Beginning

As time passed, Lu Li and his classmates began their formal classes. The courses were not too difficult, mainly focusing on the religions and myths of various countries, as well as other subjects such as languages and mathematics.

The first ten days or so of university are spent learning new knowledge, so it's relatively simple and easy to understand. Since it's a newly established school, clubs and organizations haven't been fully set up yet. According to Albert, professors will lead the establishment of various interest groups after the National Day holiday.

The two professors who taught Lu Li and his classmates occultism were both elderly foreign men with white hair. One was Professor Gustav, and the other was Professor Kamo. Both professors were quite skilled, but they were usually very mysterious, probably because of their age and poor health. After class, they would go back to their dormitories and often missed classes.

The ten days or two weeks passed very quickly. During this time, the library theft was not publicized. Apart from the few people involved, no one knew that four books had been stolen from the University of Mi University on the second day of the semester.

"Lu Li here." Wang Wencheng stood at the school gate, waving to Lu Li. Beside him stood Lin Tong and Bai Lu, as well as three other unfamiliar people, presumably the mysterious enthusiasts he had mentioned.

"Get in the car, let's go to my house first." Wang Wencheng said to Lu Li and the others as he saw Lu Li walking over.

With the help of Wang Wencheng, who acted as a mood-maker, the group quickly became acquainted. All three of them were people Wang Wencheng knew from a mysterious online chat group, and they had met once or twice in real life before. After hearing about this incident, they gladly chose to join the operation.

The three people consisted of two women and one man. The two women knew each other and were good friends. They came together this time. One was named Gu Lin and the other was named Jiang Xuanmo. The other man was from Lu Li's family and was named Lu Zhengling.

"Where's Chen Qiao?" Lu Li asked casually, his gaze sweeping over the three newcomers. Based on his experience, he roughly judged that the various seemingly nice gadgets on these three were actually useless decorations, which allowed him to roughly rule out the possibility that the three were supernatural ability users.

"He went to pick up a friend, someone I hear is quite capable," Wang Wencheng said, driving without turning around. "Our destination this time is an abandoned mountain village. I've prepared all the props and everything. We should be able to complete the ceremony in that village in seven days."

Since some of the Ten Methods of Seeing Ghosts don't take much time, it takes about seven days to complete all ten methods. Those ten methods are not actually that complicated, and they don't require many props. However, since it involves seeing ghosts, it is necessary to prepare a large number of potentially useful props.

Although Wang Wencheng spoke casually, he still valued his life quite a bit. He had transported a lot of things to that small mountain village beforehand. When the group arrived at his house, a small villa, they also found a lot of props, such as Eight Trigrams compasses, yellow paper talismans, red dragon blood, black dog blood, black donkey hooves, and rooster blood. He had prepared a lot of all of them.

"According to the requirements of the Ten Methods of Seeing Ghosts, the place where the ritual is performed must have been a place where a large number of deaths have occurred. After investigation, I found this place." Wang Wencheng pulled out a map and pointed to a place not far from the City of Sound.

"About ten years ago, a murder case occurred in this mountain village. Of the 28 people from 12 households, 27 died. The murderer is the surviving one, and he is still in Beike Prison."

"I even went out of my way to borrow the murder weapon from back then, hoping it might be useful." Wang Wencheng picked up an evidence bag from somewhere. Inside was a kitchen knife, covered in blood, its wooden handle stained bright red.

Afterwards, Wang Wencheng explained to everyone the cause of the tragedy that year, which could be written into a book called "The Story That a Beautiful Farm Woman in a Mountain Village Couldn't Tell." In short, he slaughtered the entire village in a fit of rage. The motive, the murder weapon, the time, the bloodstains, and the fingerprints all matched. The only question in the case was that of the twenty-seven bodies, only twenty were found, and the other seven had disappeared.

The reason it was confirmed that there were seven bodies was because even the murderer admitted to killing those seven people, and a large amount of blood from seven other people was found at the scene. However, the bodies had disappeared without a trace. Although it was eventually "confirmed" that they were taken away by wild animals, there were actually no traces of wild animals at the scene, nor any traces of anyone dragging them. It was as if they had vanished into thin air.

Because it wasn't far away, Wang Wencheng had stayed there for two days before without anything happening, but he remembered the place. This time, for the Ten Methods of Seeing Ghosts ritual, this place was just right.

A little while later, Chen Qiao also came in with a man. The man said his surname was Long, and everyone could call him Ah Long or Brother Long. That night, everyone went out for dinner together and rested at Wang Wencheng's villa for the night. The next day, they headed to that small mountain village together.

The group remained relatively silent throughout the journey, except for Wang Wencheng and his three friends, who chatted and laughed. Lu Li touched his gloved right hand, glanced at the three men, and figured they probably didn't really believe in the Ten Methods of Seeing Ghosts; they likely thought it was just a rather unusual kind of tourism.

But if you tell them that this time there really is something fishy, they will smile and look like they completely believe you. However, apart from Wang Wencheng occasionally mentioning the importance of the problem to them, the others all choose to remain silent. A few more cannon fodder are better than nothing.

Around noon, a group of nine people in three cars slowly arrived at the foot of the mountain village. Carrying large and small bags, the nine people walked for half an hour along the mountain road before finally seeing the village.

Some abandoned terraced fields, a small stone path leading to the mountainside, where three connected red brick houses stand. Next to those red brick houses, some mud houses can also be seen. Wang Wencheng then explained, "After the incident, because the body was missing, this place attracted some mystery enthusiasts. These red brick houses were also built after the bloodshed."

"I came here two years ago, and it looks like no one has been here for a long time." Pushing open one of the red brick houses, it wasn't as dirty as I had imagined. Inside, bedding had already been laid out, and some daily necessities had been prepared.

The large water vat at the entrance was also full of water. The water inside was clear and bright, and you could see the bottom of the vat directly. The red brick house was actually quite large, with two bedrooms and a bathroom in one room. Six people could easily squeeze in.

The other room was used for something else, so only two rooms were occupied. Naturally, the six men lived together, while the other three girls lived in another room. Pushing open the back door, they found some neatly arranged timber behind it, and further behind was a steep path leading to a signal station on the mountaintop.

"The scenery here is quite nice." Lu Li turned around and saw that it was the girl named Jiang Xuanmo. He couldn't help but smile and said, "No matter how the scenery is, I only know that you will want to leave here soon."

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