For thirty years, he has roamed the Northeast, his divine might overwhelming all immortals under hea

I walked to the entrance of 404.

The inside of the door was pitch black, even darker than the corridor.

The pungent smell of water and rust wafted out from under the door, mixed with a strong, cloyingly sweet, and foul-smelling perfume.

I took the flashlight from the boss and turned it on; a dim beam of light pierced the darkness.

The first thing you see is a mirror facing the door.

The mirror is embedded in the old three-drawer cabinet. The mirror surface is covered with stains and watermarks, reflecting the flashlight beam in a bizarre and surreal way.

The mirror reflected the halo of the flashlight and my blurry figure, but something else, something white, seemed to flash by in the corner.

I moved the flashlight beam.

The room was standard, with a double bed covered in yellowed sheets and the blankets piled up haphazardly, as if someone had gotten up in a hurry and hadn't made up.

There was a glass ashtray on the bedside table, containing burnt-out cigarette butts.

The dark red wallpaper on the wall was particularly dark near the bathroom door, almost turning blackish-brown, and it looked damp, as if it had been soaked in some liquid and then dried.

The bathroom door was ajar.

"Giggle...giggle..."

A very faint sound, like fingernails scratching tiles, came from the bathroom.

Huang Dalang said sternly.

"Inside!"

I gripped the flashlight tightly and gently pushed open the bathroom door with my other hand.

"Creak!"

It made a very rattling sound.

The flashlight beam shone in first.

The restroom was small, with a white porcelain squat toilet, a cement sink, and walls covered with half-tiles. The mirror above the sink was broken, with cracks resembling a spider web.

In front of the broken mirror, in the sink.

It contained a pool full of dark red, murky liquid!

The water surface seemed to be still rippling slightly.

The tap was clearly turned off.

The "clucking" sound stopped.

A chilling, malevolent aura, ten times stronger than that outside, emanated from the small bathroom, pressing heavily on the chest.

I moved the flashlight beam upwards and looked at the broken mirror.

In the center of the crack in the mirror, behind the stain, a vague red outline seemed to appear, with long hair flowing down, standing there quietly, facing my direction.

"Sister Ruoyun!"

I called out urgently in my heart.

Liu Ruoyun's cool aura spread instantly, and at the same time, a powerful force that did not belong to me began to flow in my body, carrying the unique yin and tenacity of snakes.

My eyes felt a cool sensation, and when I looked in the mirror again, the scene had changed.

There was no outline of the red dress in the mirror.

But on the surface of the pool full of dark red water, a thick layer of black resentment floated, rising in wisps and constantly swirling in the small space of the bathroom.

In the deepest part of that resentment, I "saw" two tightly intertwined, constantly tearing gray-white shadows, one tall and one short, their faces distorted, filled with endless pain and hatred.

The taller one could be vaguely identified as a long-haired woman.

Not just one, there were definitely two!

That pool of water is a "yin pool," an evil place where resentment gathers and filth is nurtured!

"Boss Zhao!"

Without turning my head, I asked sharply.

"What happened in this room before? Tell the truth! Did someone drown? Or what happened?"

Zhao Deshun, who was standing at the door, was so frightened that he almost lost his mind. When he heard me question him, he spoke in a trembling voice with tears in his eyes.

"I...I'm saying...it was...it was last winter...a long-distance truck driver brought...bringing a woman who wasn't his wife to stay...somehow, the two of them started arguing in the room, it got really bad...the next day, neither of them came out...several days later, when the housekeeper opened the door...the man was lying by the bed, his head was broken...and the woman...the woman was in the bathroom, she had cut her wrists with a broken mirror, blood filled the sink...and she was hard..."

Sure enough! A violent death, bloodshed, and overwhelming resentment! It was still two vengeful spirits entangled in this damp room, hiding in the chaotic atmosphere of the hotel, and accumulating power in the "yin pool" of this washbasin. Now they have become powerful and have begun to haunt and disturb people.

"Why not hire someone to handle it? Or completely seal off the room?"

I questioned him while remaining wary of the resentment churning in the pool water.

"Please, please come over... Two officials from the county came to check, and they both said they couldn't control it, and it might even backfire... So I had no choice but to lock it up... Who knew it would get more and more ferocious..."

Zhao Deshun was speaking incoherently.

The black resentment in the pool suddenly churned violently, and the two entangled gray-white shadows let out a silent shriek and pounced on me!

A cold wind blew, the broken glass in the bathroom hummed, and the dark red water in the pool bubbled and gurgled as if it were boiling!

The little fox let out a howl, and instead of retreating, it advanced, a faint, silvery-white halo rising from its body as it swung its claws at the approaching resentment.

