Love in a mental hospital

Chapter 318: Hiking on the Wild Grass Plain
"If there really is a World Tree, the place where the World Tree can be trapped may be very dangerous." Chen Ke mentioned.

"Light should go to dark places!" Gu Ran had a firm expression.

Su Qing showed a look of disgust.

"Why does this sentence sound familiar?" He Qingyan pondered.

"It's from your Aunt Jing's book." Yan Hanxiang said with a smile, folding her arms.

"Okay, let's go." Zhuang Jing smiled gently.

A group of seven people, one man and six women, were walking through the weeds.

The night was dark, and Gu Ran, who was walking in the front, would subconsciously reach out to brush away the black veil when he was in a trance, as if it was really a black veil.

"Huh?" Zhuang Jing suddenly turned around.

Yan Hanxiang also turned around.

"What's wrong?" Gu Ran turned around and asked.

The others only then realized that their perception of [psychological shadow] was not as good as Zhuang Jing and Yan Hanxiang, and their instinctive reaction was not as good as Gu Ran's.

He Qingyan's reaction was fairly quick, but she treated this as an outing and didn't take it seriously.

There was nothing behind, and Zhuang Jing was not looking behind, but at the ground, or to be more precise, at their shadows.

".Mother."

The little woman held her breath, as if a tiny hand was gently holding her heart.

Chen Ke subconsciously covered his mouth and looked at the shadow of the little woman in disbelief. Xiao Zhi, who was in the shape of a shadow, was staggering to his feet from the shadow.

"Mom." Shadow Xiaozhi called again.

Zhuang Jing raised her hand and picked up the [Invisible Lantern] from her heart, and the flame of the kerosene lamp spread out warmly.

Shadow Xiaozhi disappeared, as if everyone had seen it wrong because of the bad light.

"Pay attention." Zhuang Jing said.

The little woman nodded silently.

Zhuang Jing glanced at Gu Ran, and Gu Ran continued to walk in front and lead the way.

In order to liven up the atmosphere and distract attention, he took the initiative to say, "It would be great if there were a mount-type monster. I don't know if we can make it this time."

[Monster] Just because it looks like it can be ridden doesn’t mean you can ride it.

Even if it can be ridden, such as Su Qing's [Dream Beast], it can be ridden, but the speed is extremely slow, almost the same as a person taking a walk, and it wastes more [energy].

Even Zhuang Jing was only at the trial stage. To make the Monster Knight's horse rideable was to change one's heart, which was as difficult as a prodigal son's return.

"Just do your best." Zhuang Jing said, "It's the same when you treat patients. You need to find a balance between 'doing your best to cure the patient' and 'life and death are determined by fate'. Don't worry about the rest."

Gu Ran thought of An Yao.

Before, he was only thinking about curing her. After listening to Zhuang Jing's words, he asked himself two questions he had never asked before:

Is her illness curable? Does she want to be cured?
After walking for about ten minutes, a sharp howl suddenly came from the distance, like the cry of a wild beast before a person is killed and gives up all his dignity.

Just as the stench of a corpse is disgusting, it is the body's instinctive warning, telling the brain that there is extreme danger here. The screaming sound also makes people panic.

"Without this light, everyone except Zhang Ying would probably faint." Yan Hanxiang smiled as he looked at the four people in Group 2.

Everyone has their own spiritual weaknesses. Although Shadow Xiaozhi almost stood up in the little woman's shadow, it does not mean that her mind is weaker than Gu Ran and the others.

As long as it is not targeted, overall, the little woman is much stronger than the four people in the second group.

After walking for another seven or eight minutes, everyone stopped. A strange green light floated over like mist and then slowly floated away.

Gu Ran and Chen Ke took several deep breaths before they recovered.

The green mist inexplicably made people feel dizzy and nauseous, reminding Gu Ran of the motion sickness he felt when he took the bus to Haicheng.

After recovering, Gu Ran and Chen Ke felt an inexplicable chill in their hearts and developed a sense of awe towards the [Wild Grass Plain].

