I'm a Doctor, After All

"Whoosh!!!"

A flock of birds hurriedly took flight from the woods.

"That sound..."

Zhang Hao stopped in his tracks and looked back at the woods behind them. He couldn't have mistaken it—that had been Li Bo's scream.

"Don't stop. It's almost dark. Hurry up and get out of here, or who knows what else we'll run into!"

Zhou Yu was walking in front. Seeing him stop, she urged him on.

"Yeah, yeah. This place gets creepier the longer we're here. That thing just now was a zombie. Who knows what we'll run into tonight..."

Wang Shaohui didn't dare say the last word, "ghost." The sky had darkened, and the forest ahead looked even more gloomy and terrifying. The world around them was gray and hazy; they couldn't even tell which way was north or south.

Seeing Zhang Hao hesitate, Zhou Yu sighed. "That fat guy's beyond saving. Once a zombie gets hold of someone, even a crowbar can't pry it loose. When night falls, the zombies will climb out of their coffins. By then..."

Zhou Yu gave a cold laugh and said no more, but her meaning was clear.

"B-but... what if we cut off its hand?" Zhang Hao asked stubbornly.

But that question made him sound like an idiot. Zhou Yu just rolled her eyes at him and left him to figure it out for himself.

Wang Shaohui quietly explained from beside him, "Brother Zhang, if you cut off someone's wrist, they'll lose a lot of blood. People in TV shows lose hands and feet all the time, but that's just TV. In real life, if you cut off someone's wrist and they don't get treatment, they'll die pretty quickly."

Even a student like Wang Shaohui knew that basic fact, yet Zhang Hao hadn't. His face immediately flushed bright red.

But soon, he realized something and looked up at Zhou Yu.

"You seem pretty familiar with this place. Have you been here before?"

Thinking back over the journey, Zhou Yu had seemed so composed. She had even deliberately guided them to find the scripts on their bodies. And the things she'd just said all suggested that this wasn't her first time entering a Script World.

"Let's talk about that after you've finished this world's mission alive."

Zhou Yu had no patience to explain anything to them. She urged the two men to hurry up.

"Come on, Brother Zhang!"

Wang Shaohui urged him too. Zhang Hao glanced back one more time, then obediently chose to follow Zhou Yu.

"Rustle, rustle..."

It grew darker by the minute. Their feet crunched over the ground, and cold gusts of wind stirred the leaves into a sound like waves crashing against the shore.

The three of them had no idea how long they'd been walking when Zhou Yu, at the front, suddenly raised her arm and signaled for them to stop.

Zhang Hao and Wang Shaohui had no idea what was going on. They crouched behind her, not daring to move.

After an unknown amount of time, the distant jingling of a mule's bells reached them. A dim yellow light slowly approached from afar.

"Catch up!"

Seeing the mule cart coming their way, Zhou Yu hurriedly called for the two men to follow her.

The cart was moving very slowly, so the three of them caught up without much effort. The old man driving it was startled when they suddenly appeared. He raised his oil lamp and examined them closely. Only after making out their faces did he relax.

"Sir, we lost our way in the mountains. Could you give us a ride?"

As Zhou Yu spoke, she produced a piece of silver about the size of a fingernail from somewhere and handed it to the old man.

Looking at her pale, delicate hand, the old man hesitated. He raised his oil lamp and scrutinized Zhou Yu from head to toe. After a moment's silence, he nodded and accepted the silver.

He tapped the mule cart behind him with his whip handle, signaling that they could climb aboard.

"Man, I'm more exhausted than after running a five-kilometer marathon."

Zhang Hao and Wang Shaohui, who'd been walking all this time, plopped onto the cart and stretched their legs out. They felt like their legs were about to give out.

Looking down, they saw that their shoes had holes in them.

It wasn't their fault. Mountain paths weren't smooth like city roads; they were uneven and strewn with stones, making them naturally exhausting to walk on.

By comparison, Zhou Yu seemed far more at ease than the two young men. After climbing onto the cart, she first took out the bronze mirror and, with her back to the old man, checked herself in it twice. She tidied her hair, then sat down comfortably.

"You're lucky, you know. These mountains are a wild place, full of wolves, jackals, tigers, and leopards. And the ghosts are especially active at night. Good thing you ran into me. Otherwise, you three youngsters would've had a miserable night."

The old man urged the mule forward with the three of them sitting behind him, speaking as he went.

"Heh, we got lost," Wang Shaohui said, scratching his head.

Zhou Yu followed up on the old man's words. "Sir, do you mean this place is dangerous?"

"Hey!"

The old man pursed his lips and turned his head. Half his face was hidden in shadow as he said ominously, "I don't mind telling you. There've been ghosts in these mountains lately. A few days ago, a merchant caravan tried to travel through the night. I warned them not to, but they wouldn't listen. Come morning, they were all dead!"

"Then why are you out on the road at night?" Zhang Hao asked from the side, unconvinced.

