Hospital 444
Chapter 168 - 17 The Dark Night

Chapter 168: Chapter 17 The Dark Night

The people of Heizhao Village might have all come out.

Dai Lin looked around... there were probably two to three hundred people.

The vast cave loomed ahead, and Dai Lin’s Devil’s Eye tried to peer into the interior of the cave, but as soon as his vision entered it, it was blocked by that pitch darkness!

This alarmed Dai Lin.

Meanwhile, the village chief was leading a small sheep, standing at the forefront.

"Everyone, today our village has one more sheep," said the village chief as he saw that nearly everyone had gathered, and he continued with satisfaction, "We need to decide... to whom this sheep will be allocated. According to the old rules, the decision is made by a public vote. Of course, families who have already sacrificed a goat to the Mother Ancestor on their birthday cannot receive a new goat."

There was a lot of discussion among the crowd, as everyone obviously had their own ideas.

Dai Lin observed the surrounding villagers, whose ugly faces all revealed an eagerness for the goat.

Clearly, a goat meant that they could undergo a "head replacement." Their originally unsightly faces would be rejuvenated, becoming as handsome as a movie star’s.

"Village chief, it should be our family’s turn, right?" shouted a man whose face was pocked with scars, "We’ve never had a goat! It’s time for us to have one! With a goat, I can become handsome! Otherwise, I’ll never be able to find a wife!"

"Village chief, our family needs one too! I’m old, that’s fine, but if my son doesn’t get a goat, he’ll have to stay single forever!"

The speaker was a middle-aged fat man; next to him was an obese teenager who looked to weigh over three hundred pounds, with an extremely swollen body, and at the moment, he was gnawing on corn.

"We will take good care of the sheep!" the middle-aged fat man said earnestly, "Village chief, please! "

Public voting was clearly not an easy way to decide on the ownership of the sheep. The village was a closely-knit small social circle, where having a sheep or not was the difference between heaven and earth!

"Uncle, you promised last time to plead with the village chief on my behalf, I need this goat to get married!"

"Ah Lu, this... with so many people, my opinion alone..."

"You are respected in the village, if you say a word, everyone will give you face!"

Gao Heyann understood the desperation of these ugly-faced villagers to get a goat at any cost. Compared to spending a fortune on cosmetic surgery and risking side effects, a goat could give them a new face and a completely different life with ease.

Everyone openly criticizes judging by appearance, but nobody can deny that the level of attractiveness can determine different paths in life.

Dai Lin watched the obese teenager still gnawing on corn and recalled what Gu Yanan had said. It seemed... the goat could change not only their faces but even their skin texture and body shape could become entirely different.

"Since we can’t come to a decision," the village chief sighed, "we’ll have to let the Mother Ancestor decide."

At the mention of the "Mother Ancestor," everyone immediately fell silent.

"It seems... that’s the only choice."

The Mother Ancestor will decide?

How will it be decided?

"I’ll go first."

The middle-aged fat man stepped forward and said, "Folks, please do me a favor!"

"Alright then, Uncle Chen, we’ll do this favor for you."

The village chief, leading the sheep, entered the cave with the middle-aged fat man.

Naturally, Dai Lin could no longer continue watching.

After a long while...

The village chief and the middle-aged fat man came out.

"Unfortunately, the Mother Ancestor did not choose you to be the owner of this sheep," announced the village chief.

"Ah..." The middle-aged fat man sighed deeply, his face deathly pale as sweat beaded on his forehead, "Then village chief, let my son have a try... "

Dai Lin felt that something was not right.

The scene before him exhibited a strange sense of dissonance.

But at this moment, he couldn’t pinpoint where the sense of dissonance lay.

Then, the ceremony continued, with people successively following the village chief into the cave.

Finally...

Someone was assigned to be the owner of the sheep. The person left joyfully, leading the sheep home.

After the allocation was over, everyone sighed and then scattered, starting to leave.

Dai Lin and Gao Heyann watched this scene, feeling more and more that something was amiss.

Just as the two were about to leave, suddenly, they heard the village chief say something from behind them: "Gentlemen... I have a question to ask."

Dai Lin and Gao Heyann turned to look back.

At this moment...

In front of the cave, only the village chief and a few villagers guarding the cave were left.

"What is it?"

