Chapter 3

Ruan Qing was sitting in a fast-food restaurant when her phone rang. Seeing that it was a landline number, she quickly answered, knowing it would be the hospital’s nurse station.

“Ma’am, the guy in the traditional clothing has woken up. Are you nearby?” the nurse asked.

Ruan Qing responded, “I’m close by. I’ll be there right away.”

“One more thing,” the nurse continued, “he doesn’t have a phone on him. Do you have it by any chance?”

A knife—there was a knife, but no phone. Ruan Qing replied, “No, I came with him in the ambulance, and we went straight into the ER. I didn’t see his phone.”

The nurse mumbled something like “what a hassle” on the other end.

“Nurse,” Ruan Qing asked, “what’s the situation now?”

The nurse explained, “It looks like he has amnesia due to trauma. He didn’t bring a phone, and we can’t get in touch with his family. We’re considering calling the police.”

“Don’t call the police!” Ruan Qing blurted out.

“Hmm?” the nurse questioned.

Ruan Qing quickly gathered herself and said, “I’m right nearby. I’ll head back now. Let me talk to him first, see if I can help him remember what happened when he got hurt. If that doesn’t work, we can call the police then.”

Surprised, the nurse said, “You’re quite concerned, aren’t you? Alright, come by and speak with our doctor first.”

Ruan Qing agreed, hung up, and drove back to the hospital. Once there, she met the nurse who had called her.

“You got here quickly,” the nurse commented, leading her to the doctor.

“The situation’s a bit tricky,” the doctor said as they met. “It’s not just amnesia. His thoughts are jumbled.” The doctor tapped his own forehead for emphasis. “We’re guessing he might be one of those social media creators, and the trauma has caused his memory to mix up, making it hard for him to separate fiction from reality.”

“How do you know for sure he has amnesia?” Ruan Qing asked.

“He said so himself—claimed he doesn’t remember anything,” the doctor replied.

Ruan Qing was speechless for a moment. Oh great, self-diagnosed amnesia—what a convenient excuse. If it were her in his situation, she might have claimed amnesia too, given how messy things had become.

“Where is he now?” she asked. “Let me talk to him first. Don’t call the police just yet.”

Meanwhile, Nian Qi realized that the environment around him was completely unfamiliar, and even his seemingly normal responses were being perceived as strange by the people around him. Worse yet, he couldn’t figure out what the problem was. No matter where he had been before, he was always able to adapt quickly, blending into the crowd. But this time was different—he couldn’t blend in or hide.

So when the white-robed doctor asked, “Did you hit your head?” Nian Qi played along and admitted he’d bumped it. He also remembered hearing stories about people hitting their heads and losing their memories, or even basic common sense. So, he claimed his thoughts were muddled and that many things seemed blurry to him.

The doctor continued asking questions, like his name and if he remembered his family. To each, Nian Qi responded that he didn’t remember. Then the doctor asked if he had a “shǒujī” (phone).

Nian Qi didn’t know what a “shǒujī” (literally, “hand chicken”) was, how it differed from other chickens, or what a chicken had to do with the current situation. But since he didn’t have such a chicken, he honestly asked, “What is a hand chicken?”

Both the doctor and the woman in pink looked even more troubled.

“Oh, right!” The woman in pink suddenly remembered something. “The girl who brought him here went out for food. She told me to call her when he woke up.”

The doctor said, “Maybe she has his phone?”

“Could be. I’ll give her a call—she left her number at the nurse’s station,” the nurse replied, and hurried off to make the call.

After the maid finished speaking, she turned and left. Although Nian Qi didn’t understand terms like “hand chicken” (shǒujī, meaning mobile phone) or “call,” he did catch that someone had brought him to this medical facility. He asked the doctor about it.

“It was a young girl,” the doctor explained. “She even covered your expenses.”

A beautiful face flashed in Nian Qi’s mind. He vaguely remembered seeing a glimpse of a girl before he passed out.

The doctor urged him not to wander off and to rest there, gesturing to the quick-moving women in pink. “If you need anything, just call the nurses.”

It dawned on Nian Qi that these women were called “nurses” here. Judging by their work, the title made sense in a literal way. He nodded in understanding, but once the doctor left, he stood up anyway. The environment was too strange, and he wanted to look around.

