He looked rather guilty as he spoke to this point, “Guys, it’s my fault to have hidden this from all of you. I’m okay with refunding you guys. I won’t take any cent. If you guys are willing to stay, I’ll charge you one room less.”
“Boss, how far is the closest county town from here?” Di Jing asked, unwilling to give up.
“Around 100 kilometers. You guys can consider whether you still want to stay the night.” The hotel owner turned around and went downstairs.
After he left, Di Jing could not help but look at Dai Wei, “Dai Wei, how far can we go with the gas we have?”
“50 kilometers, at most!”
Old Shen eventually said, “There’s nothing else that we can do but to stay here for tonight. Nevertheless, for safety purposes, let’s sleep in the same room. Xiaodi, you’re a lady, so you’ll sleep on the bed.”
Di Jing’s expression grew relieved as she returned to her room and grabbed her blanket into room No. 444 while Dai Wei did the same too.
Since the few of them were staying in the same room, Di Jing dared not change her clothes and lay on the bed directly. Dai Wei lay down next to Ye Chen on the floor.
There was limited space on the floor, so Ye Chen let Old Shen sleep on the floor. He got himself a stool and closed his eyes to rest. Actually, he was secretly cultivating. To him, it was more comfortable sitting than lying down.
Old Chen said while feeling pity for him, “Mr. Ye, why don’t you lie here with me? Don’t catch a cold.”
Di Jing also felt bad. After all, the bed belonged to Ye Chen theoretically. Now that she had taken the bed, he had to sit until the next day.
“Old Shen, don’t you see that he’s closing his eyes and pretending to be cultivating? Maybe this Mr. Ye is a martial artist. Why would he be worried about catching a cold?” Dai Wei said in a sarcastic manner.
His rude remark made Old Shen and Di Jing glare at him. Just when Old Shen was going to speak again, someone knocked on the door again.
“Xiaodai, open the door. It might be the hotel owner coming to check if we’ve left or we’re staying,” Old Shen rolled over and said.
Dai Wei was less timid now that so many of them were together. He mustered his courage instantly and got up to open the door. However, he found no one at the door. The corridor was also deathly quiet.
Most importantly, there was a stack of money at the door. It was a thick stack of Renminbi that looked like at least 100,000 yuan.
“That’s strange. I heard someone knocking the door, but how come there’s nobody out there? Apart from that, a stack of money also appeared on the floor,” Old Shen said in confusion.
“Maybe someone was knocking next door.” Dai Wei smiled and bent to pick up the stack of money on the floor. He said in joy, “Aren’t we in luck today? I wonder if it’s fake money!”
Ye Chen suddenly opened his eyes when Dai Wei’s hand touched the stack of cash. He said, “It’s best that you don’t touch the money.”
“Why not?” Dai Wei asked by instinct.
Ye Chen smiled and said nothing.
Dai Wei scoffed and said, “Are you dumb? Why should we reject money that’s sent to our doorstep? There’s at least 100,000 yuan here, not 100 or 200 yuan. Only fools won’t take it.”
Geographical surveying sounded like a sophisticated profession, but the income was considered low. Meanwhile, 100,000 yuan was his income for half a year.
He picked up the stack of cash from the floor directly after saying that. Then, he closed the door and returned to the room to take a note out and observed it under the light.
“Look at the watermarks and optically variable ink. It doesn’t look fake.” Dai Wei analyzed it while handing one to Old Shen. “Old Shen, take a look for me.”
Old Shen did not take it. Instead, he shook his head and said, “Xiao Dai, someone must’ve dropped this by accident. It’s dirty money. You’d better put it back.”
Dai Wei was upset even before Old Shen was done speaking. “Old Shen, why do you think like someone else now? I didn’t steal or rob anyone. I picked it up myself. Why must I put it back?”
Old Shen sighed softly. He stopped talking because he knew that he could not persuade him. He shut his eyes and slept instead.
Ye Chen glanced at Dai Wei who was calculating the cash. He secretly shook his head.
After calculating the stack of cash, he realized that there was exactly 100,000 yuan. No more, no less. He took his phone out and began checking on the internet.
After making sure that it was real cash, he looked at Ye Chen and Old Shen by instinct. He could not help but smirk. ‘I’ll take all of it since you guys don’t want it. It’s perfect!’
“Ahh!” Di Jing’s shriek suddenly rang out when the day was breaking.
“What happened?!”
Old Shen was the first to wake up. He took his phone out immediately and shone a light on Di Jing who was in bed. He saw her sitting up in bed and shaking. Meanwhile, her phone had dropped on the floor at the moment. The flashlight was still on.
Dai Wei also woke up. “What happened?!”
“D-Dai Wei, you…” Di Jing pointed at Dai Wei and said while stammering. Fear filled her face.
Old Shen shone his flashlight on Dai Wei. He was also scared to death when he illuminated the light on him. Dai Wei was wearing a bright red top. He thought it was a red suit at first glance.
When he looked closer though, he realized that it was a red shroud!
Dai Wei held his head down to look, and his body was shaking. “How did this happen? Why am I wearing a shroud? Who put it on me? Turn on the lights, turn on the lights!”
He had worn a blue checkered shirt last night. How did it turn to a shroud?!
“I-I was using my phone flashlight to go to the bathroom earlier. When I shone it on you, I saw you wearing the s-shroud!” Di Jing said while her face turned pale.
Dai Wei got up immediately to turn the light on. However, he realized he could not turn it on no matter what.
“I-is the power is out?!” Dai Wei fell to the ground in fear.
Old Shen, who was the oldest, was the first to calm down. He said after taking a deep breath in, “Xiaodai, why are you wearing a shroud for the dead?”
“I-I don’t know. I’ve been sleeping and I didn’t go out at all. Moreover, where did I even get this shroud from?” Dai Wei said while shaking. He was attempting to take the shroud off.
At that moment, Ye Chen, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke, “It’s best that you don’t take it off!”
“Are you out of your mind?” Dai Wei yelled at him.
“Wait!” Old Shen suddenly stopped Dai Wei and said, “Xiaodai, don’t take it off just yet. Let’s see what Mr. Ye has got to say.”
Since the series of strange things happened, Old Shen noticed that during a critical moment, Ye Chen would say things that seemed ridiculous, but he seemed to be fortune-telling. For example, he advised them not to stay in this hotel before, but they had refused to listen.
Dai Wei and Di Jing looked at Ye Chen at the same time.
He said calmly, “Show me the money that you picked up last night.”
“What does this have to do with the money that I picked up?” Dai Wei scoffed as he thought Ye Chen wanted the money. However, he extended his arm and retrieved his bag after giving it a thought. He then opened it and looked. He was stunned in the next second.
Fear filled his face!
Cold sweat could not stop dripping from his brow!
Old Shen rubbed his eyes and said after taking a sharp inhale, “How did they turn into hell money?!”