Chapter 24: Strange People

[You may not believe it, but I was f*cking kidnapped by an urban legend! I’m being held, hostage! Help! If anyone sees this message, please contact Jiangli or An Qing!]

‘No.’

The scene of him calling for help flashed in his mind. “I’m losing my mind. I’m starting to engage in some stupid escape plan.”

He hailed a taxi on Peony Street and asked the driver, “Excuse me, could you send me to Flower & Sunshine Resort?”

“Oh,” the taxi driver hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Alright!”

Flower & Sunshine Resort was located near a scenic spot in the outer suburbs of Huacheng. Surrounded by towering mountains and facing a serene lake, it was beautiful.

Lu Yibei has heard of the resort before, but he doesn’t have any interest in things like this. Not to mention, the cheapest room here costs 988 a night.

With that money, he could instead spend it on [Love and Magical Girl] and be way happier. Just as he was fantasizing about how he was going to spend 988 yuan, the taxi stopped moving.

“Excuse me? Why did we stop?”

“Look!” the taxi driver spread his hands and pointed out the window. “The road ahead is blocked!”

Several road cones blocked the way.

“What? Doesn’t the resort need guests? How will they receive guests if the road is blocked?”

“Guests? The resort has been closed for almost two months.”

Yibei frowned upon hearing this and asked, “Why?”

The taxi driver looked around vigilantly and leaned backwards to whisper, “There are rumours that there is a pervert hidden in this hotel who tricks and lures young girls into a secret room, incapacitates them, and disembowels them!”

Lu Yibei thought that this story was different from the one he knew.

“Half a year ago, a few young people broke into that secret room and found three young girls hanging on rusty, iron hooks that pierced through their throats. They were like pigs getting slaughtered! Their eyeballs were wide open, and they stared straight into their souls!”

“Wait! How are you so sure? You’re describing it like you’ve seen it with your own eyes!” Yibei interjected, hugging the guitar bag tighter and ready to swing it towards the driver.

“A-ah,” he smiled. “This is the subject for my horror podcast at night. Did you like it?”

“…”

“Well, it’s based on real events! Besides, since somebody died here, no matter how beautiful the scenery, no one would want to stay here. They have been out of business for several months, and they completely shut an entire section off.”

Just as the taxi driver said this, a dull pain pounded on Yibei’s abdomen.

“Why didn’t you tell me it was closed before I hopped into your taxi, then?”

“Ah, to be honest,” the taxi driver gulped upon seeing Yibei’s expressionless face. “I just wanted your money.”

Looking into the distance, there are two tall white buildings built by the mountains. Strangely enough, they look like tombs.

Yibei got out of the taxi and slammed the door shut, clutching his guitar bag tightly. He bypassed the road cones and walked along the highway in the direction of Flowers & Sunshine Resort.

The power of nature was evident; in just two months, the vegetation on both sides of the road had grown violently. Tree branches were scattered on the road as well, forming natural roadblocks. Yibei would sweep them aside to open up a path for himself.

Every few hundred meters, he stopped to pick up a handful of stones and pile them up in unique shapes as landmarks.

He guessed that he might encounter something bad in the hotel, so devising an escape route beforehand would ensure his survival.

Along the way, there were fewer and fewer buildings; instead, they were replaced by a green forest. If there were people around, these forests would be quiet and serene. However, now they were desolate and eerie.

Yibei felt eyes on him, and he took out the statue of Acala, the Immovable, and cradled it in his arms. The coolness of the brass filled him with divine protection.

Just as he was about to enter the resort, he found a small building on the side of the road, which seemed to be the station that receives guests.

The exterior of the hut looked new, and it was cordoned off. However, through the half-opened windows, one could see the messy garbage scattered inside.

“Really? Is not one person looking after this building? Is this resort as evil as he said?”

The gate was tightly shut, and the lock was slightly rusty. Yibei walked around the resort several times before coming across a window that was smashed open.

He squatted on the ground and examined the glass shards carefully before his eyebrows furrowed together.

‘Someone has been here recently… and scraped clothes?’

After discovering the glass shards, he dismissed the idea of using the statue to break open the side door. He wasn’t sure if the person who was here had already left.

Thinking of this, he walked to the window, took the piece of shredded cloth, and rubbed it between his fingers.

Peering inside the window, he could see the gloomy lobby, which was dim and chilly. The place where Zhu Linglong was murdered, and a mysterious person who has been here recently.

“Man, I don’t wanna go in anymore. I wanna go home.”

As soon as he turned around, a sharp pain pierced through his stomach, and he kneeled to the ground and raised his arms in surrender.

“F*ck, okay! I’ll go in; I’ll go in right now!”

He placed the shredded cloth into his pocket and leapt through the gap in the window. As soon as he landed, he raised his hand, and his eyes burnt.

He saw a strange person.

A whole bunch of strange people!