Chapter 124: The Haunted Grounds

A week later, after finishing lunch and preparing to return to his classroom, Zhang Shouzhen felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. The caller ID showed it was his senior apprentice brother, Jiang Litian.

"Hello? Senior brother, what can I do for you?" Zhang Shouzhen walked out to the balcony outside the classroom to take the call.

"There is a small matter. The company is short-handed and needs you to handle it. You should know Ma Yuxu; he called me." Jiang Litian’s side was very noisy, and his voice sounded somewhat unclear.

"Oh? It’s him? It’s been so long, I thought he had returned to Fuyuan City. I didn't expect that guy to still be in Longdu. How is Aunt Bijun’s hotel doing?" Zhang Shouzhen felt a twinge of worry; although he hadn't spent much time with Ma Yuxu, the kid was a stand-up guy.

"Not good. I only received his text message, and when I tried calling back, the phone indicated he was out of service range. I suspect there is something wrong with that hotel; it is very likely a trick set up by an evil spirit. Alright, I won't say more. Yan’er and I have something very important to deal with right now. I’ll text you the hotel address in a moment." Jiang Litian hung up in a hurry. Zhang Shouzhen frowned, a vague sense of foreboding settling in his heart—though this premonition wasn't about Ma Yuxu, but rather Jiang Litian.

However, since his senior brother was with Sima Yan’er, the top disciple of the Tianyuan lineage, and the company had the protection of Granny Yinshan, he decided it was more important to address the situation at Aunt Bijun’s hotel first.

Before long, a text message arrived with the hotel's address. Since it was Monday, he would have to wait until school ended.

Zhang Shouzhen was distracted during his afternoon classes. When school finally let out, he grabbed his bag and headed for the exit. Tie Niu no longer picked him and Jiu’er up; that task had been taken over by the Nie brothers. As soon as Nie Shisan saw Zhang Shouzhen emerge, he immediately stepped forward to take his bag.

"Hasn't Jiu’er come yet?" Zhang Shouzhen asked, glancing anxiously toward the school gate.

"Young Master, you are the first one out of school. Is something urgent?" Nie Shisan asked with a slight smile. The scratch marks on his body had all healed.

"Yes, I need you to take me somewhere, and it is indeed urgent."

Zhang Shouzhen gripped his phone, feeling somewhat troubled.

"If the Young Master is in a rush, I can take you first and have Fourteen wait here for Miss Jiu’er. Let’s go, Young Master, get in the car." Nie Shisan trotted to the car, opened the door, and pulled his twin brother out to give him a few instructions before taking the driver’s seat. Zhang Shouzhen climbed in and handed the address to Nie Shisan. Nie Shisan glanced at it, squinted slightly at Zhang Shouzhen, and started the engine.

"Young Master, this place is a high-end hotel inside the Third Ring Road of Longdu. It was quite famous a few years ago. Are you going there to handle business?" Nie Shisan asked as he steered the car, his tone suggesting he was familiar with the location.

"Yes, the hotel is haunted. I need to go deal with it." Zhang Shouzhen said, organizing the yellow paper talismans in his pocket.

Upon hearing the word "haunted," the smile vanished from Nie Shisan’s face, and he replied with a wry expression: "Young Master, by yourself? Should I notify Tie Niu? He gave me strict orders that I cannot let you suffer even the slightest harm, or he would fire both of us. Young Master, you must think this through."

"Shisan, do you doubt my abilities?" Zhang Shouzhen looked at him with amusement.

"Believe... of course I believe, but last time we went out on business, weren't you hunted by that demon-cultivator named Shao Hua? This time..."

"Hmph, that Shao Hua was a formidable demon-cultivator; can he really be compared to an evil spirit? Enough, stop talking. I need to rest and prepare my state of mind." Zhang Shouzhen sat in the back, folded his arms, and closed his eyes.

When the car finally stopped, it was dusk. The Bijun Chain Hotel was located down a short alleyway, about fifty meters long, lined with various retail shops. The hotel occupied a considerable area, and the car parked in the large courtyard in front of the building. On the other side of the hotel was an underground garage.

The concrete courtyard appeared to be in a state of disrepair, filled with pits and patches of overgrown weeds, giving it a somewhat eerie atmosphere. Not a single car was parked there. This struck Nie Shisan as extremely strange; in such a bustling city, finding a parking spot was difficult, and it was clear no one had been at the hotel for some time. How could it not be suspicious?

"Young Master, we have arrived." After coming to his senses, Nie Shisan called out softly. Zhang Shouzhen rubbed his eyes and stepped out of the car with practiced ease. Having spent some time in Longdu, he had learned many things quickly, as children his age often do.

After getting out, an elderly man selling fruit outside the hotel gate suddenly greeted them. The bald old man narrowed his eyes into slits, leaned in close to them, and whispered secretively: "Young man, are you looking to stay here? I advise you to choose another place. This hotel isn't normal; it’s haunted."

"Oh? How is it haunted?" Zhang Shouzhen walked over, staring at the old man, while Nie Shisan followed closely behind, looking around warily.

"It’s just... not peaceful. I live nearby, and every night I can hear the hotel being exceptionally lively, but during the day, there isn't a shadow of a person to be seen. Look at the lobby inside; there isn't a single staff member. This has been going on for a while. People came to investigate at one point, but strange things happened—they simply couldn't reach this place; some couldn't even enter the alley. Isn't that strange? Some of these people have lived in the neighborhood for decades, yet they couldn't reach the hotel. Isn't that eerie?" The old man swallowed hard and craned his neck to peer inside, his face full of terror.

"Oh? No one in the day, but very lively at night. That is interesting." Zhang Shouzhen gave a cold smile and said no more. He signaled to Nie Shisan, and after they walked away from the hotel courtyard, Zhang Shouzhen asked, "Shisan, are you hungry? I’ll treat you to some noodles."

"Young Master, what exactly are you planning? Didn't you hear what that old man said? It’s lively at night and empty during the day. Why don't we go in while the sun is still up? If we wait until nightfall, won't we be walking straight into a ghost’s nest?" Nie Shisan was sweating profusely as he followed Zhang Shouzhen into a noodle shop, unable to fathom why the boy still had the leisure to eat noodles.

"What could we possibly find by going in during the day? We wouldn't find anything at all. If my deductions are correct, this place has been occupied by a powerful entity, creating something akin to a 'Nether Inn.' To verify my hypothesis, go buy some spirit money later. I will use a spell to mask our human aura, and then we will slip in. Ma Yuxu should be inside that hotel, but he is unable to escape, or perhaps the other hotel staff are trapped there too. This place is shrouded in dense ghostly energy; they are only ordinary people and cannot walk out on their own. I hope the talisman I gave Yuxu is still with him."

Zhang Shouzhen glanced back at the inn and sighed, though he felt a faint sense of anticipation, as he had heard his master speak of such bizarre occurrences before.