Chapter 1 Driving

Xu Qinglang was driving, not because Zhou Ze insisted on being with Xu Qinglang, but because neither he nor Lao Dao had a driver's license.

Imagine if he and Lao Dao drove out, only to be stopped by traffic police and detained for driving without a license. That would be a real mess.

Lao Dao had already learned his lesson once; this time, they had to be more careful.

Bai Yingying and Spider-Man stayed at the bookstore to watch the shop. Zhou Ze didn't let them come along.

General Mountain was located in the suburbs of Tongcheng, bordering nearby Yangzhou. The drive was quite long. Leaving from the bookstore, and without any delays along the way, they didn't arrive at their destination until about an hour and a half later.

There weren't many mountains in the Yangtze River Delta plain. Even if there were, they were just small hills, not even worth mentioning compared to the mountainous regions of Sichuan and the Northeast.

It was like a Southerner getting excited when seeing snow for the first time. Letting someone from the plains drive on mountain roads for the first time would also be very exciting.

General Mountain had only been developed in recent years. Several large and upscale hot spring resorts had been opened, attracting some customers. Some nearby villagers had also started small B&Bs, but it hadn't yet reached a large scale.

Xu Qinglang drove directly into a place called "Wenya Hot Spring Resort." He had booked a room there. In fact, the family of three who had been murdered had also stayed here, but they hadn't died inside, but on the mountain road on the way down.

But even so, the incident had a terrifying impact on the hotel's business.

The most obvious thing was that Xu Qinglang had originally booked a small villa with an indoor hot spring pool in the courtyard for 1,500 yuan a day, but the front desk enthusiastically upgraded him to a room with a small quadrangle courtyard with a daily rent of 5,000 yuan, free of charge.

Moreover, whether it was the front desk or the greeters, the service attitude was as good as seeing their own parents, and they couldn't have been more enthusiastic.

Later, Zhou Ze learned that it seemed that they were the only guests in the entire hotel.

After entering the room, Xu Qinglang asked the waiter to fill the hot spring pool with water. He planned to take a dip first. When Zhou Ze had called him out earlier, it had already been agreed that he would only be responsible for driving, and he wouldn't care about anything else. After all, he was still getting a beauty treatment when Zhou Ze called him.

Lao Dao was diligent, constantly checking case information online, while Zhou Ze sat on a rattan chair with his mobile phone on the coffee table in front of him.

It wasn't realistic to expect Boss Zhou to look for clues and find subtle details like a policeman. Besides, the police were more proficient in these things than he was. After all, they specialized in it. Boss Zhou only needed to be responsible for answering the phone.

Actually, Zhou Ze really wasn't willing to get involved in other people’s business or get into these troubles, but the screams of the girl on the phone were really too upsetting.

In addition, since this was very likely a "ghost call," and since ghosts were involved, he could justifiably intervene.

It was just that, after making several calls before, the phone had become silent after Zhou Ze arrived at General Mountain, so quiet that it was unnerving.

Xu Qinglang had already entered the pool and started bathing. He had also added rose essential oil and other things to the water, and he lay in it, occasionally splashing the water and gently stroking his thighs. This posture really resembled the beautiful scenes in Hong Kong Category III films from earlier years.

An eyesore.

Really too much of an eyesore.

If you didn't know he was a man, you could still appreciate it,

But knowing he was a man made you feel disgusted.

"Boss, why don't we go to the scene of the crime first?" Lao Dao suggested proactively.

Zhou Ze really wanted to refuse, but continuing to stay in the hotel and watching Xu Niangniang (a derogatory term for effeminate men) acting up in the courtyard seemed like an even more painful thing. So, he nodded and, after telling Xu Qinglang, left the hotel with Lao Dao.

Being alone in the room, Xu Qinglang felt even more relaxed. Generally speaking, to know if there's anything added to the water in a hot spring pool, you just need to soak in it for a while and see if your hands and feet develop white patches. If they do, it means that the water is no different from that in a public bathhouse.

Lao Xu was enjoying his soak, stretching out his arms, spreading out, with a bottle of cheap red wine provided by the hotel next to him. At least, Xu Qinglang had created that mood.

"Ding-dong... Ding-dong..."

The doorbell rang.

Xu Qinglang reluctantly got out of the pool, put on his bathrobe, opened the door, and saw a waiter holding three glasses of milk and some snacks.

"Sir, this is a gift from the hotel."

"Okay, thank you."

After taking the things, Xu Qinglang closed the door, put the things casually on the coffee table, then took off his bathrobe and re-entered the pool.

While soaking, when he was about to fall asleep, Xu Qinglang suddenly heard "crunching" sounds, like a mouse was gnawing on something.

Xu Qinglang initially thought he was hallucinating. Maybe he had been soaking in the hot spring for too long, and he was feeling a little lightheaded. But the sound kept going on.

