Zuo Si sat back in his seat, dazed and somewhat lost in thought.
Just as he was about to drift into daydreams, Ding Ruxiao splashed cold water on him with her words.
“Don’t misunderstand; I’m simply thanking you for your half of the net profit.” Ding Ruxiao lit a cigarette and smiled faintly.
In that instant, Zuo Si felt a hollow emptiness in his heart. Yet, he forced a laugh and said, “Hahaha, I know, I know. How could I think otherwise?”
After finishing dinner, night had fallen, and Zuo Si returned to the amusement park, while Ding Ruxiao headed home.
The amusement park, closed for the night, exuded a lifeless atmosphere; to save electricity, even the streetlights were turned off.
Standing at the entrance of the haunted house, Zuo Si was about to take out his keys when suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped in surprise, having not heard any footsteps.
Turning around, he found it was the old man Liu Hong. “Old Liu, how come you walk without making a sound?”
“How could I not? It’s you who was lost in thought and didn’t hear me!”
“Do you need something?”
“Not really, just worried about your safety, afraid something might happen to you!” Liu Hong said with a worried expression, “You know what happened in the haunted house; I can’t help but be concerned.”
“It’ll be fine; you don’t need to worry unnecessarily,” Zuo Si replied, taking out a prepared one hundred yuan and handing it to Liu Hong. “Old Liu, please help maintain order today; don’t think of this as too little.”
“Ah~ I can’t accept that!” Liu Hong firmly pushed the money back.
Seeing that Liu Hong wasn’t just being polite, Zuo Si didn’t insist and put the money away again. “Then I won’t keep you; I’ve been busy all day and am quite tired, so I’m heading back to sleep.”
“Wait, don’t rush!” Liu Hong reached out to grab Zuo Si’s hand, but Zuo Si dodged. “Old Liu, if you have something to say, just say it.”
“Ah!” Liu Hong sighed, as if he had something difficult to say. After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke, “Could you come to my house for a bit? I have something very important to discuss with you.”
Although Zuo Si didn’t want to go, he felt it was inappropriate to refuse after Liu Hong had helped him all day. He nodded and said, “Alright, let’s go.”
Riding on Liu Hong’s old motorcycle, the two arrived at a tube building, a type of structure that had become quite rare. Such buildings were only constructed in the 70s and 80s. There weren’t many residents living there, with only a few households having their lights on.
Liu Hong led the way, navigating through the dirty staircase to the second floor.
The corridor emitted a musty smell, and Zuo Si couldn’t help but frown, surprised that Liu Hong lived in such a place.
A middle-aged, overweight woman was washing clothes ahead; she was the only one with her lights on on the entire second floor.
Hearing the commotion, the woman looked up at Liu Hong. “Brother Liu, you’re back!”
“I’m back, I’m back; you keep busy, I have something to discuss,” Liu Hong said hurriedly, leading Zuo Si away without engaging in conversation.
After walking another ten meters, they stopped in front of a security door. Liu Hong took out his keys and unlocked the door. The two entered one after the other.
Surveying the environment inside, it was about twenty square meters and quite clean. There was a large window opposite, providing a decent view.
“Sit, sit down,” Liu Hong said, bringing Zuo Si a plate of dried fruits and pouring him a cup of hot water.
“Old Liu, you don’t need to fuss; just tell me what’s on your mind.”
“Not in a hurry, not in a hurry; it’s not every day you come to my house, I can’t let you go hungry.”
“I’ve already eaten.”
“At your age, you should be eating more; what’s the harm in that?” Liu Hong pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, revealing a soft pack of Zhonghua. “Smoke up; I bought this specially for you.”
“Grandpa, you keep it for yourself; I’ve quit,” Zuo Si pushed the cigarettes back, thinking, ‘This old man must have something he wants from me.’
“You sit here for a moment; I’ll go buy some snacks and wine. We can chat while we eat,” Liu Hong said before heading towards the door.
Zuo Si quickly called out, “No need, sir. If you have something to say, just say it. I have things to do when I get back.”
However, Liu Hong ignored him and closed the security door behind him.
“This Old Man Liu is too polite…” Zuo Si reached for the dried fruits on the table, but halfway there, he hesitated and withdrew his hand. Ever since he got the black phone, his guard had been raised significantly, and he no longer dared to eat someone else’s food casually.
Zuo Si picked up his cup, intending to take a sip of water, but as soon as he lifted it, he realized the water was quite hot.
“That’s strange. Liu Da Ye has been with me all day and hasn’t gone home; how could there be hot water here?”
“It seems there are other people in his house.” Zuo Si smiled bitterly and shook his head, lamenting how suspicious he had become. What was there to doubt about such a kind old man? He stood up and carefully examined the entire room, noticing a single pair of slippers placed under the bed.
“Why is there only one pair of slippers?!” Zuo Si scanned the floor, and aside from this pair of slippers, there were no other shoes in the room.
“If two people live here, even if they are frugal, they wouldn’t go to such lengths.” Zuo Si suddenly felt something was off, especially considering Liu Hong’s expression, which had always seemed a bit unnatural.
At this moment, he faintly sensed a whiff of conspiracy.
He circled the room again and found that while the visible areas were clean, some corners were thick with dust. The wooden double bed had long since rotted and molded, yet the bedding was new. “It seems this room was only cleaned today.”
“Could it be that Liu Hong just moved in today?”
“No, that’s not right!”
“From the way the overweight woman greeted him, she must know Liu Hong; he definitely didn’t just move in today.”
“He used to live here but moved out, and now he’s moved back in today!”
“Could it be that he’s facing financial difficulties and wants to borrow money from me?” Zuo Si speculated wildly.
But just then, the lights flickered and suddenly went out, causing the temperature in the room to drop instantly.
Faced with this familiar chill, Zuo Si almost immediately concluded it was a ghost!
A terrifying thought began to sprout in Zuo Si’s mind.
A drop of cold sweat slid down his forehead. ‘Could it be that the previous owners of the haunted house were all designed to be killed by Liu Hong?!’
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed!
What to do?
Zuo Si didn’t have Lu Liangyuan’s scalpel on him right now. Even if he did, he might not be a match for these ghostly entities!
Zuo Si moved towards the door, using the moonlight to guide him, wanting to leave, but the security door had been locked from the inside. It wouldn’t budge!
He pounded on the door with all his might, but no one responded! With so few residents here, the only one who might hear Zuo Si’s cries was probably that overweight woman. But would Liu Hong not consider this?
Even if that woman heard Zuo Si’s pleas for help and came to the door, she wouldn’t be able to open the security door!
The chill intensified, and Zuo Si vaguely saw a blurred shadow appear between him and the door. Suddenly, he felt a push against his chest, causing him to fall to the ground. He quickly turned on his phone’s flashlight to check, only to find a pitch-black handprint on his chest!