Revised

Along the way, the two companions and the driver listened to a tragic, world-defying love story that rose and fell in dramatic waves.

Jiang Luo spent his days listening to clients ramble; if nothing else, he knew that some clients lived lives more melodramatic than any soap opera. His eloquence had been forged in the fires of dealing with project managers. Borrowing from TV plots and client experiences, Jiang Luo stitched together a complete outline and began his performance.

From 'you love me but I don't love you' and 'your pursuit is a nuisance' to 'you died and I realized I loved you all along,' the story had it all: tragedy, joy, sweetness, and torment. Even the driver, who had been listening to crosstalk, silently turned it off and pricked up his ears to listen to Jiang Luo.

'...When Chi You was a teaching assistant at our school, he would drag me to his office after class for extra lessons, dragging me all over campus under the guise of training my feng shui skills. But I thought he was just deliberately making things difficult for me,' Jiang Luo leaned back in his seat, his figure swallowed by shadows, melancholy flowing from his fair, refined brows. 'That day he confessed to me, and I turned and walked away... Who knew that after I left, he would die.'

Lu You had a sudden realization. 'No wonder you were cursing Chi You every day back then. I thought you were just jealous of him.'

Jiang Luo thought to himself: well, he was jealous.

The original owner had been jealous of Chi You's talent. Chi You wasn't truly kind or gentle; he would smile as he tormented the original owner after class, ostensibly giving lessons while actually showing off his talent with effortless indifference. The original owner, lacking ability but possessing a prideful heart and a narrow mind, grew increasingly twisted as he watched the things he couldn't master be performed with ease by Chi You, eventually curdling into hatred.

Jiang Luo shook his head with a bitter smile. 'Looking back now, I really wish I could go back to that time.'

The words had barely left his lips when a gust of cold wind slammed into the window, whistling past the glass like a sharp blade. Jiang Luo froze; he raised his hand to find goosebumps rising instinctively on his fair forearm.

He turned to look out the window.

Clouds gathered in layers. The slender trees by the road, no thicker than an adult's wrist, were whipped into a tattered, pitiful state by the wind and rain. Raindrops streaked diagonally across the car window before slowly, reluctantly dripping away.

The transparent droplets gradually turned a cinnabar red, like a single drop of blood, hinting at the fading of life.

It happened to slide right to the corner of Jiang Luo's brow.

Jiang Luo’s expression remained unchanged. He withdrew his gaze and looked up at the rearview mirror; it reflected only the three of them and the taxi driver in front.

There was no Ghost present.

Or perhaps there was, but he could not see it.

'No wonder Chi You always kept you in his office back then,' Ye Xun said, thoughtful. 'So he was just looking for an excuse to spend time alone with you.'

Jiang Luo: 'Yes...'

The glass let out a sharp, crisp crack, spiderwebbing instantly.

The three in the back seat stared, dumbfounded. Lu You muttered, 'Boss, isn't your car window a bit too cheap?'

The driver was stunned. 'That’s impossible.'

Cold wind seeped through the cracks, carrying a deathly chill that brushed against Jiang Luo's neck. It felt as if a hand were tracing his throat with morbid interest, a silent warning to stop talking nonsense.

Jiang Luo touched his neck, feeling only a pocket of cold air.

The driver kept wanting to look back to see what was wrong with the window, but he had to drive, so he could only turn back after a glance or two. Lu You and Ye Xun squeezed to the side to give Jiang Luo a safer spot. Ye Xun continued to ask: 'Was I right?'

His neck was suddenly constricted. Jiang Luo couldn't help but cough, his Adam's apple bobbing twice; he even felt a trace of difficulty swallowing. The smile on his face grew wider. He brushed his black hair aside, his face a striking, vivid mix of beauty and grit, and he said with conviction: 'Yes, Chi You wanted to spend time alone with me.'

Jiang Luo remembered very clearly.

Chi You couldn't kill him right now.

Even if Chi You could, he wouldn't just be squeezing his neck like this. Chi You should be using the cruel, bloody methods from the original text to make him beg for death, unable to find an end.

This superficial warning felt more like someone teasing a wild cat with its claws out; the more arrogant and fiery the cat’s temper, the more fun it was to provoke. If Jiang Luo changed his tune now, it would only make Chi You lose interest and kill him without mercy.

Sure enough, after he said that, Jiang Luo suffered no further harm. The chill at his neck slowly dissipated, leaving only the broken window.

Half an hour later, the three arrived at their destination.

Jiang Luo was the first to scan the code and pay. Half a minute later, the driver received the notification; there was an extra thousand yuan on top of the fare, with a note that read: 'Window repair fee (￣︶￣)'.

The driver looked up in surprise, only to see the three figures already walking away.

129 Hotel is a local internet-famous hotel situated on the East North Third Ring Road. Its location is out of the way, but it made its name through scenic surroundings, striking architecture, and a willingness to spend heavily on promotion—oh, and the Red Wine they serve doesn't hurt either.

