“Mother, I’m back. I brought back Sanren guests today.”
Pushing open the front door, Xia Hui called out softly into the somewhat dark Linglong’s Room.
Even though a lamp was lit in the Linglong’s Room, a chilly aura swirled and refused to dissipate, causing an involuntary shiver to rise in one’s heart.
On the bed in the center of the Linglong’s Room, a middle-aged woman with a haggard face sat quietly, her gaze blankly fixed on the darkening window outside.
Hearing Xia Hui’s voice, the woman’s eyes flickered, and she squeezed out a nearly inaudible ‘mm’ from her throat.
“Xiao Hui, you’re not young anymore. If you don’t go to Ascension City again this year…”
“I’ve told you, I won’t abandon you, Mother, and leave!” Xia Hui interrupted the woman’s words. How could she be a Ren who abandons a seriously ill relative?
Especially since the one who was sick was her biological Mother.
Given her Mother’s current physical condition, if she really left for the Saint Sect, her Mother would surely be unable to take care of herself, and then…
Xia Hui shook her head vigorously; she didn’t want such a thing to happen.
“You child… sigh.” Xia Hui’s Mother sighed and beckoned to Xia Hui. “Come here and tell me why those Sanren guests would choose our home.”
Since the haunting incident occurred, they hadn’t had guests for a long time, yet today Sanren guests had checked in; it was truly quite strange.
“They came for the haunting incident, saying they thought it was very interesting.” Xia Hui walked to her Mother’s side and explained in a low voice.
“Interesting? Ha.” The Mother laughed helplessly twice, but soon, her expression turned gloomy.
She leaned closer to Xia Hui and sniffed twice, a flicker of surprise passing through her eyes. “Xiao Hui, did you use some Magic Spices?”
Xia Hui quickly shook her head. She wasn’t the kind of girl who liked to sprinkle things on her body, and Magic Spices were something she simply couldn’t afford right now.
However, this question from her Mother wasn’t difficult to answer. After all, the only thing that could be linked to a scent today was that matter.
“It’s not Magic Spices. It’s one of the guests who came today; she has a very pleasant Flower Fragrance on her. The scent on me must have come from her.”
“A guest… is it?”
……
“I must say, this place is actually quite good, high quality and low price.”
After wandering around the huge guest Linglong’s Room, Hua Jian felt that choosing Xia Hui was the right decision.
For such a large guest Linglong’s Room with such good conditions, the fee charged was less than half of similar Linglong’s Room in other Inns. It was truly cost-effective.
Thanks to that ghost that might exist for making the price so beautiful.
“After all, it’s been haunted for so long, and various things in the Inn aren’t perfect. Aside from the Linglong’s Room being okay, there aren’t many advantages. It’s normal for Xia Hui to feel embarrassed about charging us too much.”
Shiqi was lying on the large bed in the Linglong’s Room, responding to Hua Jian while trying to play with the Spiritual Civet.
No guests, no cooks, no waiters—almost all the work was being done by Xia Hui. This was practically smaller than a small workshop.
If it weren’t for the fact that a starved camel is still bigger than a Ma, and that Xia Hui could still provide this large guest Linglong’s Room relying on her former family, she probably wouldn’t have anyone staying here even if she paid them.
“But I did feel a chilly aura when I just came in. What about you?”
“Same. I suspect that perhaps there’s a problem with the flow of Spirit Energy here.” Linglong also nodded.
When she stepped into this Inn, she felt the same as Shiqi; coming here from outside, the temperature dropped by at least ten degrees.
Outside, one could wear slightly thinner clothes, but inside the Inn, they had to wear an extra coat over their clothes.
And since Linglong hadn’t sensed the aura of a ghost here, she could only reasonably suspect that there was a problem with the flow of Spirit Energy here.
In other words, the commonly referred to as Feng Shui.
“I don’t understand that. I only know how to deal with ghosts.” Hearing that the matter was even related to Feng Shui, Hua Jian immediately entered a slacking state.
She really didn’t understand this stuff. Although she could spout a few lines when she was struggling to make a living in the past, she knew herself that it was purely made up.
So, leave professional matters to professional Ren. She believed Linglong could solve this haunting incident.
Knock, knock, knock!
The Linglong’s Room door was gently knocked, and then Xia Hui’s voice came from outside.
“Dinner is ready. Do the Sanren need me to deliver dinner to the Linglong’s Room?”
Hua Jian looked at Linglong, and after receiving Linglong’s instruction, Hua Jian walked to the door and opened it.
“No need, we can just go to the dining Ren to eat. Xia Hui Lady, please join us as well.”
“But, I am…”
“Don’t be so rigid. There are only a few of us here, it’s different from other Inns.” Hua Jian said to Xia Hui with a smile.
Xia Hui bit her lip lightly, and after a moment of hesitation, she nodded.
Although she had only spent half a day with these Sanren guests, she could feel the difference between these Sanren guests and other guests.
