When Shanhai opened his eyes, his eyes were still dark.
He felt that his head was still heavy, and it must have been dark, so it must still be night. It was too cold this night, not like the temperature it should be on the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival. So Shan Hai got up and wanted to go into the cupboard to see if there was a quilt.
"Are you cold?" he asked Wuqi casually.
No one answered him.
He expected that Shi Wuqi was not awake, but he soon noticed something was wrong - it was too quiet, so quiet that he couldn't even hear anyone's breathing. It was as if he was the only living thing besides himself. Shanhai immediately ignited a flame at his fingertips. Wherever the fire spread, there was nothing, not even the mattress on which he slept.
This is...why?
After a brief moment of shock, Shan Hai quickly calmed down and analyzed the current situation. He walked a few steps, and when he reached what he thought was far more than the room should be, he was sure that he must have encountered a ghost.
There are many forms of ghost blindness, and some people see all kinds of hallucinations, such as their favorite things or the people they miss most. This kind of trick is often used by ghosts or monsters. At worst, it can intimidate and tease people, but at worst, it can kill people. The simplest thing was the situation he encountered at the moment - he couldn't see anything, as if he was in another space. The fatal thing is not to tempt people, but to gradually destroy the human spirit in darkness and silence.
There is no way to crack it, it is even very simple, but the mountains and seas are so deep in it that there is no way to prepare materials to ward off evil spirits. In fact, he was a little surprised, because he thought that with his fate, it would be difficult for him to encounter such a thing. Now that it has happened, it is destined that the mastermind behind it is not easy to deal with. Under normal circumstances, the best way is not to move around randomly - even if you run around, in the eyes of others, you are just standing still in a strange place.
But he is not the type to sit still, or in other words, he knows that he can only rely on himself now.
He sat cross-legged on the ground again and began to wonder what the connection between this ghost covering his eyes was and the monster Shi Wuqi encountered who was suspected of being the drowned daughter. Could she have done this? If so, things would become simpler.
Shi Wuqi actually woke up half an hour earlier than him.
Like Shan Hai, he also woke up from the cold. But when he opened his eyes, he felt that the store was unusual. Driven by curiosity, he left the house and wandered around the store. He could feel that Miss Qi was not moving around in the next room. As for the other two, he didn't pay attention. His attention was completely attracted by the current situation. The atmosphere in the entire store was really strange - like a sinister trap that wanted to trap them all here.
Shi Wuqi's eyesight at night was good, and he could roughly see things clearly without lighting a lamp. Back then, when he was in the underground river of Xuanzhuang Town, he relied on his eyes to help him step on the gravel in the rushing water. Then he saw that the decoration of the entire store seemed to have turned into an old house that had been abandoned for many years. There is dust and cobwebs everywhere, and the walls have fallen off a lot, exposing the moss-covered bricks and stones. There are many holes in the paper doors and wooden windows, and cold wind can pass through them freely.
Is this the true face of this store?
No, maybe not.
Shi Wuqi could tell that all these dilapidated and depressed scenes were illusions. Although he had no way to unravel the illusion, he knew very well that what he saw during the day was the real situation in the hotel. As for why he is so sure, he can't say. It may be his innate intuition, just like when he sees Tartar or other people, he can tell that they are monsters at a glance.
It's not quiet in the house - many ghosts and goblins are having a carnival here, and they are real.
When passing by the wine cellar, he heard some little devils having a meeting inside, noisy and noisy. He didn't interrupt and kept walking. There was a beautiful woman waving to him on the mural, and he just smiled politely in response, turned around and left. Behind the beams, behind the door, and by the fireside, there are real ghosts and ghosts gathering together everywhere. None of them had any hostility toward Shi Wuqi, and many little demons even greeted him.
"Do you know of any woman here who is half a skeleton?"
Shi Wuqi asked a spontaneously burning candle on the wall.
The lampstand ghost that resides in it stretches out a long shadow hand and spreads across the wall. Shi Wuqi followed the direction of the finger and came to the third room two doors away.
Opening the door, there is a boxy, indoor hot spring pool inside. This kind of room is prepared for distinguished guests.
The pool was filled with water, and there were water marks on the floor of the entire room. Not only the floor, but also the doors, windows, walls, and even ceilings all had indelible, wet marks.
There were layers of ripples in the center of the pool, and what emerged from them was a beautiful woman. When she raised her head from the pool, there was no bigger splash. She had a delicate face and was very beautiful. Judging from her outline alone, Shi Wuqi knew that it was the woman he met today.
She really is a drowned daughter.
Seeing the person coming, she quickly sank half of her body, revealing only a pair of resentful eyes, looking at him silently.
