Chapter 98: The Mortality Meter 04
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
The hotel manager personally came out to apologize to Kou Xuanling and offered them the presidential suite free of charge. However, Lu Xiuzhi remained silent, his expression cold and unresponsive. Chen Yang, on the other hand, insisted on reviewing the security footage. The hotel manager hesitated and refused.
Chen Yang pressed, “We need to know whether this was an accident or intentional; otherwise, we can’t feel safe staying here.”
The hotel manager, knowing he had no ground to argue, saw that the group wasn’t trying to escalate the situation or extort the hotel. They hadn’t caused any trouble yet, and their attitude was relatively friendly. However, he also knew that someone had almost been harmed under his watch, and he couldn’t just let it go. After some hesitation, he agreed to take them to review the footage. “I assure you, the glass in the hotel windows is securely installed, and we have people check them every month to avoid accidents. The windows are also cleaned weekly, and we haven’t replaced any glass recently.”
The group arrived at the security room, where the cameras outside the hotel conveniently captured the moment of the accident. The hotel manager instructed the security guard to bring up the footage, but after watching the full footage, his expression turned grim. The video revealed that the glass had fallen from the sixth floor, which suggested that it was a hotel-related issue.
The hotel manager’s face paled; he now just hoped that the guests would settle the matter privately and not make a public spectacle of it.
Ma Shanfeng spoke up, “It looks like an accident.”
Chen Yang narrowed his eyes, “It’s too much of a coincidence. I still feel like something’s off.”
Du Shuo added, “Rewind, pause.” The video stopped at the moment just before the glass detached from the window. “Zoom in.”
The footage zoomed in, filling the entire screen. Some previously unnoticed details became clear, like a black, thin hand suddenly appearing at the corner of the window, pushing the glass down. The next frame showed the glass falling.
The hotel manager was visibly shocked. “Is this intentional murder?”
The security guard shot a glance at the hotel manager and, in a local accent, muttered, “That hand looks like a ghost hand. And with so many people passing by the hotel entrance, how could it land on the exact person it was meant to hit?”
The hotel manager, still unnerved by the ghostly hand, scolded the security guard, “There are no ghosts in this world, stop talking nonsense.”
The guard smirked and replied, “The more people there are, the more evil spirits there are.”
Everyone in the room unconsciously glanced at the security guard, who scratched his head and said, “My grandfather always told me that.”
Chen Yang turned to the security guard and said, “Please rewind by one second, capture the glass, and zoom in.”
“Got it,” the guard said, quickly capturing a frame of the glass and zooming in. As the image enlarged, his hand trembled. “Oh my god, there really is a ghost!”
The hotel manager was horrified. The enlarged image of the glass reflected the shape of what looked like a charred corpse, its features horrifyingly distorted. The hotel manager froze, then reacted, “Wait a second. Ghosts don’t have reflections, right? How can the glass show its image? Maybe it’s just someone pretending to be crazy and hurting others. If that’s the case, we should call the police.”
The security guard said, “Does anyone really look like that? My grandfather said mirrors connect the living world and the afterlife, so it’s not surprising that they can reflect a ghost.”
Lu Xiuzhi nodded, “Your grandfather is right.”
The hotel manager and the security guard both turned to look at Lu Xiuzhi with surprise, realizing they hadn’t noticed someone like him before. They felt that it shouldn’t have been overlooked, but at the same time, there didn’t seem to be anything strange about him. The two of them didn’t dwell on it for long, quickly dismissing the oddity, much like how Du Shuo’s sudden interjection had drawn their attention earlier.
The hotel manager spoke in a calm tone, hoping to resolve the matter quietly. Regarding the malicious ghost in the hotel, he promised to hire a Taoist priest to deal with it and requested that they not spread the word.
Chen Yang responded on behalf of the group, “We won’t spread this, but we would like the room where the incident happened to be closed off, and we need to investigate further. Also, I’d like to ask if the hotel has ever had a fire?”
The hotel manager replied confidently, “No, absolutely not. The hotel used to be an empty lot, and since development, it has always been a hotel.”
“Is that so?” Chen Yang looked toward Lu Xiuzhi, his posture tense ever since Kou Xuanling’s incident. “What do you two think?”
