Chapter Eighty: Darkness (4200 words)
Liu Haoyu returned to Longshan Vocational High School.
Qin Liu followed him and said, “Hey, I told you to change your clothes, and now look? Those cops will definitely mistake you for a murderer.”
“A small matter.” For Liu Haoyu, the innocent would be innocent, and he hadn’t done anything wrong, so how could he be misunderstood by the police?
“Uwah~” Seeing Liu Haoyu’s fearless demeanor, Qin Liu was speechless for a moment.
“I hope that girl just now can put in a good word for you.” While Qin Liu was speaking, Liu Haoyu had already returned along the original path to where Bai Anting dropped her phone.
He picked up the phone from the ground. When Bai Anting was watching the livestream earlier, Liu Haoyu specifically paid attention to her hands. Through the position of the nine squares, he could roughly determine the password.
“1433223…” The phone was unlocked successfully. Compared to boys’ phones, girls’ phones always had a delicate feel. Both the theme and the wallpaper were vastly different from Liu Haoyu’s phone.
But some things were still the same… For example, pink software and a certain blue picture website. Humans are driven by desire. It applies to both men and women.
Liu Haoyu clicked into Bai Anting’s favorites and found that more than half of the pictures she collected were of flat-chested girls like her, or lolis. Logically, wouldn’t people crave what they lack the most?
“What are you looking at?” “I thought she would have collected pictures of big breasts.” Qin Liu shifted her gaze from the phone and said with a blush.
“Is that the main point!?” “Just looking casually.” Liu Haoyu picked up Bai Anting’s phone, not out of curiosity about her preferences.
He needed to use the ghost photos in this phone to find the boys’ dormitory. Earlier, when chasing the ghost in the teaching building, he realized that it was very difficult to pass through the teaching building.
This was also why Bai Anting got lost in the teaching building for so long. However, thinking about it now, although this female streamer was reckless, her luck was indeed undeniable. To actually survive in such a place.
If it were someone else, they might have died long ago. Of course, it was also possible that the ghosts were subtly guiding Bai Anting to a certain place to carry out those unspeakable acts.
After all, even if her “front armor” was flat, she was still a female. Those ghosts filled with resentment only had pure primal desires left. Even the remaining little sanity would only serve their desires.
Liu Haoyu opened the album. The photos of the students who were burned to death were still in Bai Anting’s phone. Looking at these students with their ferocious expressions and smiling faces, even Liu Haoyu felt a chill down his spine.
The appearance of these students was too terrifying. It was no wonder Bai Anting threw her phone away. Qin Liu, behind Liu Haoyu, peeked at the phone and then shuddered, backing away a meter.
“Such creepy photos.” “Indeed creepy.” Liu Haoyu took out a talisman from his backpack and stuck it on the phone. As the talisman began to work, the resentment on the phone was also drawn out.
At the same time, he took out another paper figure and injected the resentment into it. “Lead the way.” Before he finished speaking, the paper figure slowly floated up and floated towards the teaching building.
Seeing this peculiar skill, Qin Liu couldn’t help but look at Liu Haoyu with renewed admiration. “If you used this technique for street magic, I think you could earn a lot of money.”
“Indeed.” “……?” Qin Liu was just trying to make a joke, but she didn’t expect Liu Haoyu to agree so readily. “It’s just that you’d easily get chased by the city guards.”
“???” Qin Liu really wanted to retort, “You’re a ghost exorcist, aren’t you?” But thinking of the pitiful income of ghost exorcists, she felt relieved. Indeed, isn’t life all for a few bucks?
No one has it easy. Then, thinking about the price of the clothes Liu Haoyu gave her… Qin Liu had to admit she was a little touched. Of course, the gift was good, but no need to send it again.
Setting aside extraneous thoughts, the two followed the paper figure forward. The teaching building, which they had probably wandered around for a long time, was actually passed in less than ten minutes.
Behind the teaching building were two dormitory buildings built against the mountain. Between the dormitory buildings and the teaching building was a dried-up lotus pond. To the right of the lotus pond, in a cave in the stone mountain, there was even a temple.
