Flowers of the Departed Souls - Chapter 32

Luo Xiaofeng didn’t know if her uncle was aware of what was happening at the inn. She simply couldn’t get in touch with him. He hadn’t called the inn recently either. His love for travel and his elusive nature had always been his traits; even his daughter and wife found it hard to locate him. Of course, she didn’t expect her uncle to have a detailed conversation with her.

The basement door was locked. Luo Xiaofeng couldn’t worry about that anymore. She found a hammer in the woodshed, smashed the lock, and entered the basement with a flashlight. The basement was dark and damp, emanating a perennial, decaying smell. Some bottles of homemade wine were on the shelves, with date labels: March 2005, roughly around the inn’s construction date.

The rest was just messy clutter; there was nothing particularly special. However, a small piece of thread on the floor caught Luo Xiaofeng’s attention. She picked it up. The thread looked quite new, which made her even more puzzled. There was no light installed here; where could this thread have come from?

At this moment, she felt a chill down her spine, as if someone was standing behind her. She turned abruptly. Besides her, the basement was empty, and the door she had broken open was silent, casting a ghostly shadow. Luo Xiaofeng swallowed hard. For a moment, she just wanted to rush out, to leave this place, but she couldn’t let all her efforts go to waste like that.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Her gaze fell on a rough wooden box standing against the wall. The box was over a meter tall, easily large enough to hold a person. The thought of it being able to hold a person made Luo Xiaofeng’s heart pound. Inexplicably, she remembered the missing Luo Xiaojie; its height was similar to his. But she immediately scared herself for thinking of Luo Xiaojie at such a moment. God, her mind was truly a mess; how could she think of such things in this environment, even though basements were more likely to induce fear and make people uncontrollably think terrifying thoughts?

Luo Xiaofeng decided to open this box. Whatever it contained, she had to understand. Her hand paused just before touching the box door. She saw her fingers trembling inexplicably. No, don’t think so much. It might just contain some unused tools. However, what flashed in her mind was a desiccated corpse.

She steeled herself, violently pulled open the wooden box door, while simultaneously turning and backing away, covering her eyes with her hand. After a long while, there was no movement behind her. She couldn’t help but turn around and saw that it was just an empty box; there was nothing inside. She let out a sigh of relief. Sigh, I’m too paranoid.

However, why was this empty box standing here? The more Luo Xiaofeng thought about it, the stranger it became. She pushed the box. The box actually moved; it wasn’t heavy at all. She pushed the box forcefully to one side and saw a door on the revealed wall. Was there another secret room inside?

But the door had a keypad. It was a combination lock. A secret room with a combination lock in the inn, and she hadn’t known about it after being here for years! Luo Xiaofeng felt there must be some secret hidden inside. However, for a moment, Luo Xiaofeng was truly at a loss. What to do? Who knew what the combination would be? Should she go back and discuss it with Chi Ziming, or keep trying combinations? Luo Xiaofeng was genuinely undecided.

Such a secret room here was beyond her imagination, but she felt it must be related to her uncle. He was the owner and builder of the inn; he personally oversaw its construction. Luo Xiaofeng hadn’t participated in the construction, so of course, she wouldn’t have known.

Why would Uncle build such a secret room? Could it be related to the deaths of the guests? The thought of the guests’ deaths made Luo Xiaofeng shiver. Her sense of unease grew stronger. Yes, why did they all meet with accidents so mysteriously, while she didn’t, and yet she found no clues? Was it related to this secret room?

Several numbers rapidly popped into her head: Uncle’s ID number, the inn’s phone number, Uncle’s home phone number, Luo Yifu’s birth year and month, Grandma’s birthday. She typed them in one by one, but they were all incorrect. She tried the inn’s opening date; still incorrect. At this point, Luo Xiaofeng truly felt helpless.

Luo Xiaofeng decided to give up for now and discuss it with Chi Ziming later. Perhaps he would understand combination locks, or there was some trick to it. As she walked to the door, she suddenly remembered Luo Xiaojie’s birthday. Right, I haven’t tried his birthday yet. Let me try once more.

When she typed in those numbers, the door suddenly clicked open. As she stepped into the secret room, she felt her breathing quicken.

Heavens, there were so many computers! The computer screens displayed CCTV footage of every room, including Chi Ziming’s and her own. So, everyone’s every move here was being monitored. This was the first time Luo Xiaofeng discovered that this inn had such advanced equipment, and the entire place felt like a terrifying conspiracy.

While Luo Xiaofeng was shocked, her gaze fell on a half-eaten apple on the desk. The bitten part had only a slight yellowish tinge.

