Chapter 173: My name… |
Yu Xiao rounded the corner with a scowl, ready to unleash fury on the next unhelpful sign. If it couldn’t give her a straightforward answer, she’d make it an example for all the others.
Nightmare, clutching other signs in his grip, hurried after her. The corridor seemed to stretch on forever.
“What does it say?” she finally sighed, leaning back against the cool wall.
“It says…” Nightmare cleared his throat. “‘Your dear friend ‘Flying to Someone Else’s Bed’ is about to die. Do you choose to save them or not?’”
“What?!” Yu Xiao was at the signboard in a flash, her eyes scanning the painted characters. Nightmare hadn’t misread a thing. This was different. Previous questions always started with ‘if’ – a hypothetical. Was this a trick? ‘Flying to Someone Else’s Bed’ was practically a legend in the Second Hospital instance; what could possibly take him down? She hadn’t faced a single real threat since entering.
And yet… what if it was true?
“Could it be for real?” she muttered.
Nightmare, inexperienced with instances, was no help. “Should I ask Qing Niao?” he offered.
“Nope.”
Yu Xiao pinched the bridge of her nose. “And what if she won’t tell you?”
“Then I hit her,” Nightmare reasoned. “She won’t let me break her, she’ll talk.”
Yu Xiao could only stare. Honestly, if their phones worked down here, she’d just call the guy herself.
“Right, fine,” she said at last. Turning back to the sign, she declared, “I choose to save him.”
【Correct answer. You may ask one question, and it shall be answered truthfully.】
Yu Xiao hesitated, then spoke. “How do I find ‘Flying to Someone Else’s Bed’?”
The corridor ahead suddenly erupted in ominous red – not an exit sign, but an arrow pointing deeper into the darkness.
“Do you want me to ask Qing Niao about it?” Nightmare offered.
“Not yet.” A shiver ran down Yu Xiao’s spine as she stared at the glowing arrow. “Let’s go.”
Without waiting for a reply, she set off with increasing speed, revealing her growing unease. Could someone like ‘Flying to Someone Else’s Bed’ really be in trouble here? This place hadn’t even made her break a sweat so far.
Nightmare, attuned to Yu Xiao’s every shift in mood, felt the tide of anxiety, doubt, and fear rising within her.
**
Zhao Lan stared at the signboard, Yu Xiao’s secret laid bare, and felt a storm brewing inside her. No wonder Yu Xiao kept it hidden. She had to talk to her, had to make her understand… there were too many people who needed saving in this world, but it wasn’t Yu Xiao’s burden to bear.
She was just a girl, battling an illness, not some saviour. And she certainly shouldn’t have to sacrifice herself.
Zhou Xiao Zhen couldn’t know either. It would break her.
Zhao Lan practically sprinted down the corridor, the echo of her own footsteps urging her on. Finally, she reached the next signpost, chest heaving. It read:
【If Yu Xiao chooses to stay in the hospital forever to save you, would you take your own life?】
“…” It was the same question, just reversed. Her answer wouldn’t change. “I would,” she said firmly.
【Correct answer. You may ask one question, and it shall be answered truthfully.】
“Where is Yu Xiao?”
The moment the words left her lips, a red arrow blazed to life ahead, pointing down the corridor.
**
Yu Xiao followed the trail of red lights, the corridor stretching on like a waking nightmare. Even at this pace, the journey felt endless.
“Do you think there’s danger up ahead?” she asked.
“There shouldn’t be,” Nightmare said, hurrying to keep up.
Yu Xiao pressed on, each step fuelling the suspicion that she’d been played. Was this some elaborate trap, designed to keep her running forever through this endless corridor?
A tug on her sleeve stopped her in her tracks.
“Listen,” Nightmare whispered, his pitch-black eyes fixed on hers.
She scanned their surroundings, then strained her ears, her own breathing the only sound at first. As her breath steadied, she picked up the faint thrum of her heartbeat… and something else. A whisper, barely audible.
Someone was murmuring – three indistinct syllables, like “little… something… something…”
Yu Xiao focused, the words resolving in her mind. “Little one!” Someone was calling out “little one!”
Who here would use that term? “Flying to Someone Else’s Bed!” she shouted. “Where are you?”