Seeing the teaching building behind it with its hidden wonders, Qin Liu was a bit amazed. “This vocational high school is built quite nicely.” But Liu Haoyu frowned at the layout of the place.
It was true that there were temples built within schools. The problem was… he clearly remembered that Longshan Vocational High School was built on a mass grave. Logically, this temple could indeed serve to suppress souls and ward off evil, but it was built inside a cave in the stone mountain.
And on this tall stone mountain, dozens of graves were hanging high up. With all these conditions combined, not only did the temple fail to suppress souls and ward off evil, but it was like offering sacrifices to ghosts, attracting all sorts of demons and monsters to this place.
Looking again at the boys’ dormitory building not far from the temple, it was no wonder that something had happened there. With this situation, it would be strange if nothing happened.
After clarifying these issues, Liu Haoyu focused his gaze on the boys’ dormitory building. Since he understood the feng shui of the place, he needed to find out the cause of the fire.
While Liu Haoyu was observing the feng shui, Qin Liu was also occasionally observing behind them. Even though this place was quite a distance from the school gate, they could still faintly hear the distant police sirens. Although she wasn’t a murderer, she was really worried about herself and the oblivious guy in front of her.
For Qin Liu, if Liu Haoyu went to jail, her wish to go to Jiangquan City to find her sister would truly be dashed. “I guess the police must have entered the school already. Don’t you want to find a way to deal with the police first?”
“It’s unlikely they’ll come in, and even if they do, it will be difficult for them to reach this place.” Liu Haoyu looked at the teaching building behind him. He knew very well that ordinary people entering this teaching building would be like Bai Anting. It would be very difficult to find an exit.
Moreover, the police are not fools. He had noticed at the school gate that there was only one police car with four officers outside. “Facing armed thugs, without a sure grasp, the police generally choose to block first and call for backup. And it takes nearly an hour for the police to reach Longshan Vocational High School from the city. With the dispatch time, as long as we are fast enough, they won’t be able to react.”
After hearing this, Qin Liu fell silent for a long time. Then, looking at Liu Haoyu’s attire, she finally couldn’t help but complain. “Why are you so familiar with this?”
Honestly, if Qin Liu hadn’t been with Liu Haoyu for the past few days, she would have thought that this man had a criminal record. But to Qin Liu’s words, Liu Haoyu shrugged. “I just like reading detective novels in my spare time.”
“I’ll believe you if I’m a ghost.” Qin Liu rolled her eyes at Liu Haoyu’s explanation. However, time was limited, and Liu Haoyu didn’t linger here for too long. Thus, one person and one ghost walked towards the boys’ dormitory that caught fire.
Because there was no human activity here for a long time, dense weeds had grown everywhere in the dormitory building. But for some reason, the originally lush green weeds had all turned extremely yellow. This also added a bit of a terrifying atmosphere to the grim dormitory building.
The moonlight could not penetrate the interior of the dormitory building, so Liu Haoyu had to turn on his flashlight again. The stairways and corridors of these old dormitory buildings were very narrow. If two people walked side by side, they would be shoulder to shoulder.
The fire was on the upper floor, and Liu Haoyu climbed up the stairs. The phone he held in his hand kept buzzing. Liu Haoyu opened the phone, and the screen light illuminated his face, making it look patchy, like an unpredictable expression.
Combined with the fire axe in his hand, from a certain angle, Liu Haoyu looked even more bizarre. If there were any living people around, they might truly have a heart attack from fright. But this man stood there unconsciously, looking at the comments in the livestream one by one.
Without exception, the evil ghosts sent friendly and cordial greetings to him for letting Bai Anting go. The screen was filled with blood-red curses and threats. The photos in the album no longer held that creepy smile, but rather a twisted and hateful appearance.
Just as Liu Haoyu was about to say something, the last bit of battery power on the phone finally gave out. When the screen light went out, Liu Haoyu walked forward again. To avoid alarming the enemy, Qin Liu was now hiding inside Hong Yu.
This way, the fire candle could conveniently detect if there were any ghosts around. Moreover, if Qin Liu was outside, she might scare the prey away. After climbing two floors, a flickering flame appeared on the fire candle in Liu Haoyu’s hand.
