At this moment.
It was precisely 10 AM, and the sunlight shone down, directly illuminating the old man's back, stretching his shadow long and casting it onto the water pool in front of the stone chair.
The pool shimmered with light.
Upon closer inspection, the goldfish in the pool swam within the old man's reflection on the water, as if seeking shade beneath his shadow. At this moment, a summer breeze blew, rippling the water and rustling the old man's white hair.
Yet, the old man seemed accustomed to it all, gazing blankly up at the azure sky, lost in thought or perhaps simply spacing out.
"Brother Wei, is that Grandpa Qiu? Huh? Brother Wei?"
Li Junfei stared at the old man, inquiring softly, only to find Zhang Wei staring intently at the old man, lost in a daze.
It wasn't until he was called again that Zhang Wei snapped back to reality.
"Brother Wei, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, it's just that I understand now why Grandpa Qiu made Xiao Mantou sick."
As he spoke,
Zhang Wei's gaze remained fixed on the old man. His eyes darted, reflecting not only the old man by the pool but also seven figures.
Those seven figures stood silently behind the old man, watching him.
Just then,
The caregiver who had brought Zhang Wei over approached. He seemed not to see the seven figures, walking directly through them to the old man's side.
"Old Master Qiu, Zhang Wei is here to see you."
The caregiver said softly to the old man who was staring blankly on the stone chair.
After being told a few times, the old man finally turned his head, tilting it blankly, "Zhang Wei? Who?"
"Grandpa Qiu, it's me, Xiao Weizi."
As the caregiver was about to respond, Zhang Wei's voice came from behind him.
Zhang Wei walked to the old man's side, bent down, and flashed a bright smile, "Grandpa Qiu, do you remember me, Xiao Weizi?"
The old man looked slightly confused.
As he gazed at Zhang Wei's face, bathed in sunlight, slowly, Grandpa Qiu's vacant eyes finally gained a glimmer of light, and a smile appeared on his aged face:
"Ah, it's you, Xiao Weizi."
Grandpa Qiu patted the stone chair beside him, beckoning Zhang Wei to sit. He said with a hint of reproach,
"Didn't Xiao Weizi tell you to come once a year? You were just here yesterday, why are you here again today?"
Upon hearing this,
The caregiver beside him whispered into Zhang Wei's ear, "The old man's Alzheimer's symptoms have been getting worse lately. He forgets things most of the time."
Zhang Wei nodded slightly as he listened.
He knew.
The old man had contracted Alzheimer's two years ago, which was why he was in the nursing home.
Alzheimer's disease, also known as dementia, causes a gradual decline in cognitive function. In simple terms, it leads to memory loss, not only forgetting one's own memories and names but, in severe cases, even basic abilities like walking and speaking.
Despite advanced medicine, it is currently impossible to cure Alzheimer's disease.
This disease is painful, both for the patient and their family. The patient gradually forgets everything, forgets who they are, forgets everything they know, including their loved ones. Even when their loved ones are in front of them, they don't recognize them, treating them like strangers.
Listening to Grandpa Qiu's words, Zhang Wei knew that Grandpa Qiu's memory had stopped at his birthday last year, and he had forgotten everything that happened in the following year.
It wasn't this severe last year.
If it worsened, perhaps Grandpa Qiu would soon forget his family and friends, and by the time he died, he would even forget who he was.
Sighing inwardly,
Zhang Wei smiled and said,
"I just missed Grandpa Qiu, so I came to see you. It's fine, just two days won't matter."
"Alright then, keep me company and chat."
Seeing Zhang Wei arrive, Old Master Qiu was in good spirits. He pulled Zhang Wei to sit down and started chatting about everyday life.
Zhang Wei listened patiently, even though many of these everyday topics had already been discussed last year. However, the old man had forgotten and was asking them again.
After a while,
As if remembering something, Old Master Qiu gently patted Zhang Wei's hand and asked,
"Xiao Weizi, how has Xiao Lin been lately? How are you two doing?"
"Xiao Mantou is doing well. She's gained some weight recently and her face is even rounder."
"That's good, that's good. Xiao Lin can be quite stubborn sometimes, you need to be more accommodating," Grandpa Qiu said with a smile and a nod.
