"Then let's begin our first treatment, Xin Nan, it's four sounds, right?"
Doctor Pu said, placing the coffee cup and its contents on the table in front of a handsome and clean youth wearing a white shirt.
The latter glanced at it, did not drink, and smiled slightly while scrutinizing his surroundings:
"Yes."
"Let's talk about your eyes. Did the things you see appear only after the moon's rotation? By the way, I have dessert here, would you like some?"
As he spoke, Doctor Pu pushed the small plate on the table, and Xin Nan smiled and refused.
Doctor Pu sat up straight and said:
"The far side of the moon, always hidden in shadow, has gradually begun to reveal itself in the past half month. You know, because of this, everyone in the world is under a lot of pressure, and many people claim to see illusions."
"Regrettably, no."
It didn't appear after the moon's rotation; is there anything regrettable about that?
Doctor Pu Yuan adjusted his sitting posture.
"When did it start then?"
Xin Nan did not answer Doctor Pu Yuan's question, but instead changed the subject.
"Why don't we start by talking about what I see."
The experienced doctor did not seem surprised; instead, he smiled and nodded:
"Of course, if that makes you feel more comfortable."
"Since I was very young, I could see some... shadows. They rarely made sounds, but most had distinct outlines and images, like a pencil drawing. As for colored ones, I only saw one once."
Since I was very young—he said he wouldn't answer, yet he still answered when changing the subject. Is it a form of cognitive impairment, or a deliberate psychological act?
Doctor Pu made a note in his notebook and continued to listen patiently.
"They never appeared alone; they were often attached to people. I've never seen them on animals. Actually, I wasn't that scared, but I still told my family."
"At first, they thought I was crazy and sent me to a mental hospital. Then they all died, and I was released."
Hey, hey, what's with that tone that sounds like a perverted serial killer? Don't tell me your parents' deaths are related to you.
Could it be another misdirection?
Or does this child have a unique, misplaced understanding of causality and logic?
Further observation is needed.
"Just like now, I can see the shadow on you, Doctor."
Doctor Pu became interested.
"Then tell me about its outline. If it has an image, what does it look like?"
"A girl, a girl wearing a long dress, with long hair, whose eyes protrude from her eye sockets like a snake's, coiling around your neck. She's then gnawing on your chest with her mouth, her hands bound by something unknown. She seems to be calling your name, Doctor Pu."
The small room fell silent, and the smile that had been on Doctor Pu's face disappeared.
He was silent for five seconds before seeming to recall something, finding a plausible explanation, and hesitantly asking:
"Xin Nan, did you gather any information about me beforehand?"
Xin Nan nodded.
"Although it's troublesome, I usually make it a habit to learn about clients who pay me."
"Then you should know about what happened two years ago during your research, the girl who jumped to her death from my office."
"Indeed."
Doctor Pu relaxed slightly.
"That was the only medical malpractice involving a patient's suicide in my career, and it had a certain impact on me. After learning this information, could it be that your subconscious processed it, leading you to have such a hallucination?"
"Perhaps."
Xin Nan looked deeply at his neck. If this could explain why the girl's hands were bound and your current state.
"Alright, let's continue talking about the hallucinations you're seeing."
An hour passed just like that.
The more they talked, the stronger Doctor Pu's doubts grew. When Xin Nan began discussing some rather advanced psychology knowledge, these doubts reached their peak, leading him to finally ask the question before the session ended.
"Xin Nan, although you've been saying your hallucinations are severe, your mental state doesn't seem to have major issues, at least not urgent ones."
"And you understand your own psychological state very well, even seeming to treat yourself. So why, after more than a decade of continuous and stable treatment methods, do you still want to see a strange psychologist?"
Although they had only interacted for a short time, Doctor Pu could already see the resistance beneath the youth's kind exterior. Without years of effort, it would be difficult for most doctors to enter their inner world.
He shouldn't be making such a meaningless attempt that was destined to yield few results.
Xin Nan pouted.
"Because it's boring. My family is all dead, and I don't have any friends."
So you spend thousands of yuan per hour on therapy just to have someone to talk to?
Doctor Pu was somewhat skeptical, so he recalled the information Xin Nan had shared during their session and seemed to understand something.
"You mentioned earlier that some of the shadows you see can make sounds, and the girl you saw on me was precisely calling my name. So, perhaps you came to me because of this sound? You think I'm special?"
Doctor Pu chuckled:
"It seems we've mistaken the object of treatment, Xin Nan. You seem more interested in understanding me, but you must know that the human brain can indeed produce hallucinations."
"Everything we see and hear must first be processed and converted by the brain before becoming so-called vision and hearing. Have you ever considered that everything you see might just be your brain deceiving you?"
"You are very insightful."
Xin Nan smiled and stood up.
"I've tried to ignore all of this before, but now, I'm starting to believe again. You know, after the moon's rotation, some incredible things are indeed happening. So, let's end this treatment for today; I need to go home."
"Alright, please be careful on your way. Also, would you like to continue the course of treatment? I can schedule your next appointment."
"I'll consider it. If I'm interested, I'll come directly."
"Okay, but I have many patients here, so it's best to confirm beforehand when you come."
Xin Nan paused, looked around, and nodded before leaving.
Doctor Pu sat in silence in the empty room, unable to resist looking at his chest.
