For some reason, a pretty big crowd had gathered at the lounge of the Sproutlinger Hotel. After taking a moment to listen, Wu Xiaoming could roughly make out the reason: apparently, some kind of creepy disturbance happened to almost all the rooms in the hotel, and these people were the creeped out and horrified guests, who were asking for refunds. The hotel manager was trying her hardest to de-escalate the situation and make the crowd disperse.
On the side of the reception desk, one receptionist was free, and was only there watching the manager and the crowd rather helplessly.
Maybe, just one night? The disturbance might just be due to the fight that happened last night. But, judging from the general look and feel of the entire hotel building, the general environment should be much better than before.
Wu Xiaoming entered the lounge from a small glass door on the side of the main door, going around the back of the crowd.
“Oh man, don’t stay here. Run as far as possible.” A man with messy hair and still wearing his bathrobe warned Wu Xiaoming with a slightly raspy voice: “Some creepy ass shit happened last night. Everyone heard it. It’s fucking crazy - you’d better off staying somewhere else, man.”
“Oh! Something creepy? What happened?” Wu Xiaoming feigned a hint of worry coupled with curiosity.
“Fucking hell, man. It’s scary.” The man shook his head, sighing: “You see, last night, right? I was just chillin’ on my bed, thinking about makin’ a booty call or somethin’. Then there was some fighting noises on the floor above, I don’t know who the fuck that was. But I ain’t got no time to check it out, because I got this bangin’ hot chick talkin’ ‘bout comin’ over for some fun time, right? And then out of fucking nowhere, the walls started banging - and not like the kind of bangin’ that’s fun - it’s like a bunch of people were banging the wall and trying to break in. You know? It’s not just one wall, but all the walls, even the fucking ceiling!” The man shivered: “Holy fucking shit, still gives me the creeps when I think about it. They better give us a good explanation and refund the shit out of my stay.”
“Damn.” Wu Xiaoming sighed, then smiled at the man: “You know, I am actually one of those weirdos who likes haunted places. Such a pity I didn’t catch it, you mind if I get your number? And maybe have a quick interview about what happened?”
“What?” The man took a small step back: “Dude, why you like that, man? Get outta here!” Then he just turned away from Wu Xiaoming, and instead focused on the negotiation between the manager and a “leader” of the crowd.
Wu Xiaoming did not mind the man’s reaction at all, and just went straight to the only available receptionist: “Hi, I would like a room, preferably on the sixth floor.”
“Huh? What?” The receptionist was obviously not very experienced and almost dropped her phone: “I’m sorry, really?”
“Yes, really. Just for one night - for now. And - if you can, can you ask the owner of the hotel if I have a discount? My name is Wu Xiaoming, and - ”
“Mr. Wu - Xiaoming?” The receptionist frowned at her screen: “Yes - there’s something with your name in our system, but it says we need to check with our manager. But - ” She took a peek at the manager, who was still trying to manage the situation in the lounge.
“Okay, I’ll check back later.” Wu Xiaoming shrugged and handed the receptionist his own credit card - his own card, not the one given to him by his older brother.
His room had a lucky number, 606. But the condition was less than ideal - the carpet was worn, the beddings were old. If he ever got the chance, he should try to learn a few spells that could help with daily life. For example, it was a pretty common trope in the web novels in his previous world, where cultivators, especially Taoist cultivators, had spells to clean their rooms, dens and clothes. There were not any of the skill points on his skill tree for it, maybe it was time to visit that eccentric shop owner Zhuge Lishi again.
The bathroom was barely above the acceptable level of hygiene. He went in, took a quick shower before getting ready to head out.
Time wise it was still very early - he left his father’s place early in the morning, so he still had a full day’s time to do all the things he needed and wanted to do.
In theory, the first priority was to find himself a more long-term place to stay, an apartment, maybe. Right now, literally inside of the “enemy’s” den or lair, he would like to be more equipped first. It was a risky bet to stay here, but one that he could afford with all those added currencies and extra skill points - 7 spare skill points right now, he needed time to think about where to put them.
He had already had some food earlier, but right now he could eat some more - and he could use some coffee as well. After that he could visit some apartments that were accepting renters.
The first two places he found were actually not really far from the Sproutlinger Hotel, the first of which was a side bedroom in an apartment inside of a high-rise apartment building. The place was even older than the Sproutlinger Hotel, with his landlord, a middle aged man living in the main bedroom. The bathroom was quite dirty, and smelled of mold and urine. So it was a solid no. The second place was one spare bedroom in a remodeled apartment, where he would share the place with three other male roommates. This place was much cleaner than the first one, but with less space and barely any slots for him in the fridge. This would be a likely pass. Neither of these places were cheap, with regard to his budget.
This was downtown Los Angeles, the area where Zhuge Lishi’s shop resided in was further away and therefore could be cheaper with better condition, so he just hopped on a rideshare heading over.
To his surprise, the shop was open when he got there, with the owner of the shop yawning behind the desk.
“Morning young man, you look particularly alive today.” Zhuge Lishi’s eyes lit up the moment Wu Xiaoming came into the shop: “And you’ve rid of the bad omens that shrouded you. Good job!”
“Huh? You can tell?” Wu Xiaoming raised an eyebrow: “How do you know?”
“You don’t open up a shop like this in this area of the town and at this time and day without knowing a thing or two.” Zhuge Lishi shrugged: “So, what do you need?”
“Uh… the soapberry wood staff, do you have more of it? Or anything related?” Wu Xiaoming asked.
“It’s useful, huh?” Zhuge Lishi smiled: “Unfortunately not now - unless you want some lower quality fakes. I’ve been trying to get my hands on some of that, but our supplier is slow.”
“Oh.” Wu Xiaoming frowned: “What - uh - what do you recommend? I need to have some explora - investigation later and I need some good stuff.”
“There’s some spare talisman paper, if you need. I just got them returned - son of a gun didn’t plan well enough and needed to go back to China for half a year - or maybe a year.”
“Huh? There’s an expiration date on these things?”
“They’re made of paper, with rice coatings, what do you think? ” Zhuge Lishi rolled his eyes: “They’re usually only good for a year. After that the quality will degrade, so - ”
“How much for them?”
“They’re already close to 4 months old, so I’ll give you a discount, one thousand dollars, one hundred and fifty pages.”
“Uh - can I buy a smaller batch?” Wu Xiaoming scratched his head: “One hundred and fifty is a lot. ”
“Lasts shorter than you think.” Zhuge Lishi chuckled: “Then how about this, eight hundred for one hundred pages?”
“Well - ” Wu Xiaoming thought for a moment: “I guess I’ll take them. Anything else?”
“Let’s see - ” Zhuge Lishi opened up a few drawers: “Would you like a manual on how to make talismans? Or a small wooden plaque that helps with concentration and meditation?”
“A manual?” Wu Xiaoming’s eyes lit up this time: “Yes! What about spell books? Do you have any manuals on Taoist, or Buddhist spells?”
Zhuge Lishi frowned and looked Wu Xiaoming in the eyes for a moment, then shook his head, “No - those are generally secrets. Unlike talismans making, they are generally kept within their respective sects and clans. And - a word of advice, if you happened to learn any of the spells you just mentioned, don’t use it in front of any of the members of MAGLAA. They’re very protective about those kinds of stuff.”
“I see.” Wu Xiaoming sighed and shook his head: “How much for the talisman manual and the plaque?”
“Five hundred together. And with the talisman I’ll give you twelve hundred, how’s that?”
“Okay, deal.”