The hospital concealed secrets within its walls, secrets that Yu Xiao had barely scratched the surface of.

    As she lay in bed, she mapped out her day in her mind: first, she would sketch some talismans with pen and paper, then she would disguise herself as George and slip into Saint Elizabeth’s.

    Drawing the symbols was no easy task; it required precision and concentration. Despite her increased spiritual luck, she failed the first three attempts. However, on the fourth try, something clicked, and she felt a surge of power. With a smile, she continued to create one talisman after another.

    For now, Yu Xiao had no intention of selling these symbols at the talisman shop. She wanted to test them out herself, in case she encountered any danger. If they proved effective, she would think about selling them at the shop.

    Zhou Xiao Zhen was sitting next to her, lending a hand by grinding cinnabar with alcohol.

    As Yu Xiao set down her pen, Zhou Xiao Zhen reached for one of the papers and inquired, “What does this thing do?”

    Yu Xiao shrugged. She didn’t really know. She only knew that they were supposed to protect the wearer from harm, in some mysterious way. She gave two symbols to Zhou Xiao Zhen. “Keep one for yourself, and give one to Misty. They might save your lives someday.”

    “Okay.” Zhou Xiao Zhen accepted the symbols, wondering how to wear them. Could they work through clothes?

    Yu Xiao craned her neck, checking the time. It was getting late. She cleaned up and said, “I have to go to Saint Elizabeth’s now. I don’t know when I’ll be back, so don’t worry about waiting for dinner with me.”

    With a warning in her voice, Zhao Lan said, “Alright, take care of everything.”

    Zhou Xiao Zhen watched Yu Xiao’s frantic movements with sympathy. “Poor Smiley,” she remarked, “it’s all that George’s fault. He’s the worst of all the attending doctors!”

    Zhao Lan bit her tongue to stop herself from saying what she really thought. George was also the most unfortunate one, in her opinion, but would Smiley have any compassion for him?

    **

    In the hospital corridor, five men in faded gowns looked around with curiosity and apprehension. One of them spotted a portrait on the wall, partially hidden by a curtain. A line of text at the bottom caught his eye—St. Elizabeth’s Psychiatric Hospital.

    He gasped. “Ah!”

    The others flinched at his sudden outburst. A man from his ward asked, “What’s wrong?”

    “Look,” he said, pointing at the line of text.

    His friend followed his gaze and his eyes widened too. “It’s this instance!” he exclaimed.

    “What instance?” The other three, who came from different hospitals, asked in confusion.

    “Don’t you know?” The first man said, “We’re from the Fourth Hospital, and this instance is famous on our forum.”

    “Really?” The others said eagerly. “Are there any guides?”

    “There are guides, but they’re not for the faint-hearted… Anyway, we know all the steps involved in this instance.” The second man said, his voice tinged with excitement and fear. “The attending doctor for this instance is named George, and he’s a real nightmare. He’ll take us for a diagnostic test soon, where we have to explain why we’re here. Don’t make up any random reasons, this is a horror hospital. The only right answer is how we died. We have to invent a way we kicked the bucket…”

    “Shh.” A voice from nearby silenced him. “Someone’s coming.”

    The sound of leather shoes clacking on the floor announced the arrival of a handsome man in a white coat and gold-rimmed glasses. He strode towards the five newcomers with a smile that lacked any warmth.

    “Welcome to St. Elizabeth,” he said, “I’m your attending physician, George.”

    The three from the Fifth Ward recognised him instantly and exchanged nervous glances.

    George gestured for them to follow him. “Come with me, I’ll take you for your medical tests.”

    The five obeyed him silently and entered a hall. There were thirteen chairs arranged in a circle, with eight patients already sitting on them.

    The two from the Fourth Ward scanned the room and spotted a young girl among the seated patients. She had to be Qiao Qiao, the fixed NPC they had read about on the forum. Why else would she always be here?

    “Please, take a seat,” George said politely. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have five new members joining us today. Let’s give them a warm welcome.”

    No one moved or spoke, and George didn’t seem to mind. “Today’s tests are about to start. You have all been undergoing treatment for some time, and to evaluate the progress you have made, I have selected a trustworthy testing method for you. The outcome of this test will decide your future treatment options and bed assignments, so please pay attention.”

    He looked around the circle, his eyes lingering on the faces of the newcomers. The two from the Fourth Ward felt his stare and hoped he wouldn’t choose them. They were glad they had read the walkthrough, otherwise they would have no idea how they had met their end.

    Yu Xiao felt a surge of amusement at the sight of the patients’ nervous faces. She chided herself for her unprofessional thoughts, “Yu Xiao, oh Yu Xiao, how can you be so cruel? Aren’t you just as bad as George?”

    She quickly composed herself and said, “Today’s test is about explaining why you’re here. Let’s begin with Qiao Qiao. Qiao Qiao, you go first.”

    Qiao Qiao, whose favourite pastime was watching newcomers expose themselves, was caught off guard by the sudden attention. She felt question marks popping up in her head.

    The five patients looked at each other in confusion.

    Especially the two from the fourth ward, who exchanged wary glances.

    “Why is this different from what the post said?”

    “I have no idea.”

    The diagnosis proceeded without any problems, and soon George left, leaving behind five baffled patients. The three from the fifth ward asked, “Why didn’t it go as he said?”

