… I didn’t dare to think about it anymore.
We stood waiting for a while, while trembling and letting out thoughts run wild, but there was still no movement from Ma Yu.
“What is this?” Qunfang-jie asked in suspicion and crouched down.
Click.
A beam of light shot out and our surroundings were all lit up at once.
Qunfang-jie held the torch she had just picked up, her face devoid of colour.
At some point, Ma Yu’s torch rolled out of the toilet, and Qunfang-jie picked it up.
“Where’s M-Ma Yu?”
“Listen!” Qunfang-jie made a “shh” gesture, then pointed down the corridor.
Thump. Thump. There seemed to be someone coming upstairs.
Did someone from the nurse’s station downstairs come up to find us? Were they still on duty?
I exhaled in relief. When they come up, we could all just go in together to see what the hell Ma Yu is doing.
The sound of the person coming up is getting louder and louder. They have almost reached the fourth floor.
“It’s Chen Juan!” Qunfang-jie exclaimed.
Chen Juan? Who’s that?
I didn’t respond immediately. After all, there was no one by the name of Chen Juan on duty today… Chen Juan?
I gulped. “Qunfang-jie, you are not talking about that Chen Juan, are you?” I smiled at her placatingly, thinking that she must be pulling my leg.
However, Qunfang-jie did not answer me. Instead, she walked towards the source with the torch.
“Wait a minute! Maybe you heard it wrong! How could you know it’s her just by hearing the footsteps? Besides, Ma Yu…” I dared not stay alone and hurriedly chased after her.
My heart rate sped up.
I felt an ominous premonition. Don’t tell me there was something worse than what just happened?
I had an urge to turn around and go back immediately, but without a torch, without Qunfang-jie, how could I possibly dare to go through the corridor alone, then go down to the first floor in the dark…not to mention I still had to pass by that women’s toilet…
Every step I took along with the dim halo of light made my heart tremble.
I felt like there was something surging around in the silent darkness around me.
I’d never regretted the decision I made earlier more than I have now. What if, what if I ended up stuck here and couldn’t go home? I didn’t dare to even entertain that thought.
Just a few more steps and we would be at the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
That room where the fire broke out, that ominous place in the hospital…
The fuzzy edge of the light swept by the corner of the wall… Quick, just walk by it, walk by it…
I was about to turn my face away and run past the door of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, when Sister Qunfang suddenly came to a stop before it.
“She’s here.” Qunfang-jie said, word by word.
“What?” I froze, then quickly stammered. “Qunfang-jie, what are you saying? Th-That Chen Juan, she…she went missing a long time ago!”
“She’s crying, she’s crying…” Qunfang-jie was holding on to the torch and began muttering to herself under her breath.
“Qunfang-jie… Qunfang-jie… don’t scare me…” I was about to burst into tears again. The dark and cold surroundings were so oppressive at this moment that I felt as if I couldn’t breathe.
All of a sudden, Qunfang-jie raised her hand. The light of the torch shone directly on the glass above the door.
“Ahhhh!!”
I didn’t know how I was able to let out such a horrid scream.
At that moment, just when the light shone onto the glass, I saw a huge face on the other side of it. It was a baby’s face, grinning, toothless, and its skin was all scorched black, scorched black with two beady black eyes. Its jet-black soot-covered hand was on the glass, and at the moment when the light illuminated it, it was staring at me…
I lost all ability to think.
I didn’t know what that was… I slumped onto the ground weakly…
“She’s here! She’s here!” Qunfang-jie shouted excitedly. “She’s crying, she’s crying…”
I couldn’t hear anything. All I could see was that hideous face on the glass, flitting in and out of my vision.
“Qunfang-jie…” I reached out, hoping to get Qunfang-jie to help me up.
However, she ignored me, and started banging on the door like a lunatic.
“It’s her. It must be her. I know everything about her. I know everything!
My waning consciousness told me that the ‘she’ Qunfang-jie was referring to must be Chen Juan. However, I didn’t know why she was so persistent. Why must she choose today to come here…
“The mother or the child?” Qunfang-jie threw down the torch all of a sudden. “Chen Juan, Chen Juan…”
She managed to push the door open and a wave of heat rushed out from behind it.
It’s on fire?
In the encroaching darkness, I seemed to see Qunfang-jie rushing into the room.
Then my vision turned black, and I didn’t know anything anymore.
Attachment: Later, Li Ting, who fainted due to fright, was found by the night watchman who heard the screams and brought her back. Ma Yu and Liu Qunfang went missing that night. After the incident, both the women’s toilet and the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine were checked, but there were no abnormalities found.
Qunfang-jie what is up with you?? 😭 What is your thing with Chen Juan?