"Three knocks, a pause, repeated three times. Does this mean business is coming our way?" I looked at Zhang Dabiao in surprise, unsure of what was happening.
I had just left the hospital and found a random hotel to rest. How could someone possibly seek me out for divination? The whole situation felt undeniably eerie.
Zhang Dabiao appeared more composed. "Are you sure they were looking for you for an Yin Gua divination?"
There was no doubt about it. This was the specific knocking method for Yin Gua divination. No one would knock like this unless they wanted me to perform a divination. I told Zhang Dabiao with absolute certainty.
Zhang Dabiao frowned, then grabbed his Pishan dao. He moved closer to the door and asked in a low voice, "Who are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for the Yin Gua Master, Master Song. Is he staying here?"
The voice was somewhat muffled through the door, but I could tell the speaker was very old. Their voice was slurred, as if they lacked sufficient breath.
Seeing that someone had come to our door, I intended to open it and see who it was. However, Zhang Dabiao stopped me with a look.
"You've got the wrong room. There's no one named Song here. Go ask in other rooms."
"Wrong room? Oh, I'll go ask elsewhere." The voice remained slurred, and then I heard shuffling sounds outside the door.
Seeing this, I looked at Zhang Dabiao, puzzled, and wondered why he had lied.
"Brother Zhang, since they found us, they must know where we are. Why did you tell them I don't exist?"
Zhang Dabiao rolled his eyes. "Be careful with everything when you're out. Haven't you had enough trouble on this trip? Someone shows up as soon as we arrive here. This matter is definitely not ordinary. It's always best to be cautious..."
I agreed with his words and gave him a thumbs-up. We didn't know anyone here, and we had no idea if Sun Chuang, the only one who knew our situation, was alive or dead. Therefore, it was always right to be cautious.
Just as I was about to lie down to get some sleep, the door rang again.
This time, however, it wasn't a knock. It sounded like someone was trying to pick the lock with something. This immediately made me nervous. I carefully got out of bed, grabbed my Yin Tie Mu Chi, and hid by the corner of the door. Zhang Dabiao was even more ruthless. He held his Pishan dao in his hand, concealed to the side of the door. Whoever came through the first time would be taken down by him.
The door first opened a crack, then slowly swung open. A head that looked somewhat familiar poked in from outside. At that moment, Zhang Dabiao's Pishan dao was already at the intruder's neck.
"Ah..."
The piercing scream almost ruptured my eardrums. Zhang Dabiao quickly retracted his blade because he had now clearly seen who it was – the receptionist who had helped us check in.
Terrified by the scare, she had completely collapsed onto the floor. Her face showed an expression of extreme shock, and she looked at us both with fear. A faint, unpleasant odor emanated from her.
I felt speechless. This woman was too easily frightened; she had actually wet herself from Zhang Dabiao's scare. This needed to be explained properly, otherwise, if she reported us to the police for illegally possessing weapons, it would be a big problem.
Although we were somewhat in the wrong here, she wasn't blameless either. So, this mistake had to be hers. Pushing Zhang Dabiao behind me, I looked at her with a smile and said, "Oh my, sister, how could you open our room door without permission? Were you trying to steal something?"
Hearing this, she was stunned for a moment. Her face first turned pale, then flushed red. She argued, "Who knew someone was in this room? Someone just came downstairs saying they were checking out and asked me to clean the room. Why did you people come into this room privately? I clearly gave you the key to a different room. How did you end up in this one?"
While arguing that she hadn't trespassed, she awkwardly stood up to cover the embarrassing scene. Seeing that she wasn't going to question Zhang Dabiao's action with the blade, I pretended not to notice. Instead, I turned back into the room to get the room key.
"Look, 406, it's the key to this room. How could we have entered the wrong room..."
Before I could finish, she became anxious to leave. "That... maybe I remembered incorrectly. I'll go downstairs right now to change your registration."
I quickly stopped her.
"Wait a moment, don't go yet."
Her face looked displeased, and at the same time, with a hint of confusion, her eyes glistened with unshed tears. She looked at me with a touch of resentment.
Her gaze made me uncomfortable, but I braced myself and asked the question that was on my mind.
"You just said someone told you we were checking out. Do you remember what that person looked like?"
To a witness, this question seemed like it would invite scolding. How could someone who had just seen the person who claimed to be 'checking out' possibly remember what they looked like?
However, this seemingly foolish question actually stumped her. After thinking for a moment, she couldn't come up with anything concrete. She only said, "I vaguely remember it was an old man in his thirties." As soon as she finished speaking, before I could ask further, she turned and went downstairs.
"What kind of answer is that?"
Zhang Dabiao, seeing that she had given a non-answer, wanted to chase after her to get a clear explanation, but I stopped him.
"She already wet her pants from you scaring her. If you chase after her now, she'll accuse you of molesting her. If she calls the police, we'll be in serious trouble."
"Tch, who told her to sneakily open the door? Trespassing is considered theft. In the past, they would have been dragged through the streets."
After closing the door, neither of us felt like sleeping anymore. We sat on the bed, pondering who would use the method of knocking for Yin Gua divination.
And what did the receptionist mean by saying it was an old man who looked to be in his thirties?
I could understand "old man" as referring to age, but "an old man in his thirties"? Did it mean someone who looked like an old man but was actually only thirty years old?
"That's unlikely. Could it be someone who is thirty years old but looks particularly old?" Zhang Dabiao denied my suggestion and stated directly.
"Particularly old?"
"What kind of person is only thirty years old but gives the impression of being seventy or eighty? Is there such a person?"