Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Baoshan Three

The Obstetrics Department was sealed off that day, around 7:00 PM.

Outside the hospital building, the rain continued to pour.

Zhai Dan, hiding in the crowd waiting at the intersection, furrowed her brow as she looked up at the dark clouds above Baoshan Hospital.

She had come from the wild, barren area to the west of Baoshan District.

By chance, she encountered the Black and White Impermanence setting up a perimeter, igniting black soul fires that enveloped the entire Baoshan District. The flames shot high into the sky, burning away the dark clouds, leaving behind a desolate earth where all plant life had withered away. Not a blade of grass remained.

The ghostly heads flying in the air, sensing the danger, scrambled to retreat, blindly fleeing in every direction.

Those who dared to cross the line were immediately burned to ash, disappearing without a trace.

The heavens and earth each had their natural four fires:

Human fire, dragon fire, ghost fire, and heavenly fire.

Cold winds howled across the wilderness.

Zhai Dan huddled in the grass, her teeth chattering from the cold.

She never knew that the soul fire belonging to the underworld had such an effect.

At that moment, she was just about to leave when she happened to see people from the Ghost Slayer Association coming from the east. She couldn’t hear exactly what they said to the ghost officers, but she could tell that the people from the Ghost Slayer Association wanted to ease the boundaries of the black fire barrier, providing more escape routes for the living souls. They kept gesturing to the black fire barrier beneath their feet.

However, in the end, up until 6:00 PM, when Zhai Dan headed toward Baoshan Hospital, the black fire barrier hadn’t retreated even an inch.

Now, at the top of the hospital building, dark clouds loomed, and the ghosts were having their revelry. Zhai Dan sighed inwardly as she watched them, oblivious to everything around them.

She hoped they would play a little longer, not thinking about earthly grudges or trying to sneak out.

Otherwise, they would either die at the hands of the Ghost Slayer or be burned to death by the fire barrier.

Her phone had no signal.

Zhai Dan, with a mindset of trying her luck, opened the radio receiver on her ear.

There were two beeps.

Then came Zhou Jingren's voice."Hey, Dan Jie, where are you?"

Zhai Dan: "……"

Zhai Dan was surprised. "Wow, Zhou Jingren, this earbud can really break through the yin energy and connect to the signal?"

Zhou Jingren's voice had a distorted electromagnetic hum, crackling and alternating between male and female tones. "Of course, it's the latest research collaboration between the acoustics department and the chrysanthemum factory. Just a few, I borrowed them."

"Anti-interference capability is top-notch."

"Take good care of it, if you break it, they'll have me executed over here."

Zhai Dan: "I'm at the intersection on the west side of the inpatient department, waiting for the red light."

"What's the situation inside?"

Zhou Jingren's voice was distorted and pinched, like a eunuch's:

"Not great, countless vengeful souls. After this, I could write a report series titled 'Exposing Major Injustice Cases in Tertiary Hospitals.'"

"Not enough manpower, Dan Jie, is it convenient for you to slip in?"

Zhai Dan frowned. The Ghost Slayer Association personnel in black uniforms at the hospital entrance were liaising with the police.

"I don't think I can get in. Right now, the security force includes not just the earthly police but also the Ghost Slayer Association."

"Someone has to negotiate with them, at least make it clear that we have nearly ten students from our institute inside."

Zhou Jingren cursed quietly in her earpiece.

"Not earlier, not later, we come in and the Association shows up with great fanfare."

"What are we going to do? Whether we can achieve anything or not, the Association people will definitely argue afterward. They'll say something like the sealing students didn’t follow orders, were shooting blindly, and rushing to take credit."

Zhai Dan laughed. "Zhou Jingren, watch your words."

"Lots of master's graduates are trying to join the Ghost Slayer Association, creating such a ruckus won’t do anyone any good."

"Who cares about them? We’re here to train ourselves and look for 'internships,' first come, first served."

Zhou Jingren: "I don’t care, they’re short on people inside.""Find me some heads."

Zhai Dan refused to budge: "I know, what's the use?"

"Don't you need at least one person outside the hospital to coordinate and dispatch?"

"Besides, you left just one earbud outside. If I go in, who’s going to handle things?"

As she spoke, someone behind her called out her name.

Zhai Dan turned around.

It was a handsome young man with a cold demeanor.

"You are…"

Zhai Dan found him familiar.

The long knife in his hand was wrapped in black cloth, looking like he was carrying a mop. Jun Weiran nodded and greeted her:

"Senior Zhai Dan, hello."

"I’m Jun Weiran from the first year, Comprehensive Department."

