☆ Hello from the Past
Translator: InkyDragon (https://inkydragontranslation.wordpress.com)
Word count: 2,6k
A shiver ran down Yu Xiao’s spine. “Are you absolutely sure there was only the old lady in the room?” she asked, her expression serious.
Zhou Xiao Zhen frowned, trying to recall. “I think so… It all happened so fast when she lunged at me, I didn’t really get a good look.”
“Why do you ask, Smiley?” Zhao Lan leaned forward, curiosity lacing her voice.
“What if…If—I mean, hypothetically,” Yu Xiao hesitated, then plunged ahead, her gaze intense. “What if our theory was right? What if the bedroom where the old lady appeared is actually this bedroom, but in the future? If she’s the only one there, maybe it means we escaped this place eventually.”
“Right!” Zhou Xiao Zhen exclaimed, slapping her forehead. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Zhao Lan shook her head, not entirely convinced. “It’s a possibility, but not the only one. Something else could have forced us out of the room. Or maybe…”
Her words trailed off, much to Zhou Xiao Zhen’s frustration. “Or what?”
A shadow fell over Zhao Lan’s face. “Or maybe… one of us becomes that old lady.”
Silence descended upon the room, heavy and suffocating.
“How?” Zhou Xiao Zhen stammered, her voice laced with disbelief. “There are three of us. What about the other two?”
Zhao Lan took a deep breath, her voice low and heavy. “They might have died accidentally. Or… remember what ‘Wide Sea and Sky’ said? The Yin energy in these instances can erode the living. What if we stayed here too long, and…”
She couldn’t finish the thought. Zhou Xiao Zhen’s face paled, her eyes darting between her two friends.
“Don’t panic,” Yu Xiao said, placing a reassuring hand on each of their shoulders. “I don’t believe that old lady could be any of us. Think about our points. Only I have enough to sustain me long enough to age like that. You two wouldn’t last that long.”
Zhou Xiao Zhen’s brow furrowed with worry. “But how can you be so sure it isn’t you, Smiley?”
Yu Xiao shook her head with a hint of a sad smile. “I couldn’t survive here on my own. If you both were gone, I wouldn’t last. Even if I didn’t… end things myself, I’d probably leave to become the head nurse at Saint Elizabeth. There’s no way I’d just stay here and become that old lady.”
Her logic was clear and compelling, quickly convincing Zhou Xiao Zhen and Zhao Lan.
Zhao Lan raised two fingers, outlining their options. “So, we’re left with two possibilities: either we all successfully escape this instance, or we leave this bedroom together.”
“That’s still speculation,” Yu Xiao said, trying to keep the mood light. “What we need now is to test our theories.”
“How do we do that?” Zhou Xiao Zhen asked, her voice tinged with urgency.
Yu Xiao scanned the area thoughtfully. “From now on, every time we enter a new space, we’ll leave markings that will last for years. If we encounter these same markings later, it will confirm that not only has the space changed, but time outside has progressed as well.”
“Let’s get to it,” Zhou Xiao Zhen said firmly, ready to act.
Zhao Lan added a note of caution, “We need to be careful where we place these markings. We don’t want them disturbed by other patients.”
Yu Xiao nodded, her eyes narrowing in thought. “Finding the right spot won’t be easy. But considering how desperate the patients are to escape the instance, I doubt they’ll pay attention to every little detail.”
“Then we should choose a spot they won’t easily tamper with,” Zhou Xiao Zhen suggested, already looking for such a place.
Yu Xiao furrowed her brow, grappling with the question. “What kind of mark can’t be destroyed?” Then, a spark of insight lit her eyes. “I’ve got it!”
“Tell me!” Zhao Lan leaned in eagerly.
“It doesn’t have to be indestructible,” Yu Xiao explained, a sly smile playing on her lips. “We just need to make sure they *won’t* destroy it. We find a hidden spot, maybe behind the beds or cabinets, and write down our identities, our theories about this place, anything important. As long as the patients are lucid, they’ll leave it alone.”
Zhou Xiao Zhen, stationed by the door as their lookout, nodded enthusiastically. “Brilliant! Now, where should we make our mark?”
Zhao Lan’s gaze swept the room, settling on the imposing wardrobe. “Behind that!”
With a shared nod, Yu Xiao and Zhao Lan heaved the heavy wardrobe aside. But as they peered at the exposed wall, their movements stilled, their eyes widening in horror.
Zhou Xiao Zhen, unable to see past the two frozen figures, felt a chill crawl up her spine. “What is it? What did you find?”
Yu Xiao and Zhao Lan exchanged a terrified look, their throats suddenly dry. They pointed to a crude inscription etched into the wall, the cement beneath starkly revealed.
【Our guess was correct.】
Yu Xiao’s hand flew to her head, scratching nervously. Zhao Lan bit her lip, her voice barely a whisper. “Who…who do you think wrote that?”
