The Hand of Confession – Chapter 203

Volume 7: Days of Stargazing at the Inn

Red Fur

What kind of monster is this?!

Two minutes after they left, the originally blue sky suddenly darkened. A large patch of dark clouds abruptly appeared above the inn, stretching endlessly towards the horizon, bringing with it a boundless sense of despair.

The black clouds roiled, and the light in the inn instantly dimmed. The people inside were startled by this sudden sight, and one by one, they stood up, ran outside, and looked up at the sky.

In an instant, raindrops as big as beans pelted down, making the onlookers cry out as they clutched their heads and scrambled back into the inn.

The wind howled as it blew in, and leaves rustled as they fell, spinning in the sky before struggling briefly and then being smashed into the mud by the heavier rain.

The service staff member responsible for their food turned on the lights, brightening the room considerably and separating it from the gloom outside.

Lou Jingmo frowned slightly, watching the water splash against the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Golden Retriever said thankfully, “Good thing we came back early. With such heavy rain, there would definitely be an accident on the mountain.”

Shen Maomao was a bit worried. “Do you think… Qu Jing and the others can still leave?”

Silence was her answer.

After a short while, people started coming down from the elevator one after another and sat in the lobby.

Shen Maomao looked around and found that among the 11 players, only the three of them were present. The rest were NPCs, and among the NPCs, Xiaobao’s family, whom they were familiar with, was also absent.

The rain fell in sheets. The front desk attendant was still nestled in her seat behind the counter, her expression hovering between sleep and wakefulness, making anyone who looked at her feel a sudden wave of drowsiness.

After finishing her meal, Hong-jie anxiously walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows to observe the heavy rain up close. “Ai… why did it suddenly start raining? With such heavy rain, what if it causes a landslide or mudslide?”

The next second, a loud crash suddenly came from a distant mountain peak. Then, sand, stones, and mud began to roll down the mountainside, playing the prelude to death’s arrival.

A gray line rapidly approached from the horizon. Shen Maomao’s temple throbbed, and she shot to her feet. “What’s going on?!”

Although the rain was heavy, it was far from enough to trigger a mudslide. Moreover, the mountain was densely vegetated, and judging by the size of the plants, their roots should be very deep. There were no signs of soil erosion, so it didn’t seem like a mudslide should occur.

Hong-jie covered her mouth. “I was just saying… how could it really…”

Several nearby NPCs glared at her, scaring her into quickly running to the front desk. She spoke rapidly, “Young lady! There’s a mudslide!! Where should we escape?!!”

The front desk attendant yawned unhurriedly. “Why run? It won’t reach here.”

Hong-jie: “How can it not reach here?”

Front desk attendant: “Our inn is on the mountainside of a small peak next to the main mountain. Even if there’s a mudslide, it should flow down the slope in front and into the valley below. As long as you stay obediently in your rooms, you won’t get into trouble.”

Those inside wouldn’t be in trouble… what about those outside?

Hearing her say this, Hong-jie felt much more relieved. She turned to look for her subordinates, but only saw Shen Maomao’s group of three.

Her expression darkened again, and she said with dissatisfaction, “I kept saying the mountain was dangerous, dangerous, dangerous! Why did this bunch insist on going up there? You three are the sensible ones. You have to testify for me; if anything happens to them, it has nothing to do with me.”

Shen Maomao gave a dry laugh, staring blankly out the window.

The mudslide was immense, sweeping through the mountain vegetation with tremendous force. Wherever it passed, trees tilted, and not a blade of grass remained.

The sensory impact of a natural disaster is absolutely shocking. When the horizon is submerged, and countless lives are swept away by the muddy water, vanishing in an instant, no one can remain unmoved.

Suddenly, two figures appeared at the end of the small path, stumbling towards the inn. Behind them was the surging mudslide.

Shen Maomao’s eyes lit up. “It’s Qu Jing and the others!!”

Lou Jingmo also stood up. “Let’s go, help them!”

Hong-jie stretched out her arm to block them. “Where are you going? It’s too dangerous outside!”

Shen Maomao said urgently, “If anything happens to us, it’s none of your business either!”

Hong-jie retracted her hand, looking wronged. “How can you say that about me? I’m just looking out for your well-being…”

However, the three of them had no time to play along with her act. They directly opened the door and rushed into the rain.

The heavy rain made it hard to open their eyes, and the mudslide was so powerful and deafening that they couldn’t hear any other sounds.

The two groups quickly met. As they got closer, they saw that Xi Tian’s leg was injured, which was why they were running so slowly.

Lou Jingmo and Golden Retriever supported Xi Tian by his arms, dragging him towards the inn. Shen Maomao also grabbed Qu Jing’s icy wrist and pulled her forward.

“Rumble—”

The earth shook and the mountains swayed. The muddy water roared past, almost sweeping everyone into it. Qu Jing’s legs gave out, and she knelt directly on the ground.

Shen Maomao also felt her heart pound. She wiped the rainwater from her face and continued to pull her towards the inn.

Lou Jingmo held the door, calling to her, “Quick, get in!”

Qu Jing gritted her teeth, turned around, and grabbed Shen Maomao. Both of them tumbled through the doorway.

