Old Liu was gone!!
That discovery was devastating to me in the pitch-black abandoned building!!
I frantically swept my flashlight around.
"Old Liu, Old Liu, where did you go?"
The only response from my surroundings was silent darkness, apart from the dancing woman in front of me.
A burned-to-death ghost!
I muttered inwardly and edged toward the stairwell, trying not to attract her attention.
I was practically sweating inside. I knew just how ghastly a burned-to-death ghost would look, and silently repeated:
"Don't turn around. Don't you fucking turn around!"
With her back to me, the woman in the scorched clothes swayed her hips and started turning around.
"Mommy!" I cried in terror, turning tail and running.
I followed the stairs down to the second floor, where something tripped me.
With a thud, I fell flat on my face.
It was a nasty fall. Even the batteries flew out of my flashlight.
Everything was pitch-black. I hurriedly pulled out my phone, scrambled up by its faint light, and kept running.
After countless falls on my way from the third floor to the first, I finally stumbled outside, covered in dust and dirt.
I stood in the street gasping for breath, my heart still pounding nonstop.
Where was Old Liu??
I had made such a racket inside that building. Normally, Old Liu should have heard me no matter how far away he was, yet there hadn't been a single response.
Doubt crept into my mind. Had Old Liu gone up to the fourth floor?
I knew what Old Liu was capable of, so I wasn't worried about his safety yet. I waited another ten minutes or so outside the building.
When he still didn't come out, I decided to head back to the inn and wait for him.
All the way back, I kept thinking about that burned-to-death ghost with lingering fear. Luckily, I'd been smart enough to run before she turned around. If I'd seen her face, it would definitely have scarred me for life.
Lost in thought, I found myself back at the little inn where we were staying before I knew it. Its door was shut tight, and I was just about to walk over and knock.
Suddenly, a withered hand grabbed my arm from behind. I shuddered all over in fright, clenched my left fist, and turned, ready to swing.
What I saw made me freeze.
"Old Liu?"
I stared at Old Liu, dumbfounded. He raised an index finger to his lips and pulled me behind a low wall outside the inn.
Unable to contain my questions any longer, I whispered:
"Old Liu, what are you doing here?"
Old Liu glanced toward the inn's entrance and said:
"How come you're back so soon?"
His words left me utterly confused. Just as I was about to angrily demand an explanation, he lowered his voice again:
"There's nothing wrong with that four-story building. It's this inn that has a problem. I was afraid you'd be in danger, so I deliberately led you upstairs, thinking I'd investigate this place myself."
My mouth fell open in disbelief.
"Have you gone senile, Old Liu? Around a hundred people died in that four-story building, and you're saying there's nothing wrong with it? I just saw a burned-to-death ghost in there!"
Old Liu lowered his voice further:
"A lot of people died in that building, but while there's yin energy, there's no resentment. I reckon that mentally unstable scavenger woman set those fires during the renovations!"
His words immediately made me see the light.
"Right! That scavenger woman has been living in that abandoned building all along. She already considers it her home, so naturally, she doesn't want anyone renovating it and driving her out. Whenever someone renovates, he secretly sets a fire, making people think it's haunted. So that woman I saw dancing and shaking her hips inside wasn't a burned-to-death ghost at all. She was the scavenger woman!"
I finally breathed a sigh of relief. Before I could speak again, voices came from the direction of the inn.
Old Liu and I crouched behind the low wall and peeked out.
A young couple approached the inn, arm in arm and looking very lovey-dovey. Before they could enter, the owner opened the door and came out to greet them.
The young man said, "Boss, we'd like a room with a double bed!"
The owner answered with a cheeky grin, "Oh, sorry, we're full. There's just one twin room left, at the far end of the second floor!"
My indignation instantly boiled over. What was this owner trying to pull?
I'd clearly paid to extend our stay before leaving, and our luggage was still in the room. How could he turn around and give it to someone else?
The couple didn't hesitate and followed the owner inside.
With a grave expression, Old Liu patted me and said:
"Come on. While they're going upstairs, let's check the first floor!"
With that, we sneaked into the first floor.
Apart from the reception counter and lobby by the entrance, there were rooms lining both sides of the corridor.
Their doors were closed, each bearing a strange slip of paper. Without exception, every slip had a date written on it.
The earliest one bore a date from two years ago.
Unable to help myself, I pushed open a guest room at random, only to freeze.
Empty!!
I pushed open another. Empty again!
Every room on the first floor was actually empty!
Puzzled, I looked at Old Liu and said:
"Look, Old Liu, all these rooms are clearly empty. Why does the owner insist he's full?"
Old Liu said nothing and tried to push open the last room in front of him.
There was a click!
Locked!
