"No, it's nothing," Zhou Hong said with a slight smile.
"There must be something. You can't fool me. You were so happy just now, and then you seemed so troubled. Now that I'm your wife, shouldn't you share all your joys and sorrows with me?"
"Really, there's nothing."
"Alright then." Ruolan didn't press further.
Zhou Hong, still preoccupied, accompanied Ruolan as they strolled through the streets.
"Ah!" After walking for an unknown amount of time, Zhou Hong suddenly stepped on something soft. He looked down and saw a pile of excrement.
"Damn it, I stepped in shit!" Zhou Hong was dejected upon seeing the mess on his shoe. His luck was truly terrible. On a street with people coming and going, shit was not something easily noticed, yet he had managed to step in it.
"How could you be so careless? You weren't watching where you were going," Ruolan said quickly.
"It's fine. There's a well ahead. I can just wash it off with well water." Zhou Hong spotted a well in the distance and walked towards it, intending to fetch a bucket of water. However, he discovered it was a dry well.
With no other option, Zhou Hong had to use his spiritual energy to clean the excrement off his shoe.
As dusk gradually fell, after dinner, Zhou Hong said to Ruolan, "Let's head back to the inn."
"Okay."
Zhou Hong's mind was racing. Since Ruolan was now his wife, he intended to enjoy the night fully.
Soon, Zhou Hong and Ruolan returned to the inn.
"My apologies, esteemed guests." As soon as they entered the inn, the innkeeper rushed to greet them, his face full of apology.
"What's wrong?" Zhou Hong asked the innkeeper, puzzled.
"The roof of the room you were staying in is leaking, and it's no longer habitable. I'm truly sorry."
"How can this be?"
"I am truly sorry. I'll refund your room fee." The innkeeper said with apparent sincerity.
Zhou Hong was frustrated. In the afternoon, while walking on the street, he stepped in excrement and found a dry well when he tried to wash it off. Now, back at the inn, he was told the roof was leaking. What was all this about? Why were so many trivial matters bothering him? Could it be, as his grandfather had said in his previous life, that Ruolan was a harbinger of misfortune? That anyone who was with her would encounter all sorts of bad luck?
"Then give us another room." Zhou Hong said to the innkeeper.
"I am truly sorry, but all other rooms are already occupied."
Zhou Hong suspected they were deliberately trying to trick him. How could it be that as soon as one room leaked, all others were full?
"Then what do we do? Where can we stay?" Ruolan asked anxiously.
"I'm truly sorry, but please try another inn. I'll refund your room fee."
"Do I look like I'm lacking money for a room? Your inn is the largest in this city." Zhou Hong scoffed.
"I am truly sorry."
Helpless, Zhou Hong and Ruolan left the inn and searched for other lodgings nearby.
"I'm sorry, all rooms are already booked." The proprietor of a nearby inn said.
Zhou Hong tried another one, and again, it was full.
Zhou Hong was dumbfounded. Was he being targeted, or was his luck just that bad? Coincidentally, all the inns he tried were full.
After searching through more than ten inns, only one finally said they had one room left.
Zhou Hong was tired from searching. He had originally intended to take Ruolan to the Dugu family, but since there was one room left in this last inn, Zhou Hong had no choice but to stay.
Upon entering the room, Zhou Hong discovered that this inn was terrible. The last room had a strong odor and no windows. It was clearly the worst room available.
"Damn it, after looking at over ten inns, I end up with a room like this? Am I not worthy of a better room?" Zhou Hong became angry and immediately summoned the innkeeper. He asked, "Where is the best room in your inn?"
"Replying to the guest, it is Room Tian Zi Yi Hao."
"Let's go. We're going to Room Tian Zi Yi Hao." Zhou Hong angrily pulled Ruolan towards Room Tian Zi Yi Hao. He refused to believe he couldn't stay in the best room. If his luck was so bad that he was assigned such a terrible room, he would resort to brute force and seize the best one. He refused to believe that the harbinger of misfortune could truly defy fate.
Soon, Zhou Hong arrived at Room Tian Zi Yi Hao.
Zhou Hong kicked open the door. Inside, he saw a young woman with an infant. The baby was currently sleeping on the bed.
"What is it?" The young woman, seeing the door kicked open, looked at Zhou Hong with fear.
"Get out. I want this room," Zhou Hong said domineeringly, his face flushed with anger. It was as if he were rebelling against fate. Fate had put him in the worst room, so he would snatch the best one.
The young woman dared not argue. She quickly picked up her child and left.
"Hahaha, how about that? I'm staying in Room Tian Zi Yi Hao. How do you like that?" Zhou Hong flung open the room's window and shouted at the sky, as if addressing heaven itself.
This room truly lived up to its name as the best. The moment the window was opened, one could see the bustling street outside, offering a beautiful view.
"Zhou Hong, what's wrong? You seem a bit strange. Why are you saying such things?" Ruolan asked Zhou Hong, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"Heh, it's nothing. Don't worry too much."
"Actually, staying in that worst room just now would have been fine. As long as you're with me, I'd feel good no matter what kind of room it is," Ruolan said, her cheeks flushed. Little did she know, Zhou Hong wasn't genuinely disdaining the dilapidated room, but rather felt a sense of defiance.
"Ruolan, are you blaming me for taking someone else's room just now?"
"Not exactly. I just feel a little sorry for you."
"Heh, don't worry. Even though I took that woman's room just now, if she had refused, I wouldn't have forced it. I didn't expect her to leave without a word."
"Mm-hmm."
"Then we'll stay in Room Tian Zi Yi Hao tonight."
"Okay."
Zhou Hong walked to the bed and sat down heavily.
However, after only a few seconds, Zhou Hong felt a wetness on his backside.
Zhou Hong hastily stood up and lifted the blanket. He discovered that the blanket was wet, and there was a smell of urine.
Recalling that the woman had an infant with her, and the infant had been lying on this bed, it was clear that the urine on the bed was from the baby.
"What the hell," Zhou Hong stared blankly, touching the urine on his pants. He had thought that by deliberately snatching the best room, his bad luck would dissipate. Yet, even in the best room, he had ended up sitting on a urine-soaked bed.