Her voice echoed down the empty corridor, swallowing the whisper.
Nightmare closed his eyes for a moment, then tugged her towards a bend in the corridor. She squinted – was that someone lying on the floor?
She broke into a run, but as she drew closer, her heart sank. That wasn’t ‘Flying to Someone Else’s Bed’. He was all lean muscle and sharp angles, not… this. This was a large, shapeless thing.
Relieved, Yu Xiao let out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding. And that’s when she heard it, clear as day, from the figure on the floor: “Little one.”
“…” It was him.
She stared in disbelief. It wasn’t just a figure; it was a ghost. Bloated, pale, limbs twisted at unnatural angles, face contorted into a grotesque mask.
This ghost… could mimic the patients’ voices?
“Is it dangerous?” she asked, eyeing it warily.
Nightmare, who hadn’t taken his eyes off the apparition, shook his head. “No, it’s still human.”
“What?” Yu Xiao choked, her mind reeling.
“He’s losing his humanity,” Nightmare stated, his tone flat.
“Wait.” Yu Xiao felt like she’d stumbled into a fever dream. “This… *thing*… is a person?”
Nightmare nodded. “His form has changed, but he is ‘Flying to Someone Else’s Bed’.”
Yu Xiao stared, speechless. This had to be some sick joke. But Nightmare wasn’t one for jokes, especially not now.
Her heart hammered against her ribs as she cautiously approached the bloated, distorted figure. Kneeling beside him, she whispered, “Are you ‘Flying to Someone Else’s Bed’?”
“Yes,” rasped the figure, the voice barely human.
“How?” Her hands shook as she fumbled for a Healing Talisman. “Did a ghost do this to you?”
She pressed the talisman against his warped flesh, a cold dread settling in her gut. It did nothing. The talisman, meant to mend any wound, any illness, simply fluttered to the ground, lifeless.
“Each wrong answer… changes you,” he wheezed, despair lacing every word. “Turns you part ghost…”
“You got them *all* wrong?” Disbelief warred with horror. “How is that even possible?”
“Am I hideous now?” He flexed his twisted fingers, the movement weak and laboured. “Never thought I’d go out like this…”
“What happened?” Yu Xiao couldn’t fathom it. ‘Flying to Someone Else’s Bed’, getting every answer wrong? The questions weren’t that hard. “How could you get them all wrong?”
“Don’t remember,” he whispered, utterly defeated.
“Don’t remember what?” she pressed. “Why you answered wrong?”
“Don’t… remember anything… before this…”
“Amnesia?” A sliver of hope pierced the fear. “Did you hit your head? Let me try the talisman…”
The swollen head moved in a slow, unsettling nod. “All Forgotten.”
“Wha—”
“Listen.” Flying to Someone Else’s Bed cut her off, his voice strangely calm despite its rasping quality. “It started… I don’t know when, but my memories… they weren’t right. Other people’s memories, mixed in with mine. At first, I could tell the difference. But then… it all got muddled. I tried to fix it, but… I lost so much…”
Yu Xiao listened, a chilling realisation dawning. Without his memories, the questions that seemed simple to them were deadly traps.
He fumbled with twisted fingers, pulling a phone from his pocket. “Child, take it.”
Yu Xiao hesitated, then took the phone.
A flicker of something like relief crossed his grotesque features. “Thought I’d die here alone. Glad you came.”
“You won’t die,” she said, her voice firm despite the tremor in her chest. “I’ll find a way to help.”
He didn’t seem to hear. “The phone… it’s your chance.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve seen me. You have my phone. If… if something happens, if you can’t leave as yourself… you can be me.” A dry chuckle rattled in his chest. “Better if you don’t have to, of course. Take it back to my family.” He paused. “If I have one.”
The way he was settling his affairs… it was unbearable. “Don’t talk like that,” Yu Xiao insisted. “We’ll get you out, you’ll be fine.”
“Don’t even remember my real name…” His voice faded to a whisper. “Yu Qing Lang and Wang Dong Dong might know. Known me longest. Ask them, when you’re out.”
“I won’t be delivering your phone,” she stated, her voice unwavering. “When we leave, I won’t remember you.”
