Xingwang Hotel
Chapter 303: Ghost Town
Hearing the call from upstairs, the group exchanged glances.
Wen Jianyan turned to Blond and said:
“You stay here to search for clues. Notify me immediately if you find anything. The rest of you, come with me upstairs.”
They had stayed on the first floor for a while without encountering any unusual events. Bai Xue, being a medium, hadn’t issued any warnings either, so it was likely safe. Even leaving the non-combatant Blond behind alone wasn’t a problem.
More importantly, his talent not only made him adept at finding clues but also maximized their ability to monitor the surroundings.
As for taking the others upstairs, Wen Jianyan had his reasons.
Although they had temporarily formed an alliance with the Black Team, trust was still far from being established. To deal with any potential unexpected developments on the second floor, it was best to keep the team’s main strength together.
The group began ascending the stairs.
Unlike the brick structure of the rest of the building, the stairs were made of wood. They were dampened by the humid air, appearing dark brown and wet, creaking underfoot.
Soon, Wen Jianyan’s team reached the second floor.
As expected, the walls on either side were covered in water stains, and the sections partitioned by wooden panels showed clear signs of habitation—messy bedding, clothing, and furniture. Apart from the lack of any human presence, there was nothing visibly out of place.
Wen Jianyan withdrew his gaze and continued forward.
Soon, they reached the deepest room on the second floor.
It seemed to be the master bedroom. It was spacious, with an old wooden double bed in the center of the room. Through the grayish, fogged-up windows, they could see the dark sky and the faintly falling rain outside. Raindrops pelted the window, creating streaks that obscured the view.
The Black Team stood inside the room, their faces grave, all staring at the same spot.
As Wen Jianyan’s group entered, the room, which had initially felt spacious, suddenly seemed much smaller.
“What did you find?” Wen Jianyan stepped forward and asked.
“A painting.”
The Black Team captain answered succinctly.
He stepped aside, allowing Wen Jianyan to see what lay behind him.
Leaning against the wall opposite the bed was a large oil painting. Its wooden frame was damp, and the canvas within was dark and blurry. Faintly, four figures could be discerned—two large and two small—standing side by side. Their facial features were indistinct, making it hard to see clearly. The only thing visible was their faces, which looked as though they were covered with pale masks, floating eerily in the darkness and sending chills down one’s spine.
Yun Bilan broke the silence with a question that voiced everyone’s unspoken concern:
“If… we bring this painting back to the Xingwang Hotel, does that mean the ‘guests’ we bring back will be…”
The Black Team captain nodded grimly. “It seems likely.”
Although they weren’t planning to take this painting back to the Xingwang Hotel, it conveyed a deeply ominous message.
A painting could open a door leading to the Xingwang Hotel, inviting a guest into a room.
But…
A painting might not contain just one guest.
This painting was a prime example. If they brought it back to the Xingwang Hotel, that particular room would house not one guest but four at once.
Realizing this, everyone felt a chill down their spine.
The apparent peace and tranquility at the start of the instance masked far more perilous dangers lurking beneath the surface.
“And there’s another detail,” Chen Mo said, glancing toward the room’s door behind him.
The Black Team captain nodded. “You noticed too?”
“Yes.” Chen Mo nodded.
On the first floor, there had been four chairs at the table. On the second floor, aside from the master bedroom, there were two other bedrooms. Based on the details within the small building, it could be inferred that a family of four had lived here.
And the painting likewise depicted four figures—two adults and two children.
This couldn’t be a coincidence.
“In other words,” Chen Mo furrowed his brows, a thoughtful expression on his composed, handsome face, “the figures in the paintings across the town are actually the residents of this place… right?”
“At least based on current clues, that seems to be the case,” the Black Team captain nodded and replied.
With this, some of the earlier puzzles started to make sense.
Why did this small building, which seemed so full of life, appear frozen in time—everything intact but devoid of people?
Wen Jianyan narrowed his eyes slightly, a faint idea forming in his mind.
—
Clearly, there was some connection between Nightmare and the real world.
Unlike Fantasy Amusement Park or Changsheng Building, this small town linked to the Xingwang Hotel seemed to have a definitive real-world counterpart.
So… what had happened here?
Why had this place become an empty ghost town overnight?
Why had all its residents turned into horrific, neither-human-nor-ghost beings, trapped within paintings? And how was this connected to the Xingwang Hotel?
Numerous questions swirled in his mind, but he couldn’t find any answers just yet.
—
“In any case, this is good news.”
The Black Team captain glanced at the painting leaning against the wall and remarked:
“At least this gives us some direction for our next actions.”
In this rain-soaked, ghostly town, each painting was hidden within a different building. If they searched aimlessly, an hour would pass in no time.
However, knowing now that the paintings depicted the town’s residents helped narrow their search. They didn’t need to investigate every building but could instead focus on those most likely to have been inhabited.
While the group discussed, Wen Jianyan walked to the window, peering out through the hazy, dark glass.
The entire town was shrouded in eerie rain, mostly made up of low, dilapidated buildings. The uneven cobblestone paths stretched into the rainy haze, lifeless and desolate.
Judging from the frozen moment downstairs, it had been mealtime at the time—whether lunch or dinner was unclear.
At such a time, most people would likely have been at home. Even though the town’s population wasn’t large, finding the paintings shouldn’t be too difficult.
Now, the real challenge was probably finding a painting with the fewest number of “guests.”
Although Wen Jianyan’s eyesight wasn’t as sharp as Blond’s, a quick scan of the surroundings revealed a few small, low buildings nearby.
