"You mean you'd rather not see me wake up?"
"Of course not! I just don't understand what happened to you," Lin Zhao called over a nurse and stood aside as she began examining me. After confirming that I was indeed awake and only sustained minor injuries, she looked astonished.
She called in the attending physician, who also seemed shocked. "I've practiced medicine for over 20 years and have never seen anything like this," he said. "All previous data indicated he was in a vegetative state, but now he's awake. It's nothing short of a medical miracle."
After a lengthy discussion among the staff, they concluded that my condition was indeed an anomaly, defying medical explanation.
When the crowd left, I sat up in bed, my head pounding from all the commotion. Lin Zhao handed me a cup of warm water.
"Do you really not remember what happened to you?"
Taking a sip, I shook my head. "No idea. Tell me what happened. I'm completely lost."
Seeing my confusion, Lin Zhao slowly recounted the events. Apparently, after leaving the police station, I saw an old woman crossing the road and rushed to save her, only to be struck by a car myself. Everything that followed was a blur, a figment of my imagination—even the appearance of Lu Zhiqiu had been a hallucination.
"You must have some incredible luck. The car sent you flying, yet you only suffered superficial injuries!" Lin Zhao exclaimed, still amazed.
Though they saw it as a miracle, I knew better. The mother-and-son ghostly duo could easily have ended me, yet they chose to play this elaborate game instead. Why?
Unable to make sense of it, I fell into a deep sleep, my head throbbing.
When I woke up in the evening, I was shocked to see a familiar yet unexpected figure sitting beside me.
"Lu Zhiqiu? Why are you here?"
Aside from the phantom encounter, we'd only met once before. What was he doing here?
He looked up from his book, slightly surprised. "That old man told you my name?"
Old man? He must mean the master.
"Why are you here?" I deflected, unwilling to admit that his name had come from my hallucinations.
But if those events were mere illusions, how did I know his real name? And the wound on my hand, the female ghost in the jade pendant—they all seemed eerily real.
"I made a promise to that old man to protect your life. Once he's back, I'll leave," Lu Zhiqiu replied coolly before falling silent again.
Hospitals are strangely timeless, and uneventful days passed until the third night. Lu Zhiqiu was absent, and I decided to call my grandfather to check on him. Just as I reached for my phone, the room plunged into darkness. Even my phone screen went black. Before I could shout for a nurse, a red glow enveloped the room, paralyzing my body.
Standing at the foot of my bed was a woman in a blood-red ancient gown. Her face was obscured, but her presence froze me to my core. I scrambled to the head of the bed, desperate to put distance between us.
"Who... who are you?"
Hospitals are eerie places, steeped in death and the paranormal. Yet, even during twilight, this appearance was unnervingly bold.
"Who am I? You're not worthy to know," she said in a bone-chilling tone. "I'm here to warn you: leave this hospital, or you'll die here."
Her cold voice was like icy water pouring down my spine. Though initially terrified, her words left me bewildered.
This ghost's crimson attire sent shivers down my spine. According to folklore, only vengeful spirits wore such garments. Judging by the intensity of her aura, her grudge must be immense. Why would such a fearsome ghost kindly warn me to leave?
Something felt off. Her voice sounded familiar—it was the voice of the ghost from the jade pendant!
My eyes widened in fear as I clutched the blanket tighter for a false sense of security. "Why would you... warn me out of kindness?"
The tragic fate of the wealthy man who bought the pendant and his family's brutal demise were fresh in my mind. I dared not provoke her, fearing a similar fate.
She seemed to sense my fear. Though I couldn't see her face, I felt her icy gaze pierce me. "Relax. It took me long enough to find someone like you. I won't kill you—yet. But pack up and leave this hospital immediately."
Under her cold gaze, my limbs moved mechanically as I packed. The pressure made me feel like a living corpse.
As I hesitated to ask her to leave, I turned around to find the ghost gone. The lights flickered back on, and my phone came to life. I exhaled in relief but froze as her voice echoed in my mind: "If I wanted to kill you, you couldn't escape."
Panicked, I grabbed the jade pendant around my neck, ready to toss it, when the door opened. In walked Lu Zhiqiu.
"Perfect timing," I said, lowering my hand awkwardly. "I'm discharging myself. Help me pack. We need to leave by 7:30."
To my surprise, he sat down leisurely. "I thought you were oblivious, but it seems you've got some awareness. If you want to leave, go ahead. I won't stop you."
What?
Wasn't he sent by the master to protect me? Why the sudden indifference?