Chapter 34: This Way You Die with More Dignity
Liu Haoyu looked at his reflection in the mirror, and his hair stood on end.
There was no doubt that this smear of blood was identical to the one he had seen in the unmarked grave before.
This meant, had he truly broken the lock?
Liu Haoyu fell silent.
Moreover, speaking of which, the Black Book seemed unusually quiet today.
There was no sound at all.
He didn’t know if the Black Book knew what was happening, so he decided to ask.
Taking the Black Book out of his backpack and opening it, Liu Haoyu discovered something very strange.
That was, for some reason, three words had appeared on the Black Book.
“Who am I?”
Liu Haoyu found these three words a bit strange.
He didn’t remember writing this question in the Black Book.
And even if he had, the Black Book should have absorbed the blood after closing the book.
But now, these three words were just lying there, quietly on the Black Book, without any movement at all.
However, perhaps because it saw Liu Haoyu, the blood on the Black Book began to flow slowly, and cautiously dripped onto the ground.
After finishing all this, its sides returned to blank pages again.
It seemed to be waiting for Liu Haoyu’s inquiry.
“Qin Liu wrote on you?”
“Heh heh…”
The Black Book seemed to be sneering.
“Otherwise? Next time, remember to put me where children can’t reach.”
Qin Liu doesn’t look like a child.
Liu Haoyu recalled Qin Liu writing just now and was a bit curious.
As a ghost exorcist, Liu Haoyu knew that ghosts did not bleed.
They were spiritual beings, and even if they did bleed, it would be like a liquid corpse water.
However, the blood just now… it really looked like the blood of a living person, not the blood of a ghost.
Liu Haoyu squatted down, dipped his index finger in a little bright red liquid, rubbed his fingers, and then brought it to his nose to smell.
Indeed… it was the blood of a living person.
While Liu Haoyu was thinking, the Black Book vibrated twice and wrote on it.
“Stop smelling it, this is indeed Qin Liu’s blood, and that’s not the point.”
“She is slowly awakening, and may have even begun to realize her mission.”
“But this is not a good thing for you, or even for her.”
“A piece of advice: if you really like that little ghost, absolutely do not tell her her true identity.”
“You should have experienced the despair that her manifestation brought.”
“The Red Gate is nothing but a weakling in front of her.”
The Black Book’s instructions made Liu Haoyu recall the time he had asked Qin Liu to manifest.
Not to exaggerate, just witnessing that terrifying red shadow almost destroyed Liu Haoyu’s soul.
If Qin Liu were to truly awaken…
Let alone others, he would definitely die.
“Besides, I said, in her current state, isn’t this the best situation for you?”
“Try to trick her into bed, and maybe she’ll be so happy she won’t want to leave.”
“Although her strength is very strong, but her stamina and energy compared to yours… hehe…”
The Black Book’s words made Liu Haoyu blush. He couldn’t imagine what it would look like to outsiders if he and Qin Liu were intimate.
Was it like the air?
Thinking about that scene carefully… hiss, it was a bit weird.
“Compared to this, I’d rather ask what’s with the blood on my face?”
“Didn’t you say that once the tombstone was smashed, the Red Gate would no longer be able to lock onto me?”
After Liu Haoyu wrote these two sentences, the Black Book fell silent.
At this moment, Liu Haoyu could feel an inexplicable gaze sweeping over him.
After a full half-minute of silence, the Black Book wrote the following line.
The font was bloody and trembling, and it looked quite shocking.
“How is that possible?!”
“Is there a problem?”
Liu Haoyu said a bit confusedly when he saw how surprised the Black Book was.
“Could it be that the matter is serious?”
The Black Book displayed line after line of text at an extremely fast speed.
“It’s serious!”
“There’s good news and bad news.”
“The good news is that the lock from the tombstone has indeed been lifted, and the Red Gate cannot determine your exact location now.”
“The bad news is that it now intends to have you… dead or alive!”
“The curse resentment of the Red Gate is attached to your face, and it will not give up until it takes you down.”
This statement from the Black Book was within Liu Haoyu’s expectations. He knew that the Red Gate would not be so easily dealt with.
