Yu Xiao spun on her heels and strode away, ignoring the nurse’s covetous stare.

    “Brilliant.” Zhou Xiao Zhen clapped her hands. “This way we don’t have to scour the whole building, the target will come to us.”

    Yu Xiao flashed a smug grin. She was a firm believer in the motto: laziness breeds innovation. She was not cut out for too much physical exertion.

    “That’s good too.” Zhao Lan agreed, but her brow furrowed. “But I always have this nagging feeling that something is off.”

    “What’s off?” Yu Xiao asked.

    “Tsk… I can’t put my finger on it.” Zhao Lan massaged her temples, trying to shake off the uneasy sensation. She told herself it was just her imagination.

    The trio made their way back to the ward, where Yu Xiao ripped off the talismans that she had plastered on the doors and windows. Those paper charms were supposed to ward off evil spirits, but she now needed for the ghost to dare come inside.

    They settled in for a long wait, but nothing happened. Yu Xiao had barely slept the night before, and she felt her eyelids drooping. She fought to stay awake, ready for the ghost to appear.

    The minutes ticked by, and soon it was time for lunch.

    Yu Xiao couldn’t leave the ward, in case the ghost showed up. Zhao Lan said: “I’ll go to the canteen with Precious and get some food. Smiley, what do you fancy?”

    “Shredded potatoes (土豆丝).” Yu Xiao yawned. “Only veggie stuff, no meat.”

    “Okay.” Zhao Lan gave her a worried look. “Be careful by yourself.”

    “I know.” Yu Xiao said with a burst of energy.

    She wondered if it was a coincidence, or if the ghost sensed that Zhao Lan and Zhou Xiao Zhen were gone, but as soon as they left, Yu Xiao felt a familiar chill.

    A ghostly figure materialised in the ward, her skin mottled with decay and her hair tangled and wild.

    The morgue ghost?!

    Yu Xiao gasped, staring at the ghost. “Are you the nurse I’m looking for?!”

    The ghost shook her head, her eyes burning with resentment. She pointed a bony finger at the wall. Yu Xiao somehow grasped her meaning instantly. That was the direction of Gu Shu’s room. The female ghost had sent flowers to Gu Shu last night, but he had ignored her today. She was heartbroken, and she came to Yu Xiao to vent her sorrow.

    Yu Xiao felt a pang of guilt as she faced the ghost. If she hadn’t screwed up last night and made Gu Shu misunderstand, the ghost’s gesture wouldn’t have been in vain.

    She lowered her voice out of pity. “Well… Gu Shu, he is a respected doctor, you know. He is the kind of male ghost who doesn’t care for flowers.”

    The ghost’s eyes bled with eagerness, as if asking: “What does he care for then?”

    “What does he care for?” Yu Xiao scratched her head, clueless. Gu Shu probably wanted her head on a platter, since he hated her so much. But Yu Xiao was not one to give up her life for anyone. She racked her brain, and then remembered that Gu Shu was always sipping tea in Gu Village.

    “He likes tea!” Yu Xiao declared confidently. “You should send him some tea leaves instead.”

    The ghost mulled over her suggestion, and then drifted away from Yu Xiao’s ward.

    Soon after she left, Zhao Lan and Zhou Xiao Zhen returned, along with the others who had gone out to search for the nurse.

    Everyone except Qiao Ya, who had stormed off in the morning, gathered in Yu Xiao’s ward.

    Yu Xiao held the lunch box, munching and listening to their chatter.

    “We combed through two floors, and checked every nurse, but we couldn’t find the one who lost the bow tie.” Zhang Kui said with a worried frown.

    “Neither did we. I wonder if something went wrong somewhere?”

    Unsure if their plan had gone awry, Yu Xiao pondered for a moment, but resolved to wait until nightfall. She recounted to them how she had enticed the target nurse into her room and added, “We’ll see what happens tonight. If she doesn’t show up, we’ll switch tactics tomorrow.”