In reality, on weekdays, they chat and laugh with Tong Ling, Jiang Qi, the little woman, and even Zhuang Jing and Yan Hanxiang, and it seems that there is no difference between them. But when they come to [Psychological Shadow], they realize the gap.

It’s the same in any industry. There is a huge gap between novices and masters. It’s not usually felt, but it will occasionally show up.

It’s just that psychiatrists are more intuitive.

Gu Ran gripped the [Curved Shepherd's Crook] tightly, making sure that he could still hold it, and continued moving forward.

"Do you know what that is?" He Qingyan, who was following behind, asked Chen Ke with a smile.

Chen Ke put his hand on his chest and said thoughtfully: "Is it the light of emotion?"

"Well, the green light represents human's fear of death." Su Qing's voice was like rain that moistened the dry land.

After hearing her voice, Chen Ke felt a little better, not much, but just like opening the car window when feeling carsick.

Gu Ran, who was walking in front, thought of the green light that appeared when the Killing Curse was used in "Harry Potter".

"It is said," He Qingyan lowered her voice, as if telling a ghost story, "if someone is entangled by the green light, they will die of shock in reality. There used to be a spiritual doctor called a 'wizard' who had a method to subdue the 'green light'. Of course, it was called a 'magic spell' at that time."

"Really?" Chen Ke was curious.

These secrets were obviously not something that someone like her, who did not have a family background in the knowledge, could understand.

"It's true, but it just sounds fantastical." Su Qing said, "It's not rare in itself. In reality, as long as you are willing, most people can make guns and explosives. The power of guns and explosives is much stronger than green light."

Chen Ke thought about it and realized that it was true.

Abe-chan was assassinated with a homemade pistol.

"What is that?" Gu Ran stopped again.

Chen Ke is now a little afraid that he will stop.

However, this time not only the new doctors like Gu Ran, but also Zhuang Jing and Yan Hanxiang showed serious expressions.

In the wasteland, there appeared a bare area, not big, about the size of a circle with a diameter of one cubic meter. There was a small relic on this open space.

The blood outlined and smeared what seemed to be a pattern.

The blood is still flowing, as if the person who drew the pattern was still here the moment before.

"Hanxiang, what do you think this is?" Zhuang Jing half-crouched at the edge of the pattern and carefully moved the lantern closer to observe.

Yan Hanxiang also half squatted down and sniffed gently.

"Human blood," she said.

Zhuang Jing stared at the pattern, suddenly reached out, pressed her fingertips into the blood, and continued to outline.

The bonfire in the lantern flickered, and there seemed to be a cold wind blowing that was imperceptible to the human body, or as if there was someone squatting beside the lantern, breathing on it.

The blood was sometimes bright, sometimes dark and foul-smelling, and under the bone-white moonlight, its color changed between black and red.

As the patterns became denser and denser, first the two groups of four, and then the little woman, all felt a chill on their backs.

There were shadows all around, and shadow monsters of various shapes and forms passed by, some even trying to approach the light of the lantern.

Just as the pattern was about to be completed, Zhuang Jing stopped.

"It failed." She seemed to be talking to them, but also to herself. "It's a therapy left by a master. It's probably going to keep me here forever."

'That's right.'

"Ah!" I couldn't tell who was exclaiming.

Everyone looked at the shadowy figure who was speaking with his heart.

"I failed," said the shadow figure.

"No, you succeeded." Zhuang Jing said to the shadow figure, "You stay here forever."

"I succeeded? I succeeded?" The shadow figure's inner voice was confused.

"Whoosh." Zhuang Jing blew lightly on the lantern, and the bonfire jumped forward. The shadowy figure was really dispelled by the light like a shadow.

Zhuang Jing raised her fingers and rubbed them gently in the light of the lantern, and the wet blood quickly dried and fell off.

As if washing hands with light.

"Interesting." Yan Hanxiang smiled with a hint of gain.

"It's okay, just average." He Qingyan commented.

Gu Ran and Chen Ke just felt terrified.

The little woman also showed an expression of "seeing others driving in the opposite direction at high speed", as if if she continued walking, there would be no other way except death.

