Chapter 69: I am Hongmen (4000 words)
Hearing the familiar voice, Liu Haoyu was slightly startled.
But his vision was blocked by the flashlight, so he couldn’t see who the police officer was.
It wasn’t until the other party walked closer that Liu Haoyu finally remembered.
“Officer Wang?”
“Long time no see,” Wang Wenping said with a smile. “I didn’t expect us to meet here. Have you just finished dealing with a supernatural event?”
Wang Wenqi’s arrival brought Liu Haoyu the joy of meeting an old friend in a foreign land.
As for Liu Zining, she was a bit curious to see this unfamiliar Special Task Force police officer.
She was familiar with the Special Task Force in the Jiangquan City area, but she had never seen Wang Wenping before. Observing that he knew Liu Haoyu, she seemed to have thought of something.
“I almost forgot,” Wang Wenping said, quickly introducing himself to Liu Zining as he had been focused on catching up with Liu Haoyu, “Hello, Miss Liu. My name is Wang Wenqi. I was originally the leader of the Special Task Force division in Jiangliu City, and I’ve now been transferred here. I hope for your guidance in the future.”
Hearing this, Liu Haoyu was even more surprised. Police officers were rarely transferred; could it be…?
“You got promoted?”
“It’s all thanks to you, kid,” Wang Wenqi said, patting Liu Haoyu on the shoulder.
“Although you could call it a promotion, I’m still a divisional leader.”
The police officer’s face was beaming with joy. Liu Haoyu certainly understood his happiness. Although both were divisional leaders, the positions in Jiangquan City and Jiangliu City were incomparable.
“It’s just that…” Wang Wenqi looked at the mess and bloodstains on the ground, saying with a headache, “This situation seems a bit difficult to cover up.”
Ordinary supernatural events were easy to handle; even if there was an explosion, it could simply be blamed on a gas tank explosion. However, gunshot wounds were tricky. Fortunately, the police officer in front of them had no family, leaving room for manipulation.
“You two don’t need to worry about the aftermath. I’ll take you back first.”
“Thanks.”
After leaving four or five police officers to handle the crime scene, Wang Wenqi led the two to the road. Before leaving, Liu Haoyu confirmed multiple times that the ghost infant had escaped. The entity was very sinister, and it was unlikely to appear with so many people present. Liu Zining had mentioned before that supernatural events caused by the ghost infant were highly contagious, and it seemed capable of escaping through unknown abilities. Therefore, it was highly likely that it had possessed someone else. As for who… there were no clues yet.
In the car, Liu Haoyu sat in the front passenger seat, while Liu Zining in the back was cleaning her handgun, her expression very focused. Liu Haoyu didn’t intend to disturb her and instead tentatively asked Wang Wenqi, “Speaking of which… Officer Wang, handguns, are they…?”
Guns were irresistible to men. So, after seeing Liu Zining with a handgun issued by the Special Task Force, Liu Haoyu naturally coveted one for himself. Although Liu Haoyu didn’t finish his sentence, Wang Wenqi, who was driving, couldn’t fail to discern his thoughts.
“You want one too?”
“Of course,” Liu Haoyu nodded repeatedly, but Wang Wenqi chuckled and scolded him.
“Give it up, it’s really hard to apply for these things.”
“But… I am a ghost exorcist, aren’t I?” Liu Haoyu continued to curry favor. “Shouldn’t I have a weapon for self-defense?”
“Self-defense? You?” Wang Wenqi acted as if he had heard a ghost story, complaining, “I don’t think you need this to defend yourself.”
“Why?”
“You, who can scare murderers unconscious, what do you need this for?!” Wang Wenqi covered his forehead. “Your colleagues in Beiming City complain about you a lot. They say that last year, a robber who was out in the middle of the night ran into you, and for some reason, a 1.8-meter tall man was so scared by you that he ran into the police station crying and surrendered.”
“…” Liu Haoyu chuckled awkwardly.
