This Damned Thirst for Survival
chapter-2

Along the journey, the two young comrades plus a driver listened to the uninhibited and undulated tragic love that was shunned by the world.

When Jiang Luo was working, he listened to the clients chatter every day, and dared not express his opinion. The lives of some clients were even more dog blooded than TV dramas. His eloquence had also been practiced in dealing with Party A over and over again. After borrowing the content of the TV dramas and the life experience of the clients, Jiang Luo extracted a complete story outline, and he started acting.

From the time that you love me, I do not love you. You pursue me, I was constantly disturbed. Until after you die, I find that I have already fallen in love with you. The whole story has sadness and joy, sweetness and abuse. Even the uncle driver who listened to the crosstalk1 silently turned off the crosstalk and pricked up his ears to listen to Jiang Luo's story.

"... When Chi You was a teaching assistant in our school, he would take me to the office to make up lessons after class, and take me all over the campus to run around, saying that it was to exercise my ability to see feng shui2. However, I thought he was deliberately embarrassing me," Jiang Luo leaned back in his seat, his whole body was covered by shadows, and melancholy flowed from his white and moist countenance, "He confessed to me that day. I turned around and left... Who knew that after I left, he would die."

Lu Youyi hurriedly realized, "No wonder you scolded Chi You every day for the past few days. I thought you were jealous of him."

Jiang Luo said in his mind. It's exactly jealousy.

The original owner was jealous of Chi You's talent. Chi You was not really gentle and kind. After class, he smiled and tossed the original owner. On the surface, it was a make-up class, but in fact, he quietly showed his talent in front of the original owner. The original owner was incompetent but arrogant, and his mind was extremely narrow. Seeing that things he couldn't learn were easily made by Chi You, his spirit became more and more distorted, and he hated Chi You even more.

Jiang Luo smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Recalling the past, I really want to go back to that time."

As soon as the voice fell, a gust of wind struck the screen, and the wind roared through the glass window like a sharp sword. Jiang Luo was taken aback. He raised his hand and looked up. A layer of goose bumps instinctively aroused on his fair forearm.

He turned his head and looked out of the window.

There were overcast clouds, and the adult wrist-size fine fragile trees by the roadside were blown to pieces by the wind and rain, it was neat and pitiful. Raindrops passed obliquely from the car window, and slowly dropped unbearably.

The transparent raindrops gradually turned red, like a drop of blood, suggesting the decline of life.

It happened to slip to the top of Jiang Luo's eyebrows.

There's no color on Jiang Luo's face. He retracted his gaze and raised his eyes to look in the rearview mirror. There were only the three of them and the taxi driver sitting in front.

There is no presence of evil spirits.

Maybe there is, but he can't see it.

"No wonder, Chi You always let you stay in the office during that time," Ye Xun said thoughtfully. "It turned out that he just wanted to take the opportunity to spend time with you."

Jiang Luo, "Yes..."

The glass snapped with a crisp sound, and a crack like a spider's web burst out.

The three people in the back seat looked at the car window and were stupefied. Lu Youyi murmured, "Boss, aren't your windows a bit too cheap?"

The driver was stunned, "It's impossible."

A cold wind came in through the cracks in the glass, and there was a deathly cold blowing on Jiang Luo's neck. It seemed that a hand was rubbing on Jiang Luo's neck with interest, secretly warning Jiang Luo not to talk nonsense.

Jiang Luo touched his neck, only to feel a cloud of cool air.

The old driver had been trying to turn around and check what was going on in the car window, but he still had to drive. He could only turn his head, after looking at it twice. Lu Youyi and Ye Xun squeezed to the side to make room for Jiang Luo. Ye Xun continued to ask, "Am I right?"

His neck was suddenly tightened, Jiang Luo couldn't help coughing, and his Adam's apple rolled twice slowly. He even felt a little difficulty swallowing. The smile on his face got bigger and bigger. He lifted the black hair beside his shoulder, and a smile appeared on his face that was mixed with beauty and heroism. He said with certainty, "Yes, Chi You wants to spend time with me."

Jiang Luo remembered very clearly.

Chi You can't kill him now.

Even if Chi You could kill him, he wouldn't just pinch his neck like this. Chi You should have used cruel and bloody means to make him unable to survive and die, just the same as in the original text.

Such a superficial warning is more like playing Jiang Luo, just like humans toying wild cats with bright claws. The more arrogant and hot the temper the wild cat is, the more fun and interesting it is to tease. If Jiang Luo changed his words at this time, it would make Chi You feel bored, and thus kill him mercilessly.

Sure enough, after this sentence was said, Jiang Luo was not harmed in any way. The eerie feeling at his neck slowly dissipated, leaving only the broken glass window.

Half an hour later, the three of them arrived at their destination.

Jiang Luo took the lead in scanning the code to pay. After half a minute, the driver received a reminder that the bill had arrived. In addition to the fare, there were a thousand more yuan, and the note said "car window fee (￣︶￣)".

The driver lifted his head in surprise, looked out, and the three of them had already walked away.

