A Forum for Patients of Fourth Hospital
Chapter 11: Sister, you smell so lovely

George concluded his speech and gracefully turned, walking away. The patients rose from their seats and formed a line, moving forward like wooden dolls controlled by invisible strings.

Yu Xiao and her companions trailed behind. Zhou Xiao Zhen gazed blankly at the spot where George had disappeared and whispered, “You know, George is quite dashing, like the vampires I’m fond of. Do you think he’s human?”

“What do you think?” Zhao Lan replied wearily. “After listening to all these patients’ stories, do you still believe there are any living souls left here?”

“Let’s go. Follow them,” Yu Xiao signalled to the others to catch up with the line.

The hospital was dimly lit, and the corridor was narrow. Thirteen patients shuffled along in a line, and no medical staff crossed their path.

Yu Xiao had found no information about St. Elizabeth’s Psychiatric Hospital on the Fourth Hospital Forum. This was their first time entering a treatment instance, and they had no experience or knowledge of how to leave this place.

The girl standing in front of Yu Xiao, with twin pigtails, was named Qiao Qiao (巧巧:opportunely / coincidentally / as it happens / skillful / timely ). From her words, it was evident that her grandmother had drowned her in the river due to gender bias.

Yu Xiao paused for a moment, contemplating this information, before gently patting the girl’s shoulder.

Qiao Qiao turned her head, somewhat dazed, and saw the slender, milky-white hand resting there. Yu Xiao’s words still lingered in her ears: “…like being slow-cooked in a brine pot for three days and three nights.”

Qiao Qiao swallowed and looked up at Yu Xiao with a hunger in her eyes. “Sister, you smell so lovely.”

Yu Xiao forced a smile and asked, “How long have you been here?”

Qiao Qiao’s gaze became vacant, as if lost in time. She tilted her head and began counting on her fingers. “It’s been over forty years, I believe,” she finally said.

So this abandoned hospital had been devoid of life for at least forty years? Without hesitating, Yu Xiao continued. “Has anyone ever left this place?”

“Yes,” Qiao Qiao replied, her gaze fixed on Yu Xiao. She moistened her lips. “People like you, who have such a sweet scent, often enter. But they don’t stay for long. Will you also disappear, sister?”

“I don’t know,” Yu Xiao truthfully responded. “Is there a way to escape from here?”

“Why would you want to leave?” Qiao Qiao’s wide eyes widened with confusion. “Once the illness is cured, you can go back home.”

“And how do we cure the illness?” Yu Xiao inquired.

Qiao Qiao’s expression grew cold. “If I knew, would I still be here?” she spat.

Yu Xiao fell silent. Her companions, Zhao Lan and Zhou Xiao Zhen, exchanged a knowing glance.

“The patients may seem simple, but they are not truly foolish,” warned Zhao Lan. “We must be cautious and not let them discover that we are living people.”

Zhou Xiao Zhen, carrying a mahjong set, nodded in agreement. “There are so many ghosts here,” she complained. “Even with mahjong, we may not be able to ward them all off. Are your talismans enough, Smiley?”

“I thought so,” admitted Yu Xiao, casting a worried glance at the ten figures ahead of them. “But I didn’t expect to encounter so many ghosts in the first treatment instance.”

“We must find a way out of here,” insisted Zhao Lan.

“But didn’t Qiao Qiao say that we can leave once our illnesses are cured?” interjected Zhou Xiao Zhen.

“How can we cure this illness?” asked Zhao Lan.

“How should I know?” replied Zhou Xiao Zhen.

“Somebody surely knows,” said Yu Xiao.

Zhao Lan and Zhou Xiao Zhen exclaimed in unison, “Who?!”

“Shhh…” Yu Xiao motioned for them to be quiet and whispered, “George.”

Both of them ceased their exclamations and stared with widened eyes.

Zhou Xiao Zhen was so anxious that her eyelashes almost fell off. “Smiley, this is no laughing matter. I admit that I once mentioned George’s certain charm, but he is clearly not human. What’s the difference between seeking him out and seeking death?”

Zhao Lan recalled the way George had looked at her, and even now she felt a little afraid. “Perhaps we should consider an alternative.”

Yu Xiao didn’t understand why they were so nervous and gazed at them with a puzzled expression. “What are you so afraid of? The attending physician has a duty to inform the patient about the treatment plan.”

The team turned right and arrived at the medication area. There, behind a window, stood a nurse with pale skin and white clothing, moving stiffly with lifeless eyes. In front of her was a tray displaying two rows of small paper cups. The left cups contained two capsules, while the right cups held water.

The patients lined up and each received a cup of water and a cup of capsules from the nurse. They swallowed the medicine and opened their mouths to show compliance.

Fortunately, Yu Xiao’s team was at the back of the line. Unfortunately, sooner or later, it would be their turn.

