She lingered in front of Gu Shu’s door, torn between leaving and keeping the flowers in her hand. If she left them, it would seem like she was really chasing after Gu Shu. If she didn’t, they weren’t hers to begin with.

    She was still undecided, when she heard footsteps from the side. Yu Xiao turned her head and saw Zhang Kui approaching her.

    Zhang Kui caught sight of Yu Xiao, and he was surprised. “What are you doing here?”

    Yu Xiao was at a loss for words, when Zhang Kui noticed the bunch of fiery red roses in her hand. His expression shifted, but he hid it well. He just glanced curiously at the door. “Who lives in here?”

    “Uh? No one.” Yu Xiao faked a laugh. “I couldn’t sleep, so I came out for a stroll. By the way, what about you?”

    “Ah, I heard some footsteps outside, so I came to investigate.” Zhang Kui had thought that the footsteps he heard were Yu Xiao’s, but he changed his mind when he walked this way. Yu Xiao had no reason to pass by his room, so he asked, “Did you see who it was?”

    Yu Xiao didn’t see, but she had a hunch it was the ghost from the morgue. Because she had urged the female ghost to boldly pursue a second chance at love, she had come to deliver Gu Shu flowers in the dead of night, but sadly, she was misinterpreted by Gu Shu.

    “I didn’t see.”

    “Hmm.” Zhang Kui nodded, and then looked at the flowers again. “What are these for?”

    “Um…” Yu Xiao was extremely mortified. “I picked these up, I swear. I don’t really like fresh flowers.”

    “Huh.” For some reason, Zhang Kui also felt awkward, so he smiled and said, “I quite like fresh flowers…”

    “Then you can have them.” Yu Xiao offered him the flowers. “I just picked them up anyway.”

    Zhang Kui was about to accept them, when the door opened, and Gu Shu appeared at the doorway.

    Zhang Kui was speechless. “Gu Shu?”

    Gu Shu took in the scene before him with a bored glance, his eyes moving between Yu Xiao and Zhang Kui, and finally settling on the roses that they both held.

    He snapped at Yu Xiao, “Why are you still here?”

    Yu Xiao: “I’m going.”

    Gu Shu: “And don’t bother me with this lame crap ever again.”

    Yu Xiao: “…”

    Zhang Kui: “!!!”

    “Slam!”

    The door shut in their faces, and Yu Xiao and Zhang Kui froze in place. The hallway was silent, so silent that their hearts thudded in their ears.

    “Gulp.” Zhang Kui’s throat moved, and he jerked his hand away from the flowers, as if they had zapped him. He stared at Yu Xiao with a complex look, a mix of shock, comprehension, admiration, and bewilderment.

    “You…”

    “Don’t even think about it!” Yu Xiao’s face twisted in anger. “I already told you I found these on the ground!”

    “…” Zhang Kui rubbed his nose, thinking: Who said you picked them yourself?

    “Come on, let’s go back, sleep.” Yu Xiao snatched the flowers and headed back. “We can get out of here tomorrow when we locate the nurse.” Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    “Sure.” Zhang Kui nodded, and followed her.

    “Hold on.” Yu Xiao abruptly halted him.

    Zhang Kui turned to her in astonishment, but met Yu Xiao’s eyes blazing with fervour, as if they could ignite the frost and snow. Zhang Kui gulped again, and cautiously stepped back. What was she up to? She had just attempted to give him the roses, did she…

    “Want to buy a talisman?” Yu Xiao’s eyes glittered as she gazed at Zhang Kui. “They’re a steal, only three points each.”

    Zhang Kui: “…What?”

    **

    Zhang Kui ended up with twenty talismans in his room, not because he was rich in points, but because he felt it was a waste not to buy such bargain talismans. He bought twenty by mistake. He lay on the hospital bed, and arranged the talismans one by one on the sheet, thinking that this girl named Yu Xiao was really… he had no words for her.

