FI CH51: A Lively Night

Lin Su walked back to the sofa and gave a small yawn. “Why are you here?”

A cold laugh came from behind him. “Didn’t you tell me not to explain?”

“…” Lin Su sat down with poise. “True. What else could it be for, coming here in the middle of the night?”

“Heh.” He Zhenling sat down opposite him, slowly. “I was worried your father-king is getting on in years and also sleeps too soundly.”

Xuenima raised its head: [?]

“With such a big commotion downstairs, it’s not that bad.”

After Lin Su finished, he added magnanimously, “Besides, Father-king is playing a skit for me. Do you want to watch it together?” He invited expectantly, “Or, if you want to watch the midnight theater, that’s fine too.”

[This father does not have such things stored…]

He Zhenling’s lips twitched. “Is that so.” He patted the space beside him lightly. “Alright, let’s watch together.”

Lin Su: .

The two were staring back and forth at each other.

Suddenly, the “ding!” of an elevator arriving came from outside! Immediately after, the door was knocked on: Thump, thump…

Lin Su got up, feigning regret. “Oh dear, we’ve been interrupted.”

He Zhenling scoffed, “It seems quite a few people come knocking on your door in the middle of the night.”

Lin Su was already walking towards the entrance. “I don’t just let anyone in.”

He reached the door in a few steps.

The knocking continued mechanically, and a sinister aura seeped through the crack of the door: Thump, thump…

He raised his hand and yanked the door open.

A bright red dress crashed into his vision. A female corpse was raising her hand, steel bars piercing through her arms and head. Seeing him open the door, she grinned and lunged forward. “HRAAAGH—”

Lin Su said, “Why are you knocking in the middle of the night? Don’t you know ‘lovers’ need to spend the night together?”

The ghost: “…”

He Zhenling: “…”

The ghost opened its mouth wide. “Huh?”

Lin Su pointed behind him. “I already have a ‘damned ghost’ in my room, you can go back.”

The ghost in front of him bared its teeth and went quiet for two seconds.

She stared at Lin Su, then suddenly seemed to become agitated again. Her face contorted, and she swiped a hand at him—

A faint gold floated in Lin Su’s eyes. “Go back.”

Click. The figure in front of him froze abruptly!

The ghost let out two gasps, “Heh… heh…”, staggered back half a step in its struggle, and turned to walk towards the elevator.

Lin Su paid it no more mind and slammed the door shut.

He turned around to see He Zhenling just retracting his gaze as well.

He Zhenling looked at him, his brow seemed to twitch, but he ultimately held something back and returned to the main topic.

“That’s the most powerful ghost on the 7th floor, the source of all the evil in this building.”

Lin Su nodded. “Good thing it ran into us.”

The organizers must have had someone survey the place. But the person giving orders during this event was definitely not an expert. Otherwise, they would never have so easily agitated such a powerful ghost just to test the participants…

“Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. They’ve thought too little of the consequences.”

He Zhenling asked, “What are your plans?”

Lin Su said, “We’ll see what their attitude is later. Even if I do act, it won’t be to help them.”

The female ghost’s death had been too tragic. No wonder her resentment was so heavy, causing many subsequent violent deaths in the hotel.

A soft “mm” sounded from in front of him.

“But we’ve sent her back for now, so nothing should happen for the time being.” Lin Su finished and changed the subject, his hand touching the button on his collar. “Let’s go back to sleep, shall we?”

He Zhenling: “…”

He took a slight breath, let out a scoff, and gave him a deep look.

Lin Su said, “Don’t look at me with such a suggestive gaze. I meant sleeping separately.”

He Zhenling was smiling. “Your thinking is subjectively idealistic.”

Lin Su looked at him with understanding.

Just as he was about to change the subject, a loud bang suddenly came from downstairs: BOOM—!!!

“?”

The sound seemed to completely shatter the silent night. The tense atmosphere in the whole building snapped like a rubber band! All the floors were alarmed, and a commotion erupted.

Lin Su turned his head at once. “Let’s go check.”