Yu Xiao stared at the inscription, a cold dread gripping her heart. It seemed impossible, yet a chillingly familiar feeling washed over her. The handwriting…those looping strokes that connected like three circles…it was hers.
“I…”
Zhao Lan raised an eyebrow, “What? What are you trying to say?”
“I…” Yu Xiao paused, her expression unreadable. “This handwriting looks like it’s mine,” she murmured.
A heavy silence fell between them, punctuated only by the anxious pacing of Zhou Xiao Zhen just outside the door.
“So,” Zhao Lan began, her eyes locked on Yu Xiao, “even though we’re unsure when or under what circumstances we wrote this, our theory seems to hold up, doesn’t it?”
Yu Xiao gave a slow, deliberate nod.
“Then…” Zhao Lan started to pace, a mix of frustration and bewilderment in her stride, “what’s our next move?”
Yu Xiao’s gaze drifted back to the cryptic words on the wall. “Time… I should’ve connected the dots sooner. Both the attending doctor and the hospital are named ‘Time.’ It’s obvious now that everything here is tied to time. I wish I’d realised sooner…”
Returning to their bedroom, Zhao Lan quickly briefed Zhou Xiao Zhen on their findings, leaving her utterly dumbfounded.
The trio sat on the bed, each facing away from the others. “The key to our escape must be linked to time,” Yu Xiao stated.
“How do you figure?” Zhao Lan asked, turning slightly towards her.
Yu Xiao scratched her head, her once-neat hairstyle now thoroughly tousled. “Time here is a mess. We could end up in the past or the future. And even if—just if—we find a way out, who’s to say we’ll return to our own time?”
“You mean the right time!” Zhao Lan slammed her hand on the bed with a resounding whack, making Zhou Xiao Zhen flinch.
“What do you mean by the right time?”
“Our time,” Zhao Lan exclaimed, her voice filled with fervour. She waved her hand towards the bedroom they were in. “This room, from the moment we stepped inside until now, it operates on our timeline, just like us. If we want to leave, we have to find our time, align with it, and open the door—returning to the time outside that’s rightfully ours.”
Zhou Xiao Zhen scrunched up her face, still trying to grasp the concept. “But how do we find our time?”
Yu Xiao pondered for a moment before speaking up. “Do you remember the exact time we entered?”
“Do you mean we should try to open the door at the exact same time tomorrow?” Zhao Lan quickly pulled out her phone, only to shake her head. “We only know it was sometime between 8:20 and 8:35, but we don’t have the precise moment.”
Yu Xiao winced, realising she’d been too zoned out to check her own phone.
“How about this?” Zhao Lan proposed, a spark of hope in her eyes. “We start at 8:20 tomorrow and keep trying to open the door every few minutes. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
With no other ideas on the table, everyone agreed it was worth a shot. Yu Xiao shrugged. “Yeah, why not?”
Zhou Xiao Zhen, feeling out of her depth but trusting her sisters, nodded along. However, she couldn’t help but ask, “Do we really have to keep trying non-stop?”
It was a valid question. Yu Xiao flopped back onto her bed, feeling mentally drained from all the speculation and theorising.
“Let’s take a break for now,” Zhao Lan suggested, her head spinning from the whirlwind of thoughts. She, too, was in desperate need of some rest.
Zhou Xiao Zhen felt restless, but not tired. She couldn’t indulge in her phone addiction here, so she suggested, “You guys rest, I’ll go open the door. If anything happens, I’ll call you.”
Yu Xiao murmured a lazy “Mmm” and closed her eyes, while Zhao Lan turned over, and the two friends settled in for a nap.
Zhou Xiao Zhen, meanwhile, had an ulterior motive for volunteering to open the door. She was determined to find the kitchen. Despite their correct guesses and methods, they were stuck in this instance until tomorrow morning. Misty and Smiley were exhausted and needed a energy boost. Food was the answer.
She opened the door, and her hopes were immediately dashed. An old, grimy squat toilet stared back at her. Zhou Xiao Zhen’s eyes watered at the stench, and she quickly shut the door.
Undeterred, she tried again. This time, she was greeted by a dimly lit, old-fashioned living room. The air was thick with an unpleasant odour, making it hard to discern any details. Zhou Xiao Zhen’s heart sank.
As she opened the door once more, she sent a silent prayer: “Please, let it be the kitchen this time…”
To her surprise, her wish was granted. But her excitement was short-lived. The kitchen was a disaster zone. The walls were smashed, clothes littered the floor, and dark brown stains – possibly bloodstains – marred the surfaces. The stench was overwhelming. Zhou Xiao Zhen’s eyes widened in horror before she hastily shut the door.
The experience was nothing short of torment. With a heavy sigh, she steeled herself to open the door again, wondering what new horrors awaited her.
As she swung the door open, an unknown force came hurtling towards her, enveloping her in an instant. Zhou Xiao Zhen barely had time to fumble for her talisman before she was slammed to the ground, letting out only a faint cry for help.
