"Young people just don't listen to advice, once something happens it's too late. I suggest you head back early!" The old woman said and then prepared to leave, trembling.

At this moment, Chen Shouyi noticed the phrase "all these years" in her earlier words.

His heart stirred, and he called out to the old lady, asking:

"Granny, wait a moment, I want to ask, how long has this house been haunted?"

"Why are you asking this? About ten years or so. I'm getting old and can't quite remember things clearly. It's an old story by now..."

After listening to the old lady ramble on for a while, Chen Shouyi finally got the gist of it.

It turned out to be an unavoidable story between an old widower whose children were all living abroad and a young maid.

In the end, the young maid could not bear the humiliation and hanged herself.

For fear of exposure, the old man hid the body in the basement, pretending to live normally every day, until one day, he never came out again.

Later, the house changed hands several times because the price kept getting cheaper, and there were always buyers who didn't believe in such things. However, without exception, everyone who lived here first became weak, then fell into lingering illness, and eventually died mysteriously.

Gradually, the place became completely abandoned, and no one came in anymore.

After finishing her story, the old woman gave another word of advice and then left.

Chen Shouyi stood in place, pondering quietly.

Ten years, that's quite a long time.

Before the mysterious force field intrusion from another world, did this world have ghosts? Chen Shouyi couldn't completely deny it, but mostly there weren't any, and there was no way to prove the existence of ghosts in this world.

At least from childhood to adulthood, he had never seen any himself, nor had anything similar happened to those around him.

There were many ghost stories, but most were fabrications or hearsay, rumors spreading unchecked.

Moreover, even if there were ghosts, they couldn't possibly be so powerful.

After all, before the force field intrusion from another world, Earth was ultimately a world where mysteries were not evident.

But if this matter were true, it would be quite peculiar.

He couldn't help but muse over it.

He glanced back at the house; perhaps it was psychological, but even with the glaring sun overhead, the whole house felt somewhat eerie to him.

At that moment, an idea struck him — why not search around a bit?

He had no fear to speak of.

First, it was broad daylight now.

Secondly, from the old woman's description, this ghost wasn't powerful enough to kill someone at first sight.

Moreover, as a martial artist, his blood aura was far stronger than that of ordinary people. The field of strong creatures, some weak spirits couldn't even get close to him.

After a slight hesitation, he picked up his briefcase and headed towards the dilapidated large door.

The door lock of the house had long since decayed and fallen, saving him the trouble of breaking it open violently.

He pushed open the door, and with a creaking sound, a mix of dust and a strong musty smell hit his face. The room's light was dim, and a thick layer of dust accumulated on the floor.

The windows were an old-style wooden frame, with broken glass and somewhat decayed frames. A gust of wind blew in, causing the windows to shake slightly and creak.

In the front hall of the living room hung a huge half-tilted landscape oil painting, and the living room was filled with many pieces of rosewood furniture. Passing by a chair, Chen Shouyi wiped off the dust and found that these pieces of furniture were still largely intact.

The house had been abandoned for so long, yet the furnishings inside appeared untouched.

Evidently, the last homeowner was likely frightened away without wanting anything else. Moreover, no one else dared to touch these ominous things.

...

Chen Shouyi walked around, checking every room on each level.

Finally, he tried to look at the basement where the maid had died, but couldn't find the entrance. He assumed it had probably been sealed off long ago.

Before long, Chen Shouyi retreated.

The place indeed had a heavy gloomy aura, like being overcast with a shadow. Staying there made him uncomfortable. Initially, he thought there might be a spatial passage here, but throughout the visit, he found no such clues.

Was he overthinking it?

Chen Shouyi chuckled self-deprecatingly!

If there really was a spatial passage, it would have been discovered and controlled long ago; it wouldn't still be left till now.

He went to the courtyard, practiced swordplay for half an hour, and then returned to the hotel.

...

The next morning at nine-thirty, Chen Shouyi arrived at the Martial Arts Assessment Center's registrar for martial artists.

Inside were already a dozen people.

Some were chatting in groups of three or two, while others sat quietly with a somber expression.

Seeing Chen Shouyi enter, most of them turned to look at him.

"Ha, he's not much older than my son!"

"Probably just signed up for fun, after all, there aren't many requirements."

After a few comments, they no longer paid attention to Chen Shouyi.

"Lao Liu, I think you'll definitely pass this time."

"Haha, aren't you the same? I've often seen you in the training room in the other world these past months."

"The training effect there is indeed good, but it's too costly. It costs two thousand a day. I've already spent two hundred thousand in these months, and if I don't pass this time, I'll bash my head in."

"With so many people competing for limited opportunities, there's no other way, and this is an investment. Once you become a martial artist, this money will be nothing to you."

Chen Shouyi walked over and sat beside them. Filled with doubt, he was about to ask when a nearby young man inquired on his behalf: "Excuse me, what do you mean by the training room in the other world?"

"Don't you have it there? In the Liudong District of Hedong City, there's a spatial passage leading directly to the underground of another world. A few years ago, the city government developed it into a training room."

"It's great for you locals, not only do you have electricity, but you also have plenty of spatial passages. We don't have even one." The young man said somewhat regrettably.

"That's not necessarily a good thing. More spatial passages mean more risks. If something happens, it could be dangerous."

"That's true, but for us martial artist apprentices, it's hard to improve."

...

"Have you heard? There was another cult blood sacrifice incident in Dongning City in Ningzhou?" At this moment, a middle-aged man suddenly brought up a topic.

Chen Shouyi's face turned solemn, and he hurriedly asked, "When did this happen?"

"A few days ago. Are you from Dongning City?" The middle-aged man glanced at Chen Shouyi and asked.

Seeing Chen Shouyi nod, he continued, "This time it was truly tragic; more than a hundred people died, including men, women, elderly, and children. I've heard that Dongning is now under lockdown, and a full investigation is underway."

...

Has it deteriorated to this extent in Dongning?

Chen Shouyi felt heavy-hearted upon hearing this.

Aside from his parents and sister who were not in Dongning and thus reassuring,

almost everyone he knew was in Dongning City.

His uncle's family, his classmates, his friends, and Zhang Xiaoyue — he didn't know if they were safe.

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