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墨書 Inktalez
As soon as I saw Jun Chong, my heart inexplicably settled. He placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at the little flower inside, his expression darkening as he spoke.
"Her soul is missing."
"What?" I exclaimed, quickly covering my mouth to avoid drawing attention to myself for talking to no one in particular. However, given the situation, it wasn't unusual for someone to cover their mouth out of fear.
After a moment of confusion, I whispered, "Could it have drifted away?"
"No." Jun Chong's hand on my shoulder tightened slightly, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "I mean her soul has vanished."
"Vanished?" This time I understood what he meant; if it had vanished, it meant that the little flower's soul no longer existed in this world. "But she hasn't been dead long. How could it be gone?"
At that moment, the police arrived and began to cordon off the area, preventing bystanders from getting too close. We were forced to step back from the scene.
Sister Fang had finally regained consciousness after Lin You and Jiao Jiao pinched her nose to wake her up. She was in a state of panic, so Lin You and Jiao Jiao took her back to their room to rest.
"To be precise, there isn't any trace of wandering souls within a hundred miles of this hotel."
"None?" I found that strange. "A soul that has just died shouldn't leave so easily. I've heard that souls of those who die violently are filled with resentment and often linger at the place of their death, which is why they become Earthbound Spirits. And last night, Qianqian died; did you sense her soul?"
Jun Chong shook his head. "This hotel is backed by mountains and surrounded by water; it's excellent feng shui. However, the soil around this hotel and near the hot springs is dark black and barren—no weeds grow there."
I nodded in agreement. "That's true. But I've heard this hotel has only become popular in the last three years. They say they offered a stone for good fortune, but no one knows where it came from. Since then, four guests have died each year. Qianqian was the third; the little flower was the fourth."
"When I visited the human realm before, I encountered people who would bury stones at the edges of their properties for protection; they called them Stone Guardians. However, such stones shouldn't attract evil spirits. Ever since someone died yesterday, I've sensed a heavy aura of negativity here. But when I arrived, that aura suddenly dissipated, including the fresh soul that had just departed. Afterward, I wandered around and noticed this peculiar detail: every place should have wandering souls, yet this one is too clean, which makes it even more suspicious."
Jun Chong's explanation left me momentarily speechless. Just as I was about to respond, a police officer approached us for questioning. I cooperated with the investigation, and afterward, Jun Chong pulled me outside.
"Let's ask the hotel staff; they might know where the stone is."
"Alright."
Jun Chong and I walked out, but the hotel staff had no knowledge of the stone. I emphasized that it was the Cleaner Aunt who mentioned it, but they just said it was a joke.
"Could it really be a joke?"
At that moment, a transparent shadow floated by, and I was about to collide with it. I quickly stepped aside, and Jun Chong grabbed my hand to prevent me from falling.
As I focused, I realized it was the female ghost who had been following Brother Rong. Suddenly, I recalled what I wanted to say before the police questioned me, "Isn't she just a soul? You said there was no trace of any souls; how is she still here?"
"The Three Souls and Seven Spirits have only one life soul left, and it's so fragile. She has endured such strong sunlight to come here; soon she will dissipate."
"How could this happen?"
"Regardless, let's go upstairs to your room. She must have something important to discuss with us."
"Okay."
As we entered the elevator, I suddenly remembered his trip to the Mountain and asked, "What did you go to the Mountain for?"
"A personal matter."
Just four words, and Jun Chong fell silent.
When we returned to the room, Lin You was absent; she was probably still with Jiao Jiao accompanying Sister Fang. The female ghost's life soul grew increasingly weak, her shadow so faint that I could barely see her, as if she might disappear at any moment.
Yet she had no tongue and couldn't speak. Jun Chong stared at her without saying a word, standing there silently. I felt utterly confused about what their mutual gaze meant.
"Rest in peace! Leave the rest to me."
As Jun Chong's voice echoed, I suddenly could no longer see the female ghost. Rubbing my eyes didn't help; she was still gone. "Did she disappear?"
"Yes."
"What should we do? She must have something urgent to tell us, and it’s probably related to Brother Rong."
"She said that man fell off a cliff while trying to save her. She wanted to go down and rescue him, but the rocks absorbed her soul. She barely escaped with a fragment of her spirit, but she couldn't save Brother Rong. Her only hope was to come find me." Jun Chong stood with his hands clasped behind his back, golden light filtering through the curtains and falling at his feet. "But that man is already dead. His soul likely can't escape those rocks either."
