“Okay, you feeling better?” after enduring a long and ear-piercing cry from Branston, the woman in black stood up and backed off a few steps: “You’re lucky you only broke it and not shattered it, that would hurt hella worse.”

“This could be worse? What the fuck did you do to me?” Branston sat up holding his leg in his arms: “Fuuuuck! Still hurting like hell! Do you have some painkillers?”

“Here’s some painkillers. Look here.” the first big man in black raised his hand and showed all four of them a small metal rod, and before Jason could ask anything, bright white light flashed from the tip of the rod, and blinded them for a short moment.

Some kind of strange energy invaded Jason’s head through his eyes, and the energy tried to make it to his brain and it was promptly blocked by a layer of energy shield, subcounsciously formed from his power of mind and will. The strange energy and Jason’s power battled for a while, and eventually the strange energy was annihilated and consumed.

The battle only lasted a few milliseconds, but it already caused enough confusion for Jason.

“Listen to my voice.” a soothing, warm and gentle female voice told them: “You just had a really bad adventure at the deserted and under maintained Clearwater Municipal Hospital, some unhappy and mentally disturbed squatters attacked you and you fell down some broken stairs. You are hurt, and you should go home now. You have already called the police and they will help find your friends.”

“What...” Jason wanted to say something but he stopped himself - he knew that these people might have already done something to Tim, Adam and Branston as well as the people in the van. And currently he did not know what these people were up to, so he decided to just go with the flow.

“You are now very tired and you will fall asleep soon. Your friends will drive you home shortly. ” a tall woman with long straight hair in a suit was the one that spoke to them: “Now, go.”

With happy smiles on their faces, Tim, Adam and Branston walked to the van slowly. Jason faked his smile and their walker manner and got in the van.

“You will now drive your friends home.” the tall woman in a suit said to Abi, who was sitting in the driver’s seat of the van, and snapped her fingers.

Abi skillfully backed off the van and started driving away. Jason tried to catch a look at those people in black when they left, but all he saw was that those men and women in black dispersed and went into the hospital from the two different wings.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Jason took a couple of big gulps from his flask, then he carefully observed the people in the van with him: everyone, including Kevin, Evelyn and Jamie who met the men and women in black earlier than he did, had calm, weird and even slightly creepy smiles on their faces. It was as if each of them was having a nice and stimulating day dream.

When Jason finally drank up the wine from his flask for the very first time, his phone rang, it was Caroline.

“Hey Caroline, are you Okay?”

“Jason’ I’m so sorry. But the place my brother and nephew stayed at… we were attacked.” Caroline sounded like she was in pain: “You guys done streaming yet? I’m afraid I can’t make it...”

“We’re done streaming and I am heading back to the inn. Are you OK? How are you brother and nephew? Are they hurt?”

“I just talked to them. They’re fine. I’m fine. Almost killed my ex, but I’m fine.” Caroline sighed: “What happened? You sound hurt.”

“That is because I am.” Jason answered, but when he wanted to talk about what he encountered in the hospital, he noticed that Tim, Adam and Branston started coming to themselves: “Let me tell you when I get back. It’s some crazy shit.”

“Okay, glad you’re okay. See you back at the inn.”

“Ouch, ouch.” Time put his fingers on his temples, and Adam started rubbing his forehead: “What happened?”

“What do you guys remember?” Jason asked.

---------------------------------------

“Boss! Caroline! You in there?” Jason rushed into the lounge the moment he got off the van.

“Here! In the diner.” Caroline answered Jason’s call.

“What happened? You smell like crap!” Caroline fanned before her nose: “And you look like crap. What happened?”

“Remember that fucking haunted hospital?” Jason put his backpack on a chair and sat down wearily: “It’s truly haunted, it’s super duper haunted. And not by just some random ghost, a whole bunch of ghosts and maybe even the entire hospital was haunted by some kind of humongus monster-ghost.”

“Ah, that explains the layered smell.” Jianmen nodded and gently tapped the table he was sitting at, with an incense burner before him: “Now sit here, both of you.”

“How’s Kane and Alex?” Jason asked as he moved to the seat in front of Jianmen.

“They’re fine - little Alex was a bit shaken up by the toxic energy. Caroline cleverly applied some Xuanli first aid and slowed down the infection. And they are sleeping soundly in Caroline’s room.” Jianmen smiled: “And you, how are your channel buddies?”

“It’s… very complicated.” Jason sighed: “And I think I’ll need your help, Boss.”

“Before telling me, how about have some tea and show me the human figures and the cards I gave you.” Jianmen poured two cups of tea and pushed the cups in front of Caroline and Jason.

“Yeah, yeah. Here it is...” Jason reached into his backpack, but all he could find was some wood dust and small fragments, then he took out the wooden card that was sitting his pocket and found that it also cracked up and almost broke into pieces when Jason laid it on the table.

“Yeah, I think the dust was the wood figure.” Caroline placed the six or seven pieces of her wooden card with a hornet relief sculpture onto the table.

“Hmm. So both of you almost died.” Jianmen looked at the wooden dust on both Jason and Caroline’s hands.

“What?!”