Translator: Reina Editor: Killian
“Then…” Making use of the pause between the recordings on the tapes, Sun Zheng asked the question that was pent up in his heart. “What does your brother mean by that sentence?”
Lu Xia was startled, and immediately realised that Sun Zheng was referring to the sentence ‘he’s probably looking for him to play’.
He moved his lips, wanting to say something, but felt that his guess was too terrible, and he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
“What is it?” Seeing Lu Xia’s having this expression for the first time, Sun Zheng started getting more and more curious.
“If… I’m not wrong,” Lu Xia said while hitting the pause button. “Gao Letian probably had a twin.”
“Tw-Twin?”
“The one in the chasm is definitely not Gao Letian,” Lu Xia said solemnly, “We have heard the child’s voice in this tape, but Gao Letian’s photo was delivered later, which can only mean that the child in the chasm…is not him but another child. As for the ghost baby, of course it’s all that doctor’s nonsense.”
So, the one running in the corridor, the one groaning at the door, the one who left footprints on the window sill, and the one who hid under the table and scratched Yan Yang’s feet… all of those were done by a child.
Three years ago, it wasn’t just Gao Letian’s grandfather who accompanied him to the hospital, but also his twin brother.
That’s why it seemed strange when the nurse recounted her meeting with the child.
She said she saw his grandfather leading him out, and the child even smiled at her and said, ‘Hello, nurse-jiejie!’
This well-behaved, polite and cute child is not Gao Letian. This child entered the chasm at the moment his grandfather rolled down the stairs and fell to his death. The nurse saw him disappear with her own eyes, but mistakenly regarded him and Gao Letian who appeared later as the same person.
“Then what about Gao Letian? Doesn’t he come to the hospital at this time of year? What about his mother? Why didn’t anyone mention it to him? Or ask the child about it?”
Lu Xia shook his head. “It could be PTSD? Or traumatic amnesia? It happened so many years ago, there would be few who’d know exactly what happened back then. Perhaps his mother had asked previously, or perhaps she didn’t. This pitiful family lost an elder and a child all at once. How could anyone possibly bring this incident up easily?”
“No wonder Gao Letian’s mother spoiled him so excessively…”
“At least there’s a part of that child still alive.” Lu Xia pointed at his temple. “Somewhere deep in his mind… his brother is calling for him, at this time of year…”
He’s probably looking for him to play.
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.
The child who disappeared in the corridor on the third floor who was crying for his grandpa helplessly. He ran back and forth in the corridor but there was only darkness and fear, and he couldn’t find the exit. The one who grabbed him and dragged him towards the stairs, maybe, it was just this little boy who wanted to find someone to play with… How did he spend his days and nights alone in this dark hospital? Was he scared? Was he lonely? Lingering at the stairs, in the corridors, standing on the windowsills after entering the chasm? Now, where was he hiding?
Qtja jybea atf batfg mtliv? Oslcu lc yfv, fjalcu rcjmxr, kjamtlcu mjgabbcr. Jbeiv la yf atja atf mtliv utbra jikjsr rabbv bearlvf atf vbbg bo atf atlgv gbbw, kjlalcu obg tlr ygbatfg ab mbwf jcv qijs klat tlw…
“Vb sbeg ygbatfg tjv jigfjvs qlfmfv abufatfg ktja tjqqfcfv,” Vec Itfcu rlutfv.
Lu Xia tilted his head up to stare at the dim ceiling. So what if Lu Xiaoyun knew, he still had no way to save the child.
He turned to Sun Zheng again. There were many things in this world where, no matter how one struggled, the result would still remain the same.
Then, what about them?
It seemed that every time they unravelled a story, they would always inevitably fall into a moment of silence.
Perhaps they had subconsciously inserted themselves into the shadows of the parties involved, thinking that perhaps just like them, they would be pronounced missing in the real world and stuck here in the chasm forever. Then, maybe, after many years, there would be someone who stumbled in, bumping into their afterimages and getting a scare.
“Let’s…” Sun Zheng paused and finally said. “Let’s listen to the tape.”
He pressed the play button.
Lu Xia moved even closer to Sun Zheng and stared at his friend’s profile shrouded in shadows. The darkness was unfathomable and the large swatches of pitch-blackness around them seemed to be undulating. If, if one day, the face before him ends up completely swallowed by this darkness and turned into one of those ‘things’… then what should he do?
His heart tightened in panic.
The tape began spinning in the recorder, and the sound gradually came out.
After a string of English, a chinese voice sounded.
It was an unexpected voice. Both Lu Xia and Sun Zheng were stunned.
It was a woman’s voice, young and crisp, with even the background noise was minimal.
“Lu Xiaoyun, Yan Yang, I took away the second tape. It contains something very important to me. Thank you for investigating the room on the fourth floor for me. But I don’t want you to take risks for me. I have listened to your tapes and also know there is a problem with this hospital. Please say sorry to my grandpa on my behalf.”
(Sun Zheng and Lu Xia looked at each other and understood at the same time that this was Liu Qunfang.
She took away the second tape of Lu Xiaoyun and Yan Yang, but kept the first tape, and recorded a confession in it.
It seems that the content of the second tape was related to the traditional Chinese medicine room on the fourth floor.
How did Lu Xiaoyun and Yan Yang react after hearing this confession?)
