Chapter 191 |
The morning radio chirped away.
“A Beautiful Day Begins Now~!”
“Yesterday, a severe incident occurred at Sage Hospital. Dr. Qing was violently attacked by a certain Gluttony, resulting in the loss of his left leg. Not only did the perpetrator show no remorse, he even attempted to frame an unemployed ghost, Wang. Throughout the ordeal, law enforcement hospital staff named Jealousy remained completely indifferent. This incident has had a profoundly negative impact on the hospital…”
The broadcast went on to detail Gluttony’s sentence – two years in prison, five years without pay – and the hospital’s plea for unity and respect.
Across the six hospitals, patients listened in stunned silence. This year seemed to be brimming with juicy gossip about the staff, a stark contrast to previous years.
**
Lu Xu sighed, putting down his pan-fried dumplings. “Didn’t we used to hear a lot of this kind of news about Yu Xiao?”
Luo Jin nodded thoughtfully.
“I wonder how she’s doing since her discharge.”
“Mostly gone.” Lu Xu grinned. “She’s out, so the points are all ours now. I reckon we’ve got enough to discharge ourselves in a couple of months.”
**
As the new director, Yu Xiao felt obligated to offer her condolences to the injured Qing Shi. She brought Nightmare along, his arms loaded with a specially made brain stew courtesy of Tie Niu.
Sage Hospital felt different, somehow. The air itself seemed heavy with… something.
Qing Shi, propped up in a wheelchair, stared at her in disbelief. One leg was conspicuously missing.
Yu Xiao handed him a plate of grilled brain flowers. “You’ve suffered,” she said sincerely. “Eat more, replenish your strength.”
Qing Shi accepted the plate with a trembling hand. Fear battled with a strange sense of relief. He hadn’t joined Lolita and Gu Shu in their revenge scheme. If he had… well, he doubted he’d be alive now. Who could have imagined the once-despised patient becoming the director?
“It’s not all bad, though.” Yu Xiao’s gaze lingered on his empty pant leg. “That leg wasn’t much use anyway. Makes no difference.”
Qing Shi chose not to comment on that.
Yu Xiao turned, spotting Jealousy hovering nearby. “Jealousy, my word, it’s been a while. Why are you standing so far away? Come closer.”
Jealousy’s face twitched.
“Look,” Yu Xiao continued, “you messed up, but we go way back. No docked pay, no community service. Besides, your old job was pretty much pointless. How about a permanent position here at Sage Hospital? Qing Shi’s a bit immobile now; you can take care of the cleaning.”
Jealousy gaped at her.
Yu Xiao, ignoring his stunned silence, clasped her hands behind her back. The Director’s aura settled around her. “Right then, get some rest. I’m going for a stroll.”
Qing Shi, clutching his plate of brain flowers, watched her go. A stroll? She’d been here before; what was there to see?
The air felt thick with echoes as Yu Xiao strolled through Sage Hospital, Nightmare trailing behind. Precious, recklessly opening all those doors… the Sage, sacrificing himself to sustain this world… it felt like yesterday.
Being director came with a deeper understanding of the instance. This place… it was vast, unlike the others. It couldn’t be sustained by a single attending doctor. That’s why a Sage had to be sacrificed periodically, his power merging with the doctor’s to uphold the instance.
That’s why she’d given Jealousy the job. Qing Shi, Jealousy… together, their combined power should be enough to keep this place running. No more sacrifices needed.
Yu Xiao paused at the entrance of Sage Hospital. Taking one step forward would mean leaving the hospital and entering the world of Sage.
She looked up at the bustling city in the distance. Another Sage resided there, though not the one she had known.
“Last time I was here,” she murmured, turning to Nightmare, “there were others with me. Now… it’s just you.”
He sensed her sadness but couldn’t decipher the tangled emotions swirling within her. Comfort wasn’t his forte.
She turned and walked towards a door, knocking on it.
A piece of paper slid through the gap. It read, “A left hand.”
Yu Xiao crumpled the note and pushed open the door.
The stench of blood hit her with such force that bile rose in her throat. The floor was covered in dark, congealed blood, and a cold, white hand with missing fingers reached out towards her, followed by an even paler face.
Those familiar blood-red eyes widened in recognition when they saw Yu Xiao, but quickly filled with confusion and disbelief.
“Do you remember?”
His gaze flickered between fear and recognition as his primal instincts fought against his fading memories.
Overwhelmed by emotions, he took a step back. The mangled hand fumbled to close the door, until his back hit the wall, struggling to maintain consciousness – a rarity for those in the hospital.
Yu Xiao had told Zhao Lan and Zhou Xiao Zhen about how yin energy takes over a person’s body after death, eroding their memories and turning them into mere puppets. But Teng Jing Zhi was different – he was fortunate enough to retain his own consciousness as the yin energy took over his body.
Yu Xiao didn’t want to see him like this, a mere shell of his former self controlled by yin energy. However, she had seen him in the real world, seemingly normal and kind, and so she came to find him.
“Wait,” Yu Xiao called out, handing him his phone with enough points for discharge. “I’m sorry. Items from the hospital can’t leave. I can’t keep my promise to return this to your family. But, I learned the truth about the hospital and have been discharged. You can leave too.”
His blood-red eyes narrowed.
“You won’t be fully you,” Yu Xiao continued, explaining everything to him, the difference between the living and the dead, except for the fact that she had seen him in the real world. “The decision to stay or leave is now yours.”