"In front of the Mother Ancestor, I want to ask you... why... did you not eat goat meat last night?" asked the village chief.

Dai Lin and Gao Heyann immediately showed an astounded expression.

"What?"

After saying this, the village chief suddenly lifted his hand and pointed at his face.

"Let me guess... did you meet an old man on the way here, someone who looks just like me, and he told you that if you come to our village, you must not eat goat meat... right?"

Dai Lin drew a sharp breath.

This... isn’t this exactly what Wei Zhengxian and Gu Ya Nan experienced?

"What are you talking about... Village Chief?"

As Dai Lin spoke, his eyes had already begun to widen, with his left eye ready to attack at any moment.

"Yeah, Village Chief," Gao Heyann also said, "We don’t understand what you’re saying, we haven’t met any old man who looks like you, and there wasn’t any goat meat in the food provided by your village, right?"

"What do you think... goat meat is?"

Dai Lin’s fists began to clench.

The smile on the village chief’s face started to fade little by little.

The dark cave behind him was like a demon with its gaping maw wide open.

"Sigh..." The village chief let out a sigh, "I didn’t want to cause more trouble. I didn’t expect that after so many years, I would still encounter people like you... Although you have not yet looked in the mirror after waking up, there’s no other way... I can only sacrifice you to the Ancestral Mother ahead of time."

Gao Heyann had already rolled up his sleeves, revealing the Malevolent Ghost tattoo.

Dai Lin also immediately attacked the village chief with his left eye!

He attempted... to pull out the spirit of the village chief!

But he failed!

There was no living soul inside the village chief!

The villagers guarding the cave quickly surrounded Dai Lin and Gao Heyann.

"Ancestral Mother!" The village chief turned his head back, spreading his arms toward the cave: "We offer you our sacrifices once again! Please... accept our..."

An A-level Scalpel swiftly pierced through the village chief’s throat, cutting off the rest of his words.

The village chief could never have imagined that such a thing would happen. As the scalpel entered his throat, he let out a heart-wrenching scream, and then... his eyes turned black, his body gradually disintegrated into black dust, completely vanishing until only a pile of clothes remained!

The one who threw the scalpel was Gao Heyann.

"It’s a good thing you’re here," Gao Heyann said to Dai Lin. "If it weren’t for your ability to take medical equipment out of the hospital, who knows how long it would have taken to get approval to carry this kind of A-level Scalpel for a house call. Even a Malevolent Ghost might not withstand it, let alone you?"

The villagers surrounding them were shocked at this scene!

"Dead... The Village Chief is dead!"

"Ah ah ah..."

Everyone was scared out of their wits, while Gao Heyann quickly took out another scalpel.

"I want to know about this village..."

Suddenly, Gao Heyann’s complexion changed.

On the ground, the pile of black ash suddenly started to scatter with the wind.

The darkness at the front of the cave filled Gao Heyann’s entire view.

The darkness continued to expand until it looked like it would completely engulf her!

In the nick of time, Dai Lin leaped forward, grabbed Gao Heyann, faced her directly, and shouted, "Look at me! Dr. Gao! Look at me!"

Gao Heyann’s eyes were vacant as she looked at Dai Lin before her.

"This is..."

In her eyes...

Standing before her was a goat standing on its hind legs!

Aren’t goats supposed to be creatures walking on all fours, with a pale face and handsome features?

Gao Heyann felt as if a voice in her head was telling her...

Eat it...

Consume...

Goat meat!

Eat...

It!

"No, that’s not right... We’re not goats!"

"We’re human!"

"We’re not goats!"

...

Eventually, Gao Heyann regained her senses in front of Dai Lin’s Devil’s Eye.

By then, Dai Lin, carrying her on his back, had escaped to a small path in the village.

"Snap out of it, Dr. Gao! Stay alert!"

Gao Heyann, still somewhat groggy, looked at Dai Lin and suddenly hugged him tightly.

"They’ve all... They’re no longer human!"

"What do you mean, Dr. Gao?"

"On the first night Wei Zhengxian and Gu Ya Nan stayed in Hei Swamp Village, they saw each other as goats! Dr. Qin’s ghost had warned them, but they still... Afterwards, they turned into... real goats!"

Dai Lin gasped sharply.

"So we must not look in the mirror... We must not find out that we actually... are not goats!"