Chapter 114: Return of Ji Li
The sky seemed inverted, and the wind gradually died down.
The half-month-long horrors in the Li Mansion had reached their end the moment Ji Li cast the portrait.
The opportunity had been provided by the hotel, executed by its staff.
Wisdom and decisiveness could overcome the supernatural, but in the end, ghosts remained ghosts; humans could never fully control them.
The highest-level entity was still the mysterious Tianhai Hotel.
Human struggles, no matter how heroic they seemed, were trivial in its eyes.
Yet in this moment, the hope of survival had been extended once again.
The ghostly aura swirling around Tongguan gradually dissipated, absorbed entirely into the portrait. In this era, within this mansion, the ghost bride was the most powerful.
Even the killer ghost, which had claimed countless lives, could only be sacrificed in its hands.
In this timeline, there were two ghosts.
The ghost bride was the source of everything. A mishap in the middle had exposed the killer ghost, which in turn enabled the completion of the task.
But ultimately, order was restored.
Fang Shenyen, leaning on his cane, limped forward from afar, accompanied by the pale and speechless Yu Guo.
Side by side, they arrived to witness the final moment of the promotion mission.
They saw Ji Li kneeling halfway to the ground, his hair disheveled, eyes burning as they fixed on the whirlpool formed by the black hair.
As the whirlpool dissipated, Tongguan’s figure collapsed to the ground.
He was not dead. The black hair had vanished, leaving only the framed portrait quietly lying beside him.
Chang Nian lay unconscious at the opposite corner, the couple separated by distance yet facing each other, both near death.
Ji Li slowly rose and approached the portrait.
Tongguan would not die. When the sacrificial pair consisted of one male and one female, the ghost bride had no choice.
To complete the ritual and free itself, it could only consume the female soul—the killer ghost.
Perhaps it was coincidence, for Tongguan was unaware.
But out of concern for Chang Nian, he inadvertently drew the ghost toward himself, ensuring Ji Li’s plan succeeded.
Ji Li’s expression was cold. His long hair and empty left sleeve swayed in the wind, his figure solemn.
He saw the portrait, yet the image within was empty; the beautiful yet eerie bride had departed.
Or had she really?
At that moment, a white light burst forth from the remaining staff members, illuminating the ground.
Tongguan and the gravely wounded Chang Nian departed first, followed by Yu Guo and Fang Shenyen.
Ji Li was last. He looked around, inexplicably uneasy.
It was an unprecedented warning—there was an unimaginable ghost hovering nearby.
The white light reached its peak within him, filling his vision. Body and soul separated as a force capable of blocking everything surged from within.
His figure dissipated from this era.
Yet just before leaving, a beautiful voice echoed in his ears.
A woman’s voice, clear and melodious, almost unreal:
“Ji Li, come back…”
Congratulations to Tianhai Hotel Branch Seven: staff members Fang Shenyen, Yu Guo, Tongguan, and Chang Nian have successfully returned.
Congratulations to Tianhai Hotel Branch Seven: Acting Manager Ji Li has successfully returned…
The same old announcements. No one listened carefully; everyone bore injuries that could not easily heal.
Recovery was now rapid. Ji Li watched his left hand regrow visibly, a strange sensation rising in his mind.
The voice he had heard upon leaving the mission still echoed in his thoughts:
Ji Li, come back…
He did not know whether the ghost truly knew him, or if it was merely a lure.
He understood things were never that simple. At Tiannan Academy, that powerful ghost had also given him a strange sense of familiarity.
So far, aside from ordinary task-related ghosts, all the academy’s powerful ghosts—including the ghost bride—seemed somehow connected to Ji Li.
Equally peculiar was the tanuki…
It made no sense, and yet it was undeniable.
Ji Li chose not to ponder further. Completing this mission had already been incredibly difficult.
The Seventh Branch was now officially a two-star hotel.
Ji Li recalled that when he became branch manager, it had been stated that a two-star hotel’s acting manager had no distinction from the staff. Did that mean that now, having officially advanced, he was slightly different from the staff?
Tianhai Hotel, Seventh Branch, has successfully been promoted to a two-star hotel.
Welfare Rule 1: The hotel expands to twenty staff members. New staff will report at 2:00 PM tomorrow.
Welfare Rule 2: Now unlocked.
From this moment on, each task issued by the hotel may randomly include a Sin Artifact.
A Sin Artifact is a vessel imbued with supernatural power and can be obtained and used by staff.
It can help staff resist ghosts!
Each Sin Artifact has different abilities and must be explored by the user.
Acquisition methods are unrestricted.
Upon receiving this message, the staff who had just recovered from their injuries were visibly elated.
Only Tongguan and Chang Nian exchanged a knowing glance; they had already learned about this from Li Guanqi and showed no real surprise.
Yu Guo, Fang Shenyen, and even Ji Li could not hide their astonishment.
Fang Shenyen frowned, staring at his left hand. The eye embedded there had already closed on its own.
Clearly, this tattoo curse was the so-called Sin Artifact. He was the first person in the Seventh Branch to possess one.
It was both his greatest fortune and misfortune.
When the Sin Artifact activated, he felt a part of his soul being drawn into it. He could no longer be considered fully alive.
Yu Guo, on the other hand, was jubilant. In his view, the addition of the Sin Artifact would help the staff tackle more complex tasks and face even more terrifying ghosts.
Most thrilling for him was the thought that possessing a Sin Artifact might finally give him the confidence to face the ghost from Tiannan Academy.
Ji Li concealed his shock, his gray-black eyes studying Tongguan and Chang Nian deeply.
He realized that these two already knew about the Sin Artifact, likely because former staff from Branch Eleven had already dispersed across the hotel.
It was only natural that they had received the information.
The hotel’s description of the Sin Artifact was vague; the specifics would require further exploration.
Suppressing their emotions, the staff ascended the stairs one by one.
The lobby was left with only Ji Li.
He lingered, staring at the broadcast system, and slowly asked:
“Then, what is my purpose as acting manager after achieving two stars…”
No reply came; the female voice from the broadcast seemed gone, leaving only silence.
Ji Li shook his head in confusion and turned to leave.
Just as he reached the stairs, a faint sigh sounded. The mysterious female voice whispered softly:
If you wish, the Seventh Branch can exist without a branch manager from now on…