As I watched their breathing slowly even out, a sliver of relief washed over me. But just as the world fell completely silent, we distinctly heard footsteps approaching the doorway.

Thump! Thump!

Thump! The steps were heavy and agonizingly slow, advancing deliberately toward our room.

“It’s back! Did you hear that?” I asked Hikawa Miko and the doctor.

They both nodded, confirming they had heard it. “Who would be walking around this late?

Logically, the hospital gates should be locked; only ambulance arrivals gain entry this late, but I didn't hear an ambulance,” the gaunt doctor added. He said this because, besides the three of us, no one else on this floor was free to roam.

Even the cleaning lady had already gone home to rest. The only ones who might be wandering were the patients permitted up at night.

However, this floor didn’t house psychiatric cases, and every room had its own toilet, making the chance of them coming out nearly zero. Crucially, the patients weren't wearing boots or leather shoes, yet the sound from outside was unmistakably the noise made by footwear of that type.

With that, the doctor stood up, declaring, “I’ll go check. Perhaps someone forgot an item?” I urgently stopped him.

“No! Don’t!

What if that deranged patient has escaped again!” The doctor gave me a look, adjusted his glasses, and said, “Then I must check even more urgently. We can’t let him run wild unattended.” And with that, he moved toward the door; I couldn't hold him back.

He was the physician; whether Ooguma and the others would make it through the night depended on him, so I dared not use force. Unable to pull or tug, I could only watch him walk toward the door.

Fortunately, at that moment, Ooguma suddenly sprung up from the bed, startling all of us. Ooguma stood rigid on the mattress, perfectly still.

Seeing this, the doctor quickly turned back. “What’s happening?

Restrain him, or he’ll be in great danger.” Then, the three of us scrambled to push Ooguma back down and covered him with the blanket. But just as we settled Ooguma, Jie Yuting abruptly sat bolt upright.

We left Hikawa Miko to watch Ooguma, and the doctor and I immediately pressed Jie Yuting back down. Then, a shriek came from Hikawa Miko’s corner—Ooguma was sitting up again.

We realized this back-and-forth was unsustainable. Finally, the doctor fetched several bandages and securely tied both Ooguma and Jie Yuting to the bed.

We were drenched in sweat from the exertion. After catching our breath, I asked the doctor, “What kind of illness is this?

Have you ever encountered it?” The doctor shook his head. “I’ve treated a few rabies patients; they also possessed incredible strength, but they weren't this difficult to manage.” I thought to myself that their strength wasn't due to disease; they were clearly skilled fighters, possessing the brute force of an ox.

I was injured, the doctor was thin as a stick, and Hikawa Miko was a woman; it would indeed take effort to subdue these two patients. With no time for more discussion, we noticed that both the restrained Ooguma and Jie Yuting were shaking uncontrollably, as if electrocuted—it was eerie.

Leaning closer, we saw them clenching their teeth, looking as if they had fallen into an ice hole in the dead of winter. Yet, touching Ooguma’s body revealed he was burning hot, covered in sweat.

The doctor’s expression changed drastically. “This is bad!

It’s the alternating fever and chill disease! Quick!

Get all the blankets from the cabinet!” The disease of alternating cold and heat, which we called dǎ bǎi zi (shaking chills), was usually caused by high fever, cholera, or accidentally consuming mildly poisonous fruit, leading to rapid shifts between extreme cold and heat. Sufferers endure immense agony, feeling alternately frozen in an ice cave and scorched under the peak summer sun; it can disfigure a person in moments and often leads to shock, with a very high mortality rate.

Not daring to underestimate it, I followed the doctor’s instructions and retrieved every blanket from the room’s cabinet, piling them onto the two men. Initially, they hugged the blankets, gnashing their teeth; soon after, they began sweating profusely and kicking the covers off.

I knew they couldn't be allowed to kick the blankets away, no matter how hot they felt, so I had to press down on Ooguma. The doctor pinned down Jie Yuting.

After we maintained this hold for a while, the doctor turned to me, saying, “This isn’t right. I’ve never seen this illness.” I asked in surprise, “What do you mean?

Isn't this the alternating fever and chill disease?” “It is the alternating fever and chill disease, but not a common one,” the doctor said, frowning. I grew anxious.

“What does that mean? What is an uncommon alternating fever and chill disease?” The doctor pondered for a moment.

“Logically, depending on the constitution, the interval between the cold and hot phases should differ for patients; those with stronger constitutions have longer intervals, weaker ones have shorter ones. But look at these two—they go cold and hot almost simultaneously, and the onset timing is almost identical.

