It was already early morning when Tang Tianyu awoke. He had been unconscious for over ten hours due to excessive blood loss.
The saline solution from the IV dripped steadily, and the familiar smell of disinfectant wafted through his nose.
The ward was filled with vast expanses of paleness: pale sheets, pale walls, pale fluorescent lights, filling his eyes. He was inexplicably reminded of death. The pale colors gathered, clustered together, and enveloped him tightly, oppressing him like a heavy boulder.
Tang Tianyu wanted to change his position. He had been lying there for too long, and his body was numb and stiff. His injuries were merely flesh wounds, not bone damage.
The ward was quiet, and the occasional cough could be heard from other wards. This ward had been specially allocated for him by Nanjiang Medical College; no other patients were admitted. The student union had even assigned a student leader to care for him. Tang Tianyu recognized the man. His name was Zhang Ming. He was an officer in the Arts Department. He had beautiful handwriting and occasionally published short essays in the school magazine. He had some contact with Cheng Li, who was also in the department and liked to write about romance.
Thinking of Cheng Li, Tang Tianyu felt a pang of pain. He was actually quite fond of that lovely little girl, but that fondness and love were two different things. Moreover, when he discovered that Cheng Li had abandoned herself to studying metaphysics and had become a psychotic person, he had completely severed all contact with her. His Snow White was a strong girl who would share hardships and support each other, not a flower in a greenhouse.
Zhang Ming was sleeping soundly in the bed next to him, apparently tired. Tang Tianyu had woken up several times before, busy with changing clothes, giving injections, applying medicine, and so on.
Not wanting to disturb him, Tang Tianyu tried to roll over, lying on his side, and staring out the window. Outside the window, it was gloomy and dark, devoid of any light. The moon and stars had long been swallowed by dark clouds, and the entire sky seemed to be crumbling.
Then, he heard a strange sound.
It sounded like a woman's mumbling, intermittent and intermittent.
Tang Tianyu listened intently for a moment, unable to make out the specifics, but he could tell it was extremely mournful, as if telling a sad story.
He struggled to turn over and search for the source of the sound. He and Zhang Ming were the only ones in the ward; no one else was there. Zhang Ming was snoring, so the sound couldn't possibly be coming from him.
Could it be outside the ward?
But he clearly felt the source was nearby, as if it were coming from inside the ward, or even from right next to him.
Why did that voice sound so familiar?
Tang Tianyu suddenly shuddered, and a terrifying thought struck him—that voice sounded like Cheng Li's!
Cheng Li?!
Tang Tianyu's sweat glands were breaking out in a cold sweat.
Cheng Li came to see him?
No, it was Cheng Li's ghost who came to see him.
How could that be?!
Tang Tianyu had never believed in ghosts and gods. How could a medical student believe in such unfounded beliefs?
He didn't even have religious beliefs.
But then, he suddenly remembered a widely circulated legend: When a person's life span is nearing its end and their yang energy is too weak, they are more likely to see unclean things.
So, he was dying?
No, not really!
He wasn't going to die. Cheng Li wasn't going to come to see him. He hadn't done anything wrong!
But he was still terrified! A deep, deep fear!
The strange sound continued, but its tone changed, as if it were chuckling, a sinister and cold laugh.
Tang Tianyu couldn't stand the sneer and suddenly shouted, "Who is it?"
Zhang Ming, soundly asleep, was awakened by Tang Tianyu's cry. A puzzled look crossed his face. "What's wrong, Tang Tianyu? Are you okay?"
Tang Tianyu's face turned grim. "Did you hear anything?"
Zhang Ming rubbed his sleepy eyes, a little dissatisfied. "No, are you dreaming?"
The strange noises had indeed ceased.
She left?
Tang Tianyu knew he wasn't dreaming. He suddenly remembered something. "Where's Li Rong? How is he?"
Zhang Ming, lying in bed, said quietly, "He couldn't be saved. He died!"
"Dead?!" Tang Tianyu was struck by lightning, his eyes bulging with stars.
Zhang Ming thought he was afraid of taking responsibility. "Don't worry, the forensic doctor said the fatal wound was on the forehead. It had nothing to do with you."
