novel
| ← Ch.151 | Ch.153 → |
"Ahhh— another dead!" Along with Peng Yue's uncontrollable scream, an emotion called 'panic' spread.
The head of the corpse just happened to be in Xiao Li's direction. He could see how the blood spread on the ground and how the flesh of the head was convulsing uncontrollably due to the violent impact.
Xiao Li wanted to take a closer look when a hand gently covered his eyes and cut off his vision. He hadn't expected this. He froze for a moment before he realized it was Shen Chenzhi's hand and his feather-like eyelashes touched the other person's palm.
The hand covering his eyes trembled. Previously, Xiao Li covered Xiao Tu's eyes and now Shen Chenzhi was doing so for him. It wasn't until Xiao Li pushed Xiao Tu into her brother's arms that Shen Chenzhi also pulled him away from the head of the corpse. Shen Chenzhi put down his hand and faced the young man.
Shen Chenzhi held his finger and stated, "I'm worried about you."
"... There's nothing to worry about. It's just a body."
Xiao Li paused before turning around, avoiding Shen Chenzhi's gaze and moving to the corpse. A type of joy overflowed from Shen Chenzhi's eyes. He gently tightened his hand like he was holding a treasure.
Under Jiang Linwen's leadership, the rest of the reincarnators searched all the rooms, including the two Caucasians who were always hiding in their room. Finally, the dead person was determined to be Wei Ning.
President Hu and the other plot characters were the most shocked by Wei Ning's death. Wei Ning had come with them. Not long ago, he was alive and talking. The result was... he was dead? And so miserably?
In other words, this place really killed people...
The feelings toward a stranger's death weren't so deep. Now President Hu really felt the pain like his skin was being cut. He looked at Peng Yue, who was wailing and shaking like she had Parkinson's Disease.
Jiang Linwen used the pressure of the masses to summon everyone to the hotel lobby. He had figured out one thing. If he was always afraid of the disguised evil spirit and didn't look for clues then he might not be able to discover the truth until he died.
"Everyone knows the specific situation." Jiang Linwen spoke to the people in the hall."I hope everyone can cooperate and tell us where you were when Wei Ning died so your suspicion can be ruled out."
One of the Caucasian men, who rarely left their rooms, spoke dismissively with an English accent."It is meaningful to ask? Can't the evil spirit appear in two places at the same time?"
Xiao Li stated, "No."
The white man sneered."What do you know?"
Xiao Li told him, "If the evil spirit can do this then the world would be too difficult. Its power is likely limited and it will at most mislead us with disguises."
... Like walking on tiptoes.
Xiao Li didn't say this.
Jiang Linwen was a bit afraid of them arguing and spoke quickly."It doesn't matter if the evil spirit can appear in different places at the same time or not. We need more clues. So let's talk about the situation. I will start. I was sitting in the backyard and browsing the forum. I wanted to see... if there were any similar experiences shared. '
Zheng Yi shrugged and pointed to Xiao Li and Ye Zeqing."The three of us were chatting in the corridor outside the toilet."
"I was in the lobby." Shen Chenzhi replied briefly.
Now there were 12 people in total. There were three plot characters such as President Hu. The reincarnators had lost Luo Ni and there were nine left.
President Hu stated, "I, Xiao Yue and Xiao Ru were also together."
Xiao Li swept his gaze over their faces and noticed Peng Yue's wet dress."Were you outside?"
Peng Yue shrank back."There weren't enough fruits so I went out to pick some."
Her skirt had been specifically designed to look like overlapping lotus leaves. It was very prominent and had a sense of style. Now that it was wet, the lace on it was blurred. President Hu nodded to testify for her.
The white man with the loud voice looked at Peng Yue's dress with a snake-like gaze. Then he showed a defensive look."I was in my room."
The other Caucasian man was obviously familiar with him. This person had blond hair and blue eyes. He added, "I live next to him and would've heard any movements. There have been no sounds. For safety, we have been staying in our rooms."
