Elder Deng's voice sounded somewhat weathered and a little deep.
"Back then, it was my first time setting foot in Jiangliu City. So when I heard about a haunted house, I naturally planned to investigate it thoroughly with some friends.
At first, everything went very smoothly. We searched the haunted house from top to bottom, but all we found was a large amount of resentment. We didn't find any ghosts.
The whole thing was very strange. Logically speaking, such dense resentment should have been accompanied by an extremely terrifying Fierce Ghost. So, on the second night, a few friends and I entered the haunted house again to investigate... and this time, something strange happened.
The haunted house, which should have been overgrown with weeds, was covered in blood that night. Dark-red spots and scorched marks were everywhere.
In order to find the supernatural source, we performed a Ghost Questioning ritual. However, we didn't find the ghost in the haunted house. Instead, we were surrounded in the room by a large number of Fierce Ghosts and vengeful spirits whose origins were unknown.
After fighting desperately to break out..."
After saying this, Elder Deng noticed Deng Xiaolin standing behind Liu Haoyu, her eyes sparkling as she listened, completely absorbed.
He let out a sigh and said,
"You are not allowed to go."
"...I wasn't planning to go, okay?"
Deng Xiaolin pouted.
After nearly being scared out of her life last time, she would never go to that ghost-infested place again, even if someone beat her to death.
After warning Deng Xiaolin, Elder Deng continued,
"After we fought our way out, we discovered that a door had appeared at the end of the haunted house's first-floor corridor—a... rusted iron door covered in blood."
Liu Haoyu's heart tightened when he heard this.
The door Elder Deng described was almost identical to the one he had seen in his dream.
That haunted house really did have a basement. But perhaps some condition was needed before the entrance to the basement could be seen?
Liu Haoyu pondered this, but had no clue.
When Elder Deng reached this point, his hands began to tremble slightly, as if he were recalling something terrifying.
"The iron door slowly opened a crack. Through it, my companions and I saw countless hideous ghosts bound inside. They roared and tried to charge out. One of my companions failed to react in time and was dragged through the door, dying on the spot.
"My remaining companions and I had no time to mourn his death. To prevent the vengeful spirits inside from escaping and harming the people outside, we used all our strength to seal the door, then fled the haunted house as quickly as possible."
Liu Haoyu fell into deep thought after hearing this, then asked,
"So that means the red iron door is currently sealed?"
"That should be the case." Elder Deng took a deep breath and earnestly warned Liu Haoyu, "Whatever you do, don't investigate this matter... You will die."
To make Liu Haoyu understand how serious the matter was, Elder Deng closed his eyes and continued,
"But the story didn't end there. About a week after we sealed that door, the companions who had entered the haunted house with me told me that they had started dreaming about that strange blood-red iron door.
"Day after day, night after night—even after their minds had broken down from the torment and they had completely lost their sanity, whenever they woke up, they would still see that blood-red iron door, even if they closed their eyes for only a second. In the end... they all died."
Elder Deng stubbed out the cigarette in his hand.
"One of them shouted 'Freedom!' and jumped from the roof of his own house. It was only three stories high, but he was smashed to pieces, his flesh and bones stuck together as if he had been run over by a road roller.
"Another seemed to go insane. He kept smashing his head against the wall, repeating, 'I don't want to go in, I don't want to go in,' until his brains were literally knocked out...
"So, Little Liu, this is why I've always urged you to quit this line of work. This isn't something you young people should be doing."
Elder Deng's words were far too vivid. Even Deng Xiaolin, who had always been interested in supernatural things, couldn't help clutching her chest. She looked somewhat frightened and a little nauseated.
But Liu Haoyu's reaction was remarkably calm. He replied,
"I know this line of work is dangerous, but someone has to step forward, right?"
Just like society's anti-narcotics police officers, firefighters, and soldiers stationed at the borders, someone had to carry on this work.
Faced with Liu Haoyu's resolute attitude, Elder Deng could only sigh helplessly.
"Very well..." He patted Liu Haoyu on the shoulder and said, "Stay safe. Protecting yourself is the most important thing. Xiao Lin likes you very much, so don't die."
"Grandpa!"
Deng Xiaolin had only been listening to the story. She hadn't expected Elder Deng to betray her so decisively, and her entire face flushed red.
At the same time, she kept sneaking glances at Liu Haoyu, trying to see if she could read anything from his face.
Unfortunately, this cold and heartless man merely took a drag of his cigarette and said,
"I like Xiao Lin very much too."
"Mm!"
Those words pierced straight through Deng Xiaolin's heart.
"To me, Deng Xiaolin is like a little sister."
Those words stitched her heart back together.
The young girl expressionlessly slapped the Cupid on her face aside.
"Ah, yes, yes. I like Brother Hao very much too."
"Heh-heh..."
Elder Deng looked at Deng Xiaolin's puffed-up cheeks, as if he had already seen through everything. However, he didn't expose her and simply looked toward Liu Haoyu.
"Is there anything else?"
"No, nothing else. I just wanted to ask if you still have any Red Jade, Elder Deng."
Liu Haoyu had originally intended to ask about the earth vein and try to find information about the basement through it.
He hadn't expected Elder Deng to have personally seen that door. Although the outcome had been less than pleasant, this was already the most useful clue he had.
There was no need to continue asking. It would only cause the old man more worry.
So he decided to ask whether there was any Red Jade left.
He now had only one piece of Red Jade left. If he wanted to take Qin Liu out, it probably wouldn't be enough.
"I do." Elder Deng took five pieces of Red Jade from beneath the counter and asked, somewhat puzzled, "You used up those three so quickly?"
"I've encountered quite a few ghosts lately."
Liu Haoyu didn't reveal anything about Qin Liu.
And he wasn't lying, either. He really had encountered quite a few ghosts lately.
After hearing this, Elder Deng didn't ask many more questions. He merely warned him,
"Although I've told you so much, I still have to say this... Whatever you do, don't investigate that haunted house. The danger there is absolutely beyond what you can handle."
After hearing Elder Deng's words, Liu Haoyu nodded.
"I know."
With that, he took the Red Jade and walked out of the folk-custom shop. However, Deng Xiaolin followed him out.
The young girl looked at Liu Haoyu worriedly.
"Brother Hao... Is it really all right for you to keep living there?"
Liu Haoyu thought for a moment before replying,
"There haven't been any problems so far."
"Really?"
Liu Haoyu's mood had been somewhat heavy, but when he recalled Qin Liu's adorable snoring, the corners of his mouth still lifted slightly despite himself.
"Really. Qin Liu is actually quite cute. How about I bring her over to meet you next time?"
"Please don't do that!!"
Before you continue