After a good while, she dropped to the ground with a plop, as if she had lost all her dreams, from Beichuan Si’s arms.
Beichuan Si shook his head, neatly folded the bath towel and put it aside, then turned off the fitness program that had already ended.
After he turned off the program, he saw Nishijou Kurenai petulantly rolling back and forth on the ground.
Her round, stuffed body rolled about.
But Beichuan Si couldn’t be bothered with her; after turning off the television, he took out the bedding, made it up, bid Nishijou Kurenai goodnight, and went to sleep with an expressionless face.
After all, Nishijou Kurenai would only be sulky for a bit; tomorrow, everything would be as usual.
With that in mind, it was better to just sleep.
Beichuan Si closed his eyes, leaving the little stuffed doll with a face full of grievance.
...
The next day, at the guesthouse entrance.
"This ti, we’re counting on you, Beichuan Master," Suzuki Fumi said as he led Beichuan Si into the comrcial vehicle.
"Mhm," Beichuan Si responded with a cold deanor.
Similarly, he was sowhat perplexed why these people addressed him as ’Beichuan Master’ right off the bat; didn’t he look like just a high school student? Was he really that old? In his previous life, he was only twenty-three, twenty-four years old; being constantly called ’Beichuan Master’ felt a bit odd.
"I have already made the necessary arrangents. You may have to stay at the hospital overnight, is that okay?"
Suzuki Fumi waited until Beichuan Si was seated in the car before sitting down and asking.
Beichuan Si nodded: "No problem."
He was here to deal with this matter, and since the grudge spirit appeared at night, of course he had to be on hospital duty.
Hearing Beichuan Si agree, Suzuki Fumi’s face relaxed: "That’s good. I have to deal with the dia later, so I’ve arranged for a doctor to take you on a tour of the hospital... Also, I’ve arranged everything regarding the patients and nurses who discovered the situation; it’s up to you how you want to question them, Beichuan Master."
"I understand,"
Beichuan Si kept his reply short and to the point.
The comrcial vehicle drove fast and steady, quickly bringing Beichuan Si to the destination—
Ibaraki Prefecture Second ntal Hospital.
It was different from the ntal hospitals he had seen on the internet.
Towering concrete walls reinforced with steel rods, a series of white buildings hidden behind large iron gates.
Standing at the entrance, the main building of the ntal hospital was directly in front, and to the left was an annex connected to the main building on the second floor.
Additionally, on the far right, there was a pedestrian path, which according to Suzuki Fumi, led to the office building.
Surrounded by these large buildings, at the furthest distance from the exit, were outdoor sports fields and the like.
The morning air carried a hint of chill, breathing in felt as if it chilled the internal organs with a thread of cold.
"This is Director Ugetsu Ka, she will take you to see the various conditions of the hospital."
Suzuki Fumi kindly introduced the woman in front of Beichuan Si.
Ugetsu Ka was dressed in a white doctor’s coat, her hair tied back in a ponytail, her gaze ticulous, exuding a sharp and efficient deanor.
As soon as Ugetsu Ka saw Beichuan Si looking over, she walked over and greeted him with an even tone: "Beichuan Master, I will take you to investigate the situation. Please do not wander around, so as not to disturb the internal work of the hospital."
Her tone seed to carry a hint of impatience, as if she was not at all enthused about accommodating Beichuan Si.
But Beichuan Si did not mind, simply nodded, and followed behind her.
With that, he temporarily parted ways with Suzuki Fumi and followed behind Ugetsu Ka, his gaze shifting.
He hadn’t noticed it from outside, but as he walked into the hospital, he realized that this massive and constantly operating institution was just like a prison.
The towering walls all around obstructed any view of the outside world. Doctors whispered among themselves, casting indifferent glances now and then as if they were viewing their fellow humans as re lumps of flesh capable of movent.
From the wards, the foolish laughter of patients occasionally echoed. The impeccably clean floors and the stark white walls were a stark contrast to the pervasive scent of disinfectant in the air.
All of it instinctively made one uncomfortable.
