Yang Xiaoling's sudden address made Xiao He sense something was amiss, causing her significant discomfort; she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about Yang Xiaoling.

"Miss Yang, please don't call me 'older sister' anymore." Xiao He paused after speaking, then continued, "Why... why do you call me older sister?"

Yang Xiaoling was quite understanding and knew she couldn't reveal her connection with Zhou Huan to Xiao He just yet, so she deftly changed the subject. "You and Master Zhou are both my saviors. I have now completed the three tasks the old monk gave me; it turns out they were all meant to cure the illness within me. Since you are older than me, calling you 'older sister' is certainly not inappropriate." Being in the service industry, her verbal skills were indeed exceptional.

"Oh!" Although Xiao He replied calmly, she still felt a lingering apprehension, but lacking concrete evidence, she let the matter drop.

The night deepened, and the hotel grew eerily silent, the kind of quiet that made one uneasy. This was exactly when it was Zhou Huan's turn for the night watch. Xiao He and Xiaoling, the two women connected to Zhou Huan, sat by the door, watching the far end of the corridor. At this hour, both beautiful young women had their eyes closed, their heads nodding involuntarily.

A large hand reached out and gently patted Xiao He's shoulder twice: "Sister Xiao He, Sister Xiao He!"

Hearing the movement, Xiao He snapped awake instantly, instinctively whirling around and grabbing the arm of the person behind her tightly: "Who?"

"Sister Xiao He, it's me, it's Dongzi!"

Xiao He slowly turned her head to see Dongzi grinning widely, his eyes squinted into thin lines, staring directly at her.

"Why are you here? Is anyone else at home?" Xiao He’s first thought concerned matters at home.

Dongzi chuckled, "Old Man Shi and the others have gone back. I came to check the situation."

Xiao He sized Dongzi up, then said, "Why didn't they come? Why send you? You can't help here; there’s no cooking needed."

Dongzi’s greatest virtue, perhaps, was his imperviousness to insults; he had a good heart, took things in stride, and possessed a free and easy demeanor—in ancient times, he would have been called chivalrous.

"Who says I can't help? With me here, you at least have another hand. If nothing else, I can carry a bag or something," Dongzi said with mock seriousness.

Xiao He burst into a soft laugh. "Alright, you must be tired too. Go into the room next door, wake up your brother, and get some sleep. Miss Yang and I need to rest; we've been keeping watch for half the night."

"No need, let my brother sleep soundly. You go back to your room. I’m not sleepy. If I get sleepy again, that hundred yuan I lost will have been for nothing." Saying this, Dongzi helped Xiao He up. "Go back and sleep. I'm not tired. If I get sleepy again, that hundred yuan would be wasted."

"What? What hundred yuan?" Xiao He pressed Dongzi.

It was only then that Dongzi realized he had said too much. "Oh, nothing, it's just..." Dongzi looked at Xiao He's expression. Seeing her eyes fixed on him, and knowing Dongzi rarely lied to those close to him, he quickly confessed his situation. "When I arrived, I had a hundred yuan left in my outer coat pocket. I dozed off on the ride, slept for nearly half a day, and when I checked, the hundred yuan in my pocket was stolen. If I go to sleep now, wouldn't I be letting that hundred yuan down?"

"Hmm, that argument holds water!" After saying this, Xiao He pulled Miss Yang up, told Dongzi who he needed to watch, and then returned to Miss Yang's room, where the two shared a bed to sleep.

Dongzi helped Xiao He close the door to the room, then stood with his hands crossed over his chest, plopping down onto a stool. He thought: I slept all day, so I won't be able to sleep tonight. This is perfect, now I have something to do. Let's see who dares go downstairs past me. With that thought, Dongzi drew a talisman, lit it, and sprinkled the ashes in a circle in the hallway, placing himself in the center.

"Heh heh, now I don't have to worry about ghosts bothering me!" Dongzi muttered to himself. Just as he settled back onto the stool, he felt something very heavy and limp flop onto him.

