Dao Nian expressionlessly looked at Liu Mao, although he usually didn't have much expression, but at this moment his expressionless face was extra cold. It was akin to the difference between minus ten and minus fifty degrees.
"Should we go back in?" Liu Mao felt he should say something; otherwise, Sir's mood might worsen.
"Back to the car." Dao Nian reached out and touched the door, his fair and slender fingers penetrating the surface.
This was no ordinary door; it was a barrier concealing evil and filth. The thick fog covering the mountains, drawn by the filthy smell lingered and became accomplices to the sinister spirits.
"Aren't we going to stay and help Mr. Shen?"
"Help who?" Dao Nian lowered his eyelids, "I see that he is quite strong." After saying that, he tapped on the door with his index finger, "Since they're doing evil in the mortal realm, let's handle it according to the rules of the mortal realm."
Liu Mao: Fine, no one can afford to mess with you anyway, you call the shots.
Inside the door, Shen Changan sat on the soft lobby sofa with a look of lingering anger on his face. He reached into his pocket, took out his phone, and looked at the lobby manager several steps away. "Your mountain resort decoration is really special, how's the signal in the mountains? I want to make a call to a friend, I'm not going back for lunch."
After saying that, he opened the call logs and found Dao Nian's phone number.
He had to ensure Dao Nian's safety after he went out, in case these criminals took Dao Nian and Liu Mao as hostages, it would be troublesome.
As soon as the call connected, Shen Changan didn't wait for Dao Nian to speak; he immediately said, "Brother, don't wait for me for lunch today. I'm at Mountain Springs Valley. There's a nice mountain springs resort here. I'll bring the guys over next time."
When the lobby manager heard this, his smiling expression became a bit stiff.
The guests, who hadn't spoken throughout, watched Shen Changan chatting casually on his phone with a friend. Some people couldn't help but take out their phones and take a few glances. Their eyes were not confused, their phones indeed had no signal. Who was this young man who suddenly appeared, and why could he make calls out of this mountain resort?
They wanted to tell the young man to save them quickly; the staff in this resort were all ghosts. However, before they could speak, the pale-faced staff members looked at them while maintaining a stiff smile.
What was even scarier was that, when this young man walked to the sofa and sat down, it seemed like their throats were blocked by something, and they couldn't make a sound.
"What are all these people huddled on the ground for?" Shen Changan hung up the phone, as if just noticing the huddled passengers. There were about 20 of them, men and women, with no children among them.
"They are here for a shoot. They're planning to make a supernatural web film," the lobby manager's gaze swept over the crowd. "Before you came, they were rehearsing a scene where they saw a ghost, and they haven't quite recovered from their emotions yet."
"I see," Shen Changan saw a few people among the tourists stiffly nodding their heads. And the others seeing those people nod, clearly showed terrified expressions in their eyes.
The tourists thought that Shen Changan would say a few more words or something, but the other party withdrew his gaze with a disinterest, seemingly buying into the narrative of the evil ghosts.
In silent protest, they cried in their hearts, Dude, snap out of it! The one you're talking to isn't human!
"I've heard a distinguished guest is here, our small store is honored." A soft and charming voice echoed. Shen Changan looked up to see a woman in late Qing dynasty attire with a bun hairstyle gracefully descending the spiral staircase. The dress she wore was very long that could cover her feet, giving Shen Changan the illusion that she was floating down from upstairs.
When she approached, Shen Changan saw her appearance clearly – slender eyebrows, bright red lips, wearing various colors of gemstones, with a gentle smile on her pale face. She was simply a replica of the aristocratic women of the last century.
Was everyone in this resort, from the owner to the staff, an enthusiast of late Qing dynasty fashion? What did they consider him, a pauper with not even an electric scooter, to be a distinguished guest?
As the saying goes, unnecessary flattery is either cheating or stealing. For them to call him a distinguished guest with his poor dog status, there must be a ghost in their hearts.