The exterior mimicked a fairytale castle, with a pink and bright yellow color scheme that was impossible to miss, guaranteed to catch anyone's eye.

After their previous exchange, Lu You and Ye Xun had clearly accepted Jiang Luo. Lu You took the initiative to ask: 'Did you look at the 129 Hotel files before we left?'

Jiang Luo shook his head honestly. 'No.'

Lu You looked sympathetic, clearly assuming Jiang Luo hadn't read them because of Chi You's death. 'It’s okay, everything will pass.'

Jiang Luo cooperated by flashing a strong, brave smile.

Lu You: 'I'll give you a quick summary. Had you heard of 129 Hotel before?'

Jiang Luo nodded. 'I've heard of it.'

Local college students who went out often had basically all heard of 129 Hotel. The hotel focused on a fairytale theme, claiming to let guests enjoy a dreamlike existence free from the troubles of reality. It had a wide variety of themed rooms, the most famous being the Sleeping Beauty and Snow White suites. At its peak, you couldn't even book a room after a month of waiting in line.

Lu You said: '129 Hotel used to be very popular; people would even travel from other provinces just to check in. But half a year ago, business suddenly took a turn for the worse.'

'The ratings on websites kept dropping, and customers who stayed at 129 Hotel started complaining frequently. They said that while staying there, they would feel unexplained headaches, have trouble sleeping, and suffer from nervous exhaustion. After leaving the hotel, they would run into terrible luck.'

Ye Xun took over: 'But up until then, the boss of 129 Hotel hadn't noticed anything wrong. It wasn't until a month ago that, among a group of tourists from another province who had booked 129 Hotel, three people vanished into thin air.'

Jiang Luo: '129 Hotel doesn't have security cameras?'

'It’s precisely because the cameras failed and the disappearances were so bizarre that the authorities concluded this was a Xuanxue World incident. They passed the Store Manager's request to the Dean, and the Dean assigned it to us as a mission,' Ye Xun said nonchalantly. He suddenly picked up the Cursed Rabbit Doll, held it under his eyes, and turned to Jiang Luo and Lu You with a blank face, acting cute. 'I asked Little Pink, and Little Pink says that once we finish this job, I'll have enough credits to participate in the Yunnan Province competition.'

Lu You said enviously: 'I’m still far off.'

After speaking, they all looked at Jiang Luo. Jiang Luo thought about the original owner's grades and was silent for a moment. 'My credits are at 3.'

Lu You and Ye Xun: 'Hiss.'

Embarrassing. Truly embarrassing. As a top student who had crushed others from childhood to adulthood, Jiang Luo wanted to drag the original owner out and give him a beating.

The competition Ye Xun mentioned was the major quadrennial event of the Xuanxue World. This year it was being held in Yunnan Province. Every competition was treated with extreme importance by those in the circle and was seen as a grand festival for Xuanxue and feng shui. The competition also had a scientific name, just like Jiang Luo's major: the National Science Competition.

Students in the Xuanxue departments of various universities needed at least 20 credits to participate.

Lu You and Ye Xun were surprised, but remembering Jiang Luo's past behavior, they weren't entirely shocked. Lu You suspected Jiang Luo hadn't listened to a single lecture: 'Your credits are too embarrassing, Jiang Luo. Did you learn anything in class at all? Let me test you: look at the surrounding environment and tell me what you think of the feng shui at 129 Hotel.'

Jiang Luo stood still and looked around.

The original owner's mind was empty, devoid of professional knowledge. But Jiang Luo studied design; those who studied design had to learn some feng shui to avoid committing taboos.

He looked at 129 Hotel first. The fairytale-style building stood out among the green hills and clear waters. Jiang Luo raised an eyebrow. 'Mountains in the back, grass in the front, water on the left, a long road on the right. With the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise all gathered, it’s a prime piece of feng shui land.'

No wonder business had been so booming before.

Jiang Luo looked around again and suddenly said, 'Huh?' 'There’s a Court nearby.'

Ye Xun said flatly: 'That was built two years ago. It used to be a Slaughterhouse.'

Jiang Luo smiled and pointed to the windows on both sides of the hotel. 'The windows face the Court directly. Whether it is a Slaughterhouse or a Court, both are places of extreme Yin or extreme Yang. Neither is beneficial to people; this is a classic Window Fiend.'

The Slaughterhouse had too much blood-stench; the vengeful spirits of the slaughtered animals would form a negative magnetic field. People who worked there long-term or lived nearby would be affected, becoming violent, irritable, or inexplicably depressed. The Court, being too upright, had an excess of Yang energy, which also caused negative effects.

