Hospital 444
Chapter 268 - 4: The Temple

Chapter 268: Chapter 4: The Temple

When he was leaving the house, Dad repeatedly instructed Dai Wei to listen to Captain Lin’s words.

"Although Captain Lin Tai is a nice person, you must be respectful to him! Out of the nine people in the patrol team, there are definitely more than one who have asked for his care. Whatever he says, you must do accordingly, you must not disobey him no matter what!"

"Okay, Dad, I know," Dai Wei replied.

"Also, when the ceramic dolls come out, don’t scramble for them or pick and choose. No matter what expression the ceramic doll has, don’t bother with it, and don’t ask others about it either. Just listen obediently to what others say and compliment Captain Lin and the other team members as much as you can."

Though this was what he said, Dai Wei was really not good with words, not knowing how to say things nicely, always speaking his mind. But at that moment, in front of his father, he could only keep nodding, not daring to talk back.

Later, Dai Wei followed Captain Lin and arrived near the temple a little after two in the afternoon.

The temple, although it was called "temple," actually showed none of the characteristics of a temple. Firstly, it wasn’t very big—at most five hundred square meters in size, and secondly, there were no Buddha or divine statues inside the temple. As for things like monks or incense... naturally, these weren’t present at all.

The temple came into existence together with the White Mist. To this day, people’s fear of the temple is greater than their respect for it. But it is undeniable that, thanks to the existence of the temple, the White Mist hadn’t completely enveloped the whole village.

Lin Tai led Dai Wei into the temple.

The ground was covered with fallen leaves, and the main hall in front of them had a plank hanging, bearing no words.

A stele stood before them.

"Is this your first visit to the temple?"

"Mm, I didn’t dare to come before. My parents usually come to get the food rations and daily necessities."

"You should come from now on. From now on, you can get an extra ration of food. Your parents are too old to be part of the patrol team anymore. With your joining, your family will no longer have to scrape by to get meat."

"Mm, I know."

From now on, his mom wouldn’t have to wait for his birthday to let him have meat.

Dai Wei walked closer to the stele.

It had the following passage written on it:

The villagers of Nanmian Village must remember the following rules:

First, under no circumstances should anyone enter the White Mist, not even if a part of your body touches it.

Second, every evening starting at nine o’clock, a nine-person patrol team must be formed. This team must patrol around the White Mist that envelops the village, staying no more than two meters away from it until midnight.

Third, the members of the nine-person patrol team are determined by drawing lots. The leader changes every month, while the members change daily.

Fourth, patrol team members must come to this temple at three o’clock in the afternoon to collect bamboo poles and ceramic dolls. The ceramic dolls must be placed at the top of the bamboo poles. If danger is felt within the White Mist, immediately extend the bamboo pole into the mist, and danger will be turned away, but the ceramic doll will lose a part of itself.

Fifth, those who participate in the patrol can write down the daily necessities they need on a piece of paper and burn it inside the temple. The next day, they can come to the temple after eight o’clock in the morning to collect their items.

Sixth, if no one in the village participates in the patrol, with each passing night, the White Mist surrounding the village will advance further inward, and at the same time, nine people in the village will die.

Seventh, every time after the patrol, the leader must remember the number of people who were reduced during the patrol. After the patrol is over, the leader must count the number of people and have the team members call out their numbers. If it is discovered that there is an extra person, within a month, they must find out who the extra person is, otherwise, they must kill one of the team members and put the body into the White Mist, or the village will face a terrible disaster.

After reading the content on the stele, Dai Wei blinked subconsciously.

"Although these have become the rules of the village, this is still the first time I’m seeing the stele with my own eyes."

Dai Wei remembered that initially, the villagers did not believe the content of the stele, and naturally, no one was arranged for patrol. But sure enough, the next day, nine people indeed died.

Back then, Dai Wei was too young, so his memory was a bit fuzzy. But he remembered very clearly that his father, who had gone to see the bodies, came back home pale as a ghost and vomited several times.

Being trapped in this terrifying White Mist put the villagers in an unprecedented state of enormous panic. There were still some who refused to believe in the curse, tying ropes around people and then continuing further into the White Mist. However, they didn’t get far before the ones holding the ropes felt a terrible force pulling on the villagers, and afterward, they either let go before being pulled into the White Mist or were pulled in together.

The villagers began to understand that inside the White Mist, there existed some kind of... "monster."

This "monster" was extremely terrifying, yet for some unknown reason, the "monster" could only exist within the mist and could not leave its confines. However, if they did not patrol as the stele instructed, the White Mist from all sides would continue to shroud the inside of the village!

The village was on the verge of rioting due to immense panic, so Chief Ge stepped forward, deciding to adhere to the rules on the stele, retrieved the bamboo pole and porcelain doll from inside the temple, and formed a patrol team to start patrolling.

"We must have faith in the Party, trust the government! The government will definitely come to rescue us! Until then, we have to find a way to save ourselves! Starting tonight, someone must go on patrol! If someone is selected by the lottery and doesn’t patrol, I’ll be the first to skin them!"

Chief Ge’s prestige in the village finally began to stabilize the situation. After all, as the villagers who stayed behind were mostly the elderly and fewer able-bodied young adults, they tended to trust Chief Ge.

As for the age limit for the patrol team, that was also arranged by Chief Ge. Moreover, no matter who was chosen by the lottery, the Chief handled it fairly and never showed favoritism.

However, the patrol team was made up of people, and where there are people, inevitably, there will be problems. For ten years, through scorching heat and biting cold, wind and rain, patrols continued every night, and so... issues naturally arose.

For instance, a team member might suddenly develop a fever, a female member might get her period... the lottery was usually decided in the morning, and in the event of an emergency, no substitutions were allowed. So... when such situations arose, any kind of accident could happen.

"Stop looking, let’s go," Lin Tai walked up and said.

"I’ve heard something before, if someone chosen by the lottery doesn’t go..."

"Don’t ask too many questions," Lin Tai’s expression changed slightly, "or do you not want to go?"

"Of, of course not!"

"Good. It’s almost three o’clock, we..."

At that moment, Dai Wei saw a few more men and women enter the temple, and they greeted him and Lin Tai.

"Captain Lin!"

"Captain Lin!"

Clearly, they were villagers set to join the patrol that evening.

"Captain Lin sure arrived early!"

"I remember, sometimes the bamboo pole and porcelain doll appear half an hour early."

"Is that so..."

"Alright," Lin Tai said, "everyone, get ready to go inside."

After that, a group of people bustled into the interior of the temple.

Inside the temple... there was almost nothing, it was completely bare walls.

However, there were a few doors to be seen.

Then, Lin Tai walked towards one of them.

He pushed the door open, but there was nothing inside the room.

"The bamboo pole and porcelain doll haven’t appeared yet."

"Then let’s wait."

Dai Wei looked at the team members before him.

If nothing unexpected happened, they should be able to get through the night safely.

But, this was, after all, a very dangerous job.

In theory, the "monster" shouldn’t be able to leave the confines of the White Mist, and as long as the team members didn’t get too close to the White Mist, they wouldn’t encounter any trouble.

But the fact was, every year, members of the patrol team would go missing. The village was rife with rumors and terrifying versions of the story, and in the end, Dai Wei didn’t know which version to believe.

However, for years, he never understood the last rule on the stele.

There were only ever nine people anyway, so why the need for a roll call each time? And if there was one extra person, why the need to figure out which one was the "extra" person? Couldn’t the captain recognize if there was someone extra?