"Boss is being polite, I just came on a whim today and wanted to take a dip in the mountain spring. It's a pity your heating system is not working." Shen Changan smiled very gently at the boss, his tone dripping with honeyed words.
"Oh, I see." The boss had a pair of beautiful phoenix eyes. She frowned and scolded the lobby manager. "When a guest has a request, it's the duty of the staff to try their best to fulfill it. If the heating system is malfunctioning then go fix it. Understand?"
"Yes." The lobby manager seemed to be extremely afraid of this beautiful boss, and didn't even have the courage to meet her eyes.
"Sister, you are awesome, you can actually manage the staff so efficiently." Shen Changan looked at this beautiful woman with a bit of fascination on his face.
"Times are hard, as a woman if I don't have some ability, how else... can I survive?" The beautiful boss removed the handkerchief pinned to her bun, looking extremely pitiful, "Ever since my husband passed away, I've been staying in this mountain resort, waiting for destined guests to visit. I don't seek to earn much money, just trying to barely survive."
"Sister is so stunning, have you ever considered doing other business?" Shen Changan slightly leaned over, asking with a teasing smile.
The shivering tourists on the side watched this scene, as if witnessing a fool heading straight for doom.
Only the young man who stood at the front in the beginning and pleaded with the cheongsam beauty had a somewhat strange look on his face.
"It's not easy to do any business, and all I understand is just to manage the mountain resort." The pretty woman glanced shyly at Shen Chang'an, "But if the distinguished guest is willing to do me a favor, maybe I can break free from this resort and live a different life."
Shen Changan's eyes became even more obsessed: "Sister, what can I do for you?"
"I don't ask for much." The beautiful woman lifted the corners of her red lips, "I just hope the esteemed guest can cheer me up and wish me out of this hardship, and that will be enough."
"Of course..." Shen Changan's phone rang, and he apologetically smiled at the beautiful woman, stood up and pressed the answer button. Walking to the front door, he pulled it open and walked out of it to answer the phone, "Hey, brother, didn't I tell you I won't make it to lunch this afternoon?"
"I'm chatting with the beautiful boss of Mountain Springs Resort in Mountain Springs Valley. Please, don't bother me unless it's urgent," Saying this, Shen Changan deliberately turned back and smiled at the beautiful owner, who was still looking at him from the lobby.
"Fine, fine. It's just a matter of a little over ten minutes; you can handle it yourself. That restaurant isn't hard to find." Shen Changan wore a hint of impatience on his face. "I'll send you the address. When you arrive, simply drop my name, the owner will give you a twenty percent discount."
After hanging up, Shen Changan tapped his phone a few times, then turned back to the lobby. He addressed the resort owner, "I have a friend who can be quite bothersome. He tends to get lost frequently, and even something as simple as finding a place to eat becomes a challenge for him."
The female boss smiled and got up to personally brew a pot of tea for Shen Changan. She brought the tea to him and said, "Esteemed guest, please have some tea."
"Thank you." When Shen Changan took the teacup, he accidentally touched the woman's fingertips, sending a chill straight to his heart. Setting the teacup down, he turned into a hairy young man who had never seen a woman before, chatting endlessly with the boss.
The owner's expression grew increasingly rigid, hints of anxiety flashing in her eyes. "Esteemed guest, I'm going through such hardships. Would you be willing to offer me a blessing?"
Running an illegal resort, playing cosplay, and also liking to collect people's blessings - are the hobbies of outlaws nowadays so bizarre?
A couple of flattering words might not be worth much, but seeing those people in the corner, obviously terrified but unable to speak or seek help, Shen Changan suddenly didn't feel like indulging the lady's peculiar hobby.
"Sister, do you really believe in these kinds of blessings?" Shen Changan acted as if he didn't care at all and continued, "Don't be in a hurry, first listen to me tell you about the stories of how I outsmarted some thugs."
The boss's smile on her face became a little distorted, but she still tugged at the corners of her mouth, saying a forced "okay."
