Chapter 90

Chapter 90

Qiao Yu looked down and felt that the black pants he was wearing were a little too long, so he crouched and rolled the cuffs up by about four fingers’ width. Maybe he rolled them a bit too much, because when he stood, a slim stretch of pale ankle was exposed.

“Tsk. Either cover it all up or show it all off. Leaving it half-hidden like that just makes it even more tempting…”

Bang-

Before Shang Yan could finish, the door slammed shut with such force that it cut him off completely.

Sitting alone in the empty ward, he awkwardly touched the tip of his nose. “What a little temper~”

**

Three in the morning.

At the end of the deserted corridor, a hunched silhouette slowly emerged. As the figure gradually solidified, the elderly form came shuffling forward with unsteady steps.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

The dragon-headed cane struck the tile floor with dull, heavy knocks, sending echoes rippling through the empty hallway.

As the old man approached, the dim incandescent bulbs overhead began to flicker erratically. In the stuttering light and shadow, a pale face covered in deep wrinkles was revealed.

“Heh… heh… heh…”

The sound coming from his throat was like labored breathing, yet also like an indistinct, mocking chuckle. Anyone who heard it would feel goose bumps crawl up their arms.

In the silent, terrifying hospital Instance, almost none of the streamers were sleeping soundly.

Every one of them had their ears pricked, listening to the strange movements outside their doors.

As the sound of the cane striking the ground grew louder and louder, the streamers in the wards also realized that thing was getting closer…

After Luo Ziwei returned to the ward, he felt as if there was a rusty taste in his mouth and suspected his gums might be bleeding.

He quickly bent over and spat the bloody saliva from his mouth. The wad of tissues in the trash can was instantly stained bright red.

Chi Shang, who had come back with him, saw this and glanced at the nursing label at the head of the bed.

Leukemia…

He sighed, then walked over to pour Luo Ziwei a glass of water so he could rinse his mouth. But for some reason, his wrist trembled midway through the motion, and the cup fell to the floor with a sharp crash, shattering.

He stared at the shards of glass and the puddle of water on the floor as his arm began to shake uncontrollably.

“What’s your clinical diagnosis?” Luo Ziwei noticed something was wrong and asked from where he leaned against the hospital bed.

“ALS.”

“Then won’t you…” Shock filled Luo Ziwei’s eyes.

Judging by the speed at which the disease was progressing, wouldn’t Chi Shang soon suffer muscle atrophy and be unable to speak?

“That’s why we need to escape this Instance as soon as possible.”

Hearing that, Luo Ziwei nodded hard. His slightly curly hair was soft and fluffy, trembling with every movement. For some reason, it made him look a little cute.

Chi Shang raised an eyebrow in surprise, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curving upward.

Perhaps because his mood had relaxed, the inexplicable soreness and numbness in his arm faded, and it returned to normal.

He picked up the broken glass from the floor, then went to the water dispenser to pour Luo Ziwei another glass and handed it over. “This Instance is seriously torturous.”

With water in his mouth, Luo Ziwei nodded hard again, bent over to spit the rinse water into the trash can, then raised his hand and roughly wiped the water from the corner of his mouth. “If I’m lucky enough to escape this Instance, I’m donating all my allowance to people who are suffering from illness but can’t afford treatment.”

Chi Shang looked at him in surprise. The boy had clenched his fists, his eyes wide, putting on an expression he clearly thought was fierce.

But he was small, slender, and delicate, with a pair of red, swollen eyes. He didn’t look fierce at all. If anything, he looked like a pitiful little lamb.

Chi Shang shook his head and laughed despite himself.

Pretty kindhearted, huh~

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Seeing Luo Ziwei yawn, Chi Shang got up to leave. “All right, I should go back and sleep. Otherwise my skin will lose its glow.”

Luo Ziwei: “…”

The instant Chi Shang opened the door… clack. Clack. Clack.

Almost immediately, he shut the door again. Luo Ziwei’s drowsiness vanished in an instant, and he sat up, looking at him nervously. “What is it?”

Chi Shang frowned and raised a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture.

Then he pressed himself against the door, listening for the faint sounds coming from the corridor.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

The sound of the dragon-headed cane striking the floor grew louder and louder. Just then, the sound abruptly stopped.

Chi Shang’s spine went stiff for a moment, as if he had heard the heavy breathing on the other side of the door.
“Xiuyun… heh… Have you seen Xiuyun…? Hah…”

Chi Shang and Luo Ziwei exchanged a look, not daring to so much as breathe.