Just before he went out the door, the back of his collar was suddenly hooked by a fingertip. “—!”

He looked up to see He Zhenling had already moved ahead of him. With his broad shoulders and back, he pressed the handle with one hand and pushed the door open. Lin Su was pulled by him and only then realized his button was still undone.

…Ah.

He rustled to button it up, also put on his mask, and followed him out.

In the elevator hall outside.

There were three elevators in total. The middle one was broken and didn’t show a number. Of the ones on the left and right, one showed it was stopped on the 7th floor, and the other showed it was stopped on the 6th floor.

Lin Su’s gaze hardened slightly. “To the 6th floor.”

He Zhenling didn’t hesitate either, pressing the button. “Mm.”

Xuenima poked its head out from his shoulder: [6th floor?]

Lin Su told it, “The buttons for the three elevators are interconnected. Pressing from the outside, they will all stop on the same floor. Only when pressed from the inside will one stop on a specific floor.”

“The other one on the 7th floor was pressed by the ghost when she came up. She went down to the 6th floor.”

Soon, a ding! sounded in front of them. Lin Su followed He Zhenling in and pressed the button for “6”.

When they arrived at the 6th floor, the doors opened.

A chorus of “Waaaahhhhh” screams came through.

Lin Su stepped out and saw the back of a red figure grabbing a person, pulling violently. Tang Yin was standing in front of another participant. The girl behind him was sitting on the floor with a sprained ankle and choke marks on her neck.

And Tang Yin had one arm firmly grabbed. He was holding a peach-wood charm in his other hand, yelling, “Ahhhhhh back! Back! Back!”

Lin Su: “…”

He walked over. Tang Yin saw him at once and changed his tune. “Why are you here? You get back too! Back! Back!”

A bamboo brush appeared in Lin Su’s hand. He tapped it with a “thump.”

A shrill scream immediately came from in front of them, and the female ghost shot off to one side.

Tang Yin’s mouth fell open, stunned.

Lin Su withdrew the brush. “Why did you guys come out?”

The girl had already stood up. “I heard a loud noise outside and just opened the door to take a look. But the ghost was standing right there when I opened the door…” Her face paled a little. “It grabbed me by the neck, and then he came out.”

Lin Su looked at Tang Yin. “You’re quite brave.”

Tang Yin’s face reddened a little more, and he said proudly, “In our line of work, if you see someone in mortal danger and don’t help, what’s the point of catching ghosts?”

Xuenima: [But just now… he seemed to be the one being held by the ghost.]

“Shh, we need to use positive reinforcement.”

As Lin Su was speaking, a voice came from the other side: “Look at this.”

He turned his head to see He Zhenling standing in front of the female ghost. The ghost was still letting out hissing snarls of “Heh… heh…”, and something seemed to be stuck to her shoes.

Lin Su looked for a few seconds and narrowed his eyes.

Tang Yin came over and craned his neck. “What’s up?”

He Zhenling suddenly looked over. “Can you still move?”

His tall figure stood before him, his cool voice muffled under the mask, his gaze bottomless. Tang Yin shrank his neck, somewhat surprised that the other man would speak to him.

“I can, I just got grabbed a little.”

Faint sounds of commotion could be heard from other floors.

He Zhenling said, “Go inform the others to gather in the lobby downstairs first. Those who haven’t left their rooms should either stay put or also come downstairs. No one should act alone.”

Tang Yin pointed to himself. “…Ah, me?”

Lin Su watched him finish giving the instructions, then turned around. “Let’s go.”

The two of them walked together towards the stairwell.

The female ghost actually twisted a little and followed them, waving her arms.

Tang Yin was stunned for two seconds before he reacted. “Hey, wait, where are you guys going!?”

And, why “guys”?

The door to the stairwell had already slammed shut, cutting off his view.

…

In the stairwell, the environment was dim. Only the emergency exit signs glowed faintly.

After closing the door, Lin Su said dotingly, “As you wished, we’re back to our world for two.”

