Chapter 1742: Chapter 1001: Ghost Call_2
"I don’t know this person, but I’ve heard a little about the Qingshui Group. They’re considered an apostle violence group, with some influence in western Kyoto," said Jiu Shan Sha Yue.
"Are they very powerful?" Yang Xiao recalled the respectful attitude of Heize Lin and asked curiously, "How do they compare to the Black Wood Society?"
Jiu Shan Sha Yue thought for a moment, "At our Family Head’s birthday banquet, the President Heimu has the status to sit inside and have a drink. If Qingshui Cangjie is lucky enough, he might have the chance to kneel in the courtyard to give his blessings."
It must be said that Jiu Shan Sha Yue has a way with descriptions. With this, Yang Xiao understood everything and was once again impressed by the influence of the Jiu Mountain Family in Japan.
"Given this, why don’t you reveal your identity? Are you worried about encountering enemies?" Yang Xiao asked.
"Yes, due to the Ghost Sect, our Jiu Mountain Family has very subtle relationships with many forces. In front of my elders, they all behave very well, but if they encounter our younger members alone, the consequences are unpredictable. There’s no need to take that risk," Jiu Shan Sha Yue answered directly.
"Qingshui Cangjie, Mitsuo Takeda, Shibuki Naoko, and Hasegawa Hideji all seem complicated to me. Be cautious of them," Jiu Shan Sha Yue reminded. "Also, some of the newcomers seem odd, with some people’s behaviors appearing fake."
"I understand. Be careful on your night patrol. If someone calls your name, remember not to turn around. If there’s an emergency, you can ask any of us three for help," Yang Xiao assured, sticking to their initial agreement.
"I’m leaving now. If I return late, it will raise suspicions. Mitsuo Takeda is next in line; we switch shifts every two hours. Take care; tonight...will likely be unsettling," Jiu Shan Sha Yue finished speaking and left, closing the door behind her.
As soon as the footsteps faded, Yang Xiao came out from behind the glass door and locked it swiftly. The familiar sense of safety returned.
He continued his night watch. It’s forbidden to sleep while on duty at the front desk; the wall had various rules posted on it. Yang Xiao read them over but found nothing unusual; it was all basic stuff.
After about an hour and a half, Yang Xiao heard footsteps again, this time from the opposite direction, from the other end of the corridor.
The footsteps were quite heavy, belonging to a pair of leather shoes. Yang Xiao remembered Mitsuo Takeda wore old leather shoes, fitting well with his outdated suit.
Yang Xiao made no noise in the room, but the footsteps stopped right outside the door. Instead of knocking, Mitsuo Takeda politely greeted, "May I ask if it’s Mr. Sato or Mr. Yang Xiao inside?"
This line revealed quite a bit of information: Mitsuo Takeda didn’t know who was inside, meaning Jiu Shan Sha Yue hadn’t told him that she was staying on the 7th-floor service desk, which fit her character.
Secondly, Takeda gave the impression that he thought the person at the service desk was more likely Sato Shouta.
This made sense, since most veteran players prioritize self-preservation, choosing the more enclosed hotel room over the front desk.
Being a veteran player, Sato Shouta, as a newcomer, would not dare defy him. Yang Xiao could easily force Sato Shouta to stay at the service desk on night watch.
So far, Yang Xiao hadn’t noticed any flaws in Mitsuo Takeda outside the door. Moreover, Takeda didn’t knock proactively.
In such a world, veteran players instinctively avoid knocking sounds, especially in the silent night, where each knock on the door feels like a death knell, chilling to the bone.
However, not finding a flaw doesn’t mean there’s no danger. For Mitsuo Takeda, there’s no need to take risks. Yang Xiao acknowledged his identity and told Mitsuo Takeda to be safe on his night patrol, but nothing more; opening the door was out of the question.
Takeda seemed aware of the boundaries, making no excessive requests. After a brief conversation through the door, he left without sharing any information with Yang Xiao.
Time passed, and the night deepened, with drowsiness welling up. Yang Xiao stood up, slowly stretching his slightly stiff body. It was a bit chilly in the hotel at night; he pulled a blanket over himself.
The familiar footsteps echoed again in the safety corridor. After some coordination, Yang Xiao finally sat together with Jiu Shan Sha Yue, right at the time they’d previously agreed upon.
This time, Jiu Shan Sha Yue shared more details she observed during her patrol, finding several anomalies.
First was the west-side safety corridor, at the corner from the 3rd to the 4th floor where she found remnants of ritual items and marks from burned objects.
Then there was Room 5044 on the 5th floor, with Talisman Paper wedged in the door seam, known from the famous Jiangmu Shendao Society, and the door lock was jammed with a broken key.
Lastly, on the top 8th floor’s east corridor, a window seal had been crudely cemented shut. It appeared recent, with remaining wall dents and several footprints, suggesting they belonged to adult men.
Hearing this, Yang Xiao couldn’t help but admire Jiu Shan Sha Yue’s bravado, observing this closely alone on her night patrol required immense courage and confidence.
But it’s understandable, given he already suspected Jiu Shan Sha Yue, secretly from the Jiu Mountain Family, would donate an exceptional knife to her, surely acknowledging various aspects of her skills.
This includes her martial arts talent, intellect, resourcefulness, observational skills, etc. Otherwise, possessing a top-grade Magical Artifact only to die in the Nightmare World would be a major loss for the Jiu Mountain Family.
Once an apostle falls in the Nightmare World, their companion Magic Artifact is lost as well, which is an undeniable loss.
Thus high-level apostles are never stupid, only bad, barring those who became mentally damaged from backlash, as fools can’t survive in the Nightmare World.
After chatting for a while, Jiu Shan Sha Yue stood intending to leave. But suddenly, the silent night was shattered by a piercing scream from the corridor outside.
In no time at all, before they could ascertain who it was, a door was slammed open, followed by rapid footsteps, close to them – just downstairs!
"It’s the 6th floor!" Yang Xiao exclaimed as he recognized, "It seems to be Sakurai Miyuki."
This shout broke the night’s tranquility, the hotel buzzed with activity, and footsteps echoed in the safety corridor as other teammates rushed over.
After listening at the door for a while, Yang Xiao no longer hesitated, joining Jiu Shan Sha Yue in heading down the safety corridor to the 6th floor, where people already gathered in the corridor, with more arriving.
Sakurai Miyuki was curled up in the corner of a lobby intersection between two corridors, tightly hugging herself. She looked terrified, with mucus and tears running uncontrollably, her makeup ruined, trembling incessantly. Her white square leather shoes were down to one; someone was actively comforting her, clearly scared out of her wits.
Yang Xiao arrived from the wrong direction, on the opposite corridor side, and noticed someone standing sideways at the corridor’s end, seemingly examining something with an ajar door beside them. Judging by the posture, it looked like Hasegawa Hideji, with talking heard, indicating more than one person there.
"What’s going on?" Yang Xiao asked the person accompanying Sakurai Miyuki.
Shibuki Naoko adjusted her glasses, glanced towards the corridor end, and quietly said, "She claimed to have seen a ghost. The specifics are unclear."
