LABMY CH58
“Sui Ge, who are these two?”
After causing a commotion and drawing everyone’s attention, Li Sui returned to the hotel with two people, immediately sparking the curiosity of others.
Li Sui said, “My classmates. Help them with the registration.”
His expression showed no joy or anger, and it was hard to tell whether he was warm or disgusted toward the two.
Li Sui was somewhat of a role model among the new generation of the Xuan Sect, so the person in charge of registration was momentarily unsure of how to treat Jian Yuanbai and Jiang Tang.
The registrar, wearing a Natural Resources Management Association work badge, took out two talisman papers and said, “Write your names on these papers and hand them to me.”
Jian Yuanbai reached out, took the two papers, and handed one to Jiang Tang.
Jian Yuanbai’s handwriting was gentle and smooth, lacking sharpness, giving off a peaceful vibe, which completely contradicted his cold and intimidating appearance. On the other hand, Jiang Tang’s handwriting was bold and sharp, while he himself was delicate and beautiful.
The registrar glanced at the talisman papers with their names, then couldn’t help but take another look at the two, finding it quite amusing. He handed them two wooden tokens that resembled waist tags and said:
“Hold on to these tokens. If you wish to forfeit during the test, just crush them, and someone will come to escort you out.”
Jiang Tang asked, “When does the assessment start?”
Li Sui, standing nearby, replied, “At exactly nine o’clock. You can sit and wait for a bit.”
Li Sui was full of questions about why Jiang Tang was here for the Celestial Master assessment, but now was clearly not the time for a conversation.
On one side of the hotel, rows of chairs were neatly arranged. There were already a few people with waist tags sitting there, but the number was small — only two people.
One was a burly man with a buzz cut and a long scar on his eyebrow, who looked tough and rugged. The other was a woman in a trench coat, silently holding a short blade.
The man was focused on his phone, while the woman waited in silence.
The atmosphere of the Celestial Master assessment left Jiang Tang a bit disappointed. He had expected a lively gathering of Xuan Sect people, but what he found was a run-down hotel with only three staff members handling registration, and including him and Jian Yuanbai, there were only four participants.
Jiang Tang lowered his voice and said to Jian Yuanbai, “There are so few people here for the Celestial Master assessment.”
Jian Yuanbai replied, “The Xuan Sect is declining. It’s already good to have two people show up. In a few years, they probably won’t even be able to hold this assessment.”
“Clang—!”
A crisp sound echoed as a giant water mirror suddenly appeared in the center of the hotel.
In the mirror was an elderly man with graying beard and hair. He gently stroked his beard and spoke slowly, “It is now nine o’clock. The Celestial Master Qualification Assessment officially begins.”
“The rules are as follows:
- There are vengeful spirits released by the Celestial Master Association within the venue. Eliminating one earns you one point.
- There are puppet avatars within the venue, representing ordinary people caught in trouble. Rescuing one earns you one point.
- You may steal others’ waist tags. Each tag counts as one point, but your own tag does not count.
Anyone who scores three points will pass the assessment. If you encounter an uncontrollable threat and wish to withdraw, you may crush your waist tag, and a Celestial Master in charge will escort you out.”
“Now, let the assessment begin.”
The elderly man smiled kindly. The water mirror rippled and disappeared.
As his voice fell, the participants instantly found themselves in another location.
The scarred man shuddered and looked around, “Where is this?”
In front of them stood an old motel with a neon sign that read “Romance Motel,” outlined in flashing red and yellow lights, making it feel like they’d stumbled into some shady place.
However, the motel’s size was much larger than a typical red-light district inn. The walls were covered with green ivy, so dense that it seemed like they hadn’t been cleaned in decades.
The shape of the ivy was strange as well. The tangled vines looked like people clinging to the walls, while the upward-reaching vines resembled arms stretching out in despair.
Hearing the scarred man’s words, the trench coat woman remained silent, and Jian Yuanbai didn’t respond either. Only Jiang Tang replied:
“Didn’t that guy mention the venue? This must be the assessment site.”
Having someone respond, the scarred man felt relieved from the awkward silence and quickly nodded, “Let’s introduce ourselves. I’m Xu Hu. What about you guys?”
“Idiot.”
A mocking sneer sounded as the tall and stunning trench coat woman brushed past them with her short blade in hand.
She coldly left a sentence, “We’re competitors now,” and walked straight into the motel without looking back.
“Eh?” Jiang Tang tried to stop her but only saw her disappearing figure.
Left with no choice, Jiang Tang turned to Xu Hu and said, “Just call me Jiang Tang.”
Jian Yuanbai: “Jian Yuanbai.”
He didn’t say much and directly said, “Let’s go in too.”
Upon entering the hotel’s main entrance, directly facing them was a front desk for registration. There was a passage on both the left and right sides. Jian Yuanbai raised an eyebrow and glanced at Xu Hu, “Which side are you taking?”
Xu Hu let out a sound of surprise, “You’re asking me?”
He looked left and right. Both sides had identical structures, and there was no visible difference, “I’ll go left then?”