As Ugetsu Ka walked along, she introduced the place to Beichuan Si, "Ibaraki Second ntal Hospital is the most suitable place for the ntally ill to recover in tranquility. Of course, there are so patients who are very aggressive, which is why I asked you not to wander around, Beichuan Mage."
"From the first floor to the fifth, the layout is the sa with the only difference being in the departnts. I have already walked you through once, Beichuan Mage. Next, we will talk about the nurses and how those psychiatric patients reacted... although I doubt you’ll get anything out of them."
The corners of Ugetsu Ka’s mouth curled into a faint smirk of scorn, "Questioning psychiatric patients is a very skillful matter. I personally suggest you skip this step, Beichuan Mage, and focus solely on the exorcism. Wasting ti is unwise, especially since you’ve accepted Dean Suzuki’s money."
Beichuan Si was not particularly responsive to Ugetsu Ka’s questioning. He glanced around with an unnaturally calm gaze and then turned to Ugetsu Ka, "Director Shangyue seems quite dissatisfied with . Is it because you are worried that I might deceive Dean Suzuki?"
Without waiting for Ugetsu Ka’s response, Beichuan Si continued, "Based on your attitude, I’ll have Dean Suzuki pay an additional fee afterwards. How does that sound?"
Are you calling yourself a Mage all the ti? I’m already doing you a favor by not bothering you, and you’re setting yourself up for a fall?
"I—" Ugetsu Ka’s face flushed red as she stamped her foot on the ground, then after taking a deep breath, she returned to her initial cold and efficient deanor, "Next, I’ll take you to the room where those patients and nurses are."
After leaving that remark, Ugetsu Ka moved forward.
Watching her departing figure, Beichuan Si shook his head inwardly.
Just how did this Ugetsu Ka beco a departnt director? So young and impulsive, she surely didn’t have the necessary experience.
Beichuan Si couldn’t be bothered to think about these issues. After all, he was here for exorcism, not to be pushed around.
He followed Ugetsu Ka’s lead and together they entered a room of a size similar to a conference room.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a conference room but a common room for patients.
Inside the nearly empty common room, two female nurses and three psychiatric patients were already waiting.
"This is Beichuan Mage, invited by Dean Suzuki. Beichuan Mage, these are the two nurses, Nurse Uesato and Nurse Takashiro, who noticed sothing unusual the day before yesterday."
Nurse Uesato had a round face and an average build, while Nurse Takashiro on the other side was tall with a gentle look in her eyes.
"Hello," Beichuan Si greeted.
"Ah... hello, Beichuan Mage."
The two nurses seed quite amiable, a far cry from the attitude of Ugetsu Ka, who was standing by Beichuan Si.
After exchanging greetings, Beichuan Si asked, "Nurse Uesato and Nurse Takashiro, I understand you were on duty together when you noticed the anomaly, is that correct?"
"Yes," Nurse Uesato nodded in response. "At that ti, Nurse Takashiro and I had just finished inspecting all the wards and were about to return to our posts when we passed the dicine dispensary and heard sothing odd inside, so we went to investigate."
"That’s correct," Nurse Takashiro also spoke up, a trace of fear crossing her face. "The dication room lights were off at the ti, and we stood at the doorway to look inside, so we were lucky to escape."
The air around seed to get colder as Nurse Takashiro swallowed hard, "In front of the dicine cabinet, Nurse Uesato and I saw, unclearly... a man holding a bloodstained spade."
"An unnaturally distorted sound ca from this ’man’... as soon as he saw us, he turned his head and pressed his face against the glass of the dispensary window."
"Those eyes... even in the dark, they are sothing Nurse Uesato and I will never forget."
Nurse Uesato covered her mouth as if the re recollection of that terrifying and strange scene was enough to make her stomach churn.
"Bloodshot eyes filled with resentnt stuck to the glass slit, and so repulsive substance even slid down, those eyes staring fixedly at us."
The voices of the two nurses shattered... oddly stretching in the air.
A sinister chill perated throughout the activity room.
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