Chapter 748: A Hurdle in the Heart

"Isn't that so? Teacher," Ji Xiang asked.

"Of course not," the system NPC said, "I've only encountered a few cases of hanging deaths similar to this, and a large portion of them were in cooperation with the police's work."

"Among them, one deceased person died with their legs straightened out and their buttocks less than 10cm from the ground."

Ji Xiang was stunned for a moment; this was completely different from the hanging he had imagined.

In movies and TV shows, one always has to prepare a small stool before hanging, tie the rope to a tree branch or a roof beam, put one's head in, and then kick the stool away.

Yet the system NPC actually said that one deceased person's state of death involved their legs being on the ground.

"Teacher, if that's the case, one could stand up at any time, so how could they die?" Ji Xiang asked, puzzled.

The system NPC smiled slightly.

Ji Xiang was startled and shook his head without hesitation.

He certainly did not want to experience Empathy for the process of dying by hanging.

He didn't want to this time, he didn't want to next time, and he didn't want to in the future either.

Living is so interesting, and he hadn't lived enough yet.

"Doctor Ji Xiang, you're overthinking it," the system NPC said, "Do you have a very good impression of Shen Lang?"

"Uh..."

Ji Xiang was taken aback.

Lang Ge, of course he had a good impression of him!

But what the heck did that have to do with hanging!

Although the system was a simulation, he absolutely did not want to taste the feeling of a slow, suffocating death; Ji Xiang felt that if that happened, it would leave him with irreparable psychological trauma.

"Cong Wen and Shen Lang encountered a case of a hanging patient, and the final outcome was a bit strange. Do you want to go take a look?"

"From a doctor's perspective?"

"Mm," the system NPC nodded.

Only then did Ji Xiang feel relieved; he didn't even notice that he was beaming with joy.

Following the system NPC to the adjacent Operating Room, light and shadow flickered, and the next second, a familiar voice reached Ji Xiang's ears.

"Ji Xiang, hurry up! What are you doing!"

"Lang Ge!" Ji Xiang's eyes welled up with tears.

Opening his eyes, Ji Xiang saw that Shen Lang's ears were already perked up, like antennas.

"What Lang Ge or no Lang Ge, Cong Wen went to check on the situation at the home of the deceased who was just sent in, let's follow him and take a look!"

"What happened?" Ji Xiang asked, knowing the answer.

"Haunted."

"..."

Here we go again!

After the previous incident with Lao Wangtou, who sucked away people's life span, Ji Xiang already had a preliminary understanding of Shen Lang.

This guy always liked to be alarmist when talking to others, but he was as clear as a mirror in his heart.

Including the last time Lao Wangtou was hidden in the morgue freezer and his grandson pushed him out for a stroll, even he himself had believed that Lao Wangtou would suck away people's life span, but Shen Lang had been perfectly clear about it.

Saying one thing and meaning another—that might just describe someone like Shen Lang.

"Lang Ge, don't be in such a rush, let's go a little later," Ji Xiang pulled on Shen Lang and advised, "Think about it, if we go right at the beginning, they'll have police tape up and we won't be able to get in. Let's wait a while until there are onlookers; by then they'll be done with the evidence collection, and we can just take a look from afar."

"Otherwise, what if the director scolds us both?"

"Psh," Shen Lang patted the top of Ji Xiang's head with one hand, "If you're afraid to go, then don't go, stop saying so much. I already told you, the Family Member didn't call the police, the director is just going to check on the situation at the Family Member's home."

"Speaking of which, you're really boring. Don't you want to know what happened? Talk while we walk, don't make excuses."

Tsk tsk, Shen Lang, Lang Ge, really looked rough on the outside, but was actually as meticulous as a hair.

The two got into the car; Shen Lang held a cigarette in one hand and gripped the steering wheel with the other.

"The deceased was a white-collar worker at a company, it seems she was already at the level of a sales manager," Shen Lang explained the sequence of events to Ji Xiang.

"A few days ago, she rejected the pursuit of a 'lick-dog,' but because that 'lick-dog' was too clingy, she said some harsh things."

"Clingy? That's indeed quite troublesome. Lang Ge, let me tell you, I was a 'lick-dog' once too. I didn't feel it at the time, I just wanted to pour my heart out to the other person. But thinking back on it now, I wish I could find a crack in the ground to crawl into," Ji Xiang chimed in, seizing the opportunity.

