Ah Jing listened to Haiyun's silence, sighed, and said, "Sister Haiyun, let me tell you the truth, there are at least more than twenty people buried under each cherry tree. ”

"What do you mean?"

"Don't get me wrong, the reason why so many people died under the cherry blossom trees is because a strange thing happened here twenty years ago. Seeing that Haiyun no longer spoke, Ah Jing simply told Haiyun the story of the past, "Before that incident, the Sakura Inn was the most beautiful place in Karn Town, and there was an endless stream of strangers who came here as guests. Father, mother, brother, and more than a dozen servants, all of whom maintained the inn together, and although they were busy every day, everyone was happy, and the days passed day by day——"

"I thought that the ordinary life would last, but I didn't expect everything to change later. I don't know why, when I was seven years old, the whole inn was afflicted with a strange disease, and those who got it would not be contagious, but they would weaken day by day and eventually leave in agony. We called in the best doctors in Karn, but they said they couldn't do anything, and everyone watched as the sick died one by one. The people who came to visit, my father, my mother, my brother, and the kind and simple servants all passed away, and only me and my grandmother miraculously survived. I also lost my eyes because of this, and I was saved by my grandmother's care. ”

Haiyun stood next to Ah Jing, and the grandmother under the tree was still cleaning the fallen cherry blossom petals.

"After everyone died, Grandma and I buried the dead under the cherry blossom trees, but I didn't expect these cherry blossom trees to bloom even more brilliantly. Grandma and I had a hard time maintaining such a large inn, so Grandma planned to hire some people from Karn Town to take care of the inn. Luckily, it was an accident in the eyes of the townspeople, and because the cherry blossom trees were even more abundant, the inn business began to boom again. ”

Ah Jing was smiling, but there were tears in the corners of his eyes.

"But I didn't expect that this was just the beginning. Death still looms over the hotel, and every day several unknown travelers die suddenly in their beds, and the doctors have seen them several times and say that they are dead of natural causes, as if their lives have been taken by the surrounding cherry blossom trees. It wasn't long before there was no one else in the inn but me and my grandmother, and even the hired men had fled the evil place. The people of the town say that there is a death inn in Sakura Alley, and the dead are buried under the cherry blossom trees and become nourishment for the cherry blossom trees-"

"People advised me and my grandmother to leave, but she refused, saying it was our family's hotel. So my grandmother and I have been living in this place for a long time. After dealing with the affairs of the inn every day, Grandma will take a broom to clean the fallen cherry blossom petals. I don't know why, maybe as the people of Karn Town say, there are more people dying, and the cherry blossom trees are blooming more and more-"

"Aren't you and your grandmother afraid of death if you stay here?" Haiyun looked around, the entire inn showed no signs of dilapidation at all, and everything here was brand new except for no people.

"I'm not afraid, the inn is a place where everyone lives together, why am I afraid? Every day it's quiet, the cherry blossoms are beautiful, especially at night, I always dream of my father, my mother, and my brother, and it seems that they are still with me. ”

"Are there any travelers in this inn now?"

Ah Jing nodded, "Sister, why are you asking this question?"

"Just out of curiosity, everyone thinks of this place as a grave of death, and anyone dares to come?" Haiyun smiled awkwardly, after all, she was also one of them.

Ah Jing tilted his head and muttered, "But this person is very eccentric, a little boy who always likes to hold an ice-blue ball all day long." He is always elusive, and rarely sees his shadow, if Sister Haiyun sees him, she must tell me and Grandma!"

"Okay. Haiyun agreed, she put her hand on Ah Jing's arm, and said, "After listening to these sensational stories, can I go to see the room now?"

"I'm really sorry, Sister Haiyun, I forgot to tell the story. ”

"It's okay, I'm a stranger, and it's good to hear more of these interesting stories. ”

Ah Jing closed the curtains, as if he had something to say.

"You're trying to ask me why I'm not scared, right?" Haiyun asked.

"It's worthy of Sister Haiyun, you can see what I think at a glance. You must be wondering, why does Grandma clean the petals in front of the court whenever she has time? It's because Grandma is old, and in her eyes these cherry blossom trees are those who have died, so she keeps cleaning them, piling up the fallen flowers, and then turning them into dust—"

"I see. Haiyun had a smile on his face, "I don't think there's anything strange here, aren't you and Grandma getting along?"

"You're such a strange person, Sister Haiyun. ”

"Why?"

"People who are different from ordinary people are strange people!"