Gu Ran cheered up and continued walking with the [Crank Staff] in his hand. Why couldn't he turn into a black dragon in his psychological shadow? If he could, he wouldn't care about these monsters at all!
Just as he was thinking this, his clothes were suddenly pulled. It was Su Qing who was walking behind him.

"Look over there." Su Qing said before he turned around.

There was a feeling in his mind that Gu Ran looked over there without Su Qing pointing out which side it was.

On the horizon, a huge hourglass stood tilted.

Just by seeing it, Gu Ran developed a fear of time.

A person's life is eighty years long. Excluding the ten years of ignorance and the ten years of old age, there are only sixty years left. Excluding half of the time for sleeping, a small half of the time for eating, dressing, and going to the toilet, and the time for commuting to and from get off work, there are only more than twenty years left at most.

He is twenty years old now.

And Zhuang Jing is already 42 years old.

"Wake up." Su Qing patted his shoulder gently.

Gu Ran came back to his senses and found that he was almost in tears. One cannot think too much or too deeply about life. If one thinks too much, he will definitely feel sad.

"What is that?" Although he asked this, he already had the answer in his heart.

"Human beings fear time." Su Qing's answer was just as he thought. "Sometimes it's a funnel, sometimes it's a clock whose hour hand is faster than the second hand, and sometimes it's a river that never stops flowing."

"A drop of water in the river represents ten years of a person's life." Zhuang Jing said softly, "I once arrived at the river and saw countless shadows trying to retain their own years."

Gu Ran should also be suffering from psychological trauma by the river at this moment.

But he did it not for himself, but for Zhuang Jing and Yan Hanxiang.

There should be many people who have the same purpose as him, not for themselves but for others - such as parents.

The hole was so huge that even from an incalculable distance, one could only barely see the lower half, where gravel had piled up into a huge mountain.

Every grain of sand in the mountain represents several years of a person's life.

After taking a final look at the hourglass, Gu Ran continued on his way.

He clenched the [Cranked Shepherd's Crook] in his hand. The touch in his hand felt firm and real, and he held the [Cranked Wooden Crook] firmly.

Gu Ran likes this kind of fear. The more afraid he is, the more determined his heart becomes. After he disregards everything, he instead feels calm and in control of everything.

He is not turning back the flow of rivers or leveling entire mountains.

He just wanted to scoop up a small handful of water from the river to prevent it from being carried away by the main river, and just wanted to pick up a few grains of sand from the mountain to prevent it from being submerged.

The others didn't know, but Zhuang Jing noticed something from his back, and Yan Hanxiang also seemed to smell some new scent.

We walked on and off for most of the day, and although we didn't encounter many strange phenomena, they never stopped.

Yan Hanxiang was surprised that she could get through this long without any danger.

"This lantern—" she began to speak but stopped.

Zhuang Jing also looked at the lantern with surprise.

The black mist left by Li Changzhou allowed Gu Ran to obtain [Parapsychology·Name of God], and the lantern given to her by Li Changzhou's wife Yang Qinglan could actually help people avoid the dangers of the [Wild Grass Plain].

What does the 'saint' symbolize?
Could it be a psychology researcher who is even more powerful than the master and has fully mastered how to develop and use parapsychology?

Can Gu Ran become a 'saint' by lifting up Tianyuan and propping up the World Tree?
After walking for more than an hour, Zhuang Jing said, "Let's stop here. Time is running out. Su Qing, try the dream ring, and then we'll leave."

Chen Ke used the iceberg therapy to call out comic manuscript paper and draw the bloody ruins.

She turned the comic manuscript paper towards Su Qing.

Su Qing looked inside and the person disappeared.

Everyone looked at the manuscript again. Next to the bloody ruins outlined in black pencil, Su Qing, also outlined in pencil, was standing there.

Gu Ran suddenly realized something. He raised his hand, a golden light flashed on his little finger, and a golden ring appeared.

At the same time, a meteor slid across the sky, slowly passed under the bone-white moon, and fell towards them.