The room was vast, with around twenty or thirty beds, most of them occupied by patients. Some were accompanied by family members. Next to the bed beside his was a family member who was staring down at a strange glowing rectangle, the light from it reflecting on his face, changing colors. This place was full of glowing, magical objects.

Nian Qi was overwhelmed with questions but had to maintain an air of calm, pretending to be indifferent to everything around him. Trying to suppress his confusion, he stepped out of the large room.

When he saw the scene outside, he froze and took a deep breath. What a long corridor! This building must be enormous. The hallway was as bright as day, with countless dazzling lights embedded in the ceiling—each one worth a fortune. Such extravagance! The owner of this medical facility must be incredibly wealthy. Maybe a local tycoon? Did this person have any enemies looking to take them out? If they needed someone eliminated, Nian Qi could offer them a discount as a new customer. The steward back at his hall always said that thirty percent of their business came from repeat clients. A customer this wealthy was worth cultivating for long-term business.

As he mulled over the appropriate discount, he strolled down the hallway, trying to appear unfazed by the luxury around him, determined to blend in. However, many of the patients and family members along the way were staring at him, which made blending in difficult. His clothes and hairstyle were far too different from everyone else’s.

He found it odd. Although these people spoke with a slightly different accent, they were still speaking the common Central Plains language. Even if they were from a foreign tribe, they should have been familiar with people from the Central Plains. So why did everyone look at him so strangely? Why did some even smile when they first saw him?

As he pondered this, a more pressing question gnawed at him: how did he end up here? He had jumped off a cliff outside Jiang City, deep within the heart of the Central Plains. So how did he wake up in such a bizarre place? How had the person who saved him managed to get him from outside Jiang City to this strange location? And why didn’t they take him to a hospital in Jiang City?

None of it made sense. He decided to wait for the person who had brought him here to ask more questions. At least, the people in the hallway seemed to be getting used to him quickly. Most gave him a second glance, some smiled, and then went back to what they were doing. No one acted overly shocked, which restored some of his confidence in blending into this place.

As he continued walking and observing his surroundings, something suddenly caught his attention. He stopped in his tracks.

Just as the nurse was leading Ruan Qing to the emergency room, they spotted Nian Qi in the hallway. He stood tall in black traditional clothing, with a belt cinching his waist, accentuating his lean, muscular frame. His sharp, angular profile exuded an air of strength and ruggedness. Amidst the lethargic patients in the corridor, he was strikingly noticeable.

He was standing in front of a shared charging station’s LED advertisement screen, staring at it, motionless, as if frozen in place. Ruan Qing paused, watching him.

“There’s the guy in the traditional clothing!” the nurse called out as she walked toward him. “You said you wanted to meet the person who brought you here? She’s here now.”

Nian Qi was too absorbed in his shock to notice at first. Not even the dazzling lights in the ceiling had stunned him as much as this. He had traveled far and wide, seen countless exotic treasures, and knew that customs varied greatly across the world. But this—this was beyond anything he had ever encountered.

He leaned in closer, staring at the flat, four-finger-thick panel. There was no way people could be inside this thing, and yet, his eyes weren’t deceiving him. He could clearly see living, breathing people talking, singing, and dancing inside the screen. He also saw mountains, rivers, and towering buildings rising up like forests, forming a vast city. The perspective seemed almost divine, as though a celestial being was flying high above and looking down on the world below. It was utterly unbelievable.

Just as he was lost in his astonishment, the nurse’s voice snapped him back to reality. He turned abruptly to see the nurse standing a short distance away, with a young woman behind her.

The young woman had her hair tied up in a loose bun at the back of her head, a small bag slung diagonally across her body, and a short skirt. Not only were her arms bare, but her legs—smooth, straight, and pale—were also boldly exposed to the air. Her bright, intelligent eyes were fixed on him.

“She’s the one who kindly brought you here and even paid for your expenses,” the nurse chattered on. “Don’t worry if you can’t remember everything right now. Relax and take your time. Talk to her about the situation when you were found—maybe it’ll help jog your memory.”