Lou Jingmo immediately closed the door, shutting out the wind and rain.

All the NPCs in the room stood up and clapped for the three of them.

Qu Jing burst into tears, sobbing, “Thank you… thank you…”

She was terrified, only able to repeat these two words. Rainwater mixed with tears streamed down her face, and her body was covered in mud, making her look exceptionally miserable.

Xi Tian clutched his leg, too pained to speak. His entire pant leg was red.

An old man dressed in a Tang suit¹ walked over and said, “I am a practitioner of Chinese medicine². Let me see his injury.”

Several people quickly made space in the middle.

The old man forcefully tore open his tattered pant leg, revealing a bloody and mangled wound underneath. Xi Tian was shivering from excessive blood loss, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Hong-jie also came closer, glanced at the wound as if watching a spectacle, then quickly looked away, frightened. She ran to the front desk and said, “Do you have any spare medical supplies here? Didn’t you see he’s injured? How can you be so unobservant?”

The front desk attendant pulled out a first-aid kit from the cabinet. “Here, take it. Remember to put it back where you got it.”

The old Chinese medicine doctor reached out to examine Xi Tian’s wound. Shen Maomao’s eyelid twitched, and she quickly stopped him. “Wait! Your hands are full of germs. Is it appropriate to touch the wound directly?”

Hong-jie placed the first-aid kit in front of them. “The medicine is here, the medicine is here!”

The old man’s face turned cold, and he shot Shen Maomao a sidelong glance. “Am I the doctor, or are you?”

Shen Maomao: “…”

The old man added, “Little girl, go cool off somewhere else. Don’t be a hindrance here.” However, as he said this, he still opened the kit Hong-jie brought and simply washed his hands with alcohol.

Shen Maomao felt relieved and stood aside, wringing water from her hair and clothes.

Lou Jingmo said, “Go take a shower. This time, you have to wash even if you don’t want to.”

Qu Jing was hovering over her boyfriend, temporarily having no time for them. Shen Maomao also felt extremely uncomfortable with her wet clothes clinging to her body, so she decided to drop everything and go upstairs to change and shower.

Golden Retriever watched them cheerfully pack their change of clothes, feeling an inexplicable urge to cry. “Can I…”

Lou Jingmo: “No.”

“Then can you…”

Shen Maomao: “No.”

Two “no”s, crisp and decisive.

Little Mustache lived next to the shower room, and hair would inexplicably appear in their room. The shower room definitely had issues. Thinking this, Golden Retriever gave up on showering and decided to wash his face with some water in the bathroom, and maybe wash his hair too.

Shen Maomao and Lou Jingmo went first, taking their dry clothes into the shower room. Golden Retriever stayed in the room to dry himself off, then changed into clean clothes and took the inn’s complimentary shampoo to the bathroom.

The bathroom had men’s on the left and women’s on the right, with a washbasin and a large mirror in the middle. He first wiped the washbasin with water before starting to fill it with hot water.

Because he was tense, his movements were quick. As soon as the water was full, he immediately dunked his head in, then tore open the shampoo packet and squeezed it onto his head.

After working up a lather, he put his head under the faucet and rinsed his hair with the adjusted warm water, massaging his scalp with his hands as he rinsed.

As he was massaging, his hand suddenly paused. He sniffed the air.

A smell of rust wafted to his nose, and the water on his hands seemed to become exceptionally sticky in an instant…

Golden Retriever jerked his head back and immediately opened his eyes. Shampoo flowed into his eyes, stinging and making him able to only squint at his surroundings.

Even through just a slit, the large patch of red that met his eyes almost seared them.

He let out a terrified scream, not even bothering to turn off the faucet, and ran towards the opposite side, frantically banging on the door of the shower room marked with a large “女” (Women): “Help!!! Lou-jie! Sister Rabbit! Help!!”

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Shen Maomao felt a bit embarrassed.

She thought she might be bent³, but not completely… probably.

She had showered with Lou Jingmo like this before, but at that time she was timid as a mouse, her mind filled with thoughts of finishing quickly and getting out because it was too scary. Now, she had completed her final evolution, becoming bold enough to ascend to heaven⁴ and as thick-skinned as a city wall.

So she couldn’t stop her eyes from peeking at Lou Jingmo.

Ying⁵, so embarrassing.

While thinking “I’m so embarrassed,” Shen Maomao openly let her eyes linger where they shouldn’t, unabashedly taking advantage⁶.

Lou Jingmo rinsed herself seriously, pretending not to feel that scorching gaze.

Delays breed trouble. To prevent being trapped in the bathroom by a person or a ghost for a double kill, they washed very quickly, finishing and coming out to change clothes in less than three minutes.

Lou Jingmo covered herself up completely. Shen Maomao felt inexplicably disappointed and dejectedly put on her clothes.

Just as she was halfway dressed, a sudden knocking sound came from outside, accompanied by Golden Retriever’s terrified wails. Shen Maomao quickly⁷ threw on a short-sleeved shirt, slipped on her slippers, and yanked open the door. Then she saw a red furball⁸ squatting by the door, crying like a two-hundred-jin⁹ child.

Shen Maomao jumped back, a sentence blurting out: “What kind of monster are you?!”

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