The girl was wearing a red bathrobe. She was short and looked to be only five or six years old. There are many toys around her: kendama, temari, wood carvings, slingshots, rattles... She has all the toys that children like. The roof was a little low, so the two of them had to lower their heads slightly and hunch over. Shi Wuqi wanted to take a step forward, but Shanhai suddenly stopped him. Then, he raised his hand and pointed at the pillars in the attic.
They are all covered with dusty charms.
Shi Wuqi took a deep breath: "There is another person, where are you hiding her?"
The little girl hid behind Aluan and said nothing.
"Listen, girl," he continued, "let her go and I'll help you undo these spells."
"Can you figure it out?"
Shanhai looked at him, then turned and looked at the nearest pillar. He gently blew away the dust on it and carefully looked at the patterns painted on it.
"As long as you can... uh, you can, right?"
"...Don't make random promises to others in the future."
The answer is already obvious. All the hallucinations in this hotel are caused by this little girl.
——Zashiki Warashi.
Shan Hai beckoned Aluan to come over. She looked back at Zashiki Warashi, touched her head, told her that nothing would happen, then turned around and ran to Shankai and the others. Shanhai squatted down and brought his eyes to her level.
"Little girl, don't be afraid. Let me ask you, is the shopkeeper of this store the one who set up these spells?"
The girl was a little scared at first, but when she saw A Luan, who had been playing with her for a while, standing next to him, she seemed to think that he was not a bad person. Although the tall man next to her looked really scary, she nodded and shook her head.
"You mean, it's not him, but he found someone to set it up?"
She nodded.
Zashiki Warashi is a youkai who likes to have fun. Although he has no evil nature, he is very powerful. Usually, they are children who died young from poor families and become playful by nature. Zashiki Warashi often pretends to be familiar to you among a group of friends, but when they are counted one by one, there is one more person than agreed upon, and the extra friends are the ones they are pretending to be. To whomever they are willing to stay, they can bring peace and wealth. Therefore, people try every possible means to lure them with toys and candies, and do everything possible to keep them.
Of course, if this little monster is angry and goes away, it will definitely lead to misfortune. Therefore, some people with evil intentions will find ways to trap them here. In this way, a prosperous life will be guaranteed.
They don't take care of the little monster's mood, and they never even think about what their anger will bring.
Even if the demon is very powerful, there is nothing a little child can do. But if this place itself is evil and a murder has occurred, all this will be difficult to explain.
"Since this store was built, I'm afraid a lot of people have died," Shi Wuqi said, "but it's by no means too many. After all, wherever you go, people have accidents. So this little soul is not enough for you. use."
Shan Hai nodded in agreement: "People come and go in Cangyi City, especially the hotel, which is very lively. This place is also popular with children, so you came. But you must not have thought that you would be discovered by this black-hearted shopkeeper, and also be Trapped.”
Zashiki Warashi lowered his head. After a while, she reluctantly nodded.
"Some of these monsters are real, and some are faked by you. And those who are real account for the majority - although not all of them are dead people, but after the murder in Taki Mansion, due to the decrease in guests and the gradual loss of yang energy, the monsters like Come here, right? Besides, I smell the wine in the cellar, it’s really good.”
Shan Hai looked at her sincerely, as if he were really staring at a child.
"Girl, I want to ask you - can the affairs of Taki's house have anything to do with you?"
Zashiki Warashi shook his head firmly with a firm attitude.
"He won't lie to us, right?" Shi Wuqi whispered.
"No. This child-like monster is very innocent."
"Really? I think you are easy to deceive."
Shan Hai ignored him. He stood up, tapped the charm next to him with his fingertips, and muttered something. The talisman emits a dark blue light, and a small flame ignites from bottom to top, burning the talisman completely without even a trace of ash.
Zashiki Warashi looked at him in surprise. I don't know if it was an illusion, but her originally pale complexion seemed to have become more rosy. The suspicion in her eyes seemed to be lessened.
"I'll help you slowly unlock the spell that sealed you. You promise me two things, okay?"
The little girl tilted her head and looked at him with curious eyes. Dai Luan was a little worried and asked Shan Hai not to make things difficult for her.
"It's not difficult for her, but it's difficult for Mu Wan?" He asked back, and Aluan fell silent. Then, his tone softened again and he said to the girl:
"Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you. First, we still have a human girl who may be trapped in a corner by you. We need to see her first. Secondly..."
Shanhai stretched out a second finger.
"Don't make things difficult for the shopkeeper."
"What?"
These words were spoken by Wu Qi and Aluan at the same time.
"Are you kidding me? What's wrong, why don't you let others fight back if you do it yourself?"
"Yes, Shanhai, why do you care so much? This is retribution!"