    She was young, yet already wed. She was already wed, yet still dared to knock on the attending doctor’s door with roses at midnight. She could also craft talismans, and had a stash of them. What challenge could she not overcome? Why did she bother with the attending doctor at midnight? The attending doctor clearly had no interest in her.

    **

    Yu Xiao slipped back into her room, where Zhou Xiao Zhen was snoring softly. She crawled onto the bed quietly, and lay there pondering the sixty points she had earned. She was so pleased that she couldn’t stop grinning.

    With such a cheerful mood, she slept well until the sun came up. When she woke up, she was alone in the bed.

    Zhou Xiao Zhen walked out from the bathroom, and said, “You’re up. Misty wants us to join them for breakfast.”

    They were the last ones to get ready. As they stepped out of the room, they saw the others waiting in the hallway. Yu Xiao stretched and yawned, and scanned the crowd. She thought that she had to seize the opportunity to peddle her talismans to them. She loved such crowded instances, hehehe… profit-making instances.

    “Where are we having breakfast?” Yu Xiao asked.

    “The hospital cafeteria,” Zhao Lan answered. “The nurse told me it’s on the first floor.”

    “Let’s go then.” Yu Xiao said and was about to take off.

    “Hold on.” Zhang Kui called out. “We’re missing someone.”

    “Huh?” Yu Xiao scanned the area, and noticed that there was indeed one person absent. There were only eight people here.

    “Where’s Xiao Jun (肖军)?” A man said. “I’ll fetch him.”

    (肖 (Xiào) surname means “imitate” or “resemble”. 军 (Jūn) is a male given name that means “army” or “military”. 肖军 surname + name could be interpreted as “a military imitator” or “a resembling army”.)

    He went to bang on the door of the person named Xiao Jun, but there was no answer. He turned the knob, and found it unlocked.

    The door opened, and a strong smell of blood hit him.

    His face went pale, and he ran in.

    “Xiao Jun!!”

    There was no heartbeat under Xiao Jun’s skin, only a gaping wound where his heart should have been. He stared at the ceiling with glassy eyes, as if he had seen something terrible in his last moments.

    Eight people stood around the bed. A boy, Qiao Ya (乔亚), clung to Xiao Jun’s hand, sobbing uncontrollably. They were from the same ward.

    (乔 (Qiáo) surname means “tall” or “lofty”. 亚 (Yà) is a unisex given name that means “second” or “inferior”. 乔亚 surname + name could be interpreted as “a tall second” or “a lofty inferior”.)

    “I heard footsteps outside last night.” Zhang Kui looked at Yu Xiao, who had seen the guide. “I went to check, but there was nothing. Did the guide warn you about this?”

    She shook her head. “The guide said to avoid the morgue, that’s all. It never mentioned any ghost that could rip out your heart while you slept.”

    Zhou Xiao Zhen felt a cold sweat on her forehead. She had been the ghost’s target before, but she had warded her room with talismans. Had the ghost given up on her and chosen Xiao Jun instead?

    “It’s one of us!” Qiao Ya shouted, his voice hoarse from crying. “Gu Shu said so, there’s a traitor among us!”

    Yu Xiao frowned.

    “But we tested everyone with talismans yesterday.” Zhao Lan reminded him.

    “Those tests are useless!” Qiao Ya spat. “How else do you explain Xiao Jun’s death? There’s a ghost hiding among us, and it killed him!”

    He pointed an accusing finger at Yu Xiao. “Is it you? You’re the only one who knows the guide. How come you can’t explain this?”

    She felt a surge of anger and frustration. She scratched her eyebrow, a nervous habit. She gave him a sarcastic smile. “If I was a ghost, don’t you think I would have killed you all in the morgue?”

    He opened his mouth to retort, but Zhang Kui cut him off.

    “Enough, enough!” He raised his voice. “Yu Xiao is not a ghost. I can prove it.”

    He pulled out a handful of talismans from his pocket. They were all drawn by Yu Xiao, and sold to him for a fair price. “Look at these. Do you think a ghost would have so many talismans on them?”

