Death Spiral [Infinite Flow] - Chapter 86

Chapter 86 – Death Certificate

The voice was unbelievably hoarse, whimpering like desert sand, as if suppressing some kind of strong emotion.

“*** is ***, you want to ***. You will experience countless tortures, but this is not a punishment, but a reward. When you reach the ending point, you will understand ***. *** Live.”

Xu RenDong quickly jotted this sentence down on his phone.

Compared with the last time, the key word unlocked this time was “reward”.

You will go through countless tortures, but this is not a punishment but is a reward. Xu RenDong now understood the meaning of this sentence. He had thought that rebirth after death was a punishment because he would suffer the pain of death repeatedly and taste the despair deep into his bones. And now he is grateful for it. If it weren’t for this, he wouldn’t be able to save Lian Qiao again and again, nor would he be able to walk into Zhong Xiu’s heart.

Rebirth is indeed a reward. But where does this reward come from? What is this sentence?

Is it a reminder for him?

From who?

The voice was so hoarse that he couldn’t tell whose voice it was. Whoever it is, that person must know about his rebirth after death and is trying to give him a hint. It’s just that for some reason, all the keywords have been erased and he has to successfully escape each instance to get more information.

Moreover, judging from the number of mosaiced words, he still has a long way to go.

 …what will happen when all the keywords are unlocked?

It’s useless to think about it here. Xu RenDong put away the phone and left the elevator.

Returning to reality, he was briefly stunned by the sight in front of him—the emergency room was still in front of him, with bright incandescent lamps hanging above his head. The surrounding doctors and nurses were busy, all with solemn and serious expressions on their faces. The hospital bed in the middle was shrouded in airtightness by curtains  and doctors came in and out from time to time, speaking in professional medical terms.

The patients and their families in other beds were a little terrified by the battle and no one spoke. In the emergency room, there were only the voices of doctors and nurses talking and the noise of various monitoring instruments.

“Brother RenDong.” Lian Qiao walked behind Xu RenDong and whispered, “You came out too.”

Xu RenDong nodded.

Lian Qiao glanced inside the bed curtain: “Where’s Zhong Xiu?”

Xu RenDong: “She didn’t come out.”

Lian Qiao was taken aback.

Xu RenDong said, “She didn’t want to live anymore so she stayed inside.”

Lian Qiao felt that all this happened too suddenly and didn’t want to understand. Suddenly, a doctor shouted, “Where is the family member? Have you contacted a family member?”

Without waiting for the nurse to answer, Xu RenDong stepped forward and said naturally, “I am her family member.” 

The doctor glanced at him and didn’t ask any further questions, just asked Xu RenDong to decide whether or not to continue the resuscitation. Xu RenDong said: “No, just help her to go quietly.” 

The doctor then took out a consent form for the ‘Do not Resuscitate’ order and asked him to sign it.

Lian Qiao stood by the side, watching all this silently. Just now, Xu RenDong answered “I am her family member” without hesitation which made Lian Qiao very uncomfortable. But at times like this, he couldn’t be jealous of the dead.

…after all, the person was already dead.

As soon as Xu RenDong signed the signature, the doctor announced to stop chest compressions. Soon, the ECG monitor made a long “beep” sound and the screen became a straight line. The doctor took the electrocardiogram and announced the time of death.

Lian Qiao glanced at Xu RenDong quietly, seeing that his expression was calm and there was no sorrow or joy, so he couldn’t guess Xu RenDong’s thoughts for a while.

The doctor called Xu RenDong into the office and issued a death certificate. Lian Qiao had nothing to do and stood in the emergency room waiting. The nurses pulled all kinds of instruments off Zhong Xiu’s body. Lian Qiao accidentally saw a pair of blue-gray feet from inside the curtain. He was shocked and turned his face away subconsciously.

This is the first time he has seen a dead person in reality, not to mention that the other party has a special identity. He was in a complicated mood at the moment and he didn’t know what to do.

However, Zhong Xiu didn’t seem to have any other family members and it seemed that Xu RenDong meant to help deal with the funeral arrangements. Lian Qiao stayed with the nurse and asked if the hospital could send a car to transport the body. The nurse pointed to the door and said, “Talk to them”

Lian Qiao realized that there were already several middle-aged men and women outside. After inquiring, it turned out that they all provided one-stop funeral services. They stay inside the hospital all year round and when a patient in a bed is dying, they wait outside in advance to make it easier for their family members to call upon them.

Lian Qiao just arranged for the transfer of the body when Xu RenDong just came out of the office. Knowing that Lian Qiao had arranged everything, Xu RenDong smiled at him and thanked him.

“Do you know where her house is?” Lian Qiao said, “Would you like to bring the body back to her house first and set up a mourning hall to do the rituals? … Oh, no.” He quickly realized that it was wrong, “You didn’t get the key to her house.”

Xu RenDong was very decisive: “I will send her directly to the crematorium.”

Lian Qiao was stunned: “What about the funeral?”

Xu RenDong: “It will be done after she is burned. I will contact the cemetery first.”

After finishing this sentence, he walked towards the funeral people and Lian Qiao pulled him back: “Wait, did you notify her other family members? Can you just decide for her like this? It doesn’t seem appropriate.”

Xu RenDong smiled: “She has no other family members.”

Zhong Xiu’s body was sent to the funeral home. As the incident happened suddenly, there was no way to buy a casket so the only option was to cremate first and temporarily put her ashes in a storage cabinet. It was also the first time Xu RenDong did this kind of thing. Fortunately there were people from the funeral company who helped in the whole process. As long as you paid for it, you don’t need to worry too much.

When Xu RenDong made these decisions, his expression was very calm, as if he was not dealing with the funeral for the deceased, but simply thinking about what to eat tonight.

