16 Devil Mountain

Third floor, room 301.

Chen Qingqing and Zhao Ping share a room and are a couple who have been dating for over two years. Chen Qingqing is 36 years old, but she doesn't want to marry Zhao Ping because she is always the one who pays for the relationship.

At this moment, Zhao Ping was half-lying on the bed waiting for Chen Qingqing, who was taking a shower in the bathroom. Zhao Ping frowned at the text message on his phone, looking annoyed.

His phone was full of spam text messages, and he had blacklisted all the numbers, but no matter how many he blacklisted, the debt collection companies always managed to find a different number to contact him.

Soon, Chen Qingqing came out of the bathroom. "This place is terrible. I'm checking out tomorrow. It's so boring, and there's not much to do around here, just mountains..."

She grumbled as she went to the bed and picked up a hairdryer to dry her hair.

Zhao Ping put his phone away and moved off the bed. "Sister Chen."

His voice was deep. Although Chen Qingqing was drying her hair, she immediately turned off the switch and turned her head to look at him.

Chen Qingqing asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Zhao Ping smiled and put his arm around Chen Qingqing's shoulder. "Sister Chen, could you lend me some money?"

Chen Qingqing put down the hair dryer, didn't rush to reply, but thought for a moment and asked, "How much do you need to borrow?"

Zhao Ping held up five fingers. "Five hundred thousand."

Chen Qingqing rolled her eyes at him. "I won't lend it to you."

Then, Chen Qingqing picked up the hairdryer, got up, and walked to the side to dry her hair, completely ignoring Zhao Ping.

Zhao Ping was unwilling to give up. He got out of bed and went to Chen Qingqing's side. "Sister, can you lend me some? I need it urgently. I'll pay you back next week."

Chen Qingqing pushed him away impatiently, "I won't lend it to you. If you ask again, we're breaking up."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ping dared not utter another word.

Chen Qingqing glanced at him, then turned back to continue drying her hair.

Zhao Ping stared at Chen Qingqing, and the more he looked, the more uncomfortable he felt.

Chen Qingqing is significantly older than Zhao Ping, making it a May-December romance. Initially, Zhao Ping agreed to date Chen Qingqing solely for her wealth. Zhao Ping has a decent figure and face, comparable to a model. When Zhao Ping saw Chen Qingqing at the gym that day, he initially thought she was a generous rich woman, but after dating for so long, he's only gotten a tiny fraction of the money, making him increasingly feel it wasn't worth it.

A moment later, Chen Qingqing dried her hair. She turned around and saw Zhao Ping smiling at her, holding a glass of milk in his hand.

"This is the milk I made for you, to help you sleep!"

Chen Qingqing was also a little tired. She took the cup, took a small sip, and then stopped drinking.

"Okay, I'm going to sleep now, don't bother me."

"good."

Zhao Ping smiled as he looked at Chen Qingqing, then went to the bed and helped massage Chen Qingqing's shoulders, as attentive as ever.

**

It was late at night, and all was quiet except for the occasional bird calls from the forest outside; no one knew what kind of animal they were.

Zhou Yun lay on the bed unable to sleep, while Fang Chengjin sat on the sofa opposite her.

Zhou Yun initially wanted to rest on the sofa, but Fang Chengjin told her to lie on the bed and went to the sofa himself. The sofa was a bit small, and Fang Chengjin looked rather pitiful lying on his side.

The room was dim, with only moonlight streaming in through the window. In the hazy space, Zhou Yun couldn't see whether Fang Chengjin across from her was asleep or not.

Zhou Yun's mind was filled with thoughts of the people she had encountered that day. If one of them was indeed a murderer, nighttime would be the perfect opportunity to strike. But... who could it be?

With that thought, she drifted off to sleep. In her dream, she heard sounds of objects hitting each other, seemingly coming from the ceiling, upstairs? Or perhaps from the next room, from the bedside table...

Finally, Zhou Yun felt a cold sensation on her forehead, as if something had covered her face, and she woke up with a start.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Fang Chengjin, who was reaching out to touch his forehead. His hand was very cold, like the cool night breeze.

Zhou Yun asked instinctively, "What...are you going to do?"

Fang Chengjin's gaze was focused on her face, his eyes flashing slightly: "I saw that you looked very uncomfortable just now, your forehead was all wrinkled, I thought you had a fever or a cold."

It turns out she was taking her own temperature.

Zhou Yun shook her head, pushed his hand away, and turned to the side. "I'm fine, I just had some nightmares."

Fang Chengjin asked again, "What kind of nightmare?" After asking, he guessed, "Being a policeman is a dangerous profession, so you should have fewer nightmares, unless you have some kind of unresolved issues."

Zhou Yun really had a knot in her heart. She lowered her head, swallowed, and changed the subject, saying, "I heard some noises, it seems to be coming from upstairs."

Fang Cheng nodded: "There is indeed a sound upstairs, and not only upstairs, but also next door."

Zhou Yun looked up, her eyes filled with surprise.

"Something happened?" she asked.

Fang Cheng remained silent, seemingly trying to figure out how to begin, but before he had much time to explain, cries for help came from outside.

The last note was almost a shout, echoing through the night sky.

The guesthouse rooms weren't very soundproof, especially outside noises; even the slightest sound could travel upstairs. Plus, Zhou Yun and her friends hadn't closed the windows in their room.

Zhou Yun was startled, and she subconsciously glanced at the clock on the wall.

It was four o'clock at night, and the sky was dark.

Zhou Yun quickly went to the window and peeked out, with Fang Chengjin following closely behind.

