Forbidden Land – CH 064

Chen Rong asked him about that night again, and Zhang Chao looked uneasy. He really didn’t want to recall that night’s experience, especially the beautiful woman by the lake who insisted on singing for him, only to turn out to be a non-existent person, and he almost died in the lake. Whether it was because he was mentally confused at the time, having wild thoughts and hallucinations, or whether he had truly encountered a superstitious spirit, he couldn’t tell.

And even then, the memory was somewhat hazy.

After a long silence, Zhang Chao finally shared with Chen Rong his experience by the lake that night.

After hearing Zhang Chao’s story, Chen Rong was also horrified. She asked in a trembling voice, “In the end, what you held in your hand wasn’t a hand, but water plants?”

Zhang Chao nodded heavily, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration. “Have people ever died in the school lake? You’ve been at school for three years longer than I have; have you heard of anything like that?”

Chen Rong fell into thought. After a moment, her eyes lit up. “That really happened.”

Zhang Chao’s mouth dropped open. “Ah!”

Chen Rong said, “That was around 2004, I think. There was a girl; I heard her father was a teacher. She was supposed to have a singing competition the next day, but she went swimming the day before and drowned. After that, signs were put up around the school lake saying, ‘Swimming is strictly prohibited.'”

Hearing Chen Rong’s story, Zhang Chao seemed to vaguely sense a logical problem, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Thinking about the many signs around the school lake saying “Swimming is strictly prohibited,” he realized there was such a thing. Suddenly, he gasped, “That girl…that girl also told me that she was going to participate in a singing competition tomorrow and that she absolutely had to sing for me.”

Chen Rong’s face frosted over, and she hesitated before finally saying, “Could it be…could it really be that kind of thing they say…that’s come after you?”

Zhang Chao took a deep breath and sighed, “Maybe it’s really like the fortune teller on Beigao Peak said. My body has been exposed to too many things lately, and it’s attracting unclean things. Believe it or not, I really did talk to Bai Qiu almost every day for the past few days. Tell me, is that real, or is someone impersonating Bai Qiu? But my mind was very clear at the time, and I didn’t think it was impossible. Originally, I believed more that these were all man-made, that someone did it on purpose, but since what happened at the hotel, at the School of Medicine, and by the lake a few days ago, I believe the fortune teller’s words more. This kind of body attracts unclean things.”

Chen Rong asked, puzzled, “What happened at the hotel and the School of Medicine?”

Zhang Chao told Chen Rong about his bizarre dream in the hotel and his terrifying experience at the School of Medicine. Then, suddenly remembering something, he said, “Could you check if someone died in that hotel?”

Chen Rong nodded, her face showing worry. She slowly said, “At first, I didn’t believe you. I thought it was just your hallucination. But later, I gradually began to believe that perhaps you really did see it… and it wasn’t just your hallucination. Otherwise, there’s no way to explain why Bai Qiu asked you to go to the School of Medicine to find Zhu Xiaoyu.”

Zhang Chao said, “But why haven’t I seen Bai Qiu since I learned she was dead?”

Chen Rong said, “Perhaps, perhaps Bai Qiu knows you understand the whole thing, so she doesn’t want to come looking for you anymore and disrupt your normal life. Maybe not, but for now, I can’t think of a better explanation.” She then smiled. “I also find it absurd. How could I, a doctor, believe what you’re saying? Even I find it unbelievable.”

Zhang Chao said, “So, do you really believe it, or not?”

Chen Rong frankly said, “I’m half-believing, half-doubting, but I believe you aren’t crazy at all. I’ve seen plenty of mental patients, and no one is like you. Even if you have dissociative identity disorder, you wouldn’t be able to express and analyze what happened when your other personality was acting this clearly.”

Zhang Chao smiled bitterly. “Sigh, but I’m in a mental hospital.”

Chen Rong said, “That’s because I hope you recover your memory soon.”

Zhang Chao said, “By the way, after Bai Qiu died, why was I unconscious for several days and forgot everything that happened before?”

Chen Rong said, “Do you remember where you collapsed?”

Zhang Chao said blankly, “I have no recollection. I only remember waking up in the hospital.”

Chen Rong sighed, hesitating to speak.

Zhang Chao asked, “Tell me, in what situation did I faint?”

Chen Rong hesitated for a moment, then finally said, “The School of Medicine.”

“The School of Medicine!” Zhang Chao’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Did I watch Bai Qiu jump off the building?”

Chen Rong shook her head. “No one was present when Bai Qiu jumped. The night after Bai Qiu’s death, no one knows why you went to the School of Medicine alone. Later, no one knows what happened, but you fainted in the stairwell between the fifth and sixth floors. The next day, students found you unconscious, huddled in a corner, looking very panicked. They rushed you to the hospital.”

Zhang Chao asked, “Did the security camera capture anything?”

Chen Rong said, “We checked, but there was nothing. You fainted on the stair landing; the security camera didn’t capture your side, so naturally, they don’t know what happened. Don’t you remember anything at all?”

Zhang Chao shook his head. “I have no memory whatsoever.”

Chen Rong thought for a moment, then said, “How about we try hypnosis?”

“Hypnosis?” Zhang Chao asked. “Is hypnosis real? I don’t want to sleep. Do you think you can make me fall asleep through hypnosis?”

Chen Rong smiled. “We don’t have magic. Psychological hypnosis requires the patient’s cooperation. Otherwise, even the most skilled hypnotist can’t do it.”

Zhang Chao thought for a moment, nodded, and said, “Alright, it seems this is the only way. Maybe it can help me remember something.”