This was the first time that Jiang Linwen and the others had spoken to them for so long. Jiang Linwen asked, "What are the two of you called?"
The man who just spoke replied, "Abel."
The other man was reluctant to say his name. Then after seeing his company say it, he reluctantly answered, "Abbott."
Xiao Li asked somewhat playfully, "You've always been staying in your rooms?"
Zheng Yi and Ye Zeqing failed to recognize them but Xiao Li remembered that they were the two reincarnators who disappeared into the forest during the day.
Abel was a handsome middle-aged man and had a slightly better temper than Abbott. He didn't glare because of Xiao Li's question and explained, "During the day, we went out to find prey to see if we could eat it. However, we didn't find any."
Looking for prey in the forest. At first glance, there was nothing wrong with this but it was very problematic under closer scrutiny. On a rainy day, on a haunted mansion, they actually looked for prey in this type of place? This was looking for death.
Xiao Li didn't say anything."Okay."
The others clearly weren't convinced but Abel was at ease, as if he didn't see the doubtful eyes.
The last ones left were Xiao Tu and her brother.
Her brother introduced himself as Zhen Ziqiang. He was a dark-skinned young man who looked quite honest. He replied, "I was washing clothes in the laundry room. I didn't bring many clothes and it is wet and dirty here. I can only wash it now."
Zhen Ziqiang was wearing slightly wet clothes that were tightly attached to his body. There was also the fresh smell of washing powder.
Jiang Linwen wondered, "Your clothes are freshly washed? How did you dry them so quickly?"
"These clothes were washed yesterday. The ones I just washed are still hanging in the backyard."
Then Jiang Linwen asked, "You actually dared to go to the laundry room to wash clothes? If you only have one change of clothes then shouldn't you generally wash them by hand?"
Zhen Ziqiang thought Jiang Linwen suspected he was a ghost and hurriedly waved his hands, speaking incoherently."No no, I just didn't dare to stay in my room. I also didn't dare to go to the bathroom to take a shower, let alone wash anything in it. I thought it was safer downstairs because I could still run away if I encountered a ghost. So I threw it into the laundry room because everyone was on the first floor."
Jiang Linwen, "......"
This logic was strange. Then seeing that Zhen Ziqiang was red-faced and nervously stuttering, he just said, "I'm just casually asking. Don't be so nervous."
Zhen Ziqiang's sentence reminded Xiao Li of something. He had rarely spent so long in an instance world. It was inevitable that he would need to spend two or three more days here. He only brought a few pieces of clothing and he already changed once during the day. It seemed he would have to go to the laundry room to wash it himself.
In this adult discussion, Xiao Yu lowered her head like she was frightened. She was wearing simple overalls and there was muddy dirt on her chest that was a reddish colour. The little girl stuffed her thumb into her mouth and kept it there like it was a lollipop. She spoke vaguely, "I was watching the rain in the backyard."
Peng Yue was stunned."I didn't see you..."
Xiao Tu bit her finger."Big sister, I saw you. I was behind the railing."
She was very short and there was a tall railing around the hotel. It was normal that Peng Yue didn't see her if she was really standing behind the railing.
Xiao Li pointed to her clothes."Is this also from the backyard?"
Xiao Tu nodded with her finger in her mouth.
Xiao Li reached out to remove Xiao Tu's finger but this time she avoided his touch.
Zhen Ziqiang told him, "My sister has this habit when she is nervous. I'm too lazy to correct it."
"... I see." Xiao Li replied.
Xiao Tu turned around and he saw that she was deliberately sucking on her finger. He just didn't know if it was her habit or something else. Once Xiao Yu finished speaking, all of the people on the scene seemed to have no definite alibi. Even those who were in a group, who would trust them apart from good friends? It was nonexistent.
"The body just now... it was moving? When someone dies, they will be like Luo Ni's body?"
