Chapter 28: Methods

  I really felt sorry for the master, so I took him to a restaurant and we had a big feast, spending over 600 yuan. The master drank a lot and finished two kilograms of wine by himself. By the end, he was already calling me brother and had lost all his dignity, leaving me speechless. And that afternoon, I still had to support him back to the hotel. Of course, I didn't have the mood to drink so much, so I hailed a car and went straight to the hotel where I used to stay, and my room fee wasn't even used up yet. Besides, I still needed to find out what happened to Xiaoxue.

  When I arrived at the inn, as soon as they saw me, the boss and his wife's faces changed. They eagerly helped my master into the room, offering tea and pouring water, showing great enthusiasm. However, after I had settled my master in and turned to look at them, the boss and his wife's faces became unnatural, not daring to meet my gaze. Apart from a hint of guilt, there was nothing out of the ordinary on their faces. I let out a hum: "Shouldn't you two tell me where my sister has gone?"

  The boss opened his mouth, looking very embarrassed. Originally, when someone goes missing, they should report to the police, but the boss was worried about the trouble and didn't report it. This person wasn't just lost, but had mysteriously disappeared in the hotel room. The boss opened his mouth again, but felt there was nothing to say, so he just let out a bitter laugh: "Little brother, San Ge also came here before, I can fool you but not him, really don't know what happened, just said 'ah' and then disappeared..."

  The "Third Brother" in the boss's mouth is Zhang Jianhua. It seems that the boss also knows Zhang Jianhua. Looking at the boss's expression, his eyes don't seem to be lying. I nodded: "Boss, I don't want to make things difficult for you, but I must find my sister. You understand? Can you tell me about the situation that day?"

  The boss arrived at the big camp and immediately recalled the situation that day. That day was like any other, with the boss and his wife watching TV in the hotel lobby while waiting for customers. The couple were chatting and laughing together. It was already after 9 pm, a lively time when business was busiest. Although the hotel was located in a remote area, it was still bustling with many guests coming out to enjoy the cool evening air, some playing cards, others drinking beer and watching TV. The boss had grown accustomed to this kind of life.

  Just as the noise was getting louder, a scream was suddenly heard coming from Xiaoxue's room. At first, it wasn't clear what was happening, but Xiaoxue's scream was loud enough that everyone heard it, and it immediately caught everyone's attention. However, no one knew what had happened, so at first, people just looked up at the third floor where Xiaoxue's room was, which was lit up, but nothing seemed to be happening. Then, another scream was heard, and the boss and his wife finally woke up with a start. Because it was San Ge's guest, the boss was still very concerned, fearing that someone had done something bad to Xiaoxue, so he hastily ran upstairs, followed by some curious lodgers who wanted to see what was going on.

  From the first floor to the third floor, it's just a two-minute walk. The corridor is empty, and Xiaoxue's room is quiet too. Only two guests who didn't go downstairs have come out, but they don't seem to know what happened either. The boss went upstairs to knock on the door, but no matter how hard he knocked, there was no response. In the end, the boss had no choice but to break down the door with a few strong guests. However, inside, everything was normal, and Xiaoxue's room was tidy as usual. There were no signs of anything out of place, but Xiaoxue herself was nowhere to be found. The boss started to panic, and after thinking for a moment, he searched the entire third floor. He suspected that someone might have taken Xiaoxue away, but after checking, it turned out that except for those two guests, everyone else was either out or downstairs cooling off. It was impossible for anything to happen in such a short time, and Xiaoxue would have been able to struggle if someone had tried to harm her. Moreover, the room was tidy, which many people saw at the time. Even today, there are still many guests who were present at the time living here. And since there were people downstairs, it's also impossible that Xiaoxue jumped out of the window. But Xiaoxue just vanished into thin air.

  I listened carefully to the boss, and I couldn't help but furrow my brow. Where could Xiaoxue have gone? And how did she disappear? Just as I was thinking wildly, the boss's wife suddenly added a sentence: "That night was quite strange. Your sister disappeared first, not to mention that when we entered your sister's room, it was like an ice cave inside. When the door opened, a cold air rushed out and made many people shiver. But there is no air conditioner here, just a ceiling fan, I don't know how it could be so cool."

  The boss's wife's words also sparked the boss's interest, and he nodded at that time: "Not bad, this matter is quite strange. That night I watched the surveillance video, but there was no sign. Little Snow didn't leave her room, nor did anyone go to Little Snow's room. She... she just disappeared out of thin air..."

