Chapter 316: Chapter 314 A Hollywood Horror Movie?
The Ya Family’s castle had been maintained financially by Huo Group these years, and the later maintenance fees for other castles within S Country were no small sum either.
Together, the maintenance and repair costs of so many castles caused the S Country government a major headache each year. However, as historical landmarks, they couldn’t be neglected.
Over the years, this expenditure became a hot potato in S Country’s hands.
If the Huo Group were willing to purchase a few sightseeing castles, it would help S Country save on a considerable amount of upkeep expenses.
Therefore, the government certainly wouldn’t miss the opportunity of Mr. Huo visiting Nanga City personally.
A few days ago, the Minister of the Department of Cultural Heritage had sought him out, advocating for Mr. Huo to buy several castles, and even shamelessly took Mr. Huo on tours of various castles himself.
Today, they just happened to have strolled here.
But the Minister of the Department of Cultural Heritage could tell that Mr. Huo was not interested in the investment of buying castles, as he hadn’t responded after several days.
At this moment, seeing Mr. Huo staring straight ahead with a stern expression, ceasing to speak, the Minister trembled, "Mr. Huo, what’s wrong, Mr. Huo? Is there some problem? May I know how you are considering this matter?"
He hadn’t inadvertently said something wrong and offended Mr. Huo, had he?
Why did it suddenly feel like Mr. Huo’s demeanor had turned chilly?
Finally, Huo Zhenyang withdrew his gaze; the casual and detached expression he wore while touring the castle suddenly became unfamiliar, "What did you just say? You want me to buy a castle, right?"
The Minister nodded frantically, "Yes, yes, yes."
"George, send your secretary to the Department of Cultural Heritage and sign the contract with the Minister; pay the full amount for this castle immediately."
The man’s voice was indifferent, as casual as if he were buying vegetables in a market.
The Minister didn’t expect happiness to arrive so swiftly; after talking for several days without a commitment from Mr. Huo, a blink of an eye later, he had agreed—it was as if he’d been struck by a pie falling from the sky.
And it was a full payment!
It took him half a day to snap back to reality, ecstatic: "Good, very good, Mr. Huo, thank you. I will prepare the contract and get it ready immediately..."
"Stop there." Huo Zhenyang’s expression darkened, and he waved his hand grandly.
At this moment, Mr. Huo was like a god of wealth for the S Country government; even lying prostrate wouldn’t be an issue, not just standing still!
The Minister, fearful Mr. Huo might change his mind and become displeased, promptly said, "Is there anything else you wish to instruct, Mr. Huo?"
The man’s thick lashes flickered as if he were trying hard to conceal his intense displeasure, "Now that this castle is mine, I should be able to do as I please with it, right."
The Minister hesitated, very understanding, "Of course, Mr. Huo!"
Although the contract hadn’t been signed and payment not yet made, since a person of Mr. Huo’s stature had spoken, his word was as good as gold, and there was no way he could go back on it.
So, in effect, this castle was already his!
"Evict all the tourists!" the man commanded decisively, neither too harsh nor too gentle but exuding authority.
"What... what?" The Minister was bewildered, not understanding Mr. Huo’s intentions.
"Except for—her. Find a way to have her stay. That will do," Huo Zhenyang’s gaze landed on Jiayi, who had already sat down and was joking around with Ya Chen.
"This..." The Minister was even more baffled, to drive out all the tourists and leave that young woman alone? That seemed quite tricky.
But biting the bullet, dammit, for the sake of successfully selling the castle, it’s worth it.
——
Half an hour later, an announcement echoed through the castle:
"Due to urgent maintenance inside the castle, we kindly ask all visitors to leave temporarily. Please come back on the next open day for sightseeing, thank you for your cooperation."
The tourists, immersed in the historic site, immediately started complaining:
"What’s going on..."
"Why do maintenance now?"
"Right, such a disappointment."
...
Complaints aside, there was nothing they could do when faced with such a situation.
The tourists gradually dispersed towards the outside.
Jiayi also pushed Ya Chen to follow the crowd and walk toward the outside.
Because she feared the crush of the crowd on Ya Chen, Jiayi slowed down her steps and did not compete with others, trailing at the very end.
Just as they were about to exit, the sound of footsteps came from behind. It seemed an employee from the castle had caught up:
"Excuse me, miss, do you have a moment? Please come and give us a rating in our employee opinion book."
Such tourist attractions, although state-owned assets, had commercialized significantly. Asking guests to rate and leave comments was a standard practice.
The employee had a pleasant smile, and Jiayi felt it would be rude to refuse. She glanced at Ya Chen, "Then I’ll go back in for a moment, Ya Chen. You wait here for a while."
Ya Chen nodded, "No problem."
Jiayi wheeled Ya Chen to a lawn beside the exit and followed the employee back into the castle’s inner area.
The castle, now devoid of tourists, was eerily silent.
The employee gestured towards the stairs with polite courtesy: "Miss, please follow me upstairs."
Jiayi, without overthinking, assumed this was a normal procedure as commercial castles had management offices.
Following the employee to the second floor, the lighting suddenly dimmed.
These ancient castles with a long history only had a few small skylights, so the brightness during the day and night was almost the same.
The corridor upstairs was even darker, covered in a pitch-black haze.
The employee said, "Please wait here for a moment, miss. I’ll go get the opinion book."
After leaving, he never returned.
The entire corridor was so quiet it was frightening, and one could probably hear the sound of a pin dropping.
The thick stone walls, built in ancient times to defend against enemies, were extremely enclosed in their construction.
In modern times, they had naturally become excellent soundproofing devices.
It was almost as if it cut off from the outside world.
The air itself seemed to stop moving.
After waiting for a minute or two, Jiayi started to realize something was wrong.
If it was about filling out an opinion book, why would they only seek out her, a single tourist?
"Sir?" she called out softly to the employee.
Huh? She clearly saw him enter an office down the corridor. Where did he go?
Gathering her courage, she walked down the long, narrow, and dark corridor, knocking on doors, "Sir, stop joking around. Weren’t we just going to fill out an opinion book? If you don’t come out, I’m leaving."
There was no response at all.
He had disappeared?
The castle felt like a massive tomb, suffocating.
She had a spine-chilling sensation on her back, with the silence being terrifying on one side and the darkness fearsome on the other even the bravest would falter.
She turned around and started to jog down the corridor, wanting to go downstairs.
After a few steps, a slight "creak" sound echoed from behind, the tail end of the noise turning sharply, elongating eerily.
It was like the sound of a door opening.
Heard at this moment, in this environment, it was like a Hollywood horror movie special effect, similar to a murderer bursting in.
In her mind, scenes from every horror movie she knew surged forth!
Jiayi’s cold sweat was about to explode, and her steps quickened.
In such an ancient castle, who knew how many people had died over the years!
Alas, it was her own fault for being nosy. Why did she even come in to fill out an opinion book!
Just then, footsteps started up behind her!
