Chapter 9: Shadows of Ghosts (Part 1)

He slightly raised his head and looked towards the sofa opposite the coffee table

The phone rang, and Ade's voice came through from the other end, a baritone with a hint of swagger: "Master Huo, what’s the matter?"

With a clang, the security door was pushed open, and an elderly woman dressed in a grayish-white long gown, hunched over, emerged carrying a flower basket. The old woman kept her head lowered, not looking ahead as she walked, but only at the ground, her gaze fixed on her own toes

The wind is strong, howling as it passes by, the ground is shaking, and countless shadows are fleeing, some are human, while others are not.

For him, darkness possesses a certain special charm, filled with all kinds of magical and wonderful things

"Rascal!" Ade laughed and scolded.

He was once a psychotherapist, and this is the place where he treated his patients

He took out his mobile phone and dialed Ade's number

Heaven is punishing the sinful people of the world in such a brutal manner, or is releasing evil spirits into the world.

The room is very quiet, so quiet that it feels unreal

However, he no longer treats psychological patients now

You still owe me several meals, so let's gradually offset that.

Ade is a university classmate of Huo Jianguis, but they are not in the same department. He is in the Department of Psychotherapy, while Ade is in the Department of Criminal Psychology

Oh, good, no problem, who?

Now, he exorcises demons

The room remained shrouded in darkness

His room is quite large, and there is a strange smell inside, which seems to be a fragrance, yet also resembles a musty odor

After speaking, he lifted the blanket, burrowed into the bedding, embraced that person, and then closed his eyes

A faint light shone through the crack of the door, illuminating the bed.

One of them is a maroon double-door wardrobe located in the middle of the east wall, which stands out conspicuously. A thick iron chain is tied around it, and there is a large lock on the chain.

The howling wind swept through, swirling these joss paper offerings in the air, darting about chaotically, resembling numerous spirits chasing these offerings in the sky

There are not many items in the living room, most of them are placed against the wall, right in the corner, with only two exceptions.

The west wall is a cabinet

A flash of lightning rushed in, and the pedestrians around hurriedly fled.

He seemed to see a person lying on the ceiling, moving slowly

Huo Jianguo hung up the phone, his eyes fixed ahead. After pondering for a moment, he took a step forward and walked on.

Since it is raining today, he cannot sleep in the backyard and can only sleep inside the house

She walked forward step by step, her grayish-white hair obscuring her face, making it difficult to discern her features

In the Little Lion Community, Building 4, Unit 4, only a few scattered windows are lit.

He walked a long distance, opened the door in the dark, and entered the courtyard. He stood in the center of the courtyard, holding his breath and concentrating, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the wooden horse on the left side of the courtyard, as well as the swing next to the wooden horse

As long as there is a shadow, Huo Jian Gui must go in and take a look.

He took out the key and unlocked the first drawer of the first row.

"Alright!" Ade said cheerfully, "Remember to treat me to a meal."

He has become a part of the shadow itself

Qusi. I will send you her photo, and you check her family background for me

She walked out of the building, and a gust of cold wind blew in, lifting a piece of cloth from the flower basket the old woman was holding. Several paper-made gold ingots and silver paper coins flew out with a clatter.

To deal with ordinary ghosts, these four items are sufficient

He believes that there is nothing in this world that can deceive his eyes, except for himself

Tonight, he is going to subdue that bed ghost; he has already made preparations and organized his thoughts

Of course, there were also some necessary auxiliary tools. He bent down and pulled out a metal box from under the cabinet. He blew away the dust on the box, put all the tools into his pocket, and carrying the box, he went out

Huo Jianguo lifted the blanket, got out of bed, put on his clothes, wore two watches, picked up an umbrella, and walked out of the bedroom

He chuckled lightly, picked up the umbrella, poked it upwards, and made a sound like 'dang dang dang'.

To him, this feels like a kind of illness

The sound of raindrops tapping against the window creates a rhythmic noise

Whenever he thought of that bed, he felt a subtle excitement, a feeling that had not surfaced for a long time. He knew that this time, he would not return empty-handed. After two years of research, he should have some gains.

When Huo Jiangu returned to consciousness, the dark sky had gradually begun to release light, but the rain had not completely ceased. The wind howled, and the windows were rattling, producing a crackling sound, as if countless hands were tapping on the window frame

Huo Jianguo straightforwardly said: "You helped me check on someone."

He needs sleep; only with sufficient sleep can he maintain enough energy to avoid symptoms of hallucinations. Only then will what he sees and hears be the most real.

He walked forward, leaning on a black umbrella

a silver dagger, a half-meter long red rope, a flashlight, and an old pocket watch

He opened the door in the dark and walked into the room

A cold wind blew, the wooden horse creaked, and the swing swayed gently

For Huo Jianguo, whether it is a person or an object, what is visible is not frightening; it is the invisible that is truly terrifying

This is a double bed

There are two pillows, and Huo Jian is resting on the one outside

He removed his clothes one by one in the darkness, and then placed the black umbrella in the most accessible spot on the bedside.

In there, one pillow and the head of a book both have a person, with hair scattered, obscuring the entire face, and the body covered by a quilt, making it impossible to discern whether it is a man or a woman

This day was quite unusual, as the daytime was as dark as the night. However, when the night truly fell, it suddenly became much brighter, albeit this brightness was tinged with a strong sense of oppression, as if a dark, thin membrane were covering the sky

There was no one above, and he let out a light sigh, seemingly a bit disappointed

After closing his eyes, he found himself engulfed in a heavy darkness.

When Huo Jianguo turned around, he happened to see this person. He raised his hand, gently patted the person's head, brushed a few strands of hair, then slowly exhaled and said softly: "If you accompany me for a few more nights, you will be free."

He opened the drawer and took out one item after another, placing them on the counter

His eyes were wide open, gazing at the ceiling

Daytime is darker than nighttime

Beside him, there lay a person, a disheveled individual, with half of their face tucked into the blanket, while the other half was obscured by long hair

In addition to the bedroom where he sleeps, there are two other rooms, located on the left and right sides of the house, both doors tightly closed. One of the room doors is secured with several loops of red string, tied to a large nail on the adjacent wall

He was well-acquainted with the surroundings, continued forward, pushed open the bedroom door in the dark, and climbed onto the bed

To be precise, there are seven items, including the black umbrella in his hand and the two watches on his wrists.

After all, the true act of ghost hunting is no trivial matter

To be precise, they were in different branches under the same university. The two had a good relationship during their university years, and after graduation, they maintained a lot of communication both in business and privately. In particular, Ade often sought advice from Huo Jianguo on various issues

In the center of the living room, there is a coffee table, with a sofa on one side and a leather armchair on the other side

Huo Jian returned and looked around, then walked towards the armchair and sat down

Outside is the living room

After lying down for a while, he turned over.

The black curtains covered the window, and a faint light shone in, illuminating Huo Jiangu's face. His complexion was very pale, a pallor that comes from having stayed in the darkness for a long time

Another one is a large purple-red cabinet in the middle of the west wall, which has a total of three tiers and nine drawers, each equipped with two locks.

Clatter clatter Clatter clatter

Then, he lay down

because his room was pitch dark

Huo Jian returned with one hand holding an iron ball and the other hand leaning on a black umbrella, walking alone on the rainy road

Therefore, there are no shadows in his room

The sky is overcast, and fine rain is drifting.

After sitting in silence for a long time, he suddenly let out a light laugh, stood up, and walked towards the west wall

Of course, before truly capturing ghosts, he must first seek out some relevant clues