With the smile that showed his neat white teeth, Ah Jing nodded abruptly and walked briskly all the way upstairs. Haiyun put away the smile on her face, but there was no life in this huge inn, and she didn't feel any traces of spiritual power or signs of life. The only ones alive are the cherry blossom trees that are in full bloom in bright red—

The hotel is a three-story retro building, and Ah Jing chose a room on the third floor for Haiyun in the middle of the escalator. The view is very good, you can see the whole golden wheat field of Noah, and if the fog clears, you can see the Gonggar Mountains to the north. A gentle breeze hits and fills the room, giving a feeling of refreshment.

Haiyun knelt on the carpet, took out a gem that he carried with him, and handed it to Ah Jing, "Ah Jing, you know that I am a stranger, and there is no currency common to Karn Town, this gem is not a priceless but also a valuable treasure, so it should be used as money for the hotel." ”

Ah Jing took Haiyun's gem, because she couldn't see it, she didn't know the beauty of the gem, so she had to say goodbye to Haiyun for the time being, and went downstairs to take the gem to Grandma.

"Sister Haiyun, it's not that I don't believe you, but I'm blind and can't see clearly. I'll give it to my grandmother first, and I'll get you something else when I get back. ”

Haiyun said that he wanted to be alone, and Ah Jing just left, and quickly ran downstairs to find Grandma, not at all like an invisible girl.

Not long after Ah Jing left, a slight movement aroused Haiyun's alarm. She stood up and pushed open the door, and in the depths of the dimly lit hallway came the sound of Bang Bang Bang, so faint that only one could hear it when he was still.

"Who's filming something?"

Haiyun subconsciously walked towards the source of the sound, only to see that at the end of the corridor, a short-haired boy in a yellow shirt and brown trousers slapped the ice-blue ball in his hand with his back to him.

"Cherry Blossom Tree—Soul Killer—White Night Fox—Slaughtering City—Cherry Blossom Tree—Soul Killer—White Night Fox—Slaughtering City—"

The boy sings an eerie nursery rhyme.

This boy, like Ah Jing and Grandma, has no signs of life, but why are they alive like normal people? As if he found Haiyun standing behind him, the boy slowly turned around, and under his playful bangs were two lines of bloody tears.

He was as blind as Ah Jing.

"Stranger, get out of here, there are many dead souls under the cherry blossom trees, and the White Night Fox will slaughter the city-"

The boy kept muttering, put away the ice-blue ball in his hand and lay on the floor to listen.

"What's wrong?" Haiyun asked.

"Shhhhhhh

"Who's coming?"

"I can't say. The boy's right index and middle fingers bent slightly, made a gesture to insert his eyes, and then reminded, "Since you walk into Sakura Alley, it will be difficult to get out, but you have to remember not to eat here." The boy thought for a moment and added, "One more thing, if someone asks me if I've been here, don't answer." ”

"For—"

As soon as Haiyun wanted to speak, the boy disappeared without a trace with the ice-blue ball in his hand.

"Sister Haiyun!"

Ah Jing's crisp voice came from downstairs, bouncing as if he had made a fortune.

"Sister Haiyun, my mother-in-law said that your gem is very valuable, enough for you to live here for several years!"

"Huh?"

Ah Jing put away the smile on his face and saw Haiyun standing at the end of the corridor, and asked suspiciously, "Sister Haiyun, why are you standing in a place where there is no light?" Ah Jing turned on the candlelight in the corridor, and the darkness was illuminated by the light.

Haiyun silently turned around and patted Ah Jing's shoulder, "The cherry blossoms here are beautiful, I plan to stay for a while." ”

"That's good, I can listen to your story more!" Ah Jing said with a smile, "But Sister Haiyun, do you have something to hide from me?"

Haiyun walked into the room and looked at the puzzled Ah Jing behind him silently.

"Sister Haiyun, don't get me wrong, I mean, did you see something?"

"You mean a kid with an ice-blue ball?"

"Looks like he just showed up. A kind of joy appeared on Ah Jing's face.

"Who is he, and why is his eyes hurt so badly?"

"He's a traveler other than you in this inn that I mentioned to you just now, his name is Xiaofeng, and he likes to run around with an ice-blue ball all day long, and he can't be seen until dinner. ”

"What about the injuries to his eyes?"

Ah Jing tilted his head and asked suspiciously, "Is Xiaofeng injured?"

Haiyun shook his head, "No, maybe it's a mistake with me, maybe he got some dust and got his eyes dirty when he got there." ”

"I'll just say, Xiaofeng is a child who loves to play with balls, and my grandmother said that his eyes are very beautiful, like yellow agate. "But he's so naughty that he often messes up the hotel, so my grandmother and I often look for him." ”

"He was really naughty, and neither of them could find him. ”

"But no, grandma is very troubled because of this incident, because she is old, the task of finding Xiaofeng can only be entrusted to me. ”