Chapter 171: Can I Stomp On It Now? |
Zhao Lan’s mind went into overdrive, the question twisting her insides like a rusty corkscrew. The image of her baby brother, so vulnerable, so easily silenced, flashed before her eyes. The memory of her own suffering, the bitter resentment, it all rose up like a tide.
“Yes,” she whispered, her voice catching in her throat. “Kill! I will kill him!”
The air crackled, the temperature in the corridor plummeting. The placard glowed an angry red, the single word appearing as if branded onto its surface:
【NO.】
【Wrong answer, prepare for punishment】
Zhao Lan’s head snapped back. What? But… she had answered honestly, hadn’t she? The resentment, the fleeting wish for her parents’ sole attention, it had all been real.
Zhao Lan stumbled back, a wave of icy fear washing over her. She fumbled for the protective talismans tucked inside her pocket, clutching them like a lifeline. But they remained inert, cold and useless in her trembling hand.
The icy sensation intensified, then vanished as abruptly as it had come.
But as she took a step, a wave of nausea hit her. She looked down at her left hand, her stomach twisting into a knot. It hung limp at her side, completely numb.
Panic welled up inside her. Was this it? Was she losing a hand?
She tried to lift her left hand, forcing it upwards, yet it stayed unmoving. She gasped. It wasn’t her hand anymore.
The wrist emerging from her sleeve was swollen, ghastly pale, like something preserved in formaldehyde. Twisted, monstrous. The skin was stretched taut over bone, the fingers elongated and tipped with sharp, black nails.
For what felt like an eternity, Zhao Lan stared at it, her breath trapped in her chest. Tentatively, she reached out with her right hand, her fingers brushing against cold, rough skin. Hard, unyielding.
This wasn’t a human hand. It was the hand of a ghost.
Her hand was a ghost’s hand.
Was this the punishment? A horrifying premonition gripped her. As she looked ahead, at the three paths branching out before her, she realised this was only the beginning. A wrong answer at every turn, and what then? Would she become one of them? A ghost trapped in this twisted game?
Terror threatened to consume her, but Zhao Lan forced herself to breathe, to think. Why had her answer been wrong? It wasn’t about choosing to kill or not kill, she was sure of that. This hospital didn’t care for kindness.
Then it struck her. In the moment she’d answered, a flicker of… not regret, but something else had passed through her. Had it been a lie, then? Had she been consumed by anger, not true murderous intent?
There was no way to know for sure. All she could do now was choose a path and pray she hadn’t doomed herself with a single, whispered lie.
Zhao Lan hesitated for a moment and then took a deep breath before choosing the left path.
Her footsteps echoed eerily in the empty corridor. Answering questions wasn’t exactly a walk in the park, but at least it wasn’t surgery. More importantly, could her creepy new ghost hand be fixed? Every hallway seemed to hold a new question and a new nightmare, and that hand was definitely a top contender.
**
Meanwhile, Lu Xu stood frozen in front of the next question sign, his face grim.
【If Luo Jin becomes a dangerous ghost, would you kill him in self-defence?】
This was a curveball he hadn’t expected. Lu Xu and Luo Jin had been practically attached at the hip since childhood – back in the day, they’d sworn an eternal brotherhood with a blood oath and maybe some paper burning (Lu Xu wasn’t entirely clear on the details). After many years apart, they met again as roommates in the hospital. The idea of harming Luo Jin, ghost or otherwise, twisted his stomach into knots.
He had thought about this before, during those nights spent hiding in the bathroom. What if he opened the door one day to find Luo Jin possessed, craving brains for breakfast? But even the thought of that made him want to curl up and cry. Maybe he would even trade places with Luo Jin – anything to avoid such a gruesome decision. Unfortunately, life seldom offered second chances, and sometimes the things you feared most had a nasty habit of becoming reality.
Silence stretched, thick and heavy. Finally, Lu Xu choked out, “I would.” Self-preservation wasn’t exactly heroic, but it was certainly necessary for survival.
【Correct answer. You may ask one question, and it shall be answered truthfully.】
“Any question at all?” Lu Xu muttered, eyeing the flickering corridor lights. Reason urged him to ask about the path, the safe way out of this nightmare. But curiosity, that insidious beast, scratched at his insided.
Still, he asked: “How do I get out of here?”
The sign flickered to life, emitting a green glow that illuminated the safe passage on the left.