"I got back late from the market. But our village is just ahead. You're in luck tonight—we're holding a wedding, so you can join us for a drink."

As soon as the old man finished speaking, the three of them heard a cold prompt at the same time.

[Main Mission: Deep Mountain Ancient Village]

[Mission Objective: Uncover the secret of this village.]

[Mission Hint: Recently, travelers and merchant caravans have been vanishing without a trace in these mountains. No one knows when a village appeared deep in the mountains. Perhaps you can find the answer there.]

Hearing the prompt, all three of them perked up. Zhang Hao was about to speak, but Zhou Yu stopped him with a look. She leaned close and whispered to the two of them, "Wait and see what happens!"

"Ow! Take it easy!"

In the woods nearby, a fat figure and a thin one could be seen making their way downhill.

Li Bo followed behind and stumbled, falling to the ground. His left hand was tightly wrapped in cloth. Even as he fell, he held that hand up, preferring to land face-first rather than let it touch the wound.

Seeing Li Bo fall, Xu Tong stopped and turned to look at him. He came over and helped secure the bandage around his wound again.

Li Bo sat on a rock, his lungs burning as if they were about to burst. He was dizzy, and it felt like he'd climbed every mountain in the world that night.

"Actually... you could've killed me. Why'd you save me?"

Watching Xu Tong secure the bandage around his hand again, Li Bo thought the guy was a complete lunatic. After cutting off his hand, he'd dragged him behind a grave mound to watch the zombies.

Of course, in the end, they hadn't seen any zombies climb out. The coffin was half-buried in the ground, so the zombie couldn't get out. But hearing it gnaw away with a crunch, crunch, crunch had been enough to turn Li Bo's stomach. He didn't need to guess what it was chewing on.

"Kill you?"

Xu Tong looked up at Li Bo and laughed as if he'd heard something hilarious.

"What're you laughing at? Think I won't stab you again?"

Seeing Xu Tong's irritating grin, Li Bo flew into a rage. But as soon as he finished speaking, the smile slowly faded from Xu Tong's face.

A shadow fell across his stern face. As he slowly stood up and looked down at Li Bo, his sharp eyes were as piercing as blades.

Li Bo's heart jolted. It felt as if an invisible hand had clenched around it, and he couldn't help holding his breath.

Xu Tong bent down, bringing his face closer and closer to Li Bo's. Under that cold, sinister gaze, Li Bo's muscles stiffened.

Then Xu Tong leaned close to his ear.

"You wouldn't dare!"

Li Bo felt something cold slip into his right hand. Looking down, he saw the short knife that had cut off his hand.

Xu Tong had reattached the handle and slipped the knife into Li Bo's hand, with its blade pointed straight at his own chest.

Xu Tong tilted his head and continued whispering in his ear, "Don't believe me? Try it!"

As he spoke, he leaned forward, pressing the blade more firmly against his abdomen. Li Bo could even feel the muscles in Xu Tong's stomach moving against the knife.

"You're crazy!!"

Li Bo let out a strange cry. Finally unable to take the pressure, he dropped the knife and shoved Xu Tong away. He pointed at the man's nose. A flood of curses flashed through his mind, but even after opening his mouth for a long time, he couldn't get a single word out.

"See? I told you that you wouldn't dare."

Xu Tong picked up the knife and casually toyed with it in his hand, wearing such an innocent expression that Li Bo felt like he was about to throw up blood.

Of course he wouldn't dare. This was different from before. Back then, the zombie had clamped down on his wrist, and he'd watched Zhou Yu and the others abandon him. He'd been left there to wait for death, at the most desperate point of his life.

At a time like that, a person could do anything.

Besides, Xu Tong had scared Zhang Hao off with just a few words. How could Li Bo not hate him?

But things were different now. He'd lost a hand, but he'd survived.

They were still trapped in this damned Script Space, but as long as there was even a glimmer of hope, Li Bo wouldn't take a risk and kill the only person who could help him.

Xu Tong wiped the knife a few times, then looked at the dazed Li Bo and casually rested the blade against his neck. Feeling its icy chill, Li Bo woodenly raised his head.

In the moonlight, the man's face was obscured by shadow. Li Bo couldn't tell whether he was smiling or angry.

"You wouldn't dare, but I would. Want to bet?"

The blade rested lightly on Li Bo's shoulder, as casually as if Xu Tong had simply set it down. He barely gripped the handle at all. His tone was relaxed and playful, like he was joking with an old friend.

But Li Bo felt an unprecedented wave of malice wash over him, making every hair on his body stand on end. His stiff lips parted a few times before he finally managed to speak, using every ounce of strength he had. His voice was no louder than a mosquito's. "I don't dare!"

After saying that, Li Bo seemed to have lost all his strength. He lowered his head, his expression dejected.

"I'm just joking."

Seeing how miserable Li Bo looked, Xu Tong slowly removed the short knife from his shoulder and pointed at his severed hand. "Don't forget, I'm a doctor. Saving people is my duty."