Chapter 126: A fair exchange!
"Wow, handsome!" The group of youngsters clearly had a lot of guts. As they walked in, a young girl was already waving and calling out from a distance, "Handsome! Are you here to have fun too?"
Some even glanced at Bai Wan in her red celebratory dress, then whispered to the person next to them while covering their mouths. They seemed to think that others wouldn't notice they were gossiping. Seeing that Chi Shen and the others paid no attention, another youngster shouted, "Handsome, I heard there are ghosts here. How long have you been here? Have you encountered any?"
Chi Shen glanced at Zhong Yi beside him.
Zhong Yi also looked at Chi Shen: "I think they're calling you."
Chi Shen to Zhong Yi: "Have some confidence. You're quite handsome too."
Ji Xingchen spoke up from the side: "I'll go."
"I'll handle it." Zhong Yi stopped Ji Xingchen. Subconsciously, he was still wary of Ji Xingchen. After all, he had been taught since childhood that ghosts like Ji Xingchen could harm people.
Ji Xingchen didn't protest, adjusting his glasses and stepping back.
Bai Wan covered her mouth and giggled, "Mr. Zhong is quite adorable."
Bai Wan tugged on Ji Xingchen's sleeve and whispered in a gossiping tone: "You did that on purpose, didn't you? By offering to go, you knew Mr. Zhong would volunteer. You just didn't want your brother to go, right?"
Ji Xingchen, without batting an eye, responded: "That wasn't my intention."
Bai Wan chuckled again, shaking her head, "Let's go back."
The lady ghost in red had fully materialized now, even her feet were no longer skeletal. At this moment, she was being dragged by Bai Wan, whispering in Bai Wan's ear, "Yesterday, I wanted to sneak back for more flesh. I saw them both biting their lips."
Zhong Jingzhu focused straight ahead, pretending to be deaf. He felt it wasn't his place as an elder to get involved in the affairs of the younger generation.
While they walked and laughed on their side, the situation was quite different for Zhong Yi who went to negotiate.
Zhong Yi's expression was rather grim. Despite being only a couple of years apart in age from the youngsters, he felt a clear generation gap in their communication.
Zhong Yi sternly said, "Aren't you afraid of dying by coming here? Five people have already gone missing!"
Student: "We came precisely because people have disappeared. It sounds terrifying. There must be ghosts here! We all want to see what a ghost looks like!"
Zhong Yi felt like he was about to choke on his own frustration, but he earnestly advised, "Ghosts are terrifying; you should leave as soon as possible."
"Are you trying to deceive us into leaving so you can see the ghost for yourselves?" Someone suddenly interjected.
Zhong Yi felt a lump in his throat, about to respond, when the person who had been speaking with the receptionist returned, visibly upset: "No matter what we say, they won't let us stay in the rooms where the incidents occurred. We even offered to pay extra!"
This was the cause of the uproar in the lobby. The group of students were eager to stay in the rooms of Chi Shen and Zhong Yi because those rooms had reports of disappearances. They hoped the front desk would liaise with Chi Shen about this, but the front desk was reluctant to contact them, leading to the disagreement.
At that moment, Chi Shen was about to walk through the main door leading to the rooms. Hearing their comments, he paused, smiled slightly, and approached the group.
Zhong Yi's brow was deeply furrowed as he pondered how to persuade them to leave. Suddenly, he felt a weight on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Chi Shen patting him gently, "You go rest. I'll talk with them."
As Chi Shen approached, the girl who had called out to him earlier excitedly asked, "Handsome guy, have you stayed here for a day? How was it? Did you encounter anything unusual?"
Chi Shen, with a benevolent smile, responded amicably, "Oh, we did."
"What? What happened? Can you share the story with us?" The girl's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Also, the lady who came in with you, is she cosplaying? Are you guys here for an outdoor shoot? Did you choose this place for its haunted atmosphere? Her wedding gown is so beautiful and exquisite! It must have cost a fortune, right?"
Chi Shen's lips curved into a smirk, "Quite expensive."
Zhong Yi glanced back at Chi Shen and thought, "The youth these days..."
He wasn't exactly sure what he was reflecting upon, considering he and Chi Shen were nearly the same age, but he felt the sentiment fit.
Shortly after their return, Chi Shen leisurely walked back in, the commotion from the lobby having subsided. Zhong Yi was now sipping osmanthus wine with the group, a bit self-deprecatingly.
Initially, he had reservations about consuming anything here, but after falling into a pond the previous night and accidentally swallowing its water, he had loosened up a bit, indulging in drinks with the group.
Zhong Yi was a bit dejected, feeling he failed even in simple tasks like persuading students. He felt rather useless.
Seeing Chi Shen's return, he mumbled, "Did they leave?"
