Does This Count as Living Together

"Listen properly when someone is talking."

Liu Haoyu hadn't expected Qin Liu to flee in a panic.

Could it be that his method of recommending something was too aggressive?

But thinking about it carefully, it did seem that way.

Commenting on someone's clothing, especially the opposite sex's, seemed a bit too presumptuous.

And more importantly, people are people, and ghosts are ghosts.

Even if he wanted to give the stockings he held to Qin Liu, she couldn't wear them.

So, after thinking it through, Liu Haoyu went to the shrine.

He relit the incense, bowed piously, and then lit the white stockings in his hand, placing them before the shrine.

"Hmm... she should be able to wear them like this."

According to folk legends, this was like an offering.

So Qin Liu should at least feel his sincerity, right?

After all, it was quite miserable for this ghost to have stayed in this house for so long.

Not only was she alone, but she only had one set of clothes.

How pitiful.

Next time, he should burn a sailor uniform for her.

Ignoring the feelings of the fierce ghost in the well at the moment, Liu Haoyu nudged Deng Xiaolin, who was trembling and hiding in the corner, and said.

"Is she that scary?"

After being shaken for a while, Deng Xiaolin let out a strange cry and stood up straight, saying.

"Demons and monsters, leave! Demons and monsters, leave!"

It seemed she was indeed very scared.

"It's me, not a ghost."

Liu Haoyu looked at the somewhat frightened Deng Xiaolin and felt a bit relieved. This way, she probably wouldn't be clamoring to find ghosts next time.

"Really?"

Deng Xiaolin looked left and right, and only when she saw the shadow under Liu Haoyu's feet did she finally relax.

At this moment, the young girl, as if she had found her anchor, recounted everything that had happened to her.

Liu Haoyu's expression was a little surprised after listening.

"You're saying you also dreamed of yourself being hanged?"

"Yes, yes!" Deng Xiaolin said with a wry smile, "It scared me to death..."

However, Liu Haoyu's thoughts at this moment were somewhat different from Deng Xiaolin's, or at least vastly so.

The man asked in confusion.

"Aren't you curious? Shouldn't you go up and touch it to see if it's realistic?"

"...?"

Deng Xiaolin couldn't follow Liu Haoyu's train of thought for a moment. When she finally reacted, a blush appeared on her face, and she said indignantly.

"Brother Hao, didn't you also dream of yourself being hanged? Then why didn't you go and touch it yourself?"

"Because I'm not Nantong, thank you."

Liu Haoyu answered Deng Xiaolin's question with a serious expression.

This made the latter feel ashamed.

"Let's not worry about that for now," before the room could fall silent, Liu Haoyu continued, "It's about time, let's get ready to act."

"Okay, okay!"

With her anchor in place, Deng Xiaolin, holding the Peach Wood Sword, said with a bit of borrowed courage.

"I'll definitely teach that fierce ghost a lesson!"

Looking at the spirited Deng Xiaolin, Liu Haoyu couldn't bear to dampen her enthusiasm.

She didn't know how terrifying Qin Liu's strength was.

A normal fierce ghost could at most use resentment to change the environment and create some illusions.

But Qin Liu could directly invade dreams and create illusions that were difficult to distinguish between real and fake. If Qin Liu wanted to, Deng Xiaolin could only live in terrifying, infinite dreamscapes for the rest of her life.

It was somewhat similar to Tsukuyomi in the Naruto series.

Moreover, Qin Liu's ability to influence reality was also extremely strong. Recalling her control over Deng Xiaolin earlier, that was not something an ordinary fierce ghost could do.

Liu Haoyu said as if he were tricking a child.

"That fierce ghost is very powerful. Even I, your Brother Hao, might not be able to defeat her."

"Hey, hey!?"

At this moment, Deng Xiaolin, who was full of fighting spirit, deflated like a leaky ball and said fearfully.

"How about... how about we just forget it?"

"Don't you like excitement and ghosts? Let's go."

