Hospital 444
Chapter 243 - 34 The Secret of the Island

Chapter 243: Chapter 34 The Secret of the Island

"I’ll make Grandma Li’s shroud myself," said Ji Danshu’s brother, Ji Danyang, "and I’ll take care of the other things like joss paper and wreaths as well. Let’s give Grandma Li a dignified send-off. Oh, right, the memorial portrait is ready, over there. We chose a photo from a few years ago when Grandma Li still looked quite spirited."

At that moment...

A lot of people were gathered around the Li family’s house, and many were engaged in heated discussions.

Hai Han and Hai Yin, along with several other children, were huddled together.

Because of his family, Hai Han was exposed to the grim concept of death at an earlier age than most children.

Perhaps because he encountered it so early, he didn’t regard death with the same fear as others.

"Grandma Li was always in good health, why did she have to go?" Hai Yin was obviously still upset, "Ah, when you get to that age, passing away can be sudden. Later on, I should remind Grandpa to remember to go for regular health check-ups."

"Right, Grandma should too."

Hai Han clearly remembered... the year his maternal grandfather passed away.

Although his mother and uncle mourned, he felt... as if they hadn’t been as heartbroken as he was.

His grandfather died of cirrhosis. The man was a heavy drinker, consuming baijiu as if it were water.

In such a situation, it was only a matter of time before his liver gave out. Hiding and pouring out his liquor stock proved futile for his mother and uncle. Only after being diagnosed with cirrhosis did he reluctantly stop drinking, but the disease was never cured, and his grandfather eventually left this world.

Then...

Hai Han looked toward the sea.

They were not far from the coast and could still hear the sound of the tide.

"Grandma Li’s body will be given a sea burial too, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

All the residents of Blue Island, once they passed away, were not cremated but instead uniformly given a sea burial. It wasn’t the ashes that were scattered into the ocean but the bodies themselves that were placed directly into the sea, sinking to the ocean floor.

This was the inevitable fate for all the residents of Blue Island upon their death, without exception. So, there was never a need for coffins at funerals on the island.

In the past, Hai Han never saw an issue with this; earth burials took up too much land, and cremation seemed too inhumane, reducing a body to a pile of ashes. In comparison, a sea burial seemed much better.

But...

"However, sinking into the depths of the sea..." Hai Yin couldn’t help but mutter to herself, "And then becoming a decaying corpse inside, doesn’t it seem very lonely?"

Hai Han shook his head, saying, "No, the dead are not lonely."

"Huh?"

"Sister, they’re not lonely," he said.

Upon hearing this, Hai Yin was momentarily stunned.

What did that sentence mean?

"Hai Han, what did you mean by what you just said?"

"It didn’t mean anything."

Hai Han shook his head.

This island had always harbored a secret that was never divulged to outsiders. Every islander swore never to reveal this secret, knowing that anyone daring to do so would be permanently banished from the island. In the past, there indeed were those who broke this rule, but eventually, without exception, they were expelled by the island’s inhabitants.

This secret would be shared with the children of the island after they turned eighteen.

However, a few children learned this secret before then.

And Hai Han, who had just turned fourteen this year, was one of these few.

The next day, morning.

These past few days, still within the New Year’s holiday period, neither Hai Han nor Hai Yin had to attend school.

Hai Han got up very early.

Because today was the day his father, Hai Jian Shi, was returning from sea.

After rising early, he dressed himself, stepped out of the door, and headed towards the pier of the island.

His sister had gone with their mother to help with the funeral arrangements; otherwise, they would have come with him.

The pier of Blue Island was bustling all year round, with boats coming for seafood trade, and many tourists visiting this scenic spot. Tourism and the fishing industry were the two pillars of Blue Island’s economy.

Hai Han arrived at the pier early, watching the boats as he searched for his father’s fishing vessel.

Every year, his father would take the fishing boat to this area to catch a variety of fish and shrimp. He was the most famous fisherman on Blue Island, where the name Hai Jian Shi was known to all.

Hai Han noticed that several tour boats carrying tourists had also arrived, with some group tour guides using megaphones to introduce Blue Island to the visitors.

It seems his father’s boat hasn’t arrived yet.

From time to time, tourists from other places would come up from the tour boats, but Hai Han, lacking interest, found a place to sit near the pier. He planned to wait until his father’s boat returned.

When his dad comes back, he will probably get straight to help with Granny Li’s funeral, given his personality. The funeral is scheduled for this afternoon, followed by a burial at sea.

At that moment, he noticed a man and woman approaching him.

"Um, little brother," the woman was quite beautiful, wearing a red beret, and she asked, "Do you know how to get to Han Iron Town on Blue Island?"

Blue Island wasn’t particularly big, but it wasn’t small either; there were several villages and towns scattered throughout, and Han Iron Town was where Hai Han currently lived.

"I live in Han Iron Town," Hai Han replied to the young man and woman, "Who are you looking for?"

"Um..." the man asked, "Can you take us there?"

"I’m waiting for someone here, you should find someone else," Hai Han said.

"Then we have no choice but to ask someone else," the woman said to the man.

"That’s the only option. Hopefully, the people from the hospital won’t follow us here."

Then, the two of them left.

People from the hospital... won’t follow us here?

Hai Han watched the pair leave with puzzlement, wondering, What does that mean? Are these two escapees from the hospital?

But that had nothing to do with Hai Han.

Looking at the sparkling sea, Hai Han sometimes felt a sense of revulsion.

In recent years, there had been a very noticeable rise in the sea level around Blue Island, a change which was clear. Fortunately, Blue Island itself wasn’t flat, with its villages and towns situated on higher ground. However, if the sea level continued to rise, perhaps one day this place would become uninhabitable.

"Hai Han?" A nearby fisherman obviously recognized Hai Han; it couldn’t be helped, his dad was simply too famous on the island.

The fisherman approached Hai Han and asked, "Are you here to wait for your dad’s return today?"

"Yes, I am."

The fisherman smiled and said, "A new year, a new atmosphere. If your dad’s involved, the catch won’t be bad. You know? When your dad was young, he wasn’t even afraid of fat-headed monsters!"

"You mean sperm whales, right?"

Hai Han didn’t actually recognize the fisherman; they might have met in the past, but Hai Han couldn’t recall.

"I heard that when my dad was younger, people on the island would ask him to take the bodies of their loved ones out to sea for burial, right?"

"That did happen."

"When I was a kid, my mom used to scare me, saying that if I didn’t behave, sea monsters would come and take me away. Are there really any sea monsters?"

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