Chapter 16 The Sound of Hooves

"The sound of hooves..." Everyone's expression turned grim, and they all invariably thought of the paintings in the study, especially the several identical ones spread out on the table.

He Ping composed himself and looked at Madam Su, "So, Madam, you heard it too?"

Unexpectedly, Madam Su shook her head and answered in a strange and unquestionable tone, "No, I didn't hear anything. Not just me, the servants didn't hear it either. Only the master heard it, and he told us all about it."

"The master's episodes mostly occur at night, especially in the latter half of the night. His condition is at its worst then. He'll try every possible way to hide himself, hiding in all sorts of unimaginable places," Madam Su emphasized.

Everyone asked some more questions, but Madam Su's information was limited. The situation was unclear, and they didn't dare to ask anything too probing.

Seeing that they couldn't get any useful clues from her, the group planned to leave and try to solve the mystery in their own way.

But this time, they encountered a problem. Madam Su didn't want to let them leave. "Masters, please set up an altar and perform a ritual to help my master exorcise the evil spirits. He's been possessed!" Madam Su stood up and said anxiously.

"Madam, the situation isn't clear yet. We still need to investigate, and besides..." Yuan Shanyuan paused, "Not all evil spirits can be sent away with a ritual. We need to prescribe the right medicine for the ailment."

"I don't care what they are. Just get rid of them for me!" Veins popped out on the woman's forehead, and her expression instantly became sinister. Her hands were clenched tightly. "I can give you money, lots and lots of money!"

The woman's sudden ruthlessness was completely different from before.

As if realizing her loss of composure, the woman's expression softened slightly, and her tone wasn't as harsh. "I'm sorry, I scared you. But these evil spirits have harmed my master so much. If they're not eliminated, I'm worried..."

"We understand. Madam Su, please rest assured, all of us will do our best," Lin Qianqian stepped forward, took Madam Su's hand, and squeezed it slightly.

Since things had been said to this point, Madam Su couldn't force them to stay, but she still politely escorted the group to the gate. The butler emerged from some corner and stood obsequiously behind the madam.

Madam Su instructed the butler to fetch some money and then personally handed it to Jiang Cheng and the others. Before they left, she further instructed, "Masters, my master's matter involves that aspect after all, and it's a taboo. I hope you'll be careful outside and not reveal this matter to irrelevant people, or I'm afraid it will damage my master's reputation."

"Of course, we'll be careful," everyone agreed.

After the gate was opened, the group quickly left. Madam Su and the butler didn't step outside. The Japanese man who had opened the door earlier was still looking around vigilantly. After he glanced around the vicinity, he quickly closed the gate.

After leaving the Su residence, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The atmosphere inside was really oppressive, not just because of the strange behavior of Master Su, but also because of the disguised Japanese man, which put a lot of pressure on everyone.

The group walked back the way they came. No one spoke. Fatty wanted to turn his head to take another look at the Su residence behind him, but as soon as he made that move, a hand was placed on his shoulder.

Jiang Cheng put his arm around Fatty's shoulder, just walking and not saying anything. From behind, the two looked like they had a very good relationship, but Fatty understood that the doctor was reminding him that someone might be watching them from behind.

After walking out of the alley and arriving at a relatively bustling area, across the street was the Roman Grand Hotel after the fire. Looking at the dark building at this moment, everyone felt an indescribable feeling in their hearts, as if they had just had a dream.

But the cold reality was in front of them. Six of their teammates had been left in that dream forever.

"Newspapers for sale!"

"Newspapers for sale!"

...

A clear child's voice interrupted everyone's thoughts. Looking in the direction of the sound, a thin boy came running over. The boy was about eight or nine years old, with a tattered cloth bag slung over his body, bulging with newspapers. He held a newspaper high in his hand.

The boy's face was pale, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness, but his eyes sparkled. He said in a pleading voice, "Sirs, buy a newspaper. The recent newspapers are very interesting, full of big news!"

Seeing that everyone was unmoved, the boy pointed cleverly to the Roman Grand Hotel across the street and said mysteriously, "You're also curious about the Roman Grand Hotel, right? I have exclusive news about the Roman Grand Hotel. It's all fake about someone accidentally knocking over a candle and causing the fire. It's vengeful spirits seeking retribution! It's because they did so many bad things behind the scenes." The boy waved his fist with a sense of justice.

Hearing this, everyone became interested. "What exclusive news?"

The sense of justice on the boy's face disappeared, and his eyes slowly curved into a merchant-like cunning. He stretched out his hand to Jiang Cheng and the others, "Give me the money, and you'll know when you buy a newspaper."

Jiang Cheng didn't indulge him at all and directly snatched the newspaper from the boy's hand. The boy became anxious and opened his mouth, ready to curse Jiang Cheng's family, but Ding Zhenzong, who looked big and rough, glared at him, and the boy wisely shut his mouth.

In a prominent place on the front page of the newspaper was a photo of the burned-down Roman Grand Hotel, with the bold words: Heavenly Justice is Manifest, Retribution is Inevitable, The Whole Story of the Roman Grand Hotel Charred Corpse Case.

Seeing that the boy hadn't lied, Jiang Cheng took out some money and bought two more newspapers, then sent the boy away.

"You'll never be able to afford four dishes in your life!" After running far away, the boy suddenly turned around and shouted loudly at Jiang Cheng.

This interlude didn't cause any waves. Everyone's attention was focused on the newspaper. The content was shocking. They... had seen this newspaper before.

To be precise, they had seen the first half of the content of the newspaper.

It was inside the hotel, in their respective illusions, the one that recorded the extra unnamed charred corpses, and the newspaper that the old woman saw with the ghost opera stage!

But Jiang Cheng remembered that the records at the time were not complete.

Now he found the broken point and continued to read, finally understanding the ins and outs of the matter, and the question he had been unable to confirm all along: the strange room hidden under the hotel.

The result was indeed as he thought. The room below was not a warehouse, but a dungeon.

How glamorous this Roman Grand Hotel was on the surface, how dark it was behind the scenes. The several bosses behind the hotel made their fortune early on through gambling and opium, and now, they were actually colluding with foreigners to engage in human trafficking.