Chatting with Shen Lang was very comfortable; Ji Xiang especially liked this relaxed atmosphere. Moreover, Shen Lang had a clear head; although he had no filter on his mouth, Ji Xiang didn't care.

"You say 'lick-dog, lick-dog,' you lick until the end and have nothing at all, what's the point," Shen Lang shook his head.

"Lang Ge, do you have a girlfriend?"

"No, why would I want a girlfriend? To be a 'lick-dog' like you?" Shen Lang retorted.

"Uh..."

"It's fine in the Northeast, there's almost no bride price, but with the nature of our work... women need time to be accompanied, and we, we aren't suitable."

Although Ji Xiang didn't think so, he didn't refute it.

"What about you, Xiao Ji?"

"I haven't looked either. When I was in school, my dad registered a secondary QQ account to chat with me. That was the time I spent over a year as a 'lick-dog'."

"Damn! How could your dad be so unprofessional!" Shen Lang understood in a second and exclaimed, "When you have time, bring me to meet your old man; I need to have a good chat with such an unprofessional Old Man."

"..."

Ji Xiang was very helpless.

"Psh, you distracted me and I forgot what I was saying," Shen Lang wasn't like Zhao Zhe, who would forget what he had just said while talking; he immediately steered the topic back himself, "At the time, the deceased told the pursuer that there was absolutely no possibility in this lifetime."

"Oh, that's good, at least she wasn't stringing him along," Ji Xiang said.

"Right, but guess what that guy said."

"What did he say? She already said there was absolutely no possibility in this lifetime," Ji Xiang was puzzled.

"He said, 'Then if I die, can it be done in the next life?'"

"Damn!" Ji Xiang was shocked.

"I heard from Cong Wen that the man actually committed suicide; he hanged himself," Shen Lang said mysteriously.

"!!!"

"After the death, the girl has been able to see the dead man these past two days."

"See him? Lang Ge, that's a bit ridiculous." Recalling the incident with Lao Wangtou, Ji Xiang immediately said, "It's simply impossible."

"Look at what I said," Shen Lang said. "Your imagination is truly poor."

Ji Xiang was silent.

"The girl's mother said that yesterday she called to say her daughter had encountered a ghost."

Next, Shen Lang briefly recounted the ins and outs of the matter.

Having rejected the man's pursuit, the girl had spoken very firmly, but not long after returning home, she received a video request from the man.

Naturally, the girl clicked decline.

But the man sent a message saying he was going to die and requested one last video call.

The girl panicked a little, wanting to persuade him not to commit suicide. She clicked accept and saw the man at home preparing a rope to commit suicide.

At the time, the girl was somewhat annoyed; there is a type of person in this world who is quite detestable—regardless of gender.

They use self-harm to express their romantic pursuit, exploiting the sliver of kindness in the other person's heart.

The girl wanted to hang up the video, but the man didn't hesitate at all; after finishing his sentence, he hanged himself directly.

Having witnessed the man's suicide with her own eyes, the girl had a mental breakdown.

The key was that she didn't even know where the man was, and it was too late to even call 120 for emergency help.

Added to that were feelings of panic, fear, and so on; just then, a close friend called, so she told the friend about the matter.

The friend came to her home to keep her company.

Subsequently, strange things kept happening.

The deceased's mother didn't explain exactly what happened, but it is said that various bizarre events caused the girl to have a mental breakdown, and she finally chose to hang herself.

"The method of death is the same as the man's! I'm asking you, aren't you scared!!" Shen Lang asked.

"Uh~ it seems there's a bit of a problem, Lang Ge."

"Xiao Ji, you're asking where the man died, right?"

Ji Xiang smiled slightly; Shen Lang really was very clear in his heart.

"I don't know yet."

"Lang Ge, do you really believe it's haunted? That man hanged himself, and then the girl also hanged herself as if she were possessed? How does it feel like a horror movie? Usually, these things aren't real."

"I certainly believe it," Shen Lang said to himself.

Ji Xiang curled his lip; I believe you, you old rascal.

Last time, with the Lao Wangtou incident, Shen Lang had deceived him quite badly, and now he was doing it again!

Shen Lang said, "The Family Member didn't call the police. Cong Wen felt something was wrong, so he found someone familiar to contact the Family Member and go to the house to take a look."