The nurse turned to Ruan Qing, “You two chat for a bit. If you need anything, just come to the nurse’s station.” With that, she bustled off, leaving the two of them standing there.

The two of them watched the nurse leave, then looked at each other. Nian Qi stepped forward, his gaze steady.

“May I ask,” he said solemnly, “was it you who brought me here for treatment?”

A passerby overheard and glanced at him, barely suppressing a laugh as they walked by. “May I ask?” “Was it the young lady?” Oh no, Ruan Qing could feel her toes curling in embarrassment. But what made her scalp tingle even more was the composed air radiating from the man in front of her. How could he remain so calm? Did he even realize the situation he was in? From his hair to his shoes, he was completely out of place, and anyone else would be freaking out by now. Yet somehow, he exuded an aura of confidence, as though he belonged here.

Seeing the subtle expression on Ruan Qing’s face but not getting an answer, Nian Qi was about to speak again when someone walked by. Ruan Qing cleared her throat loudly, and Nian Qi immediately shut his mouth—he had noticed that whenever he spoke, people, whether doctors, nurses, or passersby, would always laugh. He knew he must have been saying something wrong but couldn’t figure out what. Ruan Qing’s loud “ahem” was clearly telling him to stay quiet. Sure enough, after the passerby left, Ruan Qing leaned in slightly and lowered her voice, saying, “There are too many people here. Let’s find somewhere else to talk.”

Nian Qi nodded, “Alright.” Ruan Qing glanced around and spotted a directional sign hanging from the ceiling. “Let’s go over there,” she pointed. Since Nian Qi was unfamiliar with the place, he naturally followed her, trailing behind as they walked down a long corridor. As they moved, he marveled at the size of the building. This wasn’t like the winding corridors of a courtyard that could stretch indefinitely, this was an indoor hallway, and its length matched the overall length of the entire structure.

Ruan Qing led the way, and Nian Qi followed. He carefully kept his gaze level, never letting it drop below Ruan Qing’s shoulders. He was in the business of taking lives, and though he wouldn’t dare call himself a righteous man, he certainly wasn’t the kind of scoundrel who would take advantage of someone behind closed doors.

Ruan Qing guided him through the long hallway, out of the emergency area, and into the outpatient lobby. The emergency section had its own registration, payment windows, and pharmacy, independent from the outpatient services. The outpatient lobby was now closed, with the external doors locked, and the empty hall was perfect for a private conversation.

The two of them stopped in a corner. Nian Qi, having realized by now that the more he spoke, the more mistakes he made, remained silent, waiting for Ruan Qing to speak first. She took the lead, saying, “Telling them you have amnesia won’t work.”

Nian Qi’s eyes glinted sharply. “Please enlighten me.” He didn’t deny it or try to brush it off, which meant he was willing to be honest, making it easier to communicate. Ruan Qing asked him, “Do you understand what could happen if you keep saying that?”

Nian Qi admitted, “I don’t know. I’m quite confused.”

Ruan Qing laid out the situation for him. “You’re claiming to have amnesia, but the hospital staff feels responsible for you and won’t just let someone with memory loss walk away. They’ll call the police, and the police will investigate you.”

Nian Qi asked, “The police?”

Ruan Qing quickly adapted her wording. “Think of them as officials.”

Nian Qi’s eyes lit up in understanding. He nodded, “And then?”

Ruan Qing continued, “You definitely don’t have an ID card, which is like this…” She pulled out her own ID card to show him.

Nian Qi took the small card and rubbed it between his fingers. Being in his line of work, he was skilled not only in assassination but also in disguise, voice alteration, and forgery. Even if he wasn’t an expert, he knew enough to have a keen eye. But holding this small card, he couldn’t tell what material it was made of. He was sure he couldn’t forge it. Not just him—likely even the top counterfeiters back in his organization wouldn’t be able to replicate it.

He asked, “What happens if I don’t have this?”

Ruan Qing explained, “You could be taken away, or at the very least, they’ll search the identity database to try and figure out who you are. The identity database is where all personal information is stored.”

“And then, things will get worse,” she said. Ruan Qing wasn’t entirely sure how the police would handle it, but she could make a logical guess about the outcome. She stared at Nian Qi, saying, “Because they will discover… that you are a person with no identity.”