The Third Killer

Liu Haoyu sat up in bed.

He still had not come to his senses from that strange dream.

After glancing blankly at the half-burned candle beside his bed, he stood up and went outside to fetch a basin of water.

The icy water splashed against Liu Haoyu's face, gradually clearing his mind.

Everything in the dream had been far too real.

Just thinking back to that rust-covered iron door made his heart tremble.

Liu Haoyu carefully went over the dream he had just had.

After thinking it over again and again, he could not help wondering:

Could that rust-covered iron door be the entrance to the basement?

After realizing that this was possible, Liu Haoyu returned indoors.

He tried to find a similar door in this haunted house.

But after searching for an entire hour, he still found nothing.

Looking at the sun that had already reached noon, Liu Haoyu eventually gave up on continuing the search.

Perhaps that iron door could only be seen during some supernatural hour.

It might not even be inside this house.

But no matter what, it was still a useful clue.

That said, Red-clothed Fierce Ghost should have entered the room.

The nightmare he had must have been related to her.

If she had let him survive, she must have had some other purpose.

Combined with how real the dream had been, it was highly likely that she wanted him to investigate the situation in the basement.

But the problem was...

"You could at least tell me where the basement is first."

Liu Haoyu let out a helpless sigh. Today, he still had to go to the Municipal Public Security Bureau downtown and give the police a statement.

He also had to deliver this final strand of black hair to the third criminal.

After roughly packing up the things he might need, Liu Haoyu went downstairs.

But just as his front foot stepped out of the door, he turned back.

He might not need Red Jade, but it was safer to bring it along.

Liu Haoyu placed the three pieces of Red Jade into his backpack one by one.

Only when he put in the last one did he remember that this piece of Red Jade was already broken.

There was clearly nothing inside it, yet for some reason, Red Jade had lost its effect.

Liu Haoyu held it in his hand and examined it repeatedly.

Compared with the other two pieces, this one was much duller in color, as though a little ink had seeped into it, and it was also heavier.

But Liu Haoyu clearly remembered that all three pieces of Red Jade had been identical when he first obtained them.

Since he could not figure it out, he might as well ask Elder Deng about it.

In the end, Liu Haoyu still put the piece of Red Jade into his backpack. Then he went downstairs, twisted the throttle of his motorcycle, and left the haunted house amid the roar of its engine.

By the time Liu Haoyu arrived at the Municipal Public Security Bureau downtown, it was only one in the afternoon.

The bureau had not even started work yet. After calling Officer Li Rongjun, the other man told Liu Haoyu to wait a moment and said he would be there soon.

Liu Haoyu did not sit around doing nothing. He ordered a bowl of rice noodles at a noodle shop near the bureau and ate while he waited.

"Have you heard?"

The young man sitting beside Liu Haoyu said to his companion,

"That mildly famous internet celebrity who went missing a few months ago—her name was Liu Xiaoxiao, right? Her body was found last night."

So the real name of White-clothed Female Ghost had been Liu Xiaoxiao?

Still, there was no denying that the police worked quickly when it came to a major case like this.

As Liu Haoyu pondered this, the two men continued talking.

"It was absolutely brutal. I heard that the little internet celebrity was chopped into who knows how many pieces with a cleaver and a saw, then thrown into a reservoir. They still haven't finished recovering all the remains!"

"Was it really that horrifying?"

His companion sucked in a sharp breath.

"Luckily, the killers have already been arrested. But after the police caught them, they acted like they'd been possessed, babbling incoherently as they confessed to all their crimes and explained the entire process."

The "possession" those two were talking about was naturally the result of the strand of black hair Liu Haoyu had left on them.

"You have no idea. After the killer finished confessing, when the police went to the detention center the next day, they saw..."

"Saw what?"

His companion leaned over curiously.

The young man lowered his voice mysteriously.

"The killer was inside the detention center. No one knows how, but he'd been hanged to death. His entire body was soaking wet and covered in water weeds, as if someone had thrown him into the water and left him there. The problem was, there wasn't a river or lake anywhere near the detention center. It was incredibly eerie."

After finishing, the two men could not help shivering.

After ten seconds of silence, they hurriedly continued.

"Hahaha, how could that be? It was probably just some scary story made up by someone with nothing better to do."

"Exactly, exactly." His companion nodded repeatedly. "There are surveillance cameras inside the detention center. How could someone die in there for no reason? Hahaha..."

To other people, these were merely stories to chat about after a meal, nothing more than idle gossip for entertainment.

But Liu Haoyu knew very well that these things might have really happened.

White-clothed Female Ghost, who had died so tragically, definitely would not let those two escape.

It was just that Liu Haoyu still did not know where the last person was.

At that moment, Liu Haoyu's phone rang.

It was Officer Li Rongjun calling.

"Little brother, I'm here already. Come over."

Even through the phone, Liu Haoyu could hear the fatigue in his voice.

"I'll be there right away."

Liu Haoyu finished the noodles in a few mouthfuls and entered the Public Security Bureau.

Following the direction Li Rongjun had indicated, Liu Haoyu soon found the interrogation room.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

"Come in."

After receiving a reply, Liu Haoyu pushed open the door and walked inside.

"Have a seat."

Li Rongjun took a sip of Blue Bull and rubbed his temples before speaking.

"Thank you very much for your cooperation, little brother. I won't say much else. You remember what happened last night, right?"

"Of course I remember. What's wrong, Officer?"

Liu Haoyu looked at Li Rongjun.

The latter sighed before speaking.

"The killers have been found, but... they died inside the detention center."

At those words, Liu Haoyu's body instinctively leaned back slightly.

"That happened?"

"I shouldn't be telling you this, but it was truly too strange. So I wanted to ask whether you might have any clues."

"Have you heard about the Liu Xiaoxiao disappearance case from a few months ago? The head you fished up belonged to Liu Xiaoxiao."

"According to their statements, there were three perpetrators in total. Two of them turned themselves in, but they ended up dying inside the detention center..."

Someone dying inside a detention center was an extremely serious matter in itself, which was why Li Rongjun had made an exception and told Liu Haoyu about it.

"As for the last killer, he died a week ago. His entire family of three was found dead at home. All three victims had their chests cut open, and their hearts and lungs had been removed. And... the perpetrator still hasn't been found."