Chapter 37 Mad Dog Hotel
“Lu Qi…”
"Don't come any closer!" Lu Qi cried out in despair, crouching in the corner.
The joy of discovering Lulu's resurrection vanished completely. She wished Lulu hadn't returned, wished that what she saw before her was a strange demon, so that she could join forces with others without hesitation to kill the monster that created the legend.
But he was Lulu, the little dog she raised. He was not only her benefactor who died to save her, but also her child and her family. Their relationship was more than just a casual one like boyfriend and girlfriend.
Her breakdown stemmed not only from Lulu lying to her and Lulu harming others, but also from the realization that she herself was the culprit behind everything.
Lulu wasn't born evil, nor did she have a mental illness. There are no bad dogs in this world, only bad owners. She created him, she created this strange tale!
Because she was afraid of men, men were assigned the worst resources.
Because she left Lulu with a traumatic experience during a taxi ride back then, that's why dog-headed people like poodles and Shiba Inus appeared;
The hotel's curfew was 10:30 p.m.—that was the time she would return home after evening self-study and take Lulu out for a walk with the dog.
If she were a little smarter and more hardworking, she could have skipped a grade and graduated, or even just made it into the top ten of her grade. She could have used her grades to negotiate with the teacher to skip evening self-study, and Lulu's walk could have started much earlier. He wouldn't have lost his life in the dark of night.
The access control alarm that started at 10:30 was actually the alarm sounding from the heart monitor.
That early morning, Lu Qi's world ended with the alarm that her heart rate was zero.
She lost everything at this point.
The young man stopped.
"I already asked you."
He stood at the foot of the bed, his eyelids half-closed. "Lu Qi, I've already asked you. You can't be happy in that world."
Lu Qi, tears streaming down her face, opened her eyes wide.
Yes... he asked her.
That was their conversation the day after they mediated with Zhao Feipeng.
He asked her, "This world is always hurting you. You don't like it here, do you?"
She answered him in a way that led him to the conclusion he reached:
"I see."
"You'll be unhappy staying in this world."
She did not refute his words.
How could she forget how poorly she behaved when Zhao Feipeng caused trouble for her?
Having worked as a doctor for almost two years, she would freeze in fear and her hands and feet would turn ice cold whenever a male customer spoke in a slightly impatient tone.
As the owner, she only showed a cowardly and panicked side, and could not give Lulu any sense of security.
Even if Lulu isn't a leader-type dog, seeing her weak and useless owner forces her to grow into a leader for their group.
He wasn't a born vicious dog; he initially had no intention of starting a ghost story, he simply wanted to be her assistant.
He was forced to begin this strange tale after witnessing her utterly terrible interpersonal skills.
He was simply fulfilling the duty of an excellent and loyal dog.
Every single rule originated from her;
Even the entire ghost story—was attributed to her weakness and incompetence.
"It's my fault, it's all my fault..." Lu Qi cried, pressing her forehead to her chest. "Lulu, please take down this ghost story, okay?"
Her skin was red from crying. Lulu remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "No."
"Why!"
In Lu Qi's stunned, tearful eyes, Lulu squatted down and looked her in the eye from a distance of one bed.
“Lu Qi,” he said with unprecedented seriousness, “the outside world will only hurt you. Only here can I protect you.”
They were both fed up with that chaotic and barbaric world, full of dangerous and unstable elements. They needed a world with clear rules and boundaries; a world full of stable order.
This is the most beautiful world.
The lights were off, and the golden midday sunlight streamed in through the window, dividing the room in two and creating a play of light and shadow.
Lu Qi huddled in a dark corner, while the young man crouched in the pale light.
Like many years ago, she was huddled in a dark closet, and Lulu desperately tried to pry open the door, dragging her paralyzed lower body and using her tender nose to push open a crack.
The light followed the gap, embracing Lu Qi along with its golden glow.
Lu Qi closed his eyes.
She couldn't help it; she couldn't blame him.
He is Lulu.
"Then, how about letting others out?" she choked back tears as she compromised. "I'll stay here with you."
"no."
Under Lu Qi's astonished gaze, Lulu said calmly, "Maintaining this ghost story requires energy. Humans are my nourishment, and I need them too. You also need to socialize with people to maintain your physical and mental health."
"You need them?" Lu Qi murmured. "You need... to kill?"
“Killing is not the goal, but a way to draw power,” Lulu raised her hand, and white, cone-shaped claws grew from her slender fingers in front of Lu Qi.
A cloud of black mist tumbled and twisted in his palm.