“…”

He Zhenling gave him a deep look and replied calmly, “Is that so? Our ‘world for two’ is a bit noisy.”

The female ghost flailing behind them paused: ?

The Xuenima on his shoulder popped its head out: [?]

Lin Su said softly, “At least it’s ‘for two’.”

He Zhenling let out a scoffing laugh and stepped forward to lead the way.

In the dimly lit stairwell, a strange smell seemed to permeate the air.

Walking up one flight of stairs, they indeed saw a small pottery jar at the corner of the 7th floor. The jar was tipped over, and some murky liquid had seeped down the stairs to the 6th floor.

“No wonder she was led to the 6th floor.”

Lin Su set the small jar upright. “It’s mixed with cat’s blood and corpse mud. This is the root of her agitation.”

As expected, the female ghost beside him let out another hiss.

Her long nails clawed at Lin Su’s face! A Tang-style saber suddenly blocked them, swatting her aside with a smack.

“Hraagh… Ahhhhh!”

He Zhenling tapped a spot on the wall with the hilt of his saber and said in a deep voice, “Go back.”

The roaring stopped, but the female corpse did not return into the wall.

He looked at the small pottery jar. “This is a prohibited item.”

Lin Su looked thoughtful, took a photo for evidence, then disposed of it casually. “The organizers probably didn’t expect a President of the Supervisory Association to be among the participants.”

A half-smile came from his side. “After all, whether it’s ‘Emergency Contact’ or ‘Participant,’ the name written down was just He Daniao¹.”

“…”

Lin Su shifted his gaze slightly and stood up. “Alright, let’s go downstairs. Da… Xiao He.”

“Hehe.”

Tang Yin was quite efficient.

By the time the two arrived in the lobby downstairs, most of the people had already gathered there.

As soon as they appeared, all eyes fell on them.

Hao Niubai shouted, “Lin Kun!”

She also looked like she had been through a chaotic battle, one of her hair buns was askew.

“What should we do now?”

Lin Su scanned the area. There were about a dozen people present, mostly those with higher rankings. They had some strength to protect themselves, which was why they dared to run out when they heard the commotion.

But it was a bleak scene. They were either injured or their faces were pale from the sinister energy invading their bodies.

“Treat your injuries first. We’ll talk about the rest later.”

The chaos that erupted tonight was beyond everyone’s expectations.

The participants all gathered together, borrowing medicinal supplies and starting a discussion:

“…I’ve never experienced such a large-scale haunting.”

“Could it be that there are too many of us, and the various magical artifacts have disrupted the magnetic field, thus triggering the ghosts’ rampage?”

“Sigh, I just came to participate in an event. Who knew it would be so dangerous.”

“Will we be okay staying in the lobby? We won’t… get wiped out, will we?”

As soon as the words fell, the lobby went silent for a moment.

A voice suddenly broke the silence: “What are you talking about? Isn’t Lin Kun here!”

Tang Yin was full of confidence as he raised a hand to point.

Lin Su: “…”

Everyone: “…”

This kid isn’t just missing a screw, he’s missing a brain.

Tang Yin was still looking around fearlessly. The person who had first asked the question thought about it and actually felt a little reassured. “True, after all, the first-place winner is here. And not just him…”

He looked at Lin Su, then at He Zhenling. His gaze swept around and he suddenly realized:

“…Right, what about that Yu Yixun?”

Only then did everyone remember. “Yeah, the most powerful ones are all out. With his arrogant personality, why is he hiding in his room and not coming out?”

“Is he not that strong?”

Xuenima: [That’s right, where’s Yu Ji Tian? Why hasn’t he charged down here flailing his arms and legs?]

Lin Su cupped it. “He doesn’t know anything, how would he dare to charge out? Besides…” He lowered his eyes and curved his lips. “On such a dangerous night, how could the organizers bear to—”

“Let their… son, encounter danger.”

There were two seconds of silence in his mind: […Son!?]

Lin Su manually turned down its volume.

