Hospital 444
Chapter 270 - 6 I... Brother?

Chapter 270: Chapter 6 I... Brother?

Dai Wei lay in bed but simply could not fall asleep.

After all, he was about to undertake a rather dangerous job.

Especially since... he remembered very clearly that, a few years ago, a pair of twins from his neighbor’s family were both chosen to go on patrol on the same day. As a result, neither of them made it back successfully.

Not even their bodies were left behind. Their parents didn’t even get to see them one last time.

The circumstances one might encounter during patrol were utterly unpredictable. Even with porcelain dolls in tow, survival was not guaranteed.

This weighed heavily on Dai Wei’s mind, and the heavier his thoughts, the more he struggled to sleep.

Finally, he opened his eyes and glanced at the clock beside his bed.

Only thirty minutes had passed, but it felt to him as though he had lain there for an hour.

So, he had no choice but to try to sleep again.

A few minutes later, he heard a voice behind him.

"Dai Wei should be asleep by now, right?"

When Dai Wei had closed his door earlier, he left a crack open, so he could faintly make out the voices outside.

"I know you’re worried, but there’s nothing we can do. He drew the lot, so he must go. Most of the time, the patrol teams come back safely."

"Over the years, a portion of the patrol team members still ended up dying off and on. And now, the number of able-bodied villagers is getting smaller and smaller. Even if the mortality rate is relatively low, it can’t withstand going out on patrols every single night."

"This... I know. But there really is no choice. As long as Dai Wei, Dylan can live well in the village—that’s what matters. I’m afraid this mist, it might not clear for decades."

"I’m saying..."

"Why are you hesitating? Just speak your mind!"

"This issue has been bothering me for ten years now... Lei San, he’s dead, isn’t he?"

"The village chief has said we shouldn’t bring this up anymore."

"I want to know if you were involved?"

For a moment, the atmosphere became somewhat stagnant.

"One year, I was the team leader." Dai Wei’s mother said. "That year, my patrol team lost two people. Their porcelain dolls were gone as well. In the end, when we took roll, we naturally only had seven people left. But at that time..."

"Enough, don’t talk about it..."

"At that time, aside from me, everyone felt it was incredible, asking why we were left with only seven people? I was surprised, then I told them that two people had died! But nobody except me remembered that two people had died, they didn’t even remember those two joining the patrol."

Upon hearing these words, Dai Wei felt a chill run down his spine.

Could such a thing really happen?

"It was the same with other people in the village. Later, it took repeated reminders from me for them to recall that these two had been part of the patrol that evening. That was when I realized, the position of the team leader was extraordinary, only the leader could remember who in the team had died. But with Lei San that time, it was more serious. Back then, Lei San was the leader. But... but..."

For a moment, Dai Wei’s father also fell into silence.

"That night, he came to see us, and then he said..."

"Stop talking!"

"Lei San disappeared after that... Just because his parents had passed away, and his children were working in the city and not in the village, that’s why you decided to sacrifice him, right?"

"The village chief had no choice. If it wasn’t done, everyone in the village would die. He was the team leader, he should take responsibility."

Dai Wei indeed remembered...

After Uncle Lei San came, strange deaths began to occur in the village. And after he disappeared, there were no more deaths in the village.

So, Dai Wei had roughly guessed why Uncle Lei San had disappeared.

Indeed, it was the village chief’s decision.

"The village chief did it himself. He said, as a village official making decisions, he had to carry them out himself."

Taking action...

By this point in the conversation, everyone already had a clear understanding.

"To think that such things really do happen..."

At this time, Dai Wei’s parents seemed to realize the door wasn’t shut tight and came to close it properly.

Dai Wei closed his eyes, his mind conjuring the image of Uncle Lei San from back then, as well as his mother’s recent words.

Only she remembered... that two team members had died, only she remembered who those two team members were...

The White Mist, and that temple, both wielded some unimaginable curse. But Dai Wei had never imagined, the curse could be so terrible!

After some indeterminate time, Dai Wei finally fell asleep.

Dai Wei slept in a daze for quite some time when suddenly, he felt someone shaking his shoulder.

"Dai Wei, get up! Quick, get up! It’s already eight o’clock!"

"Mmm..."

Bleary-eyed, Dai Wei looked at his mother, who had woken him.

"Mom..."

"Get up, I’ve made noodles for you. Eat before you go."

"Okay..."

Suddenly, his mother hugged Dai Wei tightly.

"Mom..." Dai Wei was taken aback.

"Dai Wei," his mother patted his back and said, "I’ll wait for you to come back. When you do, I’ll light the birthday candles for you."

"Birthday... candles?"

Had his mother made him a birthday cake?

"Okay, Mom, I got it."

On the dining table, there was a bowl of steaming big-bone noodles with two poached eggs added to it.

"Eat up, Dai Wei."

"Okay."

Dai Wei sat down and was about to pick up his chopsticks when he suddenly asked, "Dad, Captain Lin said the assembly point is at the usual spot to the east of the village, he said you know where it is."

"I know."

His father nodded and said, "You eat your noodles. Once you’ve finished, I’ll take you out."

Dai Wei looked to the side, where the bamboo pole and porcelain doll were placed, and the bamboo pole... seemed to be polished very brightly.

Dai Wei knew that this meant his mother was very worried about him.

"Dai Wei," his father reminded him again, "When you’re on patrol, unless it’s right next to you, don’t just stick the bamboo pole into there. As long as the porcelain doll is with you, you’ll be fine, don’t worry."

"Dad, I want to know, only if your body doesn’t enter the White Mist, you won’t be in trouble. But if that’s the case, we..."

"Actually, that statement isn’t strict. You should know that at night, the White Mist always tends to expand towards the inside of the village. If you hear something in the White Mist, you need to use the porcelain doll to disperse the creatures within. Sometimes, you might not notice, and the mist could envelop you. When that happens, you must be careful and back away!"

"Okay, I understand."

In fact, Dai Wei had always been clear... the mist had been slowly extending further into the village over the years.

What that implied was self-evident. Though the progression was still slow at the moment, this trend could not but evoke fear.

"Dai Wei," his mother looked at him and said, "If we went to work in the city and then brought you there, that’d be great. You wouldn’t be trapped in this village. Just like your cousin, he’s in the city."

"Don’t say that, Mom. My brother and I are not the same." Dai Wei said subconsciously while eating his noodles, "He was fast-tracked in school and became a surgeon..."

No sooner had he said these words than Dai Wei stopped short.

Huh?

Wait...

"What surgeon?" Dai Wei’s parents looked confused and said, "Your two cousins just do some small business in the city! Who told you they became surgeons?"

"Being a surgeon isn’t that easy... Besides, what skipping grades in school? Are you still half asleep, Dai Wei?"

"Yeah... what’s wrong with me..."

Dai Wei rubbed his head, also feeling perplexed.

What surgeon...

For three generations back, there had never been anyone in the Dai family who practiced medicine.

Had he really muddled up in his sleep?

"I probably got confused with someone else."

Confused with someone... else?

"All right, hurry up and eat. Leave as soon as you finish. We can’t be late!"

"Yeah, okay... okay..."

Dai Wei bit into a poached egg and quickly finished his noodles. He noticed... that each strand was particularly long, which brought a warm feeling to his heart.

After finishing the noodles, Dai Wei picked up the bamboo pole with the porcelain doll affixed and followed his father out the door, heading towards... that usual spot.

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