"I did …" Li Jiankang chuckled bitterly, "But another organization came looking for me. They told me that they would take over, and that I would move out as soon as the demolition was complete. But … the demolition has been going on for over a year now, and it still hasn't started …"
Qin Ye nodded, "Go on."
Li Jiankang finally took a sip of water.
He took off his mask, and his lips were deathly pale without a trace of blood.
He coughed dryly and continued hoarsely, "The bell disappeared from that day onwards."
"I thought that the matter was over … I refurbished the house. It wasn't that I didn't want to leave. Rather … I simply didn't have the financial means to do so."
He sighed wistfully, "All I could do was stay in this terrifying room … day by day …"
"Every night … I have the feeling that something is watching me.
It was right at the head of my bed … It would definitely be there after midnight … "He trembled once more," It would just stare straight at me … I'd desperately try to open my eyes, but to no avail … "
"I was alone in my room … yet I wasn't alone. Do you know what it feels like?
It's driving me crazy!! "
His voice rose once more, and then he began to pant heavily.
It took him ten seconds before he finally calmed down, "The bell appeared again in September."
"It was still the night of the 15th, and I … heard a cat meowing.
I'd closed the door, but it immediately began to scratch desperately at the door!
It screamed like a madman! "
He grabbed Qin Ye's hand, and Qin Ye raised his eyebrows. Li Jiankang's hand was cold and barely warm.
Beads of cold sweat began to trickle down Li Jiankang's face, "You might not believe this … but the door to my house is one of those relatively smooth security doors.
When I turn on the lights, I can vaguely see some reflections. "
"I …"
"I saw it … behind me … there was someone. There really was a figure!!!
It was just standing there, looking at the door from the same perspective as I did!! "
"There's … someone else in my house!!"
He screamed uncontrollably.
Qin Ye tightened his grip on Li Jiankang's hand.
This time, it took him a full minute to calm down.
As if his soul had left his body in despair, he seemed to have lost all of his energy. He said hoarsely, "Since then, I haven't returned home. I lived next to my house and rented a room. I only dared to go back during the day …"
"Help me …" He gripped Qin Ye's hand with great determination, and his voice was choked with sobs, "That's a haunted house … it must be a haunted house!
I want to go back. My wife and children's things are all there!
The investigation department said that the person who replies is the one who can help me. "
"I understand."
Qin Ye nodded and stood up, "Today happens to be the fifteenth of January. I'll go to your place tonight at midnight."
With that, he quickly left.
The paper crane was perched on his shoulder. Qin Ye turned a corner without looking back, only to immediately stick close to the wall, "He's still around?"
"Still here," Arthis replied lazily.
"Are you looking at me?"
"Yes."
Arthis glanced at him with some measure of surprise, "I've got to say that I'm impressed by your keen sense of smell.
Even I wasn't as cunning as you back then.
What do you suspect about him? "
Qin Ye leaned against the wall and furrowed his brows, "It's not that I suspect him."
"Rather, it's that the expression on his face doesn't seem quite right."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "You know the era I've lived in. It was a time of war, and I've seen far too many deaths.
His complexion is a classic case of blood loss. "
"Furthermore, it's a case of massive blood loss."
Arthis remained unmoved, "Perhaps it's some kind of illness?"
"Or perhaps I'm just being nitpicky." Qin Ye continued placidly, "There's also another factor - my looks."
"To think that he wouldn't be moved by someone as beautiful as me …"
"Speak human language." Arthis interjected icily.
"Cough … what I mean is that I look no different from a high school student. What do you think he would do if he were a normal person?"
Without waiting for Arthis to respond, Qin Ye responded to his own question, "Even if he's in a desperate situation, he would still be suspicious of me. In fact, he would even warn me not to go because I'm too young.
His friend is at least around his age, and yet an adult man is already dead.
As an ordinary person who doesn't know anything about the supernatural, how could he not have the slightest suspicion?
Was he really certain that a high school student would be able to help him? "
Arthis didn't smile. Instead, she sighed wistfully, "That's why you've never died even once since you were born in a time of war."
"It's not luck … How many people have you deceived with your appearance?
Your sense of danger is far superior to that of ordinary Hunter-class cultivators. "
Qin Ye smiled, "That's right. As a husky, my sense of smell is my forte … I've made sure to take a look before I came here. No matter which direction you take, you'll have to pass through this place to leave Coffee Shop No. 4.
As for me … I'm waiting for someone here. "
Time passed by quickly.
In the remaining hours of the afternoon, Zhou Xianlong once again announced the results of his teaching credits.
Qin Ye immediately discovered something.
This wasn't the first time he had done so.
Rather, he was tied for first place!
"First place, S9527, teaching credits: 10, accepted 'Lost Track' mission.
Difficulty: C. "" First place, S4532, teaching credits: 10, accepted 'Dangerous Building' mission.
Difficulty: C. "
Someone's catching up …
That wasn't all. Most of the others had seen a small increase in their scores.
"As expected, cultivators in the mortal realm aren't freeloaders after all …" Qin Ye switched off his phone, leaned against the wall and closed his eyes to rest.
It wasn't his style to be flustered. What he had to do now was to race against time.
Both of them were tied for first place. Whoever completed the mission first would be the true champion!
Given the school's reputation, there might even be some bonus points to be awarded!
