Chapter 20 Madness
Facing Liu Haoyu’s aggressive posture.
Coupled with the more terrifying existence behind him.
This scared the female ghost so much that her teeth chattered and her legs trembled.
Finally, she collapsed to the ground with a thud, begging humbly.
“No, no, no… Don’t kill me, I’m just a geofixed spirit lingering here…”
“Tell me, is there a person named Deng Shuyuan here?”
Liu Haoyu, carrying a fire axe on his shoulder and holding a Zhenlei Talisman in his hand, wore a very amicable smile on his face, which, in the eyes of this poor cleaning lady, was comparable to a demon.
“Yes… yes…”
The cleaning lady dared not tell a single lie now. She was truly afraid that Liu Haoyu would tear her apart with his own hands.
What was even more deadly was the living ancestor behind him!
How did this thing escape from that haunted house!?
“Where is his room?”
Deng Shuyuan had a peculiar habit, perhaps due to his experience as a private investigator.
He often concealed his whereabouts, making it difficult for people to find him when they wanted to intentionally seek him out.
Just like now, he didn’t even know his room number.
When he came, he had specifically asked.
The answer he got was.
“You’ll know when you get here.”
Now he was here, but where was the man?
Liu Haoyu looked at this floor with twenty to thirty rooms. He couldn’t possibly knock on each door one by one, could he?
“In room 527.”
“Lead the way.”
“Okay… okay.”
This non-human, non-ghost monster led the way in front of Liu Haoyu, while Liu Haoyu followed behind it.
Qin Liu watched its retreating figure and couldn’t help but say.
“It seems this hotel has a sense of history. It’s a hotel from the 1960s, but the person in front doesn’t seem to be from that era?”
The cleaning lady naturally heard Qin Liu’s words. With a terrified expression, she quickly replied without delay.
“I am indeed not from that era.”
Hearing Qin Liu’s words, Liu Haoyu also observed the attire of this wronged soul.
It indeed didn’t look like the attire of the 1960s, but rather like that of a modern person.
“To earn money to treat my daughter’s illness, I died here a year ago from a myocardial infarction. As for what happened afterwards… I’m not sure.”
A year had passed, and she had died from a heart attack. Her body was intact, so her soul naturally remained relatively complete.
However, judging from the killing intent she had revealed earlier, it was not difficult to see that this completeness would not last much longer.
Before long, she might turn into a murderous, ferocious ghost.
But from her reaction, it seemed she also knew of Qin Liu’s existence.
Was this person so famous in the underworld?
Even ghosts that saw her would tremble, and even those who had only died a year ago were no exception.
“Treat illness?” Qin Liu couldn’t help but ask after hearing this, “What happened to your daughter later?”
“…”
Qin Liu’s question caused the wronged soul before them to gradually stare blankly, and her expression also started to become numb.
“I asked other solitary ghosts, and they told me that because there was no money for treatment, so…”
The words stopped abruptly, leaving only silent silence in the corridor.
Immediately after, her expression began to contort, becoming terrifying.
Only then could her hoarse and terrifying voice be heard constantly whispering.
“So… my daughter was sold… sold…”
Seeing the chilling scene before them, Qin Liu was also greatly startled.
How did a ghost go crazy so quickly?
So Qin Liu quickly hid inside Hong Yu.
However, Liu Haoyu’s expression remained very calm.
At this moment, the ghost, who had gone mad, grabbed his shoulder.
The hoarse whispers began to sound eerie, even a little ethereal, as if the entire corridor was filled with this woman’s voice.
She had already transformed into a ferocious ghost, but fortunately, she still had a sliver of obsession to maintain her consciousness.
“Find her… help me find her…”
Normally, for such matters, calling the police would suffice.
But having a dead person report a crime was somewhat unrealistic, so he had to be the one to step in.
Liu Haoyu removed the ghost hand from his shoulder.
“Tell me, what is your daughter’s name.”
“Xu Wanrong…”
The voice gradually faded, and the ferocious ghost in front of Liu Haoyu slowly turned into a phantom.
She had not left; she was still lingering in this hotel.
Liu Haoyu sighed and then said to Qin Liu.
“Let’s go.”
“Oh, oh…”
This was a ferocious ghost that had completely lost her sanity, and it seemed she did not fear Qin Liu’s presence.