"So that means the stone really exists. But how could the hotel staff not know about it? That auntie knew, yet Brother Rong is the fifth one to die." I plopped down on the bed, frowning, curling my legs up and resting my chin on my knees, feeling uneasy. "We came out together to relax, but who would have thought we’d end up separated by life and death?"
"Don't worry too much; I'll handle this. I'm curious to see what that stone is all about."
I grabbed Jun Chong's hand anxiously. "But you’re also a spirit."
"If that stone can absorb me, it would be quite interesting; I might as well give it a try." Jun Chong held my hand reassuringly. "Don't worry; I won't get hurt."
I believed him because he was my support.
"Then I'll go investigate the stone now."
"Alright, I'll go search for the soul of Brother Rong and see if there's any hope. I'll come find you tonight; just take care of yourself."
"Okay."
So Jun Chong and I split up. During this time, I went to see Sister Fang. She was filled with guilt and despondent, while Jiao Jiao stayed by her side, but Lin You was nowhere to be found.
"Where did Xiao You go?"
"She went looking for you!"
"Looking for me?" I was puzzled. My room wasn't far from Sister Fang's; if Lin You wanted to find me, she should have called right away. The phone signal had been good all along, yet there were no texts or calls.
After sitting for a while longer, I got up to leave. "Sister Fang, you don’t need to blame yourself. Life and death are fated; this isn’t your fault. If you want to assign blame, we all share responsibility! Just rest well; everything will be fine."
"Thank you."
After leaving Sister Fang's room, I called Lin You, but her phone was turned off. I tried several times, all to no avail. I asked a few colleagues, but they all said they hadn't seen her. Since this incident occurred, everyone was reluctant to be alone and stayed in groups. I counted, and aside from Brother Rong, Lin You was the only one missing.
Where could she have gone?
"Anxin, have you seen Brother Rong? I've been trying to call him today, but he won't answer."
"Yeah, since we discovered Qianqian's body, I haven't seen him either. I don't know where he went."
"Do you think Brother Rong might also—"
The speaker didn't finish the sentence, but everyone understood what was implied. A heavy atmosphere hung around us, an inescapable gloom.
"I'm worried about Xiao You; I'm going to look for her outside."
"Anxin, it's not safe for you to go alone. Maybe you should take someone with you?"
"I won't go far; don't worry."
I made my way downstairs and asked the staff at the front desk about the Bagua lady. They informed me that she was cleaning at Four Sisters Spring. When I inquired about Lin You's whereabouts, no one knew at first, but later someone mentioned hearing Lin You ask where that lady was. So I hurriedly headed to Four Sisters Spring.
"Maybe Xiao You is suspicious of Shitou too?"
Outside, the sky had begun to darken. Perhaps it was due to the fact that two people had died; the weather was unkind, and dusk became particularly gloomy.
As soon as I stepped out of the hotel, a chilling wind swept past me. I glanced at the ground around the hotel and felt that the soil wasn't just black; there seemed to be a vivid red seeping up from below, as if blood were buried underneath.
But in the blink of an eye, it was still just damp black soil.
I didn't linger and ran towards Four Sisters Spring. It was very quiet there, with a few small lights lit up—quite suitable for young couples to meet secretly.
“Xiao You, Xiao You, are you there?”
I called out many times, but no one answered me. Her phone was turned off, and the cleaning lady was nowhere to be found. From her appearance, it was clear she wasn't the type to work diligently; perhaps she was slacking off somewhere else.
As the sky grew darker, my worry for Lin You intensified. I called the hotel to check with other colleagues, but there was still no news of her return, and my heart sank deeper into concern.
The spring water at Four Sisters Spring bubbled with white mist, exuding an ethereal beauty.
I walked between the two hot springs and let out a heavy sigh. I was anxious about not being able to find Lin You, but there was nothing I could do. “I guess I'll just wait for Jun Chong to come back! Xiao You, you must be safe.”
I lifted my foot to move forward when suddenly a cold gust of wind swept through. I shivered violently and hugged my arms tightly. My phone slipped from my hand and fell to the ground. As I bent down to pick it up, I froze.
Because on the ground next to my shadow, I saw another shadow. It held something in its hands and suddenly swung it down toward me. Before I could react, a sharp pain shot through my head, and everything went dizzy; the world spun around me.
Taking advantage of my disorientation, that shadow forcefully pushed me into the spring water. With a splash, I fell into the hot spring, blood mixing with the water as it rushed into my nose, spreading a metallic taste.
Usually, hot spring pools are shallow, but this one seemed like an endless river beneath me; I sank deeper and deeper. Suddenly, another slender figure appeared above the surface of the water and jumped in without hesitation.
Who was it?
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