Mysterious Awakening-Chapter 605: The Echoing Melody

Chapter 605 -602: The Echoing Melody

If it wasn’t for the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box he suffered from, Yang Jian would never have dared to venture into the Caesar Hotel alone.

The nightmare of a narrow escape from death still vividly haunted him, and most importantly, the ghosts wandering in the hotel had not been dealt with. Although Yang Jian knew the killing pattern of the ghost, he still faced certain dangers this time.

This time, he had come to retrieve the mystical object mentioned by the ghost.

This meant that Yang Jian had to face the ghost head-on, with no room for evasion or retreat.

Upon entering the red-carpeted corridor, Yang Jian’s Ghost Domain faced a certain limitation; it could not pass through walls to see inside rooms number one and two. It seemed that the architecture was special, capable of blocking the probing eyes of ghosts.

This phenomenon of blocking the Ghost Domain had occurred several times before to Yang Jian. The simplest method was to hold a wooden plank smeared with gold in front of him, which would block his Ghost Domain no matter how many layers he opened.

...

He touched the nearby wall.

An underlying dampness lingered within its coolness, and when he drew closer, he could smell the mustiness of the walls and furniture.

"Last time I was too preoccupied with other matters to pay much attention to this place. Now I want to know exactly where this is? This architectural style and eerie environment are so unique that I’m afraid even if you searched all the hotels in the country, you wouldn’t find one similar to this,” he mused.

With a solemn expression, Yang Jian walked through the Ghost Domain, leaving no footprints behind, careful not to be randomly slashed by the ghost that might be roaming around.

The oppressive, slightly narrow corridor mostly consisted of walls, with only maze-like crossroads breaking it up. The surroundings were very dimly lit, the only light coming from European-style lamps hanging by each room’s door.

The lamps glowed yellow, their brightness low, and not every lamp outside the doors was lit—only a few shone, most were dark.

"The carpet that should have been destroyed last time to remove the footprints has now mysteriously recovered?”

Yang Jian passed the first crossroad and arrived at the door of room number thirteen, pausing to take note.

The carpet that should have vanished was now replaced anew, filling in the previously missing section.

"Does this place revert to its original state after a certain time, or is there someone who comes here to clean up?” He wondered, forging ahead to the second crossroad.

Continuing forward would lead him to room number thirty-one, which was visited by the memory-altering ghost the last time, while deep, red-carpeted corridors stretched left and right, their ends not visible. However, rooms were still marked by the dim yellow light of door lamps, proof of their existence.

"Having not found that ghost, should I venture deeper or wait here?”

Yang Jian halted his steps, pondering.

If he went deeper, he had his reservations because this was an unknown place filled with oddities, and the dangers that lay within might not be limited to the ghost from last time. Although there was a high probability he wouldn’t die, he feared becoming lost and trapped in this place.

"I’ll go a bit further, and if I still can’t find that ghost, then I’ll have no choice but to wait. I can’t get too far from the exit; if something truly goes wrong, I need to be able to retreat promptly.”

Yang Jian decided to continue for two more crossroads and then he would stop at the third one.

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Five crossroads were his personal limit.

Having made up his mind, Yang Jian did not hesitate to continue his journey, hoping to encounter the tall male corpse that wandered these halls.

After the third crossroad, Yang Jian detected a musty smell, tinged faintly with the stench of decay, probably seeping from one of the rooms. But in such an environment, even he could not discern the source of the odor.

"Did that scent linger after the corpse passed nearby?”

He guessed inwardly, yet there were no black footprints on the carpet. It was unclear whether this was because the carpet was periodically replaced or because it had been cleaned.

Suddenly,

Yang Jian had an idea and attempted to open the door of room thirty-one nearby.

Last time he remembered, that room had countless flayed human faces, although he had taken some away, some were left behind.

"The door won’t open.”

A trace of movement crossed Yang Jian’s face; the wooden doorknob trembled slightly, yet the door refused to open.

He glanced at it.

The door lamp beside it was dark, signaling that the room was likely unoccupied.

Yang Jian tried to force the door open with his body, but despite the intense noise and the door’s shuddering, it remained closed.

"An incomprehensible place.”

He grew more perplexed.

With his strength, not to mention a door, he could even split a wall. After all, his body still harbored the Headless Ghost Shadow and was no longer ordinary.

Out of curiosity, Yang Jian had only tried to force the door, but not succeeding, he didn’t insist further. Now was not the time to wrestle with a door.