"I need negative human emotions; they will become my power, making me stronger and more in control." His eyes grew even darker after releasing black mist, the whites of his eyes completely disappearing, turning him into a bizarre, inhuman being.
"That way, I can protect you better."
Lu Qi's pupils suddenly contracted.
"If all you need is human emotion, then why kill people!" She couldn't accept it. "The number of people in the hotel is limited. How can the emotions harvested in the moment of killing compare to what he would have provided if he had lived!"
“Emotions have a threshold. At first, losing internet access can terrify people, but within a few hours, they stop panicking about it,” Lulu patiently explained to her. “I don’t have time to study scary little tricks. My time, my attention, and all my senses cannot be separated from you.”
Lu Qi shook his head. "No, that's not right, Lulu. You think that killing a few people every now and then will keep others in fear, but like sheep in a pen, over time, everyone will become numb. They will break down, go insane, or give up on themselves. At that point, there will be fewer people, and you'll be able to gather even less. Killing is not advisable!"
“It’s alright,” Lulu said. “At that time, I can invite another group of people in.”
“What…” Lu Qi was stunned.
“It’s like inviting Zhao Feipeng,” Lulu retracted her claws, and the black mist returned to her palm. “This city has a large population, an inexhaustible supply.”
"Lulu!" Lu Qi roared, shocked and heartbroken by his cold tone.
“I’m here, Luqi,” Lulu replied with a smile.
He braced himself on the ground with both hands, knelt down, and crawled toward her in an arc.
He crawled very slowly, intentionally letting her see his every move so as not to frighten her.
“Although I don’t want to hurt women, you don’t like men.” He stopped two meters to her side. “So from now on, I will only invite women here.”
Lu Qi could no longer contain herself. "I've already promised you I'd stay here with you forever, so why are you doing this?!"
Lulu remained silent.
He couldn't tell Lu Qi that [the world's goodwill] had already invaded this place, and that [the world's claws] were ready to devour his ghost stories at any moment.
If Lu Qi knew this news, he would definitely try his best to unite with [the world's henchmen] to help the others escape.
Without sufficient power to resist, the ghost story will be torn apart little by little, and he will be unable to start a second ghost story.
"Don't think about these things." He smiled at Lu Qi, unwrapped the sandwich, just like Lu Qi used to use food to distract him. "You need to eat, Lu Qi. If you don't eat all day, your intestines will hurt."
Lu Qi stared intently at Lulu.
He turned his head slightly to the side, his eyelids half-closed, a gentle smile on his face, kneeling a distance away from her.
He was very polite and respectful to her, but he refused to compromise in the slightest.
"Get out!" Lu Qi slapped the sandwich out of his hand, utterly disappointed. "Get out of here."
Lulu was taken aback.
This was an order he had never heard before; Lu Qi had never treated him like this before.
“Lu Qi…” he opened his mouth, only to see Lu Qi pointing to the terrace, “If another person dies, I’ll jump off from here right now.”
“This is not something I can control!” Lulu shook her head, calming the agitation in her heart. “Even if it were me, I would be punished for breaking the rules. It’s just that I am very strong and have enough power to fight against the rules.”
Lu Qi turned his back to the bed, refusing to look at Lulu.
"Lu Qi, Lu Qi." He crawled behind her and pleaded in a pitiful voice, "Don't do this, don't you like me anymore? Don't you love me anymore, Lu Qi? I love you, Lu Qi, I love you."
Her eyes burned, and a stream of hot tears flowed from Lu Qi's eyes.
She hugged her knees tightly, buried her face in them, and remained silent in the face of Lulu's pleas.
Lulu quieted down.
Just as Lu Qi thought he was about to leave, suddenly, a familiar, wet, soft sensation licked her cheek.
She looked up in surprise and suddenly saw a beautiful, tall golden retriever standing beside her, tilting its head and gazing at her with innocent kindness.
Lulu... her puppy...
Tears streamed down her face; the emotions that had been dormant for years overwhelmed Lu Qi like a tidal wave, making it hard for her to breathe.
Compared to Lulu in her human form, Lulu in her original form made her realize more clearly that it had returned.
She looked at it, and the dog's dark eyes were filled with joy.
It flapped its wings happily, its tail wagging, its light golden fur like the finest silk, refracting a magnificent sheen.
Lulu lay down, exposed her belly to Luqi, and invited her to stroke it.
Lu Qi gritted his teeth, suppressing his surging emotions, and growled at it, "Get out! I don't want to see you!"
The golden retriever on the ground froze.