Not far from the guesthouse, seemingly in front of the door, there were only a few lights, and nothing else was happening.

Zhou Yun turned to Fang Chengjin: "What exactly happened? Did you hear any screams?"

Fang Chengjin: "I heard it too. Something must have happened downstairs. Let's go down and take a look."

**

Two bright fluorescent lights hung in front of the guesthouse gate, casting swaying shadows on the ground. A little further ahead, two figures were locked in a fierce battle, neither gaining the upper hand.

With a thud, the fist struck flesh, a solid punch.

Pan Fei felt blood quickly welling up in his nose, followed by a warm sensation. He collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, staring in disbelief at the tall man standing in front of him.

Pan Fei said, "Zhao Ping! You've gone mad! You killed someone, you..."

Zhao Ping, panting heavily, approached Pan Fei, ready to attack. "As long as you don't say anything, no one will know!"

As he spoke, Zhao Ping reached out and grabbed Pan Fei by the neck.

Pan Fei struggled, but because Zhao Ping had been working out for years, his arm strength was extraordinary. No matter how hard Pan Fei tried, he couldn't break free. He held onto Zhao Ping's hand tightly, and a feeling of suffocation rushed to his head.

“I…let me go…!” Pan Fei struggled.

"You must promise me you won't tell anyone!" Zhao Ping was unwilling to let go, a look of hesitation appearing on his face, but his eyes were still so sinister.

Pan Fei changed his tune: "I...I won't say..."

But Zhao Ping was unwilling to let go. He thought about what would happen if Zhao Ping went to the police. "You forced me to do this. If you hadn't come out and seen it, it would have been fine. But you insisted on coming out!"

Pan Fei struggled, his fingers digging into the mud until they bled. "Help...me..."

**

With a shout, Zhou Yun rushed over from the door and kicked Zhao Ping away.

With a thud, Zhao Ping fell to the side. He hadn't expected Zhou Yun to be so strong. He quickly got up and looked at her.

Not only Zhou Yun, but also Fang Chengjin was there.

At this moment, Pan Fei also staggered to his feet and came to Zhou Yun's side, and the three of them confronted Zhao Ping.

Zhao Ping hesitated for only a second before immediately turning and running towards the wooden bridge, wanting to leave. He wasn't sure he could beat two adult men, and he didn't take Zhou Yun seriously.

Zhou Yun and Pan Fei immediately followed. Zhou Yun was agile and tackled Zhao Ping in an instant, and the two began to fight.

Zhou Yun was a national boxing champion back in the day, and her physical tests were conducted according to men's standards, so her strength was comparable to that of an adult man. Although Zhao Ping trained regularly, he lacked practical combat experience and didn't have as many close-quarters fighting techniques as Zhou Yun.

In just a few rounds, Zhou Yun had Zhao Ping's hands behind his waist and stepped on his back, almost breaking it.

With a crack, the bone showed signs of slight fracture.

Zhao Ping screamed and collapsed to the ground, too afraid to move.

Zhou Yun's gaze was cold as she quickly pulled out a pair of handcuffs from her waist and cuffed Zhao Ping's hands.

"If you don't want to become a vegetable, you'd better behave yourself!"

With just a little force from Zhou Yun's foot, Zhao Ping's coccyx could break.

"Spare me... Spare me..." Zhao Ping screamed, not daring to move.

**

Pan Fei breathed a sigh of relief. "Zhou Yun, you're really amazing!"

Zhou Yun glanced sideways, "Move him to the door first, then tie him up!"

Upon hearing this, Pan Fei went over and, together with Zhou Yun, dragged Zhao Ping to the door. Zhou Yun then found a rope and tied Zhao Ping up tightly.

Zhou Yun dusted herself off and looked at Pan Fei: "What exactly happened?"

Pan Fei seemed to realize something, his face filled with horror as he pointed at him: "He pushed Chen Qingqing off the cliff..."

Zhou Yun turned around and looked at Zhao Ping, "You killed Chen Qingqing!"

Zhao Ping looked resentful, but he remained silent.

Zhou Yun grabbed his collar and asked fiercely, "Why did you kill him?"

Zhao Ping closed his eyes. "I didn't. You have no evidence. How can you take Pan Fei's words as fact? Zhou Yun, Pan Fei might be the one who killed him!"

Pan Fei angrily retorted, "Don't spout nonsense and slander people! I heard cries for help upstairs and came downstairs, only to find you killing someone! I ran over too late and watched helplessly as you pushed Chen Qingqing down the stairs!"

Zhao Ping remained silent.

Zhou Yun's expression was icy. She released Zhao Ping's collar, stood up, and walked towards Fang Chengjin.

At this moment, Fang Chengjin was standing by the wooden bridge, with his back to them.

As Zhou Yun approached, she saw Fang Chengjin bowing his head and bending over, wiping the stones on the side.

Fang Chengjin spoke up: "There are signs of clothing friction and bloodstains here. Chen Qingqing must have fallen down there."

Zhou Yun looked down and saw that it was bottomless, shrouded in clouds and mist, pitch black, with only the bright moonlight shining in the sky.

If Chen Qingqing really falls, she will surely die.

A sigh came from behind him. Pan Fei put his hands on his hips, looking helpless. "Poor thing, I don't know why Zhao Ping did this!"

Zhou Yun immediately decided, "Call the police first. Only the police can find out what happened here."

After saying that, Zhou Yun took out her phone from her pocket to make a call, but found that there was no signal at all.

Zhou Yun's heart suddenly sank; she felt something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Pan Fei noticed that she looked strange and asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhou Yun held up her phone, her voice trembling slightly, "The phone has no signal."