Chapter 31: 2.15

Afterwards, as if the previous short exchange of words had no impact in the far future, the pair began to chat about what to do with Professor Shen. The old man had been hospitalized for his hands and had not been visited yet.

That was about to change.

Shen Wan had been surprised and touched that Li Guiren asked to visit his Uncle Shen. To be honest, she had been more than a little stressed. After the monk had gone through the house, he indeed confirmed there was something not right with that secret room of her brother's. However despite there being a strong negative aura infused into the room, he could not find the source of the true evil. He had hinted, not so subtly, that it was her brother that most likely incurred such a demon, that is, if he wasn't the demon himself.

The monk had promised to come back in a week to see if the darkness of the house has dissipated as well as check on her brother but how could she feel anything but unsettled. Her brother and her were not very close, she knew that the only reason he let her live with him was because of their parents and possibly for reputation's sake. Even so, she was grateful to live in such a nice place and did her best to ignore many of his snobbish eccentricities and his temper.

Even though their personalities were a little incompatible, for better or worse they were siblings, it was hard to think of him in such a light.

The countryside they stayed in was small and the Shen house was large and rich. Rumours about Profesor Shen's hospitalisation was already spiralling. The monk robes are also quite eye-catching so many had seen the monk come into the house the day after Professor Shen went to the hospital. It would be absurd to believe the man was just there for tea.

Shen Wan was a little slow but even she can see how this looks. Especially so since it was pretty much as it looks.

During the span between the monk visiting and Li Guiren asking about visiting his Uncle Shen, five days had passed. It had been a fairly hard five days for her. She had been caught throwing away the countless broken doll bodies from the room and the gossip topic of the Shen's had gone from something scandalous to something scary and abnormal. Her neighbours had gone over to not so subtly scope her situation out, a maid had quit, already unnerved by the sounds from the doll room weeks ago and fearing the curse might pass onto the residents of the house with a few other servants showing signs of leaving as well, and even the gardener who only comes weekly had given a weak excuse to not come by. China was slowly becoming more modern in outlook but the older and rural people still held on to superstitious beliefs.

If Jia Hyson's empathy hadn't eroded so much in this world he might have felt sorry and guilty for her. However she was a close relative of the person he hated most in this world and she constantly neglects the person he likes most in this world. How could he bother to muster up such a straining emotion for her?

Five days was enough time for Shen Wan to go a little ragged from the stress and unease, Li Guiren's small but sweet request would easily be agreed to with barely thought. Even though she looked extremely pitiful, with Heart's Sway and the ability to absorb all sorts of negativity supplemented by his other skills, Jia Hyson felt only bemusement. Despite all her whining and her self-reassurance about family and trust, five days was already enough for the many seeds of fear and resentment that she had been pushing down all these years to finally grow into a nice little garden of malice in her heart. Jia Hyson figures even if Professor Shen survived, the Shen family's already shaky relationship would have been broken beyond all repair. It probably already is honestly.

"Really?" Li Guiren says doubtfully as Jia Hyson whispers his findings in his ear as they are driven to the hospital. "But they're siblings."

Invisibly, Jia Hyson smiles fondly at Li Guiren's naivety but if anyone had saw they could see the condescencion. Children can be very smart but they are also so very pure. In such an especially dark world like this one, Jia Hyson wants to protect the boy's innocence but at the same time, a sick, dark and perverted part of him that had been growing larger and larger wants to watch first-hand as it slowly erodes over time and reality. "Later on in life Xiao Ren you will realise that the bond that blood holds is only as strong as you let it be. Friendships, love, camaraderie, that can produce a much stronger family than the one you were born into."

Li Guiren frowns, thinking of his father, and stays silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Jia Hyson gently rubs circles on his back in a soothing manner, trying to silently appease the boy. Li Guiren indeed felt moved by the comfort and soon relaxed into it, enjoying the closeness and obvious care. He supposes that there was some truth in Wei's words. After all, his dad never coddled him like this, and he really did feel closer to Wei than his dad… Li Guiren closed his eyes and hugged the doll tighter, like it was the only lifeline he had in this confusing world.

The hospital is in the city, it's one of the biggest ones and so there were many people bustling in or out. Jia Hyson, as a modern man used to great luxuries, was not very impressed by the equipment and such of the building but had to concede that given the time period it really was a very good hospital. However, it doesnt matter how good the conditions were, a big hospital meant a large number of patients and sad family and worried friends. The negative energy was pretty high making Jia Hyson feel quite comfortable despite it being in the middle of the day.

After the nurse directed them to Professor Shen's private room, Shen Wan had met an acquaintance right before they entered. Quickly she struck a conversation with the other lady, shooing Li Guiren into the room first before walking off with her friend to go get coffee. Jia Hyson sneers at her hurrying back, it was obvious to him that she was reluctant to enter and see her cursed brother, she fears him but not enough to send the child in. How caring.

