A scream pierced the air, making everyone jump. Yu Xiao dashed back to her ward, colliding with Zhang Kui and his group.

    “What the hell?!” Yu Xiao demanded.

    “I have no clue.” Zhang Kui wiped the sweat from his brow. “Didn’t it come from your ward?”

    He had barely finished his sentence when a black object soared out of the ward and flew towards them. Yu Xiao dodged it nimbly, while Zhang Kui caught it with a smug grin.

    “What is this crap?” Zhang Kui examined his catch, and then his eyes widened in horror.

    It was a mangled ghost head, with one eye hanging loose and its tongue sticking out.

    “Yikes!!!” That was the shriek of the people around Zhang Kui.

    Zhang Kui alone remained cool and collected, as if he was immune to fear. Yu Xiao felt a surge of respect for him, thinking that he was a true veteran of the third hospital, much more dependable than those who panicked at everything.

    But then, Zhang Kui collapsed.

    “Thud!”

    He hit the floor with a loud noise, raising a cloud of dust. His feet twitched slightly.

    “Oh, crap…” Yu Xiao was shocked. She snatched the ghost head by the hair and yanked it out of his hand, then crouched down and slapped Zhang Kui’s face. “Zhang Kui, Zhang Kui! Snap out of it, this thing can’t hurt you anymore…”

    The others watched Yu Xiao holding the head in her hand, and they were awestruck by her courage. Inspired by her example, they regained their composure and stopped being so terrified.

    Jiang Wu, Zhang Kui’s friend and fellow survivor from the third hospital, came over. He gave Yu Xiao a sheepish smile. “Sorry, Old Zhang is brave, but he has a bad history with severed heads like this. Why don’t you take a break? I’ll take care of him.”

    They were friends, so Yu Xiao trusted him. She moved aside, holding the ghost head, and watched Jiang Wu directly mount Zhang Kui. He rolled up his sleeves and slapped Zhang Kui hard on both cheeks. “Zhang, snap out of it!”

    “Damn!” Yu Xiao shivered as she saw his vicious swings. Did he have a bone to pick with Zhang Kui? He looked like he was getting even.

    After a few more slaps, Zhang Kui finally came to.

    “Zhang, you’re back,” Jiang Wu said cheerfully, rubbing his sore hands. “That hurt!”

    “Son of a…” Zhang Kui spat out a curse as he opened his eyes. “He’s just using this as an excuse to hit me.”

    He leaned on Jiang Wu and sat up. He saw a crowd of people staring at him. He felt a flush of shame and muttered, “Um… Did that head ghost go away?”

    “Not yet,” Yu Xiao handed him the ghost head. “Still here.”

    Zhang Kui: “…”

    He barely managed to stay conscious, saving some dignity. His face was ashen, and he got up, hiding behind Jiang Wu and shivering. “What the hell is that?”

    Just then, Zhao Lan and Zhou Xiao Zhen came out and saw Yu Xiao with the head.

    Zhou Xiao Zhen asked, “Smiley, how did she get into the instance? I saw her on the table earlier and nearly had a heart attack.”

    “I have no idea,” Yu Xiao said apologetically to everyone. “I’m sorry, this is not a ghost from the instance. This is a ghost we met in the ward. I didn’t think she would follow us here, and scare you all. I’m really sorry.”

    A ghost from the ward can follow us into the instance?

    Everyone gasped, and Zhang Kui, who had snapped out of his shock, asked: “Can you attract ghosts in the ward too?”

    “Yes.” Yu Xiao nodded: “I peeked behind the curtain before eight o’clock, and I saw this ghost.”

    “Jesus… you guys are insane…”

    The others stared at her in disbelief, mixed with a hint of curiosity. They had come from the Fourth Hospital, and they were not greenhorns. How did they not know how dangerous it was outside the window at night?

    Yu Xiao dragged the head into the ward and tied the hair of the female head ghost to the infusion stand. This caused her to dangle in the air, resembling a saline bag. She proceeded to open the food that Misty and Precious had brought back and resumed the ongoing meeting with the others while munching.

