DDT - Chapter 69
Chapter 69: Female Ghost × Little Pitiful One (1)
After the familiar dizziness passed, Chi Junluo slowly opened her eyes. This time, she found herself floating weightlessly in mid-air.
Chi Junluo: Meow meow meow? Could I have returned to my original world???
In her sea of consciousness, the Heavenly Dao saw through her thoughts and said disdainfully, "Dear, I'd advise you to stop dreaming. You still have a pile of the Heavenly Dao's power to collect and more than half the soul fragments to form a contract with."
Chi: …
Having been dealt a psychological blow by Father Heavenly Dao, Chi Junluo came back to her senses and began to survey her surroundings.
She was in a sealed room. The surrounding walls were covered with thick, soft, white padding. In the corner of the room, there was only a thick mattress laid with a clean white sheet and quilt. Other than that, there was nothing else—not even a window. Only the door had a small row of iron bars, like a prison, for ventilation. Through those white-painted bars, Chi Junluo could see a long, somewhat spacious corridor outside.
She discovered that her eyes could actually see through the soft padding around her. On the walls beneath the white cushions, there were faint, dark, dried bloodstains, which looked incredibly sinister.
Chi: Oh my god! Heavenly Dao! This place is terrifying! Let me go home!
While she was clamoring in her sea of consciousness, giving the Heavenly Dao a headache, she attempted to leave the room.
Reaching out to open the door, Chi Junluo was horrified to find her hand passed right through the doorknob! She couldn't touch it at all!
Only then did she finally notice what was wrong with her. She looked down at her translucent hands, her translucent body clad in a striped white hospital gown, and her feet hovering a few dozen centimeters off the ground.
She was indeed floating, she was translucent, she didn't need to breathe, and she couldn't touch any of the physical objects around her…
In this world, it seemed she had become a legendary female ghost ('皿')…
Chi Junluo drifted aimlessly around the room. Her hands and body could pass through solid objects like the doorknob, the mattress, the lightbulb on the ceiling, and the security camera in the corner, but she just couldn't pass through the walls to leave the room.
"Heavenly Dao, Heavenly Dao! I think I'm trapped! I can't go anywhere, so how am I supposed to complete the mission??" Chi Junluo pestered the Heavenly Dao in frustration. She couldn't get out of this tiny room no matter what. It was as if an invisible wall surrounded her, trapping this pitiful female ghost.
The Heavenly Dao, annoyed by Chi Junluo's racket in its sea of consciousness, found it hard to watch as she plastered herself to the walls and ceiling in various poses. How could this host be such a goofball?
Stretching its limbs and lying down on the mentally constructed beach in its sea of consciousness, the Heavenly Dao simply replied, "It'll all work out in the end. Chi Chi, get ready to receive the memories of this ghost body I've prepared for you."
At that moment, Chi Junluo was floating upside down in mid-air, her feet "stuck" to the ceiling, pretending she was walking on it. It was truly a marvelous experience. Hearing the Heavenly Dao's words, her expression turned serious. She closed her eyes, preparing to pass out, but unexpectedly, she only felt a slight sting in her head before memories flooded in like a tidal wave. Countless images flashed before her eyes, like watching a grand movie on fast-forward.
Chi Junluo wanted to rub her head, but her arm passed right through it. She couldn't even touch herself.
Chi: Why do I inexplicably feel like this is so bizarre???
So ghosts can't even touch themselves???
"Heavenly Dao, Heavenly Dao, how come I didn't pass out this time?" Chi Junluo relentlessly pestered the "sunbathing" Heavenly Dao.
"You're a ghost. It would be ghostly if you fainted," the Heavenly Dao said lazily.
That was right. She had no physical body now, so naturally, she had no brain or nerves. A massive amount of information was no pressure at all for a ghost, so of course, there was no question of fainting.
Chi Junluo, the newly-minted female ghost, found it all incredibly novel. When the room door opened, she was trying to pass her hand through her own heart.
If the man in the white coat who entered could see all this, he might have fainted from the sight of a female ghost hanging upside down from the ceiling, her long black hair hanging straight down, with one hand stuck in her chest. Fortunately, he couldn't see her.
The man in the white coat carefully inspected the mattress and quilt, pulling out a few toothpicks that were no longer sharp. The toothpicks were stained with dark red blood.
While the man was searching, Chi Junluo floated toward the wide-open door, attempting to leave the stuffy room. However, she once again bumped into the invisible wall.
Chi: FML!
So she couldn't get out even when the door was open.
