Hospital 444
Chapter 154 - 3: Check-In

Chapter 154: Chapter 3: Check-In

Dai Lin was just about to comfort Gu Yanan when his phone suddenly vibrated.

With Dai Lin’s now against-the-heavens vision, even a cursory glance with the corner of his eye was enough for him to instantly make out the incoming text message, "Don’t worry, we have asked Luo Ren to stay at home, waiting for your return."

The sender was Mom.

Previously, Dai Lin had teleported Luo Ren to his residential complex. Considering it improper for Luo Ren to wait around late at night, Dai Lin had texted him to stay at his place instead and had sent a message to his mother, telling her not to let Luo Ren leave before his return.

Dai Lin held the pen and asked, "Black like the color black, swamp like in swamp?"

"Correct," Gu Yanan nodded.

"Please continue, Miss Gu." At this point, Gao Heyann, with her clinical experience, had a sneaking suspicion that this patient... was probably not just an ordinary case.

Perhaps... she should not have come to the Wraith Surgery Department.

Gu Yanan continued, choking up, "That man, though frightening in appearance, seemed very warm and hospitable, so at that time, we... believed him..."

...

When Wei Zhengxian first saw the man of extremely odd and ugly appearance approaching, his instinct was to stand protectively in front of Gu Yanan.

"We’re tourists from JR city," said Wei Zhengxian, "We got separated from our fellow hikers, and our phones have no signal, so we ended up here. I left marks along the way for them; they might also come to the village later."

At first, Gu Yanan did not understand why Wei Zhengxian would lie, but upon further thought, she realized it was his way of being cautious. After all, they were strangers in these parts, and if the locals harbored any ill intentions, like robbing them, the consequences could be dire. To fabricate a few non-existent fellow hikers would serve as a deterrent.

"No problem, as long as they come, they are guests of our village."

The ugly man drew closer, and upon opening his mouth, he exuded a stench that made one feel somewhat nauseous, which Gu Yanan barely managed to withstand without covering her nose.

Wei Zhengxian glanced at the sheep pen and asked, "Does... your village raise sheep?"

Hearing this, the ugly man looked Wei Zhengxian over carefully.

"Do you think... our village raises sheep?"

Wei Zhengxian reacted quickly, immediately pointing to the nearby houses, "I saw sheep pens next to every house around here, so I thought... maybe you all raise sheep."

"Hmm..."

After scanning the surroundings, the ugly man looked back at Wei Zhengxian.

"You’re right."

At this moment, Gu Yanan immediately remembered what the old man had said.

"Don’t eat the goat meat"...

At first, she didn’t take it seriously, but now... Gu Yanan couldn’t help but pay some attention to it.

It was clear that they were talking about that village.

But why the warning not to eat the goat meat here? Could there be some sort of epidemic? Such as... foot-and-mouth disease?

The thought made Gu Yanan instinctively step back; she had not studied veterinary science and didn’t know if this could be a zoonotic disease.

"I will now take you to the best guesthouse in our village," the ugly man stated and then started walking in a certain direction. "Please, follow me."

"Okay."

Wei Zhengxian grasped Gu Yanan’s hand and followed.

Then, he leaned in close to Gu Yanan and whispered, "I feel something’s off... but can’t quite put my finger on it, so let’s just be careful."

"Okay..."

Just then, a young man wearing a conical hat came walking down the village road.

"Uncle Huang Si," said the young man as he approached, "may I borrow a light?"

Certainly, that ugly man was Uncle Huang Si; he nodded, took out a box of matches, and the young man also pulled out a cigarette and quickly stepped forward.

In the flash of the lit match, both Wei Zhengxian and Gu Yanan were stunned as they saw the young man’s face.

The young guy looked to be in his twenties, but his features were striking with arched eyebrows, bright eyes, a high and straight nose, and lips holding the cigarette looking rather moist and shiny. Not only were his delicate features complemented by skin so fair that it resembled retouched photos of celebrities!

This scene left Wei Zhengxian and Gu Yanan dumbfounded, especially the latter.

Unlike Wei Zhengxian who had grown up in a county-level city, Gu Yanan had been helping her mother with farming since she was five. For farmers whose lives revolved around the soil and the sky, it was hard to imagine having such delicate and fair skin. Even idols would need makeup to achieve such an effect, right?

This bizarre sense of incongruity was like eating a Sichuan and Chongqing hotpot meal in a Western restaurant.

Most importantly...

