Forbidden Land – CH 032

Zhang Chao woke up in the middle of the night, vaguely hearing someone knocking on the bathroom window again. He tried to get up but found he had no strength at all, his head throbbing. Even with half his body turned up, the knocking sounded unreal. He fell asleep again within seconds.

The next morning, Zhang Chao barely woke up. His tonsils felt like they were on fire, and he had no strength at all. He touched his forehead; it was burning hot.

He must have a fever; he probably caught a cold last night.

Zhang Chao forced himself out of bed, quickly washed up, and saw that his face was deathly pale in the mirror. He called Lin Yi’ang, saying he was sick and going to the school clinic. He asked Lin Yi’ang to ask for leave if a teacher called his name.

After getting ready, he took his medical record and left from Baisha Square. The school clinic was less than 100 meters away.

He registered, but waited in line for half an hour without being seen.

Zhang Chao cursed inwardly. He was almost dying, and now he had to wait in line to see a doctor. A young boy with fair skin and a delicate build, who seemed quite energetic, kept complaining of a cough and other discomfort, nagging the doctor incessantly. He almost wanted to castrate him.

Finally, it was his turn. The doctor asked a few questions, then told him to pay and get tests done. After waiting another half hour for the results, the doctor diagnosed him with viral influenza, prescribed medication and an injection, and told him to pay for an IV drip.

Finally, everything was done. He went to the injection room, where the nurse administered the IV. He carried the IV bag and found a place to sit.

A quick glance around revealed Zhu Xiaoyu sitting on the far end of the table, eyes slightly closed, her face also pale, receiving an IV drip.

Zhang Chao walked to the stool next to her, placed the IV drip in it, sat down, and said, “Xiao Zhu, what’s wrong? You’re sick too?”

Zhu Xiaoyu opened her eyes and saw it was Zhang Chao, but her expression was anything but friendly. She coldly said, “What are you doing here!”

Zhang Chao smiled. “Can’t you see? I’m getting an IV drip, too.”

Zhu Xiaoyu mustered her strength and asked clearly, word by word, “I—I—mean, what are you doing sitting here!” Her voice was loud, and several male and female students sitting opposite her, also getting IV drips, looked over.

Zhang Chao looked embarrassed and said awkwardly in a low voice, “We are in the same boat, aren’t we? I saw you were alone, so I came to keep you company.”

Zhu Xiaoyu sneered, “No need!” She added at the end, “Don’t talk to me, your—bad—mouth—stinks!”

She spoke extremely loudly, drawing everyone’s attention, even the nurses’ gossipy glances. Zhang Chao’s face flushed red, feeling his cold much better, and he lowered his voice, saying, “I even came to see you yesterday, otherwise you would—”

Zhu Xiaoyu interrupted him, “Enough! Don’t mention yesterday! I told you, don’t talk to me; you have bad breath!”

At this moment, those around couldn’t help but turn their heads and chuckle quietly.

Zhang Chao stood up angrily, glanced at Zhu Xiaoyu’s saline bottle, and really wanted to crush it to teach this bitch a lesson. Finally, he reluctantly picked up his own saline bottle, walked to a stool in the far corner, and sat down. He muttered to himself that Zhu Xiaoyu had no conscience; he should have known better than to stop her yesterday and let her jump.

But thinking back to yesterday, he remembered Zhu Xiaoyu’s strange behavior, especially the eerie smile she gave when she turned her head—it didn’t seem like her usual smile at all.

Could she have been possessed?

Did possession really exist?

It seemed he’d have to consult Chen Rong; she knew more about science and superstition than he did.

Wait, right, why was Zhu Xiaoyu also sick? What a coincidence, just like him?

Last time, Chen Rong mentioned that in the countryside, people believe that encountering something unclean can cause illness. He was sick, and Zhu Xiaoyu was sick, so what about Chen Rong?

He quickly took out his phone and called Chen Rong. As soon as the call connected, Zhang Chao anxiously asked, “Chen Rong, are you alright?”

Chen Rong replied, “I’m fine. By the way, Lin Yi’ang said you were sick. Where are you now?”

Zhang Chao said, “The school clinic. Hmm, that’s strange. Why does Lin Yi’ang tell you everything about me?”

Chen Rong smiled. “I ran into him on the way here, and he just mentioned it casually. Okay, how much longer? I’ll come find you at the school clinic later.”

Zhang Chao said, “Sure, I also have something I need to ask the learned female PhD student.”

When Chen Rong arrived, Zhu Xiaoyu had already finished her IV drip and left. From beginning to end, she hadn’t glanced at Zhang Chao once. Zhang Chao was extremely annoyed, especially by her high-pitched “Your breath stinks!” which was incredibly hurtful and made him lose face completely. He was afraid that some bored student on an IV drip might post about it on the school’s Forum 98 (because the forum’s IP address was 10.71.45.98, hence the forum’s name), which would make him look incredibly foolish.

Because there were so many students like this at Zhejiang University—they appeared healthy on the surface but were actually quite despicable. They posted even the most trivial things in life on the forum, which was chilling.

When Chen Rong arrived, she brought some fruit and snacks, acting like his girlfriend, which made him feel embarrassed. He chatted casually for a few minutes and told Chen Rong everything that had happened with Zhu Xiaoyu.

Chen Rong couldn’t help but laugh after listening.

Zhang Chao said angrily, “I was hoping to get some sympathy, but you’re laughing at me too.”

Chen Rong said, “Serves you right. You should know whether to continue the conversation when a girl says her first sentence. She clearly didn’t want to talk about yesterday, but you still brought it up. No wonder she got angry.”

Zhang Chao sighed helplessly and said, “By the way, you said Zhu Xiaoyu and I both got sick at the same time. Could it be related to what happened last night?”

Chen Rong said, “You mean…”

Zhang Chao said, “You mean that unclean thing you mentioned.”

Zhang Chao thought Chen Rong would definitely talk about probability. After all, they were together yesterday, and it was perfectly normal for them to get sick at the same time today. Viral flu was an infectious disease; it would be strange if they didn’t get sick after being together.

But Chen Rong shook her head and said, “I don’t know. This time, I really can’t say.”

Zhang Chao said, “Then what do you think happened to Zhu Xiaoyu last night? I remembered a term called ‘possession.’ Do you think something unclean can really possess someone?”

Chen Rong sighed and said, “Maybe.” She seemed unwilling to continue.

Zhang Chao looked at her expression and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Chen Rong smiled and said, “This time, it has really stumped me. Although I’m a psychology major, I’ve never encountered a situation like Zhu Xiaoyu’s before. At least from my professional perspective, I can’t give an explanation. Perhaps… perhaps we should go ask that fortune teller at Beigao Peak?”

Zhang Chao said, “Him? Forget it. You have to queue at 4 AM, and it costs 500 yuan!”

Chen Rong laughed, “We won’t have his fortune told; we’ll just ask him. If he charges money, then we won’t ask. It’ll be as good as a hike to relax.”

Zhang Chao nodded. “That’s right. But my health isn’t what it used to be.” He shook his head.

Chen Rong laughed. “It isn’t like we are going today. Let’s go this weekend if the weather’s good.”