Clearly, someone had just been here.

Who could it be? Luo Xiaofeng felt a chill down her spine. Had someone been here before she opened the door? Luo Xiaofeng looked at the messy food bags and some unopened cookies. She grew increasingly confused. Who could it be? Was it one of the villagers?

“Is anyone here?” she called out loudly, but no one answered. The inn had been under constant surveillance, so the circumstances of Xia Yimin and Zhong Dan’s deaths must have been recorded, right? Luo Xiaofeng’s mind jolted, becoming much calmer. She found the video for Xia Yimin’s room. Just as she rewound to that date, she heard something fall to the ground behind her. She turned around and almost screamed. It was a masked person, and what chilled Luo Xiaofeng’s heart the most was that the masked person was holding a fruit knife.

She took a step back. “Who are you? Why are you in my uncle’s inn’s basement?”

“You should understand why I have been here for so many years, completely undetected.”

“Uncle, are you—are you Uncle? You’re keeping silent? You’ve admitted it, haven’t you? I finally understand; it was all your doing. I also understand why you were always so elusive. In fact, you never left this village! And the deaths of the guests are all related to you, aren’t they? I never imagined that the uncle I respected so much in my heart would be such a terrifying demon. Is this why you let them die one by one, and only spared me? At first, I couldn’t understand why they all met with accidents, and only I was safe. Now I finally understand, but I still don’t understand why you wanted to kill them. Why?”

The masked person stepped closer, the fruit knife in their hand gleaming. “I am not your uncle. Actually, we didn’t want you to die, but unfortunately, you stumbled in here.”

“We”? Were they not just one person? But a group, or rather, two small organizations? Then, no matter what, Uncle must be involved.

“Are you my uncle’s subordinate?”

“No comment. However, what I can tell you now is that you will continue to serve your guests in heaven, haha.”

The masked person’s knife suddenly lunged forward. Luo Xiaofeng dodged, but her heart was terrified. She grabbed something nearby and threw it, then ran frantically, almost crawling, escaping the secret room. The masked person pursued her, stabbing wildly. Luo Xiaofeng’s arm was still stabbed. When she ran out of the basement, she slammed the basement door shut, put on the lock, and then stumbled into the inn.

She ran into the courtyard, almost colliding with Luo Yifu, who had come to the inn looking for her because she couldn’t find Grandma. Luo Yifu saw the injuries on her body and gasped in shock. “Sister, what happened to you? What’s going on?”

Luo Xiaofeng murmured, “We need to leave here now, quickly. Where’s Chi Ziming? This place isn’t safe.”

“Sister, what exactly is going on?”

Luo Xiaofeng gasped, “I can’t explain it clearly to you right now. You’d better ask your dad. He’s behind all of this!”

Just then, Chi Ziming heard the commotion and ran over. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“You would never have guessed that every room in this inn is equipped with surveillance cameras. Our every move is within their sight.”

“No way?” Luo Yifu and Chi Ziming exclaimed simultaneously. Chi Ziming asked confused, “Then, the circumstances of Xia Yimin’s death and the others, they must have been recorded there too?”

Luo Xiaofeng nodded. “I think so. That’s evidence of the crime, but I don’t know if they’ll destroy it. If it wasn’t their doing, they should have handed the footage over to the police. But they’ve been observing all along. I think they are the true instigators, and they will come out to kill again when necessary.”

“You’re saying that the builder of this inn might be the mastermind behind these serial cases?”

Luo Xiaofeng nodded.

Meanwhile, Luo Yifu covered her face, on the verge of a breakdown. “No, impossible. My father wouldn’t do this. He’s abroad; he would never do anything so heinous!”

“Yifu, calm down. He’s abroad, do you have proof he’s abroad?”

“Yes, of course I do.” Luo Yifu remembered the gifts. There should be postmarks or courier company stamps on the packaging boxes. She shook her head painfully. “I have collectibles from those countries that he sent me. I threw away all the packaging boxes. I’ll search again, see if there are any envelopes left.” At this moment, Luo Yifu’s mind was truly a mess. Besides that, she couldn’t find any evidence of which country her father was in. Right, didn’t she just receive the Taotie he sent yesterday? That box should still be there. The nanny wouldn’t have cleaned it up so quickly.

“Let’s go, to my house.” After Luo Xiaofeng’s wound was bandaged, the three of them left the inn and headed to Luo Yifu’s house together. As they left the inn, Luo Xiaofeng looked back.

She felt a little strange. Why hadn’t the masked person pursued them?