"Can you help me?" she said.
Her mouth did not leave the water, but there were no bubbles, and the sound reached Shi Wuqi's ears clearly.
"Why are you so sure?"
"Because you are the Master of Hundred Skeletons."
"...Yes. It's not difficult for me to help you," Shi Wuqi responded, "I want to know what kind of spell this house is under and how to break it? Also, where did you and the other monsters and ghosts come from?"
He asked a series of questions, but the drowned daughter did not answer them. She still looked at him quietly for a long time. After a long time, she slowly stood up from the water.
What appears below the waist is indeed a white pelvis and leg bones.
"We are trapped here," she said flatly, "and no one can break the spell."
"Did the shopkeeper do it? Why is he like this?"
"He did it - it wasn't him. But for us to get out of here, we need the kid's consent."
"child?"
"child."
"You are……"
"I died here, many years ago, in an accident." She was naked, with her long hair covering part of her skin. "But it's nothing... Many people died here, for various reasons, vendetta, Love killings, suicides, manslaughter... The Yin energy here is very strong, and it can often attract many things - things that people are afraid of."
"The so-called rumors that there are few ghosts in Cangyi City are because they all gather here?"
"Not necessarily. There are always a lot of people in this city, and they suppress us. On weekdays, there are many guests in the hotel, and we can't get out."
Shi Wuqi seemed to understand something.
"Ah...the accident at Long Mansion has caused fewer people to come, so you guys are going to come out to cause trouble?"
The drowned girl shook her head, with some water splashing from her hair.
"I said, we are trapped here and cannot reincarnate. Because the child is also trapped."
Children, children again.
Shi Wuqi pondered briefly. In an instant, he suddenly understood something.
"I know, thank you - I'll help you."
After that, he turned around and walked out the door. Before he left, many little monsters lurking in the darkness poked their heads out and looked at his leaving figure. They were indeed expecting something. Even the Hundred Skeleton Master doesn't know where this trust comes from. Perhaps, it is related to the existence of Miss Qi. She made them feel that he was reliable.
Strangely enough, when Shi Wuqi grabbed Shan Hai's wrist, the ghostly eyes were broken in an instant.
It was so easy - not even any spells or rituals, just him touching himself. Shan Hai came back to his senses and looked at him, but hesitated to speak. Shi Wuqi didn't give him a chance to speak, and just asked him:
"Are you awake? Have you seen Aluan and the others? When I brought Miss Qi back, I didn't see them in the room."
"...Don't you feel them?"
Shi Wuqi shook his head.
"It's too dark here, I'm not sure."
"We have to find them. I think they are still safe. A Luan has a safe lock and a peach wood sword, and Mu Wan has a sachet with hidden leaves..."
"It must be fine. But Shanhai, do you know that there is an inaccessible place in the hotel?"
Shan Hai felt that this question was a bit puzzling.
"A place like an inn, I think... maybe a woodshed? A warehouse?"
"A place no one would go."
"Attic? Usually this place is not convenient for getting things. Wait, are you doubting...where did you just go?"
"Let's go upstairs."
Shan Hai almost guessed what assumptions Shi Wuqi made. He didn't know where Shi Wuqi had gone when he encountered the ghost. If he had been in the room, he would have noticed something unusual about him, but he didn't. So he must have gone out to check something, and the disappearance of the two girls must have something to do with it. If they get into trouble, the initiator must trap someone who can crack it - like him. As long as you cover his eyes and restrict his movements, you can do whatever you want.
Therefore, the power of this instigator must be limited. Otherwise, where can I stop him?
But this doesn't make sense... Why didn't Shi Wuqi stop him?
Can't, or don't want to?
Although the hotel is large, it only has three floors. After Shi Wuqi and him came up, they looked up at the formwork below the roof ridge. Although it was quiet now, he was sure there must be something hidden in it.
"Is the Bahuang Mirror in the baggage, or is it on you?"
Before he finished speaking, Shanhai took out the mirror from his clothes. He held the mirror in his hand and reflected the very hazy moonlight outside the window. A small spot of light moved on the wooden ceiling. Not long after, the light spot suddenly disappeared in a certain area.
Without waiting for Shan Hai to say anything, Shi Wuqi opened the wooden board and jumped up to the attic. In this way, Shanhai no longer has the need to go looking for a ladder.
After he went up, he fell into the same silence as Shi Wuqi.
The two little girls faced each other, lit a row of candles, and turned over the floral threads with their hands. When I saw the two of them, one of them even said hello. The one who said hello was the missing Aluan.
Who is the other little girl in red?
