T/N: T/N: Gu (孤) literally translates to “solitary,” “lonely,” or “orphan.” In a historical context, it was used as a self-referential pronoun (a “Royal We” or “I”) by kings, dukes, and lords. acknowledging that the burden of leadership is a solitary path. By calling themselves “The Lonely One,”(Gu) they signaled a mix of humility and authority, acknowledging that the burden of leadership is a solitary path.
Well, you can compare this to the use of Zhen
***
“Lin Zixi. My name is Lin Zixi.”
Lin Zixi gazed at this person who seemed to have come alive from her dreams and solemnly repeated her name twice. She watched the other woman cautiously and asked, “And you? What’s your name?”
Ye Can gave her a strange look. Am I out of my mind? But that wouldn’t be contagious to her, right? Is there anyone in the entire Yan Kingdom who doesn’t know my name? That’s truly laughable.
Ye Can didn’t answer her. Instead, she glanced around. Everywhere was a stark white—even the beds nearby exuded a cold, pale chill. It was pitch-black night before, and now it’s this deathly white. Hell really is a world of black and white. How peculiar.
Ye Can struggled to sit up. The moment she moved, it tugged at the needle in her hand, causing the IV bag on the bedside stand to sway wildly.
“Careful!”
Amid Lin Zixi’s worried exclamation, Ye Can hissed in pain. She looked down at the back of her hand where the needle was embedded and asked in confusion, “Who wounded gu?”
Blood seeped from the needle site with the movement. Lin Zixi ignored the woman’s odd words and hurried over. Seeing the blood welling up, she frowned. “What’s wrong with you? Why move around when you’ve got an IV?”
As she spoke, Lin Zixi pressed the call button for the nurse.
Ye Can paid no attention to the blood flowing freely from the back of her hand. She simply lifted her head to look at Lin Zixi, furrowing her brow. Vaguely, she felt that this woman before her no longer recognized her.
Could Hell make people lose their memories? Or erase the unpleasant ones? Otherwise, there’s no reason why I still remember her, but she has no impression of me at all.
A privilege like forgetting unhappy memories—shouldn’t that be reserved for the divine realms? This couldn’t possibly be a divine kingdom, could it?
While Ye Can rarely furrowed her brow in contemplation of her situation, the nurse hurried in. Lin Zixi explained Ye Can’s condition: “Her needle shifted, and the site is bleeding.”
The nurse grumbled, “How is someone her size so careless, like a child? Don’t move around this time.”
Muttering, the nurse removed the needle from the back of Ye Can’s hand, cleaned the blood, and pressed a cotton swab to the wound. Ye Can winced in pain and watched with a frown as the nurse replaced the needle and jabbed it into her other hand.
Ye Can was displeased. “What do you think you’re doing?”
The nurse muttered, “Your speech is so weird. What else? Giving you an IV drip!”
Her hand was deft with the needle, swiftly pushing it into the vein. The pain made Ye Can grimace; she was even more convinced this was indeed Hell. “What is this ‘drip’ for?”
The nurse turned, staring at Ye Can in surprise. “You don’t even know that?”
Lin Zixi, standing nearby, noticed Ye Can’s ravings and looked at her in astonishment. She exchanged a glance with the nurse. “Her brain didn’t get knocked around, did it?”
Ye Can was thoroughly displeased. “Gu’s mind isn’t right, but not from any collision. How can you speak like that?”
Lin Zixi felt an odd unease. She stared at Ye Can’s face, a ridiculous thought flashing through her mind: Could this be the person from my dreams, appearing in real life?
Like in every K-drama or classic novel romance—an otherworldly stranger suddenly shows up before the protagonist, bringing excitement to their dull, uneventful life.
As a screenwriter, Lin Zixi championed science and education, a staunch materialist, but even she had flights of fancy now and then.
A woman in strange hanfu appearing barefoot on the highway at midnight, collapsing in front of her, then waking up spouting nonsense—wasn’t this the classic opener for an isekai transmigration story?
Lin Zixi eyed Ye Can cautiously while the nurse flipped open her chart and began asking questions. “Your name?”
Ye Can looked at her in confusion. “Gu’s?”
The nurse was impassive. “Yes. Unless there are other patients here? You haven’t forgotten your own name, have you?”
Ye Can thought for a moment and replied, “Gu’s name is Can.”
The nurse scribbled on the chart. “Can… which Can? Brilliant Can? Last name?”
Ye Can glanced at Lin Zixi nearby and lifted her chin. “She should know. It’s the ‘Can’ from ‘Zi Xi, Zi Xi, what a brilliant one.’ And gu’s family name is Ye.”
The nurse looked at Lin Zixi. “Ye Can?”
Lin Zixi glanced at Ye Can in surprise. “Is that your real name?”
Ye Can’s face was stern. “Gu wouldn’t forget gu’s own name.”
Lin Zixi nodded to the nurse, took the pen from her hand, and wrote down Ye Can’s full name on the chart. Seated on the bed, Ye Can stared fixedly at Lin Zixi, thinking to herself, Lin Zixi truly doesn’t remember me anymore!
