Chapter 278: Does That Thing Really Exist?

The Patient is in a coma, only occasionally making a rattling sound in their throat, as if their consciousness is struggling against a nameless existence in a confined space.

But their struggle is meaningless; the deformed, protruding broken bone looks miserable and carries a hint of the uncanny.

Liu Zhuren has been shivering, their legs shaking uncontrollably.

They have never seen such a bizarre scene; it feels as if they are in a dream.

If the previous symptoms could barely be explained by medicine, the fact that the Patient's arm was just snapped right before their eyes—if this isn't a haunting, Liu Zhuren certainly won't accept it.

"Master Dong!"

"Strange, I don't feel any abnormalities; there are no evil spirits," the ruddy-faced old man says in a muffled voice.

Their voice is full of vigor, yet filled with doubt.

Ji Xiang thinks that the ruddy-faced old man has come just like the one they experienced during Empathy—even if they can't solve the problem, they can still rationalize it and deny everything.

It is even possible they might claim the opponent is too strong for them to handle.

But the ruddy-faced old man is "honest" enough to say they don't feel any abnormalities!

The Patient's left forearm ulna and radius were inexplicably "snapped" by someone, and they actually say there is no abnormality?! Are they sure their eyesight is fine?

Could they be this unprofessional?

Ji Xiang's mind is also in chaos, completely unable to understand why this is happening before their eyes.

Of course, if one uses the theory of ghosts and gods to explain it, then it is very simple.

Twisted limbs.

A desperate struggle.

A snapped arm.

A continuous, gushing flow of blood.

Everything proves one thing—the most impossible possibility.

"Thump~"

The middle-aged man kneels down.

"Master Dong, save my son."

"Lu Xiansheng, get up, get up." The ruddy-faced old man helps the middle-aged man up and sighs softly, "Technically, I have some understanding of the sorcery from Southeast Asia; it originates from our China, but it has gone further and further into the bizarre and strange, deviating from the Great Dao."

"There is no aura of any sorcery on your son."

"He went for Gold Needle Embedding; should we take the gold needles out?" the middle-aged man asks.

Their bones seem to have been drained from their entire body, but they still barely manage to hold themselves up to preside over the situation.

The ruddy-faced old man shakes their head slightly.

Ji Xiang is startled; they... forgot to mention the Gold Needle Embedding when reporting the medical history to the System NPC.

In Ji Xiang's view, Gold Needle Embedding is just nonsense and cannot possibly have any effect... of course, it is uncertain whether the Patient will even be able to have an MRI in the future.

"The Patient has a fracture; should we get an X-ray first?" Bai Chuzhang asks in a serious, lowered voice.

This is the only thing a Doctor can do.

The middle-aged man looks blankly at their son, who was just had their arm snapped by a female ghost and was drained of essence and marrow, using every possible means.

Yet she is highly skilled in Daoist arts, to the point that even Master Dong cannot see the truth of it.

Taking an X-ray, what the hell is the point of that!

Liu Zhuren holds onto Ji Xiang's arm, their face deathly pale, "Xiao Ji, help me out to rest... catch my breath, I can't take it anymore."

Ji Xiang hurriedly helps Liu Zhuren out. After finding a place to sit, Liu Zhuren gasps for air; their bronchial tubes start spasming at some point, and every breath sounds like a wheezing bellows.

"Xiao Ji, do you think that thing really exists in this world?"

Liu Zhuren asks, full of fear.

"Zhuren, I don't know," Ji Xiang answers truthfully.

The situation of the Patient before them, combined with the fact that after they finished speaking to the System NPC in the System Operating Room, the cheat-like System NPC didn't provide a diagnosis—everything points to one fact: that thing really exists.

"Liu Zhuren, I was chased away after just one look; did the Patient's left forearm just fracture on its own?" Meng Qingfei asks.

At the mention of this, Liu Zhuren's face turns even paler.

"Meng Laoshi, yes," Ji Xiang takes a deep breath, deciding to face reality and tell the truth.

"Damn it!" Meng Qingfei curses, then falls silent.

"Where is Xiao Wu?" Liu Zhuren asks.

"After taking a look... they went to the restroom," Meng Qingfei says.

They must have been scared into wetting their pants; Liu Zhuren instantly feels their own urge to urinate rising.

But thinking of the gloomy restroom in the Emergency Department, they hesitate.

"Xiao Ji, accompany me to the restroom," Liu Zhuren says to Ji Xiang, disregarding their dignity.

Ji Xiang helps Liu Zhuren up; Liu Zhuren's feet slip, and they almost land on the floor.

After a few seconds of recovery, Liu Zhuren regains a bit of strength and walks toward the restroom with Ji Xiang's help, looking like someone with hemiplegia.

"Xiao Ji, don't laugh at me; I was truly scared," Liu Zhuren says to Ji Xiang after walking a few steps, having recovered a bit of spirit and strength.

"Zhuren, I'm scared too," Ji Xiang says with a bitter smile.

"There are many such Urban Legends in the hospital. In the Tumor department, there is a chair that terminal Cancer Patients with massive Pleural Effusion often sit on; most of them just pass away while sitting there."

"Later, it was rumored that a Nurse saw a deceased old Patient sitting on the chair in the middle of the night."

"That's all nonsense. Later, that chair was moved by the Thoracic Surgery Department and placed in the Doctor's Duty Room, and I never saw any old Patient come to chat with the Thoracic Surgery Doctors."

"I guess it's just hearsay," Ji Xiang says.

"Those aren't worth mentioning. The most realistic one is when Lao Xu from the Department of Nephrology went to the ICU for a consultation. The Patient had gone for an examination, so they went downstairs to consult first. They saw a Patient wearing a hospital gown with their chest exposed asking for directions, inquiring where the ICU was."

"Half an hour later, when Lao Xu went to the ICU, they saw Doctors and Nurses processing the Patient's body, saying the person had coughed up blood in the CT Room and was already gone."

"Lao Xu went to take a look; it was just the Patient who asked him for directions."

"..." Ji Xiang was silent.

"However, Lao Xu has his own explanation for this matter. But today..." Liu Zhuren gave a bitter smile, "I was truly scared to death. You tell me, a perfectly fine person gets their arm snapped—isn't this just complete nonsense?"

Ji Xiang sighed and helped Liu Zhuren into the restroom.

Wu Zong walked out from the opposite direction; his complexion was just like Liu Zhuren's, deathly pale.

The two exchanged a glance, speechless.

"I think the Patient must have provoked some entity in Thailand that shouldn't be provoked, and it followed them all the way back." Liu Zhuren fumbled with his belt with trembling hands, but couldn't urinate for a long time.

"When a person gets old and receives a fright, even the prostate starts to go on strike, damn it."

"Look at the Patient; I estimate his prostate has also gone on strike. It's been so long, and even after an infusion, he still hasn't urinated. I tapped his bladder, *thump thump*, there's at least 1500ml of urine."

"Zhuren, why wasn't a urinary catheter inserted?"

"Just as I was about to insert it, the Patient started to become engorged, so I forgot about it." Liu Zhuren stopped talking at this point and began to focus intently on urinating.

(End of chapter)