However…
Wen Jianyan’s expression grew thoughtful as his gaze shifted to the distance.
If his guess was correct and this town had a real-world counterpart, then besides residences, there would also likely be other types of buildings…
Such as schools, shops, or clinics.
Before Wen Jianyan could think further, Blond’s tense voice came from downstairs:
“Hey, hey—are you still up there? Hurry down!”
Having gone through instances with Blond before, Wen Jianyan immediately caught the panic and tremor hidden in his voice.
…Something must have happened on the first floor.
His eyes narrowed as he exchanged glances with his team members, then turned and headed downstairs.
Since there was nothing left to investigate on the second floor, and the painting there couldn’t be moved—it mainly served as a gateway to return—the Black Team also followed without hesitation.
Soon, everyone was back on the first floor.
As soon as Wen Jianyan stepped onto the first floor, Blond rushed over in panic, clutching his arm as though grabbing a lifeline:
“Y-you all need to see this!”
He pointed toward the door.
The scene outside the door didn’t appear much different from before.
Cold rain continued to fall endlessly, drumming on the slate road outside. Everything blurred into the boundless, dreary gray of the storm.
Yun Bilan, leaning over to look, appeared puzzled:
“What are we supposed to see…?”
“There, over there!!”
Blond grew anxious, raising his hand to point forcefully toward a specific area:
“On the slate road, right near where we came in…”
He swallowed hard, his voice turning dry and raspy:
“Didn’t you notice? It looks like… there are two places without any rain.”
Following Blond’s direction, Wen Jianyan focused his gaze. Soon, he understood what Blond was referring to.
Amidst the curtain of rain, at the spot where they had entered, there were two distinct voids.
Rain fell ceaselessly, yet in those two areas, not a single drop touched the ground. The water simply disappeared at the edges of the voids, as though something invisible yet tangible was present there.
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
As expected…
“They’ve followed us in.”
Although the painting’s “door” had vanished as soon as they entered the town, Wen Jianyan had suspected that this wouldn’t prevent the two “guests” from following them in.
It was clear—they were being hunted.
As long as they didn’t return to Xingwang Hotel via another door, the danger would linger, shadowing their every step.
“But,” Blond inhaled deeply, his voice trembling, “since I noticed them, they haven’t moved.”
Motionless.
Like lifeless objects.
They neither approached the building nor roamed about seeking targets. If not for the persistent voids in the rain, Blond might have doubted his own eyes.
Wen Jianyan: “I guess… it’s because they haven’t located us.”
“What do you mean?” someone asked.
“When we were in Xingwang Hotel, didn’t that ghost just stand outside our door without doing anything?” Wen Jianyan pushed his damp hair behind his ear, his gaze fixed on the rain-filled voids as he slowly explained:
“So, I’m guessing—they can’t see us either. The only medium connecting both worlds… is water.”
Thus, although the guest from Room 408 had reached their door, it hadn’t acted further. Instead, blood had continuously seeped from under the door frame.
In a dry environment, it couldn’t pinpoint their location.
Which means…
As long as they stayed in dry areas within this rainy town, they wouldn’t be detected. But the moment they stepped into the rain, they would be “discovered.”
However, to leave the town, return to Xingwang Hotel, and escape this pursuit entirely, they had to venture into the rain to locate the next painting.
Everyone’s expressions turned grim, as if an invisible cloud had settled heavily over them.
“By the way,” Blond hesitated before speaking to Wen Jianyan, “you asked me to look for clues earlier. I… might’ve found something. I’m not sure if it’ll help…”
He turned and headed toward the door.
The front door had been wide open from the start, leaving a blind spot in their line of sight that hadn’t been explored. When Blond pushed the door further, that small area finally came into view.
There stood…
A wooden umbrella stand.
In it lay four shabby, gray umbrellas, crooked and askew.
Everyone froze, their expressions showing unexpected surprise.
But they quickly came to their senses.
The cobblestone paths and brick-structured houses all indicated that this town had always been damp, even before being shrouded in this ghostly rain. It wasn’t unusual for households to keep umbrellas on hand.
“I get your idea, but it’s useless.”
Black Team’s Captain shook his head:
“You think we didn’t try using umbrellas before? The rain in this town isn’t real water; it can’t be blocked by physical objects. Even with umbrellas, the rain still falls on us.”
Wen Jianyan narrowed his eyes, his gaze lingering on the umbrellas.
Was it just his imagination… or did the material of these umbrellas seem a little peculiar?
He stepped forward, picked up one at random, and lightly rubbed the fabric between his fingers:
“…”
“What is it?” Chen Mo noticed Wen Jianyan’s unusual expression and asked.
Wen Jianyan handed the umbrella to him:
“Feel it.”
Chen Mo touched it, and his eyes widened.
Yun Bilan leaned in, puzzled:
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
Chen Mo steadied himself, his deep voice tinged with unease:
“This umbrella… seems to be made of human skin.”
The texture was too soft and delicate—nothing else could possibly feel like this.
Instantly, everyone’s gaze fell on the four umbrellas, their faces filled with a strange mix of emotions.
Consider this…
The household had four people. And there were four umbrellas.
It was hard not to connect the dots.
Breaking the eerie silence, the Black Team’s Captain spoke up:
“In that case… these umbrellas should be able to block the rain outside.”
The ghostly rain couldn’t be stopped by ordinary objects, but it could still touch human skin.
By extension, these umbrellas made of human skin should keep the rain off them, ensuring they stayed dry in the downpour.
Undeniably, this discovery was a blessing amidst their peril.
However…
There were only four umbrellas.
