They were so close to solving it.
Luo Shu watched as the headless spirit phased through the wall, vanishing once more. The severed head of the Little Girl Ghost hung on the balcony, dripping blood as it blankly stared ahead. Luo Shu sensed he was on the verge of figuring it all out, but something still felt missing.
Sylas Young, having waited until the headless ghost was gone, cautiously approached. "Uh, I'm… not thirsty anymore," she murmured.
Luo Shu firmly held out a water cup to her. "I'm a doctor. You need to drink water to restore your stamina, and it'll help stabilize your nerves to prevent you from fainting again. You should know that in a haunted place like this, passing out might mean you won't wake up."
"Oh! Got it!" Seeing him in his white coat and hearing his authoritative tone, Sylas nodded, taking the cup from him, and taking a gulp.
Luo Shu insisted, "Finish it."
Sylas nodded and obediently drank it all in one go, draining the cup. He refilled it, urging her to drink more with his cool, medical authority. And it worked—she drank it all.
"Burp~" She let out a little hiccup, patting her now slightly bloated stomach.
Luo Shu asked, "How's your health and stamina?"
Sylas checked her stats. "Health at 68%, stamina at 30%…"
Luo Shu glanced at his own. With more prolonged exposure to the ghosts, his health had dropped to 57%, though his stamina was still at 80%. He was puzzled. "How has your stamina dropped so fast?"
Sylas, a bit embarrassed, admitted, "Well… I was so scared… felt kind of weak…"
Luo Shu: …
Medical studies require an understanding of various physical responses, yet Luo Shu couldn't quite empathize here. Fear—something that could lead to "exhaustion" or even fainting? For him, fear only served to make things more exhilarating…
"Let's go," he said.
They'd already explored nearly all the first floor, leaving only one last spot: a locked wooden door under the staircase. While the rest of the place was spotless, this door, along with its aged copper lock, was covered in dust.
Sylas blinked, then asked, "Level one newbie… uh, I mean, could you open this, young doctor?"
Luo Shu simply grabbed the lock, giving her a look.
Sylas immediately got the message. "I understand! I'll go find the key! I'm not here to coast along!"
Luo Shu let her go search. She did have a gun and could've easily shot the lock open, but doing so might also shut out the most straightforward way to clear this scenario.
With Sylas busy searching downstairs, Luo Shu went upstairs on his own.
In the hallway, he encountered the mansion's mistress. She wore a lake-blue dress, likely her favorite when she was alive. Her eyes seemed to smile, but Luo Shu couldn't tell if it was truly a smile because she had no mouth. Below her nose, her face was nothing but torn, bloody flesh.
"AHHHHH—!!" she shrieked, a piercing sound as she lunged toward him, her form radiating bitter resentment. A chilling wind surged, frosting over the walls.
But Luo Shu stood his ground as she closed in, letting her ghostly figure pass through his body. His health dropped another 5%, but it was manageable.
Once she passed, she turned to face him, and he turned to face her.
"I know you don't want to hurt me. You're just trying to scare me away, which means you're trying to protect me… I understand," he said calmly.
This was Luo Shu's theory. Ever since they'd entered this haunted house, the family of three had appeared one after the other, yet none had shown true hostility. Though his health did drop on contact, it was simply due to proximity with a spirit. They weren't vengeful ghosts with murderous intent.
Because of this, when she'd appeared threatening, Luo Shu hadn't even bothered to dodge.
His words seemed to calm the ghostly woman's expression, and then she pointed toward one of the rooms.
Luo Shu followed her direction and saw two rooms: one was a rec room, and the other appeared to be an office. She was pointing toward the office.
He walked into the room, which seemed to be the husband's study. It had a bookshelf, a desk, and a small couch. Yet strangely enough… there was a closet in here too?
He approached the closet carefully, opening it.
Luo Shu's eyes widened slightly before a knowing smile appeared on his face. "So, that's the truth."
In the closet, on the upper shelf, lay neatly folded but old bedding and pillows, clearly indicating someone had been sleeping here.
Luo Shu had finally found concrete evidence for his theory: a family of four, three ghosts and one person!
In some Japanese homes, out of space concerns or for earthquake safety, it wasn't unheard of for a person to sleep in a closet.
"A person who was overlooked and unseen, a shadow in their own family," Luo Shu murmured, "So, that's why you wanted to gouge out your father's eyes to 'clean' them?"
He continued searching around, eventually finding a family photo in one of the desk drawers. In it were the father, mother, and daughter, posed together in front of their home. The father, dressed in a suit, looked both handsome and kind, his gaze full of affection as he held his daughter's hand. The mother leaned lovingly on his shoulder, with a smile of happiness on her face.
Luo Shu carefully put the photo away. "The house is empty of photos, so maybe he hid them all, and this was the only one left behind."
He then checked the entertainment room but found nothing of use besides a game console and some workout equipment.
However, in a small upstairs storage closet, Luo Shu found something valuable:
[Name: Bloody Shovel]
[Type: Weapon]
[Quality: Common]
[Attribute: Malevolent Aura]
[Damage: Strong]
[Function: Soaked in blood and corpse energy, this shovel can harm spirits; of course, you could still use it for gardening.]
[Special Effect: Converts 30% of the wielder's physical strength into spiritual damage.]
[Equipment Requirement: None]
[Can it be taken out of this scenario?: Yes]
[Note: "Bury them all! Just bury them all!"]
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。