Zhang Ming was clearly exhausted. Seeing that Tang Tianyu was fine, he lay back on the bed, covered himself with the quilt, and went back to sleep.
Tang Tianyu was still in shock over Li Rong's death when the strange voice came again.
This time, it was rougher, like a boy's. It was also sneering, with occasional roars punctuated by it.
Tang Tianyu heard it clearly this time—that roar, it sounded unmistakably like Li Rong's!
"Don't blame me... Don't come looking for me..." Even a boy as big as Tang Tianyu began to sob.
The voice kept changing, sometimes like Cheng Li, sometimes like Li Rong.
Zhang Ming was awakened again by Tang Tianyu's sobs. "Tang Tianyu, are you okay? What's wrong? I'll call the doctor!"
"No, don't leave!" Tang Tianyu clutched Zhang Ming's clothes tightly. "Please, don't leave!"
Tang Tianyu knocked over the IV, and blood flowed back, staining the thin tube red.
"Don't move! Be careful!" Zhang Ming frantically put the IV back in its place.
"They're coming for me!"
"They? Who are they?"
"Cheng Li... Li Rong..."
Zhang Ming soothed softly, "No, they won't come for you. Their deaths have nothing to do with you."
"Really?" Tang Tianyu was like a child who had done something wrong, timid and cowardly.
"Yes, don't worry, I'm here." Zhang Ming laughed inwardly, having never expected a man as strong as Tang Tianyu to have such a weak side.
Tang Tianyu finally calmed down, seeming a little embarrassed. "Maybe I've injured my brain. I keep hallucinating and hearing strange noises."
"So you—" Zhang Ming stared at Tang Tianyu for a long moment. "So, are you really okay now? Don't you want to call a doctor?"
"No need. I think he'll be fine after a little sleep."
Zhang Ming stayed with Tang Tianyu until he fell asleep before returning to sleep.
Tang Tianyu had a strange dream.
A soft and gentle voice whispered to him. The voice was ethereal, seemingly close yet far away, magnetic and irresistible, a delight to the ears.
He felt a trance, his body becoming transparent and light, as if he were at the bottom of the ocean, gently swaying with the warm, gentle waters.
All distracting thoughts vanished, and Tang Tianyu felt a sense of complete relief, a mere leaf in the wind, a drop of rain in the air, a speck of dust on the earth, simple and joyful.
If possible, he would rather remain lost in the dream and never wake up again.
Human emotions are too complex, love, hate, affection, and vengeance entangled together, making life too tiring.
Alas, no matter how beautiful a dream, one must eventually wake up.
Tang Tianyu vaguely felt something touching his face.
He opened his eyes and saw a pair of eerie blue eyes—the eyes of the black cat.
Tang Tianyu remembered what Cheng Li had told him before she committed suicide: a strange black cat always appeared around her.
Last night, when he and Li Rong were fighting, he had also seen those blue eyes.
The black cat looked at him strangely, as if it were looking at a mouse under its control.
The black cat's gaze gave Tang Tianyu goosebumps and an inexplicable sense of nervousness.
Then, he heard that strange voice again: a low, disorganized whisper, with varying tones, sometimes male, sometimes female—Tang Tianyu finally figured out it was the cat making that strange sound!
He was a little annoyed. He casually grabbed a teacup and threw it at the black cat, shouting, "Get out of here, you damn cat!"
The black cat nimbly dodged the teacup, leaped off the bed, and slipped under it.
Tang Tianyu breathed a sigh of relief, but soon his pupils began to dilate. He saw the ward door silently open, and something seemed to float in.
The black cat meowed, suddenly slithered out from under the bed, and slipped away.
The ward was eerily quiet. Tang Tianyu stared out the door, transfixed and motionless.
When Zhang Ming woke up, he saw Tang Tianyu still staring blankly at the door. He ran over to see him, and he was completely transformed—his eyes were glassy, his pupils dilated, his face pale, and he was mumbling to himself.
Zhang Ming heard Tang Tianyu repeating a single word: "Blood...blood..."