Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du squatted at the door to take a look. The little ones forgot their distress and what happened when they entered the house. They followed Li Du to the door.
As a result, when they reached the black brick, they shrieked and then backed away in a panic.
In the cottage-style of the villa, the floor of the house was a layer of stone, which was related to the living environment of the colonists from the past. When the European colonists first reached America, they were in the east of the Appalachian mountains, such as Philadelphia, New York and other places, which were rich in stone.
As was known to all, the high-grade houses in medieval Europe were castles, which were built chiefly out of stone. After arriving in North America, the colonizers still wanted to build castles.
However, they lacked a sufficient budget, as well as human and material resources. Secondly, because of the threat of the natives, it was better to stay in a small house. Building a castle would take a long time and natives could easily destroy it.
Eventually, cottages emerged, which was why these modern villas had such names despite being quite luxurious. One reason was that the style was originally born in villages and small towns.
Of course, just as it was now, the cottages were built against hillsides, for towns and villages were built on top and around hills for protection.
The cottage had not been built entirely of stone, but the floor and walls were. The floor in the hall was made of flagstones, and a sort of black stone was used around the door to distinguish the area.
Lu Guan looked at the stone and asked, “Is this thing radioactive? Would it lead to death?”
“Making an illusion that you saw a ghost and died?” asked Firecracker.
Lu Guan nodded. “Yes, could there be such a thing? However, the ghost has nothing to do with the stone. The rancher from Montana didn’t die here.”
Li Du, who was studying black stone, was stunned. “He didn’t die here? Then how did he die?”
Lu Guan said he was hit by a car, a truck, to be exact.
Hearing this answer, Li Du was speechless, “Why did people associate his death with this house, then?”
Lu Guan explained, “Supposedly, the ghost of the house pestered him. Anyway, he was driving fine, but suddenly swerved around and hit the oncoming truck. Who in their right mind would do that?”
“It could be a curse.” Young Markelov added. “There’s a legend back home…”
Big Markelov gave him a big kick. “Don’t bring out those stupid tales from hometown. Are you feeling that the atmosphere here is not gloomy enough? Want to add some more fear?”
“What exactly is this black stone?” Li Du asked.
He put out his hand to touch the stone, and a feeling of crispness shot up from his fingers along his arm, making him shiver a few times.
Lu Guan was panicked. “Ah, this is the channel of the Evil Spirit! Where is the holy water that I brought? Hurry up and give it to the boss…”
“Shut up!” Li Du took back his arm and shivered again. He pointed at the stone and said, “There is an electric current on this thing. It can conduct electricity!”
Others tried, and sure enough, the whole group began to shudder.
Godzilla shook his numb hand and said, “Shit, this current is too strong.”
“No wonder the little ones were afraid to step over it. Must have been because of the electricity,” said Big Markelov.
Lu Guan said in puzzlement, “How could this happen? Where is the current coming from? The stones themselves are insulators. They are not conducive.”
“Silicon dioxide is an insulator,” said Big Markelov. “In its natural state, the stone is mainly made of silicon dioxide, so it doesn’t conduct electricity, unlike iron ore.”
Iron ore would conduct electricity. This was common sense.
Li Du remembered the cleaner’s words. Someone said that the little ones had entered the house just before the door opened.
The cleaner thought they woke up the dead and attracted the ghosts, but Li Du remembered that when they first came in, there was no electricity in the house and they turned on the circuit after they cleaned.
That was to say, the electricity of this black stone did not come from itself, but most likely from the circuit.
He told Young Markelov to pull the switch, and then he beckoned the little ones out again. They could go in and out of the door.
Naturally, there was no electricity in the black stone when they touched it now.
“Damn, I said there was no ghost!” Li Du couldn’t help but exclaim.
Lu Guan said hesitantly, “But this doesn’t make sense either. If you have the electric wire touch the ground to cause the current to flow out, that electric switch should automatically close. Otherwise, it would have short-circuited. There shouldn’t have been any current.”
“That’s the problem of the electricity,” said Li Du.
When the switch was on, the black rock got back its electrifying quality again.
The connection was now established. Li Du and the others were not electricians and were certainly no expert in this. All they could do was lay a block of wood over the stones and call an electrician to take a look.
They just covered up the black rock when Ah Ow suddenly looked up at the door and then rushed out.
A voice outside said, “Hello, anyone? Is anyone here? Wow, that’s one big dog!”
Li Du whistled, and Ah Ow ran back quickly. He went out and saw a somewhat decadent youth standing in the door.
The young man was of the indoorsy type, with messy hair like a bird’s nest, listless eyes, pale skin, fat body, and weak feet, all of which were the characteristics of an American couch potato.
“You are?” asked Li Du tentatively.
The young man pointed in the direction of the house next door and said, “Oh, my name is Benedict Allen and I live there. Who are you? Are you an undercover cop? How did this murder house get opened again?”
Li Du remembered the Toyota he saw that morning, “No, I’m the new owner here and your new neighbor. Nice to meet you.”
The young man gasped. “You bought the house? Why would anyone buy the damn place?”
He said a few more swear words and then added, “This is a haunted house, man. Are you an immigrant? You must have been taken in. No one can live in this house!”
Li Du smiled and said, “I know, but I don’t believe in ghosts.”
“Well, I don’t believe in them either,” muttered Benedict with a wry smile. “But it’s the way it is. Listen to me, man, you better get out of here, sell this house or something. Whatever it is, something happened here, five people were killed in this house…”
The last sentence surprised Li Du. “Five people? Isn’t it four?”
“Trust,” said Benedict, with a sneer. “I live here, and I know best that there were five, but not too many know about this last victim.”