  Obviously, the boss himself didn't quite believe it either, so he spoke hesitantly. Of course, this matter was very strange, so the boss added another sentence: "If you don't believe me, you can go watch the surveillance video or ask a few guests who were present at that time, they can all testify for me. If I said one false word, let heaven strike me with five thunderbolts."

  I didn't doubt the boss's words, this kind of thing can't deceive people, and now I'm not like before, wanting to deceive me is impossible, let alone with Master around. At that time, I just nodded: "Is Xiaoxue's room still empty? I'll go take a look."

  As soon as the voice fell, without waiting for the boss's consent, he went straight to Xiaoxue's room. The room was naturally empty, and the boss didn't object to me taking a look either. He sent the boss's wife away to keep watch, and himself came over to open the lock for me, while whispering: "Miss Xiaoxue's room I haven't dared to touch, just waiting for you to come back and take a look yourself, it's still the same as that night, not a single thing has been tidied up."

  It's clear that the child had been there, with half a cup of water still in the teacup and even the fan was still on. Although it was windy, the heat was overwhelming, and the fan's wind felt hot. I furrowed my brow, suddenly thinking of something: "Boss, you said that when we came in that night, the room was very cold, right?"

  I seem to have realized something, there is no air conditioner in this room, and if I want the temperature to drop sharply, it will take a lot of yin energy. But where does the yin energy come from? If I want to lower the temperature at once, I only had one experience, that was when I saw Wang Qianqiu last night, hundreds of yin soldiers appeared, and the room didn't become like an ice cellar? Could Xiaoxue's disappearance have something to do with the yin soul?

  He stared blankly, unsure of what to think, and after a long while, he let out a sigh. The first thing that came to mind was the Xuan Guang technique, although he wasn't confident in his ability to perform it, there were records of it, and with his own mental powers, perhaps he could give it a try. If not, they could wait for Master to wake up and ask him instead. It wasn't that troublesome after all. He went over to Xiaoxue's bed and searched carefully, and as expected, he found some strands of her hair left behind, which was enough. However, he didn't let Boss leave because he thought it would be better to let him witness something more impressive, so maybe next time he wouldn't bother Master with such trivial matters.

  "Boss, help me get a basin of water." I looked at the boss and just asked him for a favor.

  The boss was stunned, clearly unaware of what I was doing, but still agreed and went to fetch a basin of water, placing it directly in front of me. I simply took out the Spirit Gathering Symbol I had obtained from my master and took a deep breath, calming the tension and excitement in my heart.

  Honestly, I didn't have a grasp on it, but I had to give it a try. I sat cross-legged in front of the water basin, one hand holding Xiao Xue's hair and the other holding the soul-gathering charm. After taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and slowly calmed my mind. My third eye opened, and everything in the room came into view without me needing to turn around. This was a wondrous state, but as for enhancing my psychic powers, I had already made plans.

  "Ling" threw Xiaoxue's hair into the water basin, then held the Jiling symbol and began to urge the Jiuzi Zhenyan curse. This is now my most familiar Taoist technique, and it's also the only way I can think of to gather spiritual energy.

  The boss looked at me with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty, unsure of what I was doing. He watched as my hands continuously changed gestures, finally completing the nine-character mantra. I could feel a large amount of energy accumulating between my hands, and I didn't dare to think recklessly or get excited. At the moment of the first incantation, I suddenly compressed all the energy into the聚灵符 (Spirit Gathering Symbol), without needing to stimulate it further. The聚灵符 ignited spontaneously due to the explosive energy, bursting into flames in an instant. In this moment, I didn't dare hesitate and hastily shouted: "道君神眼，玄光显灵，太上老君急急如律令，赦——"

  As the voice fell, I saw a golden light bursting out of the water basin, and the surface of the water began to rotate rapidly as if something was stirring it. I could see some energy surging into Xiaoxue's hair, which turned into ashes. However, the water surface slowly calmed down, and it became like a mirror reflecting the room. But there was one difference - Xiaoxue appeared inside, but she didn't move or do anything, just staring blankly as if thinking about something.

  Before I could think more, the scene changed again. Xiaoxue suddenly looked terrified, jumped onto the bed from the bedside, and leaned against the wall, seemingly screaming. Unfortunately, everything was centered around Xiaoxue's appearance, so I couldn't see what she saw or hear any sound, but her face showed extreme terror.

  I couldn't guess what kind of fear made Xiaoxue look like that. My heart began to feel anxious, wondering what had appeared. One thing I was certain about was that it wasn't a person. Xiaoxue grew up in the countryside and had a bold personality; she would fight back if someone bullied her. If it were a person, even if she couldn't win, Xiaoxue wouldn't be scared like this - she would have already taken action.

  So, could it be...