However, it wanted him…
This sounded a bit like a yandere.
And at this moment, Liu Haoyu also remembered.
When he was pulled into the basement by the Red Gate, he indeed heard a mysteriously eerie girlish giggle.
That sound was very cold and not at all like Qin Liu’s voice.
Thinking of this, Liu Haoyu pondered for a moment and wrote on the Black Book.
“May I ask, is the Red Gate male or female?”
“…?”
Seeing Liu Haoyu’s question, the Black Book couldn’t help but draw a sweating yellow bean emoji with blood.
“You’re not satisfied with wanting to sleep with a ghost, are you? Do you want to sleep with a keyhole too?”
Although the Black Book did not speak, from this line, it could be seen that the Black Book was a bit speechless.
Liu Haoyu shrugged and said.
“If I think of the Red Gate as a man, my spine can’t help but feel a chill. If it were a woman, I might feel a little better.”
The Black Book looked at Liu Haoyu’s answer and held back for a while.
“You are truly unafraid of death.”
“Not being afraid of death is a skill that ghost exorcists must learn. If you are afraid of death, then you are truly dead.”
“Heh heh…” The Black Book wrote two words with a hint of mockery and continued.
“For us, there is no gender at all.”
“In your human terms, the Red Gate’s gender is the Red Gate.”
Liu Haoyu became a little curious about this answer.
“Us? That means you and the Red Gate are the same kind of thing?”
Perhaps because he could be compared to the Red Gate, the Black Book seemed a bit proud at this moment.
“Of course!”
“Then show me a little girl with white hair and red eyes.”
“…?”
The Black Book silently put a question mark on the book and then closed it directly.
“Hey hey hey! Don’t run away!”
Liu Haoyu tried to pry open the Black Book, as if he were trying to pry open a girl’s legs like a pervert.
But this time, the Black Book would not submit. It sprayed blood on the ground, and the blood converged into one word.
“Scram!”
Liu Haoyu tried his best but could not pry open the Black Book. He had to let go and ask.
“So, is there no way to get rid of the Red Gate?”
The blood on the ground gathered again.
“Yes,”
“When the Red Gate appears again, you just need to stand tall and proud in front of the Red Gate.”
“Be confident and serious, and say one sentence loudly…”
“If you have the guts, turn into a little girl with white hair and red eyes and confront me!”
Liu Haoyu looked at the words on the ground and was a bit confused.
He continued to ask.
“What are the benefits of doing this?”
“The benefit is that this way you will die with more dignity.”
“Damn!”
Liu Haoyu finally realized that he had been tricked by the Black Book. Just as he wanted to question the Black Book further,
A girl’s voice appeared in the restroom.
“Liu Haoyu?”
“Ah… what is it?”
Hearing Qin Liu’s voice, Liu Haoyu stuffed the Black Book back into his backpack.
At this moment, Qin Liu saw Liu Haoyu standing in the restroom unharmed and breathed a sigh of relief.
Like Liu Haoyu, Deng Shuyuan’s death had a considerable impact on Qin Liu.
It was precisely because of this that she saw Liu Haoyu staying in the restroom for so long without coming out, and naturally thought something had happened to him.
But now that Liu Haoyu was safe and sound, the stone in her heart finally fell.
“Officer Wang has been waiting for you in the office for a long time. If you don’t come out again, he’ll think you’ve fallen into the toilet or been caught by the Red Gate.”
Hearing Qin Liu’s words, Liu Haoyu subconsciously glanced at the time.
It was only then that he realized he had been in the restroom for nearly half an hour, so it was no wonder Qin Liu had come to check on him.
So, he did not delay, pushed open the restroom door, and walked towards the office.
Qin Liu followed behind him. On the way, the young girl asked.
“Does this matter… have anything to do with the Red Gate?”
Liu Haoyu shrugged and said, “Maybe it has something to do with it.”
The cause of Deng Shuyuan’s death was still a mystery, but the Red Gate was highly suspected.
However, it was also possible that Deng Shuyuan was possessed by other ghosts.
