We're All From the Same Hometown!

So where was Liu Haoyu?

Qin Liu anxiously scanned her surroundings, trying to find any trace of the ghost-catching master, Liu Haoyu.

"Did he go downstairs?"

When she reached the stairwell, a small dark shadow was watching from there.

Qin Liu saw the dark shadow too.

But after just one glance, the dark shadow appeared even more frightened than Qin Liu. It let out a tragic scream and then scrambled away down the stairs.

Watching the direction the dark shadow fled, Qin Liu's nervous heart was a little unsettled.

What should she do?

Should she go downstairs? Or should she wait here?

Qin Liu felt a little scared, but she hadn't forgotten Liu Haoyu's words.

When facing supernatural events, escaping wouldn't solve anything.

Besides, she was a ghost now anyway, what was there to be afraid of?!

Charge!

"The best way to eliminate fear is to face it! Hiyah!!"

Mustering her courage, Qin Liu chased after the dark shadow.

Seeing Qin Liu chasing after it, the dark shadow let out an even sharper scream.

It was as if it had seen a ghost.

"What's going on?" Qin Liu was a bit confused. "I'm the one who encountered a ghost… but why are you more scared than me?"

Despite what she said, Qin Liu didn't stop her pursuit and followed it all the way to the first floor.

"Don't run! You're a ghost, and I'm a ghost too. If you round up, aren't we practically neighbors?"

But once they reached the first floor, the dark shadow completely vanished. Qin Liu looked around blankly.

"Where is this place?"

She realized she had been led to the door of a basement.

Although the basement in front of her wasn't the blood-red iron door Liu Haoyu had described, this dilapidated wooden door looked quite eerie!

Should she go in?

Qin Liu felt a bit cowardly.

Perhaps the dark shadow was in this basement right now, and if she went in…

No, no, no. According to horror stories, if you go into a place like this alone, something fatal is bound to happen.

So… it's better to find Liu Haoyu first.

Ten minutes earlier, while Qin Liu was engrossed in reading the diary.

Upon hearing Liu Haoyu's request, Sima Cai and the other person's faces turned pale with fear, and they shouted in unison.

"What the heck! Are you trying to die?!"

"No, no, no, Big Brother, let's talk this through properly! Don't do anything rash!"

"I have old parents and young children, I don't want to die at the hands of a ghost!"

The two wailed and tried to run upstairs, but Liu Haoyu grabbed their shoulders like iron clamps, holding them firmly. No matter how much they struggled, it was useless.

Liu Haoyu's voice was very deep and muffled, sounding like a low call from a hellish demon to the two of them.

Even more terrifying was the blood-stained fire axe he held in his hand. Looking at the bloodstains, the air seemed to carry a faint scent of blood, making the scalps of the two college students tingle.

Although Liu Haoyu didn't say anything further, his demeanor felt like a threat.

If they didn't go, he would send them to the underworld.

Seeing this, Sima Cai immediately changed his tune and said.

"Alright, since Big Brother wants to go through mountains of knives, then I, as his subordinate, will naturally follow him into seas of fire without hesitation."

Saying that, the two of them started walking downstairs.

While going downstairs, Liu Haoyu didn't idle either. He said, "Don't worry, you just need to point out where you encountered the ghost, and I'll naturally lead you out."

To Liu Haoyu, having these two linger here would only be a hindrance. It would be better to understand their situation and then let them leave from the first floor.

Perhaps sensing that Liu Haoyu wouldn't kill them for the time being, Sima Cai took a deep breath, calmed his nerves, and then recounted everything he had experienced.

These two were freshmen at Jiangquan City University.

Because they were part of a club called the Supernatural Society, they decided to come to a place like this to find inspiration, so they could write a ghost story or something to fool their way through.

When they arrived at this accursed place, they hadn't gone far after entering the door before the house's main entrance was tightly locked. No matter what they tried, neither of them could open it.

Subsequently, in order to find the key to open the door, they could only search the house room by room.

However, before they could find the key, the two of them spotted a small black shadow.

Upon closer inspection, they realized it was... a child with a sinister smile.

"It's a ghost! It's definitely a ghost!"

It was precisely because they saw a ghost and the main door was locked that they could only scramble upstairs in a panic, where they coincidentally met Liu Haoyu coming downstairs.

