Chapter Eleven: Old Wounds

When I got home, I turned on the lights in the hall, dropped my backpack on the floor, and collapsed onto the sofa with a sigh. My master closed the front door, leaning against the wall as he changed his shoes. He glanced over at me and said, “From the sound of that sigh, you’re finding school exhausting, aren’t you? Do you have any idea how many children in impoverished mountain regions dream of going to school? You really don’t know how lucky you are.”

After changing his shoes, my master sat beside me on the right, turned on the television, and accidentally brushed my right leg. A sharp pain shot through me, and I groaned. He looked at me, puzzled, and seeing the pain etched on my face and my body trembling, he quickly asked, “Are you all right? What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?”

I shook my head without replying. He glanced at my right leg and seemed to realize something. “Take off your pants. Let me have a look.”

I hesitated, unwilling to comply. He pressed me, “Hurry up, or do you want me to do it for you?”

Finally, I stood up and slowly peeled off my pants. Halfway down, my cheeks flushed red, as if I’d been exposed. Covering my thigh with my hand, my master pulled my hand away, and when he saw the injury, he froze.

My thigh was mottled with bruises, a large area dark and purple, with threads of blood beneath the skin. My master looked at the ugly wound and spoke coldly, “Who did this?”

I kept silent. He shouted again, “I asked you, who did it?”

Startled, I stammered, “A few classmates. Just fooling around, really. They saw I came from the countryside and tried to bully me, so I fought back…”

He slapped the table, making me jump again. “What are their names? Damn it, how dare they lay a hand on my pupil?”

“He… his name is Kang Shun. According to Chu Mengxi, his father’s the director of the Education Bureau, so he bullies people at school all the time.” I pulled up my pants, shrinking into myself.

Hearing the name Kang Shun, my master stood up abruptly, threw on his coat, and headed for the door. I stared, grabbing his hand. “Master, where are you going?”

He pushed me back onto the sofa, his voice icy. “I’m paying the Kang family a visit.” With that, he strode to the door, hand on the knob.

I watched his back from the sofa, and suddenly a stabbing pain erupted in my shoulder. I cried out, curling up in agony. My master spun around, rushed to my side, and placed his hand on me, worried. “Xuan, what’s wrong?”

Unable to speak from the pain, I hugged my arms to my chest. My master examined my shoulder, and saw that blood had soaked through a wide area. He hurriedly helped me up, removed my shirt, and found the shoulder wound—inflicted by a zombie at the mortuary—had completely split open, even revealing some white bone.

Drenched in sweat, I gasped for breath, glancing sideways at my shoulder. It was obvious the injury had worsened because “Qian Yang” and “Sun Xiaofeng” had pinned me down earlier, and my own violent struggling had torn it further. My master, seeing how much pain I was in, quickly staunched the bleeding and called emergency services. After a while, I was loaded onto the ambulance. On the way, the pain overwhelmed me, and I lost consciousness.

... ... ...

When I woke again, it was deep into the night. I blearily opened my eyes and stared at the dazzlingly white ceiling. As I shifted, pain surged through me, and I groaned. My master, who was lying in the bed beside mine, sat up at the sound, strode over, and settled on the stool at my side.

I looked at him and asked softly, “Ma... master, where are we?”

He glanced around, sighed, and replied, “This is the hospital, silly pupil.”

I looked around, nodded, and asked, “What happened to me? How did I end up here?”

My master poured a cup of water for me from the table. After I took a sip, he explained, “Your shoulder wound split open. The doctor said it was because of strenuous activity, which slowed the healing. If I'd known, I wouldn't have taken you out to play the past few days. You’re always bouncing around, no wonder the wound didn’t heal. Really, I blame myself—I shouldn’t have pushed you, knowing you had an injury.” He slapped his own hand in self-reproach.

I tried to sit up, but the pain in my shoulder stopped me. My master said, “Don’t move around, or the wound will split again. Just rest for a few days. I’ve already spoken to the school—it’s fine.”

I nodded, wanting to ask another question, but he waved me off. “Enough, you always talk too much. Rest first.” He patted my forehead and lay down again.

The next morning, I woke in the harsh sunlight. My master was already sitting in a nearby chair, reading the newspaper. When he saw me awake, he pointed to the table, “There’s your breakfast—eat first.”

But as he spoke, he paused, chuckled awkwardly, folded up the newspaper, and came to my side. “Sorry, I forgot your shoulder’s hurt and you can’t move. Let me feed you.”

I shot him a look as he opened the porridge container and spooned it to my mouth, wiping it afterward. I felt like a newborn baby, needing someone to feed me, a bit embarrassed.

I said, “Master, with all your money, you just bought porridge for my breakfast?”

He tidied the table, glanced at me, and replied, “You know nothing. This porridge is only three yuan a bowl, but I got up early to buy it for you. Don’t judge it by its price—what matters is the care behind it. This is what I call the ‘Master’s Love Lunchbox.’”

Hearing that, I nearly gagged, burped, and looked at him with distaste. He rolled his eyes and took the leftover containers out of the room. Watching his back, I realized how good he’s been to me—from saving my life at the mortuary to officially taking me as his pupil, and now. He’s always protected and cared for me. Having such an interesting and protective master, I finally had someone to rely on as I wandered the world.