Soon, this flame grew stronger, quickly melting and igniting the candle. Such a strong flame meant that there were ghosts around. But in Liu Haoyu’s sight, it was just a world of darkness. The flashlight flickered from time to time, making this strangeness even more profound.
When Liu Haoyu stepped onto the third floor, everything in front of him changed. The walls around were marked by smoke and fire. The originally yellowish walls here had turned black as ink. This also caused the already dim light to become even weaker when it reached the third floor.
The frequency of the flashlight flickered faster and faster, until finally, with a “snap,” the bulb inside burned out completely, leaving only the strong smell of burnt wires. When the flashlight went out, in this deep and silent sea of blackness, only the faint candlelight in Liu Haoyu’s hand persisted.
Even so, this man took a deep breath, calmed his inner unease and fear, and continued to walk forward with the candle. But the candlelight in his hand was too weak, as if a gust of wind could blow it out.
This not only gave no sense of security but only made people panic even more. Liu Haoyu was also human, and he was also afraid. But… he was a ghost exorcist. He could not retreat here. Because retreating meant death.
The dimness of the light, the darkness of the burning, the gloominess of the aisle. At this moment, in Liu Haoyu’s world, there was only one word: black. This extreme darkness could magnify a person’s fear. Compared to the world outside with moonlight, this lightless interior was even more unsettling.
Liu Haoyu stopped without speaking. He smelled a strong stench. It was like the noxious smell emitted when biological hair is burnt. Accompanying this stench was the smell of roasting meat. The two smells mixed together, making one feel very nauseous.
The dormitory doors in the aisle, though seemingly closed, seemed to have a crack, as if something inside was peeking at Liu Haoyu walking in the aisle, or as if something terrifying was about to rush out. The suffocating environment made Liu Haoyu hold his breath.
The fire candle in his hand was still burning fiercely, and Qin Liu was still in Hong Yu, not coming out. In fact, how could Qin Liu dare to come out? Ever since Liu Haoyu entered the dormitory building, this little ghost, just by looking at the outside world through Hong Yu, felt timid and scared.
If she were to come out… she would probably cling to Liu Haoyu’s leg. So it was better to hide in Hong Yu, this little jade piece was her eternal home!
Liu Haoyu walked halfway, and the foul smell of burning became stronger. Even though he was wearing a gas mask, he couldn’t block out the smell at all. But there was no other way, Liu Haoyu could only endure the discomfort and continue forward.
The further he walked, the more Liu Haoyu’s scalp tingled. He could clearly feel gazes coming from all directions, watching him. He didn’t know their direction or their exact location, but they seemed to be everywhere.
It could be said that the level of creepiness here was no less than that of the red iron door. Or perhaps… the supernatural event here was also caused by that red iron door? Thinking of this, Liu Haoyu felt his limbs turn a little cold, and even his fingers seemed to be out of his control.
At this moment, a gloomy wind blew, completely extinguishing the flickering candlelight in Liu Haoyu’s hand. But since there were no windows on the four sides of the aisle, where did this wind come from… Liu Haoyu already had an answer in his heart. He stopped moving forward and placed his hand on the Zhenlei Talisman, ready to fight at any time.
The wind was still blowing. In the dim world, Liu Haoyu was in the light, and the fierce ghost was in the dark, but he could not retreat, nor could he let Qin Liu out. Once Qin Liu scared away these evil ghosts, his trip today might be in vain. He had to find a way to catch them.
As Liu Haoyu stood ready, he noticed that under the blow of this gloomy wind, there seemed to be something shaking above him. And… these things were not just one or two. To avoid a sneak attack from above, he looked up.
However, Liu Haoyu saw a terrifying scene that made his scalp tingle and sent chills down his spine. Burnt corpses were hung upside down from the ceiling, one after another. These were the students from the photos, their heads were at an angle completely inconsistent with the human body structure, parallel to the ground.
Their hollow eye sockets stared at the floor, or rather, at Liu Haoyu standing in the aisle. On their deformed faces, they still maintained that creepy and terrifying smile.
