Chapter 21: Knocking Guest House (Part 6)

Slap! Slap! Slap!

On the fourth morning at the Knock-Knock Hotel, Zhou Ke was jolted awake by a series of slaps to his face.

When he opened his eyes, he was hoping to see a beautiful girl in a black-and-white maid outfit. Instead, he was greeted by the pathetic, grinning face of Li Hua.

Zhou Ke’s train of thought leaped instantly from "Are you trying to die?" to "How do you want to die?" and finally to "Where do you want to be buried?"

When he finally spoke, however, it came out as, "What would you like me to burn for you next year?"

"Hey! Why are you sentencing me to death already? Can’t I just not die?" Li Hua retreated three steps in horror.

"No." Zhou Ke scratched his messy black hair, sat up, and looked around. He realized that not only was Li Hua there, but Linghu Shiyu and Louis were also in his room.

And their expressions were far from pleasant.

It was a targeted, hostile sort of unpleasantness. Zhou Ke had no doubt that if they could find a rope, he would already be bound hand and foot.

"You all look at me as if I’ve grown eight arms, three heads, and have a taste for human flesh."

"Cough, cough. Little beauty, believe me, you’re definitely that cool," Louis said with a complex tone.

"Don’t you intend to explain?" Linghu Shiyu said coldly, stepping aside to reveal the headless corpse behind the door.

In the daylight, the view was much clearer. Many of the gruesome, visceral details were starkly visible.

"Oh," Zhou Ke mused. "If I told you she accidentally caught her head in the door, would you believe me?"

...

Believe you? As if one could accidentally explode their own head in a door!

"For the safety of everyone, you wouldn't mind if we took some forceful measures, would you?" Linghu Shiyu said, a small hammer already manifesting in her hand.

"Sorry, little beauty, I’ll try not to mess up your face too badly," Louis added, flexing his muscles.

Since there was no rope and Zhou Ke couldn't provide a reasonable explanation, they intended to beat the primary suspect into total immobility first. That was the only way to ensure their safety.

"Everyone, stop! Calm down first!" Li Hua blocked them, shouting, "Ke-zai is not that kind of person!"

"You’re his classmate, so of course you’ll cover for him, but I don’t think your biased behavior is rational," Linghu Shiyu persisted.

"Ke-zai is not that kind of person."

"Hmph, how much do you really know him? For the sake of survival, humans are capable of anything."

"That’s not it," Li Hua waved his hands frantically. "I mean, if Ke-zai were the 'Traitor,' we likely wouldn’t have survived the second night. Ke-zai isn’t that type; if he wanted to kill us, he would have done it cleanly and finished us all off at once. He wouldn’t leave himself a liability like this."

"Just how twisted is my image in your mind? Are we approaching Cthulhu levels?" Zhou Ke squinted.

"You're welcome!" Li Hua flashed a bright, toothy smile and gave a thumbs-up.

"I really appreciate that," Zhou Ke sighed helplessly as he looked at the murderous glares from Linghu Shiyu and Louis. "Sigh, explaining things is such a chore." Under their wary gazes, he climbed out of bed. "Follow me."

Amidst the tense atmosphere, they arrived at Room 4.

"Kick the door open."

Zhou Ke looked pointedly at Louis. His Truth was clearly of the physical enhancement type; he would certainly be able to manage it.

Louis didn't refuse; he delivered a powerful front kick. The old wooden door shattered into splinters and collapsed inward.

Zhou Ke walked in first and didn't take long to find the sentence Chen Minqun had mentioned on the ceiling:

*The sacrifice is the key, the crimson opens the door for you, the severed head begs for a reward, and the killer is the one who survives.*

He explained the meaning of the words and recounted exactly what had happened the previous night.

After his full account, the looks Linghu Shiyu and Louis gave him didn't improve; if anything, they grew even more intense. The "Traitor" was evil, certainly, but wasn't the person who toyed the "Traitor" to death even more terrifying?

Throughout the rest of the day, Zhou Ke revealed the Doorbell Ghost's killing rules, but the others were hesitant to believe him. They were terrified the rules were a trap that would bring about their own demise. Because of this suspicion, they didn't let Zhou Ke touch the phone.

Linghu Shiyu placed the call instead. After requesting breakfast as usual, she asked several questions, but still received no useful information.

It is worth noting that they found a brand-new lightbulb in Room 4 and replaced the one in the hallway that had been ruined by the water, effectively restoring nighttime lighting.

And so, the fourth night arrived.

Linghu Shiyu, Louis, and Li Hua watched as the mentally unstable Zhou Ke danced and discoed down the hallway while carrying a silent speaker.

They even watched him try to lift the Doorbell Ghost's skirt!

Fortunately, the spirit’s trait was that it could touch you, but you could not touch it. Otherwise, if they had triggered a screen-clearing kill mechanism, they would all have been done for.

"Tch, are you kidding me? It’s fine for it to do a 'head-pat kill' to me, but I can't even lift its skirt?" Seeing his hand pass right through the Doorbell Ghost’s lower body, Zhou Ke began to grumble, "This is infuriating, I’m starting to demand human rights!"

After a moment of contemplation, he came up with a better idea.

Under their horrified gazes, Zhou Ke lay flat on his back, attempting to investigate the spirit's secrets from below. Perhaps the Doorbell Ghost felt this guy was truly shameless, or perhaps it feared dirtying its feet by stepping on him. Every time Zhou Ke prepared to lie down, it would immediately change direction and leave.

Extremely disappointed, Zhou Ke was forced to abandon this attempt and focus on the real issue—wait, he should have been focusing on the real issue from the start!

Zhou Ke looked up at the third rule on the wall: *The night outside the hotel is beautiful, but only the hallway has windows to view it.*

Previously, because the Doorbell Ghost wandered the halls at night, no one had paid attention to this rule. Now that the killing rules were clear and unrelated to whether one stayed in the hallway, this third rule clearly held a secret.

Taking advantage of the remaining darkness, Zhou Ke strode toward the only window in the hallway. He had touched this window before; other than the fact that it couldn't be opened or broken, there was nothing special about it, and the street scene outside was just a normal neighborhood without pedestrians.

"Does it have to be night to see it?" Zhou Ke wondered. The moment he looked up at the sky, he suddenly realized.

"So that's how it is."