**
Across another corridor, Luo Jin faced his own twisted interrogation.
【If your condition for leaving the hospital is to kill an innocent patient, would you do it?】
The question hung in the air, testing his insides like a contorted pretzel. Was there even a good answer here?
He’d only just started to sleep through the night again. Now, this. There was no right answer, not really. One choice damned his soul, the other, who knew what chaos it would unleash?
Rather than succumbing to panic, he tried to think like the twisted hospital itself. Horror hospitals should be cruel, right? So, the answer probably wasn’t some noble sacrifice. With a grim smile, he delivered his response. “I would do it.”
【Correct answer. You may ask one question, and it shall be answered truthfully.】
The sign glowed green, mockingly confirming his reply. Luo Jin scoffed internally – as expected. “How can I safely leave this instance?”
The sign on the left aisle flickered, beckoning, and Luo Jin cautiously stepped into its green-tinged light.
**
When Nightmare declared “Everywhere!”, Yu Xiao promptly freaked out, yanking the poor cat from her bag. Then, logic – or at least her version of it – kicked in. Yin energy was everywhere, and yin energy equaled ghosts, so… ghosts were everywhere?
The thought was strangely comforting. She loosened her grip, and Nightmare, whose tail was still smarting from being handled roughly, gave it an indignant flick. They reached the end of the aisle, and there stood a signboard with a single question scrawled across its surface.
【If you had the opportunity to leave the hospital, would you choose to stay for Nightmare?】
Yu Xiao didn’t even hesitate. “No.” Nightmare, who had been staring at the sign with unsettling intensity, visibly drooped.
【Correct answer. You may ask one question, and it shall be answered truthfully.】
“Ask about the way out,” Nightmare murmured, but Yu Xiao’s curiosity had been aroused. There would be other indications, other inquiries. She could allow herself this indulgence, just this once.
“Is there a method to eliminate yin energy that invades the human body?”
The black letters on the sign disappeared, leaving behind a blank white surface.
“Hey!” Yu Xiao shook the sign, her heart sinking. “You said any question!”
After a moment, faint words reappeared.
【There is.】
“There is? There is!” Yu Xiao exclaimed, whirling around and lifting a startled Nightmare into the air. “Did you see that? There’s a way!”
However, Nightmare seemed distinctly unimpressed. “Can I ask the next question?”
Yu Xiao blinked in surprise. “You have one? I thought you weren’t curious about anything.”
Nightmare burrowed his head into her clothes, sulking.
Choosing the right aisle – if you stuck to the right wall in a maze, you would eventually find the exit, or so she had heard – Yu Xiao continued on.
**
Wang Dong Dong was furious. He was a man of peace, especially now, trapped in this hospital where survival was the only priority. But this… this was beyond the pale.
【After leaving the hospital, if you found out your girlfriend had married another man, would you choose to bless her or seek revenge?】
The question burned on the sign, a personal affront. Bless her? Seek revenge? Wang Dong Dong would burn this whole damn hospital down.
Years blurred the edges of his parents’ faces, but hers… hers remained etched in his memory, sharp and clear. Maybe it was the photos he looked at every single day, or maybe she had become his anchor without even realising it.
Sentimentality aside, he had a question to answer. No answer, no escape. No escape, no chance of seeing her again.
“I will bless her,” Wang Dongdong choked out, tears welling up. “How could I hurt her?”
【Correct answer. You may ask one question, and it shall be answered truthfully.】
“Outrageous…” He wiped his eyes, stepping forward onto the path illuminated by the sign. The right path, like almost everyone chose.
**
【To revive Jian Gnan Qiao, would you kill Yu Xiao?】
Yu Qing Lang stared at the sign, a throbbing headache building behind her eyes. Honestly, hospitals were hazardous to her health.
“No,” she stated, her voice flat.
It wasn’t that Yu Xiao was particularly important. It wasn’t about morals, or even the fact that Nightmare only listened to the infuriating girl. It was simply that Yu Xiao, with that demonic cat at her side, was the only thing standing between the other patients and a sleepless, ghost-ridden existence. ‘Flying to Someone Else’s Bed’ and ‘Wide Sea and Sky’ would have her head on a platter.
Eliminate Yu Xiao? The thought was laughable. Suicidal, even.
For a question with such an obvious answer, there was no need for hesitation.
