Chapter 35 Humid Apartment
Fugui Apartment is located some distance from the police station.
By the time Liu Haoyu arrived at his destination, it was already 10 PM.
In order not to alert the other party, Liu Haoyu got out of the police car from a distance.
Then he planned to walk there in ten minutes.
“Hello, is Fugui Apartment over there?”
Upon hearing Liu Haoyu’s words, the old man who was strolling shivered.
“It is indeed over there…”
The old man did not seem to expect anyone to suddenly ask him a question.
After recovering, he said to Liu Haoyu.
“Young man, it’s so late, are you looking for a place to stay?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, I’ll tell you, if you go about seven or eight hundred meters this way, there’s a small hotel. Although it’s not very reputable, at least it’s a place to stay. Don’t go to that apartment!”
Facing the old man’s kind warning, Liu Haoyu continued to ask.
“Is there anything strange about that apartment?”
“There are many strange things! Judging by your accent, you’re from out of town. Let me tell you, someone died in that place. Even during the day, no one goes over there. Anyone who gets close feels a chill down their spine; it’s very sinister!”
As the old man spoke, his voice carried some fear.
But Liu Haoyu just smiled and said.
“Old man, in this society, we should believe in science and not in feudal superstitions. How can there be ghosts in this world?”
“Alas… you won’t believe me even if I tell you. So be it, but it’s best not to go to that place.”
The old man sighed and walked away.
Liu Haoyu narrowed his eyes and continued forward.
The apartment was located in a very remote place.
Weeds grew on both sides of the road, extending crookedly into the distant woods.
There were no streetlights on either side, only two rows of what looked like malnourished small trees.
And through these saplings, one could faintly see a gray building.
If there were still a few pedestrians on the road before, there was no one here.
This distance of less than a kilometer, and the nearby residents all had an attitude of avoiding this place.
Perhaps for ordinary people, this place was very sinister and they wanted to stay away.
But Liu Haoyu was a ghost exorcist, and he would not leave just like that.
Following the small path forward, after walking for dozens of meters, Liu Haoyu finally came to the bottom of Fugui Apartment.
Rather than an apartment, it was more like a courtyard.
The courtyard was surrounded by rusty railings, and there was only one entrance,
which was the dilapidated-looking large iron gate, but a new lock was hanging on the iron gate.
The gate was not locked, so Liu Haoyu was able to push open the iron gate and enter the area enclosed by the iron railings.
However, this apartment was much larger than he had imagined.
Not only was there a four-story main building, but there were also a warehouse and a garage on both sides.
Inside the garage was parked a severely paint-chipped minivan, with fallen leaves and dust all over the windshield wipers, looking like it hadn’t been used in a long time.
And this building was extremely old. The plaster on the first floor had almost completely fallen off, revealing the red bricks inside.
However, even though the scene everywhere was dilapidated, it was still quite clean. There was no garbage on the ground, and no weeds could be seen.
Liu Haoyu walked into the main building of the apartment and shouted inside.
“Is anyone here?”
Inside the apartment, the corridor was very long and narrow, with no lights, making it a bit frighteningly dark.
Perhaps hearing Liu Haoyu’s voice, after about ten seconds of silence, a gap opened in the door of a room near the second-floor stairs.
It seemed like someone was looking at Liu Haoyu through this gap.
Liu Haoyu was not afraid of this, and he stepped forward.
“Hello.”
However, it seemed that the person in the room was unwilling to face Liu Haoyu. When they saw Liu Haoyu approaching, the person inside even wanted to close the door.
Fortunately, Liu Haoyu was quick-handed and grabbed the door handle. He smiled and said to the person inside in a kind and amicable tone.
“May I ask if I can stay here for one night? I only have fifty. The hotel over there is too expensive.”
As he spoke, Liu Haoyu’s gaze looked into the room.
He found that it seemed that the lights were not on in this room. Through the door crack, Liu Haoyu could clearly see that the person standing behind the door was a woman with a weathered face.