With the help of Liu Ruoyun's strength, I threw a punch forward.

The illusory fist collided with the resentment, producing a hissing, burning sound. The two shadows twisted and retreated violently, shrinking back into the pool. But the resentment surged out even more violently, filling the entire room. Even Zhao Deshun outside the door felt a bone-chilling cold, almost suffocating him.

Huang Dalang became anxious.

"Sister Liu! This pool is the root of the problem! If we don't break this Yin Pool, we won't be able to finish dealing with it even by dawn! Thirteen, use the talisman fire!"

Liu Ruoyun's voice remained calm.

"No. This room is located in the middle of the building, with people living above and below. The yang energy of the talisman fire is too strong and could easily ignite ordinary fire, and may also harm the souls of innocent guests. We need to use water to break the water, and yin to guide yin."

Using water to break water? I understood instantly.

This pool of water is filled with filth and evil, making it difficult to attack by force.

It is necessary to draw upon the "cleaner" yet equally yin water element to disperse and purify it.

As I punched to fend off the relentless onslaught of resentment, I roared at Zhao Deshun, who was nearly fainting from fright outside the door.

"Hurry! Find an old well rope that's at least three years old, one that's been soaked in well water! Also, fetch a bucket of fresh water that's just been drawn from the well! Quickly!"

What I want sounds demanding, but it's not hard to get for someone with common sense.

In the Zhujiakan County area, wells are practically everywhere, since at this time, only a small percentage of people still have access to tap water.

Zhao Deshun felt as if he had been granted a pardon and ran away as fast as he could.

The little fox, its body shimmering with a silvery-white aura, leaped and pounced nimbly, tearing apart the wisps of resentment that tried to bypass my attacks.

Liu Ruoyun's strength supported me, making me as steady as a rock amidst the howling wind. However, the two vengeful spirits who died violently resisted fiercely, taking advantage of the terrain and their accumulated resentment over the years. The pool water churned like a boiling pot, and its dark red color deepened, as if it were about to drip blood.

The waiting time felt exceptionally long.

Every second, that cold and malevolent aura was trying to erode my protective aura.

I could feel Liu Ruoyun's power being continuously depleted.

"Sister Ruoyun, are you alright?"

"It's alright, it's a minor issue."

"However, I feel that there seems to be something else hidden in these two vengeful spirits."

"Damn it, why is this boss so slow?"

Huang Dalang kept cursing Zhao Deshun for his dawdling.

Hearing Liu Ruoyun say this, he paused for a moment.

"Thirteen, it seems there really is something else, but let's break it first. If there really is something else, breaking this will inevitably cause a backlash from what's behind it, and of course, it will also come looking for you."

Finally, hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor.

Zhao Deshun came running, panting, carrying a roll of wet, dark brown old well rope. Behind him followed a waiter who looked equally pale, carrying an iron bucket of water that was still sloshing slightly.

"Mr. Thirteen... rope, water..."

"Give me the rope! Put the water at the door!"

I took the heavy old well rope, which exuded the unique, cool scent of well water, quickly tied a special knot, and dipped it into the bucket of clean water by the door until it was soaked with water.

Then, I bit my tongue and spat a mouthful of pure yang blood onto the water-soaked knot!

"hiss!"

A wisp of smoke rose from the knot.

Holding the knotted rope, I rushed back into the bathroom, aimed at the churning pool of dark red blood, and hurled the knot into the pool while shouting.

"The well connects to the netherworld, its waters draw from the Yellow Springs! The filthy pond gathers resentment; now, its source will be purified!"

The rope knot, soaked in well water, the blood of a virgin, and Liu Ruoyun's magic, fell into the blood pool like a scorching hot iron being dropped into ice water! The entire pool of water "boomed," not splashing upwards, but suddenly contracting inwards, and then bursting out a sharp, extremely piercing scream, as if countless people were screaming in agony at the same time!

The dark red color in the pool churned and faded violently. A large amount of pitch-black resentment was forced out of the water by the force of the knots, and was then dispersed by the silver light on the little fox and the clear light on my body.

The two intertwined gray-white shadows struggled and twisted painfully in the pool, their figures growing fainter and fainter.

"Dust to dust, ashes to ashes, this is not a place for you to linger! Grudges are settled, quickly go where you belong! By the decree of the Supreme One, your lonely souls are released..."

Liu Ruoyun's gentle yet firm guiding force, mixed with the clear, yin energy of the earth brought by the well rope, was continuously sent into the pool.

The struggles and hisses gradually subsided.

The pool water changed from dark red to murky gray-black, and finally slowly cleared up, leaving only half a pool of ordinary clear water with rust stains.