    “Sounds good.” Impressed by this girl from the fourth hospital, who always had a clever scheme up her sleeve, Zhang Kui said, “We’ll also be prepared tonight, in case we need to act.”

    They wrapped up their brief discussion. Zhang Kui got up to leave and said, “We’ll let you enjoy your meal, then. Just give us a ring if anything comes up.” sea??h thё N?vel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He departed with the others. But as soon as he stepped out, he bumped into Qiao Ya.

    Qiao Ya looked like a different person from when he had stormed out that morning, seething with rage. His anger had faded, leaving him limp, dejected, and pitiful.

    “Qiao Ya!” Zhang Kui called out to him. “Where have you been?”

    Qiao Ya shot him a frosty look and headed back to his ward without a word.

    “What’s with him?” Someone grumbled at his rudeness. “It’s not like we’re the ones who killed his friend. Why is he giving us the cold shoulder?”

    “The worst part is that we have to drag him along, after all the hard work we did to find clues.”

    “Enough, drop it.” Zhang Kui sighed internally. “Just put yourself in his shoes. Anyone would be devastated by this kind of thing.”

    Yu Xiao couldn’t keep her eyes open in the afternoon, so she curled up and dozed off for a while, with Zhao Lan and Zhou Xiao Zhen keeping watch in the ward.

    It was peaceful during this time. No one disturbed them, and no ghosts haunted them either.

    Yu Xiao stirred when darkness fell. She lingered in bed for three minutes before sitting up.

    Zhao Lan’s voice startled her awake. “Look who’s finally up.” She pressed a cup of warm water into her hands. “The others left for dinner. How about you? Hungry?”

    Zhou Xiao Zhen also blinked the sleep from her eyes and felt her stomach growl. “Yeah, let’s go. I’m starving.”

    Yu Xiao watched them from the bed, holding the warm cup, her eyes darting to the door. “You go ahead. I’ll hold the fort.”

    “Suit yourself. We won’t be long.” Zhao Lan tugged Zhou Xiao Zhen along, who whimpered, “I want some meat, please, please, please… wuwuwu…”

    As they left, Zhao Lan flicked on the light switch. The fluorescent bulbs buzzed to life, casting a harsh glare over the room. Yu Xiao winced, shielding her eyes. She waited for a few moments, then slid off the bed and headed for the bathroom.

    She had only taken a couple of steps when she felt a chill run down her spine. The air in the ward had changed. A cold, dark presence filled the ward, making her skin crawl.

    She shivered and glanced at the door. Was her target here?

    No. The source of the darkness was not outside, but inside the ward.

    “Thud~!”

    A heavy sound echoed behind her, like a ripe melon hitting the floor.

    “Rattle rattle rattle~…”

    Then a rolling noise followed.

    Yu Xiao spun around, searching for the origin of the noise. She heard it coming from under the bed. She backed away, putting more distance between her and the bed.

    A black, watermelon-sized, misshapen sphere rolled out from under the bed. It stopped at Yu Xiao’s feet and turned, revealing a woman’s face, blood oozing from her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.

    “Hehehehehe~…”

    It was the severed head of the woman who had been staring at her from the window before they started this instance!

    The severed head of a woman had peered out of the window, scanning the three occupants of the ward with a malicious gaze. She counted them, one by one, as if marking them for death. Yu Xiao had slapped a talisman on the windowpane, and the head vanished with a hiss. She thought she had gotten rid of her for good, but she didn’t expect the head to follow them into the instance!

    “Hiii~i!” The head suddenly reappeared, opening her mouth wide enough to swallow a melon. She flew straight towards Yu Xiao’s face, her hair whipping like snakes.

    **

    Meanwhile, outside the ward, a horde of nurses had gathered stealthily. They all wore the same nurse uniforms, but their skin was ashen and their lips were blood-red.

