In the bewildering darkness, Qi Si lost all sensation in his limbs and floated hazily above the dream.
Below him, a pale blue beam of light shone down from above, coldly illuminating the entire operating room. Its focus rested on the hospital bed in the center of the room.
Qi Si noticed a frail woman lying on the bed. Her face bore some resemblance to the female ghost he had seen in the ward, but her abdomen was enormously swollen.
Doctors in white coats circled the bed, their faces indistinct. One man in especially pristine white clothing stood out from the rest—likely Cheng An from the past.
The doctors sterilized scalpels, searched for anesthetic needles, and bustled back and forth, like a group of frogs startled by a stone.
The woman on the bed suddenly stretched out a pale, withered hand and grabbed Cheng An's sleeve. "Doctor Cheng, I'm so scared... Do you think I'll die here?"
Cheng An paused what he was doing, lowered his head, and answered, "No. You're still young. Nothing will happen to you."
The woman's voice still trembled with fear. "But I heard it's already been seven months. It's very dangerous to terminate it now..."
Cheng An's shoulders visibly stiffened. A young nurse beside him sneered instead. "Wasn't this all her own doing? What was she doing before? Hiding out in the middle of nowhere, thinking she could get away with it?"
Cheng An turned to glance at the young nurse. Perhaps it was meant as a warning, but his misty, indistinct face revealed no expression.
Two seconds later, he sighed and said to the woman, "You'll be fine. Don't be afraid. It's nothing."
He did not sound particularly confident, but the woman seemed to believe him. She let go of his sleeve and said