When Li Guiren enters, Professor Shen was reading a book. Hardback with golden coloured text on the front. How pretentious. Professor Shen had dark bags under his eyes, the wrinkles on his face more defined on his face and his cheeks sallow like he had been through a stressful few days. It truly was a heartwarming sight for Jia Hyson.

A nurse was sitting idly by the man's side, looking bored and slight annoyed as she turns the page of the book for him under his impatient prompting. It seems Professor Shen wasn't very popular, then again, he was rich and holds a decent amount of connections and power, to him earning the goodwill of the nursing staff was probably beneath him. When she saw that the professor had a visited after so many days, she looked faintly surprised but quickly melted over the cuteness of the visitor.

Nurse: '(∩˃o˂∩)♡ It's a small dumpling! How cute!'

Jia Hyson: 'Girl, you have good eyes!' •̀.̫•́✧

Bebe: '…' (￣ー￣)ｂ

"Hello there, are you lost?" She asks, in her mind she couldn't really believe that this soft little child was related to this craggy haughty old man. "Where's you're mummy?"

Li Guiren shook his head and smiles, "I'm here for Uncle Shen, hello Uncle Shen,"

Professor Shen looks up, his brows furrowed at being interrupted and his mood even worse as he recognises the young voice to belong to the brat of the man-child drummer Shen Wan was dating. However his sour expression immediately froze and was wiped away as his eyes looked at Li Guiren with horror. More specifically, the thing in his arms.

"N-no! Get him away from me! Get, get him-!" Professor Shen begins to hyperventilate. With his hands completely covered in a cast he was unable to push his body away forcing himself to shuffle back frantically like a terrified wrinkled worm. Jia Hyson laughs at the sight, his heart delighted at such abject fear.

It felt like his heart had never felt so happy, watching this man despair.

Professor Shen was not quiet so quickly the nurses had ran in. Jia Hyson was a little impressed by the quality of this hospital, sometimes in horror, the staff wouldn't notice someone had died terribly until the very next day. Then again, it was visiting hours...

Jia Hyson smiles, a nice thought forming in his mind. Originally he wanted to slowly torment him by getting Li Guiren to visit with him in his arms, maybe even convince Aunt Shen to hold him a few times, making Professor Shen go batshit and getting everyone to think he was going insane. Well, more insane than he was.

However, he didn't mind speeding things up a bit.

"Sir? Sir, what is wrong?" A nurse asks but Professor Shen was too busy staring fixedly at the doll in horror and fear, like a small deer watching a lion in wait, scared that the moment he looks away the lion would pounce and rip him into shreds.

"Bai Li Wei! I'm sorry!" He screams, "Bai Li Wei! Please! I'm, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Don't hurt me! I'm, I'm, please! Don't! I!" Professor Shen shakes and shudders under the hold of the nurses, with a final violent spasm, his eyes roll to the back of his head in a dead faint. A faint scent of urine permeated through the room that quickly grew stronger as time passed.

Jia Hyson snickers, completely unsympathetic to his tormentor. In his opinion, this man deserves so much worse. Li Guiren however felt a little scared at Professor Shen's hysteria. When he saw Wei attack the man, it had been dimly lit and it wasn't like he had seen similar scenes in Police-Detective Xi. However, seeing the cold, disdaining Professor Shen break down like this was affronting and scary.

"Wei..." he whispers uncertainly, "maybe that's enough for today?"

But how can Jia Hyson let this go? Professor Shen was someone both he and Bai Li Wei hated to the bone. To Bai Li Wei, Professor Shen was the final betrayal that pushed him over the edge and to his end, the one man he could count on in his terrible life and the word disappointment could not even begin to describe his feelings when he found out his trust had been destroyed in arguably one of the worst ways. To Jia Hyson, he had inherited the secondhand memories of Bai Li Wei and sympathised with the poor child, even more so, he had firsthand experience of tasting the fear and helplessness of being kidnapped, the rage of unfairness and the absolute agony of being pushed into a burning grave. Jia Hyson was carrying two people's worth of grudges and unless this man suffers enough for two lifetimes this heart knot of his will never be released.

With a silky cool voice, so different from the quiet, calming serenity that usually coloured his slightly hoarse voice, Jia Hyson whispers softly in Li Guiren's ear. "Don't worry Xiao Ren, just hide me under the bed, I'll handle everything. You go home, come pick me up in a few days,"

Li Guiren grips the doll in his arms so tightly his little fingers go pale. He was uncomfortable with what they were doing to the Professor but... but he hated the idea of leaving Wei even more so. It had been so hard just having one night away from Wei, the idea of spending more time separated was almost unbearable.

"Wei, I.. let's just go back okay? We'll visit uncle later like we talked about," Li Guiren tries to convince.