Shan Hai was not annoyed either. He slowed down his tone and explained calmly:
"As long as Zashiki Warashi leaves, this person's family will be in ruins and he will get enough retribution. But if she continues to stay here to cause trouble, subsequent guests will also be frightened. If she really catches up with someone with a bad heart, it will be really hurt. Innocent. And if she stays here, her resentment will still suppress all the wronged souls here... In the worst case, they will become ghosts who have lost their consciousness and will not be reincarnated."
The girl over there was obviously panicked, and she trembled slightly. As if anticipating the bad things to come in the future, she shook her head, trying to get rid of those bad thoughts. At this time, they heard a noise coming from downstairs. Shi Wuqi jumped down from the hole in the floor and quickly reached the stairs.
He saw a very complicated scene.
If you say it's scary, it's not that scary; if you say it's funny, it's a bit unkind - Mu Wan's nerves are still tense, his face is gray, his hair is like a frightened cat, and his eyes are very fierce. She tightened her grip on the weapon in her hand, ready to summon the Tengu and die with her opponent at any time.
"Uh, calm down..."
"Who are you!"
"I'm Shi Wuqi?"
"Prove it to me!"
Shi Wuqi sighed, thinking that she shouldn't be frightened by those little devils who imitated people. But if you want to calm her down, if you continue to be mean and provocative like before, you are really looking for a beating. As for the proof...
"Here, you made such a big hole." Shi Wuqi opened the clothes at his waist, "Remember to pay for it."
Mu Wan let out a long breath.
Aluan poked his head out of the hole above: "Well, you still have a face."
"...Why do you still curse when you talk so nicely?"
"Ah, no, I mean...I saw you originally, but it turned out to be a monster. I thought your faces were stolen by the monster that washes your face."
It will take some time to undo those spells. Fortunately, the spell is not difficult and does not limit Zashiki Warashi's magical power - if so, she would not be able to attract wealth. However, they restricted her range of motion, forcing her to move around the house like a guard dog with a leash tied around its neck. So she had to take advantage of the few people and use all the resources around her.
After all this tossing, it was almost dawn.
Before the last spell was released, Shanhai turned to Zashiki Warashi and said that he must remember their agreement. The child nodded obediently, having completely let down his guard. She really looked like a human child now, with a smile that was hard to hide on her face. She must be very happy because she will be free soon. Even hatred is insignificant in the face of the rewards of freedom.
Wu Qi and Mu Wan stood there for a long time, chattering away. It was getting cold and they looked out the window. Shi Wuqi shouted to Shang Min:
"The shopkeeper is back - and he's bringing two waiters with him. Hurry up. Ah... wait a minute."
His voice suddenly became lower, and Mu Wan asked him what was wrong.
"...Ha, let me tell you, the co-author was thinking about the travelers' money."
"What, what did you hear?"
"It's nothing. I heard him telling those two people to be quick and tell them about our room. He must have known that there was a problem with this store, but he still tried his best to make money. Gee, people are really terrible..."
These words made Mu Wan very unhappy. She turned around angrily and went up to the attic. She quickly ran to Shan Hai and muttered something to him. Shi Wuqi originally wanted to catch up, but he had already heard what she said.
"I don't think Shanhai will agree to you-" Shi Wuqi shouted again from below.
The mountains and seas meditated for a long time.
"I think it would be nice if you teased them one last time...don't go too far."
"Eh? Shanhai, have you changed your gender?" Shi Wuqi was still shouting at the top of his lungs.
After daybreak, they quickly left the hotel, returned to the north of the city, and found the inn recommended to them by Ye Mu. Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and although most people still dare not go out on the streets, many people are preparing to set up stalls for the festival. I don’t know if the government has relaxed a little, or if humans are too forgetful - it doesn’t matter, as long as it’s lively.
That night, Aluan complained inside the house.
"Why is this mooncake stuffed with five kernels?"
"What's wrong with the five kernels?" Shi Wuqi grabbed it and pointed at the cross section and said, "Isn't this good? Look, there are only four ingredients, walnuts, peanuts, melon seeds... No, it's five right, but this... …No, who would add Sichuan peppercorns to moon cakes?!”
The two of them were cursing, and Shan Hai and Mu Wan, who had returned from sending a letter, walked in the door.
"Has the family letter been written? Have you also told the other side the things?"
"Yeah" Shanhai nodded, "Also, we heard an unfortunate thing."
"Whose? What bad luck happened? Tell us to make us happy." Shi Wuqi smiled.
"I don't think there is anything more unlucky than the pepper and five-nut mooncakes." A Luan complained.
"Yes, yes," Mu Wan said enthusiastically, "I heard that the manager of the hot spring hotel in the southeast is crazy."
"oh--"
That's really interesting.