Hotel 129 is a local online hotel. It is located on East Road of the North Third Ring Road, in a remote location. The reason why it can be popular is mainly because of its beautiful environment, novel appearance, and coupled with the money spent on publicity.

The design imitates the style of a castle in a fairy tale. The colors of pink and bright yellow are extremely conspicuous and can definitely attract people's attention.

After the previous exchanges, Lu Youyi and Ye Xun obviously accepted Jiang Luo. Lu Youyi took the initiative to ask, "Have you read the information of the Hotel 129 before you set off?"

Jiang Luo shook his head in honesty, "No."

Lu Youyi showed sympathy, apparently thinking that Jiang Luo didn't read the information because Chi You was dead, "It doesn't matter, everything will be over."

Jiang Luo gave a strong smile in cooperation.

Lu Youyi, "Let me tell you about the information. Have you heard of Hotel 129 before?"

Jiang Luo nodded, "I have heard of it."

Most local college students who often go out to play have heard of the Hotel 129. This hotel focuses on fairy tale style and claims to allow guests to enjoy a dreamy fairy tale life away from the troubles of reality. There are many themed rooms inside. The most famous ones are the themed rooms such as Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. When the business was at its peak, you may not be able to make an appointment for a room after queuing for a month.

Lu Youyi said, "Hotel 129 is very popular, and there are even many people who came here from other provinces to check in. But half a year ago, the business of Hotel 129 suddenly went downhill."

"The ratings on the website are getting lower and lower, and customers who have stayed in Hotel 129 have begun to complain frequently. According to them, when they stayed in the hotel, they would feel inexplicable headaches, poor sleep, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. After returning from the hotel, very unlucky things would happen."

Ye Xun took the conversation: "But so far, the owner of the Hotel 129 hasn't noticed anything wrong. Until a month ago, three people disappeared out of thin air among the group of guests who came to visit from other provinces and booked from Hotel 129."

Jiang Luo: "Hotel 129 isn't monitored?"

"It's exactly because the monitoring failed, the people strangely disappeared. Therefore, the official believed that this was an incident on the side of metaphysics. The store manager handed it over to the dean, who sent it to us as a task," Ye Xun said idly. He suddenly picked up the rabbit doll and put it under his eyes. He turned his head and looked blankly at Jiang Luo and Lu Youyi, "I asked Xiaofen, Xiaofen said that after finishing this work, my credits will be enough to participate in the competition in Yunnan."

Lu Youyi said enviously, "I'm still a lot behind."

After speaking, they all looked at Jiang Luo. Jiang Luo thought about the original body's grades, and was silent for a while, "My credits are 3 points."

Lu Youyi and Ye Xun: "Hiss."

It's embarrassing, it's really embarrassing. As a top student who has crushed others since childhood, Jiang Luo wanted to pull the original owner out for a beating.

The competition that Ye Xun is talking about is a large-scale competition held every four years in the metaphysics world. This year's venue is in Yunnan. Each competition will attract great attention from insiders. It is regarded as the prosperous age of metaphysics and feng shui. The competition also has the same scientific name as Jiang Luo's major, called "National College Students Natural Science Competition Challenge".

Students of metaphysics departments in major universities can only participate in the competition if they have at least 20 credits.

Lu Youyi and Ye Xun were astounded for a while, thinking of Jiang Luo's previous style, they were not surprised again. Lu Youyi wondered if Jiang Luo hadn't listened to the class at all: "Your credit is too embarrassing. Jiang Luo, did you learn anything in class? Let me test you, take a look at the surrounding environment, and talk about the feng shui of the Hotel 129."

Jiang Luo stood still when he heard the words and looked around.

The original owner's mind was empty and he had no professional knowledge. But Jiang Luo studied design, and those who studied design had to learn some feng shui knowledge, lest they commit a taboo.

He first looked at the Hotel 129. The fairy tale shaped building is unique among the pleasant country scenes. Jiang Luo raised his eyebrows, "There are mountains behind, grass in front, water on the left, and long roads on the right. Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise are gathered together. It is a feng shui treasure."

No wonder the business used to be so popular.

Jiang Luo looked around again, and suddenly let out a "huh", "There is also a court nearby."

Ye Xun said indifferently, "It was just built two years ago. It used to be a slaughterhouse."

Jiang Luo smiled and pointed to the windows on both sides of the hotel, "The window is facing the court. Whether it is a slaughterhouse or a court, it is a place from yin to yang. It is not good for people, there's a mistake."

The blood in the slaughterhouse is too heavy, and the souls of the animals killed will form a negative magnetic field. People who have worked in the slaughterhouse for a long time or live in the surrounding area will be affected by the magnetic field. They become violent and irritable, or they will be sad for unknown reasons. On the other hand, because the court is too upright and the yang is too vigorous, it will also have some bad effects.

Lu Youyi looked at him with a whole new level of respect, and felt that he had really put on colored glasses3 before and was biased towards Jiang Luo. "Jiang Luo, I originally thought you only had a face to look at. It turns out that apart from your face, you can at least compare to my second aunt and her sister-in-law's granddaughter who is still in elementary school."