"A Doctor is just a Doctor, and can only be a Doctor."

Ji Xiang simplified what the system NPC, Meng Qingfei, and Bai Chuzhang had told him.

"Oh?" Shen Lang raised an eyebrow. "Xiao Ji, your way of speaking is really like the General Manager!"

"Is it?"

"But Cong Wen felt the girl's death was a bit strange; she hanged herself in her own wardrobe."

"Wardrobe?"

"Mm."

Ji Xiang's expression was grave; it looked like one truly didn't need a ceiling beam or a tree branch.

"Lang Ge, if that's the case, wouldn't she have just stood up when she was dying?" Shen Lang asked the same question.

"It's like this: at first, a person's desire to live is very strong, but when the brain becomes hypoxic, it enters a state of semi-coma. Coupled with weak limbs, there really are people in similar situations who cannot break free."

"???" Ji Xiang had a head full of question marks.

"If you don't believe me, search online; there are videos on websites. You can watch with your own eyes as that person commits suicide while half-sitting on the ground, their bottom not even far from the ground, yet they still died just like that.

And also, the tongues of people who hang themselves don't stick out; at the very least, the mouths of the deceased in those videos are all closed."

"!!!"

Ji Xiang heard about looking things up online for medical purposes again, and this time it was even stranger—actually looking up hanging online.

He took out his phone and started searching.

He didn't usually search for things like this, but after Shen Lang's reminder, Ji Xiang immediately started looking.

Sure enough, there were actually related videos, and they hadn't been blocked!

"See?"

"Lang Ge, do you usually like this sort of thing? This taste is a bit heavy." Ji Xiang asked blankly.

"Pah! What are you saying? How could I like this kind of heavy-tasting stuff?" Shen Lang said. "Cong Wen called me, and I searched for the relevant knowledge points immediately."

Ji Xiang had nothing to say about Shen Lang calling these things knowledge points.

The matter was roughly like this; Ji Xiang had a general idea.

Zhou Congwen, Zhou Jiaoshou, was really too meddlesome; this was completely different from the handling of the Trisomy Patient.

Perhaps, this was a Doctor's style?

Supposedly, Zhou Congwen, Zhou Jiaoshou, had a huge number of surgeries; he shouldn't have the time or energy to be curious.

And this matter clearly had no benefits.

Yet he did exactly that.

Strange.

Ji Xiang felt dizzy from the two consecutive experiences of Empathy, so he simply stopped thinking about it and focused on chatting with Shen Lang.

Ever since he last met Shen Lang, Ji Xiang had been unable to get him out of his mind.

Shen Lang was a very interesting person; his knowledge was eclectic, and he could effortlessly talk about all sorts of strange and wondrous things from all over Tiannan and beyond.

Especially when it came to matters of the supernatural and bizarre, Shen Lang spoke with great enthusiasm.

If not for his previous experience, Ji Xiang would likely have believed Shen Lang's nonsense.

The two arrived at the deceased's home, where Zhou Jiaoshou was examining the spot where the deceased had hanged herself.

"Lang Ge, why didn't the family call the police?"

"There's no need to call the police, I suppose. The last person to see the girl was her mother; it's said her mother went out to buy her favorite food, and when she returned, she found her dead."

"The main thing is that our rule is: if the people don't report it, the officials don't investigate. If the family doesn't call the police, no one will bother."

"You're here," Zhou Jiaoshou beckoned. "Put on shoe covers."

Just as he finished speaking, Shen Lang had already taken out the shoe covers, handed one to Ji Xiang, and nimbly put his own on.

"Cong Wen, how is it?"

"I haven't found anything unusual." Zhou Jiaoshou rested his chin in his hand and stared at the locker.

Ji Xiang shuffled over in his shoe covers to take a look. The locker was very small, with a clothes rail inside made of solid wood that looked quite sturdy.

How did this suddenly turn into Case Detective Conan? Ji Xiang felt it was a bit bizarre.

But since suicide by hanging was something rarely encountered in daily life, Ji Xiang didn't have much more to speculate about.

"Director, did you find anything?" Ji Xiang asked.

"No, the surveillance shows the deceased was indeed alone at home at the time, and no one entered," Zhou Jiaoshou said in a low voice.

"It really is haunted!" Shen Lang exclaimed in a low voice.

"Shut up!"