However, as a ghost exorcist who adhered to dispelling feudal superstitions and publicly promoted the idea that "supernatural beings are not allowed to appear after the founding of the People's Republic of China," Liu Haoyu naturally denied it.

"A ghost? How can you be sure it's a ghost?"

"Big brother, you have to believe me!" Sima Cai said with great confidence. "I saw it with my own eyes. Its face was covered in corpse spots, and its neck was twisted! How could a normal person survive in such a condition?!"

Sima Cai recalled the smiling Fierce Ghost, and a wave of coldness instantly enveloped his body. He said with lingering fear, "I'm not lying to you, big brother! My dear brother, hurry and take us away. If you really encounter a ghost, you'll die! Besides, do you think children would be in a place like this, where even dogs wouldn't come?"

Facing Sima Cai's wail, Liu Haoyu remained unmoved and said, "Dogs wouldn't come?"

"Uh..." Sima Cai said sheepishly. "No, no, I didn't mean you, big brother."

"This place is indeed where dogs wouldn't come, so the two of you shouldn't come here again next time."

Seeing that Liu Haoyu wasn't going to pursue the matter, Sima Cai breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That ghostly figure is in the kitchen on the first floor. Big brother... can we leave now?"

"Don't be in such a hurry."

Liu Haoyu walked into the kitchen, while the two of them stood at the doorway, not daring to take a single step inside.

And just as Liu Haoyu was observing the situation inside the kitchen, a head covered in blood gradually emerged from the black pot behind him.

Its face was swollen from being soaked in soup, making it impossible to discern its features. A pair of pure white eyes were maliciously staring at Liu Haoyu.

This thing was located behind Liu Haoyu, so when Sima Cai and the other person saw it, their scalps nearly exploded.

The head was less than three meters away from them. The bone-chilling terror emanating from it made them tremble uncontrollably.

At this moment, Liu Haoyu was still focused on the kitchen situation and seemed to have not noticed the appearance of this head. However, the two of them could feel a suffocating sense of urgency. Sima Cai's trembling lips shouted, "Ghost... ghost... Big brother, there's a ghost behind you!"

Before the two of them could finish speaking, Liu Haoyu turned around, raised the fire axe high, and directly chopped the pot and the table in half.

The foul-smelling contents of the pot spilled onto the ground, a mixture of dark brown and yellowish-white unknown substances.

Seeing this, goosebumps erupted all over Sima Cai and the other person.

"Is this blood? Or brain matter?"

"What's the big deal?" Liu Haoyu said, completely unfazed by the stench. He squatted by the side of the chopped pot and said, "It's just a rotten pig brain. Why all the fuss?"

"Pig brain?"

Sima Cai was stunned when he heard this.

"You call that bulging, staring sphere a pig brain?"

Sima Cai, his face pale, finally managed to utter a sentence after a long pause.

"Big brother... you're scarier than a ghost."

Liu Haoyu had already walked out of the kitchen and approached the main door.

The two of them did not dare to delay and followed closely behind Liu Haoyu.

Although this man wearing a gas mask looked suspicious, He was at least a human, right?!

Seeing Liu Haoyu stop at the main door, Sima Cai reminded him, "This door can't be opened. We've tried many methods, and we might need to find the key to open it."

As a member of the Supernatural Studies Club, Sima Cai had seen many horror-themed works.

Following the conventions of horror movies and games, they would need to find the key and unravel the mystery of this haunted house to leave.

However, Sima Cai had also heard Liu Haoyu's movements earlier. This man wearing a mask must have entered the house using a rope.

So, if they used a rope... maybe they could escape.

As Sima Cai was contemplating, Liu Haoyu raised the fire axe in his hand and said, "There's no need for such trouble."

After he finished speaking, he forcefully swung the fire axe down at the main door.

"Dong!!"

With one swing, the lock on the main door was forcefully cleaved, creating a crack.

Liu Haoyu didn't stop, raising the fire axe in his hand again.

One swing... two swings... three swings, until the door lock was smashed to pieces. He grabbed the doorknob and gave it a gentle pull.

The door swung open.

"See? There's no paranormal event here, it's just a broken door lock."

Liu Haoyu patted their shoulders and said.

"You two don't need to be here anymore. Be careful on your way back."

"Okay, okay! Thanks, big brother, thanks, big brother!"

The two of them fled as if a great weight had been lifted.

Liu Haoyu watched their receding figures.

To be precise... neither of them were human.

They were both dead.