The thought flashed through my mind, and I opened the door. Du Xiaolan looked pale and rushed into the room, gesturing for me to close the door. She trembled and said, "Mingyang, there really is a ghost in that room."
Though I already knew, I asked symbolically, "What happened?"
"I was sleeping soundly when I heard someone knocking on the door. When I opened it, there was nothing outside. But when I got back into bed, the knocking started again."
Du Xiaolan wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and continued, "There was nobody outside when I went out. At first, I thought someone was playing a prank on me. When the knocking resumed, I opened the door in a hurry. Guess what I saw?"
At this point, her expression was extremely frightened, and her words startled me as well.
I cleared my throat and asked tentatively, "Did you see a ghost?"
She shook her head and stared at me, saying, "I didn't see anything. There wasn't even a shadow in the corridor."
This was exactly what I thought - the knocking sound didn't come from outside but from inside the room. Even if you stood outside the door, you could still hear the knocking.
Du Xiaolan was obviously very scared. She gasped for breath and pushed me towards the room, saying she didn't want my five hundred yuan and that I should go back to my own room.
I didn't dare to agree. I ran into the room, but Du Xiaolan was unexpectedly strong and forcefully pushed me out.
As she was closing the door, I quickly stuck my foot in. Du Xiaolan, with a mournful look, pleaded with me, "Mingyang, please, I'll give you five hundred yuan. Can you go back to your room? You almost scared me to death just now."
I compromised, saying, "Fine, let me in to get my things. Since I won't be able to sleep tonight, I'll take a good look at the manuscript Fei Xuemin gave me."
"I'll get it for you." Du Xiaolan seemed truly afraid of me rushing into the room. After locking the door for a while, she opened it again.
As she handed me the papers, my gaze swept over them, and I swiftly looked at Du Xiaolan, urgently telling her to open the door.
She clearly didn't realize what was happening. Disregarding her feelings, I forcefully pushed the door open and hurried to the bathroom.
The torn paper had already been flushed clean in the toilet, proving that the pieces had gone into the sewer. But the stack of paper Du Xiaolan held - why did it still contain the memorial tablet that I had torn up and flushed?
I recounted the incident of discovering the memorial tablet pieced back together this morning, and Du Xiaolan's face turned pale and fearful. She anxiously asked if there was a ghost playing tricks.
I nodded and recounted the incident of encountering the female ghost Yu Rubing late last night, as well as the information I found on the internet.
Du Xiaolan first punched me and said that I knew there was a ghost in the room and still let her go to sleep there.
I said that she was bold enough to be able to handle this female ghost, who knew she was just as cowardly as me, even more so.
Du Xiaolan's hair stood on end, and I quickly reached out to stop her, looking at the memorial tablet and said to her, "Do you think this memorial tablet wasn't given to me by Fei Xuemin, but rather by the female ghost Yu Rubing, who asked us to help her seek justice?"
When these words were said, Du Xiaolan squinted her eyes and thought for a moment, then looked at me and nodded, saying, "It seems like it's true. Otherwise, why wouldn't she hurt us, but just scare us?"
The content on the memorial tablet did not mention how Yu Rubing died. Like an ordinary memorial tablet, it only contained some words to commemorate the deceased and show respect.
Looking at Du Xiaolan, I asked in a lowered voice, "Why don't we go together and call out the female ghost to ask her properly?"
Du Xiaolan nervously took two steps back, saying that I was being paranoid to go alone and not to take her with me. However, after my persistent persuasion, Du Xiaolan finally agreed to go with me, but with one condition: the door should be kept open, and if something happened, she would be the first one to run away.
I had no objections to this. I could see the ghost, which proved that this matter was directed at me, and Du Xiaolan was simply giving me moral support.
Approaching the door to the room, I took a deep breath and gathered the courage to open it.
The inside was clean and tidy, with nothing unusual.
Du Xiaolan looked at me and asked how we could call out the female ghost. I didn't say anything, but went to the spot where Yu Rubing was hanged, closed my eyes, and said softly, "You can come out now. I know you were murdered by someone three years ago. If I can help you, I will do everything I can."
As soon as the words fell, I turned to Du Xiaolan and asked, "Has she appeared?"
Du Xiaolan didn't say anything, but at that moment, I felt the temperature in the room drop to the extreme. A cold wind swept in from somewhere, giving me goosebumps all over.
"Bang!"
The open door slammed shut, and I quickly opened my eyes, about to speak, only to see a pale face appear just twenty centimeters away from me.
"Oh my god!" I exclaimed, quickly jumping backward.
In an instant, Du Xiaolan let out a piercing scream, "Mingyang, open the door quickly, I want to get out!"
Even though I had prepared myself psychologically, I was still startled by the sudden appearance of the terrifying face. I had just opened the door a crack to let Du Xiaolan out, but Yu Rubing suddenly let out a cold snort, and a gust of wind directly blew me away, closing the door tightly again.
I fell heavily to the ground, and when I got up, Yu Rubing's lips moved slightly, "You said you wanted to help me, so why are you leaving?"
I pointed to Du Xiaolan and asked, "I can help you, but can you let her leave first?"
"No." Yu Rubing coldly refused my request, then looked at Du Xiaolan and blinked her misty eyes, saying, "Back then, I was like you, but unfortunately, after three years, I have become like this."
Du Xiaolan looked at her in horror, almost crying, "What do you want? I was just passing by. If you have any grievances, talk to Mingyang, he can help you."
"Help me?" Yu Rubing sighed and shook her head, "No one can help me. My soul is trapped in this hotel. Even the person who killed me doesn't know who it is, let alone helping me."
I was stunned, looking at Du Xiaolan, whose expression also seemed very confused.
"You don't even know who killed you?" I blurted out, but then quickly covered my mouth. I had no idea what this female ghost was capable of. If I angered her, the consequences would be unimaginable.
To my surprise, Yu Rubing didn't get angry. Instead, she spoke softly, "Yes, because the person who killed me was not a human."