In a daze, he seemed to truly feel a slight abnormality in his chest.
But that was impossible.
It was just a bit of psychological discomfort caused by Xin Nan's words.
Remember, all of this is a hallucination, an anomaly from the brain's neurons; none of it is real!
With this thought, Doctor Pu displayed a calm and gentle smile, picked up the cup on the table, and drank its contents in one gulp.
But feeling a slight discomfort, his gums lifted, and he began to chew.
Something burst in his mouth, releasing a foul-smelling liquid.
That's right, all of this is a hallucination.
Emerging from the long-abandoned basement, Xin Nan surveyed his surroundings.
If one ignored the fact that there were no people within several kilometers, the houses were severely aged and filled with a moldy scent, the environment here was actually quite good.
At least it was quiet, and there was no need to worry about soundproofing when dealing with patients, because no one would hear them even if they screamed their lungs out.
With a calm expression, he took out his notebook and began writing as he walked towards the driver waiting not far away.
The middle-aged uncle, in his forties, glanced at him, then at the building, and couldn't help but ask:
"Classmate, shall we leave now? Honestly, this place gives me the creeps. If it were another hour from now, I wouldn't come here even if you beat me to death."
The sun was setting in the west, about to dip below the horizon.
Xin Nan shook his head: "Please, could you wait a little longer? Twenty minutes should be enough."
"Alright, the sky isn't dark yet, and you're paying, so you call the shots. But young man, the moon's rotation issue has been causing quite a stir lately. I heard that some religious groups in the Americas even performed large-scale bloody sacrifices. It's best if you don't come to these remote corners, as this place has been abandoned for over a decade. I really don't know why you're here."
Xin Nan didn't reply. The driver uncle shook his head and smiled, glancing at Xin Nan's notebook. He assumed Xin Nan was a writer or artist of some deduction or horror genre gathering material, as stories of that type seemed to be selling well lately.
The only sound in the car was the rustling of a pencil. The middle-aged uncle in his forties looked back at the abandoned building and seemed to see someone standing by the window looking at them.
He was startled and looked again, but the person was gone.
"My eyes are playing tricks on me? That's impossible..."
【Anomaly Object—037, Doctor Pu 】
Male, 36 years old, unmarried, native of Yangcheng, graduated from Yangcheng University, professional psychologist.
After the girl's suicide incident, he developed depression due to excessive mental pressure, harassment from the deceased girl's family, and an increasingly unfavorable legal environment.
During his imprisonment, he was raped by a cellmate and （, allegedly on someone's orders ）, leading to a mental breakdown. After multiple failed suicide attempts, he was transferred to Qingshan Mental Hospital for treatment.
Half a month ago, almost simultaneously with the moon's rotation event, he escaped from the mental hospital.
Afterwards, he moved into the basement of this abandoned building on the outskirts of the city and reopened his psychology clinic.
I noticed him when the target went out to purchase a chainsaw and then found his address.
After a brief understanding and confirmation from these eyes, I directly visited and expressed my desire for psychological treatment.
Doctor Pu welcomed me enthusiastically, offering me his tea and food, which I, as expected, refused.
During our first contact, Doctor Pu's thinking was extremely clear, and his knowledge and skills were undiminished. Throughout the entire conversation, he perfectly demonstrated the qualities and coping abilities of a seasoned psychologist.
Later, under my deliberate guidance, I attempted to make him recall his treatment experience at the mental hospital, but failed. In his perception, he hadn't been treated for the past two years but had been treating others all along.
Even when I deliberately mentioned the girl's suicide incident, his emotions did not fluctuate significantly. After a moment of appropriate doubt, he proposed the possibility of my "hallucinations" with professional and clear logic, speculating that I was processing existing information to create illusions, and kindly offered me treatment suggestions.
When I deliberately adopted a tone as if I had killed my entire family, he exhibited a reasonable sense of tension.
All of this undoubtedly indicates that his mental state is normal, but this is precisely what is most abnormal.
Xin Nan wrote up to this point, turned the notebook sideways, gripped the pencil in reverse, and began to sketch rapidly.
Soon, an image of a doctor appeared, sitting in a dark, desolate, cracked basement, under a dim, old-fashioned light bulb.
He was wearing a dirty, purplish-red funeral attire, the kind worn before a burial. His entire being exuded a chilling aura, yet a faint smile played on his lips, as if he were wearing a well-fitting, expensive suit.
In his hand, he held a cup of coffee, about to bring it to his lips, but the coffee contained wriggling earthworms still covered in soil.
In front of him was a desk made of rotten tree roots, on which lay a yellowed notebook, a pen stained with a blood-red unknown liquid, and a small plate.
The dessert on the plate was a piece of raw animal liver that had not yet begun to smell.
All of this was severely inconsistent with his stable and rational mental state!
How could a doctor with clear logic, stable rationality, maturity, wisdom, keen observation skills, and profound knowledge of psychology be so cognitively distorted and pathological?
Just then, the sound of a door opening echoed. Xin Nan stopped writing, turned his head, and saw Doctor Pu emerging from the dilapidated basement, waving at him from a distance as if bidding farewell.
In his hand, he still held the plate of dessert, with a transparent fork stuck in it.
What a warm and interesting doctor.
Xin Nan was about to smile and bid him farewell, but he felt the car suddenly accelerate and shoot forward like lightning.
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