Live Again: Ghost Inn

Time flew by.

Jiang Qiao had already solidified the "Demonization" talent, using up today's three slots.

Although this talent was a road of no return, in a desperate situation, it might just carve out a path to survival.

A narrow escape was still better than certain death!

Besides, if the number of Vicious Ghosts and urban legends fused was relatively small, he might not necessarily be unable to withstand the corruption.

After making some preparations, Jiang Qiao picked up the Paper Phone and headed out, planning to continue searching for Vicious Ghosts while starting a livestream.

Tonight, he had set his sights on a village in the Eastern Suburbs.

By the time Jiang Qiao arrived, it was only ten at night.

Yet every household in the village had already shut its doors tight. There was not even the faintest trace of light.

As he approached one of the houses, he found that the windows were covered with a layer of opaque black cloth, seemingly to prevent any light from leaking out.

By then, Jiang Qiao had already started the livestream.

Because of the stir he had caused the previous night, a large number of Streamer's viewers had come specifically to see what the platform owner's father looked like.

Less than ten minutes after the stream began, the viewer count shot straight up to two million.

The comments flooded the screen at breakneck speed.

"Holy crap, this livestream is on again! Streamer, are you really the platform owner's dad?"

"On this long, sleepless night, hurry up and get the show on the road, Streamer!"

"Get the show on the road!"

"Get the show on the road +1!"

"Get your sister on the road. The Streamer seems to be in Hujia Village!"

"Hujia Village?"

"I think I've heard of it. That place has been getting passed around online lately. It sounds really wicked."

"Yeah. I heard that in the middle of the night, the sound of a woman crying wanders through the village. Some bold villagers went out to check and saw a woman drift into a well."

"I'm from Hujia Village. It's not just the crying. That thing knocks on doors too. I don't even dare live in the village anymore. I moved to the city and rented a place."

"Holy crap? That scary?"

When Hujia Village was mentioned, quite a few people in the comments actually knew about it. They began discussing it one after another, and some even came forward claiming to be villagers and sharing their own experiences.

Seeing this, Jiang Qiao relaxed slightly.

It had spread this widely, so it probably wasn't fake, right?

Holding his selfie stick, Jiang Qiao followed the livestream comments and found the well that the woman had supposedly drifted into.

The well looked quite old.

Its mouth was built from blue bricks and covered in moss, while several chunks were missing from the rim.

Jiang Qiao craned his neck and looked inside. Dense Yin energy continuously seeped out.

Not only that, he could also sense Ghost Qi.

That meant there really was a ghost inside.

After setting down his backpack, Jiang Qiao planned to wait by the stump for the rabbit.

Suddenly, he saw a dim yellow glow appear in the distance.

"Huh? What's that?"

Other than a few streetlights, there were no other light sources in the village.

That direction had been pitch-black earlier as well.

Jiang Qiao followed the glow and discovered that it came from a small three-story inn.

But he had walked around the village earlier and had not seen it.

"Did it just appear?"

Narrowing his eyes, Jiang Qiao strode straight inside.

"Does the Streamer not even bother hiding when he's looking for a hookup? He just walked straight into a little inn. Is he going to ask for a small card and make a call next?"

"Holy crap, what kind of good hookups could there be in a place like this?"

"You just don't get it. This is exactly what we like about the Streamer!"

"Something's not right. Since when did an inn pop up in Hujia Village?"

"Enough already, dude upstairs. Stop pretending to be a shill."

"What the fuck? I live nearby. I've been to Hujia Village countless times, and there's no inn there at all."

"So Evil/Wicked?"

"I can prove it. There's no such inn in our village. If you don't believe me, come see for yourself."

"Could the streamer have really seen a ghost? There seem to have been quite a few reports of ghost encounters online lately. It doesn't feel fake."

"Yeah, yeah. I've got a feeling something big is about to happen."

The moment Jiang Qiao stepped into the inn, he felt a wave of Ghost Qi rush at him.

Looking up, he saw a woman in white flash past the staircase. Jiang Qiao noticed that her feet never touched the ground.

"Sir, are you looking for a room?"

Behind the old, moldy reception desk sat a hunched old woman on a wooden chair, her clouded eyes studying Jiang Qiao.

"Old woman, I plan to stay for one night. How much will it be?"

Even an ordinary passerby would know there was something off about this inn, but Jiang Qiao still intended to play along with her act.

Since it was a Ghost Inn, what if Malevolent Ghosts came here to stay?

He planned to act after midnight.

Maybe it would be livelier then.

As for this old woman, she was only at the level of a First Order Malevolent Ghost—someone he could knock out with one punch.

During the simulations, he had come to the Eastern Suburbs many times. Only a Human Head Lantern had caused his earlier self any trouble.

The other Malevolent Ghosts had barely been mentioned.

That meant there was nothing too terrifying in the Eastern Suburbs.

"Ten yuan for one night. Pay the Room Fee tomorrow morning." A faint smile appeared on the old woman's wrinkled face.

"Sure."

After receiving his answer, the Old Woman rose shakily to her feet, took an oil lamp and a ring of keys from the wall, and headed for the stairs.

The first and second floors of the inn were connected by a rotten wooden staircase. It creaked with every step, making one worry that it might suddenly collapse.

Jiang Qiao carefully followed her upstairs.

As soon as he reached the second floor, he saw a dim corridor.

The walls around the corridor were peeling and mottled, the floor was covered in dust, and mold stains filled the corners. It looked as though it had not been cleaned in a very long time.

"Sir, you'll stay in this room."

The old woman led Jiang Qiao to Room 18 at the end of the corridor and handed him the key.

"The other rooms have already been reserved." The old woman's voice was somewhat hoarse, as if something were lodged in her throat.

"Reserved?" Jiang Qiao raised an eyebrow.

The inn certainly had not been reserved by living people. Those staying here had to be Malevolent Ghosts, like the female ghost he had seen upon entering.

Perhaps he would not need to run around tonight. He could get all the Malevolent Ghosts he wanted right here in this inn.

At his current level, Jiang Qiao was not particularly afraid of any Malevolent Ghosts except urban legends. Before the Supernatural Revival, truly terrifying Malevolent Ghosts would not appear.

As for urban legends, although he could not deal with them, he could still spot them with his Dual Pupils active.

After the Old Woman opened the door and left the key for Jiang Qiao, she departed.

Jiang Qiao entered the room and turned on the light.

Though the room was very simple, it was unexpectedly clean compared to the corridor.

Only, the layout of the whole room felt very strange.

A double bed stood in the middle of the room, and directly opposite it was a huge full-length mirror.

Beside the mirror was an old box television from over twenty years ago.

Several red Double Happiness characters were pasted on the window. They looked very new, as though a wedding had just been held there.

Jiang Qiao searched the room inside and out. Aside from a faint trace of Ghost Qi, he found nothing else.

He dropped into a chair and began waiting for midnight to arrive.