Chapter 038 Three Female Ghosts

Returning once again to the door of my room, I let out a long breath, steadied myself, and raised my hand to knock. The moment my knuckles left the wood, I realized how absurd it was. Who would be inside? No one but a ghost. Why was I even knocking? I gave a self-mocking smile and reached into my pocket for my room card.

But before I could retrieve it, the door clicked open by itself.

With a cautious push, I peered inside. The room was pitch black—nothing could be seen.

“Um…” I began, unsure how I ought to address Lvzhu. Awkwardly, I called out, “Are you there? Is anyone there?”

Only silence replied, broken only by the loud pounding of my own heart.

Hadn’t she said she would wait for me in this room? Why wasn’t she here? Had something happened again?

I lifted my hand, intending to insert the card and turn on the power.

Just then, Lvzhu’s gentle voice came from inside: “Please, don’t turn on the lights, sir. Come in.”

Her tone was soft, but the unexpectedness of her voice startled me nonetheless.

“Oh!” I replied, and with the faint light from the corridor, I stepped inside.

Hearing her address me so respectfully, I felt a bit more at ease—at least she didn’t mean me harm for now.

The door snapped shut behind me as soon as I entered. I’d already drawn the curtains tight earlier, and now, with the door closed and no lights on, the darkness was complete—so deep I could not see my hand before my face.

“Please, take a seat,” Lvzhu’s voice sounded ahead of me.

But I couldn’t see a thing. Though my spiritual sight allowed me to see ghosts, it didn’t grant me night vision.

My nerves, which had just begun to relax, tensed again in the suffocating darkness.

“Um… I—I can’t see anything,” I said, embarrassed.

“Oh, forgive me! I forgot! I’m so sorry!” Lvzhu’s voice was filled with apology.

Suddenly, two red glows began to flicker in the darkness.

I rubbed my eyes, and as my vision adjusted, I saw the two glowing red lights. Instinctively, I stepped back in fright.

There were two women.

One of them I recognized—she was the alluring woman I’d seen earlier, coming out of room 627. I glanced at her feet; as expected, she was barefoot.

The other woman, equally young and curvaceous, stood beside her.

The red light emanated from the two of them, illuminating the room like a pair of glowing bulbs. Yet the light was cold, seeping into my bones and making my heart tremble.

How could I not feel uneasy? The two women stared at me without expression, their eyes fixed upon me. Their faces weren’t twisted with malice, nor did they bare their teeth, but even so, the mere presence of two fierce red spirits staring me down was more than I could bear.

“Don’t be afraid, sir. They won’t harm you,” Lvzhu said.

Following the sound, I saw Lvzhu sitting in the desk chair, smiling at me. Her beauty was so disarming that my anxiety eased a little.

“Girls, behave yourselves. Don’t frighten our guest,” Lvzhu chided gently.

“Tch, how boring,” the woman I’d seen earlier pouted, walked over, and sat on the bed.

The other woman gave me a small smile and moved to stand by Lvzhu.

“Sir, this is Qi Guiyun,” Lvzhu said, pointing to the woman beside her.

“Hello,” I nodded quickly.

She smiled back and nodded in return.

“And this—” Lvzhu began, pointing to the woman on the bed.

But the woman cut her off, waving and saying, “I’m Zhang Caiwei. Hello, handsome! I was the one who knocked on your door earlier.”

Zhang Caiwei seemed the more flirtatious of the two. Her claim didn’t surprise me; Qi Guiyun appeared far more reserved, hardly the type to tease with such a sultry voice.

“Nice to meet you,” I replied awkwardly.

“He’s so young… Is he up to the task?” Qi Guiyun asked, looking at Lvzhu.

Lvzhu glanced at her and shook her head, signaling her to remain silent.

“Please don’t mind them, sir,” Lvzhu said to me. “We’ve been trapped here so long, they’re a little anxious.”

I waved it off, then turned to Qi Guiyun. “If it really is a Feng Shui issue, I should be able to handle it.”

Qi Guiyun frowned slightly but said nothing.

Zhang Caiwei chuckled and quipped, “Aren’t Feng Shui masters usually old men? How much can someone as young as you possibly know about it?”

It was true—people thought of Feng Shui masters and traditional doctors as old men with wrinkled faces and white hair. No one would trust someone my age—seventeen or eighteen—claiming to be an expert.

“If it’s anything else, I might not be qualified. But if it’s Feng Shui, I dare say there’s no one in the province who surpasses me,” I said, pride in my voice.

I wasn’t boasting. In this field, my master was revered as a grandmaster, and under his tutelage, I might not be the best in the country, but in the Southwest, I certainly ranked among the top five.

“Oh? Quite a boast,” Qi Guiyun laughed softly.

“Mind your manners!” Lvzhu gently rebuked her.

It was clear Zhang Caiwei and Qi Guiyun both deferred to Lvzhu.

“Sir…” Lvzhu addressed me.

I raised a hand to stop her. “Enough, you don’t need to say more. Tell me the details, and if I can help, I will.”

Before such an ethereal beauty, I found myself wanting to impress her.

“My humble thanks, sir!” Lvzhu rose and offered a graceful, floating bow.

Watching her perform an ancient courtesy stirred something strange within me.

“No need for formality!” I fumbled, feeling a little lost.

“We don’t know what kind of spell was cast here, but the three of us cannot leave this area. Even approaching the windows brings a fierce lightning attack,” Lvzhu explained.

She told me that neither the windows nor the door could be approached, much less used to escape.

“When did you come here?” I asked.

“I died here, and I’ve never been able to leave,” Zhang Caiwei replied.

So she must have been the one causing the hauntings before.

Lvzhu added, “Guiyun and I sought shelter here during a thunderstorm, but once inside, we could never get out.”

“I see,” I nodded, falling into thought.

There were few Feng Shui formations capable of summoning lightning, or perhaps more than I knew—but until I’d made a thorough survey of the hotel, I couldn’t be certain what kind of array trapped them here.

“How about this: tonight, let me rest. Tomorrow, after I’ve looked over the place in daylight, we’ll talk again,” I said to Lvzhu.

“We’ll follow your guidance, sir,” she replied formally.

“So… now…” I looked at the three female spirits.

My meaning was clear: I wanted them to leave so I could get some sleep.

“No matter. Why don’t the four of us play mahjong?” Zhang Caiwei hopped off the bed.

Play mahjong—with three ghosts? That was absurd.

“Come on! It’s been so long since I played,” Zhang Caiwei pleaded, clearly addicted.

“I don’t know how to play,” I admitted.

I really didn’t. My master never allowed me the time for such games.

“Seriously? At your age and you don’t know mahjong? Lame!” Zhang Caiwei pouted in annoyance.

“All right, enough, stop teasing,” Lvzhu said with a gentle smile.

At her words, Zhang Caiwei sulked but quieted down.

Since it was clear the three ghosts had no intention of leaving, I dragged over a chair and sat down. Then I turned to Lvzhu and asked, “Would you tell me about your era?”

After all, to hear firsthand stories from a spirit dead for over a thousand years—what a rare and thrilling opportunity…