【Correct answer. You may ask one question, and it shall be answered truthfully.】
Yu Qing Lang cursed the ancestors of whoever designed this twisted game. Did ghosts even have ancestors? Another question for another time, perhaps.
**
“Lalala~” Flying to Someone Else’s Bed breezed down the aisle, only to pull up short at the sight of the sign. He raised an eyebrow, a flicker of annoyance disturbing his carefully cultivated nonchalance.
【If you could go back, would you personally send Che Yang to prison?】
Silence descended, thick and heavy. He patted his head, racking his brains. Che Yang… did he know the bloke?
A wry smile touched his lips. This was unexpected. His abilities were nothing to scoff at; as long as he didn’t do anything monumentally stupid, he could usually breeze through these little “instances”, even the ones crawling with vengeful ghosts.
But this…
Send to prison? What did Che Yang have to do with anything? Was he supposed to be a policeman in a past life? Although Zhou Xiao Zhen had said he looked more like an idol…
“Yes,” he decided, figuring he might as well get on with it.
【Incorrect answer. You will suffer punishment.】
Bewilderment gave way to the bone-chilling cold that swept through him, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake. He rubbed his chin, a frown creasing his brow. Then, slowly, he rolled up the cuff of his left trouser leg.
Beneath the fabric, his leg was cold, swollen, and definitely not the leg of a living man.
He let out a low whistle. So there were consequences. Did that mean he had to play this game, answer these bizarre questions, to escape?
He pondered this as he limped down the right-hand aisle, his shadow stretching and twisting under the flickering lights.
**
Yu Xiao found herself facing another sign, another impossible choice.
【If you knew Zhao Lan and Zhou Xiao Zhen would die in the hospital, would you choose to agree with the Director?】
Nightmare, perched on her shoulder, tilted his head. Agree with the Director about what?
Yu Xiao frowned, but her hesitation was brief. “I would agree.”
【Correct answer. You may ask one question, and it will be answered truthfully.】
Nightmare perked up, his eyes bright with anticipation. Yu Xiao, however, felt a pang of regret. So many questions, and only one chance… But Nightmare clearly considered this important.
“One question,” she reminded him, closing her eyes as if in pain. “Go ahead.”
“Do I have a chance to leave the hospital?”
The sign spat out its answer with unnerving speed.
【No.】
Nightmare’s eyes, wide with hope a moment before, drooped. Yu Xiao wasn’t sure how to comfort him, then decided she didn’t need to. Adults heal their own wounds. Even if those adults were demonic cats with questionable attachment issues.
She picked the right-hand corridor again – a long one, this time, stretching into the distance.
Finally, another intersection, another sign, another test.
【If you could go back in time, would you try to stop your parents from divorcing?】
“No,” she answered instantly.
It was a question she’d asked herself countless times in the years after the divorce, but not anymore. She’d learned a valuable lesson: if the world refused to love her, she’d just love herself twice as hard. Self-love was potent magic; who needed to beg for scraps of affection from others?
【Correct answer. You may ask one question, and it shall be answered truthfully.】
“What is the solution to expelling Yin Qi from the human body?” There was no point in wasting this opportunity.
【…】
The sign remained stubbornly blank.
Yu Xiao’s patience snapped. Dumping Nightmare on the floor, she grabbed the sign and shook it violently. “Spit it out, you useless piece of wood!”
Nightmare, now in human form, watched with detached amusement as she subjected the sign to a thorough and brutal interrogation. Finally, amidst the flashing colours, words flickered into existence.
【This question cannot be answered. Please enter a new question.】
“You said any question!” Yu Xiao threw the sign down and stomped on it, her fury echoing through the corridor. “Fraud! This is against hospital rules! I’m reporting you!”
“Perhaps a different question?” Nightmare suggested mildly.
“No!” She tucked the sign under her arm, a defiant glint in her eye. “Let’s move on.”
The right-hand corridor beckoned, longer and more oppressive than the last. Twenty minutes later, they reached another intersection, another sign, another test.
【With a flick of his finger, Nightmare can kill you, keeping you forever in the hospital. But if you can shake him off at this intersection, you’ll be rid of him forever. Would you do it?】
The air crackled with malice. The sign wasn’t even trying to hide its true nature anymore. This wasn’t a test; it was an incitement to murder.
Yu Xiao shot Nightmare with a sideways glance. He was frowning. “Can I stomp on it now?”
“Let me answer first.” She tightened her grip on the sign, a slow smile spreading across her face.