Kimono

In the hospital room, I saw cherry blossoms spreading down from Chen Xiaoqiu's shoulder, like a demonic claw reaching out from the darkness. They looked just like the ones on the kimono—a cherry tree in full bloom, growing from the hem all the way up to the shoulder. Without thinking, I reached out and grabbed the blossoms. They felt cold and clammy, but they really did feel like petals and branches. They recoiled like a startled snake, and I only managed to catch one petal.

"We have to deal with it quickly." I clenched my fist and told the others.

It was an instinct, just like when I'd reached out to grab the cherry blossoms. I knew we were running out of time. Those blossoms... were going to kill again!

The others grew tense too. We all walked out in silence and took a cab to the South City Hospital. Ma Yibing led the way to the room where Lu Mannin was staying. It was a four-person room with one empty bed. Looking uneasy, Ma Yibing pointed to it and said that Lu Mannin was staying there.

The woman in the next bed spoke up. "Are you that young girl's classmates?"

Ma Yibing nodded.

"Could I ask where she went?" I noticed there were still things on the cabinet beside the bed, so she hadn't been discharged. She should still be somewhere in the hospital.

The woman shook her head. "I don't know either. She changed into a different outfit this morning and went out."

"Was she discharged?" Guo Yujie asked.

"No, she hasn't been discharged."

"What did she change into?" I asked.

The woman furrowed her brow. "A kimono. A black kimono with cherry blossoms on it."

We all held our breath. My heart sank.

"How could that be... When did she change? Was it a black kimono with a cherry tree on the back?" Lanlan pressed urgently.

"Yes." The woman jumped. "She was acting strange. She suddenly changed into that outfit this morning and went out."

"Where did she get the clothes?" Ma Yibing's head was about to explode. His body began to tremble.

"How would I know?" The woman gave us a strange look.

"We'll split up and look for her." I made up my mind, then turned to Ma Yibing and Lanlan. "You two stay in the room. Here's my number. If she comes back, call me." I gave Lanlan my phone number.

Lanlan saved my number, but she didn't want to stay there. "I'll go look too!"

Someone has to stay behind. You two are staying here." I spoke more firmly.

The Thin Man and I hurried out of the room with the other two, then ran off in different directions.

The black kimono was conspicuous. Everyone I asked knew what I was talking about. But Lu Mannin—or rather, the kimono—seemed to have no particular destination. She wandered all over the hospital without stopping. Plenty of people had seen her at different times and pointed me in different directions, so I kept asking around and running.

My phone rang. It was Guo Yujie.

Guo Yujie lowered her voice and spoke like a machine gun. "On the roof! She's on the rooftop! Hurry over, I'm keeping an eye on her!"

I hung up and ran for the elevator. The hospital elevator was too slow, so I lost patience and headed for the stairs instead. I ran into the Thin Man on the way up, and we both raced up the stairs with all our might.

All I could think about was "jumping" and "suicide." My heart pounded as I worried I'd get there too late. It was beating so fast that I felt dizzy, and I could only reassure myself that Guo Yujie was there. With her incredible strength, she could definitely stop Lu Mannin. I just didn't know whether the kimono had some kind of trick up its sleeve. If it could hurt Guo Yujie, then we were in danger too.

Lost in those thoughts, I forgot how exhausted I was from climbing. The Thin Man and I reached the rooftop, gasping for breath.

The rooftop door had been locked, with a "No Entry" sign on it, but for some reason it was open.

Once we'd caught our breath, the Thin Man and I quietly pulled the door open. We didn't see anyone at first, so we crept halfway around the rooftop. On the other side, we spotted someone wearing a kimono.

Guo Yujie was hiding nearby, watching Lu Mannin and occasionally glancing back. When she saw us, she hurriedly gestured for us to come over.

The Thin Man darted straight to Guo Yujie's side. When he saw I hadn't followed, he and Guo Yujie both made urgent "psst, psst" noises at me.

I ignored them, staring blankly at Lu Mannin's back.

Lu Mannin was wearing that black kimono. Cherry blossoms bloomed across its back, and as the wind stirred the hem, the blossoms seemed to sway too. This time I could see clearly: there really were people standing around the tree trunk at the hem. There weren't two of them, but five. Each wore a black kimono and stood around the cherry tree, gazing upward as if admiring the flowers. But they were all reaching toward the blossoms, urging them to grab Lu Mannin and drag her into their world.

"Lu Mannin!" I shouted.

Guo Yujie and the Thin Man both grew anxious and looked nervously at Lu Mannin.

I saw the five women lower their heads and turn to look at me. At that moment, Lu Mannin also turned around.

The cherry tree began to sway.

As soon as Lu Mannin turned her head, her eyes rolled back and she fainted.

Guo Yujie was the quickest. She dashed to Lu Mannin's side, but abruptly stopped.

The Thin Man stepped out from behind the air conditioner, dazed. He pointed at Lu Mannin, then looked at me.

I let out a sigh of relief.

Lu Mannin was wearing a hospital gown. The kimono on her vanished like smoke as she fell. Her face was pale, but her chest still rose and fell. She was clearly alive.

Guo Yujie was strong enough to carry Lu Mannin on her back. She complained to me, "Lin Qi, why did you suddenly shout? What if something had happened?"

"If I hadn't shouted, something really would have happened." My legs were weak, and sweat had soaked through my back.

"What happened? Qi, how come you never told us you had this ability?" The Thin Man patted my back. I could tell he was drained too. It seemed he'd been badly frightened.

"What ability?" I asked them hesitantly. "Did either of you see people on the clothes just now?"

"What people?"

"The people standing under the cherry tree."

They both shook their heads.

"Qi, do you really have the Yin-Yang Eyes?" the Thin Man asked in amazement.

I found it strange myself. "I've never seen a ghost before."

"Maybe you just never ran into one before," the Thin Man said.

The three of us took Lu Mannin downstairs, where we ran into the Fatty still huffing and puffing his way up. He was so exhausted he couldn't speak. When he saw us carrying a girl down, he realized everything was all right and plopped down on the stairs.

The Thin Man went over and kicked him. "You're blocking the way. Come on, let's go downstairs."

"I'm taking the elevator," the Fatty said firmly.

"Suit yourself." The Thin Man walked past him.

Seeing that we'd all left, the Fatty had no choice but to struggle to his feet and follow us downstairs, stumbling with every step.

Lanlan and Ma Yibing had been anxiously waiting in the hospital room. When they saw us bring Lu Mannin back, Lanlan relaxed and burst into tears. Ma Yibing also let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Get a doctor to examine her," I told the Thin Man.

The Thin Man nodded.

"What about the kimono?" The Fatty had recovered a little and remembered what had started all this.