The fatty began to explain the entire sequence of events to Nie Chongyang in detail.
He told Nie Chongyang, "Because you weren't here before, there were some things we didn't tell you, and you might not know them. So, I'll tell you everything I know from the beginning."
"I'm a bit slow-witted, you see. I can't figure out many things. I'm not as smart as you. Perhaps you can shed some light on the things I can't understand."
Nie Chongyang naturally wouldn't refuse and agreed, "Go ahead and speak. I'm listening. I'll try my best to help you find Ye Tiancheng and the others. We've known each other for a while, and we can be considered friends. I'll definitely help where I can."
The fatty nodded and began to recount the events to Nie Chongyang from the start.
"Everything, I suppose, should start with this guesthouse."
"Initially, we decided to stay in the village. On one hand, the villa area was too far, and it was very inconvenient to frequently travel back and forth for our investigation. On the other hand, Brother Ye was also worried about implicating his wife and the others, fearing he might bring danger to them."
"Coincidentally, this guesthouse was quite unique. I was quite interested at the time, so Brother Ye decided to get us a room here to stay. Alright, we settled in."
The fatty tried hard to recall the situation at the time. "When we arrived, the guesthouse owner, Mei Mei, told us that there were no suitable rooms left, only two single rooms. However, because the giant black snake was impersonating the Dragon God and holding some parade activities here, there were a lot of tourists. There likely weren't any other empty rooms, so we reluctantly stayed here."
"We did inquire at other guesthouses and hotels, and they were indeed all fully booked. Only this guesthouse had empty rooms."
Nie Chongyang paid attention upon hearing this.
When the fatty mentioned the guesthouse owner, he stated her name. Under normal circumstances, when people stay somewhere, they don't usually pay attention to the owner's name, at most knowing the surname. But the fatty mentioned the owner's name, even her full name. This should be a person worth noting.
The fatty continued to tell Nie Chongyang about the events at the time. "We didn't know about the giant black snake's parade activities beforehand. It was the guesthouse owner, Mei Mei, who informed us, and that's how we learned about it. Later, when we asked other guesthouses and hotels if they had any empty rooms, we also happened to inquire about the situation."
"In the process, we learned something."
"Mei Mei, the owner of the guesthouse where we stayed, has a husband who is seriously ill and has lost his ability to work. However, Mei Mei has remained devoted to him, not abandoning her husband, and runs the guesthouse to support the entire family. It's very difficult. I felt quite sympathetic towards her at the time and wanted to patronize her business more."
Nie Chongyang asked the fatty, "Is that true? Is there something wrong with the guesthouse owner, Mei Mei?"
"It's not that the story is false, the matter did happen, but it's not that simple," the fatty replied to Nie Chongyang. "You know what that giant black snake is about. The guesthouse owner, Mei Mei, is also one of those who made a wish to the giant black snake, in order to extend her husband's life."
Nie Chongyang's brows furrowed tighter as he listened. He found such behavior despicable and knew that something was definitely amiss.
The fatty said, "On the first day that Brother Ye and Xiao Huli moved in, as you can see my physique, neither of us could fit into the single rooms with them. The beds were too small, so I had a room to myself, and Brother Ye and Xiao Huli squeezed into one. It was manageable."
"But on the first night, Brother Ye and Xiao Huli encountered trouble."
Nie Chongyang's heart tightened as he listened to the fatty continue, "You know we came here for certain reasons, so encountering any strange supernatural events is quite normal."
"On the first day, they encountered an evil spirit knocking on their door. From what Brother Ye said, it seemed the evil spirit was impersonating me outside and trying to get Brother Ye and Xiao Huli to open the door. Brother Ye and Xiao Huli realized something was wrong and didn't open it. Then the evil spirit became more aggressive, but Brother Ye and Xiao Huli are powerful, and after a threat, the evil spirit disappeared."
"However, even Xiao Huli, with her sensitive constitution, couldn't detect anything unusual in the guesthouse. They couldn't find any trace, and that guy couldn't do anything to them. We didn't have time to worry about it then, so we didn't pay it much mind."
There was a lot of helplessness in this, as they were encountering too many things at the time. Things always had priorities. An evil spirit knocking in the middle of the night that would run away with a scare posed no threat, so it was temporarily set aside and not taken too seriously.
"Then, on the second night, something else happened with Brother Ye and Xiao Huli. Originally, Brother Ye and Xiao Huli were worried about me, as I had been the one encountering trouble for some reason. They were worried about me. But unexpectedly, they encountered trouble for the second time in a row."
The fatty recalled, "The situation on the second night was very dangerous. It seemed Xiao Huli was experiencing a nightmare, meaning she saw an illusion. There was a room outside the window, and someone inside was crying for help. It looked very abnormal, but Xiao Huli's state was strange at the time; she was mesmerized and almost climbed out the window, falling from the upper floor."
"It was only because Brother Ye discovered it in time and pulled Xiao Huli back that she didn't suffer any harm."
