My Wife Is No Longer Human!?

Chapter 3: The Dead

“What can I do for you?”

The sudden voice startled me, and I turned toward its source.

In the dimly lit corner, there sat a worn-out sofa, upon which an unremarkable figure was seated upright. We hadn’t even noticed him when we entered.

“We… need a room,” I replied.

“Sigh.” The man let out a long, weary breath, as if mustering great effort to rise from the sofa.

Seeing him clearly, I was instantly shocked. *Bizarre*—perhaps that was the only word to describe him.

He was extremely short, only about 1.4 meters tall, and with his advanced age, he was somewhat hunched over.

There was almost no flesh on his face, just a thin layer of skin tightly stretched over his bones.

His appearance wasn’t comical; instead, it felt eerie.

That animal-like musty smell hidden beneath the fragrance in the rainy night was emanating from him.

“A room is eighty,” he rasped as he walked to the counter.

“Eighty?” Zhang Qiang questioned, puzzled. “This dump is way too expensive!”

“No pressure.”

I glanced at the time—3 a.m. Besides this place, there probably weren’t any other hotels open.

Zhang Qiang realized this too and could only swallow his frustration.

After paying, the owner handed us keys. I took a look and casually asked, “Why is there a fourth floor and a third floor here?”

“The living stay on the third floor; the dead stay on the fourth,” the owner said flatly.

Hearing this, I was taken aback. I looked at the third-floor key in Zhang Qiang’s hand, then at the fourth-floor key in mine, and immediately grew angry. “What the hell do you mean? Cursing me to die?”

The owner looked up at me expressionlessly, then suddenly grinned, revealing yellow teeth covered in tartar. “Six days. You have at most six days left. No need to waste a third-floor spot.”

I was about to speak when Zhang Qiang patted my shoulder. “Enough, don’t mind this lunatic. Let’s get going already, or else the ladies will be off work soon!”

“What damn ladies!” I shook off his hand and confronted the owner. “Explain yourself. What do you mean I only have six days left?”

The owner remained silent, simply taking two candles from under the counter—one red, one white. He handed me the white candle and finally spoke slowly.

“There’s no light in the hallway. Use the candle to see. Once you’re in your room, don’t go outside, and don’t go up or down the stairs.”

Then, he returned to the sofa in the corner.

“Can you at least give us more candles? This one’s almost burnt out!”

“It’s enough to get you upstairs.”

No matter how much I pressed him afterward, he refused to say another word.

Lunatic!

I cursed under my breath.

Seeing that I wouldn’t get any answers, Zhang Qiang and I could only head upstairs.

The stairs were old and rickety, as if made of wooden planks. Every step we took made a groaning sound, as if they couldn’t bear our weight.

I was afraid they might collapse beneath us at any moment!

The only light in the entire hallway came from the candles in our hands. I wasn’t sure if they were old, but the flames were faint, just bright enough to see the steps beneath our feet.

We seemed to have reached the second floor. The pungent fragrance had vanished, replaced by an extraordinary sweetness—a scent I’d never smelled before, one that brought a strange sense of pleasure.

Glancing around, I could vaguely make out the hallway. It was clean and eerily quiet.

“What kind of people stay on the second floor? Why does it smell so nice?” I muttered curiously.

Zhang Qiang beside me chuckled. “That’s the scent of women. Probably all ladies of the night staying on this floor.”

“Wow, no wonder this dump charges so much. It’s got its secrets!”

“All you ever think about are ladies!” I snapped.

As we continued upstairs, the lingering sweetness faded, replaced by the musty smell of a place left uncleaned for too long.

This hallway wasn’t as tidy as the second floor. The floor was a mess, littered with bottles and cigarette butts.

From the rooms, I could occasionally hear women’s laughter and men’s angry shouts.

“Alright, Xiao Jiang, I’m heading to my room.”

Zhang Qiang fumbled for the small cards he’d brought along, grinning lasciviously. Seeming impatient, he just tossed out those words before retreating to his room.

I felt somewhat helpless and continued up to the fourth floor.

The noise from the third floor gradually faded, and silence returned. But as I lingered in the stairwell, my face darkened.

The fourth floor reeked of a stench I knew all too well—the smell of a corpse!

The flame of the candle in my hand flickered uneasily. I glanced at it—it was almost burnt out.

The heat from the flame spread to my palm. Just as the owner had said, it was barely enough to get upstairs, with not a bit to spare!

This faint light wasn’t enough for me to go back down. I didn’t want to stumble down the stairs in the dark and fall.

“Uncle! Zhang Qiang!”

Only my own echo answered me. I didn’t know if Zhang Qiang on the third floor could hear me.

Everything remained eerily quiet. Behind me was pitch black, the candle was nearly gone, and I couldn’t even tell where the third floor was.

There was no way this candle would get me to the third floor. I had no choice but to brace myself and head to the fourth floor.

Like the second floor, the fourth floor was clean and quiet.

My footsteps echoed in the hallway, filled with unease and fear.

The hallway wasn’t completely dark. It seemed every room was occupied, and from the gaps under the doors, the flickering light of candles spilled into the hallway.

The stench of decay grew stronger, wafting from the surrounding rooms.

I could only quicken my pace.

Whoosh.

As I opened my room door, it felt like a gust of wind—or perhaps the candle had burnt out. The flame in my hand instantly went dark.

Bang! I slammed the door shut almost instantly.

My heart raced wildly. Anxiety and fear consumed me.

Fortunately, there was a light inside the room—a bedside lamp. It was enough for me to see the room clearly.

It was just an ordinary hotel room: a bed, a lamp, and nothing else.

The stench of decay was mostly blocked by the door. Looking at the burnt-out candle in my hand, I realized I was effectively trapped in this room by the darkness.

I took off my clothes and wrapped myself tightly in the blanket. As for showering, I had no plans for that tonight.

Drowsiness washed over me, and before my eyes, a village slowly materialized.

The village was small, surrounded by mountains, devoid of life. Weeds grew everywhere, and an air of desolation and abandonment hung in the air.

“On the horse-racing mountain, a cloud drifts by…”

Suddenly, music drifted from the distance. Along with it, I seemed to see a woman in a red wedding dress standing by the river.

At the same time, my feet moved uncontrollably toward the source of the song.

This tune was also hauntingly familiar. Instantly, I recalled the inexplicable music from the radio station—the two overlapped. The radio music was the same song this woman was singing!