HHH Chapter 57

Ningma dialed almost instantly, the hand holding the phone gripped so tightly that the back of his hand turned white!

“Welcome to Fei Mao Travel,” the call connected, playing a promotional ringtone, “Fei Mao Travel is a directly operated travel agency under Qinglv, pioneering nearly a hundred domestic and international travel routes, adhering to the service concept of ‘Where the heart desires, Fei Mao assists.’ Fei Mao Travel takes you to travel the world’s scenic spots, natural landscapes, historical sites, jungle adventures, and loving family trips. Whether you’re a city dweller longing for fresh mountains and rivers, or you want to take a trip on the spur of the moment, you can find the right route for your group, self-guided, or organized tour at Fei Mao Travel!”

“Beep beep beep,” the unanswered tone came from the phone. Ningma immediately pressed the redial button.

“Welcome to… the right route for you!” Again, no one answered.

Without a second thought, Ningma continued to press the redial button. After a moment, the elevator connected again, but still no response.

“Damn it!” Ningma hung up the phone in frustration, feeling like he was on fire. “Damn!”

He grew more and more agitated. Where was that guy? If he wasn’t in the room, where could he have gone? The phone could be reached, but no one answered. What the hell was going on?

Ningma pulled out a chair, his mouth dry. He didn’t bother pouring water from the nearby kettle. His mind was filled with Luo Zhe’s whereabouts. It was 6 p.m., and there was no reason for him to be gone.

Could something have happened?

“Ding-a-ling,” the doorbell rang abruptly. Ningma turned his head. “Who is it?”

There was no answer from outside. Two more rings followed. Ningma dragged his injured leg over and opened the door just a crack, only to have it suddenly pushed open by an external force.

A pure black sailor suit with a plaid jk skirt, the skirt revealing two smooth thighs, a round bun hairstyle exposing a snow-white neck, and a rosy face with a mischievous smile. Upon opening the door, she “whooshed” and held up a paper bag hidden in front of her to Ningma’s eyes.

“Ta-da!” the girl said with an exaggerated expression, “Little Thin Fish has come to repay your kindness!”

“It’s you,” facing such a lovely young face, it was difficult for the uncle to not crack a smile. “What is this?”

“Never mind,” Little Thin Fish said mysteriously. “It’s definitely something good. I secretly got it from the hotel kitchen.” She then stuffed the paper bag into his hand.

The paper bag felt quite heavy. Ningma wanted to ask another question, but Little Thin Fish had already made a nimble turn. “Bye-bye, Uncle, I’m leaving. Don’t miss me, okay! Hehehe!”

With that, she flew away like a butterfly, her cheerful figure with a graceful posture, especially her slender waist that could be easily held in one hand, sparked the imagination.

Ningma was standing where he was, watching her leave, but he felt like something was wrong with Little Thin Fish. Not with her personally, but with her clothes? It seemed like he had seen them somewhere before.

“Hey, wait!” Ningma called out from afar.

“What?” Little Thin Fish turned around. “Is there anything else, Uncle?”

Ningma looked at the girl a few meters away and realized that she was different from when he saw her this morning, but he wasn’t sure exactly how. He just felt like there was something familiar about her.

“What’s wrong, Uncle?” Little Thin Fish asked with a teasing smile. “You’re not going to ask me to keep you company, are you?”

“Ah, no,” Ningma exhaled. “It’s nothing.”

“Hmph,” Little Thin Fish gave a frivolous expression. “I don’t like old women, bye-bye, Uncle!”

Ningma watched the girl disappear around the corner of the hallway, lost in thought. A strange feeling kept rising, but it was as illusory as clouds. There was something familiar about her, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

“Forget it, I’ll stop thinking about it for now.” Ningma shook his head, returned to the room, and placed the paper bag he had been holding on the table. The paper bag was similar to kraft paper, and it also seemed like he had seen it somewhere before.

The contents inside were also very peculiar. When he poured them out, it turned out to be a pill similar to a Niuhuang Jiedu pill, the size of a thumbnail, pitch black, and emitting a strange fragrance.

And this fragrance was the most familiar thing to Ningma since arriving at the hotel—Agarwood!

From the bag of pine tea he had first encountered, given to him by the plump Huang (Night) manager;

To the after-dinner dessert attached to his dinner in the Chinese restaurant a few nights ago;

And the faint perfume sprayed on the body of the charming hotel female doctor;

All of them carried this fragrance that he could never forget once he smelled it. To say that this fragrance was Agarwood was just a general description. To be precise, it was more like the aroma of resin combined with secretions from Agarwood trees before refining and processing, mixed with strong musk, or perhaps the glands of some kind of animal?

Just smelling it once could make people remember it deeply, unable to stop, rich as if falling into the clouds, with a dreamy, intoxicated, fish-like, and immortal-like freedom, and addicted to it.

At this moment, Ningma’s eyes were filled with this specially made agarwood ball. After staring at it for two seconds, he almost reflexively swallowed it, as if afraid someone would snatch it.

As soon as it entered his mouth, with a slight chew, the unique aroma of pine resin filled his mouth and nose, like fireworks blooming in his mind, overturning his cerebral cortex. He only felt his whole body limp and weak, but also bursting with pleasure from the inside out, and the pleasure was like a tide, one wave higher than another, quickly completely submerging his senses.

The agarwood ball in his mouth slowly melted with the moisture of saliva. Ningma, who was sliding to the ceiling, breathed quickly, like a dying fish breathing in large gulps, and through his dilated pupils, he discovered that the most gorgeous movement was playing in the depths of his soul, constantly and lightly repeating again and again.

Time passed little by little, and in the blink of an eye, the hour hand turned to 10 o’clock. The fingertip of Ningma, who looked like a dead fish, finally moved slightly. After a few more minutes, his entire arm tentatively clenched into a fist. His bloodshot eyes opened, but he could hardly focus.

“Ugh…” Ningma groaned and blinked his eyes hard a few times. He was finally able to see the surrounding objects clearly. He was still in the room. The self-sensing lights had turned off a few, and the room was brightly lit, even a little dazzling.

His brain was as if it had been hit hard by a hammer, but he felt no pain. It wasn’t until he noticed the undried saliva hanging from the corner of his mouth and rubbed his temples that he became a little more awake. He barely supported himself to sit up, wiped his chin with his sleeve, tried to calm his breathing, felt his heart beating very fast, his cheeks were flushed, his breathing was heavy, and his mouth was as if he had just held a piece of hot coal.

Ningma dragged the corner of the table and barely pulled himself into the chair. His big fingers trembled slightly as he poured a glass of water and drank it all in one gulp. The cold water slid down his mouth and into his stomach. A headache finally struck, starting slightly and quickly beginning to intensify.

“I… I’m poisoned, aren’t I…” Ningma looked at the paper bag containing the agarwood ball. It was then that he realized that the paper bag was exactly the same as the paper bag that contained the pine tea before.

“Ring ring ring!”

The sudden ringing of the phone startled Ningma, who was still in a daze. He leaned over and looked at the caller ID on the phone. It was a familiar phone number, the same number he had dialed several times this afternoon!

“Hello!” Ningma answered, “Luo Zhe? Luo Zhe!”

“…”

The voice on the receiver sounded very weak. “Come and find me soon!”

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