It’s as if…” The doctor furrowed his brow, perhaps struggling to find the right adjective due to limited English. Hikawa Miko, quick-witted, interjected from the side, “It’s like they’re being remotely controlled!” For some inexplicable reason, her words made me pause, and I suddenly thought of the person outside the door.

Perhaps Ooguma and Jie Yuting weren't sick at all; perhaps it was some kind of curse… The one casting the curse must still be at the door, otherwise, the simultaneous fits wouldn't have started the moment that person stopped outside. The current situation was that this entity intended to kill Ooguma and Jie Yuting, and I could bear it no longer.

Although I suspected the perpetrator was the vengeful spirit of the White-Haired Old Man—because of the height, nearly two meters tall, he was the only person I’d seen besides Ooguma with that stature. And the mud on his hands suggested he came from the swamp, and there was a swamp near the previous ruins that nearly killed us.

The most crucial factor was that today was the Ghost Festival, which fell within the time limit for vengeful spirits to claim souls, so I couldn't consider any other explanation. “Ghost Festival!

That’s it!” The word sparked a memory of the protective talismans I had gotten from the shrine with the two girls. Even though the Lei Yun Shrine belonged to the Lei Yun monks, and the White-Haired Old Man was a subordinate of that monk, the divine monk was compassionate, so the talismans were surely effective.

While pinning down the restless Ooguma, I fumbled for my pocket and quickly located the charms. The stack of seven or eight talismans was crumpled from being stuffed in my pocket.

As I smoothed them out, Ooguma struggled more violently. I forced myself to remain steady, secretly feeling a surge of excitement.

Because the more violently Ooguma struggled, the more effective the talisman must be. Without hesitation, I moistened one with my saliva, and smack, I stuck it onto Ooguma’s forehead.

At that instant, Ooguma went completely still, rigid as a piece of wood. Seeing this, the doctor quickly leaned in, flipped up Ooguma’s eyelid, and murmured, “This is… his breathing, heartbeat, and pulse have stabilized…” As soon as he finished speaking, Jie Yuting began to thrash violently again.

Without a word, I snatched another talisman and slapped it onto Jie Yuting’s forehead. His reaction mirrored Ooguma’s: the agitation ceased immediately.

The doctor looked at me with undisguised disbelief; medicine does not trust the metaphysical, so he found the phenomenon inexplicable. I was about to explain the origin of the charms when a loud, furious knocking echoed from the door: Boom!

Boom! Boom!

I surmised that the talismans had enraged the vengeful spirit seeking retribution, and now it intended to smash its way in. Indeed, two seconds later, the knocking transformed into heavy battering: CRASH!

CRASH! Judging by the force, if the hospital door hadn't been sturdy, it would have shattered within two or three blows.

Then the doctor uttered something he likely couldn't believe himself: “The talisman! Put the talisman on the door!” I didn’t hesitate; I rushed over and pressed a charm against the wood.

Sure enough, the battering stopped abruptly, but the sound immediately transferred to the glass window behind us, which began to rattle: Bang! Bang!

Since there were no curtains and the moon was out, we turned to see absolutely nothing outside. The trees weren't even swaying, indicating no wind.

Yet, the sound was undeniably present, and cracks began spider-webbing across the glass. I froze, then lunged forward like a firefighter, slapping another talisman onto the pane.

Finally, silence descended upon our room. However, the three of us living occupants were pale with terror from the recent commotion.

After a long pause, the doctor managed to ask, “Wh… what on earth was that thing?” I shook my head, unable to answer, and collapsed onto the bed, gasping for breath. After some time, I managed to say, “Quickly, check on them both…” Then I stood up to examine the two men.

The doctor assisted me, then wore a look of profound awkwardness. “They’re fine.

Their breathing is even. They should wake up tomorrow.

This… this is truly unbelievable.” In truth, I found it incredible too. Even later, when recounting this event, I maintained my disbelief in ghosts, but as for what that thing was, even I couldn't explain it.

Looking at the two men lying on the beds like corpses, I managed a slight, bitter smile. The night deepened, and dawn was not far off.

The three of us were too terrified by the night's events to sleep or even consider leaving the room. Yet, exhaustion eventually won out, and without realizing it, I drifted off to sleep.

It wasn't until the next morning that I woke up to someone pushing my shoulder. Looking up, I saw Ooguma, his face split in a wide grin.

He was awake, and his complexion looked good. His first question was, “Has that White-Haired Old Man left?” Then, Ooguma began recounting the bizarre experiences he had endured during the past few nights in a state between sleep and waking.