CHAPTER 87: MUSHROOM VILLAGE 37

Wan Qian ignored the noise behind her and walked all the way to the clinic.

The clinic door was wide open. Wan Qian walked in and saw a doctor wearing a white coat sitting in the consultation room.

The doctor had his head lowered, holding a pen and writing something. Hearing Wan Qian’s footsteps, he suddenly raised his head.

He was very young, looked just over thirty years old, wearing gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. When he looked at Wan Qian, a cold white light rolled over the lenses of his glasses.

"Hello, I’m here to see the old lady at the general shop," Wan Qian raised her hand to greet him.

The doctor’s eyes behind the glasses narrowed slightly, then he stood up and walked toward Wan Qian.

"So you’re here to see Grandma Zhang. Please follow me," the doctor said, leading Wan Qian toward the ward.

After only a few steps, they ran into Third Uncle and Third Aunt just coming out of a ward.

"Oh?" Wan Qian widened her eyes in surprise, looking at the weak faces of Third Uncle and Third Aunt.

"Are you sick? You looked quite energetic when we ate together yesterday."

Third Uncle and Third Aunt looked at Wan Qian and instinctively placed a hand on their stomachs. Their stomachs ached again, faintly.

After eating that piece of meat last night, they hurried to the clinic. Unexpectedly, despite their rush, they still had a reaction.

The meat had already rooted itself in their stomachs, almost assimilating the entire stomach into one entity, continuing to multiply inside.

They could not vomit it out. The only way was to cut open their bellies and carefully remove the flesh from the stomach bit by bit.

If the doctor’s knife hadn’t been fast enough, surpassing the flesh’s rate of proliferation, they probably would have also merged into that lump of rotten meat.

At this moment, the stitches on Third Uncle and Third Aunt’s bellies were still visible.

Third Uncle forced a stiff smile: "Ms. Wan, you—you’re here at the hospital too?"

Wan Qian said, "I’m here to see Grandma Zhang." She had learned from the doctor just now that the old lady at the general shop was surnamed Zhang.

Third Uncle made an "oh" sound, suddenly realizing, "Here to see Grandma Zhang?"

Wan Qian nodded, a bit guilty and embarrassed on her face. "Yes. That day when Grandma Zhang broke her leg, I was the one who brought her to the hospital."

Upon hearing this, Third Uncle’s first reaction was: what did Grandma Zhang do to deserve such torment?!

But then, thinking that he and Third Aunt had only been slow in handling the "rabbit," and that their stomachs had ended up with an extra stitch line, Third Uncle began to understand a little more.

This farm owner looked gentle and easy to talk to, but in fact was a ruthless heart and governs with an iron fist.

Well, without some means and scheming, how could she be the owner of that farm?

Third Uncle did not dare say much, only looked at the doctor beside him, worried that the village’s only doctor might also follow in his own footsteps.

"Um, Doctor Jiang," Third Uncle looked at the doctor, kindly reminding him, "This is Ms. Wan, the owner of Dark Farm."

"Ms. Wan?" Doctor Jiang adjusted his glasses, a trace of interest flashing in his pupils under the lenses.

Wan Qian gave a slight nod toward Doctor Jiang, somewhat reserved.

Doctor Jiang involuntarily smiled slightly. Although he didn’t know why Third Uncle and Third Aunt believed that this woman was the owner of Dark Farm, to Doctor Jiang, this woman was simply not ghost or monster at all — she was just a thoroughly ordinary human, not even gifted.

Perhaps it was simply because Mushroom Village was so barren that its people were naive and easily deceived.

Doctor Jiang thought he had already seen through Wan Qian’s true nature — she was merely a woman who knew how to play small tricks, foolishly trying to leave the haunted realm by relying on deceit.

"Third Uncle, don’t worry. I will definitely ’take good care’ of Ms. Wan," Doctor Jiang said firmly.

Third Uncle didn’t notice anything odd, nodded happily, "Good."

Third Uncle and Third Aunt supported each other and left, while Doctor Jiang led Wan Qian into Grandma Zhang’s ward.

The old lady lay on the hospital bed, her face even paler than the day before. One could hardly detect her breathing. Her limbs had all been replaced, only her torso remained her own.

Doctor Jiang looked at Wan Qian with a hint of mockery in his eyes, wanting to see how she would react upon seeing the old lady in this state.

Wan Qian walked to the old lady’s side and said, "Granny, I came to see you."

The old lady’s reactions to the outside world had become very sluggish. After hearing Wan Qian’s voice, she slowly turned her eyes toward her after a long pause.

Wan Qian sat down by the bed, looking at the old lady’s pale, ghost-like face, and asked with concern, "Granny, how are you feeling today?"

"...Hoh hoh... walk..." She emitted a few broken, strained sounds from her throat; each word was extremely difficult to utter.

Wan Qian didn’t hear clearly, "Huh? What did you say, Granny?"

Then she raised her hand, wanting to help tuck the blanket tighter around the old lady, but suddenly her hand touched an unusual texture — soft and fluffy, not like living flesh, more like a doll stuffed with thick cotton.

Wan Qian pulled back the blanket and reached out to touch the old lady’s arm. Confirmed, the feeling was indeed coming from there.

Doctor Jiang narrowed his eyes, his gaze deepened, lips curling into a sinister smile. He was curious about Wan Qian’s reaction upon seeing this.

Wan Qian lowered her head, staring blankly at the old lady’s arm. She seemed a bit stunned and reached out to gently poke the soft, fluffy arm again.

Seeing her finger sink into the soft cotton, Wan Qian sighed, looking at the old lady helplessly.

"Granny, you’re such a grown person, why do you still cause so much worry?"

Wan Qian recalled how yesterday the old lady insisted on struggling off the bed to return to the general shop.

Probably after Wan Qian left, the old lady was still unwilling to give up and tried again, but accidentally injured her arm, which Doctor Jiang then bandaged.

"Didn’t I tell you? I’ll pay for the medical expenses. You just need to lie here and rest well. There are people at the general shop watching over you. Why do you keep running around?"

Wan Qian looked at the old lady with a face full of disapproval.

"People need to learn to accept getting old. When hurt, one should rest properly. If you keep running around like this, you’ll only make the injuries worse."