Chapter 20

Page 1/3

For a moment, he almost thought it was his sister Qin jumping off the building. Xia Lingze pulled the girl inside from the window and casually asked, “How many tables does this hotel serve in a day?”

Having just gone through a terrifying ordeal, Qin Yijue’s mind was still shaken, and her emotions hadn’t settled. She instinctively replied, “I don’t know, but I think I’m the only table today.”

The Qin family and the He family had reserved the entire hotel; logically, there shouldn’t be anyone else today.

“Huh? That can’t be right. I think my sister is also getting married here. Isn’t it today?” Xia Lingze scratched his head. “Forget it, I’ll go find her. You should cheer up. Marriage isn’t a must; if the relationship isn’t good, just part ways. As Uncle Tiedan says: goodbye is goodbye, the next one will be better. Okay, I’m off.”

With that, Xia Lingze was about to leave.

Qin Yijue reflexively reached out to stop him.

Xia Lingze froze and looked back at her with a puzzled expression.

“Don’t go. We’re both trapped in the eerie realm right now. It’s dangerous; let’s stick together,” Qin Yijue forced a smile and tried to convey goodwill, speaking softly.

“Eerie realm?” Xia Lingze echoed, confused.

“Yes.” Qin Yijue didn’t notice his confusion. The eerie phenomena had been resurging for sixty years; even those who didn’t go online paid close attention to anything involving life-threatening situations. Besides, the boy didn’t look very old. His hair was stylishly dyed gold at the tips, looking cool and handsome; his clothes were visibly exquisite and refined, exuding an air of nobility. He was clearly from a wealthy family and certainly wouldn’t be unaware of the eerie occurrences.

With this preconceived impression and her attention not focused on him, Qin Yijue naturally didn’t notice the confusion in Xia Lingze’s eyes.

Xia Lingze guessed that “eerie realm” might be a unique term city folks used to describe some kind of phenomenon or situation. Since the girl only softly said “yes” without further explanation, he didn’t press the matter.

“But I want to find my sister. It’s not really appropriate for you to follow me...” Xia Lingze said tactfully.

“I’ll look with you.” Qin Yijue, afraid he would leave her behind, quickly said, “By the way, my name’s Qin Yijue. And you?”

Also surnamed Qin? What a coincidence.

“I’m Xia Lingze.”

After exchanging names, Qin Yijue felt their relationship had grown closer and stuck close to Xia Lingze. She really wanted to hold his hand or arm for security, but Xia Lingze had both hands behind his head, giving her no chance. She didn’t know if he was doing it on purpose or just oblivious.

Qin Yijue silently complained that Xia Lingze didn’t know how to cherish a delicate flower—ignoring a pretty girl trying to show vulnerability was insensitive and impolite.

As they walked down the corridor, the hotel was eerily quiet with no one in sight.

A sharp pain stabbed at Qin Yijue’s foot. She tugged on Xia Lingze’s clothes gently and said softly, “Wait, my foot hurts.”

She had been roughly dragged along by He Yushuo earlier and climbed some stairs, so her foot was already sore. Now that her nerves were slightly relaxed, the pain worsened.

Xia Lingze stopped and asked, “What should we do?”

Why won’t you just take off your shoes and let me wear them? Qin Yijue wanted to say but could only hint helplessly. Xia Lingze’s clear eyes made her heart ache.

Gritting her teeth, Qin Yijue took off her high heels and stepped barefoot on the cold floor, weakly smiling, “It’s fine. I’ll just walk barefoot.”

She had said it clearly; he should understand by now!

Seeing her hopeful gaze, Xia Lingze nodded, “Alright, let’s go.”

The smooth hotel floor was no problem to walk on barefoot for Xia Lingze. In fact, wearing those sky-high heels seemed more torturous to him.

Qin Yijue was speechless.

They were currently on the third floor. Xia Lingze had been taught manners since childhood—not to enter others’ rooms casually. Although there were many rooms, most were closed, so he had never stepped inside any. He had only grabbed Qin Yijue from a window along the corridor.

In other words, a fifty-fifty chance.

If Qin Yijue had fallen on the side facing the rooms instead of the corridor, she would have been shattered by now.

“Do you know where your sister is?” Qin Yijue asked softly.

“No.” Xia Lingze answered decisively. “We’ll search floor by floor. We’ll find her.”

Qin Yijue lowered her eyes. Her intuition told her her passage was upstairs, so it was good Xia Lingze was going upward.

They reached the seventh floor without encountering danger. Just as Qin Yijue thought they could continue climbing smoothly, heavy footsteps echoed from the corridor corner.

Her face turned pale, and she clutched Xia Lingze’s shirt tightly.

Xia Lingze glanced at her, confused, but said nothing.

Sensing that Xia Lingze neither dodged nor avoided, and kept moving forward, Qin Yijue panicked and whispered, “Let’s quickly find a room to hide.”

“Ah?” Xia Lingze hesitated, “No, sister, don’t do this. We’re innocent.”

Qin Yijue was furious, nearly out of breath, grinding her teeth, “There’s a monster ahead! I mean, we must hide!”

Page 2/3

As soon as she finished, a huge figure emerged from the corner, appearing before them.

Its pale, bluish skin was dotted with black spots. Its belly bulged in rolls that jiggled with each step. Its eyes were lifeless, cloudy gray, and its head tilted slightly, resembling someone recently deceased.

Qin Yijue grabbed Xia Lingze’s shirt with a voice trembling like she might cry, urging, “Run!”

“Why?” Xia Lingze asked.

Why? Not running means death!

Qin Yijue was desperate, doubting if Xia Lingze was an idiot. If she had anyone to rely on, she would have fled already.

“Let’s get out of here,” she pleaded, teeth chattering with fear.

Still, Xia Lingze stood rooted to the spot.