Silence. Then, a faint smile touched his lips. “That’s fine. Forgetting… it’s fine. Not all memories… are good ones.”
Yu Xiao watched, a chill gripping her, as the grotesque features seemed to warp further, his humanity flickering like a dying flame.
“Child, my last words…” He slowly raised his hand, twisted fingers clutching at her sleeve with surprising strength. “Don’t know whose memory this is, but… remember…”
She leaned closer. “Tell me.”
“Don’t trust the Director.” He gasped, his grip tightening. “He’s…”
His hand slipped from her grasp. She caught it again, holding the swollen, icy flesh in hers. “Bed Brother? Bed Brother!”
Nightmare frowned, tugging at her arm. “We have to go. His body…”
“Bed Brother!” She held on tighter, her gaze pleading with Nightmare. “Can’t you save him?”
Nightmare shook his head.
Fury ignited within Yu Xiao. He was the best of them, practically had enough points to leave. Why?
A wave of dense, oppressive Yin energy rolled off Flying to Someone Else’s Bed. Nightmare pulled at her again, more urgently. “Come on!”
Yu Xiao held her breath, refusing to leave.
The Yin exploded outwards. She clung to him, and Nightmare, unable to pull her free, was caught in the blast.
Darkness slammed into her, a cacophony of crackling static filling her ears. Time seemed to twist in on itself, a heartbeat stretching into an eternity. Then, light.
Yu Xiao blinked, taking in the scene before her. A vast lake, emerald green, shimmered beneath a sky ringed by towering mountains. A small boat bobbed on the water, a lone figure seated within.
“We’re… not in the original instance anymore,” Nightmare said, his voice tight.
【When the power of some deceased individuals becomes imbalanced…】
The balance of life. When a patient, saturated with Yin, died, their life force extinguished… the accumulated Yin energy was thrown into chaos. The yearning for life tore open a space in the world of the dead, a space crafted from their most potent memories…
The boat drifted closer, revealing its occupant – a languid young man with artfully dishevelled hair, a stray lock escaping the short ponytail at his temple. He was strikingly handsome, from the sharp line of his jaw to the glint in his dark eyes, fixed now on Yu Xiao and Nightmare.
As the boat scraped against the shore, he rose, a lazy smile playing on his lips. “I’m the attending doctor here. Don’t have a name yet, though. Who are you?”
Yu Xiao stared, a strange mix of recognition and unease swirling within her.
“We’re… colleagues,” she finally said.
“Oh.” The young man’s gaze lingered on Yu Xiao. He inhaled deeply. “You smell good.” He licked his lips, a predatory hunger flashing in his eyes.
Nightmare stepped forward, a low growl rumbling in his chest.
The young man bristled at the sudden pressure, annoyance flickering across his features. He was starving, and here was a feast laid out before him, yet…
Yu Xiao snatched the last sign from Nightmare’s hand. “What was ‘Flying to Someone Else’s Bed’s’ real name?” she asked.
【Mei Huai Xin (梅怀信: “a cherished trust in the tranquillity of plum blossoms” or “faith in the peaceful plum blossom memories” ).】
- (梅 (Méi): This character means “plum blossom.” It’s often associated with elegance and resilience.
- 怀 (Huái): This character means “cherish” or “remember.” It can convey a sense of deep feelings or memories.
- 信 (Xìn): This character means “trust” or “faith.” It represents reliability and honesty.
- Putting it all together:
- 梅怀信 could be interpreted as “a cherished trust in the tranquillity of plum blossoms” or “faith in the peaceful plum blossom memories.”)
“Mei Huai Xin.” She peeked out from behind Nightmare. “How about that for a name?”
The young man scowled. “Sounds a bit… weak.”
“Use it.” Yu Xiao pulled out an evaluation book, brandishing it like a weapon. “I’m head of the hospital’s Health Bureau Investigator team. Fail to comply, and I’ll fail you.”
Humiliation flooded his features. He struggled for a moment, then spat, “Fine. Mei Huai Xin it is.” He glared at them, his hunger momentarily forgotten. “So why are you two still clogging up my instance?”
- (TN: Aaaah, Reading this for the first time as an MTL made me cry ???! I waited so long for this arc, and now that I’m finally translating it, it’s bittersweet. Ahh!)