    “Maybe because… there’s a new boss in the hospital?” the two speculated, “The head of Saint Elizabeth is Sister Dragon, right? Did she change the rules?”

    “Who’s Sister Dragon?” The patients from the fifth ward were more perplexed than ever. “The head of this hospital has the surname Dragon and the first name Sister?”

    “What?” A person from the fourth ward said, “Don’t you know Dragon’s Descendant? The one who’s always in the news.”

    “Of course, I know her. She’s the Dean?” The fifth ward patients were stunned. “How did a patient become the Dean of a hospital?”

    The Dragon’s Descendant, they called her. But the patients of the Fourth Hospital harboured doubts about whether Yu Xiao really was the director. Even if she had once wielded that authority, surely the hospital would have stripped her of it by now? Sear?h the N?velFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    “Dunno,” a voice from the Fourth Hospital shrugged. “Why don’t we find out when the time comes?”

    **

    Meanwhile, Yu Xiao had retreated to her own office, savouring a banana as she observed George.

    A night of imprisonment had done nothing to soften George; on the contrary, he was more furious than ever. He fixed Yu Xiao with a murderous stare, and if his eyes had the power to kill, Yu Xiao would have perished in a most creative manner.

    “Stop looking at me like that,” Yu Xiao chided. “Try to see things from my perspective, I’m just trying to protect myself.”

    George’s glare did not waver.

    Yu Xiao went on, “The whole hospital heard your confession. You admitted to killing the former Dean with me. How do you plan to clear your name?”

    There was a way, actually. George could phone the medical dispute office when Yu Xiao was out of sight and beg them to rescue him from her clutches. But then, he would expose his shameful predicament to the hospital’s ghosts. He, a doctor, held captive by a patient. He, a ghost, needing the dispute office’s assistance.

    He would be the butt of every joke, the first ghost doctor in history to be held hostage.

    No, he would never let that happen!

    “George, you have a frightening look in your eyes,” Yu Xiao said, tossing the banana peel aside. “Are you scheming something?”

    “I’ll make you pay, but not right now,” George rose to his feet.”Release me, and I’ll help you deal with the inspection team.”

    “Brilliant! You’ve finally seen the reason!” Yu Xiao cried, clapping him on the back. “Allow me to show you out.”

    Only God knew how much George was restraining himself. His loathing for Yu Xiao had reached a critical point, enough to trigger a qualitative change. He was no longer satisfied with just killing her; he was resolved to make her endure unspeakable agony before she died.

    Yu Xiao opened the door and bid farewell to George.

    George was about to walk away when he suddenly spun around and pressed his lips to Yu Xiao’s ear. “You know what? It’s not just me who wants you dead. The vengeance against you has already started.”

    With that, he turned and left. Despite his animosity for Yu Xiao, he didn’t want her to die at the hands of another, so he felt compelled to warn her. Besides, he was in such a miserable situation himself that he hoped someone else would suffer more.

    Yu Xiao watched George leave. Vengeance against her had already started?

    She hadn’t crossed many people so far, just those three attending doctors. Could it be Gu Shu? Gu Shu had fled the Gu family village; was this part of his revenge scheme?

    Meanwhile, five people concealed in a hospital room were spying through the door gap, witnessing the scene.

    They had just seen the door of the Dean’s office swing open, and George emerged with another man. They couldn’t catch what they were saying, but it seemed like they were hesitant to part. The attending doctor George had already left when he suddenly whirled back and neared the man’s face.

    Due to the angle, they couldn’t make out the details clearly. The scene looked like they were either murmuring something tenderly or exchanging a kiss.

    But there was no one around, so why would they need to murmur like that?

    Did George really kiss that man?

    Wow, their ghostly love life is quite exciting~

    Too bad they didn’t see what the man looked like. Coming out of the Dean’s office, could he be the Dean himself?

    The pair from the Fourth Hospital felt a pang of disappointment; their Dragon Sister had indeed been ousted from the director’s seat.

    The office door slammed shut. Those from the Fifth Hospital commented, “The director is a chap, not some dragon’s descendant.”

    “Think about it, mate. How could a human be appointed director of a hospital? What’s our next move?”

    Someone from the Fourth Hospital pulled out a card from their bag. “This is a prop card I bought from the mall. It’ll give me a pair of roller skates. Later on, we’ll…”

    After devising a plan, the five of them reached the door of the director’s office with anticipation and knocked.

    But they waited and waited, yet the door didn’t budge. Instead, they saw a piece of paper being slid through the gap.

    “Pick it up and have a look.”

    The five heads crowded together to read the content on the paper. It was a multiple-choice question.

    【 Life is precious. To save your own precious lives, what are you willing to sacrifice?

    A. Eat a kilo of iron bull dung.

    B. Have a night of debauchery with George.

    C. Let Qi Qi pick your body part for her to munch on.

    D. Spend points. 】

    The five of them were flabbergasted. What in the world was going on?

    “Why is it not like what the guide said?”

    “Could it be because they have a new Dean?” they conjectured. “Different Dean, different rules, right?”

    “So, what are you all choosing?”

    “Well… I’m going for D!”

    “Then D it is for me too…”

    **

    Despite staying up all night, Yu Xia felt quite pleased, because she scored a lot of loot.