Chapter 19: The Murder at the Small Inn

After saying that, I dashed into my parents’ room and found the money they’d saved for me in the wardrobe—both passbook and cash, all kept in an iron box. I didn’t bother to take them out; I simply put the whole box into my backpack, then locked the door behind me and set off for the city.

“Grandma, we’re leaving now!” I called into He Yanran’s courtyard as we passed by.

She merely nodded without a word. I knew she couldn’t bear to see Yanran go, and she didn’t want to show her sadness, so she chose not to come out and see us off.

As we walked down the village’s main road, we happened to run into Wu Yang. I was hoping to ignore him, but he still came over to talk.

“Zhang Xiaobei, I heard you caused a scene at the village head’s house yesterday, is that true?”

Typical Wu Yang, always twisting things. How had it become me causing trouble at the village head’s? I’d actually saved their whole family.

But I couldn’t be bothered to argue with him, so I tried to walk around him toward the edge of the village.

He, however, trailed us like a lingering shadow, sneering, “What, no answer? I’m telling you, you’re finished. You’ve offended the village head!”

“Wu Yang, will you ever shut up? Go home if you have nothing better to do,” Yanran snapped impatiently.

“What’s this? Are you upset when I mention your boyfriend? No, wait, not boyfriend—he’s younger, isn’t he? More like your little lover. Hah! Are you two eloping?” Wu Yang mocked, grinning slyly.

I glanced at Xiao Fang and Xiao Yuan and signaled for their help.

The two little spirits nodded and glared at Wu Yang. I looked at him with utter disdain and said, “Did you have shit for breakfast? Your mouth stinks.”

“Zhang Xiaobei, you—” Before Wu Yang could finish, Xiao Yuan blew a gust of air by his ear.

He shivered and turned his head, asking, “What was that just now?”

“Nothing really—just a couple of pesky ghosts. They love to haunt people who go around spewing nonsense all day. You’d better watch out; they’ll come for you tonight,” I said, feigning seriousness.

Right on cue, Xiao Fang blew into Wu Yang’s other ear and whispered, “See you tonight. Don’t sleep—wait for me!”

“Aah!” Wu Yang scratched frantically at his ear, then glared at me. “Zhang Xiaobei, you—you’re a jinx, aren’t you? No wonder the whole village stays away from you. Ugh!” With that, he spun around and ran off.

Watching him flee, Yanran and I exchanged a smile before heading to the village entrance to wait for the van to town.

“Zhang Xiaobei, you should get a car someday. With our group, squeezing into a van is a bit much,” Tan Xiao remarked.

I glanced at her. “You buy it, I’ll drive.”

Talking to thin air, I caught Yanran off guard, but she said nothing, just lowered her head and watched the ground.

I sometimes wanted to explain, but since she never asked, I didn’t know how to begin. Besides, I wasn’t keen on her finding out about the female ghost following me.

“Going to town?” A minivan soon pulled up, and the driver, noticing our luggage, stopped to ask.

“Yes, to town,” I replied.

“Hop in, there’s room for two more,” the driver offered, opening the door.

Tan Xiao wrinkled her nose at the thought. “Forget it, you two go ahead. I’ll meet you in town.”

I nodded without a word. Even though she didn’t need a ticket, having a few ghosts around made the van feel crowded.

Seated inside, I closed my eyes to rest. Suddenly, I overheard a conversation from the back seats: “Yeah, I heard someone died again. Who knows how many it’s been now?”

I opened my eyes and glanced at the two little ghosts beside me; they shook their heads, just as puzzled.

Since they didn’t know, I kept listening.

Soon, someone asked, “Are you talking about that old psychiatric hospital in town?”

“Yes! So many deaths, yet no one’s sent to investigate!”

“They have—no use. Most of those so-called exorcists are fakes these days. They end up too scared themselves.”

“So nothing’s being done?”

“Who knows?”

I looked over at Yanran. She kept her head down, focused on her phone, seemingly uninterested in their conversation.

I typed a message on my phone and showed her: “Did you hear what they just said?”

She nodded, so I followed up: “Have you heard about it before?”

