Chapter 23: I’ll have two cups.
On the winding road around Panwang Mountain, a small car was bumping along.
This was Deng Shuyuan’s car.
After being possessed, Deng Shuyuan didn’t even drive the car and went up the mountain on foot.
But if he set off at 4 pm, could he really reach Panwang Mountain on foot?
“Uwah… it’s so dark.”
Qin Liu sat in the copilot seat next to Liu Haoyu, her body curled up, looking a little nervous.
Although Liu Haoyu couldn’t see Qin Liu, he could clearly feel her slightly frightened expression.
So Liu Haoyu spoke to comfort her.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of, and it’s not your first time here.”
“You say that, but look…” Qin Liu pointed to the dark mountain gully and said, “This mountain road is so narrow, what if you drive the car off?”
The ring road around Panwang Mountain is a one-way street and very narrow, basically only wide enough for one car.
So Qin Liu wasn’t afraid of ghosts, but of Liu Haoyu’s driving skills!
“Don’t you believe that I’m an experienced driver? I have a driver’s license.”
“I believe you, I really believe you… then can you explain your current speed?!”
Qin Liu pointed at the 80km/H on the speedometer, her expression a little desperate.
Don’t look at it as just 80km/h.
But this is a mountain road,
A one-way street,
And the road is very bumpy.
This isn’t a car going up a mountain, it’s clearly a car going to the underworld!
Qin Liu knew that she wouldn’t die from falling off the cliff, but she wasn’t a pure ghost, and in her subconscious, she always considered herself human.
So of course she would be afraid!
Qin Liu tightly gripped the handle on the copilot seat, her face pale from fear.
“Oh, you’re talking about this?” Liu Haoyu looked at the speedometer and said, “The speedometer must be broken. Really, why did Deng Shuyuan buy a new car and it’s so unreliable.”
“Heh…”
Qin Liu’s eyes were about to go bad.
As a ghost, she felt the joy of motion sickness for the first time.
When the car finally stopped, she felt like her legs no longer belonged to her.
“Next time I come out of Hong Yu and ride in your car, I’ll be a dog.”
Qin Liu leaned against the nearby big tree, her legs trembling, sweating profusely, and breathing heavily.
Those who knew thought she just had motion sickness, but those who didn’t might think…
“You have to get used to it.”
Liu Haoyu lit a cigarette.
Feeling a bit refreshed.
“How can I get used to this!” Qin Liu said indignantly, “Driving so fast, are there ghosts chasing you from behind?”
“I wouldn’t be in a hurry if there were ghosts behind me, but if there was a girl in white stockings in front, I could go faster.”
“…”
Qin Liu’s mouth twitched after hearing this.
Liu Haoyu organized his equipment and then asked Qin Liu beside him.
“How do you feel?”
“Can I say I don’t feel good?”
Liu Haoyu handed Qin Liu a cup of hot water.
“…” Looking at the hot water in front of her, Qin Liu was silent for a long time and said, “I don’t think a cup of hot water can solve my current problem.”
Facing Qin Liu’s words, Liu Haoyu handed her another cup.
Looking at the two cups of hot water in front of her, Qin Liu finally couldn’t hold back.
“It’s not about the quantity! And I can’t drink it! I can’t drink it!”
Qin Liu’s gritted teeth made Liu Haoyu fall into thought.
Then he directly poured the two cups of hot water into his mouth.
“Then I’ll drink two cups.”
“I f*cking…”
Qin Liu really wanted to point at Liu Haoyu at this moment.
But Liu Haoyu said.
“How do you feel now?”
“…”
Qin Liu realized at this moment that the fear and discomfort in her heart had disappeared unknowingly.
Even the grim and terrifying mountain forest didn’t affect Qin Liu much.
“If you feel better, let’s go.”
“Oh, oh…”
Qin Liu followed behind Liu Haoyu.
Normally, the mountain forest at night should be full of insect sounds, but here it was so quiet that it was terrifying.
Qin Liu followed behind Liu Haoyu, and she really wanted to hide in Hong Yu.
But Hong Yu in Liu Haoyu’s hand was almost gone. Compared to being outside, staying in Hong Yu consumed it even faster.
