Chapter 35: One More Person
"What?" Cheng Jie was surprised.
She couldn't believe it. It had only been a day and Chu Jiang had already left the city.
"I have my own things to take care of, there's nothing to be surprised about. Also, can you do me a favor?" Chu Jiang's thoughts were clear.
"After going to the hospital tomorrow, please check on Zhang Haoran's mental state and see how he's recovering. If his recovery is going well, ask him what exactly he experienced at school."
After hesitating for a moment, Chu Jiang added, "Be careful when facing Zhang Haoran, I'm afraid he can't control his emotions."
Cheng Jie didn't think much about it and just agreed.
They chatted for a few more minutes and hung up the phone. Following Cheng Jie's invitation, Chu Jiang also joined the group chat for the senior high school class she had created.
It was a bit sad to say, but there were only five people left in the entire class. If possible, Chu Jiang really hoped that Zhang Haoran would just be Zhang Haoran and not something else.
......
At midnight, Chu Jiang lay on his bed, repeatedly opening and closing his eyes.
Eventually, he tried to fall asleep. After all, he was still human and needed to eat, drink, and rest. It was impossible to go without sleep for several days.
Due to the many things he experienced during the day, Chu Jiang quickly fell asleep.
Just like last time, he started off sleeping well. But after a while, that familiar feeling of being haunted returned.
It felt like having an unfamiliar consciousness within your body. It was cold, unforgiving, and seemed to have weight, pressing down on your body and soul.
This consciousness made Chu Jiang's body turn cold. His bodily functions slowed down, as if gradually transforming towards becoming a lifeless corpse.
Especially during the day, Chu Jiang once again utilized the power of the Blood Handprint. Blood kept overflowing from his right palm, staining the bedsheets, dripping onto the floor, flowing outward...
During this process, Chu Jiang felt pain from inside out. At the same time, his thoughts became indifferent, devoid of any emotions. Even though his rationality remained, there was no longer any thoughts of love, hatred, or other emotions.
This is the process of ghosts invading and waking up the living, as well as the process of ghosts assimilating with the living. It is almost irreversible.
In this state, Chu Jiang's spiritual perception greatly improved once again. This time, it extended beyond just one house, and he could clearly sense the sounds and movements of the entire hotel.
The woman in room 302 seemed to have already fallen asleep, only her steady breathing could be heard.
The man in room 304 also seemed to be asleep, but even in his sleep, he murmured something incessantly, as if he had been disturbed.
Faint cries, filled with suppression, could be heard from the fourth floor. Someone was crying on the fourth floor...
No, wait, Chu Jiang remembered. The woman at the front desk had said that only the first, second, and third floors had occupants.
To divert himself from the physical pain, Chu Jiang forced his attention to focus on the movements and sounds of the entire hotel.
There were three people living on the third floor and two people on the second floor, first and foremost.
The front part of the first floor was the lobby and front desk, and only the back part had rooms for lodging. Therefore, there were only three rooms.
In the second half of Room 101, another sound of crying could be heard. It was the cry of a woman, and Chu Jiang couldn't believe it, but this cry sounded exactly the same as the one from the fourth floor.
When Chu Jiang realized this, the crying from the fourth floor suddenly disappeared, and only the sound from the first floor continued.
So Chu Jiang focused all his attention on the fourth floor, with only a small part still observing Room 101.
Then something unbelievable happened. Chu Jiang "saw" the entire fourth floor.
This kind of "seeing" was all-encompassing, as if every scene and detail of the entire fourth floor was vividly presented in his mind. At the same time, he could hear every sound coming from there.
At this moment, the fourth floor was quiet. There was no one in any of the rooms, and there were no tears or footprints to be seen. It was as if the sounds Chu Jiang had heard earlier were just an illusion.
So Chu Jiang "looked" down to the first floor.
To his surprise, the person staying in Room 101 was the same ponytailed woman he had seen during the day at the front desk.
She seemed unable to sleep, just lying on the bed with a blanket wrapped around her, quietly crying.
After looking for a while and finding nothing, Chu Jiang had to redirect his attention and silently endure the pain.
After waiting for a long time, would he become numb? That's what he thought.
......
The next morning, Chu Jiang sat up from the bed expressionlessly.
In fact, he had woken up early and dealt with the blood that had overflowed from his body once again. The remaining time was spent resting with his eyes closed.
Although he didn't get much actual sleep, maybe because of the ghost inside him, Chu Jiang didn't feel tired.
Early in the morning, Chu Jiang went to the front desk on the first floor. There were some things he needed to ask in advance, otherwise he would have to move out of the hotel.
Chu Jiang still remembered that in the temporary task notice issued by the local manager, there was mention of a supernatural event called "Ghost Crying."
Could it be that he encountered it? Could he really be that unlucky??
When Chu Jiang came down, the woman at the front desk who was about to open the door was surprised.
By the way, she seemed to be more than just a front desk worker. At least, Chu Jiang didn't see any other staff in this small hotel besides her.
"You woke up really early," said the woman at the front desk as she opened the hotel door and let the sunlight in.
She was wearing a light blue dress today, and apart from looking a bit tired, everything else seemed fine.
"Were you crying last night? Why?"
Chu Jiang went straight to the point as soon as he arrived, which stunned the woman at the front desk.
Then, she looked a bit panicked and shook her head, "No, I wasn't crying. Why would I? Besides, even if I did cry, you wouldn't be able to hear it from the third floor, right?"
Chu Jiang pointed upwards, "I heard your crying coming from the fourth floor, but you said nobody is staying there."
As soon as she heard these words, the woman at the front desk turned pale, as if she had suddenly lost all her strength. She took two steps back and weakly leaned against the glass door.
After a long time, she finally lowered her head and said, "You might have...misheard."
After speaking, the lady at the reception desk raised her head and forced a smile, "There will be a cleaning lady coming soon to clean your room."
"I'll go out and buy breakfast first. Do you need me to get something for you?"
After thinking for a moment, Chu Jiang really said, "See if they sell rice noodle rolls, get me one, I'll transfer the money to you through QR code."
"Okay," agreed the lady at the reception desk, and she hurriedly left, afraid that Chu Jiang would inquire further about the matter.
Chu Jiang was not in a hurry, he sat on the sofa in the lobby and waited, even if there really were ghosts, it wouldn't be him who was being targeted. Instead, this woman seemed suspicious.
......
To Chu Jiang's surprise, just a few minutes later, a slightly tired-looking woman walked out from the corridor connecting the lobby and the first-floor rooms.
She had her hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a light blue dress, and yawning as she walked.
Yes, this woman is the female receptionist who hurriedly went out to buy breakfast just now. But the problem is, Chu Jiang never saw when she came back...
