A human nest? Chuan Nayi wanted to step back as she heard about this. She then remembered that these ghosts would have to either make use of an undisturbed place or a human so they would be able to sleep properly. Just like what Ye Ling had done when she slept inside Ruan Jin. However, the Mother had other ideas for undisturbed spaces—more when she didn't make use of a live human nest.
"There's a dead body inside. You can use it. The girl hiding inside it had jumped to her after all." The Mother glanced at Chuan Nayi, but the directress wasn't really that shocked. A live body was always better than a dead one, it seemed. Chuan Nayi was just feeling rather pitiful for the dead man. He was already dead, and yet his body wasn't even left inside a freezer drawer at least.
It's just that… God Raven let out a low complaining growl. "Isn't that Nurse Yun's body? If I move it around like a puppet, Xiaodan will crush me dead."
Perhaps both Chuan Nayi and Ye Ling were shocked to know that Liu Xiaodan was familiar with the dead man. Moreover, the resting ghost felt tensed now that someone said Liu Xiaodan would kill whoever desecrated the body of that nurse. However, what could Ye Ling do? There was no other way for her to escape that place but borrowing a material body. No wonder that body had traces of Guangru's miasma…
Chuan Nayi rubbed her c.h.e.s.t as if pacifying Ye Ling. "I will let him know of the circ.u.mstances. So… can you look for Ruan Jin, now?" She was speaking with the entity resting inside her, but Ye Ling couldn't even make a sound now. The blaze from earlier harmed her, and she was still recuperating.
All Chuan Nayi received was a depressive feeling rooting from Ye Ling's silence.
"Xiaodan is over there. How about you take a look?" God Raven wished to talk more about things with the Mother so it shooed the human woman away. Pointing to a direction, it also watched Chuan Nayi leave towards the right room first before vanishing with the Mother.
"Xiaodan..." Chuan Nayi didn't care much about those two entities anymore. She felt strange energy coming from one of the rooms at the corner of the floor. Her steps were slow and steady, her hands tightening at the c.h.e.s.t of her shirt. For a long while, she was finally going to meet Liu Xiaodan. They had spoken earlier, but she was preceded by worry that she didn't think of how sudden it would have sounded to the man.
However, Liu Xiaodan was also too calm upon hearing her.
What if Liu Xiaodan decided to be civil with her instead? What if he didn't want her the way he did before, and only Guangru thought that she was still his mother? Could it be that Liu Xiaodan had given up on her halfway?
He did say he would find her… but that was because he found Li Feng, right? He also knew about Ruan Jin by then. What if he just wanted to lessen the implications he had on people, and that was why he would seek her?
Chuan Nayi took a deep breath and arrived in front of the room where he was supposed to be. However, she couldn't open the door, and all she could make use of was the sliding panel that served as a peephole. Her dainty fingers slid the small piece to the side, and her clear eyes took a peek inside.
"Xiaodan..." Her heart skipped a beat just like the first time she had seen him through the camera. His face and posture were not the same as they had been before. After they pseudo-break-up in the hospital, he was said to have changed. Even the Liu Xiaodan she saw on the news reports back on his trial was not the Liu Xiaodan from Ting University. Could it be that he had already become another person?
It's just that… blood was on his clothes. He was also lying there on the bed next to Ruan Jin, and he looked so much spent than the other man. Unlike the strong Project Hades, the man on the bed right now was looking rather fragile. How sure was she that he could still move?
Chuan Nayi narrowed her eyes as a tear dripped from one of them. This… she had caused this. She was the one who drove Liu Xiaodan into the loneliness and solitude that made him turn to the ghosts. Even right now, she had heard his name in a friendly manner more from the mouths of ghosts than human beings. To the humans of the facility, Liu Xiaodan had become a monster that they could not subdue.
Before she realized that she was just standing there motionless, her chin and cheeks were already dripping with her bitter tears. She then stopped containing her cries, but she had to cover her mouth and wailed like a ghost girl in the dark. Perhaps she didn't want anyone to come check up on her; perhaps she just wanted Liu Xiaodan to be the first to hear her again.
From inside the room, Ruan Jin woke up as if feeling Ye Ling nearby. His eyes opened, and the first thing he saw was Li Feng standing unmoving, with his hands locked in a seal. He was murmuring words, but Ruan Jin couldn't make out any of those. Then, he felt the liberty to move his head to the side.
There he was… Liu Xiaodan was actually lying down next to him.
Ruan Jin's eyes flickered. His weak hand reached out to grab onto the sleeve of his best friend's hand. He wanted to ask why there was blood on Liu Xiaodan or if he had found Chuan Nayi. Even a single clue would be good enough, but he couldn't bring himself to wake up the other man. It was as if the single sound would break the rare peace that Liu Xiaodan had.
Soon, voices were coming from outside. He didn't know why it both felt familiar, but he still waited for them to finish. Sadly, they actually opened the door. Jiu Yuanli walked in as if to check up on Ruan Jin, but he paused to take a look at what Li Feng was doing for now. Seeing that there was a ritual circle under him and the wooden statue, the doctor didn't disturb him.
"Jin, are you ready? I might have to cause trouble again." Jiu Yuanli spoke as if he didn't notice Liu Xiaodan next to the other person. However, he still would have to bother the other occupant of the bed because he needed Ruan Jin to be on his tummy.
"...doctor… can you check up on Xiaodan first?" Ruan Jin whispered, and he was actually happy that he could speak again. It's just that… if the doctor would poke him with a needle again, it would hurt so much. It would feel like he would be dying all over again.
However, Jiu Yuanli only smiled at him. "But I would need to prioritize you who couldn't heal himself, no?"