Chapter 22: Qingshan Hospital
After lunch, Luo Ling told her sister she was going to pack her things for school and returned to her room.
Although a brutal murder had taken place in this room, perhaps because the victims weren’t human, Luo Ling didn’t feel any unease.
“Let’s see what Ji Ying left me…”
While outside, Luo Ling hadn’t dared to take the items out, fearing the Puppet Ballad’s spies.
Back home, she didn’t want to worry her sister, so only now did she have the time to examine them.
Luo Ling took the items out of her pocket and placed them on the table, instantly grateful she hadn’t taken them out earlier.
Whether it was people outside or her sister, seeing these things… would definitely raise some questions.
There were two items. One was a sheathed dagger, the weapon Ji Ying always carried.
The hilt and sheath were both jet black, radiating a cold, murderous aura. A bright red gem was embedded at the top of the hilt, looking like a blood-red eye.
Luo Ling drew the dagger and examined it closely, realizing it wasn’t made of metal.
The slightly translucent blade contained wisps of smoke-like material, and its icy cold touch suggested it was made of some special kind of ice.
Even just looking at it, she could feel its sharpness, as if it might cut her eyes.
…A top-tier weapon, who knew how many Grotesqueries it had slain.
Luo Ling quickly sheathed the dagger and carefully placed it close to her body.
Such a weapon was extremely valuable. Ji Ying must have only lent it to her temporarily. After all, Luo Ling had never had a proper weapon, previously using only ballpoint pens and utility knives, not even suitable for a school fight.
As for the other item…
It was a nameplate with a name Luo Ling recognized.
—”Wu Qin.”
“…The Bone Doctor?”
Luo Ling picked up the nameplate, flipped it over, and her expression turned serious.
On the back of the nameplate was a logo and a line of text, both of which looked familiar.
“Qingshan Hospital, Jiangcheng County.”
Qingshan Hospital was a well-known hospital in Jiangcheng County, but its reputation… wasn’t exactly positive.
Because its most famous department was psychiatry, it was also known as Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital.
Her sister had previously suggested sending Luo Ling there, mainly because Qingshan Hospital was the only one that offered 24-hour psychiatric care, but at a steep price.
…The reason the mad woman had stayed at the People’s Hospital instead of Qingshan Hospital, besides Li Tianming’s intervention, was that she couldn’t afford it.
Qingshan Hospital was a private hospital and wouldn’t accept mentally ill patients who couldn’t pay.
However, besides being a psychiatric hospital, Luo Ling hadn’t forgotten the other side of the hospital that Ji Ying had mentioned.
—A gathering place for Awakened Ones.
Ji Ying had even suggested that Su Wan and Luo Ling seek refuge there, but she hadn’t considered that… they were poor and couldn’t afford it.
“Bone Doctor Wu Qin… was she a member of this hospital?” Luo Ling frowned, holding the nameplate.
Ji Ying had dealt with Li Tianming and Wu Qin’s bodies, so it wasn’t surprising that she had the nameplate.
But why give it to her?
Could it be…
That she wanted her to use the nameplate to seek refuge at Qingshan Hospital?
No, that wasn’t it…
“Ji Ying said that if I wanted to quickly increase my strength, I had to obtain more Sacred Relics… On my own, let alone defeating Grotesqueries, even finding them would be a problem.”
Luo Ling thought for a moment, organizing her thoughts, and then it clicked.
“So, she wants me to join Qingshan Hospital.”
Or rather, join temporarily.
This was indeed the only path Luo Ling could take now. Her current strength wasn’t enough to go solo.
Even the powerful Ji Ying couldn’t resist a dormant Puppet Ballad, let alone her. She probably couldn’t even handle a Grotesquery around Sequence 400.
Unless she used her demonic transformation, but Luo Ling had a vague feeling that every time she used it, she lost something intangible.
However, although she had decided to join Qingshan Hospital, she still needed to consider how.
After entering the mindscape for the second time, Luo Ling discovered she could now freely switch between her Puppet Ballad form and her current form.
The two forms were completely different, in terms of aura, appearance, and abilities.
“I’ll join Qingshan Hospital as ‘Bai,’” Luo Ling decided after some thought.
First, she still had to go to school. She had promised her sister she would go to university, and she didn’t intend to break that promise.
Therefore, “high school student Luo Ling” should avoid getting involved in Grotesquery incidents as much as possible.
Second, the Puppet Ballad’s abilities were more defined. Its innate ability, Spores, was already very useful.
The reason Ji Ying could appear by her side in time and quickly locate the Forgotten River Child was because of the Spores… Otherwise, the Forgotten River Child could have escaped.
Not to mention she now had the first skill, Proliferation. Although Luo Ling hadn’t figured out how to use it yet, it was a skill of the Puppet Ballad, so it couldn’t be bad.
Most importantly, “Bai” was more of a support role. After joining a team, she could provide comprehensive protection, which would be safer for Luo Ling.
Of course, Luo Ling wasn’t completely without combat power. In critical moments, she could switch back to her original form.
Her powerful physical strength and the “demonic transformation” when facing a life-threatening situation could give her a chance to fight back.
Luo Ling looked down at her hands. The back of her hands still had a faint, eerie blue tinge, a remnant of her last demonic transformation.
After the transformation, she could even pierce through the Bone Doctor’s defenses, although part of the reason was that the Bone Doctor herself had been resisting Li Tianming’s control and wasn’t fighting at her full strength.
And… the Bone Doctor at that time seemed to have regained some of her will and had deliberately held back.
“But unless absolutely necessary, I can’t reveal the power of my demonic transformation…”
Luo Ling knew the importance of a hidden card; it might save her life in a critical moment.
Let “Luo Ling” be an ordinary high school girl…
“Now, I should first figure out the Puppet Ballad’s first skill… After all, as Ji Ying said, ‘Perceiving the limits and weaknesses of each other’s abilities, and grasping the ever-changing situation on the battlefield, are the keys to victory.’”
Luo Ling clenched her fists, stood up, and prepared to actively switch forms for the first time.
She was also curious about what the transformation process would be like. Previously, she had either been in a state of clouded consciousness or unconscious.
Luo Ling stood in front of the only full-length mirror in the room, looking at her reflection with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation.
Leave a Reply