Jia Hyson felt a spike of irrational irritation at the words. Li Guiren has never gone against him and yet he dares to do so now?! For this fucking piece of shit bastard?! How dare he?!

Even though he was incredibly angry, he still couldn't bear to speak fiercely to the young boy. Despite everything, he truly did hold affection for the child. Whether it was because he reminded him of Drake or that he was the only warm light in this awfully bleak world, that affection has remained unchanged even though everything else slowly was.

"Li Guiren, trust me," Jia Hyson says coldly, "if you let me go now I won't have to make you visit him and make you feel bad as many times okay?"

Li Guiren glances at Professor Shen, at the same time Shen Wan who had finished talking to her friend and had heard the screams rushed back in, her face ugly and pale. "Wha-what is going on?" She stammers before wrinkling her nose as the sour scent of pee hit her nose, "Ugh, did brother-?"

She gives her unconscious older brother a look of disgust and repulsion. The nurse that had been helping him turn pages before was shaken and walks over to Shen Wan with a befuddled and unnerved look, "Are you a relative of Professor Shen?"

Shen Wan hesitates, looking unwilling to admit to a relationship with the man as the other nurses proceed to professionally clean up the bed and the man himself. She tries her best to ignore the sight and nods.

The nurse smiles faintly, "Good, well, Professor Shen has already had a few similar, ah, episodes like this. None were as bad as today's however but he has been constantly having nightmares and delusions even during the day. He believes he's being haunted by an evil spirit with, what we gather, very long hair that wants revenge. We've had to give him some of our stronger medication but we do recommend the possibility of getting help in a place more… suited for mental health."

"You mean a mental institution?" Shen Wan bites her lip, feeling the pressure. She had always been doted on and had never felt so much responsibility before. Not to mention, she had relied on her brother a lot, even though she didn't feel very close to him it was hard to imagine life without his benefits, "You, that isn't necessary right?"

The nurse hesitates, "I… the doctors are frankly a little stumped, the broken hands won't ever fully heal but they can be fixed to some extent but the mind is trickier. Also, the professor won't open up to us about what he's seeing. We can only theorise what he's thinking of during his episodes and breakdowns."

They talk a bit more before Shen Wan finally leaves with a perplexed and worried expression, dragging Li Guiren out with her. So immersed into her own thoughts she doesn't notice that the boy is no longer holding the beautiful porcelain doll in his arms.

…

When Professor Shen woke up again it was already night time. He was lying on the hospital bed on his side, facing outward toward the door of his room. The room was dark and empty, however instead of feeling unease as most do when they wake up in the darkness of a unfamiliar hospital room, Professor Shen heaved a sigh of relief. Emptiness was good. Emptiness meant no Bai Li Wei.

Nowadays such emptiness was a rare privilege for him.

Yes. This serenity, this bleak but comforting darkness that held nothing but his own heartbeat, his own warmth, his own breathing...

Professor Shen pauses one his thoughts as he realizes something isn't right in the darkness.

He closes his eyes and heartbeat picks up as he focuses his old ears to listen carefully to the sound around him. He breathes in, and out, in, and out, in, out, in out, out, in, out, out...

There was someone else in the room.

And they're lying right beside him.

Suddenly the temperature around him seems to drop, the back of his neck prickling and his body began to coldly sweat. His own breathing has quickened but Professor Shen quickly restrained it to the best of his abilities, fearful that Bai Li Wei would do something once he figures out he's awake and aware.

And he knows it's Bai Li Wei. Who else could it be?!

The blanket on top of him shifts a little, like someone was moving their position on top of the bed behind him. Trembling, Professor Shen closes his eyes and pretends to be asleep. After a few seconds he can hear the breathing get closer, a freezing cold breath puffs against his face making his heart speed up. Bai Li Wei was in front of him! He was so close! He was finally going to finish what he started!

His heart was beating so fast, Professor Shen was almost angry he hadn't gotten a heart attack by now. If he had an attack and died wouldn't he be free? Even if he didn't die, Li Wei wouldn't provoke him during an attack and kill him off so quickly, he would probably leave him alone for a bit longer. It's a win-win!

Unfortunately his heart was very strong, even though he was on the verge of mental collapse it could still beat so hard without a single twinge of pain. What feels likes ages pass by and the soft raspy sound of breathing rings in his ears as cold puffs of smoky air hit his face.

Professor Shen knew that if he opened his eyes he would most likely get attacked, however at the same time he inexplicably wanted to open his eyes and see. Questions and doubts and anxieties filled his heart. What did Bai Li Wei look like now? How close was he?

What if it wasn't Bai Li Wei in the first place?

This sort of feeling was a whole different kind of hell in itself ah!