    They were not here for any noble purpose, but for a more primal one. They had smelled a delicious and tempting aroma, a patient who had invited them to her ward… Well, not them exactly, but they couldn’t resist such a rare opportunity.

    How long had it been since they had tasted fresh flesh and blood?

    Especially that of a young woman, whose flavour was unforgettable once sampled…

    They crowded around the door of ward number four, where a loud thudding noise was coming from. They didn’t care what was causing it, as long as there was someone alive inside.

    With their tongues lolling out and their saliva dripping down their chins, they eagerly pushed the door open, hoping to feast their eyes on their prey.

    There she was, the woman they had come for. She stood by the bed, hunched over, one hand balled into a fist, the other clutching something.

    Something that looked like a clump of jet-black hair.

    Something that had a head attached to it.

    That head… it was a gruesome sight. Blood oozed from every hole, and one of its eyes had burst out of its socket, dangling on its cheek with a mess of nerves and veins. Its sharp teeth had been knocked out, and the white specks on the floor… were its teeth?

    She was swinging the head by the hair, using it as a flail…

    That was what made the “thud thud” sound, the nurses realised.

    **

    All of a sudden, a horde of ghosts invaded her ward, causing Yu Xiao to abruptly stop what she was doing. She quickly turned her head and noticed an increased number of nurses, yet none of them were the one she was looking for. All of them were wearing bow ties around their necks.

    “What…” Yu Xiao spat out in a hostile tone: “What do you want?”

    The nurses: “…”

    “Wuuu wuuu~…” The head ghost finally got some air, and seized the opportunity to wail.

    The miserable sight of their ghost comrade’s severed head made the nurses recoil in horror, their eyes darting around the dimly lit room. They glanced at the flickering lights and than cracked tiles as if saying:

    “Oh no… this is not the right room!”

    “Yes yes yes, we got the wrong room…”

    Without wasting another second, they spun on their high heels and sprinted away, as if pursued by a vengeful spirit.

    Yu Xiao tossed the bodiless ghost onto the table with a disdainful gesture and followed them. She was determined to catch them.

    Surprisingly fast, the ghost nurses gave Yu Xiao a hard time as she struggled to keep up with them. After rounding the corner, she was met with their sudden disappearance down the stairs. Cursing under her breath, she thought, “You can run, but you can’t hide!”

    Taking a moment to catch her breath, she felt her heart pounding in her chest. Slowly walking back, she tried to calm down.

    Passing by Gu Shu’s room, Yu Xiao noticed something he had left outside his door. Leaning in, she discovered a box of tea leaves, wrapped in fancy paper.

    Rolling her eyes, she couldn’t help but wonder, “What was wrong with this him? What did he do to deserve meeting such a nice love-struck ghost in the first place?”

    Just as she was about to walk away, a sound from inside the room caught her attention. A surge of panic overwhelmed her, and the next moment, the door swung open.

    Standing there with an emotionless face, Gu Shu stared at Yu Xiao, who still had a flush on her face (from the chase), and then at the elegant tea leaves box on the floor.

    Gu Shu’s voice was bitter and cold. “Why did I even bother?” he muttered, before slamming the door in Yu Xiao’s face.

    Yu Xiao blinked, stunned. She scratched her head, wondering what she had done to offend him. She was just walking by, minding her own business.

    **

    Meanwhile, Zhao Lan and Zhou Xiao Zhen returned to the ward with their meals, only to find the place in shambles. It looked like someone had ransacked it, and there was no sign of Yu Xiao.

    “Where the hell is Smiley?” Zhou Xiao Zhen exclaimed, as she set the food box on the table.

    “What is this?” She wondered when she saw a black, round object on the table. She reached out to grab it, curious.

    It felt strange in her palm. Like a clump of wet hair clogging the drain. She flipped it over and gasped in horror.

    It was a ghastly ghost head, with one eye dangling from its socket, and its tongue lolling out.

    “Aaaaah—!!!1”