“I see…” Qin Liu looked at Liu Haoyu’s nonchalant, even somewhat careless look, and said with a slightly worried tone, “Then you must be careful, don’t die.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t die.”
Liu Haoyu waved his hand and then pushed open the office door and walked in.
Even though the Red Gate was still pestering him, work had to continue.
Instead of waiting foolishly, it was better to find something to do.
For example, solving Xu Wanlin’s matter. After resolving the hotel cleaner’s resentment, she could be transcended and reborn, so as not to harm others.
“Yo?”
Wang Wenqi saw Liu Haoyu return and took out a file bag.
“I found information about Xu Wanrong… Also, you remembered the name incorrectly. The cleaner’s daughter is named Xu Wanrong, not Xu Wanlin.”
To confirm this name, Wang Wenqi had specifically checked the background of their logistics officer.
After all, the logistics officer of the Special Task Force was named Xu Wanlin, but she was from out of town and had no connection to Jiangliu City.
Saying this, the police officer handed the file to Liu Haoyu.
The latter took the file bag, glanced at Wang Wenqi, and said…
“Is that so? Then maybe I got it wrong, but… if I’m not mistaken, this document should be confidential, right? Is it really okay to let an outsider like me see it?”
Saying this, Liu Haoyu deliberately shifted his gaze to the third person in the office.
To be precise, this was a female police officer with high颜值. She had a well-proportioned figure, and a very beautiful face, but her demeanor did not seem like a police officer, lacking that heroic aura.
This female police officer was Xu Wanlin, the logistics officer of the Special Task Force.
When she heard their conversation, she quickly turned her head.
“Team leader, I didn’t sleep well at noon, and I’m a bit confused now.”
Seeing Xu Wanlin say this, Wang Wenqi turned back and looked at Liu Haoyu, shrugging.
“Since this beautiful police officer has no objections, it’s naturally fine to let you see it.”
“Okay.”
The files provided by Wang Wenqi included the events that happened in the hotel a year ago and the whereabouts of the girl named Xu Wanrong.
“After her mother died, a relative named Xu Meixue took her in.”
“But the file says that half a year ago, Xu Wanrong died of a serious illness.”
Liu Haoyu carefully read the file, put it down, closed his eyes, and said.
“Before that cleaner died, her daughter’s illness was almost cured. The medical records also stated that her condition was basically fine and she could live a normal life.”
“It’s only been half a year… How could a nearly healthy person fall seriously ill so quickly and even die?”
“And isn’t it strange that this relative rushed to hold the funeral as soon as her death notice came out?”
Hearing Liu Haoyu’s speculation, Wang Wenqi frowned and said.
“It is true that excessive grief can lead to rapid deterioration of illness, but listening to you, this person named Xu Meixue does seem a bit strange.”
“Strange is right,” Liu Haoyu said. “In rural areas, most people are buried in the ground. Who knows if there’s anyone in that coffin…”
At the end, Liu Haoyu couldn’t help but sneer.
Using the funeral as a cover, then selling the person off, this trick of hiding the truth was quite well-executed.
At this point, Wang Wenqi’s expression became solemn.
“I’ll investigate this matter right away.”
But when he stood up, Liu Haoyu stopped him and said.
“Officer Wang, let me handle this matter. After all, it was a promise I made to that wronged soul.”
“But about the Red Gate…”
Wang Wenqi was naturally worried if Liu Haoyu could handle so many fierce ghosts, but the man just smiled and said.
“I will not neglect the matter of the Red Gate.”
Liu Haoyu walked out of the Public Security Bureau.
According to the file, Xu Meixue was currently living in Fugui Apartment in Jiangliu City.
It was a bit far from the police station. Fortunately, Wang Wenqi drove a police car and came to Liu Haoyu, saying.
“Xiao Liu, I’ll give you a ride.”
“How can I trouble Officer Wang like this?” Liu Haoyu said a bit embarrassed. “And it’s not good to always take the public car, is it?”
To this, Wang Wenqi said with a haha laugh.
“I’d also like to stay at the police station, but if I don’t send you there, I’m afraid it won’t be long before another taxi driver calls the police.”