So Qin Liu could only stay outside.
She floated behind Liu Haoyu, looking at the man’s broad back and feeling a sense of security for no reason.
Recalling what Liu Haoyu said when he got out of the car… Qin Liu had a very strange feeling in her heart.
She had to admit that the fear in Qin Liu’s heart had indeed eased a lot.
Could it be that what he just said was intentional?
Thinking of this, Qin Liu couldn’t help but ask Liu Haoyu.
“Were your words just now intentional… or unintentional?”
“Ah?”
Liu Haoyu looked back at Qin Liu. Although he couldn’t see anything, he picked up his thermos and asked.
“Do you want to drink hot water? But I’ve already drunk it.”
“…”
Looking at the thermos in Liu Haoyu’s hand, Qin Liu had only one thought: mmp.
The man and the ghost walked silently on the muddy mountain road after that.
After walking for about ten minutes, Qin Liu saw a police car with black and white colors not far away.
Seeing this car, Liu Haoyu walked forward and frowned as he looked at the license plate.
If Liu Haoyu remembered correctly, this should be Wang Wenqi’s police car.
Of course, it was also possible that other police officers were driving this car.
But no matter which it was, it was certain that the police searching the mountain had arrived here before him.
“This is the seventh police car we’ve seen. There are so many police officers entering the mountain, aren’t we going to run into them?”
Qin Liu’s worry was not baseless.
After all, in such a deep mountain and old forest, wandering around here in the middle of the night, who would believe a passerby?
However, Liu Haoyu clearly didn’t have this worry. He looked inside the police car and, after confirming there was no one else, he said to Qin Liu.
“There’s a mountain village not far away, let’s go that way.”
“Oh, oh.”
Qin Liu then realized that Liu Haoyu was not wearing a gas mask now, nor was he holding the bloody axe in his hand.
“Aren’t you going to camouflage yourself?”
As far as Qin Liu knew, if it were in the past, Liu Haoyu would have turned into a “midnight murderer” by now.
But his calm appearance instead made people feel a little unaccustomed.
In response to Qin Liu’s question, Liu Haoyu just shrugged and said.
“I wear a mask for disguise, but in a highly restricted area like this, if I wear a gas mask and carry an axe… won’t I be asking for trouble?”
Liu Haoyu might be reckless, but that didn’t mean he was brainless.
On the contrary, he had always been a cautious person.
“These footprints… standard issue military shoes, a total of 4 people…”
Liu Haoyu took out a talisman from his pocket and stuck it on the footprints.
Soon, the talisman quickly ignited blue karma fire.
Seeing the blue karma fire, Liu Haoyu’s heart sank.
What he had just used was the Soul Seeking Spell.
If the talisman burned with the normal color of flames, it would mean those police officers were safe and sound.
But if it was this ethereal blue color, it meant they had definitely encountered something they shouldn’t have.
However, this didn’t mean they would definitely be in danger, it just meant they might run into ghosts.
If they were lucky, they could escape unharmed by encountering a harmless ghost; if they were unlucky…
Liu Haoyu flicked away the ashes in his hand and stood up.
He looked at the mountain village not far away and had a general idea of what had happened.
“This place is not for living people…”
Even though the police shared the luck of the state, don’t forget what the Black Book said – here, the boundary between the underworld and the human world is not clearly defined.
So even if the police officers rashly entered here, it would not be easy to leave safely.
“Many years have passed, and this place is still like this.”
Liu Haoyu’s words piqued Qin Liu’s curiosity.
“Judging by your appearance, you seem to have been to this place before?”
“Yes, a few years ago, I came here with a tour group. At that time, the tour group members chose to stay in the village for a night to seek excitement…”
“I advised them not to stay in this place at that time, but unfortunately, they didn’t follow my advice.”
“As a result, the next morning, two people disappeared. The police and the search team searched for a long time, and I was among them.”
“However, when I found the two of them, I discovered that they had been eaten by fierce ghosts, and they were completely eaten, leaving not a drop of oil or a single hair.”
“Later, after the tour group left here, people in the tour group began to have nightmares to varying degrees, until more and more people were possessed by evil spirits and came here to commit suicide.”