Right before Professor Shen finally gave up to open his eyes, the cold heavy feeling around him finally receded. Soft footsteps get even softer, and the sound of his door opens and closes. Once he hears the door, Professor Shen couldn't help but open his eyes, catching sight of the pale white fingers quietly closing the door to his room from the outside.

Professor Shen exhales in relief, but then his chest tightens again nervously. Why would Bai Li Wei leave so abruptly like that? Could it be... his already pale face turns even whiter. Could it be... he's gone to find some special 'toys' from the hospital to play with him with?!

Scalpers, bone saw, chemicals...

He has to get away immediately!

Decisively he pushes the call for help nurse button by his bedside with his cast but Professor Shen didn't put much stock in any outside help. However on the off-chance they can give him some time he will gladly let them seek death in place of him.

First he pushes off from the bed, his bed robe sticking off his body that is drenched in sweat sways but Professor Shen ignores it as he frantically scrambles to the wall next to where his bed was pushed against. His limbs tremble and his legs shake as he uses his elbows to try open the window. Fortunately it seemed someone had forgotten to properly close it so it easily swung open after pushing against it a few times.

Professor Shen looks down and sighs in relief. They were only on the first floor, it would be believable to drop down from here. With some thought he haphazardly and awkwardly grabs his pillow and his blanket before throwing it out the window. The items fall down and hit the bushes growing by the side of the hospital. Even if one falls from the second floor, as long as they land there, they probably would only suffer some heavy bruising at most.

Satisfied, Professor Shen gives a wary look to the door leading to the halls before wasting no time in lying down on the floor and silently scooting backwards until he's underneath the hospital bed.

Jia Hyson who watched all of this was deeply impressed by the man. Most people, especially people in horror stories whose IQ was always particularly lower than average, would not have been as clever as Professor Shen given the situation. Being physically disabled and then tortured with nightmares would make anyone stress and despair, couple with the pressure of their undead enemy being nearby would make them crack and panic.

In a lot of books and movies, the people in a similar situation would probably have tried to slip out of the room, into the halls to run and hide or escape. Some with more guts would have gone out the window. The idiots would have stayed in place to frantically call for help either through the nurse call button, their phone or verbally. Of course given the time period where phones were still a new and alien commodity to China that was less of an option but the point was still there.

However, Professor Shen's survival skills were really very good. He wasted no time, opening the window and throwing the blankets and such out to make it seem like he had desperately escaped while in fact he had chosen to hide. It was a very good plan given how he was old, not good at physical tasks and had broken hands. Unfortunately he really had awful luck.

As Professor Shen's heart calms under the bed, the blood rushing through his ears dies down and the sound of his breathing can be heard. Except… the sound doesn't seem quite right…

Jia Hyson who had been hiding under the bed this whole time: '...hehe this really is fate ah?'

A clueless Professor Shen: 'W-why do I suddenly feel so cold again QAQ??'

Yes, Jia Hyson and his doll body had been rolled under the bed by Li Guiren when Professor Shen was still unconscious. It was dark, people don't really look there and it gave Jia Hyson an easier time to listen in and move around the room when night hits. If Professor Shen has ran into the hall Jia Hyson would have crawled out to chase him, if he went out the window he would use Hair Control to pull him back, if he called for help, well, he would have definitely answered that call just not in the way the Professor would have wanted.

Aiyah, he really wanted to try out one of the 'startling' entrances of crawling and clawing upwards from below the bed, twisting his limbs in a manner inspired from various horror movies he had gotten Bebe to download. However this sort of scenario is also not too bad ah~

Bebe: '...' Host is just talking about being scary but why do I feel like it's one of his usual perverted talks?

Filled with a renewed sense of fear and disbelief, Professor Shen slowly turns around, the closed in space under the bed no longer felt like a safe hiding place but a suffocating trap, the darkness feeling somehow darker, as if it held too many terrible things for him to comprehend. With his failing eyes, he usually would have had to squint through the shadows but even without his spectacles, the pale shine of porcelain and the all too familiar moonlit white skin was unmistakable.

Holding the doll to his chest with clawed thin fingers, so his chin brushed over the doll's hair, Bai Li Wei looks back at Professor Shen with a wide smile and red eyes.

"Hello Professor," Bai Li Wei greets with the sweetness he used to always do whenever he saw him. However, instead of feeling warmth and affection and desire all Professor Shen felt was horror.

Screaming Professor Shen frantically scrambles out but without his hands he can only squirm like a panicked worm earning a hoarse but gleeful laughter from his own walking nightmare. "Where are you going professor?" Bai Li Wei mockingly asks as the man chokes back a frightened sob of despair as an icy hand slowly curls around his ankle. "I have some questions to ask you~"

"No! No, no, no, nonononon-!"

A shrill scream echoes through the hospital but, as if the whole place had been emptied out, there was nary a single response to the wails of a man slowly losing his mind.