Wan Jie Hospice Care Company

"like?"

"Yes, you see, the mother loved her son, right? That's why the landlady died," Jiang Ning said timidly. "But I'm just guessing... just giving everyone a possible idea..."

"You like it? It's certainly possible." Luo Yue nodded, her eyes gleaming with thoughtful consideration in the dimly lit hotel lobby. "Most people probably have the emotion of 'love'—love for parents, love for children, love for spouses..."

"Little sister, this idea is quite in line with your age... You must have read quite a few romance novels." The middle-aged man grinned, revealing a set of yellow teeth. Strangely, although he was fierce to everyone else, he became unusually gentle when facing the harmless Jiang Ning.

Love?

Xiang Yu didn't think the rule about ghosts killing people was related to this.

Putting aside the fact that this rule overlaps with the ceramic figurine, the concept of "love" simply cannot be associated with "never looking back."

But since we've come this far in our analysis, let's go with the flow and see what they're really thinking.

"Okay, if the rule really is love, then wouldn't we be invincible? After all, there's no love between us," Xiang Yu asked.

"That makes sense..." The middle-aged man nodded. "It can't be that simple."

"Hmm, could it be feelings? Not necessarily love, just any feelings would do?" Jiang Ning began to expand her thinking. "If the emotions are too intense, it can lead to death..."

"He's always angry. If that's really the rule of ghosts, then wouldn't he be dead already?" Xiang Yu bluntly contradicted him again, pointing his finger at the middle-aged man beside him.

"You..." The middle-aged man's expression changed drastically. He was about to curse Xiang Yu, and the swear words in his throat were already on the tip of his tongue. But when he thought that the rules of killing might really be like this, he forced back the fire in his mouth, his face turning red with rage.

"What if his emotions weren't strong enough, which is why he didn't die?" Luo Yue suddenly interjected, her gaze lingering on Xiang Yu's face for a moment. "By the way, why do you keep undermining him?"

"That's possible too." Xiang Yu shrugged. "As for why we're undermining you, it's obviously to broaden your thinking and prevent you from getting stuck on trivial details."

The middle-aged man felt that Xiang Yu was picking a fight: "You better not be a mole."

"...I hope so." Xiang Yu stretched. "Should we take advantage of the daytime to search outside? See how people died?"

Upon hearing about going outside, Jiang Ning immediately became timid and hurriedly shook her head, her long hair falling loose with the movement: "I, I'm scared..."

"Fine, then you don't need to go out. Just stay in the hotel. Even if we find clues, you won't get any." Xiang Yu didn't give Jiang Ning a friendly look at all, as if he had a problem with this delicate girl.

"I..." Jiang Ning felt a little wronged. She didn't know what she had done to offend Xiang Yu, so she could only silently lower her head.

"Why are you targeting her like this? Do you think she's the mole?" Luo Yue asked.

"I'm not targeting anyone, I'm just stating the most efficient approach right now." Xiang Yu, completely unfazed by the pressure, said, "Since she doesn't want to go out, then we won't let her out, otherwise it will only hinder our operations."

Xiang Yu's composure, neither humble nor arrogant, left the others speechless. The air froze for a few seconds, broken only by the rustling of the wind through the bare trees outside the window.

After a long silence, Luo Yue said:

"Then let's split up. I'll take Jiang Ning one way, and you, Ai Bowu, and that other guy will go the other way. We'll meet up at this hotel in the evening."

"Hey? Why am I traveling with them?" The middle-aged man snorted coldly, exhaling a breath from his nostrils. "Do you think I'll be held back by having a young girl with me?"

"So you mean...?"

"I'll travel with you, let the two of them travel together," the middle-aged man sneered. "I've figured it out. Anyone who has no use to him isn't even human in his eyes."

Suddenly, Xiang Yu exclaimed joyfully, "It's a deal! Double happiness!"

Goodbye everyone!

No sooner had he finished speaking than Xiang Yu grabbed Ai Baiwu's sleeve and headed for the door.

The hotel's wooden door was pushed open, creaking as daylight streamed in.

……

"Big brother, they seem really angry with you talking like that," Ai Bowu scratched his head. "That's not a good idea."

"Don't you think our conversation just now was a bit strange?"

"Strange? It is a bit... but it's alright, they just feel sorry for that girl." Aibowu said honestly.

"...I don't think that middle-aged man would pity anyone." Xiang Yu said expressionlessly, "When I first met him yesterday, he completely disregarded teamwork and even swung an axe at you."

"But just one day later, he was like a completely different person, and he actually had the audacity to say that we were heartless... Don't you think that's weird?" Xiang Yu paused for a moment, "His image has collapsed. If it were yesterday, he would probably have wholeheartedly supported our decision to abandon the weak."

"Ah...it really seems so!" Ai Baiwu belatedly realized, and couldn't help but feel a little scared. "Then what exactly happened?"

"The answer is..." Xiang Yu shrugged, "I don't know either."

He was telling the truth. There are just too many possibilities. For example, the person might actually be dead, and what they're seeing now is a ghost in human skin putting on a show. Or perhaps the middle-aged man has triggered some kind of rule and is being controlled by a ghost.

Or perhaps it's related to Jiang Ning...

He couldn't be bothered to guess; the best course of action was to stay away from the three of them for the time being.

The most important thing now is to go see Anling during the day.

Her safety is now of utmost importance, directly impacting my success or failure.

"Big brother, since you think that little girl is wrong, then what do you think are the rules for ghosts killing people?" Ai Bowu was getting more and more confused.

"Would you believe me if I said I already knew?"

"I don't believe it." Ai Bowu shook his head like a rattle drum. "We've only been here for a day, and you've already figured out the rules? You're too much of a genius, brother."

"Heh, not stupid after all." Xiang Yu chuckled. "Yes, you have to be that vigilant, don't believe everything you hear."

"But we still don't know anything..." Aibowu said, somewhat frustrated.

"You'll understand once you look at more dead people. Look over there."

Xiang Yu spoke lightly, his voice completely calm. He raised his hand and pointed to a corner not far away.

A corpse was huddled in the shadows there.

Her pose was exactly the same as the proprietress's, like a doll that had been maliciously placed there.

His head was twisted a bizarre 180 degrees, his ashen face turned toward the sky, his pupils reflecting the pale clouds. The skin on his neck was contorted into horrifying wrinkles, as if his neck bones had been twisted like a rope.