Kou Xuanling snapped back to attention, “Let’s discuss this after we get back.”
Seeing that they weren’t pressing for more answers, the hotel manager sighed in relief and led them to the presidential suite. After they were escorted to their room and the manager left, Ma Shanfeng suggested, “Why don’t I have an old friend of mine read your fortune? He could tell if you’re having bad luck this year.”
The concept of “bad luck” referred to the annual fortune. Ma Shanfeng had used a gentle tone, but considering Kou Xuanling’s situation, if his fate had truly been cursed, it might mean that this year’s luck had crossed into misfortune. His life could be affected by the four harmful stars, which symbolized death and misfortune—unavoidable fate.
Lu Xiuzhi responded, “There’s no need. Whether it’s bad luck or not, I’ll protect him.”
Chen Yang grabbed Du Shuo’s arm, silently seeking confirmation. Du Shuo whispered in his ear, “Life and death are predetermined.”
This was a subtle message about fate being inescapable. If Kou Xuanling’s fate was indeed marked by misfortune, involving the four harmful stars, there was a risk to his life. These matters were predetermined, and even Du Shuo could not intervene.
Seeing Chen Yang frown with sorrow in his eyes, Du Shuo’s heart softened, and he relented, “The matter of life and death isn’t fixed yet. As long as it’s not finalized, anyone still has a chance. As long as Lu Xiuzhi is here, Kou Xuanling will be safe. You don’t need to worry too much.”
“Really?”
“Mn.” Du Shuo comforted Chen Yang with a hug.
Ma Shanfeng’s wife and Zhang Qiudao understood that the situation was serious and began to mentally consider any possible solutions to save Kou Xuanling. Meanwhile, Kui Xuan stared at Big Fatty. The spherical head of Big Fatty looked extremely reluctant as he was pushed to cooperate with Kui Xuan to handle the witchcraft doll.
The witchcraft doll given to Kui Xuan by Wu Yi was far inferior to the doll, and the three dolls, not getting along at all, nearly broke into another fight. Eventually, for Chen Yang’s sake, they grudgingly made peace, though they still occasionally threw small jabs at each other.
Kui Xuan said, “Bad luck is often caused by a curse. The three most dangerous stars in the Eight Characters are the Evil Star, the Calamity Star, and the Yuan Chen Star. Encountering these three will bring unforeseen disasters. The so-called ‘curse’ is an evil star, and when one encounters it, bad things will follow. The Calamity Star in particular causes various accidents and disasters.”
Lu Xiuzhi looked at Kui Xuan with a cryptic expression, “You know a lot.”
“Boredom leads to learning,” Kui Xuan shrugged. “Compared to Taoist priests catching ghosts, I’m more familiar with feng shui, geomancy, and the I Ching.” After all, in Kui Xuan’s era, the I Ching and geomancy were far more popular and aligned with the knowledge people pursued at the time.
Lu Xiuzhi nodded, “So to save Ah Xuan, we need to block the curse.”
The doll kept hopping, speaking in a thin voice, “We, we’re the ones you should find.” After drawing everyone’s attention, it proudly said to Chen Yang, “I’m a witchcraft doll, with heavy evil energy. I can block evil energy, so you should find me—”
Big Fatty plopped down on the doll’s head, and the 20 kg weight caused the doll to collapse under the pressure. Big Fatty, cold and aloof, said, “For the sake of our friendship, I can help your friend block the evil energy. After all, I’m a cat ghost, and my evil energy is also heavy. But, Chen Xiaoyang, don’t forget you owe me five hundred small fish snacks, and Kou Xuanling, you owe me two hundred bottles of cat wine.”
Kui Xuan grabbed Big Fatty’s tail, smiling sweetly as she said, “I’m a feijiang, and I naturally carry a lot of evil energy too. I can help you.” She smiled and then tugged hard, making Big Fatty yelp and jump up, spinning around to swipe at her. The doll took the opportunity to escape the heavy weight, leaping into the air and landing a kick on Big Fatty’s fat face.
The three creatures, all with heavy evil energy, immediately got into a chaotic fight. Ma Shanfeng and his wife, seeing the situation, softened and were unsure whom to help, so they could only try to mediate.