“Falling leaves return to their roots, falling leaves return to their roots… but they return to others’ roots, which is truly sad.”
Liu Haoyu walked forward as he spoke.
He recalled the events of that year in detail.
At that time, his strength was not very strong, so when facing the fierce ghosts in the mountains, he could basically only avoid their sharpness and choose to leave.
Now, it was completely different.
Liu Haoyu was confident that he could easily defeat the fierce ghosts from back then.
“Looking at it this way, this place is indeed very evil.”
Liu Haoyu’s words made Qin Liu shiver uncontrollably.
She was not brave, and when facing the unknown, she naturally felt fear.
Liu Haoyu stood on the muddy road outside the village, constantly observing the situation inside the village.
Even just standing outside the village, Liu Haoyu could feel the strong, eerie resentment from the village, and the white mist lingering in the sky above the village seemed to be a warning to outsiders.
No living people allowed here.
Due to the Black Book’s warning, Liu Haoyu did not intend to let Qin Liu return to Hong Yu this time.
He planned to take Qin Liu to find the ownerless graveyard.
“Hoo…”
After taking a deep breath, Liu Haoyu boldly entered the village.
With just one step inside, countless terrifying eyes fell on him.
But perhaps because of Qin Liu’s presence, these hidden things did not choose to appear.
They just watched his arrival quietly, without interference.
As they walked, Liu Haoyu suddenly felt a soft body unconsciously leaning against him.
He looked back, but saw nothing.
But feeling the familiar aura, Liu Haoyu roughly knew what was going on.
So, he spoke to Qin Liu.
“If you’re scared, hold my hand.”
“Ah…”
Ever since entering the village, Qin Liu had a strange feeling, not fear, not terror.
It was more like… excitement.
But because of this, when she came to her senses, she felt that this place was even stranger.
It wasn’t until Liu Haoyu spoke that she came back to her senses and said.
“No, no…”
“Giggle!!!”
But before she could finish speaking, from somewhere, came a loud crowing of a male rooster.
This sudden sound startled Qin Liu greatly.
She looked around nervously, a little shaken and said.
“Where did the chicken come from? Wait… is it time for roosters to crow?”
“No.”
Liu Haoyu shook his head. He knew very well what the crowing of a rooster meant at this midnight hour.
Normally, the crowing of a rooster had the effect of warding off evil.
The crowing of a rooster signified that dawn was approaching, and ghosts and monsters would fall asleep again.
But the current situation was clearly not dawn.
And Liu Haoyu couldn’t find any trace of a chicken by following the sound.
Therefore, this might not be a rooster from the human world at all.
Its crowing meant… something had awakened.
Seeing Liu Haoyu’s solemn voice, Qin Liu felt an unspeakable fear, as if something was blocking her throat, making it impossible for her to breathe.
“Let me light a lamp… it’s too dark here.”
Qin Liu lit the lantern, and the faint candlelight slightly illuminated the path ahead of them, but even so, the light emitted by the lantern was still too dim.
It couldn’t even overpower the light from Liu Haoyu’s flashlight.
However, although Liu Haoyu couldn’t see Qin Liu, he could see the yellowish light emanating faintly beside him.
To him, compared to the flashlight, this light was more reassuring.
But Qin Liu, being a ghost, didn’t feel anything.
The two of them walked forward a bit further. The environment here was too oppressive, and the withered weeds on both sides of the road made it look extremely desolate.
It was no exaggeration to say that walking here at night was like walking on the road to the Yellow Springs.
Even Qin Liu couldn’t help but complain.
“I feel like we’ll run into Meng Po and ask us if we want a bowl of Meng Po’s soup…”
At this moment, Liu Haoyu, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped, causing Qin Liu to almost bump into him.
After Qin Liu also stopped, she asked.
“What’s wrong?”
Her head peeked out from behind Liu Haoyu, trying to see why Liu Haoyu had stopped.
And when she saw clearly, her small face instantly turned pale with fright.
In front of Liu Haoyu, in the dilapidated drying ground, there were bloodstains everywhere.
Red, green, and white unknown liquids were splashed everywhere.
If you looked closely, you could also see some human viscera, discarded to the side.
The situation here was comparable to a livestock slaughterhouse.
