Seeing the innkeeper was frightening enough, but the most terrifying thing was that he was actually holding Old Liu's battered stick!
Had something happened to Old Liu?
I was shaken to the core, but said quietly:
"I just got back."
"Then go upstairs and get some rest. It's late."
The innkeeper wasn't smiling as he said this, a stark contrast to his usual grinning manner.
There was nothing I could do. I answered and followed him out of the room. I walked in front, with the innkeeper behind me.
Tap, tap, tap... The scrape of his slippers against the floor sent chills through me.
I wondered what exactly had happened upstairs, and I was growing worried about Old Liu.
Just as we reached the stairs, there was a bang!
A group of men with blood all over their clothes kicked the door open and burst inside, crowding around a burly bald man.
"Bun Head?"
Bun Head came through the door, saw me about to head upstairs, and called out:
"Brother, you're still awake! Perfect, I wanted a word with you!"
Every one of them carried a blade, some still dripping blood. They looked vicious and terrifying.
I glanced at the innkeeper. He visibly frowned at the sight of Bun Head, then returned to his usual grinning manner.
"Oh, if you gentlemen have something to discuss, take it upstairs. I won't disturb you."
With that, the innkeeper stopped following me and slipped behind the counter.
Bun Head didn't even glance at him. Resting the blade in his right hand against his shoulder, he turned to his men behind him.
"Guard the entrance. Don't let anyone in!"
Then he glared at the innkeeper and said:
"And you, don't fucking go out tonight unless you have to!"
The innkeeper nodded, grinning.
I went up to the second floor with Bun Head. He kept looking at me, then laughed boisterously.
"Brother, did you just wash your hair? Your head's all wet. Why haven't you dried it?"
Bun Head's arrival really was a lifeline. What puzzled me was that this innkeeper, neither human nor ghost, seemed a little afraid of him!
I asked him quietly, "Why are you covered in blood this late at night?"
Bun Head frowned and said:
"I was fucking eating out, and a few punks at the next table didn't even recognize me. I just glanced at them, and those little bastards said, 'What are you looking at?' With my temper, was I supposed to take that? I made every last one at that table bleed!"
The more Bun Head spoke, the angrier he became, until he started swinging his machete around in front of him.
"Fuck you, so what if I'm looking?"
I wasn't in the mood to hear about his underworld feuds, so I asked:
"What did you want to see me about?"
Bun Head slung an arm around my shoulders and said with a grin:
"There is something I need to remind you about."
As we spoke, we reached the room, and my heart instantly tightened.
Including Old Liu, at least four people had gone upstairs.
In particular, the couple and the new guest had all been brought into this room by the innkeeper. There had also been those heart-stopping screams. Standing outside the door, I couldn't help drawing a deep breath.
Bun Head looked at me in bewilderment. "What are you thinking about, standing there instead of opening the door?"
Before I was ready, he reached over and pushed the door open.
Empty!!
Where was everyone?
I hurried inside and searched the bathroom, under the beds, and inside the wardrobe, but there wasn't a soul.
Bun Head was completely baffled. Tilting his head, he asked:
"Brother, what are you looking for? Where's that old man who was with you?"
I sat on the edge of the bed and sighed. This isn't right. They all came upstairs, so why aren't they in this room?
I hurried into the corridor and kicked open every room on the second floor. What I saw stunned me with fright.
The floors of several adjoining rooms were covered in blood!
My heart tightened again. Nothing's happened to Old Liu, has it?
I suddenly remembered the locked room on the first floor and told Bun Head:
"Brother, hurry downstairs with me!"
Seeing how nervous I was, Bun Head froze in confusion.
I turned and ran downstairs. He gave a shout and followed.
The innkeeper was standing behind the counter. When he saw me coming down, he asked with a grin:
"Heading out again, young man?"
I ignored him and ran toward the east side of the first floor.
Reaching the locked door, I pounded on it and shouted:
"Old Liu? Old Liu, are you in there?"
Bun Head frowned at the sight and asked:
"What do you mean? That old man's locked in here?"
With that, he shoved me aside.
"What's the fucking point of knocking? Move aside and watch me!"
He tucked his blade into his belt, backed up a few steps, and charged, slamming the door open.
What we saw inside made both our legs go weak.
A room full of corpses!!
No wonder I'd heard that thud while hiding across the way. It must have been the innkeeper throwing someone inside.
Covering my mouth, I frantically searched for Old Liu among the bodies strewn around the room.