"Cong Wen, it's true!" Shen Lang argued, "I don't believe a person would just commit suicide out of the blue, and in such a bizarre way, too."

"Then what do you think?"

Shen Lang's lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

It was obvious he knew Zhou Jiaoshou would be unhappy if he said such things.

"I told the Family Member not to tell anyone for now," Zhou Jiaoshou said.

"Keeping the death a secret? Is that useful?"

"Who knows? It should be fine to hide it for a day or two." Zhou Jiaoshou frowned, still maintaining the pose of resting his chin in his hand as he looked at the dressing room.

Ji Xiang couldn't understand what Zhou Jiaoshou was pondering.

In the parlance of detective dramas, this was called a locked-room murder.

Nowadays, there are cameras everywhere in the country, and violent incidents are extremely rare.

Moreover, the timeline of the death was quite clear; it should be suicide. It seemed Zhou Jiaoshou had quite an active imagination.

"Cong Wen, did you have any communication with the Patient... the deceased's family?" Shen Lang asked.

"They said the deceased's mood had been off these past few days, and her best friend had been keeping her company."

"Then should we find her best friend and ask?"

Zhou Congwen looked at Shen Lang as if he were an idiot.

"You just have paranoid personality disorder."

"The deceased told her parents that the man she broke up with, who committed suicide by hanging, had been sending her videos ever since she saw him hanging there."

"Hmm?"

"That's why she was scared," Zhou Jiaoshou described simply. "And the family doesn't want to call the police; they don't think it's necessary."

"Then what do you think?"

"The person is already dead, where would they be sending videos from?" Zhou Jiaoshou said with disdain. "You think everyone is like you, and you think everything is just as you imagine it."

"Cong Wen, I didn't offend you, why are you unhappy?" Shen Lang frowned and retorted.

Ji Xiang watched them with great interest.

Shen Lang seemed to have not a shred of fear toward Zhou Jiaoshou; the two of them spoke very casually, just like old friends of many years.

"You two go out first, I need to think about this some more."

Shen Lang pulled Ji Xiang out.

"Lang Ge." Ji Xiang handed Shen Lang a cigarette and then asked, "We are doctors, we can only be doctors. Isn't the Director going a bit too far?"

"He has psychological trauma."

"Oh?"

"When we were still junior doctors, a patient came to his shift. Female, 17 years old, cardiac tamponade," Shen Lang recounted. "According to the family, the brother-in-law and the sister-in-law were cleaning fish. The sister-in-law wanted a knife, the brother-in-law threw it over, and it went straight into the deceased's heart."

"!!!"

"We work in thoracic surgery; there are ribs in front of the heart. The gaps between the ribs aren't narrow, but think about it: can throwing a knife make it go in? Never mind throwing it casually while cleaning fish; even if you pinned someone down and stabbed them, it would be impressive if it went in instead of being blocked by the ribs."

"That's true. And then?" Ji Xiang asked.

"If the people don't report it, the officials don't investigate. The patient was resuscitated, but because of the long duration of cerebral hypoxia, she became a Vegetative State. She stayed in the department for half a month, on an Anesthesia Machine for Auxiliary breathing, and the family said they were giving up."

"The day they pulled the tube, I saw the look on Cong Wen's face; his eyes were all red. You tell me, what the hell does a stranger have to do with him! It's just his damn sense of justice acting up."

Shen Lang took a puff of his cigarette and grumbled.

So that was it; Zhou Jiaoshou had such an experience. Ji Xiang finally understood.

No wonder this experience of Empathy was different from the last one.

This falls under the category of medical ethics and humanities; generally speaking, very few people pay attention to it.

"Lang Ge, then what do you think?"

"It must be a ghost at work!" Shen Lang said, "I wouldn't ponder as much as Cong Wen does."

"Hahaha." Ji Xiang lowered his voice to mock Shen Lang.

Shen Lang didn't care at all; he smoked silently, then suddenly said, "I think, whoever made the call is the ghost."

"Oh?"

"Cong Wen didn't let the Family Member mention the news of the death, so the person who called the deceased first must be the ghost."

This was indeed a reasonable judgment.

"Lang Ge, didn't you say that if the people don't report it, the officials don't investigate?"

"The hospital has the qualifications to sue, but after all, it's a hospital, and the leaders all feel why bother. At the time, we were all young Doctors, and no one understood." Shen Lang explained while smoking, "In short, it's better to avoid trouble than to add to it."