Alerted by her distress, Yu Xiao and Zhao Lan sprang from the bed in an instant. Yu Xiao attempted to kick the murky figure pinning Zhou Xiao Zhen down, but it wouldn’t budge.
Zhou Xiao Zhen’s screams of anguish pierced the air. “Ah!!! It bit me!!” she wailed, her voice filled with terror.
Without hesitation, Zhao Lan swiftly retrieved two 【The Thunder Striking Ghost Repelling Talisman】. In a flash, two bolts of lightning materialised out of thin air, striking down fiercely. The bedroom suddenly filled with smoke, causing Yu Xiao to cover her nose and mouth as she rushed to Zhou Xiao Zhen’s side.
“Are you alright?” She asked, pulling Zhou Xiao Zhen out of the smoke. “Where did it bite you?”
But Zhou Xiao Zhen remained silent, her sobs the only response. Yu Xiao’s concern deepened as she searched for any signs of injury.
“Cough cough cough…”
Just then, a faint cough echoed through the smoke, causing Yu Xiao’s heart to skip a beat. “Misty, be careful!” she exclaimed loudly. “There might be another ghost!”
Instinctively, Zhao Lan reached for her talismans, squinting through the smoke with great caution. However, before she could react, a melodious male voice rang out, “I’m not a ghost! I’m a human, I’m a patient.”
…
Zhou Xiao Zhen was bitten in the armpit and nearly had her arm torn off. Luckily, Yu Xiao’s 【Healing Crisis Talisman】 proved to be effective in healing her injuries. After using several of these talismans, her wounds were completely healed.
As the smoke cleared, the other room revealed itself to be a stark, unadorned space. The bare concrete floor seemed to stretch out like a canvas, empty and uninviting. A simple wooden bed stood against one wall, its natural grain a gentle contrast to the vibrant red double happiness patterned bedspread.
A figure emerged from behind the door, a young man in his early twenties with a slender build and fair skin. His military green shirt seemed to blend with the drab surroundings, but his eyes, tinged with amber, shone with a gentle warmth. He watched Yu Xiao tend to Zhou Xiao Zhen with a quiet smile.
“You’ve got quite a collection of talismans,” he remarked, his voice soft and soothing.
Yu Xiao released Zhou Xiao Zhen and turned to the stranger, his gaze flicking to the smoky figure still sprawled on the ground. “What’s going on here?” he asked, his tone firm but curious.
The young man lifted a foot, as if to step inside, but Yu Xiao’s swift gesture halted him. “Wait, don’t come in.”
The stranger’s eyes narrowed, recognition flickering across his face as he pointed to the ghostly figure. “You must be the patients from the previous groups, right? I just entered the instance, searching for clues, when this… thing crawled out from under the bed. I was dealing with it when the door suddenly opened, and then you all arrived.”
As Zhao Lan listened to the man’s account, her eyes widened in astonishment. “You’ve only just entered the instance? This is your first room?”
He frowned, not fully understanding her meaning, but he nodded nonetheless.
“You’re quite lucky,” Zhou Xiao Zhen remarked. “Maybe you’ll actually make it out of this alive.”
The man’s reaction was surprisingly nonchalant. “Is it really that dangerous?” He seemed more curious than concerned, as if the threat of danger was merely a trivial detail. “Do you know the way out?”
While they spoke, Yu Xiao watched from the sidelines, a nagging sense of familiarity tugging at her. She could have sworn she’d seen him before, but where?
Zhao Lan explained, “We’ve already confirmed that this instance is linked to time. Once you leave the space where you initially started, you might end up in another time, perhaps never able to leave…”
“You,” Yu Xiao abruptly asked, “What is your name?”
The man hesitated, and Yu Xiao continued, “I am a patient from the Sixth Hospital, Yu Xiao. What about you?”
“The Sixth Hospital?” The man squinted, his eyes clouded with confusion. “What Sixth Hospital? Isn’t there just one hospital, isn’t there? I’m Teng Jing Zhi.”
Yu Xiao’s breath caught in her throat, her eyes brimming with emotion.
Zhao Lan and Zhou Xiao Zhen exchanged a look of utter disbelief. “You’re Teng Jing Zhi?”
Baffled by their reaction, Teng Jing Zhi replied, “Do I know you?”
“You…” Yu Xiao hesitated, her voice barely a whisper. “Are you Teng Jing Zhi from X City?”
Teng Jing Zhi’s eyes widened in surprise. “You know me? Have we met? I… I’m sorry, I don’t… I don’t recognize you.”
Blinking back tears, Yu Xiao pressed on, “Have you written that farewell letter in your phone yet?”
Teng Jing Zhi froze, his eyes locked onto hers. “How did you…?”
“Oh my god.” Zhou Xiao Zhen buried her face in her hands, her voice muffled. “We’ve actually met the real, living Teng Jing Zhi. This is actually happening!”
─── ❖ ── ☆ ── ❖ ───
( )………( )
(๑✪ᆺ✪๑)
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