After several days in the hospital, I was discharged. My master finished the paperwork, and we returned home. My shoulder had mostly healed, at least enough to move it up and down. After resting another day at home, I insisted on going back to school. This time, instead of the electric scooter, my master drove me in a black car—I didn’t know the make, but it drew plenty of attention. At red lights, people even took photos.

My master sat proudly at the wheel, grinning as people snapped pictures. After a while, he parked at the school gate. He meant to walk me to class, but I refused.

He sighed and nodded, watching me walk in before driving off. When I entered the classroom, it was already packed. I glanced at the clock—damn, I’d arrived so late! Ms. Mu was at the podium, clearing her throat. “Lin Xuan, come in. Let’s welcome Lin Xuan back to campus!”

With her lead, the whole class applauded. I nodded awkwardly and found my seat. Ms. Mu brought a stack of new textbooks from under the podium, set them on my desk. “Lin Xuan, while you were on leave, your books arrived. Here they are.”

She placed them before me and walked away. I untied the string, naturally starting with the history book—the one Chu Mengxi had ruined days ago.

I held it in my hands, murmuring, “Meng…” Realizing I’d said the name wrong, I scratched my nose and said, “Chu Mengxi, here’s the book. Sorry about last time.” I set it on her desk.

“No need, no need. We’re classmates, we help each other. Just call me Mengxi from now on, it’s easier.” Chu Mengxi pushed the book back to me with a gentle smile.

Stubborn as I am, I pushed the book back, “Take it, it’s all the same.”

We went back and forth until finally she accepted it. Smiling, I pulled out my language textbook, listening to Ms. Mu’s lesson. For some reason, language class always made me sleepy. It really was a lullaby—I soon found myself sprawled across the desk.

... ... ...

The bell rang, jolting me awake. I opened my eyes groggily to see students leaving the classroom. Chu Mengxi packed her books, glanced at my sleepy face, and teased, “You sure slept well—knocked out until the end of class. Impressive.” She flashed a thumbs-up before heading out with the other girls.

Yawning, I scratched my head and looked around. Oddly, Kang Shun wasn’t there, but I saw four buzz-cut boys whispering in the corner.

I stood up, about to head for the restroom, when I overheard some conversation from a nearby desk.

“Hey, did you hear? A couple nights ago, some seniors said they saw ghosts in the unfinished teaching and dorm buildings next door.”

At the word ‘ghost,’ I stopped in my tracks and turned. A group of boys and girls were gathered, curiosity piqued, so I walked over and saw Yu Wenzhou among them. He smiled and called, “Lin Xuan, come quick! We’re telling ghost stories.”

I frowned and took a seat.

“Is it true? You’re not making this up, are you? Are there really ghosts? I’ve never seen one.” One boy shook his head, and the others looked skeptical—reminded me of Fatty.

The boy on the left, hearing their disbelief, explained, “Why would I lie? It’s all true. My brother told me that in his year in high school, lots of people saw ghostly shadows in the dorm. He even said he saw ghost lights floating around. And in the unfinished teaching building next to our school, when he sneaked out at night, he saw a figure in white standing by the window. He and his friends had been drinking, so their nerves weren’t weak. They thought it was a hallucination, but the next night, sneaking out again, they saw not just one but three or four figures in white—one at each window. He clearly saw one of them wave at them. They were scared out of their wits and dashed back to the dorm. I only heard about it yesterday—it’s terrifying.”

Everyone looked frightened after his story, faces pale. Yu Wenzhou spoke up, “Hu Ming, are you sure your brother didn’t make the story up to scare you?”

Hu Ming nodded firmly. Yu Wenzhou thought for a moment, then smiled mischievously, “How about this—we don’t go home tonight, let’s check out the unfinished teaching building. Who’s up for it?”

As soon as he said that, memories of San Bao’s suggestion to visit the mortuary flashed through my mind. I was the first to object, “Wenzhou, are you crazy? Going there at night—you’re not afraid of dying young? Haven’t you heard ‘better to believe it exists than not’? You don’t mess with these things.”

Yu Wenzhou grinned, “What’s there to fear? If we get enough people, it’ll be fine. I’m a model youth—I really don’t believe in ghosts.”

I rolled my eyes. “Then go ahead, I’m not joining. Don’t say I didn’t warn you—‘those who ignore elders’ advice suffer in front of their eyes.’”

“Come on, Lin Xuan, don’t be so pedantic. Whether you join is up to you. Who wants to go, raise your hand.” Yu Wenzhou stood and waved toward the back, “Hey, Chu Mengxi, we’re going on an adventure tonight. You coming? More people, more fun.”

I watched him rally the group, and heard him call for Chu Mengxi. Turning, I realized she was already standing beside us, listening intently.

I was about to tell her not to go, but she spoke first, “Sure, let’s all go. Lin Xuan, are you coming?”

She glanced at my right arm, bringing the focus onto me. Stunned by her sunny smile, I thought for a moment, then—against my better judgment—agreed.

Yu Wenzhou laughed, slinging his arm around my shoulder, “Good man, loyal! Then let’s meet at the school gate at eight tonight.”

Everyone nodded and returned to their seats. I shook my head helplessly. Well, I’ll just go to protect Chu Mengxi…