The original front desk had been quite a pretty person, with permed small curly hair and a red sweater. Though a bit tacky, it really brought out her red lips and white teeth, making her exceptionally alluring. But after her nonsensical rant, her appearance differed greatly from the start.
The originally curly hair became a messy tangle hanging down, turning from somewhat refined into a straw heap that looked utterly disheveled. The fresh-faced look with red lips and white teeth also changed; her little face turned deathly pale, making her look particularly ghostly.
On top of that, the biggest change was her head. Strands of blood slid down from the top of her head, flowing past her eyes. Those streaks of dripping blood resembled tears streaming from her eyes.
“You can’t! You mustn’t! Didn’t you hear what everyone said, didn’t you see what she did? You shouldn’t be like this!”
Her words gave Qi Xu a moment of realization. Qi Xu reached out and pulled “Xia Zhiming” behind her to protect her. This was the person she was supposed to catch, and probably an important character in the plot too. Keeping her safe might mean she herself would be fine.
Qi Xu directly applied her experience from playing script murder games here.
But her actions only broke the front desk ghost even more: “Why are you protecting her like that?! You shouldn’t be doing this. You should burst in angrily and give her a few big slaps! Kill her in the argument! Gut her! Bash her head against the wall! Hold her down in the bathroom sink!”
Her words successfully gave Qi Xu goosebumps all over, because those methods of death were exactly how the men recently ruled as suicides in the Vivid Red Hotel had died.
Hearing the front desk ghost’s words made Qi Xu even more certain that this front desk ghost, who had seemed so harmless before, was very likely the BOSS! Her actions fit too. First off, she wasn’t the front desk at all.
If she were the front desk, she wouldn’t be unclear on where each room was. Sure, it could be a plot setup where the front desk was meant to lead Qi Xu around opening random doors. But Qi Xu believed every plot point had deeper meaning; there was no such thing as pointless setups!
So, this very likely showed that the front desk in front of her wasn’t familiar with the hotel. She wasn’t familiar with the hotel, yet she led Qi Xu around like the owner of the house. There was only one possibility: she was the strongest ghost in this instance… no, in the Ghost Domain!
Moreover, the front desk ghost’s words sent chills down Qi Xu’s spine. If what she blurted out in her breakdown was true, then those men before had actually done those things to the captured person in the illusion—possibly their partner—saying what she described.
But in the end, it had backfired on them.
As a woman, Qi Xu actually thought… wasn’t that what they deserved? According to the script, the wife had only come to talk business, but the husband happened to see, and with bystanders adding fuel to the fire, he misunderstood that his wife was cuckolding him and killed her.
Qi Xu paused again, because although the police files did mention a crime of passion, they didn’t match this situation. Qi Xu racked her brains, wondering which victim the front desk ghost really was. None of the murders matched.
Of course, there were files without photos, or ones too old with no pictures left; or photos lost due to poor preservation. Though the Vivid Red Hotel only had a history of a dozen or so years, this was a remote town, so oversights or losses in storage were normal.
The thought that the front desk ghost might be one of those faceless victims gave Qi Xu a headache. Mainly, she still had to write a report afterward. If she couldn’t figure it out, how would she write it?
To gather more intel, Qi Xu forced herself to calm down and spoke to the figure opposite her: “But she said she only came for work. They were just sitting here chatting, clothes all neat and proper, nothing unclean happened. Why should I do something so extreme to her?”
Though Qi Xu said this to coax more information from the front desk ghost, she meant every word. Her tone and eyes told the front desk ghost that this was truly how she felt.
The front desk ghost froze for a moment, her broken state easing slightly. She fell silent for a bit before tremblingly asking with her lips: “You really think that?”
“Yeah.”
Qi Xu answered frankly. She said, “I believe her.”
For some inexplicable reason, the front desk ghost shed two streams of tears. She cried and laughed at the same time, her mental state looking unstable in Qi Xu’s eyes. Qi Xu’s gaze shifted behind the front desk ghost, pondering how to escape from behind her if needed.
Jumping from the fourth floor was impossible—no way. She was just a squishy college student; jumping from the fourth floor would turn her into a meat patty.
“You believe her, you believe her! You actually really believe her.” After a while, the front desk ghost seemed somewhat calmed. Qi Xu realized this ghost could be reasoned with. Between fleeing and talking her way out, she chose the latter.
Her stamina wasn’t great, so talking it out was better if possible.