Lu Qi hurriedly turned his head away, unable to bear to look at its expression.
She knew she shouldn't blame Lulu; the problem lay with her.
She knew that yelling would solve the problem, but Xie Yun's corpse kept replaying in her mind, and so many people had suffered undeservedly because of her.
It will always be like this; her existence will only bring pain and trouble to those around her.
Lu Qi was overwhelmed by deep self-blame and guilt, making it hard for her to breathe.
Leave, leave her...
Let her have some time alone and think about what to do next...
Please, let her have some peace and quiet.
Lulu left.
He left the food and water in the room, walked out of the bedroom, and closed the door behind him.
The giant golden retriever transformed into a black and red sticky mist, which formed a blurry human figure. When the mist dissipated, a handsome blond youth emerged from the disgusting sticky fog.
He had never been yelled at like that by Lu Qi before.
Whether it was when he had diarrhea as a child and smeared the entire rented room with feces, or when he bit through electrical wires and overturned the trash can, Lu Qi never got angry with him.
Lulu is willing to give everything for Luqi, but she cannot back down when it comes to Luqi's safety.
Ghost stories are necessary.
Lu Qi needs supernatural tales, and he needs a world full of rules and order.
He glanced at the door, stood there for a moment, and then left the room.
Lu Qi was very agitated; forcing her closer would only make her more stressed.
Since the establishment of the Ghost Stories, he has always stayed by Lu Qi's side, and this is a good opportunity to inspect the territory.
Lulu walked along the edge of the park.
The swallows never appeared again.
They lost all contact. Lulu put on her sniff and searched the entire ghost story, but couldn't find it.
This is a good thing; it has finally moved away from Lu Qi.
Even though the swallow always claimed that it was on his side, Lulu never believed it.
Swallows and the world are both enemies.
Now the swallows have disappeared, leaving behind an unknown [world]. This concept is vague and abstract.
It calls the rule "[The World's Goodwill]", indicating that "[The World]" has discovered this ghost story, but Lulu has not yet sensed any signs that the ghost story has been destroyed.
Are the world's minions not yet here? Or... has he not noticed them?
He went to the most crucial entrance and exit first.
The stray dogs, still dressed in clothes, sat blankly on the lawn, waiting for someone to pass by.
Lulu walked through them and stepped onto the red line at the entrance.
The dogs on both sides ignored him, except for a bald Chihuahua that stupidly took two steps toward Lulu, trying to get closer.
Lulu turned around, her black pupils coldly glaring at it.
The Chihuahua whimpered twice, then shakily lay down, showing its weakness to him.
Lulu looked away, but the disgust on her face hadn't faded.
Such an ugly, small dog, weak and stupid, will probably be a stray for the rest of its life.
He scanned the various breeds of dogs around him, hooked his index finger down his high collar to reveal a red choker around his neck, and looked like an elite adjusting his tie, exuding superiority.
What an unpleasant place, filled with the stench of abandonment.
A pet dog like him, with an owner, will get bad luck if it stays here too long. We need to finish the checkup quickly and leave.
Lulu lowered her head and sniffed deeply at the barrier at the entrance.
He suddenly frowned, noticing a scent that was different from the others.
As he moved a little further forward, the faint scent suddenly dissipated, as if it had just been his imagination.
Lulu raised her hand and stroked the barrier in front of her.
There are no gaps, no abnormalities.
It smells like a crow; is it a bird that happened to be passing by outside...?
He checked the barrier repeatedly, and after confirming that it was undamaged, he turned to check the other boundaries.
After he walked away, a few wisps of black smoke hung in the air outside the barrier.
The black smoke landed, and a girl wearing a gray hoodie landed on the ground.
The girl was wearing a hoodie and holding a mini fruit knife.
She glanced expressionlessly at the result of her hard work over the course of half a day: a dent about half a finger long and one millimeter deep.
Then he looked at Lulu, who was walking away into the barrier.
The girl tilted her head, examining it, and muttered to herself, "A big yellow dog?"
This was the first time she had ever met a dog-themed ghost lord.
It doesn't matter if it's a ghost, a monster, a cat, or a dog, as long as no trace is found.
The girl picked up the miniature fruit knife and, like a gecko, clung to the outer wall of the barrier, continuing to work on grinding her crack.
She's almost there.
If all goes well, the door will be opened quietly and quickly.
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Author's note: Lulu: Get away, don't let me get tainted by the stench of poor, lowly stray dogs.
Girl: Big yellow dog.
I've only ever heard Lu Qi and Caihong praise Lulu for breaking through defenses since I was little.
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