Chen Yang grabbed Kui Xuan and the doll with one hand each, and, looking at Big Fatty, who was licking its paws and acting disdainful, said seriously, “Behave yourselves.”
Chen Yang then looked up at Kou Xuanling and said, “Since that’s the case, let Kui Xuan, the doll, and Big Fatty follow you from now on. Is that alright?”
Lu Xiuzhi’s grip tightened on Kou Xuanling’s hand, his face tense. Kou Xuanling squeezed his hand back and smiled, saying, “They don’t need to follow me all the time. They can just help block the evil energy when we go out to play. Besides, I have Xiuzhi with me. He won’t let anything happen to me.”
Chen Yang, looking surprised, realized he had forgotten Lu Xiuzhi’s identity. With Lu Xiuzhi around, Kou Xuanling would indeed be safe. But Du Shuo had also said that the divine evil energy was tied to fate, and fate was inescapable. He worried about too much interference from others.
“Anyway, it’s better to be cautious,” Chen Yang said.
The matter was temporarily settled, and everyone returned to their rooms to rest, waiting for the morning to arrive. By the next morning, Ma Shanfeng received news from an old friend, confirming that Kou Xuanling would encounter evil energy within seven days, so he needed to be extra careful. Fortunately, there was still a slim chance to block it, which made Lu Xiuzhi not dare to let Kou Xuanling out of his sight for a moment.
Everyone lost interest in playing and gathered around Kou Xuanling all morning, but nothing happened. Ma Shanfeng sighed and said, “Everyone go have fun. If you’re all around Old Kou, the evil energy won’t dare come near. But if he doesn’t deal with it himself, the danger will always be present.”
Chen Yang looked at Du Shuo, silently asking for confirmation. After receiving a nod, he clapped his hands and said, “Since we’ve come all the way to Shimen Town, let’s go out and enjoy the day. As Uncle Ma said, Kou’s evil energy needs to be dealt with by himself. Hiding away won’t help. It’s better to take action, at least we’ll be in control of the situation. Big Fatty, you stick with Old Kou.”
Big Fatty, “No problem.” It immediately jumped onto Kou Xuanling’s lap, staring at him face to face.
Kou Xuanling remained silent for less than two minutes, his face turning a bit pale. “Fatty, can you get off?”
Big Fatty, “Nope. I need to keep an eye on you and block the evil energy for you. Don’t forget you owe me two hundred bottles of Cat Wine. As long as you’re alive, you owe me.”
Kou Xuanling tugged on Lu Xiuzhi’s sleeve. “My legs… are going to be crushed.”
Lu Xiuzhi squeezed Big Fatty’s neck, lifting it off Kou Xuanling’s lap and said, “You can sit on me instead.”
Big Fatty fluffed up its fur and yelped twice before going silent. As a cat ghost, it was terrified of Lu Xiuzhi, like a mouse seeing a cat, and after the outburst, it quickly settled down.
Chen Yang, “How about buying a stroller for Big Fatty?” He handed over a webpage he had already searched for. “This way, Big Fatty can follow you without being carried, and you’ll look like a family of three.”
Kou Xuanling coldly refused, “I’m not carrying a 20 kg meatball.”
Upon hearing the words “a family of three,” Lu Xiuzhi couldn’t think of anything else. He stared at the phone screen, a thoughtful expression on his face. After Kou Xuanling’s refusal, his gaze shifted to Kou Xuanling’s stomach. If a 20 kg baby couldn’t be born, what about 2kg?
Kou Xuanling grabbed a soft spot on Lu Xiuzhi’s thigh and squeezed hard, “What are you thinking?”
Spring Palace secret pictures. Lu Xiuzhi’s lips quivered, and he barely held back the words that almost slipped out. He calmly said, “Right now, your life and death are more important, what else could I be thinking?”
At this, Du Shuo let out a light, mocking laugh. No one else noticed, but Chen Yang, sitting next to him, did. Chen Yang hooked his hand around Du Shuo’s, lightly scratching his palm, and whispered, “What’s so funny?”
Du Shuo bit Chen Yang’s ear and answered, “Nothing.”
