Forbidden Land – CH 066

After getting off work, Chen Rong came to see Zhang Chao, who looked rather unwell. She told him she had checked online and confirmed that a murder had indeed occurred in Wenzhou Village two years ago; a woman had been killed by her boyfriend in a hotel bathtub, and the boyfriend later turned himself in. Zhang Chao recalled the hazy, dreamlike scene in the hotel, feeling a heavy weight pressing on his chest, unable to be released.

He also remembered the fortune teller’s words on Beigao Peak: he had been in contact with too many unclean things, which was why he had attracted those spirits. And the so-called unclean thing he had been in contact with was probably “Bai Qiu.” Thinking of this, he felt even more suffocated.

Chen Rong comforted him, telling him not to think too much. But she herself knew that even she, a doctor, couldn’t help but wonder if Zhang Chao was truly possessed; how much more so Zhang Chao himself? She watched him eat, then talked with him until after 8 PM, saying she would do a hypnosis session for him the next day, before finally leaving.

After Chen Rong left, Zhang Chao was left alone in the room, his heart heavy. Life felt too lonely, too dull. Although he was a man, being confined to this room and burdened with so many things, he finally couldn’t hold back and secretly cried, “I want to go home, I want to go home.” He wanted to call his parents, but his clothes were nowhere to be found. He changed into hospital clothes and searched his bag thoroughly, but couldn’t find his phone.

People were easily overwhelmed in confined, oppressive spaces.

He desperately wanted to scream and let loose, but he remembered Chen Rong’s warning that screaming would only make people think his mental illness was worse. So he could only suppress the various emotions surging within him.

The night was desolate. Although the Seventh Hospital was right next to Tianmushan Road, a main thoroughfare in Hangzhou, he was several hundred meters away. The noise of traffic hundreds of meters away was completely inaudible. Behind him were mountains, and the inpatient building stood at their foot, appearing exceptionally deserted.

After crying, Zhang Chao had nothing to do, so he picked up a magazine again to pass the time. The wall clock gradually pointed to 11 o’clock, and his headache flared up again. He closed the book, drew the curtains, and prepared to sleep.

Today was the first time he had slept in the Seventh Hospital while fully conscious. Many people had difficulty sleeping in unfamiliar beds, let alone in a mental hospital. Zhang Chao’s insomnia was already getting worse, and he tossed and turned in bed for an hour or two, still unable to fall asleep.

Finally, he got thirsty and got up to drink.

The moonlight outside filtered through the curtains, casting dim shadows.

The inpatient building, nestled against the mountain, was completely quiet, without a sound.

But this was a hospital, so Zhang Chao didn’t think too much about it. He poured water from the thermos into a cup; the water wasn’t too hot to drink directly.

He was very thirsty, so he grabbed the cup and drank it down. But after a few sips, his throat suddenly itched. He tilted his head and felt his mouth was full of thin, long things.

Zhang Chao spat out the water and looked down. It was a small clump of hair.

How disgusting! A disgusting experience he had never had before.

Upon seeing the hair, Zhang Chao frantically pulled out the few long hairs still clinging to the corner of his mouth, one by one. The itchy, slippery sensation of each hair being pulled from his mouth made his scalp tingle.

Everyone had experienced the nauseating feeling of finding a hair in their food and then pulling it out.

What’s more, this wasn’t just one, but dozens of long hairs.

“Ugh—” Finally, he couldn’t bear the feeling any longer and vomited it all out. He felt his stomach churn, but he still couldn’t suppress the nausea.

Everyone tended to associate memories and experience delayed sensations. Although he had cleaned the hair out of his mouth, his entire mouth and even his whole body felt unbearably itchy.

It felt like tiny downy feathers were gently rubbing against his skin.

Zhang Chao gasped for breath, looking back into the cup. It was completely empty except for water. He looked at the floor; besides his vomit, there was no hair.

What was going on?

Zhang Chao lowered his head, pondering, at a loss.

Then, he noticed that the light in the room seemed to have dimmed somewhat.

Although it was night and the curtains were drawn, they were semi-transparent, allowing some moonlight to filter through.

Now…it shouldn’t be this dark, should it?

Realizing this subtle change, he abruptly looked up at the window.

Three shadows were cast on the thin, semi-transparent curtains: the one on the left was taller, the one in the middle was slightly lower, and the one on the right was the shortest. They stood there motionless.