"No, no, no, I don't like it, I don't like it!"

Unfortunately, Deng Xiaolin's resistance was useless. Liu Haoyu needed to borrow her spiritual sight, which was far beyond ordinary people.

For now, he had confirmed that Qin Liu's threat level was not high, so the most important thing was to thoroughly investigate the source of the strong resentment in this haunted house.

Only by doing so could the danger here be completely eliminated.

And his only clue at the moment was inside the haunted house, the entrance to the basement that could never be seen.

If he could find this basement entrance, perhaps he could make significant progress.

The time had now come to midnight, the hour when the yin energy was at its strongest.

Normally, people at this hour would already be asleep or preparing to sleep.

When people fall asleep, the dormant wandering souls would appear. If one were still in a gloomy and terrifying place at this time, it would be very easy to encounter supernatural events.

In Liu Haoyu's estimation, the biggest reason he couldn't find the basement door was that it had become supernatural itself. In such a situation, only someone like Deng Xiaolin could find it.

"Xiaolin," Liu Haoyu turned on his flashlight and said to the girl beside him, "I brought you here tonight not just to find that red-clothed fierce ghost, but for something even more important. After this is done, I'll send you home."

"Wuwu... Okay."

Liu Haoyu said calmly.

"I'll take you to search this house. If you see a blood-red rusty iron door, please tell me."

"A blood-red iron door?"

Deng Xiaolin didn't know what this door was, but since it was Liu Haoyu's request, she bravely patted her chest and said.

"Don't worry, I'm someone who can see souls with the naked eye. Finding a door is easy... probably."

Liu Haoyu and Deng Xiaolin began to patrol the corridor on the first floor.

After walking for a while, Deng Xiaolin looked out the window and suddenly said.

"Brother Hao! There's a red shadow outside the dry well... Wait, she's gone!"

"Chase."

With that, Liu Haoyu took Deng Xiaolin and chased after it.

"We mean no harm! Miss Qin Liu! Can we sit down and talk!"

Hearing Liu Haoyu's words, the red shadow fled even faster.

Liu Haoyu and Deng Xiaolin had no choice but to chase after it.

Although Liu Haoyu had been in this haunted house for so long, even so, as soon as night fell, he felt that this haunted house was quite unfamiliar.

In plain terms, it felt like entering another space.

The things he saw and their placements were exactly the same, but the feeling was extremely gloomy and oppressive.

The darkness, where he couldn't see his hand in front of his face, was suffocating.

Even the flashlight couldn't dispel this level of darkness.

It could even be said that if Liu Haoyu weren't here, Deng Xiaolin would have already been scrambling to escape.

"Phew~ It seems we lost them," Deng Xiaolin said, panting. "By the way, Brother Hao... aren't you scared living in a place like this at night?"

"What's there to be afraid of?" Liu Haoyu looked around and said nonchalantly, "Look on the bright side, living with a female ghost is also considered living with a member of the opposite sex, right?"

Faced with Liu Haoyu's flippant attitude, Deng Xiaolin rolled her eyes at him.

"Who calls living with a female ghost 'living with a member of the opposite sex'."

"As the saying goes, as long as you're brave enough..."

Before Liu Haoyu could finish, he suddenly noticed that the atmosphere around them had become somewhat unusual.

Although it was still so dim, and even the flashlight couldn't illuminate the corridor, why...

Was there the scent of damp earth?

And the air around them began to become turbid, but the firewood was not burning.

However, for Deng Xiaolin's safety, he took out a Thunder Shock Talisman from his pocket and said.

"If you encounter any ghosts, remember to hide well. I can't take care of everything."

"It's okay... Brother Hao, I have combat abilities too."

Deng Xiaolin raised the Peach Wood Sword in her hand.

After walking a distance along this eerie and dark path, their vision suddenly opened up.

It was then that Liu Haoyu realized, for some unknown reason, he had arrived in a strange wilderness.

Looking back, he saw that behind him... was the exit of a tomb.

What was going on?