Forbidden Land – CH 068

Chen Rong led Zhang Chao out of the ward and into a room, presumably used for hypnosis or similar procedures.

Inside sat a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties with glasses. He had a rather amiable appearance. Chen Rong introduced him: “This is my mentor, Professor Du Xuemin. He’s also a professor at Zhejiang University.”

Zhang Chao politely greeted him, “Hello, Professor Du.”

Du Xuemin smiled and glanced at Zhang Chao, saying, “Zhang Chao, after observing you these past few days and hearing Chen Rong recount your previous experiences… well… whether you’re actually sick… well… I can’t say for sure. Perhaps, you really aren’t sick.”

Zhang Chao instantly felt like he’d found a kindred spirit and wanted to immediately kneel, pleading, “Great Immortal Du! Living Buddha! Please save me!” Excitedly, Zhang Chao asked, “Professor Du, when can I go back to school?”

Du Xuemin smiled. “You’ll have to ask your parents.”

Chen Rong added, “If your parents don’t pay the medical bills, the hospital will definitely kick you out, don’t worry.”

Zhang Chao asked dejectedly, “When can I contact my parents?”

Du Xuemin said, “After the hypnosis today. But after the hypnosis, we’ll definitely need to observe you for a few more days before we can issue a certificate. Otherwise, the school probably won’t accept you.”

Zhang Chao asked, “Just a certificate? What if the college doesn’t agree?”

Chen Rong said, “Don’t worry, the certificate won’t say you have a serious illness like dissociative identity disorder; it’ll just say you have neurasthenia and are under a lot of academic pressure.”

Zhang Chao nodded. “That’s good. When does the hypnosis start?”

Du Xuemin said, “We can start now; go lie down first.”

Zhang Chao followed the instructions and lay down. Du Xuemin poured him a glass of water to drink first. Then, the lights were turned off. A few star-like lights shone from above, making it look like someone lying in the wilderness stargazing.

Du Xuemin told him to close his eyes, relax completely, and cooperate fully, imagining as he was instructed. Then, in a magnetic yet slightly ethereal voice, Du Xuemin said to him, “You’re lying on the grass, the moonlight is shining on you… You’re very sleepy, yes, you’re very sleepy, you want to sleep, right?”

“Yes,” Zhang Chao replied.

Du Xuemin stopped speaking.

Chen Rong turned on the light, looking annoyed. “Who told you to answer? Once you answer, your mind immediately returns to normal.”

Zhang Chao innocently replied, “But he asked if I was sleepy; if I wanted to sleep, I—”

Chen Rong interrupted, “Don’t think about it, don’t answer. Just imagine exactly what Professor Du described. When you’re fully hypnotized, you’ll answer automatically when asked. Understand?”

Zhang Chao nodded, calmly lying back down, completely following Du Xuemin’s instructions.

Stars fill the sky, you lie on a grassy field, there’s no sound around, very quiet, very quiet, very quiet… You want to sleep; you are sleepy… Sleep… Sleep…

With Du Xuemin’s magnetic, sleepy voice and the surrounding lighting, Zhang Chao unknowingly entered a semi-conscious hypnotic state, his self-awareness reduced to a minimum.

Du Xuemin and Chen Rong exchanged a glance. Du Xuemin nodded, then continued in an almost ethereal voice, “Bai Qiu is dead, isn’t she?”

“Bai Qiu is dead?” Zhang Chao replied, “Yes, Bai Qiu is dead.”

Du Xuemin glanced at Chen Rong, nodded, and continued, “Can you tell me how Bai Qiu died?”

Zhang Chao replied blankly, “She jumped off a building.”

Du Xuemin said, “Did you see her jump?”

Zhang Chao said, “No.”

Du Xuemin said, “Then how do you know Bai Qiu jumped to her death?”

Zhang Chao said, “Someone told me.”

Du Xuemin said, “Who told you?”

Zhang Chao said, “Lin Yi’ang, the teacher, and other classmates.”

Hearing this answer, a hint of emotion appeared on Chen Rong and Du Xuemin’s faces. Du Xuemin continued, “After you learned that Bai Qiu jumped, were you sad?”

“Sad, sad,” Zhang Chao’s face flushed.

Du Xuemin asked, “Do you know where you went the night after Bai Qiu jumped?”

Zhang Chao replied, “I went to the School of Medicine’s Teaching Building.”

Du Xuemin asked, “What were you doing there?”

Zhang Chao said, “I didn’t believe Bai Qiu would commit suicide, so I went to see the scene.”

Du Xuemin asked, “Which floor did you go to?”

Zhang Chao said, “The sixth floor.”

Du Xuemin asked, “Can you remember what you encountered on the sixth floor?”

A look of pain appeared on Zhang Chao’s face, his mouth seemingly contorted. “A woman, a woman, a woman.”

Du Xuemin asked, “What kind of woman?”

Zhang Chao’s expression seemed to struggle even more, as if enduring some kind of torment. “A woman in white, a woman in white.”

Du Xuemin looked at Zhang Chao’s expression, his brow furrowing slightly, and continued to ask, “Where was she?”

Zhang Chao said with difficulty, “In the corner, she was pressed against the corner.”

Du Xuemin asked, “Which corner?”

Zhang Chao said, “The stairs, the corner of the stairs.”

Du Xuemin asked, “Did you see what she looked like?”

“She…she, in white, singing, I saw her…” Zhang Chao said in a panic.

Du Xuemin asked, “And then what happened?”

“She…she turned her head, she turned her head, ah—” With a gasp, Zhang Chao, covered in sweat, suddenly woke up. His heart was still pounding violently.

Chen Rong turned on the light, poured him a glass of water from the water dispenser, and made him drink it. “Do you remember anything?” Chen Rong asked.

Zhang Chao gasped for breath, as if he’d just run a kilometer. He pondered for a moment, then said, “I remember, I remember! Bai Qiu did jump to her death on February 26th. Someone else told me. I didn’t have a chance to see her body. On February 27th, I didn’t believe Bai Qiu would commit suicide. I went to the School of Medicine alone. When I got to the sixth floor, I heard a woman singing opera, like Yue opera. The sound lasted a few seconds and then stopped. Later, when I was going downstairs, I walked to the south staircase. It was dark at the turn. As I turned, I suddenly felt a chill behind me… like… like someone poured a bucket of water on my back. I looked back… looked back.”

Chen Rong asked urgently, “What did you see?”

Zhang Chao tried desperately to remember, but couldn’t recall anything. He said dejectedly, “The rest of my memory seems to be a complete gap. I can’t remember anything!”

Du Xuemin looked at Zhang Chao, seemed to ponder for a moment, and slowly said, “Is it something terrifying that affected your memory?”

Zhang Chao said, “It seems like that’s the feeling, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Could you continue with the hypnosis?”

Du Xuemin shook his head and said, “Tomorrow. Your emotions are too unstable right now; hypnosis probably can’t be done.”

Zhang Chao nodded.

Chen Rong said, “Let me take you back to rest now. I’ll return your phone and everything later. I’ll talk to your parents first, and then you can call them.”

Du Xuemin said, “Chen Rong, take Zhang Chao back first, and come find me later.”