"Captain Li, we've circled around here for two rounds. There's no Mountain Springs Resort in this area." The police officer driving felt a little uneasy as thick fog engulfed the surroundings.
"Captain Li, Shen Changan sent over the location. It's nearby," Yao Huailin said excitedly as he handed his phone to Captain Li, "It's right around here."
Captain Li asked the policeman to stop the car and took over the phone to carefully examine the location Shen Changan sent over. It was at most 100 meters away from them. He handed the phone to the person in charge of the scenic spot and asked him to help identify the location.
"This can't be right, there's absolutely no Mountain Springs Resort around here," the smile on the face of the person in charge of the scenic spot froze, "Fellow officers, could the other party have made a false report?"
"Impossible," Yao Huailin said directly, "Although that Shen guy has a big mouth, it's absolutely impossible for him to do such a boring trick."
He frowned, something must be wrong here, could it be inaccurate positioning?
A breeze picked up that swept away the thick fog in the distance. Yao Huailin raised his head and saw someone emerging from the thick fog.
It was a man sitting in a wheelchair, even though there was someone behind him pushing the wheelchair, Yao Huailin's attention was uncontrollably drawn to the man sitting in the wheelchair.
The mist veiled the man's features, making them elusive. Yao Huailin didn't know what came over him as he suddenly asked, "Excuse me, do you know if there's a Mountain Springs Resort within a hundred meters of the vicinity?"
The man in the wheelchair remained silent. It was the person pushing the wheelchair who responded. He pointed behind him, saying, "Isn't it right here?"
Captain Li and Yao Huailin looked over in the direction the man was pointing, and a building blending Chinese and Western architecture faintly appeared amidst the fog.
"Thank you," Yao Huailin thanked the two men. The person in charge of the scenic spot sitting next to Captain Li looked at the building in horror, almost unable to believe his eyes.
Why is there an extra mountain villa building here?
Could it be......
No, the business of the scenic spot was already in the doldrums; they absolutely couldn't afford any unfavorable rumors.
Inside the villa lobby, the beautiful boss watched the untouched cup of tea in front of Shen Chang'an: "Esteemed guest, why won't you drink the tea I personally brewed for you?"
Shen Changan smiled, "Of course it's because beauty is more attractive than tea."
"Since the esteemed guest likes me so much, then give me a blessing." The expression on the beautiful boss' face became more and more eager, "Give me a blessing!"
Suddenly, she reached out and grabbed Shen Changan's arm tightly, her face showing an expression of pain and urgency: "You...give me a blessing..."
Seizing the opportunity, Shen Changan stood up abruptly. He twisted his hand, grabbing the beautiful owner by the neck, then looked at the staff of the resort who wanted to come over but were filled with fear: "Don't come over!"
"Ho ho..." The beautiful boss looked horrified, her limbs twisted strangely, as if she wanted to entangle Shen Changan, but every time she touched his body, she would be in even more pain.
The tourists watched this turn of events unfold with mouths agape, their minds going blank.
After restraining the leader, Shen Changan, seeing that the tourists were just staring at him foolishly, shouted, "Why are you still dazed? All come here!"
The young man shook himself, moved his limbs, and ran towards Shen Changan dragging over the young girl who was paralyzed with fear .
Seeing everyone finally reacting, Shen Changan backed towards the door while holding the beautiful boss hostage. He kicked hard with his long legs and the large door crashed down with a loud bang.
Yao Huailin, who had just gotten out of the police car, fell silent at this scene.
Were they here to rescue Shen Chang'an, or the person he was pinching by the neck?
"Ahhh!" At the moment of exiting the gate, the beautiful boss suddenly let out an incredibly painful shriek, as if being teared and sucked out of her bones and marrow.
Shen Changan's hand shuddered hearing this shriek. Now if he explained to the police that he did not maliciously abuse this woman, would they believe him?
He never expected the woman to be so cunning, trying to frame him for using excessive force for self-defense.