    She told them what had happened that afternoon, except for the mix-up with Gu Shu. Then she said, “This afternoon, I waited for many nurses, but none of them was the one I sought.” Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    “Wow~” Zhou Xiao Zhen gushed: “Sister Xiao, that sounds so poetic, like the angsty literature I love.”

    “…Anyway, this plan of baiting the enemy failed.” Yu Xiao said: “We have to switch to a new plan tomorrow.”

    “Hmm.” Zhang Kui nodded and asked: “Do you have any suggestions?”

    “Yes.” Yu Xiao said: “Since this female ghost came out to kill the jerk who betrayed her, we just need to find that jerk, and we can find the female ghost, right?”

    Her logic was sound, but the others still had a question, “But who is the jerk?”

    Yu Xiao and the others exchanged glances, and after a pause, Zhao Lan said: “I scouted the hospital today, and most of the nurses in this hospital are female, and there are not many males. Excluding the old ones, there are not many men left. We have a lot of people, we can split up and check tomorrow, and we should be able to find that jerk.”

    They had no other option in this situation, and it was not their first rodeo. It was a piece of cake for them.

    “Alright, everyone get some shut-eye tonight.” Zhang Kui lifted a finger and said: “Just a heads-up, to avoid any mishaps tonight, you need to seal the doors and windows with talismans before you hit the sack, got it?”

    They all nodded, already aware of that, and they had also stocked up on talismans from Yu Xiao today. They had plenty to spare.

    After they dispersed, Zhou Xiao Zhen fretted: “The ghost that kills people, it couldn’t be the one that’s haunting me, could it?”

    Yu Xiao shook her head, patting her hat-covered head. “Not likely.” She reassured her. “Don’t sweat it, no one will get into trouble tonight.”

    **

    Yu Xiao’s eyes snapped open in the dead of night, and she caught the sound of footsteps sprinting outside the door. She used to sleep like a baby, but ever since she used the spirit card, her sleep quality had plummeted. It was odd, Yu Xiao mused as she lay on the bed, the morgue ghost had already delivered the tea leaves, so why did she still hear footsteps?

    She strained her ears for a while, but the sound faded away. So she shut her eyes, and resolved to handle anything after she got up.

    “Ah—!!!”

    A shriek pierced the air, and Yu Xiao and Zhou Xiao Zhen, who were snoozing peacefully, jolted awake simultaneously.

    “What’s going on? What’s going on?” Zhou Xiao Zhen looked bewildered, lying on the bed and spotting the ghost head dangling on the infusion stand, she snapped: “Is it you who’s screaming?”

    The female head ghost felt very aggrieved, her toothless mouth puckered into a swollen ball, and tears rolled down.

    “Quit crying, if you soil the sheets I’ll strangle you.” Yu Xiao glared at her, flung the quilt aside and said: “Something’s wrong, it’s someone else who’s screaming.”

    Just like yesterday morning, everyone congregated again in front of a door.

    Yu Xiao sauntered over, Zhao Lan gazed at her with concern, and then shook her head and gestured to the ward. Zhang Kui stood at the door with a sour face, and everyone was equally terrified and anxious.

    “What’s the matter?” Yu Xiao strode to the door, “Did something happen again?”

    Zhang Kui’s brow furrowed as he nodded slowly. “Lu Chao (鲁超) is dead,” he said, his voice low and grave. “He died just like Xiao Jun did yesterday.”

    (鲁 (Lǔ) is a surname that means “rude” or “crude”. It is also the name of an ancient state in China, where Confucius was born.

    超 (Chāo) is a unisex given name that means “super” or “surpass”. It can also imply excellence or ambition.

    鲁超 could be interpreted as “a crude surpasser” or “a super rude person”)

    Yu Xiao stepped into the ward, and a wave of metallic blood-scent hit her nostrils. She wrinkled her nose and made her way to the bed, where a shell-shocked man stood, staring blankly at his friend’s corpse. She followed his gaze and saw Lu Chao sprawled on his back, his chest a gaping hole.

