Chapter 299: Locust Tree Hotel 17
1, 2, 3… Chu Yian counted the steps, her body tense.
She walked between the 7th and 6th floors, and as she moved further away from the Hotel room card’s floor, the pressure grew.
“Da Ni…”
Just as Chu Yian counted to “8,” Li Mingzhu’s voice suddenly came from above.
The voice was light and airy, sounding somewhat eerie in the empty, silent stairwell.
Chu Yian looked up at Li Mingzhu, who was wearing clothes two sizes too big, hanging loosely on her. Her face, even paler than before, showed fear and pleading. “Da Ni, let me walk with you.”
Li Mingzhu was in a very bad state.
Chu Yian wanted to refuse, but she wasn’t confident she could force Li Mingzhu to go up. So, she could only say tactfully, “The elevator is actually a bit safer. I suggest you do the elevator task first.”
“I don’t dare.”
Li Mingzhu’s voice was on the verge of tears, as if Chu Yian was her last straw. “Please, Da Ni, without you, I’ll really die.”
Hearing this, Chu Yian couldn’t help but correct her seriously, “Mingzhu, in this round of the game, no one can rely on anyone else; you can only rely on yourself. If you follow me and danger occurs, I will only prioritize protecting myself.”
She thought that by saying this, Li Mingzhu would retreat in the face of difficulty, but she didn’t expect her to remain firm in her decision.
She kept muttering that only Chu Yian could save her.
Alright.
“If you really want to follow me, it’s best to keep a distance of one flight of stairs.”
At that distance, she wouldn’t interfere with Chu Yian, and if danger occurred, she could return to the 8th floor faster than Chu Yian.
This was the only consideration Chu Yian could give her.
After speaking, Chu Yian touched the prayer beads on her right wrist and continued downwards.
9, 10, 11, 12!
Another safe staircase.
Successfully descending again, yet she felt no joy. Looking down the stairwell from the handrail, the winding stairs resembled a devouring abyss.
Suddenly, the lights in the hallway flickered on and off.
The shadows in the hallway swayed like specters with the flickering, and at that moment, a deliberately hushed footsteps sounded.
Chu Yian’s eyelids twitched wildly, and an inexplicable panic surged in her heart.
In that instant, she spun around abruptly; there was actually someone behind her.
It was Li Mingzhu!
She was only half a meter behind Chu Yian, staring intently at her, a gaze that sent shivers down one’s spine.
Chu Yian took a sudden step back. “What are you doing?”
Li Mingzhu: “I want to be closer to you.”
“Are you out of your mind, appearing silently behind someone in this kind of environment?”
Even the most good-tempered person would be angry now.
Chu Yian couldn’t suppress her anger, frowning and scolding, “I told you not to pat my shoulder, but you didn’t listen; I told you to stay one floor above, but you didn’t listen either. If you want to die, don’t drag me down with you. What did I ever do to you?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
Seeing Chu Yian angry, Li Mingzhu kept bowing and apologizing.
She looked as if she was possessed.
But Chu Yian wasn’t falling for it. “Since you like following so much, then you go first.”
She crossed her arms, yielding the stairs downwards.
Li Mingzhu, however, stood rooted to the spot.
“Hurry up and go,” Chu Yian urged impatiently.
“Da Ni, you go first. I’ll follow behind you.”
Chu Yian rolled her eyes at her. “If you want to be someone’s follower, don’t you know that a follower has to lead the charge, taking on the dirty, tiring, and dangerous work first?”
However, Li Mingzhu seemed oblivious to the sarcasm, continuously muttering to herself.
“Please.”
“Just listen to me.”
“Only you can save me.”
“I don’t want to die, only you can save me…”
Her speaking speed grew faster and faster, her tone gradually tinged with a hint of madness.
Chu Yian was very nervous now. She tried her best to keep her gaze normal, but she couldn’t stop looking at Li Mingzhu’s limping left foot.
Li Mingzhu’s left heel was forward, and her toes were backward.
Her left and right feet formed a strange shape, making one… feel a chill down their spine.
She leaned her back against the stair railing, inching away to a position further from Li Mingzhu.
Just then, Li Mingzhu suddenly raised her head, her bloodshot eyes fixed on Chu Yian, her voice shrill and piercing like a malevolent spirit, “I told you to save me, what’s wrong with you saving me?”
“Ah!”
“Ah—!”
Chu Yian’s eardrums throbbed from her scream, but at this moment, she couldn’t care about her ears. She turned and ran upstairs.
Li Mingzhu also chased after her, extending a pale, withered hand like a chicken’s claw. The yellow ribbon on her right hand fluttered like a banner summoning souls.
“Just once, just once.”
“Let me pat you one more time, and I won’t have to die.”
“Please save me!”
“Don’t run—!”
Pat again?
Shoulder?!
Chu Yian remembered when Li Mingzhu inexplicably patted her shoulder twice earlier in the day. Because she was in a creepy game and was quite superstitious, she strongly disliked Li Mingzhu’s actions.
If she had been patted during the day, wouldn’t Chu Yian have met with misfortune then?
Cold sweat broke out on Chu Yian’s back, and her escape speed increased.
However, although Li Mingzhu limped, her speed was extraordinary. She caught up to Chu Yian, and her withered palm slapped Chu Yian’s back.
It was cold and forceful.
That slap felt like it could knock her soul out.
“Don’t run!”
“Save me!”
Li Mingzhu’s voice had turned into a shrill, piercing cry that made her head ache and her eardrums feel like they were being pricked by needles.
The prayer beads on her wrist became scalding hot, which slightly relieved Chu Yian from the situation and also allowed her to dodge Li Mingzhu’s third attempt to pat her shoulder. Then she took out her treasure box and unceremoniously hurled it at Li Mingzhu.
She didn’t think physical attacks would be of much use against the supernatural.
But Li Mingzhu seemed unable to withstand such a blow.
She was directly hit by the thrown treasure box and tumbled down the stairs. The several-ton treasure box almost crushed her body into a pulp. Li Mingzhu lay in a pool of blood, her eyes filled with resentment as she looked in Chu Yian’s direction.
It was chilling!
Chu Yian dared not look at her corpse again, scrambling back to her floor using both hands and feet. This extreme fear challenged her nerves; she leaned against the wall, trembling all over.
Terrifying.
It was truly terrifying.
Chu Yian’s mind was filled with Li Mingzhu’s unwilling gaze after her death, especially since she died in the stairwell. For Chu Yian, who hadn’t completed her task yet, this was nothing short of a double blow.
She was really scared.
She had a fear and premonition that this round of the game wouldn’t be completed, and she would soon die here.
Just then, a bedroom door on the 8th floor opened.
Lu Qingyuan, wearing pajamas and with slightly disheveled hair, looked outside, a hint of annoyance from being disturbed. “It’s so noisy out there. What are you doing not sleeping in the middle of the night?”