The young man’s screen-worthy face, when put beside Uncle Huang Si’s unforgettable ugliness, presented a disparity that was too stark in contrast.

"Uncle Si, who are these two?" Borrowing the light, the young man seemed to notice for the first time that Wei Zhengxian and Gu Yanan were not from the village.

Uncle Huang Si replied, "People from the city. I’m taking them to a guesthouse."

"Oh..."

The young man blew smoke rings, and it was at this moment, by the light of his cigarette, that Wei Zhengxian caught sight of the young man’s teeth.

Wei Zhengxian’s father was a heavy smoker, so he was very clear that the young man’s hand gestures were the quintessential smoker’s movements. His manner of smoking was also very skilled. However, his teeth were incredibly white, which was even more peculiar. Unless he had just come from a dental clinic for teeth cleaning, it would be difficult for even a non-smoker to have such white teeth.

"Uncle Si," the young man said to Uncle Huang Si, "Ah Cheng is about to turn eighteen, right?"

"Hmm," Uncle Huang Si nodded, "In two days, it will be Ah Cheng’s birthday."

"Great, I will definitely come to your house to celebrate with him."

"I haven’t taken care of you in vain."

After this exchange ended, Wei Zhengxian and Gu Yanan continued to follow Uncle Huang Si.

"Uncle, how much longer do we have to walk?" Gu Yanan asked, though she was carried by Wei Zhengxian all this time, she still felt severe pain when walking.

"We’re almost there."

At night, the village was very quiet.

Soon, Wei Zhengxian and Gu Yanan noticed that every household had a sheep pen at the front, each raising sheep within.

"Uncle," Wei Zhengxian asked while looking at the sheep, "Are you raising so many sheep to sell..."

"No, we don’t sell," Uncle Huang Si quickly shook his head, "These sheep are not for sale. Our entire village lives by farming."

Indeed, as Gu Yanan observed along the way, many fields in the village were quite fertile, and now at the end of the autumn harvest, most of the crops seemed to have been harvested.

Then... why raise sheep in every household and not sell them? Sheep meat, wool, sheep’s milk... could all bring in a considerable income. And raising sheep to maturity would definitely consume a lot of feed, needing veterinary care if they became ill. Gu Yanan, who came from the countryside, found this very puzzling. Raising sheep was not like keeping dogs as pets, was it? Recalling the old man’s warning, she immediately became more vigilant.

Unknowingly... they arrived at the inn.

It must be said that the inn’s environment was surprisingly nice, built against the backdrop of the hills with each being an independent cottage. The roads were also very smoothly paved.

Seeing the environment of the inn, Gu Yanan’s slight vigilance immediately dissipated. Whatever the case with these sheep, if you don’t eat them, that’s fine!

"Uncle, this inn looks really good..."

Gu Yanan especially liked the green vegetation and the exterior decoration style of the inn.

Uncle Huang Si led them into the inn, shouting, "Li’s sister! I’ve brought you some guests!"

Then, a woman came out from the front desk.

Seeing the woman, Gu Yanan was taken aback again.

The woman’s figure was average, but she had a charming face with a picturesque appearance, a top-notch beauty!

Most importantly...

Upon closer inspection, her skin was as fair as milk, brimming with collagen!

"Uncle Si, ah... are these guests from the city?"

"Hello, boss lady," Wei Zhengxian presented his ID card, saying, "We’d like to book a room..."

"Okay, please register here. Where are you from?"

"JR City."

"Oh, that’s quite far away."

"We’re a group of donkey friends out on a self-driving tour, but we got separated. Can we make phone calls here?"

"Sorry, you can’t make phone calls here, and there’s also no internet, so... please pay in cash."

"Ah? Cash? Then... how much per night?"

Used to mobile payments, he hadn’t brought much cash for this trip.

"One hundred per person per night."

That wasn’t too expensive. So, they decided to stay for the night. They would figure out what to do tomorrow.

After paying, they completed the check-in process, then Wei Zhengxian asked, "Do you have some medicine? Iodine, mercurochrome, gauze, and stuff like that?"

"We have those. You guys settle in first, and someone will bring them to you later."

"Okay."

The landlady took out the room key and handed it to Wei Zhengxian.

But just as his hand touched the key, the landlady suddenly said, "By the way, I need to remind you of something. This matter is very important."

"Very important?"

"No matter what time you wake up in the morning, don’t look in the mirror right away. Wait at least an hour before looking in the mirror. Remember... at least one hour!"