"Xiao Zhang, I found what 213 used to self-harm. It's a few toothpicks. This is just ridiculous. These lunatics can really use anything. Tell the nursing department to collect all the toothpicks. If she can use toothpicks to self-harm this time, she might commit suicide next time." The somewhat overweight, gray-haired male doctor grumbled into his phone. "If something happens to the patient, the hospital will be held responsible again, and we'll be thrown out to take the blame. Who knows how much we'll have to compensate."
"Yeah, yeah, let's hope it's not like ten years ago. These patients are so precious, we can't afford for them to die," a middle-aged woman's voice came from the other end of the line.
"Don't bring up what happened ten years ago. Haven't we been fine all these years? We haven't had any deaths. It's just a pity about Xiao Wang, who was thrown out to take the fall."
The male doctor seemed to have been through a lot. Chattering on, he took the toothpicks and left the room without bothering with the messy quilt. A moment later, a nurse walked in, cursing under her breath. She yanked the quilt and straightened it, muttering about how this batch of patients was getting harder and harder to manage.
With a "bang," the door was slammed shut, leaving a lone ghost to drift in the room.
Seeing that there were no more interruptions for now, Chi Junluo finally had time to carefully go through the original owner's memories.
The original owner was named Chi Xiangxiang. Eleven years ago, due to mania and schizophrenia, she had beaten several boys who were collecting protection money at her county high school until their heads were bleeding, terrifying the other students. The bullies never expected that a girl who looked so easy to pick on could become so uncontrollable when she snapped. Chi Xiangxiang, who had long been oppressed, was forcibly tied up and put into an ambulance by the police and hospital staff. Several terrified boys were taken away as well. Later, Chi Xiangxiang was expelled, and her family had to pay a hefty sum in compensation.
After being moved around, Chi Xiangxiang was sent by her family to this mental hospital in Chang City for "treatment." They ended up leaving her there for two years.
In the third year, during an electrotherapy session, the doctor operated improperly and set the voltage too high. Chi Xiangxiang was first subjected to intermittent electric shocks, and then sparks flew high as the equipment in the room burst into flames. The doctor fled in panic, leaving Chi Xiangxiang, who was restrained on the treatment device, to die in despair amidst the sparks and flying machine parts.
The hospital originally wanted to suppress the incident, but too many family members and patients knew about it, and word got out. Reporters flocked to the hospital and even uncovered the identity of the deceased. The Chi family, who were far away in their county and only ever showed up to pay the annual fees, rushed to Chang City after receiving a call from a reporter. The Chi family, who had barely visited in over two years, held up banners at the hospital entrance, crying and wailing. The incident at the mental hospital, Chang City Third Hospital, became a huge scandal that year. The Chi family played the victim in front of the reporters every day. In the end, the hospital pushed a male nurse who worked under the doctor who had fled to take the blame and also paid the Chi family several hundred thousand in compensation.
After getting the money, the Chi family disappeared again, not even taking Chi Xiangxiang's remains with them. Chi Xiangxiang's resentment was so great that she became a vengeful ghost.
This room was the converted medical room where the accident had happened. The dark red stains were Chi Xiangxiang's blood from that day, which could never be completely washed away.
The splattered blood showed the horror of the scene. Her remains had been left in the hospital for many days to preserve the scene before being hastily buried by the hospital in the lawn beneath the building. With no place to belong in life or death, having endured so much injustice and torment, it was no wonder Chi Xiangxiang had become a vengeful ghost.
Because she had become a ghost, Chi Xiangxiang's memories had been fading since childhood. By the time Chi Junluo took over her ghostly body, ten years had passed. All her memories from before high school had vanished. Therefore, what Chi Xiangxiang had experienced to cause her mental illness could no longer be traced. But none of that mattered anymore. She just had to find a way to collect the power of the Heavenly Dao.
The problem now was, where was the dear heroine??
"Heavenly Dao, Heavenly Dao, you still haven't given me the heroine's information." After thinking for a long time, Chi Junluo finally realized what was wrong. She hadn't received the heroine's information.
In its sea of consciousness, the Heavenly Dao's crossed legs froze for a moment. "Ahem, I was busy finding yours just now and forgot about hers."
Chi: … Is she really your heroine??? You're so careless.
The Heavenly Dao forcefully ignored the awkwardness. A moment later, another stream of images was transmitted into Chi Junluo's mind.
This world's heroine was named Yi Shuhan, same as the previous two worlds.
Yi Shuhan was sixteen this year, in the prime of her youth, but her life story was heartbreaking.