The sky darkened early in early spring. When it was slightly past 6.00 p.m., there was finally the sound of footsteps.
The footsteps were urgent. Just as they turned the corner, Qin Ye chuckled evilly and whistled, "Dear, you've been killed."
"Bloody hell!!!" The yellow-haired young man screamed. He was so frightened that he fell to the ground.
His cheeks flushed red as he stared at the person in front of him. His chest rose and fell rapidly, and it took him ten seconds before he finally managed to get back to his feet, "Bloody hell!!
Don't you know that scaring people can scare people to death?!! "
Qin Ye shrugged his shoulders. Indeed, this street was about to be demolished. He hadn't seen a single auntie pass by for the entire afternoon.
This scare of his really made him … happy both physically and mentally …
"Why haven't you left yet?" The young man patted the dust off his butt as he gasped for breath.
"Waiting for you." Qin Ye raised his eyebrows and smiled, "I get off work at 6.00 p.m. I've been waiting for two hours."
"Why are you waiting for me?"
"To see if you've lost as a prophet?"
"..." Does beating someone up constitute a crime of bodily harm?
I'm waiting online. It's urgent.
"That's right."
Almost as though he had just recalled something, the young man immediately pulled Qin Ye into an alleyway, and his expression grew stern, "Are you … really going to that haunted house tonight?"
Qin Ye gazed deeply into the young man's eyes, "Why?
Is this haunted house very famous? "
"You mustn't go!!"
The young man's hair stood on end, and he couldn't help but tremble as he suppressed his voice, "This place … is really haunted …"
"If not for the fact that I'm broke, I would've moved out a long time ago!
You mustn't go!
Seven people have already gone missing there!
It's really a haunted house!!
Nobody dares to get within ten meters of that place! "
Qin Ye also grew somber as he nodded, "Don't worry. You've successfully ignited the goodwill of a Yama-King. I'll make sure to give you a good place to go after you die."
"..." May I know what's the standard for self-defense?
What level of self-defense is considered not excessive?
Does verbal assault count?
I'm waiting online. It's urgent.
"I'm not joking with you!"
The young man glanced around, trembled once more, and then gasped, "Li Jiankang … his house … isn't clean. Don't you know?
There was a famous case a few years ago. "
Without waiting for Qin Ye's response, he continued, "The matricide case."
Qin Ye's eyes flickered, and a memory suddenly flashed across his mind.
It was a famous case.
His parents had gone out to work, leaving their young son at home. When they returned home, they discovered that their twelve-year-old son had already developed a nasty habit of smoking, drinking, fighting, and skipping school. In order to correct their son's bad habits, they no longer went out.
So they stayed.
Unfortunately, the long period of separation had caused a rift in the family, and their son refused to listen to them at all.
Finally, when her son was smoking at home again, his mother failed to persuade him, and so she picked up her belt and gave her son a good beating.
She didn't expect her son to retaliate. Overwhelmed with anger, he went to the kitchen and picked up a cleaver.
He slashed his mother over twenty times in a row, and she died on the spot.
But that wasn't the end.
His son changed into a clean set of clothes and tossed the cleaver into the sink.
That night, his son answered several calls from his mother, replied to her WeChat messages on behalf of his mother, and even applied for sick leave on his mother's behalf.
The next day, his neighbors noticed that something was amiss, and they called for his son's grandfather to open the door.
Even then, he still calmly told his grandfather, "My mother has gone out. She's not home."
Since there were no traces of blood on the first floor, his grandfather didn't think too much of it. His son even went to his grandfather's house with his younger brother for breakfast.
It wasn't until noon that his grandfather sensed that something was amiss, and he climbed to the second floor, only to see his daughter's bloodied body and mangled body.
His son was acquitted because he wasn't old enough to be sentenced.
The entire internet was in an uproar. This incident had affected Cathay for an entire year, and it was still fresh in his memory.
"This is …" Qin Ye drew a deep breath and looked at the street.
"Tianxi Fourth Street. Li Jiankang's son, Li Cheng, and his wife, Song Jiafang."
The young man bit down on his lips, "Ever since that day … every night at midnight, we'd hear the sound of Uncle Li whipping his son with a belt … as well as the incessant sounds of cursing and beating. In fact … we'd even hear the sound of a knife cutting into flesh …"
"But Uncle Li couldn't hear it, but we could hear it loud and clear!
There's a ghost … there's really a ghost!
You mustn't go! "
Qin Ye's mind raced. Seconds later, he muttered, "Didn't he say that his son was dead?"
"I don't know …" The young man glanced left and right, "That's the scariest part … his son … is gone."
"He's not gone. He's practically vanished from the face of the earth. It's almost as though … as though Auntie Song had taken him away!"
Qin Ye nodded, "One last question."
"Do you know Little Bell?
It's a little black cat. "
"What little black cat?" The young man was baffled, "I've never heard of it."
Qin Ye looked straight into the young man's eyes, "Li Jiankang's cat."
"That's impossible." The young man shuddered, and an inexplicable chill ran down his spine, "He's never kept a cat!
Think about it. How could he possibly take care of a cat when he's away from home all year round?
His son is a left-behind child, so who would want to keep a cat?!
He doesn't have a cat … I've never seen any black cats in his house before! "