Chapter 23: The Woman in White

After a satisfying meal, they made their way to the hospital lobby and sat down there. Earlier, they had asked Fatty to take the little fox back to the shop, initially planning to bring the little fox along to help, but soon realized it wouldn’t be allowed inside.

Tonight’s target was originally the morgue, but gaining access there was nearly impossible, so they settled on the intensive care unit instead. As for why not other wards—the reason was clear: they were here to catch ghosts. Going to places like gynecology or urology just wouldn’t feel right.

It was already eight in the evening, yet the lobby remained bustling with noise—urgent voices, children’s cries, patients coughing. Liu Jun and Fatty sat quietly amidst the chaos, occasionally checking their phones for the time. By past eleven, the crowd had thinned considerably. Rising, they headed toward the ICU, both applying “ox’s eye tears” as they ascended.

Upon reaching the ICU, they spotted a nurse—a girl with a ponytail whom Liu Jun often saw on the bus. They stared in shock, not for any ordinary reason, but because this ponytailed girl was carrying a white-clad female ghost on her back. The ghost noticed Liu Jun and Fatty could see her and gave a sinister smile.

“Bro, what now? Should we just go up straight?” Fatty asked.

“Of course not. If ghosts are visible only to us, and others can’t see them, not reporting us would be the real oddity,” Liu Jun replied.

“So what’s the plan?”

“First, we have to gain this girl’s trust.” Just as Liu Jun was about to approach, Fatty pulled him back.

“Bro, leave this to me. This is my specialty.” Liu Jun turned to see Fatty brimming with confidence and advised him not to call her “beauty” or anything that might cause misunderstandings.

Fatty shuffled over to the ponytailed nurse, body trembling as if about to collapse.

“Oh, Bodhisattva, I—I’m having a heart attack, can’t breathe. Please, perform CPR on me,” he said, slowly falling.

Damn it, I shouldn’t have trusted him. That pig, calling her Bodhisattva! The nurse’s eyes widened in terror, as if about to scream for help or call the police. Liu Jun quickly stepped forward and kicked Fatty.

“Miss, don’t be afraid. Do you remember me? I live in the Splendid Community. We’ve taken the bus together a few times in the morning. This is my brother; he has some mental issues but will be fine soon. Please don’t be scared.”

The nurse studied Liu Jun carefully, seeming to recognize him and relax her guard somewhat.

“Are you here to visit a patient?” she asked.

“No, we have some business. Do you know a woman with long hair and a slightly heart-shaped face who recently passed away?” Looking at the ghost on the nurse’s back while describing her was quite thrilling.

“How do you know?”

“Because I know a bit about the occult. Believe it or not, I can make her visible to you.” Liu Jun pulled out the “ox’s eye tears,” offering them to her to apply.

“No, you’re lying,” the nurse said, wiping them on and glancing around.

“Look at your right shoulder.” The nurse lowered her head toward her right shoulder. A pale hand was clutching her shoulder. Just as she was about to scream, Liu Jun swiftly covered her mouth.

“Don’t scream. Calm down and listen. I can help you expel this ghost, but if you scream, you’ll scare her away, and she’ll keep haunting you. Understand? If you understand, say something.”

“Brother Liu, how can she speak with your hand over her mouth?” Fatty whispered nearby.

Liu Jun slowly released his grip, ready to cover her mouth again at a moment’s notice. If she screamed, either the ghost would flee, or they’d have to run—police wouldn’t believe their story.

“What should I do?” the nurse asked, voice trembling, eyes avoiding the ghostly hand.

“Find an empty room. I’ll perform a ritual to expel her.” In another setting, getting someone to not call the police would be strange, but now, the nurse wasn’t thinking about that.

“Okay... follow me,” she said, leading them slowly forward, still trembling under the ghost’s presence. Even if you were carrying a ghost, you’d shake too.

They entered a room like a dressing room. The nurse turned around, tears gleaming in her eyes, looking at Liu Jun with hopeful longing, clearly wanting him to rid her of the ghost.

Liu Jun approached and pulled out two talismans: a Five-Thunder Talisman and a Soul-Deliverance Talisman—the same ones Mo Li had used on the ghostly old man before. Holding the two talismans, he waved them at the ghost’s head protruding near the nurse’s neck.

“You may not know what these are. Let me explain. The one in my left hand is the Five-Thunder Talisman; it summons divine thunder. Even a vengeful ghost with a century of cultivation would be blasted to pieces. The one in my right hand is better—it’s the Soul-Deliverance Talisman, which helps the ghost descend to the underworld and enter reincarnation.”

“You have two choices now. Either come down peacefully, and I’ll use the Soul-Deliverance Talisman to send you away, or refuse, and I’ll use the Five-Thunder Talisman to force you. Don’t think I won’t use the thunder talisman on her; the divine thunder it summons doesn't harm people—I’ve been struck before.”

Without chanting the spell—since chanting would activate the talismans immediately—Liu Jun held them ready.

The ghost paused, neither sneering nor clinging to the nurse anymore. Instead, she floated aside, quietly watching Liu Jun. He knew the ghost was clinging to the nurse to find a substitute to reincarnate. Now that there was a more direct way, why not take it?

“By the supreme pardon decree, transcend your lonely soul, all spirits and demons, bound by the cycle of life and death, those with heads transcend, those without ascend, through gunfire, blade and water, hanging and ropes, pardon and save all beings, urgent as the law commands—go!” Liu Jun intoned, mimicking Mo Li’s movements, throwing the talisman at the ghost.

The moment the talisman touched her, the ghost’s true face appeared: a girl with a heart-shaped face and phoenix eyes. She slowly vanished.

“Lingling, Lingling, I’m sorry,” the nurse knelt where the ghost had disappeared, crying out. Curious, Liu Jun asked about the story.

The ghost was Chu Lingyu. The nurse was Lin Ruoyu. They were very close sisters—working together and even living together after shifts.

That night, both were on duty. Lin Ruoyu, following routine, was making rounds. At bed fifteen, she glanced inside and saw an elderly man in his seventies with a weak heart, but what unsettled her was a woman in red sitting by his bedside.

At first, Lin Ruoyu didn’t react, moving on, but suddenly she recalled that no visitors were allowed in the ICU at night. Where did this woman in red come from? Something was amiss.

Summoning courage, she returned to check, but the room was empty except for the old man. Had she imagined it? Distracted, she went back to the nurse station. Seeing her dazed state, Chu Lingyu asked and then said she must be tired and should rest.

The next morning, after a short sleep, the head nurse called, asking if anything unusual happened at bed fifteen the night before—the elderly man had passed away. Both sisters were unnerved. That was eerily coincidental: seeing a woman in red in bed fifteen at night, and the old man dying the next day—a real-life reaper?

That night, as usual, they worked the night shift. Despite their fear, it was their job and they had no choice. If they were wealthy, they wouldn’t be here, but they weren’t.

They made their rounds together, holding hands tightly—one watching the doors and windows, the other holding her hand.

When they reached bed eleven, Lin Ruoyu let out a piercing scream, and Chu Lingyu, startled, screamed too. The sound was so terrifying that even a low-level ghost might have been shaken to death by it.