As the meteor approached the ground, it slowed down to the speed of a firefly, and then with a flash, Su Qing took its place.

She also raised her hand, and the golden ring on her white little finger flickered like breathing, echoing the golden ring on Gu Ran's little finger.

Gu Ran and Su Qing smiled at each other, with deep love flowing between them.

Zhuang Jing also laughed. Although this trip to find the World Tree did not yield any results, it at least proved that the items obtained from the [Mythical Highway] could be used in [Psychological Shadow].

It was like trying to find a needle in the ocean, and for a long time there was nothing to be found, but there was food, drink, and entertainment on the ship, and the fuel was almost endless.

It’s this sense of security and fulfillment.

Everyone began to wake up from the dream.

After Wei Hong left, Gu Ran was the only one using the men's locker room in the ward. He took off his surgical gown and changed into his own clothes. He stood in the corridor waiting for Su Qing and the others.

Outside the window, the sun sets and the sea is covered in gold.

After get off work, they will set off for South City to start a pleasant weekend. I wonder if the wind on Xuanwu Lake is cool.

There was a strange feeling behind me.

"He Qingyan, you again..." Gu Ran turned around with a smile, but his expression was frozen.

A green mist of light slowly drifted past, went away along the corridor, and disappeared around the corner.

Gu Ran chased after him and stood at the corner, but the green light was gone.

"Gu Ran?" Su Qing, He Qingyan and Chen Ke came over.

Gu Ran felt a chill, as if the chilly atmosphere that had been lurking in the ward for a long time and that was unique to the hospital suddenly burst out.

"What's wrong?" Su Qing saw that his face looked strange.

"It's okay." Gu Ran shook his head.

Two seconds later, he said, "No, I have something to do. I need to find Aunt Jing!"

After listening to his narration, Zhuang Jing and Yan Hanxiang looked at each other and laughed.

"Aunt Jing, Aunt Xiang, what's wrong with me?" Gu Ran asked.

"Don't worry." Yan Hanxiang smiled and comforted, "Just like some people are allergic to mangoes and some are not, some people who see the light of emotions will have residual vision and some will not. Your aunt Jing and I have seen it all."

Gu Ran was almost scared to death.

Although this kind of knowledge will never appear in textbooks like "how to prepare poisons with chemicals", it is not knowledge that will be learned before graduating from university.

Generally speaking, hospitals do not allow psychologists to explore the [Wild Grass Plains].

Firstly, entering the area would cause psychological trauma to the patient, which is unethical; secondly, the barren grass plain is dangerous.

Even if one watches some videos with extreme views, one's values ​​will be affected, not to mention the [Wild Grass Plain] full of shadows.

"Aren't you going to South City?" Yan Hanxiang said, "Have fun for two days, and all the shadows will be gone."

"We're almost late for the high-speed train." Su Qing said calmly.

"It's okay, let Gu Ran drive, it will only take six hours." He Qingyan's tone was even more nonchalant.

After a brief silence, Gu Ran started running, taking off his white coat as he ran.

"I can't drive." Chen Ke explained first.

Su Qing and He Qingyan looked at each other.

"Six hours there and six hours back, how about we each take half?" He Qingyan suggested.

Su Qing also ran away.

She ran, He Qingyan also ran, and Chen Ke, who couldn't drive, certainly wouldn't stay there.

Zhuang Jing shook her head and smiled helplessly, while Yan Hanxiang laughed out loud.

----

《Personal Diary》: Friday, October 9, Jinghai
Under the guidance of Aunt Jing and Aunt Xiang, we embark on our first journey to search for the 'World Tree'.

In fact, I want to find "Amahara" more. After all, I promised Tamamonomae that if I can do it, I will raise "Amahara" first.

But from a physical point of view, it is more reliable to "lift up a tree" than to "lift up a continent".

Tamamonomae, I'm sorry, I will make it up to you. In the future, I will really raise Tianyuan and make you the great god.

Reminds me of the big roll advertisement.

The barren grass plain is really dangerous. Now I feel like I am in a dark corner in winter. Not only my body is cold, but my heart is also cold.

(End of this chapter)