Passing room thirty-one, where the memory-altering ghost had stayed, Yang Jian arrived at the fourth crossroad.

Just like the previous ones, damp walls surrounded him, the dark environment enveloped him, and narrowed passages pressured him. There was no difference, except for the varying room numbers on the doors. If you covered the numbers, you wouldn’t be able to tell where you were at any of these entrances.

That’s why Yang Jian was worried about the risk of getting lost if he ventured further.

"Still no sign of that ghost. I suppose walking to another crossroad won’t yield anything new. Am I just unlucky this time, with the ghost having wandered off to some unknown place? Or do I need to light a White Ghost Candle to lure it out?”

Yang Jian still had one forceful measure left—that was to light a White Ghost Candle.

But this was a last resort because once lit, the White Ghost Candle could be extremely dangerous, especially in this incomprehensible, eerie place—its use had to be cautious.

The curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box was strong, but not omnipotent.

Just as he was preparing to delve deeper, he abruptly stopped in his tracks and looked toward a dim corridor to his right; a red carpet stretched out before him, disappearing at the end of his vision, where a faint, yellowed door light seemed to guide the way.

"There’s a sound coming from over there.”

Yang Jian no longer moved, faintly hearing some sound arising from the depths of the passage to the right. The sound must have been quite distant; if it weren’t for the silence of the surrounding environment, he couldn’t have distinguished it at all.

It was a piece of music, as if someone was playing the piano.

Yang Jian tried his best to cast aside the cursed melody of the Eight-Tone Music Box echoing in his mind, attempting to listen more clearly to the piano sounds drifting toward him.

But soon, his face dramatically changed.

The music played on the piano matched the cursed melody of the Eight-Tone Music Box reverberating inside his head.

"What kind of joke is this, did I hear wrong?” Yang Jian felt an inexplicable chill.

Why would the melody of the Eight-Tone Music Box ring out here? This melody wasn’t one of those famous ones; it was a never-before-heard presence, and logically speaking, anyone who had heard the melody of the Eight-Tone Music Box should already be dead, making it highly unlikely for the tune to spread.

Even if it did, it wouldn’t be in such an unfathomable and spooky place.

"Let’s check it out.”

Yang Jian hesitated for a moment, then immediately changed direction and headed down the corridor on the right. Before he left, he dropped a gold bullet on the ground as a marker to ensure he didn’t lose his way in case something happened.

Being in the Ghost Domain, he moved swiftly, streaking by like a ghostly figure.

The reason for his eagerness was not that he had a death wish, but rather that this situation might be related to the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box.

If he could learn something about it, it might help break the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box.

Quickly,

He stopped in front of a dim door light.

This was another room, identical to the others, without any difference, except that from this room clearly emanated the sound of the piano, as though someone was playing inside.

Yang Jian was now absolutely certain; this was the cursed melody from the Eight-Tone Music Box.

Driven by curiosity, he attempted to open the room’s door handle.

This time, the door was not as firmly shut as before and opened quite easily.

Accompanied by a squeak, the light from inside the room shone through the crack of the door.

Yang Jian looked in with cautious eyes, ready to confront a ghostly attack, but he believed he could withstand an assault long enough to avoid being instantly killed.

The interior decor was vintage, unmistakably that of the Republican era, yet it was very clean.

Yang Jian’s focus was not on these details; his gaze veered to the piano placed in the living room.

Sitting in front of the piano was a person.

The person was facing away, their back visible; it appeared to be a woman wearing a red cheongsam, her perfect curves not something a man could fake.

"Person? Or ghost?”

This question surfaced in Yang Jian’s mind, his expression growing grave.

But in such a bizarre setting, how could an ordinary person possibly appear here? So he leaned towards the latter possibility.

However, Yang Jian didn’t feel the presence of a ghost on this woman in the cheongsam.

The delicate arms that fell upon the piano keys were pale and rosy, just like those of a living person, devoid of any deathly aura.

"The piano melody is becoming chaotic.”

Yang Jian swiftly noticed the rhythm of the piano was off, causing the music being played to deviate from the cursed melody of the Eight-Tone Music Box in his mind.

"I must figure out what all this is about.”

He had hesitated, and he had pondered, yet Yang Jian still decided to step into the room to see what exactly was playing the piano.

Before entering, he paid attention to the door plate in front of the room.

71.

Two clear numbers were etched onto the brass door plate.

"Squeak!”

The door that was ajar swung fully open, and with a calm expression, Yang Jian strode inside.