Chapter 25 Invitation
Hearing Liu Haoyu’s words, Wang Wenqi fell into thought.
His gaze occasionally fell on Liu Haoyu’s side, trying to see the so-called “wife” next to Liu Haoyu.
But no matter how he looked, he couldn’t see any trace.
The only thing he could feel was a trace of icy resentment.
And a fear that made one’s hair stand on end inexplicably.
But… the very pleasant and crisp young girl’s voice just now was very strange.
As a member of the Special Task Force, Wang Wenqi had naturally seen many ghosts, but the voice just now did not feel like a ghost.
Putting away his messy thoughts, Wang Wenqi asked Liu Haoyu.
“So I’d like to ask you, what are you doing in a place like this so late at night?”
Facing Wang Wenqi’s questioning, Liu Haoyu said with reason.
“I’m here to fish.”
“Who fishes with a fire axe?” Wang Wenqi retorted with a laugh: “You kid are really not afraid of death, don’t you see that it’s already sealed off?”
When Liu Haoyu was going up the mountain, he had indeed encountered two waves of roadblocks by traffic police.
But he used a little trick to distract the traffic police before ascending the mountain.
So now, facing Wang Wenqi’s questioning, Liu Haoyu said innocently.
“I don’t know.”
“Alright, alright,” Wang Wenqi finally couldn’t hold it in anymore: “Stop pretending, kid.”
“It was you who found Liu Xiaoxiao’s body, and you who found the clues to the drug dealer,”
“And now you’ve come to this place and saved our lives,”
“And look at the talismans you used just now,”
“And you still say you’re an innocent bystander, who would believe that?”
“It’s true that we were possessed by ghosts, but our brains weren’t eaten by ghosts.”
Wang Wenqi’s words made Liu Haoyu a little embarrassed.
But he had to admit that the police officers were not stupid, and it was not easy to fool them.
“Ahem, Officer Wang, I’m really just passing by.”
Liu Haoyu really didn’t expect to meet Wang Wenqi here, his initial plan was to find Deng Shuyuan.
However, this time, with no outsiders present and having witnessed Liu Haoyu’s actions firsthand, Wang Wenqi began to speak in a probing tone.
“Little Liu, you are actually a Daoist priest, aren’t you?”
Facing Wang Wenqi’s squinting eyes, which were like looking at a beautiful woman, Liu Haoyu’s backside tightened with fear.
Wang Wenqi was not questioning Liu Haoyu, but rather speaking as if joking.
“Confess and be pardoned, resist and be punished, young man.”
Seeing that the other party had seen through his identity, Liu Haoyu could only sigh helplessly and then said.
“It seems Officer Wang is a man of the world… I am indeed a Daoist priest, but you can also call me a ghost exorcist, and the ghost beside me is named Qin Liu, a harmless, law-abiding ghost who knows how to look at traffic lights to cross the road.”
“The latter part is clearly unnecessary.”
Qin Liu complained weakly.
But Liu Haoyu selectively ignored Qin Liu’s words.
“In this era, matters of ghosts and monsters are not to be discussed openly. If people know that I, a young man, am a Daoist priest, I will easily be labeled as practicing superstition. So Officer Wang, please keep it a secret for me. I don’t want to be unable to get married because of my identity.”
“You said a moment ago that the girl next to you was your wife.”
Wang Wenqi said with a smile.
“But in a sense, you and I are in the same profession. See this?”
As the officer spoke, he took out several talismans and an Eight Trigrams Mirror from his police overcoat.
Seeing these genuine items, Liu Haoyu was stunned.
He had thought of many possibilities, but he never expected Wang Wenqi to be in the same profession as him.
“Not only me, but my brothers behind me are also ghost exorcists.”
As Wang Wenqi spoke, the three behind him also nodded.
Liu Haoyu was even more surprised.
All the education he had received since childhood had told him that ghost exorcists were mostly江湖人士 (people from the jianghu, i.e., unconventional professions), and rarely official personnel.
Old Deng had also confirmed this view for him, which is why seeing these four ghost exorcists in police uniforms gave him an indescribable sense of closeness.
“I guess you have a lot of questions in your head?”
Wang Wenqi said with a smile like an old fox.