“Since I was a child, I have never believed my grandfather. I have never believed in ghosts and gods. I believe that people can get what they want with their own efforts. Why would they imagine that there was a higher power which could control their destiny? The older generation was just superstitious, that was my conclusion. But then, I met her. Why did she only get ridiculed even after she put in so much effort and worked so hard? People are scared of ghosts and fear gods. They are afraid of the unknown, but they also cannot tolerate fellow humans. The method you mentioned, I decided that I have to try it anyway even if I had to enter the chasm thing you mentioned. You don’t have to come after me, because trying this method is something I’ve decided all on my own. Grandpa, you have never stopped me from doing anything I’ve insisted on, and you wouldn’t stop me this time either, right?”
“About Gao Letian’s matter, there’s no point investigating it any further. It’s not that no one knows about it, but they are not allowed to talk about it. His mother made a huge fuss back then and the hospital blocked all the news of this case. No one would tell you the truth. About the odd happenings in this hospital, I do know of one. In the laboratory on the second floor, there is a pot of chlorophytum. It’s said that the dean personally performed an operation that saved a dying patient, and this plant was given by that patient. Since then, some doctors would go there to improve their luck before performing operations. No one dares to move the pot around. But…be careful, never go there at night.
“I’m sorry, I lied to get you two to go to that concert. I probably won’t be around anymore to see you two when you come back… Help me tell grandpa: I miss him very much.”
(The tape spun. There was a click. The recording came to an end.)
Sun Zheng said contemplatively “This explains why Liu Qunfang entered the chasm although your brother was around. She heard the secret of the chasm from the tape, and used a concert to send your brother and Yan Yang away, then followed Li Ting and the others to investigate the matter.”
Lu Xia nodded.
“So… we should go to the laboratory on the second floor to look at that pot,” Sun Zheng said, subconsciously stroking the black imprint on his wrist again.
He still has a psychological shadow in his heart. Lu Xia noticed his movements.
Lu Xia suddenly laughed, patted Sun Zheng on the shoulder. “Alright. Then let’s take a look at the map first. At least we are getting closer to my brother!”
Sun Zheng was nearly smacked onto the table by Lu Xia’s single blow. Feeling a little annoyed, he took the map out and opened it.
Their gazes stopped on the map at the same time, and their breathing seemed to be stuck.
Be careful, never go there at night.
“Ahem,” Lu Xia coughed to break the silence. “It’s just a pot of Chlorophytum. Even if we go there under such circumstances, there shouldn’t be a huge problem…so there’s no need to worry so much.”
That’s not convincing at all, Sun Zheng lamented inwardly.
“But,” Sun Zheng looked at Lu Xia, “No matter what is on the second floor, it will all be dangerous, right?”
Just like on this third floor.
“Do we have a choice?” Lu Xia asked with a wry grin.
Sun Zheng returned it with a bitter smile. He pulled Lu Xia to his feet. “Let’s go then.”
Lu Xian leaned over without any ounce of hesitation. Sun Zheng was swayed by the weight, and didn’t notice the momentary downturned gaze Lu Xia casted at his own injured foot.
Burns.
The corners of Lu Xia’s lips twitched.
He tugged the hem of his trousers lower, then slid the tape recorder into his pocket with one hand while picking up the flashlight with the other. “Let’s go!”
Sun Zheng helped him walk slowly to the door. The two of them had a tacit understanding. One held the flashlight while the other opened the door.
The moment the air poured in from outside the door, Sun Zheng quickened his pace and Lu Xia flipped the flashlight on at the same time. The light was a little too dazzling, and they strode off towards the stairs based on memory.
Sun Zheng could feel the weight of the man on his back. It was heavy, but very reliable.
When they finally got used to the light, they had already reached the entrance of the stairwell.
Sun Zheng took a step down. The whole hospital was immersed in boundless silence. Even the footsteps of old Zhang and Mao disappeared completely.
“Was that matter… really so important for Liu Qunfang?” he asked all of a sudden. “Wasn’t she afraid?”
Lu Xia was momentarily stunned.
“What about you, Lu Xia?” “Sun Zheng turned his face, looking as if he was smiling a little. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you being scared. ”
Lu Xia didn’t speak, but his hand tightened around Sun Zheng’s shoulder.
Sun Zheng didn’t seem to be expecting any answer either. He seemed like he was merely talking to himself just now. Borrowing the light from Lu Xia’s flashlight, they slowly descended the stairs.
The halo of light illuminated the dull white colour of the stairs.
It felt as though it was the only colour he could see in this world, just as if the heartbeat of the person pressed close to him was the only sound he could hear.
“Actually…” Lu Xia said suddenly, his expression completely submerged in the darkness. “There are things, or people, who you’d suddenly find have become irreplaceably important to you. And if you come to terms with your feelings for them then, you’ll realise how scared you are, how afraid you are to lose them…”
There was a lull in his words. Although Lu Xia was obviously talking in such a soft voice, Sun Zheng could still hear the tension in it. Every single one of Lu Xia’s words were gripping Sun Zheng tightly, just like how Lu Xia’s hand was gripping his shoulder.
Lu Xia was warm.
“I understand her because we both have someone we like. Liu Qunfang was actually very scared,” Lu Xia said, looking at Sun Zheng with bright eyes. “And I’m more scared than her, Sun Zheng.”
God the children’s story is so sad.. 😭😭
Oh is that a confession? Lol