Chapter 307

Chapter 307

As we approached the original site of the Luo Mansion, where the unfinished hotel stood, we quickly hid and shoved Lin Jinhua into the open.

He was reluctant, but he had no choice. The victor ruled and the defeated submitted. Since he had fallen into our hands, he had to obey.

Trembling, Lin Jinhua walked to the hotel’s front entrance and shouted.

“Is anyone there? It’s Lin Jinhua.”

“Boss Du’s people, are you inside?”

After he called out, no footsteps came from within, and no one answered.

Lin Jinhua shouted twice more, but still received no response.

According to him, Du Yunting had brought several people to Lincheng, around eight in total.

We had just knocked out one, so seven remained inside. Why did no one answer?

Normally, even if they doubted Lin Jinhua’s voice, they would come out to investigate or respond from the shadows.

Unless they knew something was wrong.

“Another trap.”

Seventh Master’s face darkened. “Du Yunting knows we aren’t dead. These people weren’t sent to solve Lin Jinhua’s construction-site problem. They’re hiding here to deal with us.”

Meng Yifan paled in fright. “There’s an ambush?”

I nodded. “We underestimated him again. Du Ruhai died once. He isn’t as arrogant as before and has begun matching wits with us.”

I did not know what had gone wrong, but when Lin Jinhua called Du Yunting from the villa, Du Yunting must have noticed something unusual.

He had positioned these people here in advance, probably as a precaution in case we survived. And he knew we would come.

Song Xiaotian warned, “Seventh Master, you already fell into a trap here once. If there’s an ambush waiting, why don’t we withdraw?”

Seventh Master replied, “The enmity between Du Yunting and us can’t be resolved overnight. He can’t eliminate us, and we can’t eliminate him. But we must break every trap he lays, or he’ll only grow more arrogant.”

“A true man considers success or failure, not his own safety.”

Song Xiaotian said, “Got it. We gamble our lives. Then let’s play.”

As he spoke, Lin Jinhua suddenly screamed.

We did not know what he had seen, but he was so frightened that he scrambled backward, turned, and tried to flee.

Song Xiaotian and I rushed over and pinned him to the ground. When we looked back, we saw an eight- or nine-year-old girl standing blankly on the hotel’s ground floor, watching us.

“Xiuzhu!”

Only one of this place’s wronged spirits was a little girl of eight or nine: Xiuzhu, the Seventh Concubine’s daughter.

The moment she saw me, a hint of joy appeared on her blank face, and she ran toward me.

Seventh Master and the others gathered around. Apart from Seventh Master and me, none of them had seen Xiuzhu before.

“Who is this child…”

“She’s the Seventh Concubine’s daughter, Xiuzhu.”

I explained, “Xiuzhu helped Seventh Master and me before.”

Anning seemed to love children. She reached out to pinch Xiuzhu’s cheeks.

But Xiuzhu was shy around strangers and quickly hid behind me.

I picked her up and only then noticed the marks on her face.

“Xiuzhu, how did your face get hurt?” I asked with a frown.

She replied blankly, “My father hit me.”

“Master Luo?”

Master Luo had also been controlled by someone. He was not the powerful ghost here, so how could he possess awareness and bully the other ghosts?

Seventh Master asked, “Little girl, did anyone else come here besides us?”

Xiuzhu nodded and pointed upward.

We looked up, and Seventh Master asked, “You mean they’re hiding upstairs?”
Xiuzhu nodded again.

Seventh Master quickly beckoned to us and ran into the hotel.

“The eight people Du Yunting brought must be members of The Organization.”

“They aren’t ordinary opponents. Deal with them first.”

There were two ways upstairs: one on the left side of the lobby and another through the emergency stairwell on the right.

Seventh Master planned to take Anning and me through the first entrance while Song Xiaotian and the others used the emergency stairs.

But immediately after he assigned our groups, before we could ascend, Anning suddenly screamed.

We turned and saw her inexplicably collapse to the floor, her face contorted in pain.

“Anning!”

I hurriedly helped her up. “What’s wrong?”

Clutching her stomach, Anning said in terror, “Someone hit me.”

What?

We all stared at her in confusion. “Who hit you? No one else is here.”

Xiuzhu was the only Little Ghost nearby, and she had been sitting on my shoulders the whole time.

“You didn’t see who struck you?” Song Xiaotian asked.

Anning shook her head. “No, but it was definitely a man.”

Song Xiaotian looked at Lin Jinhua and Meng Yifan, then fixed his gaze on Meng Yifan. “Did you do it?”

Meng Yifan snapped, “Do you have a brain? I was several yards away. Did I hit her with my thoughts? Why don’t you accuse Boss Lin?”

At that moment, Seventh Master raised a hand, signaling us to be quiet.

He stood rigid, his right hand suspended in the air for four or five seconds.

Suddenly, he moved, spinning and punching at empty air without any visible target.

But the instant his fist flew out, Seventh Master grunted and went hurtling backward, crashing heavily to the floor.

I saw it!

This time, I truly saw it!

Seventh Master had seemed to take a kick. Someone kicked him away!

We hurriedly helped him up.

Fortunately, he was not badly hurt. Frowning, he said, “It’s the Invisibility Art of the Loose-Hair Sect. Someone is attacking us while invisible.”

Everyone tensed and looked around.

“What’s the Loose-Hair Sect? Do they like wearing their hair loose?”

“The Loose-Hair Sect originated in the Sichuan-Chongqing region. It’s another folk Fa Sect.”

Seventh Master explained, “Very few people know it exists. You can’t even find any information about it online. It first appeared around the end of the Ming dynasty and the beginning of the Qing. Its members specialized in disreputable magic such as invisibility, which made stealing and other petty crimes convenient.”

Song Xiaotian frowned, snapped out his short batons, and watched our surroundings vigilantly.

At that moment, a large hand… silently seized my ankle.

My expression changed, but before I could call for help, the hand swept me off my feet. Then two hands grabbed me and dragged me continuously across the floor.

Song Xiaotian reacted quickly and lunged toward me.

But before he could catch me, the man released his grip and kicked me in the stomach.

The attacker had to be powerfully built. That kick nearly forced the shit out of me.

I went sliding away. Song Xiaotian missed me and immediately swung his batons through the surrounding air, but every strike missed.

“Fuck! Who the hell are you?”

“What kind of skill is hiding like a coward? Come out if you have the nerve!”

Song Xiaotian cursed furiously.

Everyone gathered close. We stood back to back, no longer daring to spread out.

At this rate, we would never even reach the upper floor. This single man with the Invisibility Art could kill us all.

All he had to do was wait until we became distracted and stab us. We would die without ever knowing who he was!