Chapter 30: This Hotel Isn’t Simple

Yan Qiao pressed the talisman into place, looked at him, and spoke in a calm voice, “You have a lot of dark energy around you. After your fate was altered, your body became one of extreme yin. That kind of constitution easily attracts resentful spirits and picks up malevolent energy.”

“You don’t feel anything now because you’re wearing many of my protective charms. Those things can sense the yin energy on you—they’re drawn to it like a scent. Especially in this town, things have been rather unsettled these past few days.”

“If you don’t use enhanced talismans, you won’t be able to withstand it.”

Aside from the yin energy, the purple aura around him was also something that would make people drool with greed.

Two words: trouble.

But he was her high-merit, high-value client. She would explain it to him.

Li Xiao nodded thoughtfully.

“If I’m not mistaken, your fate was altered when you were eighteen,” Yan Qiao continued.

A flicker of surprise flashed through Li Xiao’s eyes.

…

…

But he quickly returned to calm—after all, he had already seen how capable she was.

He tugged at the corner of his lips. “It’s true. After I turned eighteen, my life changed drastically.”

It had already been ten years.

In the past two years, his mental state had worsened, and every day he could only think about how to keep surviving.

“You’ve made it this far because of the protective power of the purple aura in your body.”

“I’ll help you break the curse, although I haven’t thought of a method yet.”

Even without a solution, she still spoke confidently. Li Xiao, seeing her calm and composed expression, couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Alright, I believe you.”

“But once it’s lifted, the price won’t be cheap. Just giving you a heads-up.” Her tone was strictly business.

Li Xiao was now well aware that her definition of “price” was very different from normal standards.

The smile on his lips deepened. “It’s fine. Whatever you want then, I’ll give it to you. Just name it.”

“I won’t ask for more than I should.”

Yan Qiao didn’t dwell too much on the topic of Li Xiao’s fate.

Some things weren’t suitable to be discussed just yet.

“You can sleep now,” Yan Qiao said calmly.

“Okay,” Li Xiao replied.

“What about you? It’s late already…” he quickly added.

“No need to worry about me. Just get your own rest.”

This was the mighty Master Xiao, and now he was actually being talked down to by a little girl. Perhaps in the entire world, only she dared to speak to him like this so bluntly.

Could she really not tell that he was just concerned about her?

“I’m worried you’ll get too tired. We might have to face even more dangerous and tricky situations tomorrow.” Master Xiao had never been the type to beat around the bush—he said it directly.

“I’m fine.” Still the same three indifferent words.

Li Xiao’s smile turned a little bitter.

Everyone said he was cold, but now he realized—this girl was even colder than he was.

In the end, he didn’t insist. He didn’t even take off his jacket—just laid on the bed as he was, not touching anything else in the room.

That night was anything but peaceful.

The wind outside howled like someone was wailing. If you listened carefully, it was truly terrifying.

Fortunately, everyone followed Yan Qiao’s instructions and wore her protective charms close to their bodies. The night passed relatively safely.

Li Xiao’s mental state was already not great. After a seven-hour car ride, he was utterly exhausted.

Unable to hold on, he fell asleep not long after lying down.

Yan Qiao stared in the direction of the window, her expression icy…

Thankfully, a few hours passed uneventfully.

As daylight began to break—

At precisely seven o’clock, Li Xiao opened his eyes.

He instinctively glanced at the bed beside him, only to see Yan Qiao sitting cross-legged on it, seemingly meditating.

He didn’t disturb her.

It had been a restless night.

In his half-asleep state, he had dreamed of many strange and bizarre things. Maybe it was because of the unfamiliar place. Or maybe it was the unclean things lurking in this town.

He didn’t even want to imagine how bad it could’ve been if she hadn’t placed talismans on the bed.

He got up and stretched his muscles.

The weather didn’t seem good either—foggy and gray.

Standing in front of the window, he reached out to open it for some fresh air.

But just as he moved, Yan Qiao’s calm voice sounded from behind him: “Don’t open it.”

Li Xiao froze mid-motion and turned around to see that Yan Qiao had already opened her eyes and gotten off the bed.

“There’s too much moisture in the early morning. We’ll be going out soon anyway,” Yan Qiao didn’t elaborate further.

But Li Xiao caught a glimpse—he thought he saw a shadow flicker past.

When he looked again, there was nothing. As if he had just imagined it. His expression subtly changed, as if he suddenly realized something.

“Okay.” He walked over to Yan Qiao.

“Qiao, when did you wake up?” he asked, trying to change the subject.

“An hour ago,” Yan Qiao replied flatly. Looking at her calm, clear eyes, Li Xiao felt an unexpected sense of ease.

“Go wash your face. We’ll be leaving soon.”

“No need. I’ll just use a wet wipe later.” Li Xiao still didn’t want to touch anything here. Sleeping in the bed had already been a last resort.

Yan Qiao didn’t press the matter.

“Let’s head out then.” She picked up her canvas bag.

“Mm.”

They opened the door and walked out. From the room next door, Yan Hao and Mu Yunzhe also emerged, both sporting dark circles under their eyes—obviously, they hadn’t slept well.

From another room, Yan Jue came out holding Shen Zhiyin.

Everyone looked about the same. In the first-floor lobby, the other bodyguards were already waiting.

“Qiao, are you alright? How was your night?” Upon seeing his sister, Yan Hao immediately walked over and asked with concern.

He even scanned her up and down, as if checking for any abnormalities.

After asking, he didn’t forget to shoot a wary glance at Li Xiao.

But Master Xiao’s aura didn’t waver—he wasn’t even slightly flustered.

Yan Qiao also replied indifferently, “I’m fine.”

“Did any of you hear any sounds while sleeping last night?” Yan Hao quickly changed the subject.

“I did. It sounded like footsteps overhead, like someone pacing back and forth. Or maybe something falling on the floor,” Yan Jue was the first to respond. He didn’t remember hearing anything strange the last time he was here.

Mu Yunzhe and Yan Hao had shared a room, so they clearly had already discussed it.

“Looks like we all experienced the same thing.”

“Ah! My talisman’s faded!” Yan Hao suddenly remembered his protective charm, pulled it out of his pocket, and cried out.

“Mine too…”

“Same here!”

Everyone checked theirs and cried out in shock.

Clearly, this hotel wasn’t simple.

Yan Hao instinctively glanced toward the front desk. The two staff members had strange expressions and were pretending to work, clearly looking guilty.

“Qiao, are we going straight to that village now?” Yan Jue asked.

“Yes.”

The people who had gone out to buy breakfast returned with steamed buns, soy milk, and some boiled eggs.

Once they were in the car, they set off for Mengjiang Village.

They didn’t know the exact location and had to use GPS.

Yan Qiao even placed a talisman on the back of the GPS device.

Just earlier, she had distributed new talismans to everyone—thankfully, she had drawn some overnight.

This trip had really drained her supply.

Li Xiao was using wet wipes to wash his face and bottled water to rinse his mouth. He had all these supplies in his car.

Yan Hao was munching on a bun, his cheeks puffed like a squirrel.

Suddenly, Yan Jue asked in a low voice, “Qiao, when we get to the village entrance later… are we all going in?”