Funan County was an ordinary small county, the population was small, the economy was average, the pace of life was slow. Even when walking on the road, the traffic was all local vehicles and the place wasn’t crowded.
But this time, Ji Mingxia clearly felt like the entire county was in a very tense state.
He and Yu Ning used a taxi app to get transportation. When they took the taxi, Ji Mingxia only paid attention to the license plate and got in after confirming that it was safe. It wasn’t until they entered Funan County and the car was stopped that Ji Mingxia learned he was riding a taxi from a foreign province.
The entire urban area of Funan County was under martial law, and all foreign vehicles had to undergo a strict check up.
Although they didn’t explicitly forbid foreign population, the procedure was enough to irritate countless people who came to get involved.
Their car stopped in line and Ji Mingxia found that there were many vehicles parked around and there was a group of people waiting impatiently from the cars. Almost all of them held a bit of equipment and didn’t look like ordinary citizens at first glance. They were most likely journalists, photographers and other related professions.
Ke Chengxuan was a public figure, the hotel accident easily attracted the attention of the public, especially the media, and they had all rushed to the scene to report.
It was understandable that the county was controlling the population entering the county for safety reasons, but it was inappropriate to deliberately intercept media workers whether intentionally or unintentionally.
The speed at which information spreads is very fast nowadays, and it was not a good idea to offend the media.
It was reasonable to say that the head of Funan County’s public relations didn’t understand this truth ……
At this moment, Ji Mingxia and Yu Ning’s car happened to come to the checkpoint.
Upon seeing Yu Ning’s face, the staff froze for a moment, apparently recognizing him at first glance.
“Are you students coming back from New Year’s Day vacation?” The staff member asked directly.
Ji Mingxia nodded at once.
After making a simple registration, the staff did not make things difficult for them and quickly let them go.
Ji Mingxia thought he could rush to the hotel first, but as they got closer to the center of the county, Ji Mingxia suddenly realized that his thoughts were too naïve.
“The road ahead is blocked, everyone is taking a detour. I can’t drive you to your destination.” The driver looked ahead and turned his head to Yu Ning and Ji Mingxia.
Ji Mingxia also looked towards the front.
The hotel in question was very close to Ji Mingxia and Yu Ning’s high school, right in the center of the county area.
Ji Mingxia originally thought that only the vicinity of the hotel was blocked, but did not expect that the blockade was much wider than expected.
They were not even close to the central area, nor could they see the hotel, but they were already facing blockades.
Because the center was blocked, the residents were greatly inconvenienced in their travel. Other roads were also congested at this time, and everyone’s faces showed anxiety and displeasure.
Ji Mingxia said, “Then I’ll trouble you to stop by the side of the road.”
After so much tossing and turning, it was already afternoon.
Ji Mingxia originally thought that he would take a look at Ke Chengxuan’s situation from afar and then leave, but he didn’t expect to be shut down all the way. He couldn’t even see the shadow of the hotel.
They had rushed out in the morning and only ate breakfast, so Ji Mingxia immediately pulled Yu Ning to a nearby restaurant.
They had missed the peak dining period, so the small restaurant only had Ji Mingxia and Yu Ning, and the proprietors that were wiping tables.
After ordering two bowls of noodles, Ji Mingxia took the opportunity to start inquiring about the situation.
The proprietress first looked at him warily, but then gradually relaxed after realizing that Ji Mingxia could also speak the local language: “So you are local students.”
This was the second time that Ji Mingxia felt Funan County was wary of the outside world.
He immediately said good-naturedly, “Yes, we used to study in that school. I thought that only the hotel was blocked, but I didn’t expect that even the school was out of bounds.”
“The school ah ……” the proprietress sighed, “I’m afraid that it won’t be opened in the short term. I guess it will be closed at least until the next semester.”
Ji Mingxia was stunned: “Why?”
The accident happened at the hotel, why was the school also blocked off?
Ji Mingxia’s astonishment obviously made the proprietress very accomplished, she deliberately lowered her voice as she said to Ji Mingxia: “You just came in from outside, and it wasn’t easy to enter, right?”
Ji Mingxia nodded his head.
The proprietress added: “You didn’t even see the hotel in question before you were stopped, right?”
Ji Mingxia nodded again.
“That’s because this matter is not that simple!” She said,
“Quick, tell me, I’m dying of curiosity.” Ji Mingxia hurriedly said.
The proprietress glanced at him and whispered, “Because it’s haunted.”
“Haunted?” Ji Mingxia frowned slightly, turning his head to look at Yu Ning in reflex.
According to the restaurant proprietress, everything was calm and quiet as of January 2nd.
On the morning of January 2nd, the first to notice that something was wrong was a cleaning lady.
“The cleaner is a neighbor to my husband’s relatives. That morning, he entered the hotel as usual, and guess what happened, the entire first floor of the hotel was empty! There was no one. It was early in the morning so the cleaner did not take it seriously at first, until he found that he could not get into the second floor of the hotel. No matter what he did, he would return to the same place …… tell me, is that not a ghost hitting the wall?” The proprietress said.
