Chapter 37 The Night Watchman Elder
Liu Haoyu carefully observed the house.
From the outside alone, this residential building looked very grim.
Few people would use red to decorate the exterior walls of a house; at least, normal people wouldn’t choose this color.
Even more bizarrely, the main entrance of this residential building didn’t face a road, but rather the direction of a barren mountain.
This orientation was like saying to lonely ghosts, “Come over and play at my house.”
Coupled with the house’s garish and ominous red color, Li Haoyu felt that Zhu Xingxue was fortunate to have lived this long, his fate must be very strong.
It was likely his ancestors had done a lot of favors below.
But it was a pity that when you walk by the river, you’re bound to get your shoes wet.
This person ultimately met his end at the hands of a fierce ghost a few days ago.
Now, this red house was accumulating a large amount of resentment. Normal people would feel uncomfortable seeing it and instinctively want to stay away.
But clearly, Liu Haoyu was not a normal person.
He shone his flashlight and walked up to the house, but Liu Haoyu didn’t rush to enter.
Instead, he circled the house twice, setting up a few things.
At the same time, he also noticed that the candlelight was still lit.
This meant that there was a ghost nearby…
“Qin Liu, get inside the Hong Yu.”
“Okay.”
Qin Liu, who had been curiously observing the house, wisely entered the Hong Yu.
But even so, the candlelight only dimmed slightly.
It seemed there was something very bad around.
Liu Haoyu observed the outer wall behind the house.
There were quite a few child-like doodles here.
To adults, this house was somewhat unlucky.
But children didn’t care that much; for them, the empty grassy area behind the house was their favorite little world.
Liu Haoyu walked up to the wall and carefully examined these messy doodles.
The doodles were very messy, with varied handwriting. It could be seen that Zhu Xingxue did not stop these children from playing.
However, among these doodles, Liu Haoyu discovered a few very striking phrases.
“Where did sister go?”
“Sister is missing.”
“I will find sister.”
These short three sentences made one’s imagination run wild with dread.
Liu Haoyu didn’t know who left these words, but judging by the handwriting resembling chicken claws, it should be an immature elementary school student.
Then, Liu Haoyu found more of this child’s handwriting on the wall.
“Dad is so bad, he always hits Mom.”
“Why can’t Mom’s eyes see?”
“When I grow up, I will definitely protect Mom…”
Perhaps due to insufficient education, the child’s writing had a somewhat awkward feel to it.
Looking at these writings, Liu Haoyu felt a lot of confusion, but it also reminded him of some things.
As far as he knew, Zhu Xingxue’s wife was disabled.
She was blind and had her left leg amputated.
And this was not a normal marriage; rather, Liu Haoyu had bought his wife in the 1990s.
In that era, coupled with this being a poor and backward village, such things were normal.
This also showed that Zhu Xingxue’s family life was not so pleasant. As for the writing on the wall, it should have been written by Zhu Xingxue’s son.
But… Liu Haoyu remembered that Zhu Xingxue’s household registration only listed one son, not a daughter. What was going on?
At this moment, Liu Haoyu was full of doubts. But just then, an old man carrying a lantern spotted him.
“Hey! What are you doing here?”
Upon hearing the old man’s reprimand, Liu Haoyu noticed that the candlelight in his hand burned even brighter.
“Just passing by, wanted to find a place to set up camp and rest.”
“Who else is here? Go back, go back!”
The old man said impatiently.
“Does this place look like a place to set up camp!?”
Although Liu Haoyu said this, in the old man’s eyes, he was just a young person who had heard ghost legends and came to seek excitement.
“Old man, may I ask, doesn’t this house have a family of four? Why is no one living here now?”
Liu Haoyu specifically emphasized a family of four, which might reveal some useful information.
But upon hearing this, the old man’s expression froze. He also saw the doodles on the wall, and for some reason, he became even angrier and said.
“Dead, dead! They are all dead! Hurry up and leave!”
Seeing the old man so angry, Liu Haoyu took out a stack of banknotes from his pocket and placed them in front of the old man.
However, the banknotes belonged to the “Heaven and Earth Bank.”
These were joss paper.
And the patrolling old man, upon seeing this stack of joss paper, not only did not get angry, but his eyes were fixed on Liu Haoyu’s hand.
“Tell me.”
“…”
The old man was silent for a moment, then said.
“Indeed, it was a family of four, a couple with a son and a daughter, but about a year ago, their daughter fell ill with something strange, so we haven’t seen them since.”
“Thanks, I’ll camp here then.”
Money makes the ghost go round, it was no joke.
The old man took the stack of joss paper, and his previously furious expression softened considerably. He even kindly reminded him.
“Young man, this place is very evil. Two young people went in yesterday and haven’t come out yet. If you really want to camp overnight, the village committee square not far from here would be better.”
“Hahaha, no need to trouble you. I still need to start a fire to cook, and I’m afraid of disturbing you. This place is remote and quiet, which is quite good.”
Seeing that Liu Haoyu was really not listening to advice, the old man with the lantern could only sigh.
It seemed he was lamenting that “good words can’t persuade a damned ghost.”
Watching his retreating back, Liu Haoyu narrowed his eyes and put the Zhenlei Talisman back.
This was just a harmless guardian spirit, a being similar to a local deity.
“It really was a family of four…”
Liu Haoyu muttered, took out his climbing rope, and threw it up, confirming it was hooked before skillfully climbing to the top floor.
There was also a layer of rice stalks spread on the rooftop, but due to the rain, many of them had sprouted.
It looked like it had been abandoned for quite some time.
Liu Haoyu took out a crowbar from his backpack and pried open the door to the top floor.
As soon as the door opened, a foul and rotten smell assaulted his senses.
It was like entering a slaughterhouse.
Coupled with all the windows being locked from the inside, this smell had fermented into something nauseating.
Liu Haoyu rummaged through his backpack for a gas mask and put it on, feeling a little more comfortable.
However, when going out, in addition to facing the threat of ghosts, one also had to pay attention to the people encountered.
People’s hearts are unpredictable, just like the situation Deng Xiaolin encountered at the reservoir before.
If she hadn’t run fast enough at that time, she might have been in serious trouble.
Despite Liu Haoyu’s apparent carefree nature, he was much more cautious than Deng Xiaolin.
Moreover, he heard from the old man that there were two more people in the house.
So, to prevent any danger, Liu Haoyu picked up the fire axe from his backpack.
As a ghost exorcist, carrying an axe was also reasonable, right?
