Two more people died, and the entire hospital was in chaos. Night Owl and the short man, along with several of Lu Yuman’s brothers, ran around shouting, beating nurses and doctors on sight.
Lu Yuman, seeing the hospital in disarray with his remaining men, also led his group to beat nurses and doctors, smashing the glass in the registration hall along the way.
A group of security guards rushed in to restore order, but they were no match for the thugs.
After the outpatient department descended into complete chaos, Zhang Minlan and Xiaoming, who had finished setting up the magic circle in the inpatient ward, walked out after activating it.
With the magic circle activated, the magnetic field in the inpatient ward became chaotic. Soon, people began to lose their senses, claiming to see those who had died the previous day.
News of ghosts in the inpatient ward spread rapidly. In a short time, dozens of people claimed to have seen ghosts, including hospital doctors and nurses.
As Xiaoming and Zhang Minlan went downstairs and into the courtyard, they heard screams from upstairs in the inpatient building and soon saw people running out.
Seeing the complete pandemonium, Xiaoming smiled and asked softly, "Sister Minlan, where are we going now?"
Zhang Minlan smiled and said, "Let's go take a look at the morgue. If it's going to be chaotic, let's make it thoroughly chaotic."
"Sister Minlan, you're not thinking of bringing out the bodies, are you?"
Zhang Minlan smiled and said, "You guessed right, but it won't be me. It'll be Luo Tianshui. That guy knows how to raise corpses; I don't."
The two arrived at the morgue, where Luo Tianshui was engrossed in conversation with the night watchman.
The night watchman was over sixty years old, rather ugly, with a long scar across his face.
Luo Tianshui's knowledge of corpses shocked the night watchman. He never expected a young man in his early twenties to know so much.
"Young man, when I was young, I heard about corpse-raising. Can dead people really move?" the night watchman asked.
Before Luo Tianshui could answer, Xiaoming and Zhang Minlan pushed the door open. Zhang Minlan said, "Of course, they can move. There are no gods or ghosts; some things science can't explain, so they're all attributed to superstition."
"That's right, that's right," Xiaoming said with a smile. "Current scientists are idiots. If they can't explain something with their knowledge, they call it superstition, so they don't have to research it."
The night watchman pondered for a moment, finding Xiaoming's words reasonable. "You're right. I've seen strange things myself. In reality, what we call strange things are just events beyond our comprehension."
After chatting for a while, Xiaoming took a roasted chicken out of his backpack, and the night watchman produced two bottles of wine from his desk. They started drinking.
After a few drinks, the night watchman said, "It seems you're all unusual people. Can you show me how the bodies move?"
Zhang Minlan looked at Luo Tianshui, who said, "Grandpa, don't be scared when you see it."
"What's there to be scared of? You've all told me that bodies moving is normal; it's just that others can't explain it, so they find it strange."
Luo Tianshui finished his drink and said, "Let's go to the morgue."
The four entered the morgue. Luo Tianshui looked at the freezers on both sides. "People frozen in the freezers definitely can't move. Are there any that aren't frozen?"
The morgue night watchman pointed behind the freezers. "There are four more in the back. They died yesterday, and there weren't enough freezers, so they were placed there for now."
They went behind the freezers and found four bodies covered with white sheets on four beds. Luo Tianshui stepped forward, lifted the white sheets, and pressed the faces of the four bodies. "There's still elasticity; they should be able to move."
Luo Tianshui took out four pieces of black wood from his pocket, pried open the mouths of the four bodies, and placed them inside.
Then, he unbuttoned the clothes of the four bodies and asked Zhang Minlan for a brush and cinnabar to draw talismans on the bodies.
As he unbuttoned the bodies' clothes, he discovered long cuts on the abdomens of all four.
"Something's not right. These four bodies have been tampered with."
The night watchman looked at the four bodies. "You don't say? Who would come here to tamper with bodies for no reason?"
Luo Tianshui pointed to the bodies' abdomens. "Someone cut open their stomachs after they died. I suspect someone took their internal organs."
Hearing Luo Tianshui's explanation, the night watchman was startled. This would cause a lot of trouble if the deceased's families found out.
Zhang Minlan saw the morgue night watchman suddenly become nervous and asked, "Grandpa, will this cause you trouble if people find out?"
The night watchman nodded. "It will definitely cause trouble."
Xiaoming suddenly smiled and asked, "Grandpa, are you working here purely out of hobby, or to earn a living?"
The night watchman glared at Xiaoming. "Of course, it's to earn a living. How could I have such a hobby?"
Xiaoming asked again, "Grandpa, how much is your monthly salary?"
"A little over four thousand yuan a month."
Xiaoming tilted his head back and said, "Let's say five thousand a month. That's sixty thousand a year, and six hundred thousand in ten years. How many years until you retire?"
"I'm a temporary worker. I'm already sixty-five this year. I can only work for another five or six years before they won't let me anymore."
Xiaoming chuckled. "Grandpa, I'll give you six hundred thousand yuan. That's ten years' income. With this money, you'll have enough for your retirement. That way, you won't have to be afraid of any trouble, right?"
"Are you serious?" The night watchman looked at Xiaoming in disbelief. He neither believed Xiaoming would give him money nor that Xiaoming had six hundred thousand yuan.
Xiaoming took out a bank card and showed it. "Grandpa, come with me now, and I'll transfer the money to you at the bank."
The morgue night watchman, half-believing, half-doubting, followed Xiaoming out of the morgue to transfer the money. Zhang Minlan saw Luo Tianshui still hesitating and said, "Get to it, what are you waiting for?"
Luo Tianshui pointed at the bodies. "I want them to go out shirtless. That'll make things more lively."
Zhang Minlan grinned slyly, looking at Luo Tianshui. "You people of the Luo family are truly wicked, full of such mischievous ideas."
Luo Tianshui looked displeased at Zhang Minlan. "It's fine if you call me wicked, but don't talk about my Luo family. My family hasn't offended you."
"Stingy!"
Zhang Minlan and Luo Tianshui flipped the bodies over, placing them face down. Luo Tianshui quickly drew a corpse-raising talisman on their backs.
He placed the four bodies on the ground, formed hand seals, and chanted incantations. After a minute, he shouted, "Rise!"
The four bodies stood up stiffly, their appearance extremely eerie.
Zhang Minlan thought Luo Tianshui would continue chanting spells. To her surprise, Luo Tianshui beckoned to the four bodies and said, "Let's go for a walk."
The four bodies walked stiffly out of the morgue. This was nothing like the corpse-raising depicted in movies and TV shows; it was somewhat similar to the zombies in "Resident Evil."
"If bodies walk like this, are they still zombies?" Zhang Minlan asked as she followed the bodies, watching them.
"Where are there any zombies? This is just controlling the residual vital energy within the corpses to make them move."