"They did." Chi Shen took a seat next to Zhong Yi, his gaze resting briefly on the glass of fragrant, sweet osmanthus wine before shifting away.
"How did you manage to convince them?" Zhong Yi inquired.
Chi Shen replied, "I didn't try to persuade them. I simply shared my experiences with ghosts. Strangely enough, they all left after hearing my stories."
Zhong Yi took another swig, "Did they give you strange looks as they left?"
"If by 'strange looks' you mean looks of fear, then yes," Chi Shen remarked.
Zhong Yi shook his head. "Never mind. I'm heading back."
Once Zhong Yi left, Chi Shen suggested, "We should try the outdoor hot springs at this hour. We're here anyway; we shouldn't miss it."
Ji Xingchen, however, looked at him and stated, "We have an answer."
Chi Shen, intrigued, asked, "What answer?"
"I've been doubting the fact of my own death," Ji Xingchen calmly explained, "If not for the memories I've undoubtedly lost, I would think I'm still alive."
The 'someone' he referred to earlier about testing wasn't Chi Shen or Zhong Yi, but himself.
"And you two?" Chi Shen glanced between Bai Wan and the lady ghost in red.
The red-clothed ghost blinked in surprise. "Huh?"
Bai Wan responded, "I've had moments of doubt, but I clearly remember the moment of my death."
Touching his chin thoughtfully, Chi Shen mused, "If this place can make a ghost believe they're alive, what would it do to a living person?"
Elsewhere, Zhong Yi went back to his room to organize the memories of the previous night, documenting the events.
After much contemplation, he realized that the figure holding a knife seemed unusual—not ghostly, but rather human.
The lady in red had mentioned encountering someone with a knife intending to kill her. Could they possibly be the same person?
With this thought, Zhong Yi quickly dressed and headed out. He needed to visit the location from last night to ascertain if someone was indeed hiding within the hot spring hotel, plotting to kill.
As he stepped out, he noticed a cleaner vacuuming the carpet. He greeted them politely as he passed, but received no acknowledgment in return.
This struck Zhong Yi as odd, but he proceeded without disturbing the cleaner's work.
On his way, he encountered another hotel staff member, who, too, seemed to look right through him, walking past as if he wasn’t there.
By now, Zhong Yi felt distinctly uneasy. It was reminiscent of the previous night’s encounter with the receptionist, as if they couldn’t see him.
A chilling thought gripped him: in this place where ghosts became more human-like, if he had died here—
Would he be unaware of his own death?
Chapter 126: A fair exchange!
"Wow, handsome!" The group of youngsters clearly had a lot of guts. As they walked in, a young girl was already waving and calling out from a distance, "Handsome! Are you here to have fun too?"
Some even glanced at Bai Wan in her red celebratory dress, then whispered to the person next to them while covering their mouths. They seemed to think that others wouldn't notice they were gossiping. Seeing that Chi Shen and the others paid no attention, another youngster shouted, "Handsome, I heard there are ghosts here. How long have you been here? Have you encountered any?"
Chi Shen glanced at Zhong Yi beside him.
Zhong Yi also looked at Chi Shen: "I think they're calling you."
Chi Shen to Zhong Yi: "Have some confidence. You're quite handsome too."
Ji Xingchen spoke up from the side: "I'll go."
"I'll handle it." Zhong Yi stopped Ji Xingchen. Subconsciously, he was still wary of Ji Xingchen. After all, he had been taught since childhood that ghosts like Ji Xingchen could harm people.
Ji Xingchen didn't protest, adjusting his glasses and stepping back.
Bai Wan covered her mouth and giggled, "Mr. Zhong is quite adorable."
Bai Wan tugged on Ji Xingchen's sleeve and whispered in a gossiping tone: "You did that on purpose, didn't you? By offering to go, you knew Mr. Zhong would volunteer. You just didn't want your brother to go, right?"
Ji Xingchen, without batting an eye, responded: "That wasn't my intention."
Bai Wan chuckled again, shaking her head, "Let's go back."
The lady ghost in red had fully materialized now, even her feet were no longer skeletal. At this moment, she was being dragged by Bai Wan, whispering in Bai Wan's ear, "Yesterday, I wanted to sneak back for more flesh. I saw them both biting their lips."
Zhong Jingzhu focused straight ahead, pretending to be deaf. He felt it wasn't his place as an elder to get involved in the affairs of the younger generation.
While they walked and laughed on their side, the situation was quite different for Zhong Yi who went to negotiate.
Zhong Yi's expression was rather grim. Despite being only a couple of years apart in age from the youngsters, he felt a clear generation gap in their communication.
Zhong Yi sternly said, "Aren't you afraid of dying by coming here? Five people have already gone missing!"
Student: "We came precisely because people have disappeared. It sounds terrifying. There must be ghosts here! We all want to see what a ghost looks like!"