“You guessed right, we are indeed official ghost exorcists, called the Special Task Force, a subordinate unit of the National Security Bureau, specializing in investigating supernatural events.”
For Wang Wenqi, his repeated approaches to Liu Haoyu were to find a way to recruit him into the Special Task Force.
Even though Deng Lao would absolutely not agree to this, Wang Wenqi wanted to bypass Deng Lao and try to recruit Liu Haoyu.
If the person in question agreed, then everything would be easy to say.
Therefore, after proving his identity, Wang Wenqi extended an olive branch to Liu Haoyu.
“Young man, I see you have good skills and extraordinary bones. Do you have any intention of joining the Special Task Force? I can make an exception and waive most of the procedures for you, just let you put on this uniform.”
Hearing Wang Wenqi’s words, Liu Haoyu actually breathed a sigh of relief.
He felt extremely uncomfortable with Wang Wenqi looking at him like he was looking at a beautiful woman.
It was as if ten thousand Qin Lius were crawling on him.
However, faced with Wang Wenqi’s proposal, Liu Haoyu shook his head after a moment of thought.
“Sorry, Officer Wang, I’m tied up with some things, so I may not be able to join your team.”
Refusing Wang Wenqi’s invitation was not Liu Haoyu’s intention.
After all, he was currently locked onto by the Red Gate.
That guy wanted to pull him into that door at all times.
If he accepted Wang Wenqi’s invitation, it might even put the other party in danger.
Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Liu Haoyu could only regretfully refuse the other party.
Wang Wenqi did not expect Liu Haoyu to refuse so decisively.
Under normal circumstances, a government job was very popular, something many people couldn’t get even if they begged for it.
Not to mention directly entering the National Security Bureau, this was something others couldn’t even dream of.
As a result… Liu Haoyu actually refused so readily?
Wang Wenqi did not understand, and he continued to ask.
“Are you really not going to consider it? Joining the government is better than struggling alone, right? And the salaries in our line of work are quite good.”
“Officer Wang, I am indeed very tempted, but I can’t help it… I’m tied up with some things, so I can’t accept your invitation.”
Hearing Liu Haoyu refuse his invitation again, Wang Wenqi’s eyes were filled with regret.
As an official, he naturally couldn’t force Liu Haoyu to join his team by force.
But fortunately, interpersonal relationships were not black and white. Even if Liu Haoyu refused the invitation, it didn’t mean they had no connection.
So, Wang Wenqi took out his business card from his pocket and said.
“Although Little Liu, you can’t come for now, if you are interested, you can contact me anytime. And if I need your help, I will also ask for your help. Rewards are negotiable, this should be fine, right?”
Liu Haoyu took the business card from the other party and said, “Of course that’s fine.”
“That’s good. Since we’re all in the same profession, there’s no need to distinguish between police officers and civilians. We’re all brothers.”
Wang Wenqi patted Liu Haoyu on the shoulder.
Although Wang Wenqi was three years older than Liu Haoyu, the officer’s appearance was indeed a bit mature.
“Now that the drug dealer has been found, I’m going to contact my colleagues to prepare to withdraw the team, but before that…”
Wang Wenqi’s gaze fell on Qin Liu. Although he couldn’t see anything, he still asked Liu Haoyu with a suspicious gaze.
“Little Liu, where did the person beside you come from?”
“…”
Faced with Wang Wenqi’s question, Liu Haoyu really didn’t dare to speak.
After all, he couldn’t say that Qin Liu came from that haunted house, could he?
He was afraid that if he said it, he would scare the police officer to death.
“Me?” While Liu Haoyu was thinking about how to hide it, Qin Liu said, “I don’t know where I came from either. As soon as I woke up, I became something like a bound spirit. If it weren’t for Liu Haoyu, I wouldn’t be here now.”
Qin Liu’s words were very pure, and her clear and pleasant voice naturally created a sense of trust.
So Wang Wenqi didn’t doubt it much. He just teased Liu Haoyu.
“So that’s how it is… To be honest, when I first saw you acting mysteriously in that noodle shop, I thought you had a ghost servant.”
In response, Liu Haoyu said righteously.
