Chapter 80: Do Not Close Your Eyes When the Sky Turns Dark (1)

The duty nurse stood clutching an eye mask while the head nurse scolded her. Yet most of her attention seemed fixed on us, her eyes darting toward Ward 9114 every few moments.

Once the head nurse left, she secretly pulled out her phone and sent a text to an unfamiliar number.

"Secretary Zhang from Ganding Pharmaceuticals brought someone to the hospital. They want to take Jiang Shihan away."

About three minutes later, a reply came back: "Do not let her leave tonight under any circumstances!"

Rubbing my throbbing forehead, I used Chasing Eye to read the words on the nurse's screen with complete clarity.

"What are you doing?" Secretary Zhang asked. Seeing my injuries and how I was pressing a hand to my head, he assumed I was feeling unwell.

I waved a hand at him. "Don't worry about me. Hurry up and find a way to get Jiang Shihan out of here. Tonight isn't going to be peaceful."

"What do you mean?" Secretary Zhang was a corporate elite who had spent his entire life in the sunlit world; there was no way to explain things like this to him.

"In a moment, go keep that duty nurse occupied, and I'll take Jiang Shihan away," I whispered to Secretary Zhang, noticing the nurse slip her phone into her bag and head toward the ward.

"Is that really necessary? It's the same if we finish all the paperwork and take her out tomorrow. It only delays things by a few hours at most." Still unaware of how urgent the situation was, he wanted to follow proper procedure.

Before I could say anything, the duty nurse had already reached the door.

She knocked, an impatient scowl on her face. "The patient is emotionally unstable. Having you here will interfere with her next phase of treatment."

"Mental illness requires psychological counseling. Look at those drawings on the ceiling—is this the result of your treatment?" Refusing to yield an inch, I gave Secretary Zhang a pointed look, then hurried over to the bed and helped Jiang Shihan up from beneath the covers.

"And look at her hands! All ten fingers chewed raw, yet you were out there sleeping with a mask over your eyes? Is this how your hospital treats its patients?"

My tone was harsh. The nurse stammered for a long moment before finally retorting, "Who are you, anyway? I haven't seen you among the family members visiting the patient these past few days."

"I'm her brother, just back from out of province. If you don't believe me, ask the secretary to the chairman of Ganding Pharmaceuticals." Borrowing Ganding Pharmaceuticals' reputation as a shield, I could spout whatever nonsense I liked and she wouldn't dare call me out.

The duty nurse looked at Secretary Zhang, who offered a practiced corporate smile. "That's right. He just returned from out of province today and rushed straight over tonight to see his sister."

"If you're family, I understand, but making a scene in the ward will only worsen her condition and disturb the other patients." Aware that she was in the wrong and confronted by two grown men, the duty nurse's voice grew softer and softer.

Thinking to strike while the iron was hot and take Jiang Shihan out immediately, I pressed on: "Secretary Zhang has already called your superiors. We are transferring her tonight—"

"No!"

Before I could finish, the duty nurse shrieked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Perhaps realizing she had lost her composure, she moderated her tone slightly. "I haven't received any notification. You cannot take her away."

"The situation is different now. I have zero trust in you. I don't think you're treating her—I think you're committing slow murder." My eyes narrowed. When I said the word "murder," the duty nurse's eyelid gave a distinct twitch. 'They really are pulling dirty tricks behind the scenes.'

"Isn't that a terrible thing to say? What doctor in the world wouldn't want their patients to recover as quickly as possible?" The duty nurse forced a dry laugh. "Regardless, you can't take her. Discharging a patient requires a doctor's certificate and the accompaniment of an immediate family member. You don't meet the requirements!"

I frowned. "And if I insist on taking her?"

"Then I'm sorry, but I'll have to call the police." Who knew how many kickbacks she had taken under the table, but her stance was exceptionally firm as both hands clutched the ward door.

Just as we reached an impasse, someone walked over from the end of the corridor.

He was in his forties or fifties, wearing a white lab coat and black-framed glasses.

The moment the duty nurse saw him, it was as if she had found her savior. She hurried over and grabbed his arm. "Director Li, these two are trying to take the crazy woman in Ward 9114 away."

"All right, go attend to your duties. I know what's going on." Director Li smiled faintly at the nurse, then turned his gaze toward the two of us.

