Even with Ye Tiancheng and the little fox together, the two grown men, with their long limbs, were sturdier than women. Squeezing together was indeed cramped, and turning over would likely be difficult.
However, this arrangement meant Ye Tiancheng and the little fox couldn't squeeze in with Fatty. If they slept with Fatty, the bed would truly be too small.
Otherwise, at night, once asleep, it was possible that one of them might wake up to find themselves lying on the floor.
Ye Tiancheng walked to the window again. Outside, a clothesline was hung, and there was a canopy above, likely to prevent water from dripping onto clothes hung by those on the floors above and below.
However, once inside the room and looking out the window, Ye Tiancheng discovered something.
He hadn't paid much attention before, but now, looking closely, he noticed that the entire guesthouse was built in a "回" (hui) shape, meaning the center was hollow. The windows where they could hang clothes faced this central open space, not the outside of the guesthouse.
It was no wonder that before entering the guesthouse, Ye Tiancheng and the others hadn't seen clothes hung everywhere by guests.
These were all hidden inside. With the center open, the hung clothes wouldn't be deprived of sunlight.
There were no other issues with the room. Apart from being old, there were no faults. Even the bathroom was clean and had no peculiar odor. It was just that the entire room exuded an ancient aura, which gave it that old feeling.
Since Fatty had to stay alone, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox separated from Fatty when they went to find rooms.
Now that he had seen the room, Ye Tiancheng went to find Fatty.
Ye Tiancheng followed the room numbers. Fatty had also just finished looking at his room. A single room here cost a hundred yuan. This condition was actually quite acceptable, especially within a scenic area; it wasn't considered expensive at all.
Seeing Ye Tiancheng, Fatty couldn't help but sigh and say, "Alas, we're really unlucky. I have to stay alone, and I feel a bit uneasy, both mentally and physically."
Ye Tiancheng replied, "It's just a coincidence. Don't scare yourself. Nothing bad will necessarily happen."
Fatty scratched the back of his head, looking somewhat puzzled. "But, Brother Ye, when we investigated before, this seemed to be just an unremarkable scenic resort. We never heard of any special activities. And even if there were, it shouldn't be so unknown to the outside world if it's so crowded that there are no vacant rooms."
"...Meaning, I just feel it should be more famous, but it seems too low-key now."
Ye Tiancheng had a similar thought but hadn't voiced it.
He said to Fatty, "This does sound rather unusual. However, it's not good for us to inquire too deeply. Judging by the receptionist's reaction, if we act like we don't know anything, it would seem strange, as if everyone should know. So, we should keep our mouths shut. Even if we don't know, it's better to pretend we know quite a bit."
Fatty and the little fox nodded in agreement, indicating they understood.
Ye Tiancheng continued, "Also, I want to go ask at other guesthouses and hotels in the village to see if there are really no vacant rooms in this village. This would also help confirm how much truth there is in what the receptionist said."
Speaking of this, the little fox hesitated for a moment.
The little fox said to Ye Tiancheng, "But, Brother, it's getting late now. If the three of us go around asking, we might not be able to catch the car back to the villa."
Ye Tiancheng then checked the time. The time they had left to gather information was less than an hour, just over half an hour, which was really not enough.
He thought for a moment, then asked Fatty and the little fox to wait while he took out his phone to call Hou Mingzhu.
Hou Mingzhu answered the phone quickly.
"Hello, Tiancheng? Why are you calling suddenly? Is something wrong?"
Ye Tiancheng said, "Mingzhu, how are things on your end? Are there any unusual situations?"
Hou Mingzhu didn't understand what was happening and replied truthfully, "Nothing has happened. Everything is normal on our side. You took so many precautions before you left, and we won't go out rashly. We'll be fine, don't worry."
"Did something happen on your end?" Hou Mingzhu asked, sounding a little worried.
Ye Tiancheng understood the situation. Hearing Hou Mingzhu's question, and not wanting to worry her, he said, "Nothing has happened. It's just that we need to do some more investigation here, but it's already late, and time might not be enough. Also, the road conditions here are complicated, and it's not good to drive at night. It wouldn't be right to ask someone from your side to come pick us up."
"So, I wanted to know if everything is okay on your end. If it is, then Fatty, the little fox, and I might not be able to return to the villa tonight and will have to stay in the village for a night. Is everything really alright on your end?"
Hearing Ye Tiancheng say this, Hou Mingzhu felt a little more at ease. "Oh, I see. Since it's inconvenient for you, it's fine to stay in the village for a night. It's good that you let me know, and I don't have to worry about you. Everything else is fine."
"You don't need to worry too much about us. Qingcheng and I will be extra careful and won't go outside the protective range you set up. We definitely won't go out until you return, so you can rest assured."