"What exactly is going on with the video?"

"What kind of explanation do you want to hear?" Shen Lang asked.

"Your explanation."

"If you ask me, it's that the deceased had lingering resentment, turned into a ghost to find the woman she loved in life, and then made her commit suicide in a strange way. This is the most basic trope; it seems Hong Kong horror movies often film it like this."

"Lang Ge, be serious, tell me what's really on your mind, don't always lie to me." Ji Xiang said.

"I'm being very serious, okay? Since you don't believe me, then let me tell you properly."

Ji Xiang was taken aback.

Shen Lang held the cigarette in his mouth, and the expression on his face became serious.

"One day, I rejected a man who was pursuing me. He asked me how we could be together, and I said in the next life."

"As a result, that night I received a video invitation from him. I definitely wouldn't answer the video, but he immediately sent a message saying he was going to commit suicide."

"I panicked and answered the video, only to see a rope already set up behind the man, ready for suicide. At that moment, I was a bit flustered; I had never seen such a situation in all my life, so it's normal to be a little panicked."

"The man said a few words to me; he said we couldn't be together in this life and hoped I would keep my promise that I would go find him immediately after he died."

"But I never said any such thing; he misinterpreted my words."

"Just as I was about to explain, he hanged himself right in front of me."

"At the time, I was terrified. Since I was a child, I hadn't even killed a chicken, let alone watched a living person die right in front of me."

"Especially seeing his face gradually turn blue and purple, his tongue sticking out, looking like a hanged ghost, I was even more afraid."

"Panicked, I closed the video and curled up under the covers."

"But it wasn't safe under the covers either; I kept feeling that the hanged ghost's tongue behind me was swaying back and forth."

"..." Ji Xiang was startled by this long story from Shen Lang.

Especially since Shen Lang's tone was eerie while telling the story, Ji Xiang vaguely felt someone blowing cold air behind him.

Ji Xiang even felt the hanged ghost was behind him, its tongue hanging down, touching his neck from time to time.

"And that night, my phone received a message again, and the one who sent the video invitation was actually the man who had already died!"

"Of course I didn't dare to answer; whoever the hell dares to answer is a coward!"

"He died right in front of me, now it must be his ghost coming to claim my life!"

"I was very scared and called my mother back home, but as soon as I mentioned the details, I felt especially terrified. I finished talking to my mother in a confused, rambling way and asked her to come keep me company."

"But I was still scared, and it just so happened that a close friend came to find me, so I asked her if she could come keep me company for a while."

"Fortunately, she came..."

Shen Lang stopped there; he paused.

"That's all the information I know, Xiao Ji, where do you say the problem lies?" Shen Lang asked.

"There's no problem, it all follows logic. If there is anything, was it possible the deceased didn't see the scene of the man hanging himself clearly?"

"I think it's either a supernatural phenomenon, though Cong Wen has strong Yang energy and isn't afraid of these; or, it's a clumsy prank, or even intentional homicide."

"Hmm?" Ji Xiang carefully calculated it, but still couldn't figure out where the problem was.

The phone rang, and Zhou Jiaoshou's voice came through.

"Hello, you must be Jiaojiao's friend, she is sick and is at the hospital."

"Oh, it's nothing, I am Jiaojiao's cousin, I just arrived today."

"The Doctor said it's insomnia and arrhythmia, a little medicine will make it better soon."

"Alright then, I'm hanging up."

Shen Lang stood up abruptly and walked in quickly.

"Cong Wen, who called?"

"It's the deceased's close friend, the one who stayed with her until she died."

"Is there a ghost?"

"Can't say that for now." Zhou Jiaoshou held the deceased's phone in his hand, the phone dancing between his fingers like an elf.

Ji Xiang had seen Shen Lang play with a lighter, but Zhou Jiaoshou playing with a phone—it was a bit larger and required stronger control.

Truly a very powerful practitioner, Ji Xiang sighed inwardly.

Zhou Jiaoshou seemed to be pondering something, but then smiled slightly, opened the phone, and opened the social media app.

"Cong Wen, that's privacy!"

"Oh, I know." Zhou Jiaoshou said calmly, "Here, come look, the chat between the deceased and her mother, her mother didn't tell us about this."

This time, Shen Lang seemed to have forgotten about things like privacy and leaned over.

(End of this chapter)