"Little Zhang, still up this late?" He looked at Secretary Zhang first; it seemed the two had known each other for quite some time.

"Director Li, my apologies for disturbing you."

Secretary Zhang used honorifics, stirring a murmur of suspicion in my heart. 'Just what is this Director Li's status?'

"No matter, I happen to be on duty today." Smiling, he looked toward me. "You're Jiang Shihan's brother? How is it I never heard her mother mention you? When this child was first admitted, her mother cried her heart out, and I spent plenty of time comforting her."

'He's lying.' My expression remained blank. Director Li was a smiling tiger. He claimed he was on duty today, but when I looked at his leather shoes, the polish was fresh. He must have gone home, had the nanny shine his shoes to wear the next morning, and then been called in unexpectedly in the middle of the night.

Furthermore, I had paid close attention to the phone calls Secretary Zhang had made earlier, and none of them were to anyone surnamed Li.

'He means trouble.'

Director Li spoke at a leisurely, unhurried pace. "I've been old friends with your Director Huang for many years. I understand what happened to his child, but this is a hospital, after all. A hospital has its regulations. If a patient is to be discharged, you need our medical input. After all, we must be responsible for each of their lives."

"Jiang Shihan has caused you a lot of trouble these past few days," Secretary Zhang replied respectfully. His hand, hidden behind his back, waved gently at me, signaling me not to act rashly.

Director Li smiled and nodded. "It's no trouble. Healing the wounded and rescuing the dying is our bounden duty as doctors."

He made a show of checking his watch. "It's almost midnight. You two shouldn't keep standing around here like statues. Go on back. I'll help you finish the paperwork tonight, and you can pick her up first thing in the morning."

"Then we'll have to trouble you, Director Li." With that, Secretary Zhang gripped my shoulder and ushered me out of the ward, brooking no argument.

I didn't resist. The two of us didn't stop until we reached the corner of the stairwell.

"Gao Jian, let's just drop the matter for tonight."

"We can't. The other side has already caught on. If we leave Jiang Shihan here alone tonight, she will likely die!"

Secretary Zhang didn't believe me, convinced I was making a mountain out of a molehill. "There are security guards downstairs, nurses in the duty room, and surveillance cameras all outside the ward. Just relax."

Secretary Zhang's attitude had shifted dramatically ever since he saw Director Li. I couldn't help asking, "What is that Director Li's background?"

"Our Ganding Pharmaceuticals is in physical pharmaceutical manufacturing, and Director Li is the man in charge of the drug supply at People's Hospital. He's worked with us for several years now, so he counts as an old friend of Director Huang's."

"Old friends?" It was nothing but a mutually beneficial business relationship. Recalling the hypocritical smile on Director Li's face and looking at Secretary Zhang's unchanging corporate smile, I suddenly felt a bit sick. These people only cared about their own interests. The only one genuinely worried whether Jiang Shihan lived or died was me—an irrelevant outsider.

"Is there really no way to get her out tonight?" I stared into Secretary Zhang's eyes, but couldn't find a single trace of hesitation in his gaze.

"Sorry, I'm powerless to help."

"Fine." I shook off Secretary Zhang's hand. "You can go. I'm staying to keep watch tonight."

"Keep... keep watch?" He looked down the somewhat eerie corridor, a slight twitch rippling across his face. "Are you serious?"

"Of course. Entrusted by others, loyal to their matters—that is our principle."

After watching Secretary Zhang walk downstairs, I smoked a cigarette in the corridor and then turned back toward Ward 9114.

Director Li had already left, and the duty nurse was nowhere to be seen. I walked the length of the hallway and found that the only surveillance camera hadn't been turned on today. All of these signs seemed to hint that something was definitely going to happen tonight.

I pulled out the Underworld Live Show Phone and scanned every corner of the ward, but I didn't see any sign of the Little Ghost. Knowing there was a ghost right next to you but being unable to find it was the most unbearable feeling of all.

Jiang Shihan silently stood on the bed again. This time, however, she didn't stand on her tiptoes to draw on the ceiling; instead, she gripped her clothes tightly and stared dead at me.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here to help you." Gripping the Seven Astral Talisman I kept close to my body in hand, I firmly shut the door and kept a constant watch on my phone screen.

The ward was dead silent until the midnight bell chimed. Bearing an eerie expression, Jiang Shihan spoke her very first words since we had met.

"The sky has turned dark."