Turning his head and looking towards the living room, Xu Qinglang didn't see anyone or a mouse.

"Glug... Glug..."

The sound continued,

Right in the living room.

Licking his lips, Xu Qinglang got out of the pool again and put on his bathrobe again.

Although he wasn't an ordinary person and didn't really have anything to be afraid of staying here, Zhou Ze wasn't here after all. If something really happened to him, it would still be a little troublesome.

Without the head of the household, there was no backbone.

After inspecting the living room, Xu Qinglang was a little puzzled that the sound that had been ringing earlier disappeared when he entered the living room.

Xu Qinglang sat down on the sofa in the living room, then looked at the coffee table in front of him. There were snacks and milk that the waiter had just brought.

But a large piece was missing from the snacks.

Stolen by a mouse?

Xu Qinglang silently picked up his mobile phone. He felt that things were a bit strange. Although the family hadn't died in this hotel, and the hotel was still operating normally, how could he be sure that this hotel was definitely clean?

But what if it really was a mouse or some other small animal stealing food? Would he be laughed at if he called Zhou Ze back?

Xu Qinglang hesitated. He searched behind the sofa and under the coffee table, hoping to see a mouse or a squirrel hiding here so he could feel relieved.

But after searching around, he still didn't find any trace of small animals.

Xu Qinglang walked to the courtyard outside again, not getting into the pool, just standing beside it, waiting.

"Crunch, crunch..."

The chewing sound rang again. Xu Qinglang's eyes scanned the living room, and finally, he pinpointed the source of the sound!

Immediately,

Xu Qinglang rushed over directly, lifted the tea table there, and still found nothing. The sound also disappeared directly, but here, there was also a small refrigerator.

In the refrigerator?

Xu Qinglang reached out and slowly grasped the refrigerator handle, then opened the refrigerator directly.

The refrigerator contained cola and beer, but nothing else.

Letting out a long breath, Xu Qinglang felt that he was really afraid of seeing something inside. That scene was enough to make his scalp tingle just thinking about it.

"Heaven and earth are infinite, the mysteries of the heart are righteous!"

Xu Qinglang pinched his fingers into a mudra, then took out a heart-protecting mirror and placed it directly on the coffee table in the center of the living room, then silently sat on the sofa.

He wouldn't go to the hot spring anymore,

He wouldn't go anywhere else,

He would just sit here alone in a daze.

"Drip... Drip..."

The grandfather clock in the living room kept ticking, but the chewing sound that had been constantly harassing him seemed to have really disappeared because Xu Qinglang was sitting here.

After sitting for about half an hour, Xu Qinglang picked up his mobile phone again. This time he was ready to call Zhou Ze and ask them when they would be back, after all, it was almost dinner time.

Xu Qinglang wouldn't say that he had been scared by some unknown thing to the point that he hadn't been able to enjoy the hot spring.

But somehow, the phone showed no signal, and he couldn't make a call no matter how hard he tried.

Xu Qinglang stood up from the sofa.

If he still hadn't noticed the strange atmosphere at this point, he would have been wasting his time.

"Ding-dong... Ding-dong... Ding-dong..."

The doorbell rang again.

Xu Qinglang walked towards the door while looking around, and opened the door.

A female attendant, different from the previous one, was holding an unopened bathrobe and handed it over.

"This is the new bathrobe you requested."

"What?"

Xu Qinglang was stunned. When had he asked for a new bathrobe?

"It's for this room, saying you needed an extra bathrobe." The female attendant glanced at the room number again, confirmed it, and said, "That's right. Then I'll go first, I wish you a pleasant vacation."

The female attendant closed the door before leaving.

Xu Qinglang walked back holding the unopened new bathrobe.

"Whirr..."

The hot water in the pool was running again, running for no reason.

Then, the refrigerator door that he had closed earlier was actually opened again.

The snacks that had been delivered on the coffee table were missing some again.

Picking up his mobile phone, damn it, the mobile phone still had no signal.

Slowly, Xu Qinglang felt that he was about to be driven crazy. It wasn't that he was being paranoid, he wasn't so fragile. It was indeed some strange and unbelievable things that were happening right next to him.

Xu Qinglang wanted to wash his face. He walked to the bathroom, put the bathrobe aside, and bent down to wash his face. But when he was about to take the facial cleanser, he suddenly realized that the new bathrobe he had just placed next to the sink was gone.

Xu Qinglang raised his head, facing the mirror,

But found in the mirror,

Beside him,

There were three people standing,

A man, a woman, and a child.

The three of them were wearing bathrobes,

Soaked and dripping, pale-faced,

Standing straight and stiffly next to him, Xu Qinglang.

Xu Qinglang tilted his head subconsciously, wanting to see more clearly,

The family of three in the mirror also tilted their heads together following Xu Qinglang's movements,

"Thump"

"Thump"

"Thump"

Three muffled sounds,

A family of three,

Three heads,

Rolled down together.