Jiang Luo: "..." He sometimes feels that it is not easy for Lu Youyi to live to such an age.

The three of them walked into the fairy tale castle. The store manager was already scratching his ears and waiting for them. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them coming, but when he looked at their young appearance, he couldn't help but despair, "Why are there three little babies here?"

The store manager took another look at Ye Xun and the rabbit doll in his arms. He immediately covered his face and burst into tears.

Ye Xun was expressionless, "He said we were little babies."

Lu Youyi touched his face and said happily, "He's right."

Jiang Luo suddenly saw a bit of complaint on Ye Xun's face. It seemed that Ye Xun had suffered similar contempt many times because of his doll. As a person who had just been helped by Ye Xun, Jiang Luo touched his chin, "I have a way to make people never say that you are a little baby again. Do you want to try it?"

Ye Xun immediately agreed, "Okay."

Jiang Luo asked Ye Xun and Lu Youyi to step back. He walked to the boss alone, and tapped on the table with his fingers, "Boss, why are you crying?"

The boss choked and raised his head, "They are all little babies, don't you want me to cry?"

Jiang Luo, "Do you know that you can't judge a person by its appearance."

"The three of us can be sent to accept your commission, which proves that we have the ability to do the work," Jiang Luo pointed to Ye Xun, "This guy is amazing. Ghosts are afraid of him. What are you afraid of?"

The boss was dubious, "What's so scary about this baby?"

Jiang Luo sighed, "Let me tell you the truth, the rabbit doll he was holding was not a rabbit doll at all, but a curse formed by hundreds of evil spirits. Ordinary people will have accidents when they carry it, but he was fine when holding it. Do you know why?"

The boss was a little scared, "Why?"

The atmosphere gradually became strange and gloomy. The boss cautiously glanced at the doll in Ye Xun's arms, and saw that the doll's lifeless eyes rolled around!

The boss' breath hitched, his face turned pale, and he almost fell off his chair.

Jiang Luo didn't see the change in the doll, his tone gradually became cold and gloomy: "Because he likes to eat ghosts, he eats when he is unhappy, and he also eats when he is happy. You can see that he is young. In fact, he is fifty-eight years old. It was only because he ate too many ghosts that the yin and yang in his body reversed and he stopped growing. The wraith doll is also afraid of the aura on his body. There is such a strange thing that happened in your hotel. We dare to come. Isn't it all because we followed him?"

The boss shuddered, he didn't dare to look at the wraith doll again, "I, I see."

Jiang Luo knocked on the table and lowered his voice: "Remember, don't tell anyone about it."

The boss nodded stiffly. He took a deep breath. He walked towards Ye Xun and Lu Youyi. He said with a dry smile: "I'm sorry, students, I absolutely trust your abilities. What I said before was a joke. Hahahaha! Don't mind, don't mind, how about I'll take you guys to the room where the guest disappeared before?"

The corners of Ye Xun's mouth curled slightly, and he nodded reservedly, "Let's go."

Jiang Luo followed, and Lu Youyi asked him curiously, "What did you tell the boss?"

Jiang Luo sighed and said, "The boss is a good person. I said that Ye Xun doesn't like being called a little baby. He immediately changed when he realized his mistake and vowed never to call him that again."

Lu Youyi couldn't help nodding repeatedly: "It's rare to see such an uncle who knows his mistake and changed it."

The interior of the Hotel 129 is made with a large courtyard landscape, almost becoming a small garden. It is more like a manor with scattered houses than a hotel.

When the boss took them through a pavilion, there is an old woman and a child sitting on a rocking chair to rest

The boss explained: "This is my old lady. I took her over for a month or two. That little kid is my child. He is only three years old this year."

The child was swayed to sleep by the rocking chair. The old woman greeted them solemnly, and walked slowly with her grandson in her arms.

Jiang Luo set his gaze at the child's chubby wrist like a lotus root, wondering if there was something wrong with his eyes, otherwise why would he see a cloud of black mist on his arm?

"Lu Youyi," Jiang Luo poked Lu Youyi, still staring straight at the child in the distance, "Did you see the black mist on the child's arm?"

Lu Youyi said blankly: "What? I didn't see anything."

Jiang Luo: "Nothing?"

Lu Youyi shook his head.

Jiang Luo frowned and followed in the footsteps of the boss in deep thought.

He believed in himself very much, and just because Lu Youyi didn't see it didn't mean that what he saw was wrong. So, what did he see?

Footnotes:

1. 相声 - also known as crosstalk or comic dialogue, is a traditional performing art in Chinese comedy, and one of the most popular elements in Chinese culture. It is typically performed as a dialogue between two performers, or rarely as a monologue by a solo performer (similar to most forms of stand-up comedy in Western culture), or even less frequently, as a group act by multiple performers. ⬅

2. 风水 - is a method of divination that interprets markings on the ground or the patterns formed by tossed handfuls of soil, rocks, or sand. ⬅

3. to have a prejudiced viewpoint ⬅