Chapter 035: The Spirits All Emerge

“What’s wrong? What’s happening? Manager Xu, are you alright?” Shang Wuwei rushed over and grabbed the retreating Manager Xu.

I followed Manager Xu’s gaze…

High heels. That pair of red high heels.

Shang Wuyong had just placed them by the doorway. Manager Xu was staring at them, sitting on the floor in terror and looking back.

“Ah!” As Shang Wuwei grabbed her shoulders, she suddenly clung to his legs.

“It’s alright! You’re safe!” Shang Wuwei gently patted her back to comfort her.

“She’s back… She’s back again…” Manager Xu whispered fearfully, her voice trembling.

“Who? Who’s back?” Shang Wuwei asked.

“She… she… she really has come back!” Manager Xu stammered, almost incoherent, clearly frightened out of her wits.

“What on earth is going on?” Shang Wuyong frowned.

That was precisely my question as well.

Judging by Manager Xu’s condition, she was in no state to answer us.

“Brother, take her away. Wait until she calms down, then we’ll talk! Leave this to me and Xiaowei,” said Shang Wuyong.

“Alright!” For once, Shang Wuwei didn’t argue about being addressed as ‘brother.’

He soothed Manager Xu and helped her to her feet.

Manager Xu wasn’t old—at most twenty-six or twenty-seven. Her professional attire gave her an air of intelligence and poise.

Once Shang Wuwei had led her away, I turned to Shang Wuyong. “Did you notice anything strange?”

Shang Wuyong shook his head. Then he picked up the red high heels again and said, “There’s a story behind these. Otherwise, Manager Xu wouldn’t be so terrified of a pair of shoes.”

“Yes,” I nodded.

Indeed, something had surely happened in this hotel, something closely tied to these red high heels. And the central figure in that story must be dead—otherwise, Manager Xu would not be so afraid.

“What do we do now?” I asked.

“We’ll go in again! Let’s see if there’s anything we missed.” Shang Wuyong, holding the high heels, walked once more into room 627.

The moment he stepped in, he gave a startled exclamation.

I hurried after him. “What’s the matter?”

“Look!” He lifted the high heels for me to see.

I immediately looked. The shoes in his hands were trembling ever so slightly.

“Why are you shaking?” I thought perhaps his hands were unsteady.

“Damn it, it’s not me!” He flung the shoes onto the neatly made bed.

Sure enough, even after landing on the bed, the shoes continued to tremble.

I quickly glanced around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

“Yin energy!” Shang Wuyong muttered under his breath.

At his words, I sniffed the air and caught a faint chill—the unmistakable scent of yin energy.

Without delay, I leveled my compass, formed a hand seal, and guided a thread of energy into the instrument.

A low, mournful whir sounded.

The needle of my compass began to spin.

“That’s it. Yin energy,” I said gravely to Shang Wuyong.

My compass was a yin-yang device. When yin energy entered, the needle spun counterclockwise—the denser the energy, the faster the needle turned.

Judging by the current speed, the yin energy here was present but not overwhelming.

“What do we do now?” I asked again.

If this were a matter of feng shui, I’d handle it myself. That was my field of expertise. But when it came to exorcising ghosts, I wouldn’t pretend to be more capable than I was. That was Shang Wuyong’s forte.

“Don’t worry, leave it to me!” he said, raising his hand.

He pressed his palms together and began chanting under his breath.

After about two minutes, he quickly formed two hand seals, pointed at the red high heels, and shouted, “Wicked spirit, I give you three breaths to show yourself. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being merciless!”

What? Was something inside those high heels?

The thought startled me.

I had checked those shoes before, and so had Shang Wuyong—he’d even sniffed them. Had something crept in after?

Three breaths passed quickly, but the high heels only trembled; nothing emerged.

“Hmph! So you refuse a peaceful solution,” Shang Wuyong snapped.

Just then, a cold wind rushed in from the doorway.

It was sudden and fierce, sending shivers down my spine.

“How dare you!” Shang Wuyong shouted, releasing a burst of spiritual energy.

A shrill, ghastly wail echoed through the room.

My heart leapt—I darted aside, drawing a talisman.

Things had escalated. At a minimum, this was a Green Shade Ghost—or perhaps even a Red Wraith.

I dared not interfere; I mustn’t hinder Shang Wuyong’s fight.

Crash! The lamp on the bedside table flew straight at Shang Wuyong.

“In the name of thunder—break!” Shang Wuyong commanded. The lamp shattered and fell to the floor.

He glanced at the shards, his expression tense.

“Xiaowei, run! This is a Red Wraith! I can’t handle it alone!” He bit his finger, smeared blood on his brow, and crossed his arms over his chest in a defensive stance.

At his words, I began to retreat at once.

A Red Wraith!

If even Shang Wuyong couldn’t handle it, I was certainly no match.

Now was no time for heroics.

As I reached the doorway, I heard a woman’s mournful voice, faint and full of grievance: “I was wronged… I can’t let go! I can’t let go!”

“Wicked spirit! Don’t get cocky! Once I’m prepared, I’ll see you destroyed!” Shang Wuyong also retreated to the door.

Bang!

Shang Wuyong pulled the door shut.

“Hurry!” he shouted.

I didn’t dare linger. I followed him, running toward the elevator.

“Not good!” But as soon as we reached the elevator, the lights suddenly went out.

A blackout!

A power outage at such a time was no accident—the Red Wraith was at work.

“Take the stairs!” Shang Wuyong barked, shoving open the fire door and dashing in.

I followed at once.

Though the power was out, the hotel’s emergency lights flickered on, so we weren’t in total darkness.

As we entered the stairwell, an icy chill swept over me. The air was freezing—like the depths of winter.

Yet it was the height of summer, not winter at all!

“You bullied me… I was wronged! What did I ever do to deserve this?”

“Why would you treat me like this?”

“Why?”

“I… I was so wronged!”

As we hurried down the stairs, a woman’s plaintive voice echoed endlessly in our ears.

The grief in that voice stirred a pang of sympathy in me.

“Xiaowei, don’t listen—just keep running! We’ll think again once we’re outside!” Shang Wuyong shouted as he ran.

As if I dared slow down! Even he was fleeing for his life—how could I do otherwise?

A feral howl erupted.

Suddenly, Shang Wuyong, who was ahead of me, missed a step and tumbled forward.

“Shang Wuyong!” I cried, reaching out, but he was too far. I couldn’t catch him.

He tumbled down five or six steps and crashed headfirst into the wall.

I rushed after him to check his condition.

But after just two steps, I froze.

Because…

Because I saw two high heels lying on the stairs before me.

Yes, two red high heels—identical to the pair we’d found earlier.

No doubt, in his panic, Shang Wuyong had stepped on these and fallen.

The emergency lights here were dim, and we’d been running fast. It was no surprise we’d failed to spot something left right in the middle of the stairs.

“So, you still want to run?” While I stood there stunned, that mournful woman’s voice sounded behind me.

Startled, I spun around.

And the sight before me chilled me to the bone…