Zhen Ziqiang still had some fear when he remembered the shocking scene of the corpse walking.
"Doesn't this mean a corpse killed by the evil spirit will... resurrect?"
"Luo Ni's body has been quiet since it banged against the door. It seems that Herucle's rope is useful." Jiang Linwen glanced at Wei Ning's body."Shall we tie it up together?"
No one knew how long they would stay in this hotel. Wei Ning's body couldn't be left like this forever. He said this and the others could only move.
This time, Xiao Li didn't need to act. Zhen Ziqiang endured his disgust, tied up the body, dragged it into an empty room in the backyard and locked the door. Lin Ruo took the mop and cleaned the floor of the lobby in a numb manner.
As the night wore on, Jiang Linwen suddenly suggested, "We might as well sleep together?"
Abel and the others were already ready to go upstairs and back to their rooms. They heard Jiang Linwen's suggestion and stopped on the stairs.
Jiang Linwen explained, "If we sleep together, we can respond to each other and see who has a problem."
This idea was good but...
Who would dare sleep with the evil spirit?
Thinking of it from another angle, wouldn't it be more convenient for the evil spirit to act? It wouldn't even need to break in. Abbott said nothing and left with a cold expression, walking to his room with his companion.
Xiao Li reached out and patted Jiang Linwen on the shoulder."Don't trust anyone."
He gave a reminder.
*****
The night was dark. Everyone went back to their rooms to rest and the lobby was empty.
Xiao Li held the clothes he was wearing during the day and came to the laundry room mentioned by Zhen Ziqiang.
On the other side of the wall, four washing machines were arranged side by side. The simplest type of washing machine had a bag of washing powder on the cabinet in the corner. It had been opened and more than half of it was used.
The rain outside didn't stop. The window here wasn't covered with cloth and Xiao Li could see the night outside. Raindrops hit the glass, layer after layer. The entire laundry room smelled of dampness.
It had to be said that in a way, this hotel was quite intimate. It feared the reincarnators would stay too long and not have enough clothes, so it provided a laundry room. However, with the exception of a few people, most reincarnators would choose to wear dirty clothes for seven days.
Of course, Xiao Li clearly didn't belong to this category. He took a rag, chose the washing machine in the middle that was relatively clean, wiped the bottom clean and put in his clothes.
Xiao Li had just placed the last coat and was about to turn to get the washing powder when a tiny arm stretched out from the pile of clothes and held his arm. The hand that grabbed Xiao Li's arm was small and cold, as if it had just escaped from the morgue.
Xiao Li's movements paused and he stared at the face hidden in the pile of clothes for a moment. It was a little ghost. The ghost had hidden in Xiao Li's clothes and opened its mouth.
Xiao Li paused. Then he quickly grabbed the washing powder on the cabinet and poured half the bag inside. Then he closed the lid of the washing machine and pressed the start button. Water entered first and then there was banging against the lid of the washing machine Soon, the washing machine started and turned the clothes inside, rotating and kneading them 360 degrees. The body also buzzed and shook.
The little ghost, "Ahhhhhhhhh—"
The corners of its eyes were suddenly wet.
The author has something to say:
@Tell it to Hercule bot, I'm not anonymous.
At one time, I was a happy ghost who freely laughed at these outsiders. Later, one day, I met him and now I can no longer taste happiness. I'm not happy and I want to cry. Woo.
Featured Comment 1: Isn't it convenient for you to change your hairstyle?
2: Is the upstairs person Hercule? If you have the ability then use your main account.
3: Fortunately, I don't have hair. I don't have a head at all. Hahahaha, he can't do anything to me.
4: I thought of a ghost interview before that asked why he looked for the crying woman and didn't find another ghost to deal with the laughing ghost. As a result, he said he saw you laughing so happily that he wanted to see how you cried.
5:... Do you hear what this human is saying? I am crying in my heart.
6: Don't ghosts deserve to be happy?!
| ← Ch. 151 | Ch. 153 → |