Chapter 26:

……

Qi Xu was thrown to the ground by Xia Zhiming, yes, directly thrown to the ground.

She landed flat on her butt, and she felt her tailbone go numb from the impact. For a moment, Qi Xu could not even stand up.

This was supposed to be a heartwarming scene. A fragile beauty who had escaped from the pursuit of a horde of ghosts threw herself into the arms of another beauty. The two gazed at each other tearfully with simple, sincere emotions…

It should have been that kind of plot.

“Stop sitting there. Get up quickly.”

“Oh…” Qi Xu unwillingly climbed up from the ground and confirmed with a glance that it really was Xia Zhiming. It was completely different from the soft, anxious tone of the “Xia Zhiming” from upstairs earlier. This was the familiar flavor.

After Qi Xu stood up, she was stunned again because the lobby inside Vivid Red Hotel was completely dark, not even a single light on, as if everything that had just happened was merely a dream she had.

“Have we come out of its Ghost Domain?”

“No, we’re still inside.” Xia Zhiming wore her pink Daoist robe and clicked her tongue. “Scared of me like that, coward.” She grabbed Qi Xu and returned to the two steps at the entrance of Vivid Red Hotel, sitting down directly.

Qi Xu did not really want to sit. That butt-landing from earlier still made her backside ache a bit. But Xia Zhiming looked up and glanced at her. Just that one look made Qi Xu obediently and meekly sit down beside Xia Zhiming.

Xia Zhiming took out another lollipop and, as usual without any manners, tossed it on the ground. This time, Qi Xu said nothing. She knew they were in the Ghost Domain, and it would probably disappear soon anyway, so she simply shut her mouth and pretended not to see it.

Sucking on the lollipop, she asked directly, “Figured out what’s going on?”

Qi Xu nodded and told Xia Zhiming everything she had encountered and her guesses. “That’s how it is. I think it’s that Inverted Hanging Ghost. Back then, she was rumored to be cheating, her husband caught her, that scumbag didn’t listen to explanations or believe her, and in a fit of rage, brutally killed her.”

“But there doesn’t seem to be any romantic murder case in the records, and the one that matches doesn’t line up.”

Xia Zhiming snorted. “There are clues about her in the intel. Use your brain more.”

“Huh?” Qi Xu was baffled. She truly had not thought of the clue about the hanging ghost. Seeing her ignorant look, Xia Zhiming rolled her eyes but still told her, “Didn’t you deduce her cause of death from the Inverted Hanging Ghost’s state?”

“Ah…”

Qi Xu racked her brains and thought for a long time until an answer vaguely formed in her mind. She said to Xia Zhiming, her voice tinged with excitement, “I got it. Is it that person who died by jumping off the building?”

“Not bad, you’ve got a bit of brains after all.”

Though Xia Zhiming’s praise did not sound genuine, Qi Xu still felt quite pleased.

The Inverted Hanging Ghost’s identity was not hard to guess if one considered her appearance as a ghost. First off, that ghost was very different from the others; she was hanging upside down. Why was she always upside down? Because when she died, her head was facing down.

She fell from the building, her entire body inverted… And the most inhuman part of her was her head. Red and white fluids covered it, just like when she smashed headfirst into the ground upside down, her skull cracked open, and the blood and brains inside spilled out eagerly.

Thinking about it that way, it was pretty disgusting.

She must have been a woman who loved beauty in life. Even after turning into a ghost and pretending to be the front desk, she dressed beautifully and made herself up nicely.

This also tied into the later victim’s “suicide” ruling. She had clearly been murdered in life, yet for some reason, the case records stated “accidental fall,” concluded as an “accident.” Those victims were the same; clearly “murdered,” yet ruled as “suicide.”

Qi Xu thought of this and glanced back at Vivid Red Hotel. “So what do we do now?”

Xia Zhiming stood up and patted the dust off her butt. Qi Xu hurriedly followed.

“What else? Go make her soul scatter.”

At this moment, Xia Zhiming held a peachwood sword in her hand, and Qi Xu had not even noticed when she had taken it out. But seeing Xia Zhiming armed while she herself was empty-handed, Qi Xu could not help but feel uneasy. “Xia Zhiming, what about that copper coin sword from last time? Can you… lend it to me?”

Hearing Qi Xu’s words, Xia Zhiming turned back. “You’re a pretty strong ghost yourself. Why use a copper coin sword? If it comes to it, just bash your head against the wall. Guaranteed to make your soul leave your body.”

“Huh?”

Qi Xu had not expected that her method of turning into a ghost was like that.

Seeing her actually believe it, Xia Zhiming immediately burst out laughing. “Of course. Hit yourself hard and accurately enough, and you’ll kick the bucket right away, turning into a ghost just like that.”

“…” Qi Xu then realized Xia Zhiming was just teasing her. She gave Xia Zhiming a resentful look but still stuck close behind her, not leaving her side for a moment.