Qin Yijue racked her brain and suddenly thought Xia Lingze might not be afraid because he had some trump card. She forced herself to stay still, suppressing her fear.

When the creature reached them, Xia Lingze greeted it cheerfully, “Hi.”

The fat monster raised a hand and pinched Xia Lingze’s head. Its huge palm completely covered it.

Qin Yijue panicked and turned to run. She had thought Xia Lingze was secretly powerful, but he was just a true fool.

Unheard by her was Xia Lingze’s muffled voice, “I don’t like this. Can you let go?”

The fat monster blinked, then withdrew its greedy gaze from Qin Yijue running away and looked down at its hand.

It squeezed harder.

Hmm?

Harder still.

Sweat the size of soybeans trickled down its bald forehead, its flesh trembling.

Clearly, it was using all its strength, but the head in its grip was as hard as stone, refusing to be crushed.

“If you don’t let go, I’ll get angry,” the boy’s displeased voice sounded.

The fat monster twitched its face, stubbornly raising the other hand to try with two hands.

After several seconds, its expression turned incredulous.

Xia Lingze’s patience ran out. He grabbed the fingers pinching his head and bent them outward.

A crisp snap.

A finger as thick as Xia Lingze’s arm was easily broken, tendon and bone falling to the floor.

Without pause, Xia Lingze bent the second finger. Another snap.

The dumbfounded fat monster finally realized—pain from broken fingers is excruciating. It let out a piercing howl.

Farther down the corridor, Qin Yijue’s hair stood on end, terror nearly overwhelming her. She bit her reddened lips, forcing her trembling legs to move, and pushed open a room door, rushing inside and closing it behind her.

The moment the door closed, all sound ceased. Qin Yijue slid down the door, sitting on the floor, unable to maintain control.

Just as she breathed out in relief, a cold breeze brushed her ear, and a black mass entered her peripheral vision—like hair.

Her whole body stiffened; she dared not turn to look, overwhelmed by terror.

In a daze, she thought maybe plunging to her death was better than being killed by the monsters. At least a jump would be instantaneous death; being killed by these creatures might mean endless torment.

...

The fat monster hastily withdrew its right hand, now missing two fingers, staring in horror at the human fixing his hair—no, he wasn’t human. Humans weren’t this formidable!

The man slowly brushed his tousled hair behind his head, revealing a smooth, full forehead. Then he cast a cold glance as if looking at a dead monster.

Danger instantly filled the fat monster’s mind, triggering a frantic survival instinct: run!

Its pupils trembled, and it swallowed hard.

“You…” it stammered.

Like thunder crashing down.

Page 3/3

The fat monster snatched up the two severed fingers from the ground and fled with lightning speed, its velocity startling given its size.

Xia Lingze watched the fleeing creature in puzzlement. He wanted to ask if it had seen Qin Jinhua.

Sigh, city folks are really strange.

No wonder the villagers always said the outside world isn’t as wonderful as people imagine; although bustling, the human heart has grown cold.

—But one can take the essence and discard the dross.

A thought gradually formed in Xia Lingze’s mind: he wanted to develop Guiyi Village.

He decided to consult everyone after returning, but for now, he must find his sister.

...

Banquet Hall.

The Qin and He families realized too late that their children were missing and hurriedly searched.

Lou Yingqian found the side door leading out of the hall near the last place He Yushuo and Qin Yijue were seen and hesitated.

He suspected He Yushuo was involved but wasn’t sure if it was due to the eerie realm’s influence. More pressing was the bride’s ring. But with so many people in the banquet hall, should he abandon them to search for the bride?

As Lou Yingqian struggled with the decision, a fleeting white figure caught his eye.

He turned sharply, but the figure had already slipped into the crowd. His face darkened as he shouted into his microphone, “There’s a monster among us! Check the people around you!”

He knew this would cause panic, but he had no other choice.

Unexpectedly, the room fell silent. Everyone watched each other warily and soon split into small groups.

Lou Yingqian grimaced, speechless.

“Who is he?” someone asked.

“Don’t know.”

“Me neither.”

Soon, a middle-aged man was singled out; under suspicious gazes, he smiled strangely and bolted out the main entrance.

Lou Yingqian gave chase. The man was fast, and with many hotel corners, he disappeared from sight several times.

The fifth time, Lou Yingqian saw part of the man’s clothing vanish toward the women’s restroom and followed without hesitation.

The restroom was empty.

Holding his breath, Lou Yingqian pulled out a kitchen knife he had hidden earlier and began opening each stall door.

At the last door, he finally saw something. On the floor lay a faceless monster, and beside it stood a lifelike paper doll.

The paper doll glanced back at him, shrank, and slipped into the ventilation duct, vanishing from view.

No way to follow.

Lou Yingqian looked down at the faceless monster’s corpse and recalled what he knew.

The faceless monster was an E-class minor monster capable of mimicking human appearance, including body shape and gender, but couldn’t replicate memories or subtle habits—basically a form without memory.

Its overall threat was low and easy to detect if one was cautious.

The middle-aged man was likely the faceless monster’s disguise. But the paper doll? Why had it attacked the faceless monster?

A faint white light spilled in through the window. From outside, the hotel seemed isolated in another space, the sole presence in the darkness.

As time passed, more and more monsters appeared in this newly formed eerie realm...

Rooftop.

Suddenly, a tinkling bell sounded overhead.

He Yushuo instinctively looked up. A bridal sedan chair floated high above, with a golden bell hanging between the chair and its roof, producing the ringing.

Then, a slender jade hand emerged from the curtain. A beautiful woman dressed in a red and white wedding gown stepped out, as if walking invisible stairs, descending toward He Yushuo below.

He Yushuo gazed in awe, a smile curling his lips as he murmured, “You’re back.”