When Yi Shuhan was very young, her parents divorced. Her mother took her and married another man. Like in many tragic blended families, that man, Yi Shuhan's stepfather, was an alcoholic and violent. When he was drunk, he liked to beat his wife and daughter, and he would constantly complain that his wife had brought along a burden from her ex-husband, who ate his food and wore his clothes.
Yi Shuhan's mother's current husband had been introduced by her own family. Whenever she was on the verge of breaking down, her family would ridicule her, saying she couldn't keep a man's heart, that she was already on her second marriage, and what man would want her if she divorced again? They said all men had a bit of a temper, that she should just endure it, and that she shouldn't bring shame to the family by divorcing again. Besides, a child needed a father, and so on.
Yi Shuhan's mother thought about it and agreed that her child did indeed need a complete family, so she swallowed her grievances and carried on.
However, things weren't that simple.
In a small county town, whenever there was any trouble in a family, most people knew about it. As a result, at school, Yi Shuhan was often talked about by her classmates for having a drunkard father and a mother on her second marriage, as if it were something shameful that couldn't be brought into the light. Coupled with the fact that Yi Shuhan's body was always covered in bruises, her classmates disliked her even more.
Beaten at home and bullied at school, Yi Shuhan gradually fell ill.
As for why she ended up in a mental hospital, one night when she was fifteen, her mother hadn't returned from their small family shop yet. Her drunken stepfather crept into Yi Shuhan's room and reached out to touch her while she was doing her homework. She was first surprised, then filled with disbelief. Children in the county town matured early, so of course, she knew what her stepfather's intentions were.
Swatting his hand away, she stood up to leave the room but was yanked back by her stepfather. He cursed at her, "You little bitch, just as cheap as your mother. If I wasn't desperate for a wife, who would want a worn-out shoe like your mom? I see you're all grown up now, why don't you compensate me for my losses in your mother's place!"
The anger Yi Shuhan had suppressed for years erupted in an instant. She broke free from the drunkard's grip, grabbed a four-legged stool, and smashed it against her stepfather's body. While he was still dazed, she brought the stool down on his head again.
The stepfather swayed on his feet. Yi Shuhan kicked him in the stomach, and he fell to the ground, blood beginning to seep from the gash on his head.
With a cold expression, Yi Shuhan mercilessly dragged him by the feet and threw him out of the house, leaving him to lie on the main road outside like a dead pig.
It would be better if he died.
Chi Junluo could almost hear Yi Shuhan say those words.
Back inside, Yi Shuhan cleaned up the blood on the floor and pretended nothing had happened.
When her mother came home and saw her husband lying outside the door, she just assumed he had gotten into a fight with someone. She moved him back into the house and cleaned his head wound.
The next morning, Yi Shuhan went to school. She didn't know what kind of beating or even violation she would suffer if she waited for that demon to wake up!
Feeling somewhat manic, Yi Shuhan had been wide awake all night. After arriving at school, she overheard a few boys and girls gossiping about her again. Having been pushed to her limit the night before, Yi Shuhan didn't say a word. She grabbed a stool and smashed it on a classmate. Several girls screamed and ran away. Yi Shuhan's eyes seemed to burn with fire. A few boys felt their pride was wounded and, cursing, moved to restrain her.
But to their surprise, she swung the chair around like a madwoman, knocking down two boys at once. It wasn't until the other students saw that the situation was getting out of control and called for teachers and security guards that they were finally able to pin Yi Shuhan down. They were shocked that such a small body could unleash such immense strength; it took several grown men to hold her down.
The incident caused a huge uproar. An ambulance came and took her away. She was eventually transferred to Chang City Third Hospital, where she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder with schizophrenic tendencies.
Yi Shuhan had temporarily escaped her stepfather's clutches, only to be locked up in a hospital.
Because her stepfather was unwilling to pay for more expensive medical care, and her mother didn't dare to object, Yi Shuhan was assigned by the hospital to the cheapest room available—the only one where a terrible incident had occurred, where someone had died, and which was rumored to be haunted: Room No. 1.
This room at the end of the corridor, slightly larger than the others because it was a former medical room, was the very room that imprisoned Chi Junluo.
With a "creak," the door behind Chi Junluo opened. Chi Junluo jolted out of the memory and turned to see a pale, thin girl being roughly pushed into the opened doorway. The girl stumbled and fell onto the padded floor.
This girl was none other than the heroine Chi Junluo had been longing to see, Yi Shuhan.
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