Chapter Four: The Hospital

The Emperor, seeing that I hadn't responded for some time, assumed something was wrong with me and raised his hand, delivering a slap that left my ears ringing.

In the past, with my fiery temper, I would have struck back without hesitation, giving him a good beating. But things were different now. All I could do was look at him with a face full of grievance and ask, "Why did you hit me?"

He didn't bother to answer, his expression plainly saying, "I hit you because I want to—what can you do about it?" And indeed, he had the power. Even if there were ten thousand of me, he could finish me off with a single word.

"Remember this," he said suddenly, his tone turning cold as ice. "When you return, you are not to reveal a single thing about this place, nor breathe a word about the Soul Capturing Pearl. Otherwise, you won't even get the chance to descend to the eighteenth level of hell."

His words and the chilling look in his eyes made me shiver all over, nearly sending me to my knees. I hadn't expected him to possess such overwhelming presence. If I could count on someone like him in the living world, I wondered who would dare bully me then.

So I solemnly promised the Emperor that I would never speak of any of this to anyone.

He came over and patted my shoulder gently. "Alright, it's time to send you back. Otherwise, you'll really be stuck here. Don't forget what you promised me."

As he spoke, I wasn't sure if he pushed me or kicked me, but I lost all sensation.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in another unfamiliar place. Yet I recognized a few familiar faces: Sun Wenwen, the supervisor from our production line; my cousin; and Zhang Kai, a good friend of mine.

"Nurse, nurse! He's awake!" I heard my cousin cry out urgently towards the hallway.

Only then did I realize I was lying in a hospital bed.

There was a hurried sound of footsteps, and a young nurse came in, followed by a middle-aged male doctor. They checked my blood pressure and heart rate, bustling around me.

The doctor removed his stethoscope and asked, "Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?"

I shook my head and tried to speak, but found I didn't have the strength.

The doctor then turned to my cousin. "Don't worry, the patient is out of danger and everything has returned to normal," he said. "But he's been without food for a long time; he needs nourishment. Go get him something to eat."

"Thank you, doctor," my cousin replied sincerely.

As the doctor was leaving, he murmured quietly to the nurse, "It's a miracle he survived this." Though he spoke softly, I heard him.

After the doctor and nurse left, my cousin asked me what I wanted to eat. But I was so weak from not having eaten that I couldn't speak at all.

Noticing my effort, Sun Wenwen said to my cousin, "Let’s not make him talk for now. Zhang Kai and I will go downstairs and get him some chicken soup."

My cousin wanted to go herself, but she was too worried to leave me, so she let them go instead. Seeing how concerned she was warmed my heart—it’s good to have family around when you’re away from home.

After Sun Wenwen and Zhang Kai left, my cousin sat at my bedside, tears streaming down her face. "Do you realize how much you scared me? Thank goodness you woke up. If you hadn’t, how could I ever explain to your parents?"

Watching her cry made me feel wretched. I wanted to reach out and wipe her tears, but I had no strength to raise my arm.

She kept pouring her heart out, "You were unconscious for nine days. If Zhang Kai hadn’t gone looking for you and found you in time, I can't imagine what would have happened. I still haven’t told your parents. If they knew, they'd be worried sick. You have to get better quickly, do you hear me?"

Listening to her, I wondered how I could have been unconscious for so long.

By my count, I’d only spent half a day in the underworld. Haven’t I always heard that a day in heaven is a year on earth, or a day in the living world is a month below? How did half a day down there turn into nine days here?

Later, I learned from the black and white guardians of the underworld that time doesn't flow slower in every part of their realm. In some places, half a month might pass in the living world while only a day goes by below.

My cousin was still recounting everything that had happened over the past few days, when suddenly, I saw a beautiful woman appear behind her.

She was dressed in clothing not of our era, more like something from ancient times. I had never seen her before, and I knew all of my cousin's friends—none of them looked like this.

For a moment, I wondered if someone was filming a period drama in the hospital, but there were no cameras in sight. Besides, beauties of her caliber were rare—calling her a fairy would be no exaggeration.

I stared, entranced, at her flawless features, her alluring figure, and her long, jet-black hair cascading over her shoulders. She wore a magnificent blue-green gown that spilled to the floor, a coral bracelet on her fair, jade-like wrist, a simple embroidered pouch hanging from her slender waist, her entire presence ethereal and otherworldly.

She noticed me staring and frowned deeply. I was puzzled—shouldn’t she be embarrassed, being stared at so shamelessly? Why was she frowning instead?

As I gaped at her, my cousin noticed my gaze and turned to look behind her, following my eyes. But from her reaction, it was clear she couldn’t see the anciently dressed beauty.

Suddenly, I understood: the woman behind my cousin wasn’t human. Realizing this, a chill ran through me.

I averted my eyes, deliberately avoiding contact with the ghostly woman.

My cousin, seeing my unfocused gaze, thought I was feeling unwell and got up to call the doctor. Perhaps startled by her sudden movement, the ghostly woman was taken aback.

She didn’t seem pleased, glaring fiercely at my cousin.

It looked as if she was about to attack. I knew things were about to go very wrong. But I couldn’t just watch my cousin be harmed.

Summoning strength from who knows where, I grabbed my cousin’s hand and pulled her aside, just narrowly avoiding the ghost’s outstretched claws.

Then I fixed my gaze on the ghost, warning her with my eyes not to try anything. I wasn’t someone to be trifled with.

Apparently, my bluff worked, as she retreated a couple of steps. Meanwhile, my heart pounded wildly, cold sweat soaking through my hospital gown.