“What should we do…” Zhou Xiao Zhen anxiously pinched Zhao Lan’s striped hospital gown. “Do we really have to take that?”

It felt like an impossible situation. Yu Xiao glanced to her left and saw three nurses, standing rigidly like puppets. To her right, there were three more nurses, equally motionless. Who knew what the medicine they were given could do? Yu Xiao’s arms and legs felt weak and powerless. She understood that if they fought back or tried to escape, they would eventually be caught. And she didn’t want to think about what would happen to them then.

As the number of people in front of them dwindled, the three of them felt their hopelessness grow.

When there were only two people ahead of them, Yu Xiao knew they could no longer hesitate. She signalled to the other two with a wave of her hand and said, “Let’s go.”

The moment she spoke, she left the line. The six nurses on either side immediately moved towards them. Yu Xiao could see their blood-red lips, withered skin, and even smell their strange odour.

Yu Xiao stood before Zhou Xiao Zhen and Zhao Lan, raising her voice, “We insist on seeing Doctor George!”

However, the six nurses remained unresponsive, steadily advancing. The three of them started to retreat, with Zhou Xiao Zhen, in her desperation, seeking refuge behind Yu Xiao. She accused the nurses, “What do you think you’re doing? We have the right to see a doctor. You’re violating our fundamental patient rights… Ouch! Don’t push me so forcefully, why are you so strong…”

Eventually, the three of them were forced back to the end of the line.

Zhou Xiao Zhen, on the verge of tears, asked, “What do we do now?”

In frustration, Zhao Lan clenched her teeth and stomped her foot, declaring, “I’ll hold them off. You two run.”

“Ah, how can you possibly hold them off, Misty?” Zhou Xiao Zhen clung onto her mahjong set. “Let’s go together. Smiley, run faster and don’t worry about us. You must live well for us, ah…”

Amidst her tears, Qiao Qiao turned to face Yu Xiao.

With eyes that exhibited both an empty stillness and an innocent childlike quality, Qiao Qiao asked, “Sister, don’t you want to take the medication?”

Yu Xiao responded immediately, saying, “Yes. Do you know of any other way?”

Qiao Qiao licked her index finger with her tongue and stared at Yu Xiao’s hand with hunger in her eyes. Saliva dripped from the corner of her mouth.

Understanding her intention, Yu Xiao clenched her teeth and said, “If you can find a solution for us to avoid taking the medicine, I’ll give you one hand!”

Qiao Qiao’s eyes lit up, and her mouth stretched into an ecstatic grin that seemed to split her face in two.

After rummaging in her pocket for a while, she finally produced three shrivelled and blackened fingers. The broken edges were jagged and uneven, as if something had gnawed them off.

The sight made Yu Xiao feel sick, and a wave of nausea washed over her. Qiao Qiao then took the water and capsule offered by the nurse with pleasure. Afterwards, she handed the three fingers to the nurse, pointing back at Yu Xiao and her companions.

The pale nurse held the fingers, sniffed them, and then showed a satisfied look. Her lips, painted a deep red, formed a stiff smile as she leaned down to clean up the tray. Without even a glance in their direction, she then walked away.

“…”

Yu Xiao suddenly realised that she had made a terrible deal. She could have achieved the same outcome with just three fingers, but she had paid the price of an entire hand.

She had been deceived…

The patients swallowed their medication and left the table, disregarding the bread and fruit. Yu Xiao considered her options as Qiao Qiao pulled on her sleeve, her hopeful expression tainted by a string of saliva.

Yu Xiao hesitated. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, devastated. “I cannot give you my hand right now.”

Qiao Qiao’s face twisted into an angry snarl, revealing a set of sharp teeth.

Zhou Xiao Zhen’s breathing wavered. ‘Will I be the next one tormented by this little demon?’ she wondered.

“Smiley,” Zhou Xiaozhen interrupted, “let’s play mahjong.”

Yu Xiao shook her head and crouched down to Qiao Qiao’s level. “I will be seeing Doctor George soon. What will he do if he finds out that I am missing a hand?”

Qiao Qiao clung to Yu Xiao’s sleeve, oblivious to her reasoning. Yu Xiao raised her hand, intending to pat Qiao Qiao’s head, but withdrew it when she noticed the greasy hair that appeared unwashed for the past forty years.

“Qiao Qiao,” Yu Xiao said softly, “Doctor George won’t worry about your hunger, but if he asks why I gave you my hand, I’ll have to tell him it was so you could bribe the nurses.”

Qiao Qiao’s eyes widened with fear. She seemed afraid of George discovering the truth yet reluctant to let go of Yu Xiao’s fragrant hand. After a moment of contemplation, she released Yu Xiao’s sleeve.

“When you come back, give it back to me,” Qiao Qiao muttered, wiping away the saliva with her sleeve. “I’ll be waiting for you.”