“I am a five-star good citizen, how could I do such a despicable thing.”
“So she really is your wife?”
“No!”
Before Liu Haoyu could answer, Qin Liu interjected this time.
“He and I are just clean friends.”
She really didn’t dare to let Liu Haoyu speak first, for fear of inexplicably gaining a husband.
Deng Shuyuan before was at most an ordinary private detective, but this one was a police officer, someone who could actually burn a marriage certificate for her.
“Oh?” Wang Wenqi was a little surprised: “Why do I feel like you two have a good relationship… And speaking of which, Qin Liu, your soul is still quite complete. If you take good care of it, you should be able to exist in the world for more than ten years.”
The “more than ten years” Wang Wenqi mentioned was naturally the time for soul erosion. In his opinion, within these ten years, Qin Liu could maintain her sanity and live a normal life like a human.
In fact, ghosts could stay in the world for a long time, but the longer they stayed, the more their souls would erode.
So, like this bound spirit lady in front of him, her strength was probably not very strong. After staying for ten years, she would completely lose her sanity and become a ghost with no consciousness or weak consciousness.
“Ah…”
Qin Liu’s expression stiffened.
So she could only live for more than ten years?
After Wang Wenqi finished speaking, he asked Liu Haoyu.
“So, I’m quite curious now, what are you doing here so late at night? You’re not here to help us catch drug dealers, are you? That’s our police business, you don’t need to help, and you know that the other party still has weapons. No matter how strong the talismans are, they are no match for real weapons.”
Facing Wang Wenqi’s question, Liu Haoyu thought for a while.
He was thinking whether to tell Wang Wenqi about Deng Shuyuan’s situation.
The other party was not only a colleague but also a police officer. Finding someone would indeed be faster than him doing it alone.
Moreover, the longer the time dragged on, the more dangerous Deng Shuyuan’s situation would become.
No one knew why he went to that ownerless cemetery.
Perhaps it was like the people from the tourist group who “went home” and hanged themselves that year?
It was precisely because of this that Liu Haoyu began to consider it.
“I see you have some hidden difficulties, Little Liu. Speak up. Although my ghost-catching skills are not as good as yours, my abilities in society can help you a lot.”
Wang Wenqi genuinely wanted to recruit Liu Haoyu, but Liu Haoyu was currently considering the danger of this matter to outsiders.
Finally, after a moment of thought, he still shook his head and said.
“Thank you for your kindness, Officer Wang. This is not something you can solve.”
Liu Haoyu didn’t want anyone else to encounter the Red Gate.
Come to think of it, perhaps Deng Shuyuan’s accident was also related to the Red Gate he encountered in the villa at that time.
He had seen the Red Gate with his own eyes at that time, and Deng Shuyuan would not be an exception.
“Is that so… Is it a supernatural event?”
“Yes.”
Liu Haoyu nodded and said solemnly.
“Even I don’t have 100% confidence in taking down the opponent, so you don’t need to trouble yourselves, police uncles.”
“Go away! Didn’t I tell you not to call me police uncle?”
Wang Wenqi felt like laughing when he heard this address. How could he not know that Liu Haoyu was trying to mock him with this address?
“Let me say it again, I’m only three years older than you. But Little Liu, you need to understand that we are the Special Task Force, and we must stand in front of the people. So, you intend to let me, a police officer, stand behind you and watch you risk your life? If this were to get out, I’m afraid the media would hang up and spray us for three days and three nights.”
In response, Liu Haoyu still shook his head and said.
“But your strength is too weak. Facing supernatural events of that level, it’s basically a near-certain death. This time you were safe and sound, entirely because the villagers here respected and recognized your identity. But in the case of other supernatural events, perhaps it would be completely different.”
After speaking, Liu Haoyu walked out of the room, leaving Wang Wenqi stunned in place. After a while, he let out a sigh.
“It seems this is a lone wolf.”
Such people were not uncommon among ghost exorcists, but they all had one very obvious common characteristic.
That was that they regarded places of life and death as nothing.
And it was no exaggeration to say that such people died very quickly.
“Xiongying, what do you think the supernatural event he mentioned is?”
Xiongying, who had not spoken, said without hesitation.
“Red Gate.”