Just like Liu Xiaoxiao at the beginning.
But on second thought, it was like a crazy person who dared to charge at a tiger even if they saw one.
So it was normal for her not to fear Qin Liu.
Along the way, the person and the ghost remained silent until Qin Liu meekly asked.
“What was going on with that ghost just now?”
“If a ghost remains in the mortal world, it must have some unfulfilled obsession, whether it’s attachment to loved ones or resentment towards enemies. Her situation is the same.”
Qin Liu’s unintentional words had completely shattered the ghost’s already unstable sanity, causing her to become that way.
This was not Qin Liu’s fault. Even if Qin Liu hadn’t said anything, she would have eventually ended up like this after some time.
Liu Haoyu stopped and looked back.
The woman holding the mop was still standing quietly in place, her eerie and grim gaze fixed on Liu Haoyu.
It was a look of desperate urgency, a desire to know news about her loved one.
If her obsession was resolved, this ferocious ghost would naturally ascend to the afterlife, and this only required Liu Haoyu to make a promise to her.
“Wait for me here.”
With that said, Liu Haoyu walked forward, looking for room 527.
After walking away, Qin Liu spoke again.
“Honestly… when she turned into that state, I thought you would have chopped her to death with your axe.”
“I’m not a murderer. If something can be solved with reason, why use violence?”
Liu Haoyu’s serious reply made Qin Liu couldn’t help but mutter.
“But you’ve been solving problems with violence all the way…”
“What?”
Of course, Liu Haoyu didn’t hear Qin Liu’s words.
And during their conversation, Liu Haoyu finally found Deng Shuyuan’s room.
He rang the doorbell.
There was no response from inside.
But Liu Haoyu remembered that Deng Shuyuan had replied to him on the way, saying he was waiting for him in the hotel.
Given his personality, he wouldn’t break his word.
Liu Haoyu rang the doorbell again…
“I’m here, open the door quickly!”
Even when Liu Haoyu called out, there was still no movement from the room.
At this point, Liu Haoyu finally sensed something was wrong.
He detected the aura of death, which was constantly creeping out from the crack of the door.
Just as he was about to ask Qin Liu to open the door, a dry, yellow hand stretched out from the shadows.
In its hand was a universal room key card for staff.
With a “beep,” the door opened.
Liu Haoyu was stunned when he saw this hand, then turned to look back.
But he found that there was no one behind him.
That crazy woman had disappeared.
However, Liu Haoyu didn’t have time to care about her whereabouts. He quickly pushed the door open and entered the room.
The room was empty.
Neither on the bed nor in the restroom was Deng Shuyuan to be seen.
Liu Haoyu’s face turned dark at this moment.
He walked into the room, trying to find clues about Deng Shuyuan.
Logically, he had left at 6:30 and sent him a message.
Only three hours had passed in between, so how could the man have disappeared?
And this was not some other dimension, but the real world.
Therefore, there was no possibility that he and Deng Shuyuan were in the same room but couldn’t see each other.
So what was going on?
Liu Haoyu’s mind conjured up a possibility…
“Possessed?”
Just as this thought crossed his mind, Qin Liu’s voice echoed in the room.
“Look, look, there’s a note here with a message!”
Liu Haoyu looked in the direction of the voice. He saw a yellowed piece of paper on the headboard.
The paper was so old it looked like it had been there for over ten years, and it carried a strong smell of mold.
There was indeed a line of text on the paper.
“I’ve gone out, no need to look for me.”
Seeing this sentence, Liu Haoyu’s expression became very grim.
Would a normal person say something like this?
Qin Liu also helped Liu Haoyu search for clues in the room. She saw the suitcase on the floor and said.
“There’s also a box here, full of his clothes.”
Besides that, Qin Liu also found Deng Shuyuan’s mobile phone on the headboard.
It displayed the message he had sent to Liu Haoyu at 6:30 PM.
“You’ll know when you get here.”
This message, in the current situation, looked extremely glaring, even sending chills down one’s spine.
Even more strangely, Liu Haoyu’s mobile phone rang at this moment.
Opening the phone, he saw a transfer message.
Deng Shuyuan had transferred six thousand yuan to Liu Haoyu using his bank card.
Liu Haoyu knew that this was the reward for completing the last commission at the haunted house. The total reward was ten thousand, split as 60/40, with him receiving six thousand, which was correct.