Jian Yuanbai nodded, grabbed Jiang Tang by the shoulder, and led him to the right, “Then we’ll go right.”
“Wait, wait, wait, wait!” Xu Hu said “wait” four times in a row and reached out to grab Jian Yuanbai.
He reached out from behind, but before he could even touch him, Jian Yuanbai avoided his hand as if he had eyes on his back. Jian Yuanbai turned around and asked, “What?”
Xu Hu was stunned and said, “Aren’t we going together?”
Jian Yuanbai borrowed the words of the woman in the trench coat, “We’re competitors.”
Xu Hu, a burly man, looked particularly aggrieved at this moment, “I won’t snatch your waist token, let’s go together.”
He rubbed the nonexistent goosebumps on his arm and continued, “Don’t you feel it? As soon as we entered, there was a chilling coldness in the air.”
“That kind of eerie, cold feeling… This place is full of deadly energy.”
Jian Yuanbai gave a fake smile, “You won’t snatch ours, but we’ll snatch yours.”
He held Jiang Tang’s shoulder and stood beside him. Without saying a word, it was obvious that the two of them not only knew each other but had a close relationship.
Xu Hu was stunned and said nothing more. He walked toward the left passage, turning back every few steps. As he walked, he glanced at the hand he had just stretched out to grab Jian Yuanbai.
That man… was so fast.
Jiang Tang watched him get scared and didn’t ruin the act. After Xu Hu left, he asked, “Why did you scare him?”
Jian Yuanbai replied with a questioning “Hmm?” and said, “I didn’t scare him. If he kept following us, his waist token would’ve been ours.”
Jiang Tang actually believed that Jian Yuanbai could do such a thing. He asked, “What do we do now?”
“Let’s walk around this hotel first,” Jian Yuanbai said thoughtfully, “This place is strange.”
Jiang Tang observed his surroundings and asked, “What’s strange about it?”
Jian Yuanbai: “There’s not a single ghost here.”
Jiang Tang immediately found it odd as well. How could there be no ghosts in a venue used for an assessment?
While they were talking, the two of them had already reached the end of the first floor and saw an old-fashioned elevator. Jiang Tang pressed the button to go up, and the elevator doors opened in front of them, “It still works. Should we go up?”
Jian Yuanbai: “Let’s go.”
The elevator panel displayed seven floors, which was considered quite large for an old hotel. Jiang Tang pressed the button for the second floor, and the doors closed.
The screen showing the floor number kept jumping to the second floor, back and forth, never stopping. The two stood silently in the elevator, waiting for the door to open.
After a while, Jian Yuanbai suddenly said, “This isn’t going to the second floor.”
Jiang Tang: “What?”
Jian Yuanbai: “We’ve been in here for a minute already, but the screen still shows it’s heading to the second floor.”
“Does it take this long to go from the first to the second floor?”
Jiang Tang was startled and realized something was wrong.
He reached out to press the “open door” button, but it didn’t respond.
At the same time, the other floor buttons wouldn’t light up either. Just as Jiang Tang was about to press the seventh floor button…
The second-floor button that had been lit suddenly went dark, and the seventh-floor button flashed red.
“Ding—”
On the small display screen, the number jumped to seven.
No one pressed it, yet the seventh floor had arrived.
Jiang Tang’s heart skipped a beat, and he heard Jian Yuanbai’s voice, “Let’s go and take a look.”
The unease that had just surfaced was shattered by that voice.
As if no matter when or where, as long as he heard Jian Yuanbai’s voice, he would feel at ease.
However, the moment they stepped out of the elevator, Jiang Tang vanished from Jian Yuanbai’s sight.
Jian Yuanbai narrowed his eyes slightly and didn’t resist the sudden force that pulled him away, allowing himself to be taken as well.
…
“Fengqing Hotel was once a sensational place, famous for its mysterious location and its alluring, desire-filled services.”
“It’s said that there, you could meet the most beautiful women in the world and experience the deepest and most genuine tenderness.”
“Everyone who has been there praises it endlessly, while those who haven’t dream of going.”
“On this day, three young men received an invitation from Fengqing Hotel to participate in the annual selection of the ‘Most Beautiful Courtesan.'”
“You are a flirtatious young master from a wealthy family, curious about the mysterious women in the hotel, but restricted by strict family rules. So, you disguised yourself and sneaked in.”
Jian Yuanbai opened his eyes and heard this dialogue.
There seemed to be something stuck to his face.
“Hey, bro, you’re really dedicated to this script game.”
Someone reached out and tugged at his sleeve, “Is that thing on your face a prop?”
“Are you a staff member here, or are you also here to play this murder mystery script game?”
Jian Yuanbai could feel something trying to alter his memory. He memorized the memories that were being forcefully implanted and ruthlessly suppressed that thing within him.
He turned his head and unexpectedly saw a familiar face.
It was the dorm leader from Jiang Tang’s dorm.
Jian Yuanbai raised an eyebrow.
Interesting.
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