Just as Grandpa Qiu was about to say more,
The caregiver glanced at the time; it was time for medication. He stepped forward and informed Zhang Wei, asking him to help feed the old man, as the patient didn't know he was sick.
Moreover, Old Master Qiu was a bit special.
He still believed he wasn't in a nursing home, but rather living at home.
Zhang Wei nodded and made up an excuse,
"By the way, Grandpa Qiu, are you thirsty or hungry? I'll go buy you something to eat. Speaking of which, I haven't eaten yet, so we can eat together."
"You rascal, alright then, go quickly."
Afterward,
Zhang Wei stood up, pretending to go buy something, but in reality, he went with the caregiver to get the medicine.
However, before leaving,
Zhang Wei's gaze subtly shifted to the seven figures behind the old man.
He couldn't sense any malevolent aura from them, so he was certain these seven figures were not malevolent spirits.
However,
Besides being puzzled by the seven spirits following the old man, he was even more perplexed by the attire of the seven spirits. They seemed to be wearing military uniforms, not of this era, but more like those from the Republic of China period.
Because he didn't know the intentions of the seven spirits,
And he hadn't fully figured out if the seven spirits were related to Xiao Lin's illness,
Zhang Wei didn't draw attention to himself or let them know he could see them. After all, they didn't seem to be harming the old man. If they intended harm, the old man would surely have died long ago.
On the way to get the medicine,
To ascertain if the old man had encountered anything supernatural at the nursing home, or before coming here, and if it was related to the nursing home,
Zhang Wei asked the caregiver beside him,
"Sister Zhou, may I ask a question? Has this nursing home ever had rumors of hauntings?"
"Ah? No, Mr. Zhang, why do you ask?"
"No, I just heard that the nursing home was built on a graveyard, so I was curious. By the way, when was this nursing home built? It looks quite old. Was it built during the Republic of China era? I heard there was a lot of fighting back then, could this have been a battlefield or something?"
"Mr. Zhang, your questions are very strange."
Although the caregiver, Sister Li, was puzzled, she answered truthfully,
"The nursing home wasn't built on a graveyard, nor is it that old. It's only been about 20 years, and I haven't heard of this place being a battlefield."
"Then is it possible that soldiers died here decades ago?"
"How could that be? It's said that this place was redeveloped from villagers' land. My family used to live nearby, and I've never heard my father's generation mention any soldiers dying here."
Zhang Wei nodded at this, fabricating a story about hearing it from someone else to allay Sister Li's fears and suspicions.
Following that,
Zhang Wei continued to ask,
"Sister Li, in the two years Grandpa Qiu has been here, have there been any strange occurrences at the nursing home? Don't misunderstand, Grandpa Qiu is always mischievous, I'm afraid it might be Grandpa Qiu's prank."
"No, nothing strange. The only strange thing is you people, insisting on letting Old Master Qiu live alone and changing caregivers every few days, not allowing Grandpa Qiu to interact with anyone for too long."
In the conversation between Zhang Wei and Sister Li,
Zhang Wei had basically confirmed.
The seven spirits were not related to the nursing home; they had likely been following the old man before he came to the nursing home.
When did they start following him then?
Thinking about the spirits' attire, it was clear that they had died at least several decades ago. Considering the old man's age, he would have been quite young decades ago. Zhang Wei found it peculiar, wondering if... he had provoked them back then.
If that were the case, wouldn't that mean... those seven soldier spirits had been following the old man for decades?
Thinking of this,
Zhang Wei suddenly murmured, "I remember Grandpa Qiu told me before that he seemed to have been a soldier."
He recalled the first time Qiu Xiaolin brought him to meet Grandpa Qiu.
At that time,
Xiao Lin introduced Grandpa Qiu to Zhang Wei, saying that Grandpa Qiu was a soldier and had reportedly participated in the War of Resistance against Japan. Later, the old man himself had also mentioned being a soldier.
Zhang Wei distinctly remembered that when the old man mentioned being a soldier back then, his face was filled with pride.
"Could those soldiers be the old man's comrades-in-arms?"
...