To put it bluntly, these Sanren guests were kinder than the guests she had seen before; she could easily feel the goodwill emanating from the hearts of the Sanren.
“Alright, Sanren please follow me.”
The dining Ren was not far from the guest Linglong’s Room.
Since there were only the Sanren guests of Hua Jian and the others, Xia Hui directly used the highest-grade dining Ren in the Inn to receive the Sanren.
However, this place was originally intended for holding large banquets, and now it only hosted Sanren; it did indeed have a strangely desolate feeling.
“It’s quite clean. Xia Hui, have you been cleaning this place all along? Don’t you find it troublesome?” Hua Jian found a seat and sat down, curiously asking Xia Hui.
“Because few guests come, most of the Linglong’s Room in the Inn have been closed. In fact, there are only a few Linglong’s Room that I need to clean…” Xia Hui scratched her cheek and explained embarrassedly.
Moreover, although this is just a small town, because the flow of guests is very large, the Inn Linglong’s Room here all have automatic cleaning Array Formations, so there is no need for Inn staff to laboriously clean by hand.
All things considered, Xia Hui wasn’t actually that busy.
“I’ll go push the dinner over.” After she finished explaining, she intended to turn around and leave.
But as she turned around, Hua Jian immediately stood up and walked to her side. “I’ll go with you.”
“Eh?”
“Didn’t you say this place is haunted? I’ll take the opportunity to see if there’s any ghostly aura in the kitchen.”
Hua Jian rubbed her hands together, indicating she was just curious and wanted to take a look.
In the past, Xia Hui certainly wouldn’t have accepted such a request, but things were different now.
Her home had already become like this, and there was no point in stubbornly sticking to former rules.
“Alright, but there’s nothing much to see in the kitchen; it’s very ordinary.” She nodded and led Hua Jian toward the kitchen.
The kitchen wasn’t actually that close to the dining Ren. The two first went downstairs, wound through the empty Inn several times, and then entered the quiet kitchen.
The kitchen was very large; when this Inn’s business was booming in the past, it must have been very lively here.
Unfortunately, things have changed; glory is a thing of the past, and what remains here is just a pile of ashes that has lost its warmth.
There were faint lamps in the kitchen providing basic lighting, but seemingly affected by something, the light here appeared very dim.
It really did seem like it was haunted.
“Dinner is over by the heat preservation Array Formation; I’ll go get them.”
“Sure, I’ll look around nearby.” Hua Jian nodded and started wandering around the quiet kitchen.
A large number of stoves hadn’t been used for a long time; only one showed signs of frequent use, which matched what Xia Hui had said.
Hua Jian looked down across the dim interior and found a few weeds in a corner.
It seemed that this place indeed hadn’t been cleaned for a long time, as even weeds had grown.
While she was observing around, Xia Hui had moved all of the dinner onto a cart, and what surprised Hua Jian slightly was that Xia Hui actually had the leisure to prepare a bottle of flowers as a decoration.
“Yo, you even prepared a bottle of flowers. Actually, there’s no need to be so obsessed with the Ceremony.”
Having found few clues, Hua Jian walked back to Xia Hui’s side and said with a light smile.
Xia Hui smiled awkwardly. “It was my Mother’s request. She said that guests have finally come, so I must entertain you well.”
“I see… Speaking of which, your Mother is in poor health. Have you had a doctor look at her?”
Xia Hui pushed the dining cart, her expression sinking slightly. “Mother… she’s unwilling to see a doctor.”
Unwilling to see a doctor? Hua Jian couldn’t quite understand what Xia Hui’s Mother was thinking; avoiding medical treatment isn’t a healthy mindset.
If you want to get better, how can you not see a doctor?
Although doctors in this world mainly rely on Alchemy Pills to treat illnesses, Alchemy Pills are indeed effective.
“In the beginning, I also bought some Alchemy Pills for Mother, but Mother remained the same after taking them. Later, she wouldn’t let me continue seeking medicine…”
As they walked, Xia Hui spoke about the conflict between her and her Mother.
Though it was a conflict, they were both thinking of each other. Xia Hui wanted her Mother to get better, while her Mother didn’t want to delay Xia Hui’s future.
As Linglong had said before, Xia Hui’s talent was enough to take a shot at the Ascension Gathering, and the next Ascension Gathering would be her last chance.
“But how can I abandon her and go to such a distant place? Would I still be considered a Ren if I did that?” As Xia Hui spoke, a hint of a sob entered her voice.
“A parent’s heart is truly pitiable. Then have you never thought about moving to another place?” Hua Jian lamented.
She hadn’t seen such a normal mother-daughter relationship in a long time.
But she still couldn’t understand what charm this house had. Since you know something is wrong here, why not just move?
According to Xia Hui’s words, their family hadn’t reached the point where they couldn’t even put food on the table.
Finding another place to settle shouldn’t be difficult, right?
To this, Xia Hui stated that they had tried, but the effect wasn’t good, and in the end, they moved back here.