    The others gasped, and stared at Yu Xiao with awe and disbelief. “You can draw talismans?”

    Yu Xiao cleared her throat, feeling awkward. “Well, since you asked…” She glanced at the others in the ward, who were looking at her expectantly. “I have some talismans here, for sale. Only three points each. They’re very useful, trust me. Anyone interested?”

    “Three points?” The word echoed in the room, followed by a surge of excitement. Talismans were usually expensive. These ones were a bargain. “What kind of talismans are they?”

    “Me! Me! I want to buy some!”

    “How many do you have left?”

    “Enough!” Qiao Ya snapped, cutting through the noise. He glared at them with contempt, then stormed out of the ward, slamming the door behind him.

    They exchanged guilty looks, then turned to Zhang Kui, who shrugged. “Don’t mind him. He just lost his friend. He’s grieving.”

    Yu Xiao felt sorry for Qiao Ya, but she didn’t let it show. If Zhang Kui hadn’t reminded her, she wouldn’t have brought up the talismans at all. She knew it was insensitive, but she needed the points. The others seemed to understand, too. They quickly resumed their bargaining, eager to get their hands on the talismans.

    Death was common here, after all. They had to do whatever it took to survive.

    The cafeteria on the first floor of the hospital was deserted, except for the seven of them. They sat at a long table, eating their bland food in silence.

    Yu Xiao slurped her vegetarian noodles, avoiding the meat dishes. She had a rule: never eat meat in the instance. You never knew what it was made of. She always opted for vegetarian food, whenever possible.

    Zhang Kui broke the silence, looking around. “This hospital is not that big, you know. We could split up and search. It shouldn’t be too hard to find a nurse.”

    No one objected. They just nodded, finished their food, and left.

    Yu Xiao teamed up with her roommates. They walked along the corridor on the fifth floor, scanning every nurse that passed by. They were looking for one without a bow tie. That was the clue.

    Zhao Lan sighed, watching the busy hospital staff. “I have a bad feeling about this. Things are getting worse and worse.”

    Yu Xiao shared her sentiment. This instance was different from the one in the guide. She had a suspicion why. Gu Shu. He had followed her here, for revenge. He wouldn’t let her go easily.

    “Be careful.” She warned her companions. “This instance is not going to be a walk in the park.”

    They nodded, and continued their search. Their eyes hurt from staring, but they didn’t blink. They couldn’t afford to miss a single nurse.

    But none of them matched the clue. They all wore bow ties.

    Damn Gu Shu!

    Yu Xiao rubbed her eyes. “This is a bust. I’ve seen every nurse here more times than I can count. She’s not on this floor.”

    Zhao Lan tried to sound hopeful. “Maybe we should check another floor. She might have moved around.”

    “Argh!” Zhou Xiao Zhen wailed in misery. “My eyes are killing me. I think I just saw SpongeBob over there…”

    Yu Xiao gave up on her eyes and rubbed her ears instead. “This is hopeless. If I strain my eyes any more, I’ll lose my hearing again.”

    She marched towards the nurse station, where a ghostly nurse with lifeless eyes was talking on the phone.

    Yu Xiao leaned over and whispered, “I noticed a bow tie lying in the corridor, just like the one you’re wearing.” She pointed at the nurse’s neck, where a bow tie hung loosely. “Did someone lose their bow tie?”

    The nurse raised her head and gawked at Yu Xiao. She looked at Yu Xiao’s fair delicious looking finger pointing at her neck and gulped. “I don’t know. You can give me the bow tie and I’ll deal with it.”

    “That’s alright.” Yu Xiao said. “I’m staying in room four on the second floor. If the owner of the bow tie comes looking for it, tell her to find me in my room.”

    “Ooh.” The nurse drooled over Yu Xiao. “Are you inviting her to your room?”

    “Yes.”

    The nurse wiped her mouth. “Alright, I’ll pass the message. By the way, is she welcome to visit you anytime?”

    “Anytime.” Yu Xiao smiled warmly.