Chen Yang was half-suspicious, but couldn’t pry the secret from Du Shuo, so he gave up. The group finally decided to go out and have some fun. After all, to dispel evil energy, the most important thing was for the divine evil energy to appear.
The doll sat on Chen Yang’s shoulder, Kui Xuan was being held by Ma Shanfeng and his wife, and Big Fatty walked alongside Kou Xuanling and Lu Xiuzhi, matching their steps. As they chatted and laughed, they arrived at the hotel lobby, where many tourists were checking in and out. The lobby was bustling with noise, and two women were talking loudly. One of them had an infant stroller beside her, with a cute baby peacefully sleeping inside.
As the women were deep in conversation, one of them unintentionally let go of the stroller. A passerby, dragging a suitcase with a sun umbrella sticking out of it, walked by. He didn’t notice that the umbrella’s handle had caught on the stroller’s brake. The stroller slowly slid a few meters before stopping. A tourist carrying a large backpack turned around, bumping into the stroller, pushing it forward again. The umbrella hooked onto the man’s hand. He wasn’t holding it tightly, and when the umbrella was pulled away, he looked both startled and confused.
The stroller rolled on the smooth floor, and the distracted mother finally noticed the baby was gone. She quickly turned and looked around, then spotted the stroller and screamed. Everyone around her moved aside. Chen Yang, hearing the noise, looked up and saw the stroller rolling. Just as he was about to stabilize it, the sun umbrella suddenly popped open, and the tip shot out at high speed, like a bullet.
The sharp tip of the umbrella was aimed directly at Kou Xuanling’s right eye. Big Fatty, startled, let out a warning hiss. Everything happened so fast, and Kou Xuanling didn’t react in time. Just as the umbrella tip was about to reach him, a hand suddenly appeared from nowhere and yanked him away, pulling him into a tight embrace. The umbrella tip pierced a vase and embedded itself in the wall, while the woman rushed over and stabilized the stroller, breathing a sigh of relief.
Aside from Chen Yang and his group, no one else noticed this terrifying moment. The man whose umbrella had been hooked felt a strong sense of dissatisfaction after the initial panic and surprise. He grabbed a sharp fork from a passing food cart, his eyes focused on the woman who had been flirting with another man. He was determined to mark her beautiful face with despair.
The man, blinded by anger, didn’t notice that the floor beneath him was wet. His shoes weren’t slip-resistant, and as he stepped down with too much force, he lost his balance and slipped. The fork flew from his hand, scraping past an iron wall lamp and sparking. It continued to scrape along the decorations, ricocheting onto the marble chandelier’s hook, causing the expansion screw to fall. The chandelier gave a faint creak.
The man cursed as he scrambled to get up. The fork spun through the air, and tourists scattered in panic. The fork flew toward Kou Xuanling, but this time, everyone was prepared. Big Fatty jumped up and knocked the fork to the ground.
At the other end, the heavy marble chandelier fell with a loud crash, hitting the cursing man. There was a deafening sound, and blood began to pour out, flowing like a winding stream.
After a moment of stunned silence, the tourists in the lobby screamed in horror and rushed toward the exit.
Who would want to stay in a hotel where a murder had occurred due to a safety accident? Chen Yang looked up at the ceiling and snapped a picture with his phone. Hearing the “click” sound, he turned and saw an unfamiliar woman doing the same thing.
When the hotel manager arrived, he looked like he was about to cry. He swore, “I can assure you with my head that our hotel’s safety is absolutely fine. We just had a safety inspection a few days ago, and yesterday, when the glass fell, we planned to have workers come and check it again today.”
Unfortunately, before the person arrived, another incident occurred. This time, someone actually lost their life.
Chen Yang said, “Your guarantee didn’t help, the person still died.” He had sensed the presence of the fatal influence earlier, but that influence didn’t just appear out of nowhere. It used various coincidences and pre-existing issues to accelerate the death of those struck by it. These coincidences were collectively referred to as accidental incidents.
In other words, although the marble chandelier falling was influenced by the fatal force, there were already safety issues with it. The fall was inevitable, just a matter of time. However, if the hotel manager had actually hired workers to check the safety today and had discovered the safety hazard with the chandelier, preventing it in time, the death wouldn’t have occurred.
