094. Can You Give Me a Ride?

The moment Lu Ban heard He Youwu's words, the light in his room flickered for a moment and then went out.

The room was plunged into darkness, with only moonlight filtering through the windows, bringing a few glimmers of light.

"Hello, hello, can you hear me?"

The phone signal seemed to be malfunctioning; He Youwu's voice became distorted and intermittent, and soon, there was no sound at all from the receiver.

Lu Ban saw that the signal was now crossed out, which meant that he was unable to contact the outside world.

"No wonder no one rents this villa around here; it turns out it's Haunted House."

Lu Ban muttered to himself.

"I heard that Haunted House houses are very cheap. If I could buy one, could I exchange it for another one?"

He quite liked this kind of outdoor swimming pool.

Lu Ban glanced at the courtyard. The water in the swimming pool appeared even more intense and deep under the moonlight, like it was stained with blood.

Ten years ago, that poor child was probably murdered by a vicious criminal who then dumped his body in a weed-covered swimming pool, where it wasn't discovered until many days later.

Feeling someone breathing on him from behind, Lu Ban turned around.

Several college students stood in the living room, their expressions sinister, waving mechanically at Lu Ban like puppets on strings.

"You were bewitched and killed each other. After death, your souls were bound here, becoming the child's puppets, just like the 'Chang Gui' (a type of ghost in Chinese mythology)?"

Lu Ban remained calm, took two steps forward, and sat down.

"You invited me into your house during the day to scare me and make me leave as soon as possible?"

The college students remained expressionless, only waving their hands slowly and continuously.

"Or are you saying that if I invite you into the house, you can harm people at will?"

There is a legend that ghosts are generally not allowed to enter other people's houses. Only when the homeowner invites them can a ghost enter. Just now, Lu Ban told these college students that if they were afraid, they could come to his house, which seemed like an invitation.

"I am just an ordinary law-abiding citizen. If you have grievances, you should not come to me, but go to the person who harmed you. Has he not been brought to justice yet?"

Lu Ban tried to reason with the ghost.

He felt a gust of cold wind beside him, turned his head, and saw static on the television screen. In a flash, a young man dressed in blood-stained clothes appeared on the television screen, his eyes were black, and he was shedding tears of blood.

"I sympathize with you, but if you hurt innocent people, wouldn't you be the same as the person who killed you?"

Lu Ban looked at the person with a ferocious expression on the TV screen and said.

Just then, someone patted his shoulder. Lu Ban turned around and saw the young man's face, covered in blood, right in front of him.

"How about this, you go on your way and I promise you, I will definitely find the murderer who killed you, is that alright?"

Lu Ban's fingers tapped rhythmically on the armrest of the chair.

He felt as if a rope was wrapped around his neck, making it difficult to breathe. His ears were ringing, and blood rushed to his brain.

But the melody in Lu Ban's hands had already begun.

It is Du Danping's "Midnight Piano Melody".

Lu Ban can play this melody in any situation using any object that can make a sound, and this melody has the effect of calming people's minds and warding off evil.

As Lu Ban played, he felt himself calm down. The mechanically waving college students slowed down, the television screen disappeared, and before he knew it, only a young man covered in blood was left standing in the room.

"Go in peace."

Lu Ban sped up the pace of his performance.

The young man's expression was complex, seemingly a mixture of resentment and anticipation, before he finally disappeared.

Under the moonlight, the entire mansion was silent.

After a long while, Lu Ban finally stood up and glanced at the swimming pool.

It remained deep and rich inside, seemingly tainted by blood.

"Oh, it's my blood. Then it's alright."

He inspected the villa, and only slowly walked downstairs when He Youwu and Chen Danshen arrived in their police car.

"So the murderer in that theft and murder case hasn't been found yet?"

After giving a brief explanation, Lu Ban inquired.

"We found one, or more precisely, we found one of the bodies."

He Youwu felt that although the room was brightly lit, it still felt eerie, as if something was shrouding it. Coupled with the description he had seen in the files, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

"Ten years ago, surveillance wasn't as tight, so we didn't actually find out the identities of those two thieves back then. It was only later, when a case happened and we were investigating the identity of the deceased, that we found the stolen items in his house and discovered that he was the culprit from back then."

"He was also dismembered?"

Lu Ban was curious.

"No, he committed suicide."

Chen Danshen looked around the house.

"According to the neighbors, the man had been acting strangely since he moved in. He often muttered to himself and was afraid of sunlight. He looked like a mental patient. Then one day, he committed suicide, but the way he did it was very strange."

"How did he die?"

Lu Ban pressed for an answer.

"He scratched his own throat with his fingernails, scratched it open, and nobody knows how he did it. When the landlord came to collect the rent, the body was already rotting."

Chen Danshen talked for a long time, then came back to her senses.

"Why am I telling you all this? Cough cough, anyway, we've already told the Major Crimes Unit that we can start with the perpetrator of this theft case from back then, and follow the clues about how the stolen goods were sold back then. We should be able to find the perpetrator's identity very quickly."

"That's great!"

Lu Ban clapped his hands.

These days, most unsolved cases are old cold cases from before surveillance cameras became widespread. Cases like the Jiangcheng serial murder case, which are particularly heinous and remain unsolved, are extremely rare.

"So, what are you doing here at this villa alone so late at night? Are you filming footage for the next episode?"

He Youwu joked.

"Pretty much, I actually came here to sunbathe and swim."

Lu Ban spoke the truth.

"."

Chen Danshen suppressed the urge to complain. Based on his experience dealing with Lu Ban, he knew that taking it too seriously would only lead to defeat.

"So you're staying here tonight? Will you be able to sleep?"

"It's alright, but it's definitely time to go home."

Lu Ban has already obtained information about the Harmony Island, and the next step is to prepare to enter the alien realm. There is indeed no need to stay in this villa.

"Officer, could you give me a ride?"

"?"

He Youwu raised a question mark.

So they really just think of us as freeloaders?

"But then again, the agent didn't mention this to me beforehand, and even though he's in charge of all the houses here, he put me in this one."

Lu Ban rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

"Do you think there's something wrong with that agent?"

Upon hearing Lu Ban's words, He Youwu and Chen Danshen exchanged glances, their expressions turning serious.

"What's the agent's name? Give us his/her phone number."

He Youwu said cautiously.

Thanks to "Gu Yueyan" and "The character guarantor is empty" for the 500-coin reward, thank you to "Eleusis" for the 365-coin reward, thank you to "Diego is not lazy" for the 200-coin reward, and thank you to "Book Friends 151130030152712", "Liu Family Girl" and "Gentleman's Code Loli Mine" for the 100-coin reward!