Xia Zhiming pushed open the glass door, and inside was still pitch black, almost impossible to see anything. It was nothing like when Qi Xu had first entered, with the place brightly lit and ghosts chatting.

Qi Xu said softly, “When I came in earlier, there were four ghosts chatting here.”

“Chatting about what?”

Faced with Xia Zhiming’s question, Qi Xu felt a bit embarrassed, but thinking these little details might help Xia Zhiming find the ghost, she blushed and whispered, “They said you put a green hat on me.”

“Bored as hell.”

Qi Xu thought Xia Zhiming was right; only people with nothing better to do would say such things.

Contrary to Qi Xu’s guess that they would have to search haltingly for those ghosts, Xia Zhiming seemed to have a target and led Qi Xu straight ahead. Seeing her climb the stairs, Qi Xu thought they were going upstairs, as room 4404 was highly suspicious.

But when they reached the stairwell, Qi Xu recalled her own miserable parkour escape earlier.

The teacher always said not to run or play in the stairwell, and it was not just empty words—it really was dangerous. Qi Xu had felt her legs go weak running on the stairs earlier; one slip, and she could have tumbled down.

With ghosts chasing behind and the stairs narrow, it had been truly tough for Qi Xu. She felt she had exerted tremendous effort, relying on her extraordinary courage, to barely make it through.

And at that moment, Xia Zhiming reached out and tore a piece of talisman paper from the first step of the stairs.

“?” When had she pasted that?

Qi Xu’s mind was full of that question, but then she saw Xia Zhiming walk a few steps, squat down, and tear off another piece of talisman paper. In the dark environment, only the green light of the emergency exit sign glowed, providing a bit of illumination to the entire stairwell.

At that moment, Qi Xu understood why those ghosts had not caught up to her. It was not because she was so good at running, but because Xia Zhiming had laid down precautions in advance. Otherwise, that Inverted Hanging Ghost should have been faster than her!

Thinking of this, Qi Xu felt a bit smug inside: Xia Zhiming still cared about her, or she would not have specially pasted so many talisman papers just to save her life!

As Qi Xu thought this, a smile crept onto her face. But Xia Zhiming did not collect all the talisman papers, only about half a floor’s worth. Then, she returned to the platform on the first floor, and Qi Xu quickly followed.

Xia Zhiming suddenly asked out of the blue, “Where do you think that Inverted Hanging Ghost is hiding?”

Qi Xu truly did not know. She shook her head blankly, then heard Xia Zhiming give the answer. Actually, Qi Xu was not particularly eager to know, because Xia Zhiming revealing the answer felt like playing a murder mystery game where the GM suddenly pulled a deus ex machina.

The difference was, failing to clear it here meant really kicking the bucket.

Xia Zhiming had the lollipop in her mouth, lifted her foot, and nudged the “Emergency Exit” sign nearby with the tip of her shoe. “She’s been here all along, hiding inside this sign, secretly watching us.”

“Huh?”

Qi Xu was stunned. Xia Zhiming sneered. “Told you you’re dumb, and you really are. Whose ‘safety passage’ sign says ‘Emergency Exit’? The words are wrong. Remember this: in the country, these passages generally only use two phrases, ‘safety passage’ or ‘emergency exit,’ or combinations of those. They basically never use ‘escape.’ Though, not impossible; there are always idiots who might write it that way.”

“Plus, this hotel isn’t exactly a proper one. They probably didn’t even bother powering the signs. Even if there was backup power, the place has been closed for six months—still lit? Infinite energy?”

Xia Zhiming’s sharp tongue went full blast, leaving Qi Xu speechless, though she had to admit it made sense.

In terms of common sense, she really could not compare to Xia Zhiming.

“So, do we drag her out now?”

“Yeah, you go.”

“Me?”

Before Qi Xu could figure it out, the familiar dizzy sensation hit again. When she came back to herself, she was floating in midair, and below her feet was her own body. She saw her body collapsed at the small stairwell entrance and was instantly dumbfounded.

In her soul form, Qi Xu felt no pain, but seeing her body right by Xia Zhiming’s feet, she could not help sucking in a cold breath: It felt like her concussion was about to relapse.

At that moment, her head even phantom-ached. Qi Xu looked at Xia Zhiming resentfully. “Next time, can you catch my body? When I ran out of the hotel earlier, you let me land flat on my butt.”

“Quit whining. Catching you once is already good. If I hadn’t caught you just now and you charged forward into the ground, it would’ve hurt even more.”

“…” Faced with Xia Zhiming, Qi Xu always found herself speechless, because Xia Zhiming was right.

Qi Xu did not want to dwell on the issue and just asked Xia Zhiming, “Weren’t you going to catch her?”

“Aren’t you more convenient? I’ll wait here. Drive that thing over here, and I’ll give her a soul-scattering gift package right away.”