Chapter 146 - 139: The Cleaner’s Warning

Chapter 146: Chapter 139: The Cleaner’s Warning

Peace Inn.

The place certainly lived up to its reputation as an internet-famous hotspot. Despite the slightly remote location and it being four in the afternoon on a workday, the foot traffic was still heavy.

Many livestreamers and couples had come here, making for a bustling scene.

"We’re here."

She parked the car.

Xia Yu, wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, a mask, and a down jacket, looked up at the inn.

Four stories tall.

Quite dilapidated.

It looked to be quite old.

The climbing ivy on the walls had withered, leaving only dormant vines clinging tenaciously to the building. They crisscrossed each other, looking from a distance like a charcoal drawing.

A landscape painting.

Many people were taking pictures to commemorate their visit.

One of them, a female internet celebrity with thin lips, a sharp chin, heavy makeup, long legs, and a slightly plump figure, was holding up her phone for a livestream. "Family," she said, "tonight, your Little Mumu is going to spend the night at the Peace Inn."

"We’ll see if you still call me a coward after this."

"And you, ’Honest-Man-Next-Door,’ I’ve got my eye on you. If I don’t get scared to tears tonight, you’d better send me a Super Rocket."

"’Can’t cry down there either’? What does that mean?"

Xia Yu glanced at the livestream. On the phone screen, Little Mumu was completely transformed: her chest was perkier, her waist was thinner, and her legs were longer. The standard...

High-quality beauty!

She was used to this. After all, in an age where AI slimming filters were rampant, only a fool would believe what they saw.

Her gaze shifted.

To Little Mumu’s front left, she spotted a man with a face full of acne. He was carrying a large travel backpack and enjoying himself as he scrolled through videos of beautiful women, occasionally glancing up at Little Mumu with an impatient look.

’Those two must be together.’

’Probably a couple, or even... ’

’Husband and wife!’

Xia Yu was so experienced she could tell with just a single glance.

She quickly formed a simple assessment of the two: Little Mumu was timid and good at lying; the man with the backpack was already emotionally cheating on her—a total scumbag. As for more details, she was sure she could figure them out if she analyzed them a bit longer.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t interested.

’Time to go... hmm?’

Just as she was about to head inside the inn, she spotted a familiar figure!

Xia Hongwei!

The old bachelor from Xia Family Village. He was in his forties and still unmarried, all because of his long-held philosophy: rather than spend hundreds of thousands on a bride price to marry a "queen" he’d have to wait on hand and foot, he’d rather save the money for foot massages.

That way, he could have a different experience with a different woman every time.

He could go three or four times a month for the rest of his life.

How great was that.

As for children...

Even if he did get married, he was dead set against having any!

He couldn’t afford to have them, and he certainly couldn’t afford to raise them.

Setting aside whether his philosophy was right or wrong, as a person, he was poor, lazy, stingy, selfish, and hedonistic—destined to live a lonely life.

’What’s he doing here?’

But it was none of her business.

She had intended to turn and walk away, pretending not to have seen him, but unexpectedly, he spotted her too.

’This person... who is she?’

Xia Hongwei found the woman somewhat familiar and couldn’t help but take a second look.

’Why does she look so much like our village belle—Xia Yu?’

He still had a vivid memory of bumping into Xia Yu in the village a while back.

After all, for a goddess like Xia Yu—top-tier in figure, looks, and temperament, and rich to boot—it was a given that every man would at least remember her vividly, even if not all were smitten.

Xia Hongwei had even lost interest in "sparring" with the young ladies at the massage parlors.

Now, the more he looked, the more certain he became that the beautiful woman before him was Xia Yu, and he followed her without hesitation.

Xia Yu, of course, quickly noticed such a clumsy attempt at tailing her.

She was rather speechless.

In her last life, this man had been lucky enough to leave before the "Internet celebrity hotel incident" broke out, thus surviving.

’This life...’

’Am I going to trigger the butterfly effect again and end up getting him killed?’

Xia Yu didn’t stop walking and entered the inn.

The first thing that greeted her was a lobby of about a dozen square meters. A dark red wooden front desk stood against the far wall, directly opposite the main entrance. It looked quite old.

To the right of the front desk was the staircase leading from the first to the second floor. There was no elevator, only stairs, which served as the sole means of moving between floors.

To the left of the front desk was a moderately long hallway with six guest rooms, three on each side.

She wasn’t sure if it was because the day was particularly cold, but Xia Yu felt it was especially chilly inside. Little Flower, however, didn’t sense any Yin Qi.

The two of them didn’t check in. Claiming they were looking for someone, they went straight up to the second floor, and the front desk staff didn’t stop them.

There was no front desk or lounge on the second floor. At the top of the stairs, there was a wall to the right and a long hallway to the left, flanked by ten guest rooms.

The third floor had the same layout as the second.

There wasn’t much to see, but then Little Flower sensed a faint...

"Resentment?"

Xia Yu calmly looked up toward the ceiling.

’Maybe someone upstairs just got fired?’

’Or got cheated on?’

...

It was perfectly normal for modern people to carry some resentment, and the reasons were always varied. She didn’t pay it much mind.

But when she finished exploring the third floor and prepared to sneak up to the fourth, she couldn’t help but frown.

An iron door!

A locked, rust-spotted iron door blocked the only way upstairs.

On the door were five large words: "Office Area, No Unauthorized Entry."

As Xia Yu was contemplating how to get in, footsteps abruptly sounded about three meters behind her. Her heart skipped a beat, and she immediately tightened her grip on the Blood Butterfly and ordered Little Flower to turn around.

It was a middle-aged woman with a withered face.

It was worth noting that after becoming a First-grade Spirit Transformer, her five senses had been greatly enhanced.

Her hearing was extremely sharp.

Although it was daytime and there was a lot of background noise, she could usually detect an ordinary person approaching within five meters. So what was with the woman behind her?

Xia Yu turned her head and glanced at the woman’s jacket, which had the words "Peace Inn" on it, then at the broom and dustpan in her hands.

’The cleaning lady here?’

She didn’t sense any malice from the woman, nor did Little Flower sense any resentment or Yin Qi. So... Xia Yu prepared to turn and leave.

"Are you here to stay, miss?"

The cleaning lady asked, taking the initiative to speak.

"Yes."

Xia Yu nodded, pretending to look around at the surroundings. "The accommodations here aren’t bad," she said. "I’m planning to stay the night."

"You’d best not get too close to this door, miss."

The cleaning lady pointed to the iron door leading to the fourth floor, offering a kind warning.

"Oh?"

Xia Yu asked, "Is there something special about it?"

"Remember to ask the front desk for the list of rules."

With that, the cleaning lady turned and left.

Her steps were shaky and unsteady.

It was as if she might collapse at any moment.

Her gaunt figure cast a long shadow down the hallway.

’A list of rules?’

Xia Yu stared at the cleaning lady’s retreating back, her brow slightly furrowed...