Lu You looked at him with new eyes, feeling that he had truly worn colored glasses before and had been biased against Jiang Luo. 'Jiang Luo, I originally thought you were only good for your looks. It turns out that besides your looks, you’re at least as good as the granddaughter of my second aunt's sister-in-law, who’s still in elementary school.'

Jiang Luo: '...' Sometimes he felt it was a miracle Lu You had survived this long.

The three walked into the fairytale castle. The Store Manager had been pacing back and forth, waiting for them. He breathed a sigh of relief when they arrived, but upon seeing how young they were, he couldn't help but look despairing. 'Why are there only three little kids?'

The Store Manager glanced at Ye Xun and the Cursed Rabbit Doll in his arms, then covered his face and began to cry in despair.

Ye Xun was expressionless. 'He said we’re little kids.'

Lu You touched his face and said happily: 'He’s not wrong.'

Jiang Luo could clearly see a hint of accusation on Ye Xun's face; it seemed Ye Xun had suffered this kind of belittlement many times because of the doll. As someone who had just been helped by Ye Xun, Jiang Luo stroked his chin. 'I have a way to make sure no one ever calls you a little kid again. Want to try?'

Ye Xun agreed immediately. 'Okay.'

Jiang Luo had Ye Xun and Lu You step back, then walked up to the Store Manager alone and tapped his fingers on the table. 'Boss, what are you crying for?'

The Store Manager looked up, choking back sobs. 'They’re all just little kids, shouldn't I be crying?'

Jiang Luo: 'Do you know what it means to not judge a book by its cover?'

'The fact that three students were sent to accept your request proves that we have the ability to handle your business,' Jiang Luo pointed at Ye Xun. 'This guy is incredible. Even ghosts are afraid of him. What are you afraid of?'

The Store Manager was skeptical. 'What’s so scary about this kid?'

Jiang Luo sighed. 'I’ll tell you the truth: that Cursed Rabbit Doll he’s holding isn't a doll at all, but a cursed object formed by hundreds of evil ghosts. Normal people would get into trouble just holding it, but he’s fine. Do you know why?'

The Store Manager was getting scared. 'Why?'

The atmosphere grew eerie and dark. The Store Manager cautiously glanced at the doll in Ye Xun’s arms and actually saw its lifeless eyes roll!

The Store Manager’s breath hitched, his face turning deathly pale; he nearly fell off his chair.

Jiang Luo didn't see the change in the doll. His tone grew cold: 'Because he likes to eat ghosts. He eats when he’s unhappy, and he eats when he’s happy. You think he looks young, but he’s actually fifty-eight. It’s just that because he’s eaten so many ghosts, the Yin and Yang in his body are inverted, which stopped his growth. Even the Cursed Rabbit Doll is afraid of the aura he carries. Your hotel has such strange occurrences, yet we dared to come—isn't it all because we’re following him?'

The Store Manager shivered; he didn't dare look at the Cursed Rabbit Doll again. 'I-I understand.'

Jiang Luo tapped the table and lowered his voice: 'Remember, don't tell anyone else about this.'

The Store Manager nodded stiffly. He took a deep breath, walked over to Ye Xun and Lu You, and gave a dry laugh. 'Students, I’m sorry. I absolutely trust in your abilities. What I said before was just me joking, hahahaha! Don't mind me, don't mind me. How about I take you to the room where the guests disappeared?'

Ye Xun’s lips curled slightly, and he nodded with reserve. 'Let’s go.'

Jiang Luo followed behind, and Lu You asked him curiously, 'What did you say to the boss?'

Jiang Luo sighed. 'The boss is a good man. I told him Ye Xun doesn't like being called a little kid, and he immediately realized his mistake, swearing he’d never call him that again.'

Lu You couldn't help but nod repeatedly. 'It’s rare to see an uncle who admits his mistakes so readily these days.'

129 Hotel had extensive garden landscaping inside, almost like a small park. It was less like a hotel and more like a manor with scattered residences.

As the Store Manager led them through a Pavilion, an old woman and a young child were sitting in a rocking chair, resting.

The Store Manager explained: 'That’s my old mother; I brought her here to stay for a month or two. That little brat is my kid, only three years old.'

The child had fallen asleep from the rocking of the chair. The Old Lady greeted them with reserved politeness, then carried her grandson and walked away slowly.

Jiang Luo stared fixedly at the child's chubby, lotus-root-like wrists, wondering if something was wrong with his eyes—why else would he see a wisp of Black Mist-like energy on that arm?

'Lu You,' Jiang Luo poked Lu You, his eyes still fixed on the departing child. 'Do you see the Black Mist on that kid’s arm?'

Lu You said blankly: 'What thing? I don't see anything.'

Jiang Luo: 'You don't see anything?'

Lu You shook his head.

Jiang Luo frowned, following the Store Manager’s footsteps in deep thought.

He trusted himself implicitly. Lu You not seeing it didn't mean he was wrong. So, what exactly was it that he had seen?