Nie Chongyang understood how much danger Ye Tiancheng and his companions faced daily. If it were people like them, who were just starting out, they would have lost many people encountering such things. It was no wonder Ye Tiancheng always disapproved of them coming.
Even Xiao Huli could be trapped in a nightmare and almost lose her life, so they would be even less able to withstand it.
"Because of these events, I am more inclined to believe that Brother Ye and Xiao Huli encountered trouble in the guesthouse. Because previously, when they were outside, if they encountered anything, they usually approached it themselves or discovered it. Nothing actively came to confront them."
"Brother Ye and Xiao Huli are indeed not easy to deal with for evil spirits. Any intelligent being wouldn't easily provoke them."
After the fatty finished speaking, Nie Chongyang nodded slightly. "Then it seems we still need to go to the guesthouse to take a look."
He felt the fatty's deduction was quite reasonable.
Ye Tiancheng and his companions were not easily harmed. Even when facing that giant black snake, Ye Tiancheng and his companions were unharmed. Instead, in this guesthouse, they encountered one setback after another. Nie Chongyang felt that the guesthouse was more likely to be the problem.
Moreover, the fatty mentioned the guesthouse owner, Mei Mei. This person might have had some dealings with the giant black snake to extend her husband's life. Could this involve other people, exchanging their lives for it?
The guesthouse owner, Mei Mei, was highly suspicious and it was necessary to find her.
Nie Chongyang instructed his team members to search everywhere for the guesthouse owner Mei Mei, as they had no leads on her during the evacuation.
Then, Nie Chongyang planned to go to the guesthouse with the fatty to search for new clues.
However, the fatty reminded Nie Chongyang, "That guesthouse has already been confirmed to have problems. So, I think it's best to have fewer people go in to find clues. Also, we need to act together to avoid accidents. If there are too many people, I won't be able to manage."
There was no need to risk lives for such matters; no unnecessary sacrifices were needed.
Nie Chongyang understood this reasoning. After hearing the fatty's reminder, he said to the fatty, "Then I'll call an assistant, and my assistant and I will go into the guesthouse with you to find clues."
The fatty thought about it and felt that two people were manageable for him, so he nodded in agreement.
Nie Chongyang immediately selected a meticulous team member who was skilled at collecting evidence and clues, and they would accompany him into the guesthouse with the fatty.
Upon entering the guesthouse, Nie Chongyang didn't feel anything amiss. It looked like a very ordinary guesthouse, except for the absence of people. The decoration was very ethnic, which made it feel a bit eerie.
But this was due to the lack of people. Human imagination is rich, and it's easy to fear the unknown, which has nothing to do with the feeling the guesthouse itself gave.
If the fatty hadn't mentioned it, Nie Chongyang and his team wouldn't have thought this guesthouse had problems. But now that they knew, Nie Chongyang and his team became more vigilant, following the fatty closely to avoid any mishaps.
As they went up the stairs, Nie Chongyang looked at the mirror opposite the stairwell.
On the wall opposite the stairwell on each floor, there was such a mirror. The mirror was quite large, which made Nie Chongyang feel a bit uncomfortable, especially when he saw the reflections in the mirror.
The mirror simply reflected their appearances normally, but Nie Chongyang just felt unaccustomed to it.
Nie Chongyang asked the fatty, "Are there any issues with these mirrors in the stairwells? I feel very uncomfortable. Is there any such saying in Feng Shui that mirrors shouldn't be placed in such locations?"
The fatty heard Nie Chongyang's question, thought about it, and replied, "I'm not very good at Feng Shui. I used to follow Brother Ye for cultivation. Xiao Huli knows more about this aspect. However, such mirrors do seem a bit inappropriate. It's just that Xiao Huli never mentioned it before. I don't know what's going on, and I'm not sure if there's a problem."
He said this with some hesitation.
Nie Chongyang and his assistant checked these mirrors but found nothing unusual. They temporarily noted this point of suspicion in their minds.
The fatty led Nie Chongyang and his assistant to the fourth floor and, familiar with the way, found the room where Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Huli had stayed. The door was still in the state he had left it; it had been forcibly kicked open and remained ajar.
The situation inside was also in full view.
It could be seen that there were some signs of habitation inside, but they were no longer obvious. It looked like it had been tidied up, and there were no items left behind by Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Huli. Their presence was indeed no longer there.
Nie Chongyang and his assistant separately examined the traces at the scene and could only conclude that Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Huli had likely left on their own. At the very least, they hadn't encountered any situation at that time, nor were they under duress, nor had they faced any critical incident.
Because the scene was relatively neat and there were no messy traces, it was quite orderly. It could be seen that Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Huli had indeed left without any issues at the time, at least they had left voluntarily and of their own accord.
However, they couldn't detect any Yin energy or anything of that sort.
Nie Chongyang and his team were somewhat troubled. Although they were skilled at searching for clues and investigating traces due to their previous professions, Nie Chongyang often felt inadequate since taking over the Special Operations Team.
"There are no clues in the room. They should have left the room in good condition."