“Wasn’t that me acting in the public interest? I even helped innocent citizens retrieve their property.”
“You’re not mentioning the incident where you scared someone into a mental hospital,” Wang Wenqi added another jab after complaining. “In short, no discussion. I don’t want Jiangquan City to have another masked, gun-wielding murderer.”
“I’m really wronged…” Regardless of how Liu Haoyu tried to argue, Wang Wenqi wouldn’t believe him at all.
Finally, the two returned to the police station. After providing a simple, very believable, and convincing statement, Wang Wenqi let the two go. Leaving the police station, looking at the deserted street outside, Liu Haoyu asked Liu Zining, who was yawning, “Should I give you a ride home?”
“No need, it’s not far from where I live. But Brother Liu…” Liu Zining looked at the man beside her. “Your place is quite far, right? Why don’t you stay at my place for the night?”
“No, I still need to investigate something.”
“Then I’ll investigate what happened at the Chinese Medicine Hospital in Gui Ping District.”
Liu Haoyu left in a hurry. Given the unknown and strange abilities of the ghost infant, Liu Haoyu had to return to An Qinglian’s side first. He wouldn’t forget that this young girl was initially targeted by the ghost infant. The strangeness it caused was contagious, so An Qinglian’s condition might not be safe.
By the time Liu Haoyu returned to An Qinglian’s home, more than half an hour had passed. An Qinglian was sleeping soundly in bed. Liu Haoyu approached and placed a blank talisman on her forehead to check her condition. The talisman did not turn black, and there were no traces of resentment in the room. She seemed safe… Liu Haoyu burned the talisman and lay down on the other bed. He slowly closed his eyes. Exhausted in body and mind, he quickly drifted off to sleep.
After an unknown amount of time, perhaps in a dream or reality, Liu Haoyu noticed a faint fragrance drifting around him. It was the scent of golden nanmu. Upon sensing this scent, he immediately opened his eyes. He then saw Qin Liu nestled in his arms, breathing gently. The space he was in was very confined, making it impossible to spread his arms. Was this the black coffin where Qin Liu’s main body was located? No… what he touched felt like concrete walls. What place was this?
As Liu Haoyu pondered, Qin Liu also opened her eyes. Her eyes were devoid of any emotion, as if her soul had been lost. Being stared at silently by Qin Liu, Liu Haoyu felt a little scared. He couldn’t remember doing anything to wrong Qin Liu. As Liu Haoyu wracked his brain, the girl finally spoke.
“The Gate of the Yellow Springs has taken the ghost infant’s soul down once,” she said, “but it seems to be able to shed its skin and possess others. It is a sin seed hatched from the soul. Ordinary means cannot detect it. To break this method, you must find the ghost infant’s true form, the nameless, featureless corpse that disappeared from the Chinese Medicine Hospital…”
Qin Liu’s voice was emotionless, echoing incessantly in the confined space. Listening to her words, Liu Haoyu felt something was amiss. How did Qin Liu know this? Weren’t the guide and Qin Liu supposed to be the same person? If she knew, she should have told him earlier, not wait until now. So, Liu Haoyu took a deep breath and asked the expressionless Qin Liu, “How do you know?”
Faced with Liu Haoyu’s question, the expressionless Qin Liu suddenly showed a playful smile. She opened her mouth slightly and said, “Because… I am Hongmen.”
“Damn it!” Liu Haoyu suddenly woke up from his dream, clutching his rapidly beating heart, still unable to recover. Why did he dream of that persistent scoundrel Hongmen again?
“Hmm…?” However, Liu Haoyu then realized that Qin Liu was indeed sleeping beside him. The girl’s sleeping posture was very cute. Liu Haoyu’s sudden movement also woke her up. She rubbed her eyes, seemingly not understanding why Liu Haoyu had suddenly jumped up.
“What’s wrong?” Still startled from the nightmare, Liu Haoyu couldn’t help but reach out and pinch the sleeping girl’s cheek. “What are you doing?”