If it were any other time, he would have been happy and prepared to take Qin Liu, this little glutton, out for food and drinks, and maybe trick her into wearing white stockings and black Mary Jane shoes.
But in this situation…
Well… he still quite wanted to see it.
After placing the online order, Liu Haoyu turned his gaze back to the yellowed paper on the nightstand.
Judging from the handwriting, it was not difficult to determine that although the paper was extremely old, it was indeed Deng Shuyuan’s handwriting.
He hadn’t brought his phone, hadn’t packed his luggage, yet he had disappeared. If this wasn’t possession, Liu Haoyu would have shoved Qin Liu’s white stockings into his mouth.
Qin Liu, who was looking at Deng Shuyuan’s phone, suddenly felt a chill run down her little feet.
It was as if something was staring at her.
This made her subconsciously glance at the man beside her.
But she clearly saw that Liu Haoyu was only engrossed in studying the yellowed paper and wasn’t looking at her feet.
“It must be a hallucination?”
Qin Liu scratched her head in confusion.
At this moment, Liu Haoyu said to Qin Liu.
“Let’s go to the front desk and ask. Maybe the staff here know something.”
“Okay.”
Qin Liu naturally agreed with both hands and feet.
So the person and the ghost went downstairs and arrived at the front desk on the first floor.
Unlike the fifth floor, there were many people here. The more people there were, the lower the probability of being haunted.
Liu Haoyu rushed to the front desk and said to the receptionist who was typing on the computer.
“Excuse me, have you seen where this person went?”
As he spoke, Liu Haoyu pulled up Deng Shuyuan’s photo from his phone.
“This is my friend, I can’t find him anywhere.”
The receptionist leaned forward and took a close look at Liu Haoyu’s phone.
After thinking for a moment, she seemed to recall something.
“This person…”
“You know him?”
“I remember!”
With so many people coming and going in the hotel, it was usually difficult to remember everyone’s appearance, but Deng Shuyuan’s appearance was very distinctive.
Coupled with his very talkative and humorous personality, it naturally left a deep impression on the receptionist.
Seeing that he had found the right person, Liu Haoyu continued,
“Where is he now?”
“He already checked out.”
The receptionist looked a bit puzzled, but Liu Haoyu’s brows furrowed tightly.
“His phone and luggage are still in the room, and now he’s nowhere to be found.”
“Ah?”
At this, the receptionist was stunned.
Liu Haoyu asked again,
“When did he check out of the room?”
If the time of departure wasn’t too long ago, they might still be able to catch up.
Realizing it was a disappearance, the receptionist immediately retrieved the information.
“He checked out at 4 PM.”
“Wait? 4 PM?”
“Yes.”
The receptionist nodded with certainty.
Liu Haoyu looked at the message on his phone sent at 6:38 PM, and a sense of dread grew.
If he left at 4 PM, and didn’t take his phone with him…
What was the deal with the message at 6:38 PM?
And who wrote the note left in the room?
A chilling coldness spread rapidly from his limbs, causing Liu Haoyu’s heart rate to soar.
“Sir? Sir?” The receptionist waved her hand in front of Liu Haoyu and said, “Are you alright?”
Hearing someone calling him, Liu Haoyu immediately snapped back to reality. He took a deep breath and said.
“Don’t check out of that room yet. Where are his belongings kept? Here is the payment for extending the stay and my ID.”
“Ah… okay, sir.”
Although the receptionist’s actions seemed unprofessional, since both Deng Shuyuan and Liu Haoyu were men, she didn’t think much of it.
If Deng Shuyuan had been a woman, the receptionist would certainly not have told Liu Haoyu anything.
After re-paying for the room, Liu Haoyu went upstairs again.
He needed to get some of Deng Shuyuan’s belongings.
As long as it was an item with Deng Shuyuan’s aura, with the help of the Black Book, he would naturally be able to find his trace.
He placed Deng Shuyuan’s phone against the Black Book.
Then, Liu Haoyu wrote on it.
“Where did this person go?”
The blood Liu Haoyu wrote on the Black Book began to transform, spinning and twisting for a while.
The Black Book gave its answer.
“Panwang Mountain, an ownerless graveyard… Go…”
“Remember to leave me here,”
“Thank you, your whole family.”