She nodded again, then leaned over and whispered, “That place is really creepy. A high school classmate of mine once went there with some friends for a thrill. Not long after, she died. They found her body right there.”

I was startled. “Didn’t the police investigate?”

“What could they do? The autopsy said she was frightened by something, fell down the stairs, and died from the fall,” Yanran replied.

There really was nothing the authorities could do—regular people can’t see ghosts, after all.

But since the underworld hadn’t given me any orders to escort those spirits away, I had no reason to get involved. If they were left behind, there must be a reason.

With that, I stopped asking. By the time we reached town, it was nearly noon, and we set off to find a place to eat.

But just after we’d ordered, several patrol cars sped by outside.

“What’s going on?” Yanran asked, looking puzzled.

“No idea, must be something serious,” I replied.

At that moment, Tan Xiao appeared, looking exhausted. “Zhang Xiaobei, something’s happened!”

“What is it?” I asked directly.

Yanran glanced at me, noticed I was speaking to someone invisible, then turned back to look outside.

“There’s been a murder in a nearby hotel!” Tan Xiao said.

I was taken aback. “When did it happen?”

“It must have been last night. This morning, when it was checkout time, a staff member knocked to remind the guest, but no one answered. They got the key, opened the door, and found blood everywhere—and a body lying in it,” Tan Xiao explained.

I drew a sharp breath. The murderer must have been extremely bold.

But what did this have to do with me? Was it that the dead person’s spirit refused to leave? Seeing Tan Xiao still catching her breath, I asked, “Aren’t you a ghost? Why are you so tired?”

“You try running between the underworld and the living world four or five times in one morning,” she retorted.

“All right then.” I wasn’t sure why she’d made so many trips, but she must have her reasons.

“Xiaobei, do you want to take a look?” Yanran asked, seeing I’d finished whispering.

I nodded. “When the food comes, go ahead and eat. I’ll go check it out. Leave our stuff here—I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay, but I’ll tell them to bring the food later. I’ll wait so we can eat together,” Yanran said.

“It’s fine. If you get hungry, don’t wait for me.” With that, I called Tan Xiao and the two little ghosts and headed for the hotel.

As I reached the entrance, Lin Chuan spotted me and came over. “Zhang Xiaobei, what brings you here?”

“Trying to make a living. Just arrived and was eating nearby when I saw your patrol cars go by, so I came to check it out,” I said, without mentioning my real reason.

He leaned in and whispered, “Did you see anything we can’t?”

Since he understood, I answered honestly, “Not yet. I guess the victim’s spirit isn’t willing to move on, otherwise I wouldn’t have been called here.”

“Want to take a look at the scene?” he asked.

“Can I?” I asked.

“Sure, I’ll tell the others it’s fine,” Lin Chuan said, gesturing me to follow him inside.

Upstairs, the smell of blood hit me from a distance, and I automatically covered my nose.

Seeing I couldn’t stand it, Lin Chuan fetched me a mask. “Put this on. In summer, these cases are especially bad—the smell is strong.”

I nodded. For someone like me, unaccustomed to such scenes, it was hard to bear.

But honestly, I thought I’d toughened up after yesterday’s incident in my village, so I figured I could handle it.

Yet standing in the doorway, looking at the blood-soaked floor and the body in the middle, I suddenly shuddered. Seeing the victim’s face and the gaping wounds on their stomach, a wave of nausea surged up from within.

I quickly turned away, covering my mouth. “Maybe you should handle this—I’m not…”

Seeing how shaken I was, Lin Chuan patted my back. “You’ll get used to it. We were the same when we started.”

“Really? It’s too cruel. But I haven’t seen a spirit in the room, so maybe it’s already following the one who killed them,” I said.

“You mean, like the Zhao Xue case? If we find who the spirit is following, we’ll find the murderer?” Lin Chuan asked.

I nodded. “Probably, though there’s no guarantee the spirit is following their killer.”

“Why not?” he pressed.

“It depends on how deep the grudge is. If the victim bore some guilt in this, if they felt their death was deserved, they might not seek vengeance. They could be visiting their parents or spouse instead,” I explained.

Lin Chuan pondered this, then said, “That may be the ghost’s choice, but the living will still seek the truth. The victim’s family won’t just let it go.”