With her cheeks pinched, Qin Liu looked like a puffed-up bun, both cute and speaking indistinctly, “Don’t pinch my face…” Relieved by Qin Liu’s silly and naive demeanor, Liu Haoyu thought to himself, “She’s so silly, this must be the real her. Hongmen can imitate Qin Liu’s face, but it can’t imitate this silliness.”
After letting go, Qin Liu continuously rubbed her cheeks, then stared intently at Liu Haoyu with a questioning gaze, as if asking about his intentions. Liu Haoyu understood her look. After their eyes met for a moment, he placed his hand on Qin Liu’s white-stockinged feet. At this, Qin Liu understood his intentions. This guy is simply lecherous! Qin Liu immediately retreated three meters, glaring at him with full vigilance. Even if her gaze could kill, it would only be able to pierce Liu Haoyu’s thick skin, which was like a city wall.
Under the girl’s gaze, the man sat up. If Hongmen were touched, it wouldn’t react this way. Facing Qin Liu’s questioning, Liu Haoyu said seriously, “I had a dream about Hongmen.”
“Hongmen…” Qin Liu looked puzzled. “Isn’t that thing supposed to be working overtime… oh no, working in Jiangliu City? Why would it suddenly come to you?”
“I don’t know,” Liu Haoyu shrugged. “But it told me some things about the ghost infant. this thing attempts to attach itself to souls and disguise itself by relying on human souls until it fully hatches and takes control of the host. Just like when it possessed Yan Wenyi.” As he spoke, Liu Haoyu’s gaze fell on An Qinglian, who was still sleeping. If the ghost infant had no other contingency plans, the probability of it currently possessing An Qinglian’s soul was very high. Ordinary possessions were easy to detect, but according to Hongmen, this ghost infant’s abilities were very strong; it could not only parasitize the host silently but was also very difficult to trace. Therefore, as a precaution, Liu Haoyu decided to carefully check on the sleeping An Qinglian.
Seeing Liu Haoyu’s cautiousness, those who knew might think he was checking her body, while those who didn’t might think he was a flower thief. Under Qin Liu’s gaze, Liu Haoyu arrived at An Qinglian’s bedside. He took out another blank talisman, lit it, then opened An Qinglian’s mouth and put it inside. However, even faced with such rough action, the girl on the bed showed no reaction, as if she had been given a knockout drug. Liu Haoyu felt something was wrong. He carefully observed the talisman’s reaction, but just then, An Qinglian suddenly opened her eyes. Her face showed no surprise or fear, but a very strange smile.
“Watch out behind you!” Qin Liu’s voice also sounded at this moment. Liu Haoyu turned around abruptly and saw that in his blind spot, An Qinglian’s hand, in an unnatural pose, was holding a fruit knife and stabbing towards him.
“Woori!” Seeing this, Liu Haoyu quickly drew his axe, preparing to block the dagger thrust.
“Clang!!” After the weapons collided, Liu Haoyu realized how much strength the other party possessed. Even his hand holding the axe was numb from the impact. Even though Liu Haoyu had already pinned An Qinglian underneath him, she was rapidly struggling to break free. Liu Haoyu’s strength was no match for her!
As the situation grew worse, Liu Haoyu could only revert to his previous tactic, taking out Hong Yu and preparing to throw it at An Qinglian’s face. However, this time, the ghost infant was clearly prepared. Seeing the thrown Hong Yu, it opened its mouth and swallowed it whole. Once swallowed, Liu Haoyu could no longer control the Hong Yu. Moreover, the ghost infant had now completely escaped Liu Haoyu’s grip. It stood up, and the laughter emanating from it was clearly not An Qinglian’s.
“Hee hee…” However, the smile on her lips didn’t last long. Qin Liu, who had quietly crept behind her, took out her embroidered shoe and hit An Qinglian squarely on the head.
“Pow!” A crisp and loud sound echoed in the room. An Qinglian, who had just stood up, slumped onto the bed again, her face hitting the mattress. She looked very peacefully asleep.