With that, she turned and walked away, Nightmare following closely behind her. As they disappeared down the hallway, Teng Jing Zhi stood alone in the darkness, his memories clashing with his new reality.
The hand, missing two fingers, clutched the phone tightly. Blood tears welled up in his eyes, tracing paths through the grime on his face.
This was the last time Yu Xiao would see him like this – a prisoner of the hospital and its twisted practices.
**
Months passed, and Yu Xiao settled into her role as director. Life was… surprisingly peaceful until George called, his voice filled with excitement. St. Elizabeth’s had been rebuilt and was ready to receive patients once again.
As the acting dean, she couldn’t ignore it.
“We should go,” she told Nightmare.
He scowled. “I hate George.”
“Exactly why we should go,” she said with a mischievous smile. “You’ve beaten him before. Seeing you again definitely won’t bring him joy.”
Nightmare considered this before nodding decisively.
The walk to St. Elizabeth’s was tiring. Yu Xiao decided to stop by her old ward and retrieve her white coat. She was now the director and it was no longer appropriate for her to act as the dean. It was time to find a suitable replacement.
As they approached the ward door, a figure emerged from the shadows.
Tall and dressed in green, with a hat pulled low over his eyes. He looked… familiar.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
Yu Xiao blinked. “Sorry?”
“The delivery man,” Nightmare muttered. “The one who brought me to you.”
“Oh!” It clicked. “Wang Shu! You’ve been waiting… for me? Why?”
“To seek revenge, of course.”
“Tsk,” Yu Xiao let out a dramatic sigh. “Will this cycle of vengeance never end?”
She rolled up her sleeves and proceeded to give Wang Shu a brutal beating. Once finished, Wang Shu lay on the ground with his limbs contorted in unnatural angles.
Seeing potential in him, Yu Xiao commanded Nightmare, “Bring him with us.”
Nightmare clung tightly to Wang Shu’s ankle, dragging him through St. Elizabeth. It was hard to believe that the place looked exactly the same after its reconstruction.
Yu Xiao asked George, “Don’t you ever get tired of it? Don’t you want a change of scenery?”
George, who had recently learned that Yu Xiao was now the Director, had a complex and indescribable expression on his face. “I… prefer things as they are.”
“Alright then,” Yu Xiao nodded. “Let’s go inside and take a look around.”
Tie Niu followed closely behind Yu Xiao, while the Singing Ghost annoyingly clung to his arm. Despite lacking a face, the ghost flames flickering in Tie Niu’s eyes suggested his desire to escape their current situation.
After wandering around the newly reconstructed St. Elizabeth, Yu Xiao signalled for Nightmare to release Wang Shu.
With a heavy thud, Wang Shu fell to the ground like a sack of rotten potatoes.
George took a closer look and recognized Wang Shu, feeling a sense of fear in his heart. Had Wang Shu angered Yu Xiao so much that she resorted to beating him up like this?
“Make him the new dean,” declared Yu Xiao. “He can spend his days writing notes and coming up with puzzles for the patients.”
In her mind, Yu Xiao believed she was truly virtuous for repaying evil with good. Even though Wang Shu had tried to kill her multiple times, she not only refrained from seeking revenge but even promoted him. She saw herself as an example of noble character through her actions.
A slight twitch formed at the corner of George’s mouth as he glanced at the motionless Wang Shu on the ground, knowing that holding the position of dean with no real power or authority would be nothing short of torture.
On their way back, Yu Xiao spotted Goldie bobbing up and down in the blood-red stinking ditch from the boat. The former Director may have been discharged and forgotten everything, but he still remembered to keep a black dog named Goldie. A fleeting sense of companionship on long, lonely days.
**
Luo Jin and Lu Xu grinned at each other, the forum’s point tally glowing on the screen.
“See you on the outside,” Luo Jin said, already tasting freedom.
“See you on the outside!”
…
“Congratulations.” The doctor stamped the discharge report with a flourish. “And remember, a bit of exercise after leaving does wonders.”
The young man nodded, stepping out of the hospital and into the warm embrace of the sun.
A new life beckoned. And what better way to start than with a brand-new phone?
He strolled down the bustling street, a satisfied smile playing on his lips as he clutched his latest purchase.
“Old Luo!” Another young man hurried over, his brow furrowed. “Where’s your old phone?”
“Left it in the shop.”
Inside the shop, a young woman succumbed to the salesman’s persuasive charms and walked out with a shiny new phone of her own. They melted into the throng, two more faces in the crowd, unremarkable, ordinary.
**
“Precious, you won’t believe it!” The young woman practically vibrated with excitement, her voice barely audible above the street noise. “That painting… there’s news! The artist’s brother contacted me…”
She lowered her phone, her gaze drawn to a fair-skinned young man hovering nervously nearby.
“Well…” he stammered, a shy smile spreading across his face. “I got in. The university… it’s here, in this city…”
**
A collective roar erupted from the living room, cheers and excited shouts filling the air. On the screen, the winning team celebrated, faces flushed with victory.
“Champions!!”
“Team China takes it!”
“Zhou Xiao Zhen, the champion!”
TN: And that’s it. Technically, there is one more extra chapter, but I don’t have it and I want to move on to a new project ? Oh, time has flown by. I started this novel on January 8, 2024. It’s now July 26. That’s about 200 days, a nice number. Or 7 months? Anyway, 191 chapters have come and gone in 200 days.
Thank you for reading. Special thanks to all of you who have been reading since the beginning of this translation project. If you’d like to support future projects, consider leaving a tip for job well done. See ya on my next novel project~!