Zhang Chao shrugged abruptly. Someone was standing on the balcony, watching him?

He wanted to scream, but he wasn’t completely overwhelmed by fear. If he screamed, he’d definitely be locked up again as if he were mentally ill, and getting out would be hopeless.

What to do?

Three figures stood motionless.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Zhang Chao walked to the wall and snapped on the light. The shadows on the curtains were no longer visible.

Then, he mustered his courage and walked to the balcony.

Gripping the doorknob, he hesitated for several seconds before forcefully opening the door and peering out.

There was no one there.

It was completely silent outside, and every balcony around was empty.

Were those shadows of something else, or…?

Staring at the emptiness outside for a while, he couldn’t help but feel a little panicked. He closed the door and went back to his room. After thinking for a moment, he decided to turn off the light, close his eyes, and go to sleep.

Even with his eyes closed, his heart was pounding.

Were the figures outside still there?

Zhang Chao cautiously opened his eyes and turned to look. The curtains were still the curtains; there was no one there.

Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a sudden, intense fear and sense of danger washed over him.

To the left… There seemed to be figures standing to the left.

His peripheral vision darted around.

A man, wearing a gray suit. He was holding the hand of a woman wearing a black sweater. He was also holding the hand of a little girl wearing a red vest. They stood motionless, less than half a meter to the left of his bed. Their faces were expressionless; the three of them stared at him blankly, without blinking.

Silence. Complete stillness.

Zhang Chao froze for three seconds, then instantly tumbled off the right side of the bed in terror. When he stood up, the three were still standing there, continuing to watch him silently.

Zhang Chao was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He turned, opened the balcony door, and ran out.

Gasping for breath, he dared not return to the room. At least there were still streetlights outside, and further out was Tianmushan Road, where cars could still be seen passing by.

“Young man… young man…” came a low, sobbing cry.

Zhang Chao was startled again and turned around. It was the old fortune teller who claimed to raise ghost children. He rushed over as if grasping at a straw, crying, “Uncle, it’s in my room, it’s in my room…”

The old man nodded. “I know. What did you see?”

Zhang Chao, panting, said, “Three people, standing…”

The old man said, “They might be people from a car accident on the street outside. They died unjustly and don’t want to leave.”

Zhang Chao asked in a trembling voice, “Why…why did they target me?”

The old man said, “You saw them?”

Zhang Chao said urgently, “Of course!”

The old man said, “You saw them clearly?”

Zhang Chao said, “A man in a suit, a woman, and a child.”

The old man seemed to be thinking. “Logically speaking, even if there really are ghosts, a normal person like you shouldn’t be able to see them. Even if you did, you wouldn’t be able to see them very clearly. Hmm…are you carrying anything?”

Zhang Chao rubbed his body. “No.”

The old man said, “Have you taken anything used by the dead?”

Zhang Chao suddenly remembered that a few nights ago, he had stuffed a piece of white cloth that the black cat had scratched off into his backpack. He hurriedly said, “There’s a rag…it might be something a dead person would use.”

The old man said sternly, “Go throw it away!”

Zhang Chao hesitated. “It’s wrapped in my room. You…you want me to go in and get it?”

The old man nodded. “They can’t harm you; they can only scare you.”

Zhang Chao burst into tears. “I won’t go in, please. Is there any way?”

The old man looked at his pitiful cries, remained silent for a long time, sighed, and gave a somewhat bleak smile, “Anyway, I’m leaving soon.” Then he closed his eyes.

A minute later, Zhang Chao was still crying. The old man opened his eyes, his face suddenly appearing much paler. He said sharply, “Goodbye, don’t disturb the living!”

After saying that, the old man coughed. After a while, he said to Zhang Chao again, “Go in; they are gone.”

“Really gone?” Zhang Chao looked at him with disbelief.

The old man nodded wearily.

Zhang Chao hesitated, stood up, opened the door, and looked around. Finally, everyone was gone. He breathed a sigh of relief, went inside, and headed towards his schoolbag.

Wait a minute. His steps suddenly stopped.

Wait a minute! Was his shadow really that long?

A large shadow stretched across the ground, completely enveloping him. The sleeves seemed quite large.

Zhang Chao froze, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.

He slowly lowered his head, glancing behind him out of the corner of his eye.

Black cloth shoes!

Zhang Chao immediately lunged forward.