"Even if someone tries to impersonate you to trick people, I will confirm the situation first," Hou Mingzhu added at the end.
Ye Tiancheng thought that Hou Mingzhu was no longer the willful and easily worried person she used to be. In these matters, Hou Mingzhu was certainly sensible. Since she told him not to worry, she really wouldn't cause him to worry.
Therefore, Ye Tiancheng wasn't so afraid that something might happen on Hou Mingzhu's end.
Ye Tiancheng said to Hou Mingzhu, "That's good. If there are no unexpected events, we'll be back tomorrow. If there are any plans, I will contact you promptly and let you know. There are no dangerous situations here."
"We are still investigating the situation in the village. We are posing as ordinary tourists, and no one will suspect us. Moreover, we are not here to do anything bad, so nothing will happen."
After Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu reassured each other and exchanged information, they hung up the phone.
After making the call, Ye Tiancheng felt relieved and said to Fatty and the little fox, "Since time is not enough, and we've already booked rooms, let's just stay in the village for a night. It's also not appropriate to not stay here on the first day we booked rooms."
"I've also told your sister-in-law, so they don't have to worry. Everything is just beginning, and nothing will happen."
The only problem they had before was the risk of missing the last bus back to the villa area. Now that this problem was gone, Ye Tiancheng and the others truly had nothing to worry about.
The little fox then said, "This way is good too. Then we'll stay for a day. It will be more convenient for our investigation, and we won't miss any details due to time constraints."
Since Ye Tiancheng and the others had agreed and had no worries in any aspect, they left the guesthouse together.
Afterward, they visited several more guesthouses and hotels, confirming one by one that they were indeed fully booked. The owners of these guesthouses and hotels all told Ye Tiancheng and the others to inquire at the guesthouse where they had already booked rooms, saying that if it was there, there might still be vacant rooms.
After this round of visits, it verified that what the woman at the guesthouse reception had said was basically true. The situation was pretty much as she had described.
The accommodation situation here was indeed fully booked everywhere. Looking at it this way, it turned out that the guesthouse where they had booked their rooms had the most remaining rooms.
However, after Ye Tiancheng and his companions checked in, even that guesthouse only had a few vacant beds left, the kind where they had to share a room with others.
The little fox walked beside Ye Tiancheng, looking quite incredulous. "I didn't expect it to be so lively here. We were quite lucky to still grab two single rooms. If we hadn't gone to book rooms today, we probably wouldn't have even gotten those two single rooms if we came tomorrow."
Ye Tiancheng also sighed, "Yes, it's truly unexpected."
Fatty chimed in, "I thought the woman at the reception before was so beautiful, and she was so charming and alluring, like a cunning demon who could bewitch people. But unexpectedly, she was so honest and told the truth."
Ye Tiancheng said to Fatty, "Fatty, that's not right of you. How can you judge people by their appearance?"
"Alas, it's not that..." Fatty rubbed his head, then spoke, paused, and changed his words. "It's just that I have some psychological trauma. My mind can't help but overthink. It's also my fault. I scared myself by thinking too much."
The little fox said, "According to the owners of the guesthouses and hotels we asked later, the woman at the reception of our guesthouse should be the owner of that guesthouse. She seems to have been here for many years and runs her business openly, so there should be no problem."
"And I didn't sense any bad aura from her. She's probably just an ordinary person, just too beautiful. We really can't assume there's a problem just because of that."
What the little fox didn't say was that the things he had learned allowed him to make better judgments, but since the little fox hadn't specialized in this area, he could only get a general impression.
The beautiful owner of the guesthouse reception was likely a good person who had done many good deeds.
It was just that she was indeed too alluring. She was the type of woman who, when walking down the street, would easily be called a vixen. Her appearance was indeed very captivating. Although people say not to judge by appearance, it's hard for people to truly do so. First impressions are very important, and misunderstandings can easily arise.
Fatty nodded. "It seems judging by appearance is indeed wrong. So, she's just an ordinary person. But she's really beautiful, even excessively so."
Facing Fatty's sudden gaze, Ye Tiancheng averted his eyes.
"Don't look at me. I don't know anything. I can tell she's beautiful, but I didn't look closely."
Fatty knew that Ye Tiancheng was a bit henpecked now, and he chuckled, but he saved face for his Brother Ye and didn't expose him directly.
Fatty changed the subject and asked Ye Tiancheng, "We've asked around quite a bit now. What should we do next?"
Ye Tiancheng saw that it was getting late, already eight or nine o'clock at night. He said, "It's quite late now, and it's not good to wander around outside. If there really are any problems here, it's not suitable to be walking around at night. Besides, we've been walking for so long and haven't eaten dinner yet. Why don't we go eat something? Judging by the time, we should still be able to make it for dinner at the guesthouse."