Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital 19

Han Qi sat behind the desk, his eyes fixed on the person who had walked in.

Lu Xiaoqin met his gaze for a moment, then immediately lowered her head. She stood rigidly at the door, too afraid to enter.

Han Qi narrowed his eyes, his mood brightening considerably.

The mouths all over his body slowly split into grins as well, like wolves thrilled at the sight of prey.

"Ms. Lu," Han Qi said, "your appointment is about to begin. Please come sit over here."

Lu Xiaoqin bit down hard on her lower lip, encouraging herself over and over.

Brother Qi had said that as long as she did not trigger the killing rule, the NPC would not attack. He could only try to scare her!

Yesterday, Brother Qi and the others had gone through such a life-and-death ordeal and risked their lives to uncover so many clues. Gu Shanshan was a newcomer just like her, yet she had survived while dealing with two dangerous NPCs... Brother Qi had already done so much. She could not be the one holding everyone back every time.

Lu Xiaoqin took several deep breaths, gathered her courage, and raised her head.

One after another, the mouths on Han Qi's face and arms were smiling soundlessly.

Lu Xiaoqin shuddered from head to toe and clapped a hand over her mouth, stopping herself from screaming.

Han Qi asked with mock concern, "What's wrong, Ms. Lu? Did you see something strange?"

Trembling, Lu Xiaoqin kept her mouth tightly shut and stiffly shook her head.

The mouths on Han Qi's body smiled even more brightly. They liked the look of fear on their prey.

Under Han Qi's urging, Lu Xiaoqin shakily walked to the desk and perched on the edge of the chair.

"Ms. Lu, you don't look to be in very good spirits. Did something frighten you?"

Lu Xiaoqin said nothing. She merely shook her head again, closing her eyes so she would not have to look at him.

Han Qi stared at her, his twisted delight slowly turning cruel and angry.

"You saw it, didn't you?" Han Qi leaned closer, but it was not his own voice. One of the mouths on his body was speaking.

Tears and sweat slid down Lu Xiaoqin's face together. She shook her head desperately. "I didn't see it... I didn't see anything..."

The mouths on Han Qi's body began speaking over one another.

"She saw it, but she's pretending she didn't! Doctor, she needs a higher dose!"

"Disobedient patients have to be locked in solitary confinement! Ms. Lu, you'd better tell the truth like a good girl!"

"Pills... Give her pills! I want the first bite!"

"Get out of the way! I should get the first bite!"

"Hee hee..."

"She's covering her ears! She heard us!!"

"I... I didn't hear anything!"

The moment Lu Xiaoqin said it, she realized what she had done and opened her eyes.

The smile at the corner of Han Qi's mouth grew wider and wider.

"What? Ms. Lu, why would you say that? Are you hearing things? Auditory hallucinations are a bad sign! It seems we'll need to increase the dosage..."

Lu Xiaoqin went deathly pale.

Her hands trembled as she said through tears, "I'm not hearing things... I-I didn't hear anything..."

"Really?" Han Qi's smile was radiant, while the mouths on his body let out hoarse, chuckling laughter that echoed through the empty, deathly silent consultation room.

Lu Xiaoqin was on the verge of breaking down. She looked at the cruel NPC before her almost pleadingly. "I didn't hear anything. I... everything around me is normal..."

"Is that so?"

Han Qi tilted his head, revealing a mouth that took up half his neck.

That mouth opened and closed, as though drooling.

Han Qi smiled strangely. "Is everything really normal?"

"Sob... y-yes... it's all very normal..."

The consultation room once more echoed with hoarse laughter.

Han Qi laughed as well. "Then, Ms. Lu, prove it to me."

He slowly approached. Lu Xiaoqin pressed herself desperately against the wall, but she still could not stop him from bringing the mouth on his neck right in front of her.

It looked like a woman's mouth, with clean, neat teeth. It was open now, revealing a sliver of tongue.

Han Qi stared at her with his enormous eyes. "Ms. Lu, what do you see?"

Lu Xiaoqin truly felt as though she were about to faint. Her mind was blank and her body trembled beyond her control, but a voice in her heart kept reminding her again and again: She could not say she had seen anything strange. She would die!

"...A neck. I-I see... a neck..."

"Only a neck?" Han Qi asked.

Lu Xiaoqin cried, "Only a neck..."

The mouth on his neck was the first to make a demand. "Then hold out your finger and touch it!"

Lu Xiaoqin clenched her teeth hard. This time, she did not make a sound.

Han Qi grew more and more excited.

That was it, that terrified expression. That was the expression these patients ought to wear!

Han Qi moved another inch closer. "If all you see is a neck, then reach out and touch my neck. See whether there's really nothing there but a neck."

"Wuh..." Lu Xiaoqin whimpered, feeling that she could not hold on much longer. In front of her, the mouth on Han Qi's neck opened wide, waiting to take the first bite of its prey.

Help me...

Suddenly, Lu Xiaoqin felt the space beside her darken, as if something had darted out at high speed.

Then the sound reached her: a thunderous crash, mixed with what seemed to be the sound of something breaking.

Right before her eyes, Han Qi, who had been grinning so sinisterly a moment ago, was pierced through the shoulder by a stick. He fell backward, knocking over his chair, and now lay sprawled on the floor.

Countless voices rose from his body.

"Aaaaaah!"

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"

"It's him again! Run!!"

Then Lu Xiaoqin heard a voice behind her, too.

"What's all that noise? Make another sound and I'll knock your teeth out!"

Lu Xiaoqin turned her head.

Behind her, Mr. Jie, who had helped her out in the cafeteria, seemed to have just woken up. His hair was sticking up in every direction, and he yawned with his eyelids only half open.

When he saw Lu Xiaoqin, he greeted her. "Hi~"

Lu Xiaoqin opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end she simply burst into sobs.

Jie Fangcheng's head instantly felt twice as big. "Hey! Why are you crying for no reason?"

Lu Xiaoqin kept crying, laughing as she cried. Her pretty face was smudged with dust from who knew where, making her look bedraggled and pitiful enough to make Jie Fangcheng's scalp prickle.

He hurriedly looked away and turned his gaze to Han Qi, who was still lying on the floor.

Jie Fangcheng patted the desk, clearly displeased. "Quit playing dead. Weren't you going to give me a consultation? I'm here to see a doctor."

The mouths on Han Qi's body shut more tightly than the last. He slowly climbed to his feet, his eyes darting around, making it obvious that he was considering how to escape.

Jie Fangcheng was speechless. "Look how scared you are. I never said I was going to kill you right now."

Han Qi: "..."

Han Qi steadied himself and stood with his back to the wall. "It is currently Ms. Lu's consultation time. It isn't your turn yet."

"Oh, I'm rude. I'm cutting in line. So what?"

With that, Jie Fangcheng casually pulled over an empty stool and sat down in a sprawling pose.

"Come on. Do to me exactly what you were just doing to her."

As he spoke, he smiled, exposing a mouthful of gleaming white teeth. "Treat me properly. If you can't cure me, I'll chop you up!"