Chapter 19: Swapping Rooms

The one who screamed was Huiqin Su. She collapsed by the door of Room 405, covering her mouth, her face pale with fright.

Zhiyong Qi asked angrily, "What now?"

"The bodies... the bodies are missing!"

Everyone was shocked and rushed over immediately.

Inside Room 405, there had been two corpses: one was Yu Zhu Lu, turned into a statue, and the other was Fang Zhi, who was decapitated.

The survivors, worried about causing unnecessary trouble, had not moved the bodies but stored them temporarily in Room 405.

But now, both corpses had vanished.

The floor was covered with bloodstains and torn clothing fragments. The cement statue was completely shattered, leaving only fragmented bone debris of Yu Zhu Lu inside. Fang Zhi’s condition was similar.

It was clear that both bodies had been eaten.

Everyone felt parched and tongue-tied.

They had already faced the Door-Breaking Ghost, the Door-Knocking Ghost, and the child spirit that appeared last night. Now there was something that consumed corpses—how could they feel safe?

Xian Wu twisted the corner of his mouth and said, "Look on the bright side: at least we don't have to worry about these two bodies rotting and causing plague."

His attempt at reassurance did not ease the tension; instead, it cast a deeper shadow over everyone.

Among the group, the calmest was Chao Wen.

He walked to Yue Mei’s door and, following Xian Wu’s example from the previous day, restored the door to its original state.

"Look, there are cement handprint marks here, but they’ve been wiped clean. I’m afraid..."

Huilan Su suddenly understood.

"It’s Yue Mei!"

"I remember now—I heard noises outside early yesterday morning. It must have been Yue Mei discovering she was marked, so she wiped off her mark. Otherwise, why would she be afraid to return at night?"

Her reminder brought everyone’s memories back to Yue Mei’s strange behavior the previous morning, which was indeed suspicious.

Zhiyong Qi pondered.

"If she was the one marked yesterday, then does that mean my handprint is..."

Xian Wu’s heart skipped a beat. He couldn’t let Qi figure it out, so he quickly interrupted, "Do you all remember the first morning?"

On the first morning, there was a handprint on Yu Zhu Lu’s door, and Fang Zhi’s door was also marked.

Shi Ji’s eyes widened, and he slapped his palm excitedly. "I get it! Handprints can exist on two doors at once, and the big spirit’s attack order follows the sequence in which the handprints were made!"

Zhiyong Qi’s previously relaxed expression tightened again.

If that was the case, then he would definitely be attacked tonight. Having been on guard all night, his courage and resolve had already drained by half. He had no desire to face the big spirit in battle again.

Huiqin Su raised her hand.

"Maybe we don’t need to overcomplicate things. Since the big spirit only attacks marked rooms, can’t we stay in unmarked rooms and be safe?"

Zhiyong Qi nodded. "Makes sense. I’ll switch rooms tonight!"

He scanned the remaining rooms. So far, five rooms had not been attacked by the big spirit.

From Qi’s perspective, his Room 402 and Shi Ji’s 403 had been marked, leaving only Xian Wu’s 406, Chao Wen’s 401, and the Su sisters’ 404 as safe rooms.

The Su sisters, with their big sparkling eyes, looked at Qi enticingly. They proposed this plan hoping Qi would stay with them.

Huilan Su said to Qi, "You can stay with us tonight. We’re not worried you’ll cause trouble."

"Several little ghosts came into our room last night. Without a man’s presence to boost our courage, we might have scared ourselves to death," Huiqin added, her face flushed and voice soft and charming, the implication clear.

Zhiyong Qi rejected without hesitation.

"Men and women shouldn’t mix like that. No thanks."

Qi was far from a gentleman. If the Su sisters were as innocent as they appeared, he wouldn’t mind staying with them. Besides, they were indeed attractive, and if anything happened, he could even use them as scapegoats.

But the problem was—

There was something deeply off about these two sisters!

Even He Qiong, suspected to be a follower, was dead, yet they survived. Last night, a child spirit crept into the room, but not a single bruise was found on them.

A woman’s heart is a deep ocean...

Next, he looked at Chao Wen.

Chao Wen shook his head. "You’d better not stay with me..."

His room was piled high with clutter, leaving barely any space. In just two or three days, he had made his room a mess—truly terrifying.

So, the only choice left was Xian Wu’s room.

"Give me your room. You can take mine, or stay with the Su sisters for courage, or go keep old Wen or Shi Ji company."

Though he phrased it as a suggestion, it was really an order.

Qi had long since made an enemy of Xian Wu and would never share a room with him. He forcibly took Xian Wu’s keys and tossed his own keys to Xian Wu.

Everyone frowned at this scene.

But no one came to Xian Wu’s defense. Over the past few days, everyone had silently accepted that Xian Wu was Qi’s punching bag.

Xian Wu refused twice but was ignored by Qi. His eyes turned red with anger, lips trembling, but he endured and went into the room to pack.

Shi Ji looked at Xian Wu quietly packing and thought bitterly to himself, "This bastard’s acting is really good."

Xian Wu hugged his luggage and looked pleadingly at the Su sisters, but only got two pairs of rolling eyes. Chao Wen also refused to live with him.

So Xian Wu had no choice but to turn to Shi Ji.

"Enough talk. Let me move in. I’ll watch your back."

Shi Ji grabbed Xian Wu’s arm, tears welling in his eyes.

"Boss, welcome!"

After collaborating yesterday, Shi Ji realized Xian Wu was no ordinary man and had been wanting to ask him for help. Unexpectedly, Xian Wu came knocking on his door.

With the room swap settled, everyone dispersed to search nearby for supplies and statues.

At this point, Qi’s initial cover-up had completely failed. Even Shi Ji understood the importance of the statues, not to mention Professor Wen Chao or the others who had known about the statues all along.

Seeing everyone leave, Shi Ji hurried outside too.

After praying yesterday, his body had started to fail; relying on spreading filth in his room barely saved his life. This problem had to be solved today.

But Xian Wu stopped him.

"Wait. Let’s move first. Tonight we stay in Qi Zhiyong’s Room 402."

Shi Ji was stunned. "Why?"

Xian Wu grinned. "Because your room will be attacked tonight."

He told Shi Ji about his experience marking and wiping handprints, and Shi Ji’s mouth gradually dropped open, his gaze turning horrified.

"Also, I need your help with something."

"What is it?"

Xian Wu pulled out two iron wires and a screwdriver.

"Since no one’s around now, let’s change the doors of your room and mine. I want to verify whether the mark is on the room or on the door."

Shi Ji opened his mouth but said nothing in the end.