A figure suddenly appeared beside him. He Zhenling seemed to have casually stood over, half an arm’s length away from him. His muffled voice came from under the mask:

“If I’m not mistaken, he’s not in the hotel, is he?”

Lin Su nodded. “Bingo.”

A shocked voice sounded in his mind again: […He’s the sole survivor!?]

“…We haven’t been wiped out either.” Lin Su pressed its head and then said, “Yu Yixun, real name Yu Zizhou, is the son of the organizer, who is also the developer of this hotel.”

He Zhenling sneered. “No wonder the initial rules allowed for hiding one’s identity.”

So it was to cover for one of their own.

“Half and half.”

Lin Su looked around, the eight trigrams seeming to float in his eyes. “The participants selected by the organizers are mostly people who have some fame but no family background, and are not old. Then they use the ‘Grand President’ as a gimmick to attract people to do free labor.”

If identities were transparent, it would be easy to detect their true purpose.

Xuenima: [Heh, no wonder they used those paltry tricks as test questions, to ensure Yu Yi Zhou gets first place.]

A hand ruffled it. “…It’s Yu Zizhou.”

Xuenima said coolly: [This way, as long as Yu Yi Zhou claims to have met the President, it can all be concluded smoothly.]

Lin Su gave up correcting it. “You’re so smart.”

And the people who could be attracted by this gimmick showed that they themselves had no access to the Grand President.

A hand at his side was already resting on the hilt of a saber.

He Zhenling said coldly, “Wanting to exploit free labor shows greed; casually meddling in the affairs of experts shows stupidity; putting all participants in danger shows malice.”

“They have already violated industry regulations.”

Lin Su glanced sideways. “Are you going to arrest them all?”

He Zhenling paused for a second, then suddenly looked down at him, seeming to smile. “Not yet.”

He said, “I’m more curious about what you want to do.”

“I have that much say?”

Lin Su was flattered, then pursed his lips into a smile. “However, I have indeed planned an interesting outcome for the event.”

“Oh?”

“Let’s not talk about that for now.”

Lin Su changed the subject and pointed towards the front desk for He Zhenling. The latter turned and walked over.

The crowd in front was still talking about Yu Yixun.

A slender figure suddenly spoke up. It was the second-place winner of the first round, Yan Guanyue. “Forget it. It’s understandable if he wants to stay in his room to protect himself.”

Everyone looked at each other and stopped discussing it.

Lin Su narrowed his eyes slightly and said to Xuenima, “Weren’t you asking what Yu Yixun was doing before?”

Xuenima’s ears perked up.

“He should be in a safe place right now, sleeping comfortably, just waiting for daybreak to sneak back.”

Xuenima: [●`皿’●] Ah!

It got angry: [Let’s go! Let’s lead our brothers and sisters to storm 306 right now and raid his empty nest!]

Lin Su soothed it. “No rush, I’ve prepared a grander welcoming ceremony for him.”

[?]

“Go and lock the main door from the inside.”

Xuenima blinked and floated away: [Roger.]

After saying that, Lin Su walked up to the crowd. “Are you guys sleepy? Are you planning to stay here, or go back to sleep?”

One person gave a bitter laugh. “Who can sleep through this?”

Lin Su invited sincerely, “Then do you want to play cards?”

Everyone: ?

Hao Niubai’s mouth fell open. “…But, no one brought cards.”

As she said this, a rustling sound was heard from over there.

A tall, cool figure in a mask was already rummaging at the front desk, his movements so skilled it was as if he often raided houses.

Soon, he found five decks of poker cards.

He Zhenling brought them over. “Is this enough?”

Lin Su said, “It should be.”

He chose a sofa directly facing the hotel’s main entrance, turned his head, and patted the coffee table for the crowd:

“There are five hours until dawn. Let’s welcome the dawn together.”

__

Author’s Note:

Su: Surprise! Everyone’s here to welcome you back! (throws confetti)

Yu Yixun: ?

Big Bird He: Sleepy is very good. [Heart]

1. (大鳥, Dà Niǎo) literally translates to “Big Bird”. ↩︎

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