Li Rongjun's expression turned somewhat serious.
Liu Haoyu fell silent as well.
He had expected those two beasts to be killed by the White-clothed Fierce Ghost, but he hadn't expected the last one to die for no apparent reason.
Judging by the way he had died, there was a very high chance that the man had fallen victim to an unknown Fierce Ghost.
Yet, strictly speaking, Fierce Ghosts capable of harming people were exceedingly rare. And now, they had supposedly encountered so many in such a short period.
Something was clearly wrong.
"That's precisely why. Although the dismemberment case has been solved, we've encountered even more unknowns in the process. So I wanted to ask if you have any leads, young man."
Li Rongjun exchanged a look with Liu Haoyu, who still wore the expression of someone who knew nothing about anything. He shook his head.
"Sorry, I don't know."
"..."
Using his investigative skills to read people's expressions, Li Rongjun kept observing Liu Haoyu's face.
In the end, he still failed to find anything and could only close his eyes and say,
"I understand."
By the time the statement was finished, it was already afternoon.
Liu Haoyu left the Public Security Bureau and found an unoccupied place.
He took out the Black Book and wrote in it,
"Was the last person killed by Liu Xiaoxiao?"
"The answer lies within your heart."
Although the Black Book hadn't said anything useful, it had nevertheless given Liu Haoyu an answer.
While Liu Haoyu was thinking, new blood-red words continued to appear on the Black Book.
"Fear is spreading outward. The root of it all lies within that haunted house."
"That is a realm of absolute unknown, and the danger there is far beyond anything you can handle."
"If you flee now, you still have a chance to survive. The Fierce Ghost in the haunted house spared you once."
"But whether she will forgive you a second time is something that can only be left to fate."
"If you wish to continue investigating, you might as well follow the trail of these murder cases and keep searching."
"In the end, you will face the true Underworld."
After the Black Book finished spouting those cryptic words, it closed itself.
After thinking it over, Liu Haoyu still couldn't quite figure out what the Black Book had been talking about.
It seemed extremely afraid of that Red-clothed Fierce Ghost.
Perhaps the haunted house really did conceal some lethal danger.
But as the saying went, the best way to eliminate fear was to face it.
If he tried to avoid supernatural incidents, he would only die faster.
Liu Haoyu understood this principle deeply, and he had no intention of giving up.
Besides, hadn't they said that the Red-clothed Fierce Ghost in the haunted house was extremely beautiful?
He wanted to see just how beautiful she was.
With that thought in mind, Liu Haoyu arrived at Elder Deng's folk-custom shop.
The moment he entered, a thick cloud of smoke billowed toward him.
Liu Haoyu took a closer look and discovered that Elder Deng was burning incense and paper money.
"Little Liu, you're here again."
Elder Deng turned around and looked at Liu Haoyu.
"Thank you properly for saving my good-for-nothing granddaughter last night. Would you like to stay for dinner tonight?"
Hearing this, Liu Haoyu figured that Elder Deng had also discovered Deng Xiaolin's trip to the reservoir last night.
That made sense. After all, something so serious would certainly have been reported to her family by the police.
It would have been difficult for Elder Deng not to find out.
Deng Xiaolin must have had a hard time, though. She had probably already received a thorough scolding.
"Dinner won't be necessary. Elder Deng, you've seen and experienced a lot. I wanted to ask you what exactly happened to the Red Jade I have."
Liu Haoyu took out the Red Jade that had already "broken" and held it out to Elder Deng.
The old man had seen countless strange things. The moment he looked at the Red Jade, his pupils widened slightly in surprise.
"How is that possible... What kind of monster did you use it to capture?"
"I didn't."
Liu Haoyu was puzzled as well. As far as he remembered, he hadn't used the Red Jade.
Elder Deng held the Red Jade in his hand and said incredulously,
"How did the Ghost Jade become polluted by resentment to this extent?"
Liu Haoyu couldn't understand. In his impression, the Ghost Jade had a powerful restraining effect on Fierce Ghosts. It should have been impossible for one to take possession of it.
Looking at the Red Jade, whose interior had already turned black, Liu Haoyu thought for a moment before saying,
"So the black inside it is condensed resentment?"
Elder Deng continued,
"Yes. This is indeed a Fierce Ghost's resentment. It seems that some extremely powerful ghost tried to claim your Red Jade without you noticing."
"I see..."
No wonder the Red Jade had lost its original function. So that was what had happened.
The first possibility that came to Liu Haoyu's mind was that the Red-clothed Female Ghost from the haunted house had snatched the Red Jade from him.
Only she could possess such strength.
But what did she want the Red Jade for?
Liu Haoyu examined the Red Jade in his hand, inspecting it carefully.
However, no matter how he looked, Liu Haoyu couldn't find any trace of the Fierce Ghost within it.
It seemed that the Red-clothed Fierce Ghost wasn't inside the Red Jade at all.
"Don't bother looking," Elder Deng stopped Liu Haoyu and said. "There's nothing inside the Red Jade now."
"All right."
Although he couldn't figure out why the Red-clothed Female Ghost had taken possession of his Red Jade, as long as she didn't do anything harmful, everything was fine.
"Elder Deng, do you have any mirrors that have been consecrated?"
"A mirror?"
Elder Deng thought for a moment before answering,
"No."
Ordinary mirrors couldn't be consecrated to ward off evil. A silver mirror was required.
But ordinary people wouldn't buy silver mirrors, and exorcists normally had no use for such things either.
Liu Haoyu really wanted a silver mirror, though. If he put one in his bedroom, he might be able to see what the Red-clothed Fierce Ghost looked like.
Unfortunately, Elder Deng didn't have one, so Liu Haoyu could only give up disappointedly.
"If you manage to get one later, Elder Deng, please be sure to let me know. I'd like to buy one."
"All right."
Elder Deng nodded. Then, as though he had thought of something, he said to Liu Haoyu,
"My good-for-nothing granddaughter is hiding in her room right now. Sorry to trouble you, but could you go comfort her for me?"
Faced with Elder Deng's request, Liu Haoyu, who already needed a favor from him, naturally had no reason to refuse.
He immediately nodded and walked inside.
Unlike the dimly lit storefront, the room inside was bright and spacious.
Deng Xiaolin sat on the sofa with her legs drawn up. She looked rather aggrieved, and tear marks still streaked her face.
She hadn't noticed Liu Haoyu's arrival and remained there, brooding to herself.
It was obvious that she had been scolded severely.
Liu Haoyu didn't approach her from the front. Instead, he circled around behind her, gently placed a hand on her head, and said,
"What's wrong? Are you still hung up on what happened last night?"
"Brother Hao!" Deng Xiaolin froze for a moment, then said delightedly, "Why are you here?"
But soon, the expression on her face went blank.
Her eyes stared fixedly at the space behind Liu Haoyu. Then she murmured,
"Brother Hao... you... why is there a red shadow floating behind you?"
Before you continue