Elder Deng

Without a doubt, Old Wang had gone mad.

This elderly man, already past fifty, had encountered something unclean.

Given his current mental state, no one knew how long it would take for him to return to normal.

Before Liu Haoyu entered the hospital room, several people who appeared to be Old Wang's family members had been crying outside.

"There isn't much I can do for you."

Liu Haoyu took a Calming Talisman from his pocket, lit it, and stuffed it into Old Wang's mouth.

The Calming Talisman could heal some mental damage, but whether it could cure him completely depended on Old Wang's own fate.

After finishing all this, Liu Haoyu left the hospital room and returned to the real estate office the way he had come.

"Do you still have the floor plan for that haunted house?"

"Sorry, Mr. Liu. That house is simply too old. Other than Manager Wang, no one knows its layout."

The answer did not surprise Liu Haoyu.

He sighed regretfully, then spoke to the receptionist at the real estate office.

"If Manager Wang recovers, please make sure to notify me. There are some things I need to ask him about."

"No problem."

After all that had happened, Liu Haoyu had no interest in continuing to shop for furniture. Instead, he went to a folk goods shop in the city.

The joss paper and incense he had mentioned buying before had all come from this folk goods shop.

However, the shop was in a very secluded location, tucked away in an alley within the urban village. Ordinary people would have a hard time even discovering it.

Naturally, as a regular customer, Liu Haoyu found his way there with ease.

The moment he entered, a thick scent of incense rushed straight at his face.

Behind the counter sat a sharp-eyed old man. Holding a smoking pipe, he took a puff before speaking to Liu Haoyu.

"Here in a hurry, gone in a hurry. Is something urgent going on?"

"Elder Deng, I need some jade pieces. Red Jade would be best."

"Oh?"

The old man surnamed Deng glanced at Liu Haoyu, took a deep drag from his pipe, and said,

"I'm saying, Little Liu, why put yourself through this?"

The old man naturally knew about Liu Haoyu's background. He slowly exhaled smoke and continued,

"This isn't work meant for young people like you."

"Someone has to carry on this line of work."

Liu Haoyu smiled and did not argue. Hearing that, the old man could only sigh helplessly.

"There's no need, no need. There's reincarnation in this world. Why risk your life dealing with such unclean things... Little Liu, I think you're a decent young man. I have a granddaughter I could introduce to you. Everyone needs a family."

"Thank you for the kindness, Elder Deng, but I have no plans to settle down for now."

Though he could be careless outside, Liu Haoyu remained quite respectful toward this elder.

The old man did not continue trying to persuade him. Instead, he rummaged through the counter and said,

"If one day you decide to settle down, contact me. My granddaughter likes you too. You two might make a good pair."

Liu Haoyu said nothing more, merely maintaining a calm smile.

Saying more would only embarrass the old man, so silence was better.

"Here. I don't have much Red Jade left. Use it sparingly."

"Thanks."

Liu Haoyu accepted the three pieces of Red Jade handed over by the old man. Though there were not five, they would be enough.

This thing had another name: Ghost Jade.

As the name implied, it could seal ghosts inside jade, like catching Pokémon.

After handing the Ghost Jade to Liu Haoyu, the old man said leisurely,

"Never be careless when doing things. Never underestimate your enemy, or else... you could stumble anywhere."

"I'll remember that."

Having gotten what he needed, Liu Haoyu left the folk goods shop in high spirits.

Since the haunted house was some distance from the city, Liu Haoyu had to ride the bus for an hour before returning to it.

It was only two in the afternoon, a time when yang energy was still strong. Ghosts would not emerge then; they would lie dormant in the darkness.

Therefore, investigating the haunted house during the day was nearly impossible.

Moreover, Liu Haoyu had checked countless times and still had not found the entrance to the basement.

There was no hidden passage, nor any mechanism.

If Old Wang had not personally told Liu Haoyu about the basement, even Liu Haoyu would have considered giving up the search.

Unfortunately, Old Wang had now gone mad, and the location of the basement entrance had become a complete mystery.

"Let's put this aside for now."

The haunted house was certainly important, but a Fierce Ghost outside was harming people. Naturally, he had to deal with that Fierce Ghost first.

Besides, perhaps Old Wang would recover after the Fierce Ghost was dealt with.

As for whether the Fierce Ghost that had turned Old Wang into this state was the same ghost as the one in the haunted house—

Liu Haoyu did not think so.

The reason was simple. The place where Old Wang had gotten into trouble was far from here, and when Old Wang left, the candle in Liu Haoyu's pocket had not reacted.

That meant the Fierce Ghost in the haunted house had not followed them into the car.

Old Wang had been harmed into that state by a Fierce Ghost outside.

To make sure he was in good condition that night, Liu Haoyu lay on the bed and closed his eyes.

He planned to investigate the site of the car accident tonight.

After Liu Haoyu fell asleep, a pair of curious, bright eyes settled on him.

The person hiding in the dark was naturally Qin Liu.

Watching Liu Haoyu sleep so soundly, she felt both annoyed and angry.

Qin Liu simply could not understand what was wrong with this man.

How could he not be afraid of ghosts at all?!

Would a normal person immediately lift a hanged corpse's skirt upon seeing it?

Qin Liu could not understand, but her bed was still being occupied by this man.

Her shoes were also still on the shrine. After returning, the man had not only added several sticks of incense to the shrine, but had even burned several dozen sheets of joss paper for her.

Looking at the pile of ghost money in her hands, Qin Liu was speechless for quite some time.

What, was he trying to bribe her?

But the problem was, even if he burned joss paper for her, she could not use it.

Ever since becoming like this, Qin Liu had not taken a single step outside this house.

It was as though she had been sealed here.

"Hmm... speaking of which, what's that?"

Qin Liu's gaze landed on the few pieces of Red Jade beside the bed.

The Red Jade was crystal-clear and looked exceptionally beautiful.

So beautiful that Qin Liu could not help muttering,

"If you're going to bribe me, you should use something like this, right? What's with giving me joss paper?"

Still muttering, Qin Liu walked to Liu Haoyu's bedside. She looked at the sleeping Liu Haoyu, then at the Red Jade on the table.

After thinking it over carefully, she placed her hand on one piece of Red Jade.

However, at that very moment, a powerful suction force pulled her directly into the jade.

The room fell silent. About ten seconds later, a little head full of question marks poked out from the jade.