Ji Mingxia said: “And then what? Such things are usually encountered in the middle of the night when there are few people, but the hotel accident happened during broad daylight.”
“That’s right.” The proprietress said, “That’s why the county is on lockdown. All the people in the hotel disappeared, the first floor was empty, and no one could get to the second floor. The county sent dozens of firefighters but no matter which method they used, they couldn’t get to the second floor. It has been a ghost hitting the wall until now and no one can be saved, isn’t it strange!”
At these words, Ji Mingxia’s face finally changed.
He had dealt with countless ghosts and he and Yu Ning were very familiar with the power of mysterious items.
Basically, every time something happened, it was dark, less crowded and remote.
For the first time, they had encountered such a large-scale haunting.
The hotel was standing in broad daylight, hundreds of people wanted to go in, but none could enter.
It was so exaggerated that Ji Mingxia felt it was a fantasy.
The proprietress saw Ji Mingxia change color, and quickly added: “And I heard that every night at midnight, there are sounds of people screaming from inside. Everyone said that it is hungry ghosts eating people!”
Ji Mingxia could not help but say, “Are you sure it is haunted, and there is no possibility that ……it’s because of human factors…”
In Ji Mingxia’s memory, the most powerful mysterious item in this world was the bronze mirror Pei Yuan got because of its evolutionary function, its future had unlimited possibilities.
But even in the original novel, the bronze mirror never made such a big fuss.
Although mysterious items were strong, they have always caused messes in secret.
The situation in the hotel at the moment was really not consistent with the past incidents, it was too bold!
The proprietress thought Ji Mingxia did not believe in ghosts and immediately lost interest. She waved her hand and said, “Aiya, you young people do not believe in these so you won’t understand, forget it.”
Ji Mingxia hurriedly pulled the proprietress and asked one last question: “Auntie! Auntie, I’m just too shocked, then tell me, what does the hotel accident have to do with our school?”
“The hotel is next to the school, so the school was also affected.” The proprietress said, “It is said that the area from the hotel and the school, especially the dormitory building ……is haunted. Living people are not allowed to go in, so the government has the whole area closed, lest someone else meets an accident. “
It so happened that the noodles were ready, so the proprietress immediately said: “The noodles are here, hurry up and eat so you can go home early. Things will be fine after the New Year.”
Ji Mingxia had also exhausted his questions and he immediately returned to his seat to eat.
When the proprietress was busy in the back kitchen, he whispered to Yu Ning: “Yu Ning, do you think it’s possible?”
Yu Ning did not answer Ji Mingxia’s question and instead said, “I just made a few calls, Pei Yuan and the others are out of touch.”
Ji Mingxia was stunned, and only then did he remember that there was an organization that specialized in such mysterious events.
But ……out of touch? No one could be found at this critical moment?
Ji Mingxia muttered, “No wonder this matter became such a big deal, it’s been three days and it’s still not resolved.”
The area near the hotel was cordoned off, all unrelated personnel were not allowed to enter, and the local residents were convinced of the rumors so no one dared to go that way.
It was broad daylight, and they were in the central area of the county, but the place was extraordinarily deserted.
Yu Ning and Ji Mingxia did not rashly go forward, but waited until after dark before looking for an opportunity to enter.
They both grew up in the county, and were very familiar with the terrain.
When the rescue workers went to rest in the latter part of the night, Ji Mingxia and Yu Ning took advantage of the night, found a trail and quickly came to the area in front of the hotel.
The center area of the county should be brightly lit at 1 a.m. even when there were no pedestrians.
However, not only the hotel, the school and other buildings were in darkness this time, even the surrounding street lights were dark.
The entire blockade area was dark, and the only source of light was the faint sky light under the night sky.
As it was January, the weather was cold, and the closer they went to the hotel and school, the fewer people. The cold wind whistling through the buildings was enough to chill the bones.
Ji Mingxia looked at the school in front of him, and then looked at the hotel to the side, there was always a strange, indescribable feeling in his heart.
He grew up in Funan County, and studied in the school for three years. This neighborhood was one of the places he was most familiar with.
The place that used to be lively and bustling was empty all of a sudden, like it had become a ghost town.
Ji Mingxia was somewhat resistant and afraid of such a change, but for some strange reason, there was a voice at the bottom of his heart that kept telling him to go on.
As if there was an invisible shadow hiding and waiting inside him.
Just then, a pair of hands took hold of his wrist.
Ji Mingxia looked down and found that Yu Ning was leading him forward.
“Follow me closely.” Yu Ning whispered.
That mysterious feeling was interrupted all of a sudden, and Ji Mingxia calmed down once he looked at Yu Ning.
He nodded and unconsciously tugged on the hem of Yu Ning’s shirt, following him to the first floor of the hotel.
It was already very cold outside, but inside the hotel was like an ice cellar.
Just then, a faint light from a phone wavered, and several black shadows appeared at the front.
When they heard Yu Ning and Ji Mingxia’s footsteps, those people turned their heads in panic, shining their mobile phone lights in Yu Ning and Ji Mingxia’s direction, and asked in a stern voice: “Who’s there?”
