Chapter 32: Revenge Part 1

Wang Ya took a taxi and arrived at the entrance of the County People’s Hospital around nine-twenty. She bought some apples and pears from a fruit stall outside the hospital, carried them in a plastic bag, and then walked inside.

The County People’s Hospital wasn’t particularly large, but it wasn’t small either. Standing at the entrance and looking inward, one could see three buildings with streams of people bustling below, even livelier than a marketplace. Sichuan was a populous province; even a random county had hundreds of thousands or millions of residents. The medical facilities in the townships were inadequate—fine for treating colds, fevers, or headaches, but anything more serious had to be sent to the county hospital.

Wang Ya had previously accompanied her grandma to see doctors here and had also come during training and ghost-catching sessions, so she was quite familiar with the County People’s Hospital. She headed straight to the emergency department, first hiding at the stairwell entrance to rub her eyes red. Then she rushed to the emergency nurses’ station and looked pitifully at a middle-aged woman whose badge read “Head Nurse.” She called out, “Big Sis, could you help me with something?”

Wang Ya, not yet twenty, had her hair tied in a ponytail at the back of her head. She wore a tight tank top with a long-sleeved jacket, slim military-style casual pants with plenty of pockets, casual sneakers, and an old khaki canvas bag slung over her shoulder. Dressed plainly, she looked every bit like a poor student from a humble family. Paired with her reddened eyes, bewildered expression, and the bag of fruit clutched in her arms, she perfectly embodied the image of a poor student girl coming to visit hospitalized relatives.

The Head Nurse turned to glance at Wang Ya and asked, “What’s up?” After asking, she turned back to her work.

“I want to inquire about three out-of-towners who broke bones yesterday—which room are they in?”

The Head Nurse said, “Hey, you’re really something. This is emergency, not orthopedics. For fractures, go ask at orthopedics!”

Wang Ya let out an “Oh” and asked, “Then how do I get to orthopedics?”

Someone nearby called for the Head Nurse. Swamped and seeing Wang Ya still standing there, she hurriedly pointed out the directions before busying herself again.

Wang Ya followed the Head Nurse’s directions to the orthopedics nurses’ station. She approached a very young nurse who was muttering angrily under her breath, “Mom’s **.” Wang Ya asked, “Nurse Sis, I want to ask about someone. Are there a few out-of-towners with fractures staying here? They have southern accents!”

The young nurse’s face darkened even more upon hearing this, and she snapped harshly, “Out-of-towners? Three of ’em?”

Wang Ya glanced at the nurse and, after a thought, said, “Seems like three?”

The nurse immediately put on a hostile expression and asked, “What are you to those three turtle sons?”

Seeing the nurse’s fury and hearing her curse them as turtle sons, Wang Ya knew there was something going on. She quickly said, “No relation. My little bro and his classmates got into a fight with those three out-of-town turtle sons, and one of them seems to have broken a bone. My… my parents are working out of town, so… I came to check on them.”

The young nurse’s expression softened a bit and she told Wang Ya the room number of the three out-of-town patients.

Wang Ya followed the room number inward. She stopped at the second-to-last room. She caught a whiff of the corpse stench and Yin Qi that clung to Ghost Raisers, figuring she had found the right place. At the same time, she heard a man cursing inside the room. Wang Ya had stayed in the south for a few months and could barely understand some of it—something about the nurse not even knowing how to give an injection, and curses about half-buried in the ground… Yellow Springs… Feng… Though she couldn’t fully understand, she guessed they were cursing her grandma. Anger flared; her eyes reddened on the spot, and her face turned icy cold. She noted the room number, returned to the nurses’ station, and told the young nurse, “It’s not them. Are there any other out-of-towners here?” She added, “Those three are really fierce. I heard them cursing at the door, saying she couldn’t even give an injection. I didn’t dare go in.”

The young nurse exploded in rage, “I day his mom’s oil!” Then she huffed at Wang Ya, “No more out-of-towners. Go check other hospitals.”

Wang Ya said “Oh” and casually asked as if curious, “All three out-of-towners have fractures?”

The young nurse replied, “Aye!” Young and gossipy, with nothing pressing at the moment, she said, “Those three look like thieves at first glance, with tattoos all over. Must’ve been caught stealing and beaten like that.”

Wang Ya cooperatively feigned surprise with a gossipy expression and asked, “How’d you know?”

The young nurse looked smugly at Wang Ya and said, “How wouldn’t I? Only thieves guard against people like they’re thieves.” As she spoke, she seemed to recall something unpleasant and cursed again.

Wang Ya asked, “They got beaten pretty badly?”

The young nurse said, “That old man’s ribs were snapped in three places. One young one’s hand was smashed.”

Wang Ya figured the third wasn’t seriously hurt. Seeing the young nurse had work, she said, “Thanks then, I’m off!” She pulled out two apples and stuffed them to the young nurse before leaving.

The building’s sides were corridors, with a tea room and smoking area at the end.

The three’s room was next to the tea room.

Wang Ya left in front of the young nurse, circled to the floor below, passed through a long corridor, went up the stairs, and crouched at the stairwell, carefully listening to the room four or five meters away.