Hospital 444

"Does Zhengkang have any other distinct characteristics?"

At this moment, the two of them were walking on a quiet path in the village. Gu Yanan made sure no one was around before asking Wei Zhengxian this question.

Wei Zhengxian thought for a moment and said, "Like what?"

"For instance, an allergy to a certain food that he can’t even touch?"

Wei Zhengxian let out a bitter laugh, shook his head, and said, "No. As far as I remember, he didn’t even have any food he disliked. He was never picky as a child."

As he spoke, his voice started to choke up.

Then, he found a protruding rock and, not caring whether it was dirty or not, sat down on it.

"Yanan, I’m feeling so confused right now... I’ve imagined countless reunions with my brother, but never anything like this. This seems like some melodramatic plot from an eight o’clock soap opera; how could this happen to me?"

Gu Yanan sat down beside Wei Zhengxian and could vaguely sense that, deep inside, he was harboring a hint of fear.

He was afraid that, just in case... just in case Ayuan was not really Zhengkang, what then?

After five years, having finally found hope, if it turned to despair once more, such a blow would be very hard for him to bear. Having gained and then lost is far more painful than never having had at all.

Afterward, Wei Zhengxian lifted his head to look at the sky.

"Zhengkang was always exceptionally bright since he was young, and more self-disciplined than anyone. Whatever he did, he did with great perseverance. I remember when he told me he was preparing for grad school, I knew he would succeed..."

It was at this very moment that Wei Zhengxian suddenly realized something.

"I’m sorry, Yanan, I didn’t mean it like that..."

Gu Yanan understood why he was apologizing. This year was her third attempt at the graduate entrance exam; she had already failed twice before, with her second attempt’s score being even worse than the first’s. She would have brought her exam materials along on this trip if Wei Zhengxian hadn’t insisted so firmly against it.

"It’s okay..." she said, though her heart felt somewhat desolate. She lacked any confidence regarding the preliminary round of the graduate exam at year’s end. For her, succeeding in the exam might allow her to not feel so inferior in front of her future mother-in-law. Since they were planning to get married next year, the pressure on this third try was indeed very heavy.

"Yanan... listen to me..."

Wei Zhengxian knew Gu Yanan very well. By looking at her expression, he could tell what she was thinking and continued, "I misspoke just now..."

"It’s really okay, Zhengxian. I don’t mind..."

Just then, suddenly, from behind the trees, a ragged, disheveled man emerged!

This man, just as hideously ugly, appeared to be in his forties or fifties.

Before Wei Zhengxian and Gu Yanan could say anything, the man pointed at Gu Yanan and said, "Strangers, you shouldn’t have come here!"

What?

Wei Zhengxian quickly approached the man and said, "Sir, do you know something?"

"You shouldn’t have come to Heizhao Village... you shouldn’t have..." the man kept repeating these words, and then, hitting his own head, said, "Shouldn’t have come here, shouldn’t have come!"

Wei Zhengxian felt that this man was somehow off and so placed himself protectively in front of Gu Yanan.

"Sir, what do you know? Why shouldn’t we come to this village?"

The man glared at Wei Zhengxian, suddenly hissed, and said, "Quieter! Quieter! Don’t let them find out! Listen, you need to be careful, don’t let them discover you!"

It turns out...

Is he a madman? 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Greatly disappointed, Wei Zhengxian believed the man to be crazy. But Gu Yanan thought for a moment; although he was mad, perhaps because of that, he might speak some truths.

So she leaned in closer to the madman and asked, "Excuse me... sir, what should we not let them discover?"

"Don’t let it be discovered, don’t let it be found out... Don’t let it be discovered! The goats, the goats..."

The goats?

The goats!

Gu Yanan stepped forward, softly and gently asking, "The goats, what about the goats? Or let me put it this way, goat meat... we can’t eat it, right?"

"Shh..." the madman immediately made a silencing gesture, "Don’t let them find out, don’t let it be discovered..."

"What’s the problem with the goats?" Gu Yanan persisted. "Why can’t we eat goat meat?"

"The goats..." Then, the madman looked at Gu Yanan, asking, "I ask you, what is... a goat?"

Gu Yanan was at a loss for words, realizing that there was no point trying to communicate with this madman.

"Answer me, what is a goat?"

Gu Yanan began to think about how she could unearth the village’s secrets when suddenly, the madman pushed her away and pointed at her, saying, "You don’t know what a goat is, do you? You don’t know! You’ve become just like ’them’! Dead... go to die!"

Then, the madman charged at her and, unbelievably, grabbed Gu Yanan’s throat in a death grip!

"You don’t know what a goat is... dead... dead!"

This sudden turn of events was completely beyond Wei Zhengxian’s expectations! He immediately rushed forward, grabbed the madman’s hand, and yelled, "Let go! Let go!"

"Tell me, what is a goat? What is a goat!"

"Let me go, let go!"

Wei Zhengxian realized that the madman was incredibly strong, and out of desperation, he could only punch him hard in the face!

With that punch, the madman was knocked to the ground.

Yet he still managed to get up, ignoring the blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, and pointed at Wei Zhengxian, "Don’t go near her, she doesn’t know what a goat is, now she’s no different from ’them’! Don’t go near her! Don’t..."

Wei Zhengxian took Gu Yanan by the hand and ran away frantically.

After running for who knows how long, they arrived at a slightly more populated area and finally stopped.

"Are you alright, Ya Nan?"

Gu Yanan had been coughing all the way, and by then, she had finally regained some composure.

"The madman... that madman..." Gu Yanan was still visibly shaken, clutching Wei Zhengxian’s hand, she said, "Now we..."

Before she could finish speaking, suddenly a droplet of water landed on Gu Yanan’s forehead.

She was taken aback, then looked up, only to discover that more droplets were falling down.

Was it raining?

Helpless, the two could only run back toward the direction of the guest house.

As they reached the guest house, the light drizzle outside turned into a downpour just as they stepped inside the room.

"We’re all wet..."

Wei Zhengxian hurriedly said, "Let me check the bandages on your body; if the wounds haven’t healed properly and got wet, they might get infected!"

"Alright..."

Just then, Gu Yanan looked at the window washed by the rain and fell into deep thought.

Do not eat goat meat...

Do not look in the mirror within an hour of waking up...

What were the reasons behind these two strange taboos?

"Zhengxian, no matter what, let’s strictly adhere to these two prohibitions," she said.

"You mean..."

"Absolutely don’t eat goat meat, and within the first hour of waking up, absolutely do not look in the mirror."

Next, she took off her clothes, and as Wei Zhengxian was helping her to change her dressing, she remembered what the madman had said.

His words were jumbled, incoherent, with not a shred of logic.

Under normal circumstances, Gu Yanan wouldn’t even consider the significance of what he said.

However, there was indeed an eerie feeling about this Black Swamp Village that made her ponder deeply.

The madman had said...

Don’t let "them" find out...

If you do not know what a goat is, you are the same as "them"...

What on earth did that mean?

But clearly, the mystery of everything lay with the goat.

Could it be... the goats in this village are not ordinary goats?

But they look just like normal goats, right? They can’t all be genetically modified goats, can they?

In fact, Gu Yanan felt... that the man named Ah Yuan hadn’t lied.

He was not acting or hiding anything; when he saw Zhengxian, he indeed looked as if he was seeing a stranger.

He was truly seeing Zhengxian for the first time!

"Goat meat... cannot look in mirrors... ’them’..."

At that time, Gu Yanan still did not know what she and Wei Zhengxian were facing in this village...