A moment later, a shadow fell over them, blocking the faint sliver of light seeping in through the crack beneath the door.

At the same time, a murky eyeball appeared on the other side of the door, staring straight into Chi Shang’s eye through the gap. The other party’s aged eye was bloodshot, and no matter how you looked at it, it was deeply unsettling.

Chi Shang instinctively took a step back. That old eye curved slightly, its smile laced with malice. “I see you, you little bastard. Open the door!”

Luo Ziwei clutched the blanket tighter around himself and couldn’t help trembling.

At the same time, his mind raced desperately for a plan.

What do I do, what do I do? In this situation, what would his papa do?

His papa would open the door!

Wah… but he didn’t dare.

Bang!

Seeing that Chi Shang and Luo Ziwei still hadn’t opened the door after so long, the Old Ghost picked up his dragon-headed cane and struck the door hard.

“Little bastard, give me back my Xiuyun… heh…”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Fan Jianqiang lay on his bed and buried himself under the covers, but the sound of the door being smashed in the hallway still echoed clearly in his ears. With every strike, he couldn’t help curling in on himself.

Whenever he got scared, he couldn’t stop himself from wanting to swear. Unfortunately, the big-shot streamer he’d run into earlier wouldn’t let him shout as he pleased, afraid it would draw over a Ghost.

At that thought, he could only cover his mouth in agony.

Forget it, forget it. At least it wasn’t his door being knocked on right now. That unlucky guy would just have to fend for himself.

His thoughts were practically the same as the other surviving streamers’ at that moment.

On their first night in the Instance, before they figured out what triggered the vengeful ghost’s killings, none of them would stick their necks out lightly.

Even if they felt bad, that guy was simply unlucky. At a critical moment like this, their own lives were still more important.

As the Old Ghost outside struck the door with increasing force, the screws on the door bolt braced inside were knocked loose, making an irritating clack-clack sound.

At a time like this, even Luo Ziwei, weak all over from the torment of illness, had no choice but to get up. Wrapped tightly in the blanket, he pressed himself against the door with Chi Shang, holding it shut with all their strength.

Suddenly, just as the Old Ghost outside was about to break the door down, he stopped.

Luo Ziwei couldn’t help clutching the corner of the blanket tighter. Right now, the blanket draped over him was like a protective shell, giving him a faint sense of safety.

The next second, something round rolled in with a soft rumble.

It was a bloody, mangled eyeball!!!

If his back hadn’t been braced against the door, Luo Ziwei would have been so frightened his legs went weak and he collapsed.

Forget Luo Ziwei-even Chi Shang, who had always been rather bold, broke out in a cold sweat down his back.

The eyeball slowly rolled to their feet, its blackish-green pupil staring fixedly at them.

At the same time, the Old Ghost outside was still making a wheezing sound that seemed almost like a cough. “Heh… little bastard, give me back Xiuyun! Hah, or else…”

Whether Luo Ziwei’s brain short-circuited or something else, in the middle of this terrifying atmosphere, he actually raised his foot and kicked that bloodshot eyeball back out.

“Ah! Papa… I’m so scared, waaaah.”

Chi Shang: !!!

Wait. This crybaby was actually this reliable at a critical moment??

Unaware that his image had instantly shot up in someone’s mind, Luo Ziwei was still crying, as if one bad sob would make him choke himself to death on the spot.

He really was scared. Wah…

At that critical moment just now, he couldn’t help putting himself in Papa Qiao’s mindset, and before he knew it, he had kicked that bloody, mangled eyeball away.

The moment he finished kicking it, he regretted it.

He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to withstand it and would invite an even crazier retaliation from the Old Ghost outside.

So he cried even harder!

The Old Ghost on the other side froze for an instant. He had indeed been about to fly into a rage.

But in the next second, a slender, fair ankle stepped into his line of sight.

The other person’s voice was drowned out by the loud crying, but the Old Ghost still heard him clearly.

He said, “Oh? Sir, if you aren’t using that eye, could you donate it to someone in need?”

Old Ghost: ??

Qiao Yu bent down, quickly picked up the eyeball, then stuffed it into his pocket and smiled. “I happen to know a young lady who’s blind in both eyes. Though this eyeball of yours isn’t exactly pretty, it should still work if she makes do with it, right?”

“……”