The two gray-white shadows eventually turned into two wisps of smoke and dissipated in the room.

The chilling, resentful atmosphere that permeated the room dissipated as quickly as the tide receded. The cloying, putrid perfume scent and the metallic, fishy smell also faded to almost nothing.

The restroom returned to calm.

Only the pool of clear water and the damp, grayish-brown knots lying quietly at the bottom.

Zhao Deshun slumped at the door, looking at the sink that had returned to "normal," his face showing both relief and lingering fear, his shirt soaked with sweat.

"Boss Zhao."

I put away my flashlight, walked up to him, pointed to room 404, and then vaguely drew a circle encompassing the entire hotel.

"The matter is temporarily settled. But this place has bad feng shui to begin with. The layout is cramped, and the long, dark corridors are the easiest place to accumulate yin and evil. In addition, although the blood evil that appeared this time has been resolved, it has still damaged the earth's energy. Your hotel will probably have a hard time being peaceful in the future. Even if there are no major evil spirits, guests will be prone to insomnia and nightmares, and will be tainted by bad luck. Business will not be good."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Deshun's heart, which had just settled down, jumped again, and he looked mournful.

"Mr. Thirteen, what... what should we do? I've staked everything on this hotel..."

I hesitated for a moment, then glanced at the other guest room doors that were tightly closed on both sides of the corridor.

The hotel is small and has a simple structure, with the first floor facing the street.

"Your building's location isn't bad; it faces the main street. The shady side tends to accumulate yin energy, but if you open the storefront and bring in the warmth and life of the world, it can actually dispel the lingering bad luck. Close the hotel and change your business."

"Change...change what?"

"Open a restaurant."

I spoke with certainty.

"The kitchen stove is considered yang, and the fumes from cooking and stir-frying are excellent at dispelling dampness. The constant flow of people eating creates a lively atmosphere with plenty of yang energy. Widen your front door, brighten the windows, and get rid of those dark, gloomy red carpets and dark wallpaper. Set up the kitchen on the first floor where the storage used to be, just a little further away from the staircase."

Zhao Deshun's eyes flickered, clearly he was quickly calculating. Opening a restaurant required a significant investment, but compared to the daily losses and constant anxiety of living in this haunted hotel, it seemed like a viable option. He gritted his teeth.

"Okay! I'll do as you say, sir! I'll have someone come and fix it right away!"

With the matter settled, I didn't want to linger in this place any longer. Zhao Deshun thanked me profusely and led me downstairs back to the somewhat shabby front desk.

He took a thick envelope from the drawer and stuffed it into my hand, his fingers trembling slightly.

"Mr. Thirteen, this is the two thousand we agreed on before... In addition, this one thousand is a small token of my appreciation, please accept it! If it weren't for you today, I... I don't know if I would have survived."

He spoke sincerely, his eyes filled with gratitude for surviving the ordeal, as well as lingering fear of that unknown force.

I accepted the envelope without hesitation.

It felt heavy in my hand, three thick stacks, bound with the kind of paper strips used by banks, exuding the unique smell of banknote ink and old paper.

Three thousand yuan is no small sum these days.

I nodded and put the envelope in my pocket.

"Boss Zhao, get to work as soon as possible. On the day of the groundbreaking, choose noon and set off a string of firecrackers. And when you open for business, remember to keep the lights on all the time."

After saying that, I turned around and pushed open the heavy glass door of the hotel.

The night breeze blew in my face, carrying dust from the street and the smoke from the barbecue stalls in the distance, instantly washing away the lingering, musty smell that was unique to the hotel.

Under the dim streetlights across the street, several moths tirelessly fluttered against the lampshade.

I had just stepped down two steps from the doorway, my arms feeling slightly warm, when Huang Dalang's voice, tinged with three parts laziness and seven parts wariness, suddenly rang in my mind, startling me into a halt:

"Hey! Thirteen, did you see that? What did I tell you? This isn't over yet!"

My heart skipped a beat, but I continued walking forward without making a sound, turning into a slightly quieter alley and stopping in the shadows.

"Big Wave Bro, what did you figure out?"

"The Yin Pool is real, and the vengeful spirits of those who died violent deaths are also real."

Huang Dalang's voice was unusually serious.

"But two ordinary, violently deceased ghosts, even if they harbor resentment, and in this run-down room of a shabby hotel, there's no reason for them to have nurtured such a ferocious and 'well-behaved' Yin Pool in such a short time! The resentment in the pool water gathers and doesn't dissipate, swirling only in this one room. Someone must have been behind this, deliberately setting up a killing trap!"

My heart skipped a beat.

"A trap? Targeting whom? Zhao Deshun? Or everyone who moved into room 404?"