    There was no doubt that the same ghost had struck again, but where had it come from?

    The guide had only listed three ghosts in this hospital: the morgue ghost, who had a crush on Gu Shu; the vengeful nurse ghost, who hunted down her cheating ex-boyfriend; and the ex-boyfriend ghost himself, who lurked in the shadows, avoiding the nurse’s wrath.

    None of them seemed like the culprit.

    The morgue ghost was too busy flirting with Gu Shu to bother with anyone else. The vengeful nurse ghost had a clear target and motive, and she wouldn’t waste her time on random victims. And the ex-boyfriend ghost… he barely had any presence in the guide, always hiding and running from the nurse. He wouldn’t dare to be so bold and brazen.

    So what kind of ghost was the killer?

    Yu Xiao turned around, and something caught her attention.

    She walked over to the door and reached out to touch the thunder charm hanging on it.

    A sense of alarm washed over her. “Something is not right,” she said, her voice sharp. “The talisman is still intact, so how did the ghost manage to bypass it and kill him?”

    The others followed her and saw for themselves. The talisman was still on the door, unbroken and undisturbed.

    Zhang Kui, who had witnessed many horrors, felt a chill run down his spine. “What kind of ghost can ignore the talisman and enter the room to kill?”

    Yu Xiao’s head moved from side to side, a silent denial. “I’ve never seen one before.”

    A wave of shock rippled through the group, their eyes wide and fearful. The talismans that they had plastered on their bodies were supposed to protect them from the ghost, but now they realised they were as vulnerable as anyone else.

    “Hehehehe…”

    A sudden cackle pierced the air, making them jump. Outside the door, Qiao Ya’s pale face was twisted into a mocking grin.

    “You’re all doomed…” He rasped, his laughter turning into a cough. “The ghost is one of us, it will slaughter us all!”

    “Shut your mouth!”

    One of them snapped, losing his patience. “Damn it, you mourn for your friend, but you rejoice when others die, and you have the nerve to laugh…”

    Yu Xiao felt a chill run down her spine, as she recalled something and bit her lip. The footsteps that had haunted her last night were not from the morgue ghost, just like the ones from the night before.

    “You…” She turned to Zhang Kui, her voice trembling. “Did you hear any footsteps last night?”

    “Hmm?” Zhang Kui blinked, confused. He shook his head and said: “No, I had the talismans on the doors and windows last night, I slept like a log, I didn’t hear any footsteps.”

    Yu Xiao spoke in a low voice. “I heard it.”

    Zhang Kui gasped, his eyes wide. “You mean…”

    Yu Xiao spun around and glanced at Qiao Ya, who was fighting with someone outside. She said: “It’s possible, just possible, that he’s telling the truth. The ghost is one of us. But who?”

    Zhang Kui shook his head, bewildered. “But we all tested ourselves with the talismans.”

    “Testing doesn’t prove anything.” Yu Xiao pointed at the door of the ward. “Lu Chao had the talismans on his door, but the ghost still got him.”

    Zhao Lan leaned in and whispered: “Did you hear any footsteps last night?”

    “Hmm.” Yu Xiao nodded.

    “What did they sound like?” Zhao Lan asked. “Which way were they going?”

    Yu Xiao paused and said: “From left to right.”

    Yu Xiao and Zhou Xiao Zhen shared the fourth ward, which was in the centre of the eight wards. If the footsteps belonged to the ghost, it meant that the ghost came from one of the four wards on the left.

    “I heard them too.” Zhang Kui said. “Also from left to right.”

    Zhang Kui stayed in the fifth ward, and he had three wards on his left. They were the seventh ward where Xiao Jun slept, and the sixth ward where Lu Chao died.

    Now that Xiao Jun and Lu Chao were both gone, the only one left was Qiao Ya, who occupied the eighth ward?

    The three of them stared in disbelief at the nearly mad Qiao Ya. Could he be the ghost?