Lin Zixi stole a sidelong glance at Ye Can. Looking at that youthful face, she thought it truly matched the character “Can”—brilliant and radiant.
The nurse continued with her pen. “How old?”
Ye Can answered, “Nineteen years.”
The nurse glanced at her and muttered, “An adult, huh?” She noted Ye Can’s age and continued, “Home address?”
Ye Can looked puzzled at Lin Zixi, who instantly understood and smiled as she translated, “She’s asking where your home is.”
Ye Can replied, “From Ji City in the Yan Kingdom.”
The nurse stared at her in shock and suspicion. “What kingdom? What city?”
Ye Can repeated, “Yan Kingdom, Ji City.”
The nurse turned to Lin Zixi with certainty. “Her brain’s damaged. We need to call the doctor.” With that, she clutched the chart and hurried out.
Once the nurse left, only Lin Zixi and Ye Can remained, facing off. Lin Zixi looked at Ye Can and probed cautiously, “You… you’re not from this world? Where are you from? How did you get here?”
Ye Can was filled with doubts herself. “This world? Isn’t this Hell? Gu came here after dying, of course.”
Lin Zixi shook her head. “This isn’t Hell. This is Ping An Hospital.”
Ye Can muttered to herself—how could Hell have a place called Ping An Hospital? She’d never read about that in any scriptures.
Her mumbling struck Lin Zixi as utterly bizarre. Biting her lip, Lin Zixi asked softly, “No matter where you’re from, I have one question for you.”
Ye Can glanced up indifferently. “Ask.”
Lin Zixi hesitated, then asked, “Have we… met before?”
Ye Can eyed her. You don’t remember me, so why should I admit we’ve met? She shook her head without hesitation. “Don’t know you. Never seen you. This is the first time gu has laid eyes on you today.”
Lin Zixi felt foolish but persisted. “Really? What about in dreams?”
Ye Can gave her no face. “Gu never dreams.” With headaches keeping gu awake every night, what dreams could there be?
Lin Zixi deflated, thinking she’d rewritten too many scripts today to have such weird ideas.
They weren’t alone for long. Soon, the nurse returned with a doctor. The doctor examined Ye Can thoroughly, then ran through the same questions.
Ye Can stuck to her story—she was from the Yan Kingdom. As a dead woman, she saw no point in pretending otherwise. The doctor grilled her meticulously and found her manners normal, just her perceptions and speech odd.
The doctor ran a full body scan and, confirming no brain issues, told Lin Zixi, “This patient seems to have temporary amnesia combined with cognitive impairment.”
Temporary amnesia and cognitive issues—such clichéd tropes from old screenwriters. Lin Zixi clutched her forehead, looking conflicted.
The doctor was kindhearted and suggested helpfully, “She has no ID on her—probably even the name’s fake. Given her state, you can’t keep footing her bills forever. Why not call the police? Let them find any relatives.”
Lin Zixi saw the logic and, on the doctor’s advice, called the police.
A nearby station dispatched officers quickly. Two female cops arrived at the hospital with notepads in hand.
After questioning Ye Can routinely and getting nothing useful, they turned to Lin Zixi.
“Officer Lin, where did you encounter her last night?”
Lin Zixi recounted everything. “On the highway from Fancheng Film City to the city. She was in hanfu, barefoot—probably an extra from a nearby crew.”
Lin Zixi shared her guess. The police nodded, saying they’d check surveillance and identify Ye Can’s true identity soon.
They took Lin Zixi’s number and promised to notify her first once they found family. With end-of-year staffing shortages, they’d need Lin Zixi to watch her “foundling” for now.
Lin Zixi felt a massive headache. She should’ve called 110 instead of 120 last night to avoid this hassle.
But as the saying goes, if you’re doing a good deed, see it through to the end. She couldn’t just abandon Ye Can, so she nodded to the police. “Please find her family soon so she can go home.”
Ye Can, listening in, was baffled. Hell’s this thoughtful, finding gu’s ancestors? No thanks—gu’s forebears were no good eggs. Better not to meet.
Besides, gu’s dead. What home is there to return to?
Thus, Ye Can refused. “No need to trouble yourselves. The Yan Kingdom’s ancestors are no good—better not to meet.”
The words stunned the police, who shot her another look. Lin Zixi facepalmed inwardly. What a total nutcase.
Last night, I was definitely sleep-deprived to think she was a traverser.
With such an unstable person, conversation was impossible. The police took what scant info they had, bid Lin Zixi a hasty farewell, and left the room.
Now alone with Ye Can, Lin Zixi looked down at her, conflicted. “Stay in the hospital these next few days. Don’t wander. I’ll cover your bills. Once police find your family, they’ll take you home. No need to worry.”
Ye Can tilted her head up, her dark, bright eyes unblinking. Lin Zixi grew uneasy under the stare. “What?”
Ye Can puzzledly placed a hand on her abdomen, brow furrowed. “Gu seems… hungry.”
She seemed surprised. “How could gu be hungry?”
Ye Can looked up at Lin Zixi in shock. “Why would a dead person get hungry!”