The fatal force acted as a catalyst in this incident, turning a potential safety hazard that might not have resulted in death into a deadly accident.
The hotel manager could only helplessly call the police, and throughout the day, received numerous calls canceling reservations.
Chen Yang and the others sat in the lounge area as the police handled the body and investigated the situation. Chen Yang withdrew his gaze and said, “Doesn’t something feel off?”
Lu Xiuzhi’s face was grim. “The fatal force wants Ah Xuan’s life.”
Zhang Qiudao came to a realization. “The fatal force doesn’t have self-awareness.”
The death-bringing force Kou Xuanling had encountered over the past few days seemed like pure accidents, as if misfortune had truly fallen from the sky. But Chen Yang and the others noticed that the fatal force was manipulating and creating various accidents to target him.
Chen Yang said, “There’s a big difference between being active and passive—it’s whether there’s self-awareness or not. From the shadow reflected on the glass window yesterday to the marble chandelier today, I can feel the fatal force being active. It’s actively trying to kill those struck by it, not just letting things happen, and it even deliberately cuts off their last chance at survival.” He turned to Du Shuo and asked, “Could the fatal force have self-awareness?”
Du Shuo replied, “It could. But not much.” He paused and added, “In fact, encountering a fatal force that has developed self-awareness is still somewhat lucky for those trapped in a deadly situation.”
Chen Yang asked, “What do you mean?”
“The fatal force was never meant to have self-awareness. Anything directly related to the heavenly mandate cannot have self-awareness. Once it does, it is stripped of its connection to the mandate and can be killed.”
Chen Yang asked, “So, even if Old Kou encounters a fatal force that’s certain to kill him, he could break the deadlock by killing the fatal force with self-awareness?”
“Yes.”
Lu Xiuzhi was playing with Kou Xuanling’s hand, his tone icy. “That thing is extremely cunning; we’ll have to draw it out first.” The tense moment that just happened was when the fatal force appeared for a brief moment and quickly disappeared.
If it weren’t for Chen Yang and the others being extraordinary, they probably wouldn’t have noticed that the fatal force had gained self-awareness and would have assumed the events Kou Xuanling encountered were just typical accidents caused by a fatal force.
Kui Xuan rested her cheek on her hand, swinging her legs, and innocently said, “If that’s the case, then thinking about the series of accidents that just happened seems a bit unnecessary. Could it be because it realized we can block the fatal force, so it deliberately made things more complicated?”
Doll said, “Cunning! Cunning!”
At that moment, a cautious voice came from behind, asking, “Excuse me, did you all also encounter ‘Death’?”
Chen Yang turned around and saw a man and two women standing behind him. One of the women had been taking photos earlier, just like he had. He remembered he hadn’t checked the photos he had taken, so he pulled out his phone.
The woman holding the camera said, “Are you looking for the photos you just took? The ones I have are clearer, do you want to see them?”
Chen Yang looked up and asked, “What do you mean by ‘Death’ that you mentioned earlier?”
The woman sitting across from him responded eagerly, “It’s like Final Destination. Even though the person escaped a major accident earlier, those who cheat death are destined to die, so they’ll definitely die anyway.”
“Mn?”
The woman continued, “The person who was killed by the marble chandelier actually should have died already. A month ago, he went on a trip with his friends, and during the journey, their bus got into an accident. The entire bus was crushed. But miraculously, he survived because the bus had stopped at a transfer station for a break, and he got off to use the bathroom without anyone noticing. He didn’t get back on the bus in time and thus avoided the fatal crash. Unfortunately, he couldn’t escape Death’s hunt.”
Chen Yang didn’t quite understand what they were after. “So, what’s the purpose of your investigation?”
The woman’s expression turned serious. “Because we also narrowly escaped death a week ago, and now we’ve been targeted.”
Author’s note:
Yes, this chapter was inspired by Final Destination. After watching the first movie, I looked up some information and discovered that there are indeed many people who survived near-death experiences, only to die soon after due to a coincidental accident. It really does feel like Final Destination—these kinds of accidents are terrifying.
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