This room was locked!
Of all the empty rooms on this floor, this was the only one that was locked.
Was someone staying inside?
While I was still wondering, footsteps came down the stairs: tap, tap, tap.
Old Liu and I quickly hid in the room opposite.
The innkeeper came down to the first floor and seemed to start chatting with someone at the reception counter.
But I knew that apart from the couple upstairs and Old Liu and me downstairs, there was nobody else in this entire inn!
The owner was talking to himself!!
A fear of something unfathomable immediately swept over me. Sweat beading on my forehead, I looked at Old Liu and whispered:
"Old Liu, this owner's pretty scary!"
Seeing me speak, Old Liu hurriedly clapped a hand over my mouth.
At that very moment, the owner, who had been chatting with thin air in the lobby, suddenly fell silent.
Tap, tap, tap...
The footsteps drew closer, heading toward our room.
It was just like what I'd experienced in that little two-story building. But back then, I'd been facing Old Wu. This time, I didn't even know whether we were dealing with a human or a ghost!
Old Liu frowned and pointed at the wardrobe in the room. We hurriedly slipped inside as quietly as we could.
Within a few minutes, the footsteps stopped outside the room.
With a creak, the owner turned the handle and opened the door.
Pressed against Old Liu, I barely dared to breathe. Through the gap in the wardrobe, I saw that the scrawny little owner was still wearing last night's purple bathrobe, with wooden-soled slippers on his feet.
"Tongtong, you haven't spoken to me in so long. What's gotten into you today? Did you see someone?"
Muttering to himself, the owner looked around as he walked toward the wardrobe.
Sweat instantly soaked my clothes.
My fists were ready. This owner was small and frail. If he dared open the wardrobe, I'd give him a wild flurry of punches first!
The owner finally stopped right in front of the wardrobe!
Just as he was about to open it, footsteps sounded from someone entering the lobby.
"Anyone here? Do you have any rooms left?"
Another guest had arrived!
Hearing the call, the owner hurriedly answered:
"Coming, coming!"
He quickly turned and left the room. My clenched fists were slick with sweat.
Once the owner was far enough away, Old Liu gently pushed open the wardrobe door, and we crept out again.
The wardrobe had been terribly hot and stuffy to begin with. Combined with my extreme tension, it had left my hair as wet as though it had been washed.
"Oh, bad timing. We're full. There's just one twin room left, at the far end of the second floor."
As before, the owner said exactly the same thing to every guest.
A huge question mark hung in my mind. The couple had only just gone upstairs. How could the owner put another guest in that same room?
I glanced at Old Liu. Strangely, he hadn't sweated at all. His bald forehead was completely dry.
Before long, another series of tapping footsteps went upstairs.
Old Liu lowered his voice:
"I need to hurry upstairs and save them. Lock the door and stay here. I'll come back for you in a bit."
I quickly grabbed him and said:
"No. I can't just sit around waiting like I did at Tiger Waist Mountain. I'm going up with you!"
Seeing how firm I was, Old Liu didn't stop me again.
We headed one behind the other toward the stairs by the reception counter.
I'd barely set one foot on the stairs when a scream suddenly rang out upstairs!
The scream pierced me to the core. My right foot slipped, and I nearly fell.
Old Liu turned back to me, his face grave.
"No, you still can't come up. It's too dangerous!"
After saying that, Old Liu added:
"You can't go near the reception counter either. Hide in that room again and take out the three things I prepared. Drink the chicken blood, spread the white paper flat on the floor, sprinkle the incense ash on it, and sit on top. That's all you need to do."
Even though I was utterly unwilling, there was nothing I could do if Old Liu wouldn't let me follow.
Helpless, I turned back to the room and hurriedly took out the chicken blood, incense ash, and white paper.
Without thinking, I downed the half bottle of chicken blood in one gulp. But when I looked at the other two items, my mind suddenly went blank.
My memory was terrible to begin with. With all the rushing around and extreme tension, I'd actually forgotten what Old Liu had said!
Damn it, did Old Liu say to sprinkle the incense ash on the white paper, or cover the incense ash with the white paper?
I broke into a sweat with anxiety. The order of the layers had to be important. The slightest mistake would stop it from working.
Just as my anxiety left me increasingly flustered, and that confusion made me more anxious still.
I suddenly heard someone open the locked room opposite.
There was a bang, as though something had been thrown inside.
This is bad, I thought. If I can't go near reception, I can jump out of a first-floor window.
At that thought, I hurriedly got up and headed for the windowsill.
Before I could open the window, the door to my room was pulled open with a creak.
The owner stood in the doorway in his bathrobe, holding Old Liu's battered stick, and said in a sinister voice:
"You're back, young man!"