Although the light was a bit dim, Liu Haoyu could see that this person was Xu Meixue, the relative who had taken Xu Wanrong away.
However, compared to the photo, her eyes were bloodshot, and her mental state looked quite bad.
Upon hearing Liu Haoyu’s request, the woman obviously paused, and then showed a strange smile.
It was as if she had gone mad or was possessed.
But soon, another man came out of the room. He opened the door and, upon seeing Liu Haoyu, his face showed considerable displeasure.
“What are you here for?”
“I am a passing traveler. Because I have little money, I want to stay here for one night.”
Liu Haoyu tried his best to make his voice sound weak, appearing like someone who was not good at communication.
“Oh?”
The man looked Liu Haoyu up and down, his bullying gaze seeming to want to trample Liu Haoyu under his feet.
But he still did not refuse Liu Haoyu, and continued.
“Show me your ID, and give me the money.”
“Okay.”
Liu Haoyu decisively handed over his identification and money.
However, the man did not check the identification, but simply accepted the money and walked forward.
“I’ll take you to the second floor to see the room.”
Liu Haoyu followed the imposing man to the second floor.
However, compared to the first floor, the situation on the second floor was even more humid and dark.
There were spiderwebs everywhere in the corners, and the windows were covered in dust.
Even the walls were crumbling, looking even worse than the exterior walls of the first floor.
But according to common sense, the first floor should be more humid than the second floor. So what was going on here?
The man led Liu Haoyu all the way, kept walking.
Until he reached the end of the corridor on the second floor, he opened the door of the innermost room, and took out a string of keys from his pocket. He took out one and said.
“Your room is here.”
“Remember, don’t wander around at night, and don’t go upstairs.”
Facing the man’s instructions, Liu Haoyu pretended to be very sensible and asked cautiously.
“Okay, okay, but why can’t I go upstairs? It’s too humid here. I want to change to a higher floor.”
Upon hearing Liu Haoyu’s words, the man shouted.
“Why are you asking so many questions? If you don’t want to stay, get out! I don’t care about your fifty dollars!”
With that, the man hurried downstairs, as if there was something shameful there.
Liu Haoyu squinted and watched the man’s retreating back.
Qin Liu also poked her little head out from Hong Yu.
This poor little ghost peeked around, looking a little scared.
“Didn’t you say we were going to investigate a missing person case?”
“Why are we coming to such a creepy place again!”
Qin Liu initially thought they would just catch someone, but it seemed to be completely different from what she had imagined.
In response, Liu Haoyu said indifferently.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of. Let’s move in. We’ve done so much today, and I’m exhausted.”
After speaking, Liu Haoyu opened the door and walked in.
The interior of the room exuded a faint musty smell, looking like it hadn’t been lived in for a long time.
The furniture was covered in dust, and combined with the humid environment, it made people very uncomfortable as soon as they entered the room.
Liu Haoyu touched the quilt; it was also a bit damp.
Qin Liu couldn’t help but complain.
“Can this bed really be slept on?”
Liu Haoyu put his backpack on the headboard and then sat on the bed with the fire axe.
“It’s not like I’m actually sleeping.”
Compared to before, his voice was very low, almost inaudible to anyone but Qin Liu.
Qin Liu understood, approached him, and whispered.
“Why are you suddenly speaking so quietly?”
“Shh, just be quiet.”
Liu Haoyu motioned for Qin Liu to be quiet, and at the same time took out his mobile phone and began to search for information about Fugui Apartment.
According to public rumors, this apartment seemed to be haunted.
People who had lived here said that there were bloodstains remaining on these walls.
And a foul smell would occasionally emanate from within the walls.
It was said that the smell was similar to that of a corpse.
So Liu Haoyu leaned close to the wall, trying to find these bloodstains.
But even after tapping all over the room with the axe, Liu Haoyu found no smell or bloodstains.
It was as if these were just urban legends.
Seeing this, Qin Liu also came to help Liu Haoyu search.
