Chapter 20 Falsehood
Liu Haoyu could never have imagined that that old bastard would still have descendants.
“What’s her background?”
If what Wang Wenqi said was true, then it was not impossible for the opponent to be an enemy.
In response to Liu Haoyu’s question, Wang Wenqi on the other end of the phone was reviewing Gu Wanxue’s file.
“The other party is a postgraduate student of folklore at Jiangliu University, and it seems she is currently looking for a job.”
Folklore studies.
To be honest, the danger level of this profession was comparable to that of a ghost exorcist.
After all, there really were ghosts in this world, and even in traditional movies and TV shows, people of this profession were usually the first to die.
However, out of consideration for her identity as Gu Qianyang’s descendant, Liu Haoyu continued to ask.
“Judging by your tone, is there something wrong with this person?”
“There is indeed something wrong…” Wang Wenqi’s voice softened, as if he was organizing his thoughts: “This young lady is currently writing a thesis on local sacrificial culture, and last week she went to the library to look for archives from the 1980s.”
“And what makes it even more suspicious is that at four o’clock this morning, she rode her bicycle alone and went all the way along the provincial road on the eastern outskirts of the city…”
Eastern outskirts of the city?
Liu Haoyu frowned. Wasn’t that in his direction?
What on earth did this person named Gu Wanxue want to do?
Liu Haoyu leaned against the wall, and while thinking, he continued to ask.
“Did you send people to keep an eye on her?”
“I sent a team of plainclothes officers, but the people who were following her haven’t reported back yet. Wait a moment…”
With that, Wang Wenqi fell silent. After about two minutes, his voice rang out again, but this time his voice sounded a little anxious.
“Damn it, we lost her.”
“Don’t worry, Captain Wang…” Liu Haoyu tapped the wall lightly with his fingernails, the dull sound echoing rhythmically: “Which section of the provincial road did you lose her? I estimate she’s heading this way.”
Liu Haoyu’s words also reminded Wang Wenqi of something.
The man on the other end of his phone seemed to have bought that haunted house in the suburbs, didn’t he?
Wait a moment… wasn’t the ghost bride who had been by his side all along from inside there?
“Hello?”
“Oh, oh, the last location given by the plainclothes officers was at the entrance of Shigu Town, and after that…” Wang Wenqi looked at the message sent by the plainclothes officers and read it word for word: “She disappeared.”
“Disappeared?”
“Yes, the plainclothes officers said that a mist suddenly rose, and then the girl’s figure just disappeared mysteriously.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Haoyu quickly walked to the window, yanked open the curtains, and looked outside.
The early morning sun was slowly rising, and although it was a bit hazy, the problem was… where was the mist?
Not only that, but Liu Haoyu looked in the direction of Shigu Town, and there was no mist there either.
Seeing this, Liu Haoyu immediately said to Wang Wenqi.
“That place might be a little strange. Hurry up and have the plainclothes officers withdraw. There might be danger inside.”
“I had them withdraw as soon as I received the message.”
After all, Wang Wenqi was also a ghost exorcist and knew the power of these supernatural events.
But with such a large person lost, whether she was alive or dead, they couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.
Liu Haoyu naturally knew this as well, so he said to Wang Wenqi.
“I have to go and see.”
There was a silence on the other end of the phone.
“I’ll go with you.”
“No, you guys just provide backup outside. If Gu Qianyang shows any flaws, or if someone else dies suddenly outside, these matters will need to be handled by you in the rear.”
With that, Liu Haoyu hung up the phone, returned to the room, grabbed his jacket, put on his equipment, and walked out.
Looking at Qin Liu, who was sleeping with her mouth wide open and drooling, Liu Haoyu took out a piece of red jade and placed it on her head, absorbing her into it as if collecting a Pokémon.
After organizing his equipment and slinging the fire axe over his back, Liu Haoyu glanced in the direction of Shigu Town through the window.
Although it was called a town, that place had been abandoned ten years ago, and now it was just ruins.
Why would Gu Wanxue come to such a place alone in the early morning?
Liu Haoyu opened the black book, trying to find an answer from it.
But as soon as he opened the book, it gave the best possible answer.
“I don’t know.”
Well, without offerings, the black book indeed couldn’t know anything.
Liu Haoyu knew this very well, so he got on his motorcycle and drove towards Shigu Town.
Shigu Town was not far from where the haunted house was located. After driving for only about ten minutes, Liu Haoyu’s motorcycle stopped on the road next to the Shigu Town Reservoir.
The reservoir in the early morning was covered in a faint mist, but it was far from the heavy fog that Wang Wenqi had mentioned.
The small path in the sunlight looked calm and normal, and the wind blowing across the water surface stirred up ripples.
Without exaggeration, this place looked very suitable for fishing, not like a haunted place.
Liu Haoyu’s motorcycle drove a bit further.
Because Shigu Town had been abandoned for a long time, the gravel road leading into the town was already overgrown with weeds and covered with a layer of yellow mud.
A fresh set of bicycle tire tracks extended from the entrance of the road, and then… stopped abruptly.
The entire bicycle tire tracks suddenly broke off, as if they had disappeared into thin air.
Looking further down the road, there were no footprints, no tire tracks, just empty nothingness.
Seeing this, Liu Haoyu frowned slightly. He hid his motorcycle, not planning to drive directly in.
After all, this road was covered in yellow mud, and it was very easy for the motorcycle to slip. It was safer to walk.
Moreover, it wasn’t too far to walk from here to reach Shigu Town.
After hiding the car, Liu Haoyu began to walk along the road.
He still had some impression of this area.
Because when he was a child, he had come to this place with his father. Although it was still desolate then, there were at least some signs of human activity.
But now, there was no one left in Shigu Town.
After walking along the small path for a while, Liu Haoyu found that there was still no heavy fog in this place as Wang Wenqi had described. The sun had fully risen, and the last trace of mist in the air had been completely dispersed.
The whole world looked normal… right?
Liu Haoyu couldn’t help but raise a question in his heart at this moment.
Looking at the sunny world before him, he felt a sense of unprovoked… falseness.
And just as Liu Haoyu was wondering, a figure of a woman in white suddenly appeared in front of him.
She stood not far from Liu Haoyu, holding a thick ancient book in her hands. As if sensing his gaze, she suddenly turned around and met Liu Haoyu’s eyes from a distance.
This woman was exactly the same as the woman in the photo provided by Wang Wenqi, but her lips held a smile that was inconsistent with her age and almost eerily calm.