“So, can you let us leave now?”
But Qi Xu’s talking skills weren’t great, and she had no concept of “beating around the bush.” She directly stated her demand. She didn’t forget to give “Xia Zhiming” a hand—even if fake, helping was helping.
Qi Xu felt the front desk ghost was somewhat moved and planned to press on, but two words from the front desk ghost choked back all her other words.
“No.”
The front desk ghost said, “I’m really touched by what you did. But I’m almost out of time. I can’t let you leave. Sorry, I still have to eat you.”
Hey, how polite of you.
Qi Xu almost laughed in anger, but the ghost took advantage of her daze and lunged straight at her. No more pretending—she directly revealed her true form as the Inverted Hanging Ghost. Qi Xu had known that the Inverted Hanging Ghost chasing her earlier wasn’t simple!
This was too much! Too unethical! She had followed the plot obediently without hitting a death flag, and still it wanted to grab her!
But her attack power with feet on the ground seemed much weaker than when hanging from the ceiling. Her lunge toward Qi Xu was noticeably slower, giving Qi Xu a chance to slide under her armpit in a tackle and slip out.
Qi Xu was indeed a squishy college student with poor stamina. But as a university student, she still had PE class! And when bored and wanting to lose weight, she’d drag her roommates to jog on the track.
Plus, she was the bold type who paid to play stepping block games with her roommates.
Qi Xu successfully reached the door but still worried about the fake Xia Zhiming. She turned back and extended a hand to “Xia Zhiming”: “Quick, come here, I’ll pull you!”
“Xia Zhiming” hesitated, but it was too late to grab her hand. Qi Xu watched as the Inverted Hanging Ghost’s figure blocked “Xia Zhiming.” No choice—she bolted out the door.
—It’s not that I didn’t want to save you, Xia Zhiming! I couldn’t!
After bursting out the door, Qi Xu sprinted like mad. The ghosts clinging to the door frames earlier suddenly stirred. Qi Xu didn’t dare bet what they were and dodged them all. Compared to the Inverted Hanging Ghost, they were small fry and easily evaded.
The corridor hadn’t shifted yet, still as it was when she came—no endless stretch like the first encounter with the hanging ghost.
Qi Xu’s first thought was to run downstairs, outside, and find Xia Zhiming.
She now knew the rough plot, and her report had material. Time for Xia Zhiming to step up! She felt sorry for the Inverted Hanging Ghost, but that one wouldn’t listen, and her own life came first.
Just then, “thud thud” sounds came from behind.
No need to look back—she knew the other had already hung from the ceiling and was chasing her across it.
Qi Xu didn’t want to turn, but fear forced her to, to see the situation. People could be so contradictory. Terrified to death, yet still wanting to observe the source of fear to keep a safe distance.
The instant she turned, Qi Xu thought: Even the devil’s painting wasn’t this bad. The hanging ghost’s pose on the ceiling was far more twisted than the first time. No longer legs inverted standing, but like a spider, legs and feet tightly gripping the ceiling upside down.
Now, Qi Xu somewhat hated her own sharp eyesight, because she clearly saw the ghost’s head a messy horror, wrapped in red and white fluids, looking especially creepy.
Besides her, below on the corridor floor, several twisted-bodied ghosts piled together, postures bizarre, intertwined into a massive knotted braid, wriggling toward Qi Xu.
“…!”
Qi Xu felt her scalp go numb; the sight was too disgusting. She could only sprint like mad, terrified of being caught.
But as she fled, she clearly felt the corridor stretching. The window at the far end grew ever distant. Qi Xu swallowed hard, knowing this was the Inverted Hanging Ghost’s ghostly trick.
The ghost chased while her mouth didn’t stop:
The knotted clump of ghosts made sounds: 【Why betray me! How dare you get a room with another man?!】 Their mouths spewed uncensored filth.
Qi Xu finally escaped into the stairwell, stumbling down. She barely reached the first-floor lobby, where the four mosaic-faced ghosts still muttered: 【It’s her, it’s her, cucked by his own wife!】
Qi Xu wanted to curse them but had no breath left.
She didn’t slow down, shoving the door open—not running out, but tumbling out.
But tumbling from inside to outside, what met Qi Xu wasn’t cold ground, but a warm embrace.
Qi Xu looked up, about to thank Xia Zhiming, only to be tossed unceremoniously to the ground beside her by Xia Zhiming.