“You said, if this place is haunted, maybe it only appears at specific times?”
“There’s a high probability of that, but tonight is bound to be a sleepless night. As long as we don’t sleep, it’ll be fine.”
Liu Haoyu decided to explore outside.
He tiptoed to the door and suddenly felt that something was wrong.
So, he signaled to Qin Liu.
“Help me check outside.”
Qin Liu understood Liu Haoyu’s gesture.
So, the little ghost’s head poked through the wooden door and stuck out.
However, as soon as her head poked out halfway, her entire body suddenly froze.
The woman with bloodshot eyes was standing right outside the door, and she had been standing there for who knows how long!
Seeing the face with a strange smile, Qin Liu was so scared that her soul almost flew out. She quickly shrunk back into the room and signaled to Liu Haoyu.
“That woman is standing outside!!”
Seeing this, Liu Haoyu took a deep breath, hid the axe behind him, and opened the room door.
Just as Qin Liu said, Xu Meixue was standing blankly at the door. When she saw Liu Haoyu open the door, her strange smile became even more radiant.
She raised her head and asked Liu Haoyu.
“I just made some late-night snacks, so I brought them for you.”
At this time, Liu Haoyu noticed that in the woman’s hand was a thermos cup.
It was unclear what was inside.
“It’s very delicious.”
Saying that, Xu Meixue opened the lid of the thermos cup.
Liu Haoyu could see that there was indeed rice in the thermos cup. The rice grains were distinct, looking white and glutinous. And it was unclear what kind of rice it was; each grain was about the size of a fingernail.
In the dim moonlight, these grains of rice looked like living maggots…
Looking at the rice, Liu Haoyu’s expression remained unchanged, but he still felt a little nauseous.
It was just a bowl of rice, but he felt extremely disgusted.
“No, you eat it. I’m not hungry yet.”
“Really not eating?”
Xu Meixue seemed a bit regretful. Her bloodshot eyes looked at Liu Haoyu, and the strange smile on her face began to converge.
“The rice I cook is very delicious.”
Saying that, she grabbed a handful with her hand and put it into her own mouth, chewing heartily.
With her rough eating posture and expression of enjoyment, if one didn’t know, they might think she was eating some delicacies.
“Delicious… delicious…”
In less than a minute, the rice in the thermos cup was all gone. In the end, she even stuck her head in and licked the grains of rice into her stomach one by one.
After eating, the strange smile reappeared on her face, and she said.
“Sorry, it was too delicious, I forgot to save some for you. I’ll bring you breakfast tomorrow morning.”
As soon as her voice fell, the woman stared at Liu Haoyu with a blank gaze and said.
“I’m going to sleep.”
She revealed a mouthful of yellow teeth, but her eyes were wide open, smiling eerily and terrifyingly.
“You should sleep early too…”
After the woman left, Qin Liu and Liu Haoyu both felt uncomfortable all over.
Judging by her strange behavior, it was clear that there was something wrong with this woman.
She was acting erratically and creepily, as if she were possessed.
Liu Haoyu closed the door and said to Qin Liu.
” I’m retracting my previous guess.”
“Oh?”
Qin Liu was a little confused. She heard the man squint and say.
“Perhaps Xu Wanrong is really dead, dead in this haunted house.”
“Ah…”
Upon hearing this, Qin Liu’s heart shivered. She looked around, seemingly afraid that a corpse was hidden in this room.
But Liu Haoyu continued.
“However, there’s one thing I don’t understand. Logically, if Xu Wanrong is really dead, then they would have had the opportunity to bury her in a grave. So why hide the body here?”
Qin Liu could not provide any answer to Liu Haoyu’s confusion.
She was just a ghost carrying a lamp and able to pass through walls.
And not the type that used her brain much.
After confirming that there was no one in the corridor, Liu Haoyu opened the door.
Then he cautiously left the room.
He intended to find Xu Wanrong’s body first. Since the man emphasized not to go upstairs, perhaps the body was hidden somewhere upstairs.
