When I heard the ringing, my heart tightened.
I sat bolt upright with a sudden "swish."
I'd heard this ringing before.
It was the same ringing I heard when Chen Ge was sent to the hospital last time.
Then I saw rows of wandering souls emerging from the hospital.
Chen Ge had told me to close my eyes and not look.
Later, I learned that this was the bell that summoned the dead to descend.
Those whose time had come would follow the sound of the bell with their souls.
I held my breath, growing a little nervous.
Mo Ting didn't know this yet and hadn't heard it.
He leaned against the bed and turned his head to ask me:
"Brother Qin, did you hear that? Where is that ringing coming from?"
Hearing Mo Ting ask, I quickly stopped him:
"Don't speak, this ringing is for the dead!"
I frowned and said sternly.
Mo Ting was stunned when I said this, surprise showing in his eyes.
In the next second, the family of the person in the bed next to us suddenly erupted.
"Dad, Dad!"
"Doctor, quickly call a doctor!"
"Dad, Dad, don't scare me, Doctor!"
"..."
Hearing the commotion, Mo Ting and I exchanged glances and looked at the bed next to us.
The old man in the next bed had likely passed away because of that ringing.
Soon, hurried footsteps sounded.
The doctor arrived, performed resuscitation, and said he needed to be sent to the emergency room immediately.
But at this moment, an old man in a hospital gown suddenly emerged from the side and came towards us.
The old man looked exactly like the old man in the adjacent bed.
But his complexion was no longer bluish-black, but pale.
This was likely the soul of that old man.
As soon as he emerged on our side, he muttered to himself:
"Ah, so much lighter!"
After speaking, he realized something was wrong.
Because Mo Ting and I were staring intently at him.
For a moment, the three of us were locked in a gaze.
He seemed to realize that we could see him.
He smiled slightly, then retreated to the other side of the curtain.
After a while, I heard the old man's voice again:
"Stop crying, you brats. Being alive was suffering for me, now I'm very relaxed.
You few brats, remember to dress me in a military uniform, a military uniform..."
As soon as he finished speaking, another old man's voice came from the doorway:
"Old Zhang, hurry up, people are waiting! It's time to go."
"..."
These two voices were very abrupt.
Amidst the noisy and anxious human voices, they sounded extremely discordant.
Because the curtain was drawn, we couldn't see.
But we knew in our hearts that the speakers were the old man in the next bed and another elder whose time had come.
Soon, the old man's body was sent to the emergency room.
Actually!
What was the point of sending him to the emergency room when his soul was gone?
As expected, about half an hour later, a group of people returned to the room, crying.
From their conversation, we learned that the old man had passed away.
Mo Ting and I were quite tired. We chatted a bit about the ringing and fell asleep in a daze.
We had already seen a fierce ghost, so the soul of someone who had just died couldn't pique our interest.
When we woke up, it was already eight o'clock the next day.
The hospital bed was very hard and small.
My whole body ached.
Mo Ting was still asleep, so I didn't disturb him and decided to wash my face.
As I passed the adjacent bed, I saw two middle-aged women crying and packing their things.
At the same time, they kept talking:
"Third sister, what do you think happened?
Dad's eyes just wouldn't close.
We've changed his burial clothes three times, and they still don't fit.
Second brother, who was dressing Dad, even hit his head and broke it.
Do you think Dad has some unfinished business!
That's why he won't let us dress him in burial clothes?"
"It's probably that the burial clothes are too small.
Second brother has already gone to buy bigger burial clothes.
Don't overthink it!"
"..."
Hearing their conversation, I was stunned.
In my mind, I recalled the abrupt sentence I heard when the old man passed away last night.
So I turned to the two middle-aged women packing the belongings and said:
"Excuse me, ladies.
Does the old gentleman have a military uniform?"
The two ladies packing the belongings heard this and looked up.
They looked at me with some suspicion.
The younger woman sized me up:
"Who are you?"
Without answering directly, she simply asked:
"If he does, try that military uniform on him, perhaps it will fit."
After saying that, I nodded at them and turned to leave.
The deceased are to be respected. I heard it, and now I'm just passing on a message.
Whether they listen or do it, I can't control.
I washed my face, went downstairs to buy some breakfast, and then returned.
When I came back, the two middle-aged women had already left.
Mo Ting had also woken up.
His condition was relatively stable, but the fracture still hurt a bit.
However, he said he felt much better than last night.
We ate breakfast and chatted about what happened last night.
At this moment, an old man in a gray Zhongshan suit, with a goatee and holding a pipe, walked in.
Seeing someone enter, I glanced up and realized it was my master.
I immediately stood up, somewhat surprised:
"Master, why are you here!"
I had only told my master that I was at the Third Hospital, but not which ward I was in.
I didn't expect him to find me so early in the morning.
"Little Qin, how are you?"
"I'm fine, Master."
My master breathed a sigh of relief:
"It's good that you're fine, it's good that you're fine."
After speaking, he noticed Mo Ting next to me.
He sized him up:
"Isn't this the apprentice of that old scoundrel?"
Hearing this, Mo Ting and I were both awkwardly stunned.
For a moment, we didn't know what to say.
But not long after my master finished speaking, another voice came from the doorway:
"Pah! I knew I was unlucky today. So it was you, you idiot, cursing me."
Hearing this, Mo Ting, my master, and I all turned our heads.
We saw another old man walk into the ward.
This old man was also wearing a black Zhongshan suit, had a mustache, and a black gourd hanging from his waist.
I recognized him at a glance as Tang Lin, the owner of Wanshou Hall, and Mo Ting's master.
Like my master, he was also a Taoist master with true abilities.
Seeing this, my heart began to pound.
These two were adversaries, and if they met, what would happen?