Zhong Yi felt like he was about to choke on his own frustration, but he earnestly advised, "Ghosts are terrifying; you should leave as soon as possible."
"Are you trying to deceive us into leaving so you can see the ghost for yourselves?" Someone suddenly interjected.
Zhong Yi felt a lump in his throat, about to respond, when the person who had been speaking with the receptionist returned, visibly upset: "No matter what we say, they won't let us stay in the rooms where the incidents occurred. We even offered to pay extra!"
This was the cause of the uproar in the lobby. The group of students were eager to stay in the rooms of Chi Shen and Zhong Yi because those rooms had reports of disappearances. They hoped the front desk would liaise with Chi Shen about this, but the front desk was reluctant to contact them, leading to the disagreement.
At that moment, Chi Shen was about to walk through the main door leading to the rooms. Hearing their comments, he paused, smiled slightly, and approached the group.
Zhong Yi's brow was deeply furrowed as he pondered how to persuade them to leave. Suddenly, he felt a weight on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Chi Shen patting him gently, "You go rest. I'll talk with them."
As Chi Shen approached, the girl who had called out to him earlier excitedly asked, "Handsome guy, have you stayed here for a day? How was it? Did you encounter anything unusual?"
Chi Shen, with a benevolent smile, responded amicably, "Oh, we did."
"What? What happened? Can you share the story with us?" The girl's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Also, the lady who came in with you, is she cosplaying? Are you guys here for an outdoor shoot? Did you choose this place for its haunted atmosphere? Her wedding gown is so beautiful and exquisite! It must have cost a fortune, right?"
Chi Shen's lips curved into a smirk, "Quite expensive."
Zhong Yi glanced back at Chi Shen and thought, "The youth these days..."
He wasn't exactly sure what he was reflecting upon, considering he and Chi Shen were nearly the same age, but he felt the sentiment fit.
Shortly after their return, Chi Shen leisurely walked back in, the commotion from the lobby having subsided. Zhong Yi was now sipping osmanthus wine with the group, a bit self-deprecatingly.
Initially, he had reservations about consuming anything here, but after falling into a pond the previous night and accidentally swallowing its water, he had loosened up a bit, indulging in drinks with the group.
Zhong Yi was a bit dejected, feeling he failed even in simple tasks like persuading students. He felt rather useless.
Seeing Chi Shen's return, he mumbled, "Did they leave?"
"They did." Chi Shen took a seat next to Zhong Yi, his gaze resting briefly on the glass of fragrant, sweet osmanthus wine before shifting away.
"How did you manage to convince them?" Zhong Yi inquired.
Chi Shen replied, "I didn't try to persuade them. I simply shared my experiences with ghosts. Strangely enough, they all left after hearing my stories."
Zhong Yi took another swig, "Did they give you strange looks as they left?"
"If by 'strange looks' you mean looks of fear, then yes," Chi Shen remarked.
Zhong Yi shook his head. "Never mind. I'm heading back."
Once Zhong Yi left, Chi Shen suggested, "We should try the outdoor hot springs at this hour. We're here anyway; we shouldn't miss it."
Ji Xingchen, however, looked at him and stated, "We have an answer."
Chi Shen, intrigued, asked, "What answer?"
"I've been doubting the fact of my own death," Ji Xingchen calmly explained, "If not for the memories I've undoubtedly lost, I would think I'm still alive."
The 'someone' he referred to earlier about testing wasn't Chi Shen or Zhong Yi, but himself.
"And you two?" Chi Shen glanced between Bai Wan and the lady ghost in red.
The red-clothed ghost blinked in surprise. "Huh?"
Bai Wan responded, "I've had moments of doubt, but I clearly remember the moment of my death."
Touching his chin thoughtfully, Chi Shen mused, "If this place can make a ghost believe they're alive, what would it do to a living person?"
Elsewhere, Zhong Yi went back to his room to organize the memories of the previous night, documenting the events.
After much contemplation, he realized that the figure holding a knife seemed unusual—not ghostly, but rather human.
The lady in red had mentioned encountering someone with a knife intending to kill her. Could they possibly be the same person?
With this thought, Zhong Yi quickly dressed and headed out. He needed to visit the location from last night to ascertain if someone was indeed hiding within the hot spring hotel, plotting to kill.
As he stepped out, he noticed a cleaner vacuuming the carpet. He greeted them politely as he passed, but received no acknowledgment in return.
This struck Zhong Yi as odd, but he proceeded without disturbing the cleaner's work.
On his way, he encountered another hotel staff member, who, too, seemed to look right through him, walking past as if he wasn’t there.
By now, Zhong Yi felt distinctly uneasy. It was reminiscent of the previous night’s encounter with the receptionist, as if they couldn’t see him.
A chilling thought gripped him: in this place where ghosts became more human-like, if he had died here—
Would he be unaware of his own death?