"I took Tian Jingxuan’s spell exam in early January."

Zhai Dan: "……"

That multi-talented Comprehensive Department student, just like Ming Yue!

Zhai Dan slapped her forehead: "Perfect timing!" She pointed to a wall covered with creeping vines on the east side of the inpatient department, "Junior, can you climb over the wall?"

Jun Weiran: "……"

Jun Weiran, ever obedient: "Of course, Senior, your orders."

Seventh-floor obstetrics, corner stairwell.

Zhang Ai Hua, wearing the new pants that Yan Jun had secretly given her, sat on the steps with her knees hugged to her chest, softly explaining the events.

"That's right, five students died one after another.""Not overnight."

"Their relationships weren't as harmonious as the downstairs students made it sound. There was a lot of pushing, shoving, backstabbing, and exposing each other."

At this point, Zhang Ai Hua’s voice trembled, and she struggled to hold back her emotions:

"The student who couldn’t bear the medical harassment and humiliation and jumped to her death was called Qiao Ting."

"She didn’t like being a nurse, thought it was dirty and tiring, and she wasn’t good with words, didn't hide anything. After she didn’t get the time off she asked for from the head nurse, she started cursing in her social circle, saying all sorts of terrible things—"

Zhang Ai Hua's voice faltered as she spoke, and it was unclear whether she was reminiscing or afraid. She started wiping her tears:

"—They said she was stupid, but she was really stupid. She could have just gone through the obstetrics rotation and been done with it, but why did she have to clash with the head nurse?"

The listeners had varied expressions.

Chen Xiu spoke coldly, "It's easy to talk when you're not the one standing."

"The graduate school exam was at the end of December, how could she endure?"

"If she endured, she would have had to take a second shot at it."

Zhang Ai Hua froze for a moment, not mentioning whether she knew the exam schedule. She then shifted the blame onto the students:

"A group of five students, and the other four weren’t any better."

"One of them, called Chen Chengxia, had a wicked mind. She wasn’t doing well with her grad school prep, so she couldn’t stand seeing Qiao Ting doing well."

"After Qiao Ting posted in her social circle, Chen Chengxia reported her, saying she cursed the head nurse."

"The next day, the head nurse transferred Qiao Ting to the high-risk obstetrics group."

Zhang Ai Hua covered her face, looking utterly heartbroken.

The three listeners were silent.

Chen Xiu didn’t speak.

Ming Yue and Yan Jun exchanged a glance, both showing signs of disbelief.

Ming Yue sniffed, tightly clutching the earplug Senior Zhou Jingren had given her, and smiled slightly: "Sister, something’s not right.""How do you know who reported Qiao Ting to the head nurse?"

Zhang Ai Hua pretended to cry, covering her face, but didn't answer.

Ming Yue leaned against the wall and looked up at the night sky outside the skylight, "Logically speaking, a witness with a blemish shouldn’t be exposed."

"Unless, in the beginning, Chen Chengxia didn’t report to the head nurse, but to you."

As her words fell, Zhang Ai Hua’s back stiffened.

Seeing this, Ming Yue understood immediately.

This obstetrics department was clearly playing the "everyone's the villain" script, and it was intense.

"Who told the head nurse doesn’t matter!" Zhang Ai Hua said, trying to cover up with a false display of aggression, but her inner weakness showed.

"What matters is that, after that, the obstetric patients kept dying one after another, medical disputes happened one after another, and Qiao Ting was beaten up badly in the obstetrics hall."

"That day, there was a full hospital inspection, and many departments saw how Qiao Ting was beaten."

"It was tragic, her hair was nearly pulled out, and her stomach was kicked multiple times," Zhang Ai Hua said with a feigned sympathy.

Ming Yue: "…"

Ming Yue really couldn’t take it anymore. She had seen shamelessness before, but not this level of shamelessness. "Are you underestimating us because you think we don’t know what’s going on?"

"Managing high-risk obstetric patients is the responsibility of the head nurse. Do you need to pull out your ID and read it to yourself?"

"If you hadn’t let it slide, how would Qiao Ting have handled those high-risk obstetric patients?"

"If you hadn’t let it slide, how would her name have ended up signed on that case file?"

"Nursing students don’t have the qualifications to treat patients alone, don’t you know that?"

Zhang Ai Hua: "…"

Zhang Ai Hua dropped her hands, raised her head, and glared coldly at Ming Yue, her eyes filled with deep resentment and hatred.

Chen Xiu, standing to the side, quietly hid the recorder and threatened, "Keep your eyes on it. You know exactly how many debts you’ve racked up."