"Damn it, who is this?" Dongzi jumped up and turned around to look. A man, sloppy drunk to the point of being smeared, was draped over him, having easily stumbled into the circle Dongzi had just drawn.

Dongzi immediately grew angry, placing his hands on his hips and pacing as he looked at the intruder. "You clumsy oaf! This talisman of mine really is useless; it only guards against ghosts, not people. But this guy might as well be a ghost—a drunk ghost. Damn it, let’s see how I deal with him!" As he spoke, Zhou Huan helped the man up, unfastened his own belt, and secured the drunk to the fire hydrant in the corridor.

"Kid, you sleep right here. If you don't apologize to your grandpa when you wake up, I'll beat you." Dongzi finished his task, dusted himself off, pulled up his pants, and sat back down, his two large, round eyes fixed intently on the far end of the corridor.

The wind in the deep night was genuinely chilling, causing shivers that sapped one's strength. Before long, Dongzi’s sleepiness surged. After one yawn came another, and then Dongzi slapped himself hard across the cheek.

"Damn this suffering; why is this cheap hotel so cold." As he spoke, Dongzi couldn't sit still. He stood up and moved around, but moving only exhausted him further. Soon, Dongzi couldn't hold on and slumped back onto the stool, leaning his head against the wall, letting out a thunderous snore that cracked like bolts of lightning on a rainy night.

Zhou Huan's room door opened slowly. Zhou Huan stepped out, clad in a robe. With sleepy, hazy eyes, he didn't notice who was sitting by the door and spoke, "Xiao He, go back to sleep!" Just as his voice fell, Dongzi let out a thunderous snore. Zhou Huan jolted awake. "What? Dongzi? What is he doing here?" Zhou Huan looked up to survey the surroundings, then glanced towards the end of the corridor; this time, it was Zhou Huan who looked annoyed.

"Smack!" A hard slap landed on the back of Dongzi’s neck: "Dongzi, get up!"

The damnable Dongzi remained unaffected by Zhou Huan’s slap. His body tilted precariously toward the floor, yet he continued to sleep soundly.

Zhou Huan scratched his head. He had a way with everyone except this hard-to-conquer Dongzi. "I really don't know what kind of bond we share from a past life." With a surge of effort, Zhou Huan lifted Dongzi and quickly placed him onto his own bed, then helped tuck him in.

Returning to the corridor, Zhou Huan took out the photograph. He saw the image of the man in the photo beginning to dim, the color gradually fading, and the person beside him also starting to fade. At this moment, Zhou Huan noticed the drunk man Dongzi had tied up in the corridor; the drunk matched the last figure in the photograph.

Zhou Huan was stunned. The fading figures in the photograph indicated that something terrible was about to happen, yet he couldn't perceive it. Whether the killer was a ghost or a curse, it always lurked in the shadows, while Zhou Huan was exposed in the light.

"Click, click!" A dozen continuous flashes erupted, and Zhou Huan immediately sensed danger. He raised a talisman, formed hand seals, and cast spells around himself, but no extraordinary event seemed to occur.

The night wind grew fiercer, blowing against the glass at the end of the corridor until it cracked, followed by a sharp sound as the entire pane shattered onto the floor.

"Bang!" The door at the end of the corridor was violently pushed open.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, where did this wind come from, enough to shatter glass?" Before the words were finished, a man wearing only his underpants flew out of the room, landing perfectly amidst the shards of broken glass on the floor.

The man made no sound. Zhou Huan braced his feet, rushing forward in a few steps to try and save the man. By the time he reached him, the person lay still on the ground, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling, retching violently as streams of blood poured from his mouth.

When Zhou Huan looked beneath the man, he saw a long piece of glass had pierced his chest. His waist, legs, and feet were all smeared with glass fragments. As Zhou Huan slowly turned the man over, he saw the man's back and was instantly stunned speechless, at a total loss.

At that moment, another series of flashes erupted in the corridor, blinding Zhou Huan temporarily.