Beneath the couple, I spotted the hole-riddled white undershirt Old Liu had been wearing.
Bun Head and I hurried over and pulled him out.
Old Liu's eyes were shut tight, and he was covered in blood. No matter how I shook him, he didn't respond.
"He's dead?"
Bun Head was blunt by nature, and he couldn't help blurting it out when he saw Old Liu like this.
Tears welled in my eyes. After everything Old Liu and I had weathered together these past days, he was like my own old man. Losing him would be no different from losing family!
"Cough, cough..."
After all my vigorous shaking, Old Liu actually coughed twice.
He slowly opened his eyes and asked:
"Where's the innkeeper?"
His question startled me.
Shit, the innkeeper must have heard us breaking down the door from the counter.
Bun Head flared up beside us.
"What happened, Master? That skinny guy by the entrance locked you in here?"
With that, he angrily drew the long blade at his waist and headed for the lobby.
Bun Head didn't know the truth or how sinister the innkeeper was. I quickly helped Old Liu up and followed him.
By the time we reached the counter, the innkeeper was long gone. Even the men guarding the entrance had vanished.
Bun Head clicked his tongue in surprise.
"Where'd my boys go?"
Old Liu said unhurriedly:
"Eaten!"
That one word frightened Bun Head so badly he dropped his blade.
"What?"
Old Liu retrieved his battered stick from behind the counter and leaned on it.
"That innkeeper is neither human nor ghost, and he's a sinister one. He swallowed the last guest to go upstairs alive."
Bun Head looked at him incredulously and asked:
"Then why didn't he eat you?"
Old Liu wiped the blood smeared on his forehead with his hand.
"That innkeeper eats the flesh and blood of fools and sucks out the brains of clever people. He tricked me, but he couldn't touch me!"
Bun Head knew what Old Liu could do after seeing him subdue the evil bell, so he naturally believed him. He couldn't help swallowing.
The place was sinister and strange. We didn't dare linger and hurried outside to find somewhere else to stay.
On the way, Bun Head was still shaken by Old Liu's words. He stammered:
"E-Elder Liu, I've been cursing that innkeeper out these past two nights. I practically beat him up. Will he come after me for revenge?"
Walking with his stick, Old Liu said coldly:
"If you weren't fighting and drawing blood all day, building up so much baleful aura, you'd have died back with that bronze bell!"
Bun Head slapped his forehead.
"See? I never liked studying as a kid, just running with gangs. Turns out I chose the right path joining the underworld!"
Old Liu and I paid no more attention to the oaf.
We said nothing else along the way.
We finally went downtown and found a chain hotel to stay in.
When Bun Head learned that the four-story building hadn't caught fire because of a haunting, he couldn't stop grinning.
In the end, I persuaded him to send someone to find the scavenger woman inside a decent place to live.
He'd come to the inn tonight to remind me to put in a good word for him with Big Sister-in-Law once we'd dealt with the four-story building.
With things here settled, we finally agreed to visit Big Sister-in-Law first thing in the morning.
All Old Liu knew was that Route 13's fourth driver was named Wang Dazhong and lived in the development zone.
But the development zone had hundreds of thousands of residents. To find out exactly where he lived, we really would have to rely on Big Sister-in-Law, the foremost figure in its underworld, for information.
On the way to her place, Bun Head gave us a brief introduction to Big Sister-in-Law.
Originally, Bun Head had followed Big Brother. Later, Big Brother found himself a wife, this very Big Sister-in-Law. But once she joined the gang, Big Brother no longer had any say. She alone directed everything, top to bottom!
Big Sister-in-Law had spent five years in Russia and brought back plenty of business. Whether in business or connections, she was an iron lady through and through!
We entered an upscale residential complex filled with expensive garden residences. According to Bun Head, the entire complex belonged to Big Sister-in-Law.
We got out at the fountain plaza and saw a crowd gathered around a woman with long hair dyed yellow, chatting and laughing.
Bun Head hurried over and vividly spun a tale for Big Sister-in-Law about how we'd slain demons and vanquished evil in that four-story building.
Big Sister-in-Law nodded repeatedly as she listened, then waved Old Liu and me over.
Big Sister-in-Law was slightly plump, but seemed good-natured. She greeted Old Liu and me with a smile.
I quickly answered, but Old Liu beside me didn't react at all.
I turned to look at him. He was staring fixedly at the crowd behind Big Sister-in-Law.
Following his gaze, I was so frightened that I immediately grabbed his arm.
The innkeeper!! What was he doing here too??