Chapter 44: Madness

The sunlight fell at a slant.

Passing through the quiet, secluded forest path, winding around a few garden villas hidden among the trees, the director of the sanatorium led Yuan Suhua and Yu Zhu to the remote northeast corner of Qingchuan Sanatorium.

The wind rustled the dense leaves. When they stopped walking, the building before them was unlike any of the other standalone villas they had passed.

Old in style, the exterior walls yellowed with age, one side covered in dark green ivy. A few stray leaves on the roof swayed in the wind. It was just a plain, two-story hospital-like building.

This was Qingchuan Sanatorium’s Eleventh Ward, primarily caring for patients with severe mental disorders who could not care for themselves.

Directly in front of the entrance was a small fountain, its trickling water glistening in the sunlight. On either side were two yellow-painted benches. Aside from a few nurses hurrying past, no other patients lingered.

The director, beside Yuan Suhua, spoke in a deep, commanding voice, words flowing relentlessly. “…Miss Yuan, we are grateful for Changqian Group’s long-standing support of Qingchuan Sanatorium in every aspect over the years.”

“Thanks to this, our medical staff recently overcame a global medical challenge. Regarding your mother’s condition, we may soon be able to implement a completely new treatment protocol…”

Yuan Suhua’s face showed no reaction. She replied gently, “I don’t know much about these professional matters, but I’m sure overcoming this challenge involved countless difficulties unimaginable to ordinary people, leading to this success.”

A formulaic answer without real meaning. She smiled politely at the director, held Yu Zhu’s hand, and stepped inside.

The interior was stark and oppressive, the snow-white walls cold, the smooth floor reflecting harsh light. A faint smell of disinfectant lingered in the air. In the empty, silent hall, only a few doctors and nurses whispered quietly.

The director stopped in place. “Since Miss Yuan has come specifically to visit your mother, I won’t disturb you. If you need anything upstairs, medical staff on duty outside the ward can assist.”

“Alright.” Yuan Suhua nodded with a smile and, holding Yu Zhu’s hand, ascended the steps.

Yu Zhu moved slowly, only taking three steps upward before Yuan Suhua lifted him entirely into her arms.

“Let’s go a little faster, Xihe,” she whispered near his ear.

It felt as if the wrong script had been given.

When Yu Zhu finally stood still, that thought flitted through his mind.

A name about to be remembered paused the moment Yuan Suhua held his hand.

Second floor.

The muffled, vague shouting and roaring from the first floor suddenly became clear. Even through the walls, the heart-wrenching screams, hysterical madness, and chaotic cries struck like thunder, deafening.

Yuan Suhua led Yu Zhu past one locked ward after another, stopping at the final room. The nurse at the door warned, “Miss Yuan, the patient’s mood has been relatively stable recently. A small dose of sedative was administered just now. As long as you don’t strongly provoke her, she won’t overreact and communication can proceed normally. If anything happens, call me immediately.”

“Understood.”

Yuan Suhua and Yu Zhu entered the room.

The ward was spacious, equipped with all kinds of facilities and furniture—sofa, refrigerator, television, wardrobe. Even the curtains were carefully chosen, sky blue with clouds printed on them.

It felt less like a hospital room and more like a warmly and harmoniously decorated home.

Yuan Suhua’s mother stood by the window, wearing a snow-colored, plum-red qipao, her hair pinned up with a wooden hairpin. Years of mental instability had left deeper marks than most her age, yet traces of her past elegance and beauty could still be glimpsed in her features.

Yuan Suhua said nothing, sitting on the sofa while Yu Zhu sat beside her, silently staring at a small patch of sunlight on the carpet.

One sat, one stood, eyes meeting in rare silence, unbroken by words.

Yu Zhu disliked scenes like this, choosing instead to quietly observe the light.

After a long while, the sunlight shifted toward the corner of the table. Yuan Suhua rose. “I’ll go first, Mother.”

Her mother, as if awakened from a dream, looked at her in surprise. “Suhua? When did you arrive?”

Sitting on the sofa at the table, she asked, “Why are you leaving so soon? You haven’t eaten your cake yet.”

She held the invisible cake carefully, her eyes sparkling as if a candle burned before her. “Suhua, wait until Father comes to finish the cake together before leaving.”

Yuan Suhua bent down and ‘blew out the candle’ in her mother’s hands. “Not eating it now, Mother. We’ll have it next time.”

She was no longer five years old, no longer waiting for a cake destined to be taken away by her mother.

Yuan Suhua led Yu Zhu out of the ward. Behind her, her mother still stared blankly at the empty cake in her hands.

The cold light fell, and the warmth of the sun faded rapidly from their bodies.

The sharp, piercing screams from the corridor continued unabated.

Several nurses nearby stood outside the ward where the sounds came from, tense as they watched.

“It’s been over half a year. Why is she still this crazy? The sedatives don’t seem to work anymore.”

“Alas, what can you do? Her mother jumped to her death right in front of her. Who could accept that?”

“Pitiful, yes. But last time when she scratched you, you weren’t saying that.”

“Don’t talk about it. The marks are still on my hands.”

Yuan Suhua halted in front of the nurses.

Yu Zhu stopped too, eyes fixed on the ward.

The room was large, yet empty except for a single bed in the center. The floor was stained with dried blood and filth, and the walls bore blotchy, dark red marks.

On the bed struggled a skeletal figure, emaciated beyond recognition. Dirty, tangled black hair obscured most of her face. Blood-soaked bandages were wrapped across her body, some undone at her neck from her thrashing.

Her limbs were chained to the bedposts. When a doctor attempted to hold her for a sedative injection, she thrashed like a dying fish, roaring with animalistic ferocity, tearing at her bindings until flesh was exposed.

“Ahhh—ahhh—”

“Ahhh—ahhh—”

Her hair-shrouded eyes were bloodshot, wolf-like, fixed on the doctor.

With a stronger sedative, her body convulsed violently. She tried to rise, her thrashing even more frantic when her gaze caught Yu Zhu at the door.

Her voice rose, almost deafening, every scream a piercing, hoarse cry like a bleeding cuckoo’s meaningless lament.

Another stronger dose of sedative coursed through her veins. She shook uncontrollably, eyes locked on Yu Zhu, ferocity in them as if she would tear him apart.

Amid the trembling, Yu Zhu recognized her face.

Pale, gaunt, disheveled, covered in unhealed wounds. Blood mixed with brown iodine smeared across her face, leaving her unrecognizable.

The pain, madness, and sorrow in her eyes merged with her hoarse screams. She twisted against the chains, desperately trying to sit up and charge toward the door.

Yu Zhu recalled her name.

Countless memories he had tried to forget surged into his throat, the metallic tang of blood filling his mouth.

Huo Xin.

The one who had once used rough hemp ropes to bind his neck repeatedly.

Who had, with sharp fingers, toyed with the veins under his throat, saying, “A plaything should know it’s a plaything.”

The one above him.

Huo Xin.

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