Lian Qiao didn’t understand his mind so he didn’t attempt to guess and just accompanied him quietly.

The funeral home staff pressed the cremation button and Zhong Xiu’s body was turned into a small urn. Xu RenDong held the urn in his hand, walked out of the funeral home, suddenly raised his head and looked at the hot sun in the sky.

“I should be in formal clothes,” he muttered.

Lian Qiao immediately took out his mobile phone: “I’ll ask my friend to deliver it right away.”

Xu RenDong stopped him: “No need. That’s okay.” 

The two got into the car and went to the ashes storage place.

In the quiet and solemn exhibition room, countless urns are neatly arranged. From the hospital to here, the whole process only takes a few hours. Zhong Xiu changed from a big living person into a pile of ashes. Xu RenDong held the urn in both hands and put it into the small compartment belonging to Zhong Xiu. The two stood in front of the storage rack for a while and Xu RenDong stared at the portrait of Zhong Xiu. He remained silent for a long time.

Lian Qiao’s heart ached little by little.

It’s over. He thought. Zhong Xiu has completely become RenDong’s white moonlight.

How can he fight, how could he fight a dead person?

Lian Qiao was so aggrieved that he felt quite dull. Then Xu RenDong suddenly said, “She is my mother.”

Lian Qiao: “Oh.”

It took two seconds for him to react. Lian Qiao widened his eyes in shock: “Eh?!”

Xu RenDong put the flower tribute in front of the portrait and said, “Zhong Xiu is my mother.”

Lian Qiao couldn’t believe it: “Your mother? Your mother? What a second, doesn’t that make her my mother-in-—” Before he finished speaking, he covered his mouth and glanced at the portrait with a guilty conscience.

Xu RenDong smiled and said, “She already realized it. Your jealousy was so obvious that even a blind person could tell.”

Lian Qiao coughed awkwardly.

The dead are gone but the living will continue to live. After dealing with Zhong Xiu’s funeral, the two returned to the city and, as soon as they entered the room, they both collapsed exhausted on the sofa.

Xu RenDong and Lian Qiao leaned side by side. Xu RenDong explained to Lian Qiao the cause and effect of this instance.

Lian Qiao suddenly realized: “I was thinking how come I cleared the instance as soon as I woke up, it really was you!” Then he was a little dissatisfied, “Why didn’t you discuss it with me first, what if this method doesn’t work? What if you go to someone’s dream and can’t get out?”

Xu RenDong lit a cigarette: “It’s rare to see someone as strong as Zhong Xiu. However, Zhong Xiu is indeed beyond my expectations. I didn’t expect her to be so angry when she fights. It was amazing.”

“I didn’t mean her.” Lian Qiao sighed and his eyes fell on the cigarette between Xu RenDong’s fingers.

Xu RenDong immediately pinched the cigarette: “I’m sorry.”

He rarely smoked in front of Lian Qiao because Lian Qiao didn’t smoke and he didn’t want Lian Qiao to smell second-hand smoke.

Lian Qiao said, “Give me one.” He reached for the cigarette case on the table.

Xu RenDong was taken aback. He patted his hand and stuffed the cigarette case back into his pocket: “Of all the things you could learn, you pick this?”

Lian Qiao pouted: “I’m not a child anymore, why not?”

Xu RenDong couldn’t say anything. He had to take out another cigarette. Lian Qiao lit a cigarette and, as soon as he took a puff, he was choked to tears. He coughed and said, “It’s so choking…cough…tastes burnt…”

Xu RenDong’s shoulders shook as Lian Qiao coughed. He was afraid that he would burn himself so he snatched the cigarette and snuffed it out again. He patted him on the back and asked in a funny and good-natured way: “Who told you to smoke? You’re just asking for trouble.”

Lian Qiao coughed until his eyes turned red: “I’m already 25.”

Xu RenDong: “You have to smoke just because you’re 25?”

“No…” Lian Qiao was at a loss for words but suddenly pulled over Xu RenDong and hugged him tightly.

 Xu RenDong felt inexplicable and raised his head in confusion: “What’s wrong?”

“RenDong.” Lian Qiao buried his head in his neck and said glumly, “When I woke up from a dream, do you know how scared I was? I found that I was alone in the elevator and you disappeared.”

Xu RenDong said: “At that time, I couldn’t think of a better way. Besides, I didn’t know if it would work or not. I just tried it.”

Lian Qiao sighed. His voice was low, like a request: “Don’t do this in the future anymore, okay? Don’t always carry everything alone. Even if there is danger, it’s better for us to share the burden than for you to do it alone.”

Xu RenDong leaned against his chest and heard his violent heartbeat. Deep and powerful, it hit his eardrum and made his heart suddenly soften.

“Okay.”

Lian Qiao hugged him tighter, almost pressing him into his body.

It was midsummer at this time, the cicadas were screeching outside the window and the room was hot without the air conditioner. The two hugged for a while until they were too hot, so they separated.

Xu RenDong went to turn on the air conditioner, poured ice water and came back. He saw Lian Qiao flipping through the calendar. Xu RenDong sat down, took a sip of water and then heard Lian Qiao say: “The Qixi Festival is coming soon.” {Also known as Tanabata Festival i.e. sort of like Asian Valentine’s day, celebrating the annual meeting of the mythological Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.}

Xu RenDong’s heart skipped a beat. His face was slightly red and he asked him, “And so?”

Lian Qiao hugged him again and their two bodies were hot and pressed together. The sweat was oozing from each other’s skin and it was slippery and hot.

Lian Qiao licked his sweaty earlobe and said, “Should we do something special for our first Valentine’s Day?”