The boy was fast asleep in bed, completely unaware of the door's appearance.
"Compared to last time, that door seems even closer to the kid. Watch carefully — there's something inside trying to get out," Men Nan whispered.
"Could it be the Nether Embryo?" The scene was somewhat similar to when the door had appeared at the Spirit-Sensing Ghost School, but only somewhat.
The door beside the boy's bed wasn't solid. It gave off an unreal quality, as though it would shatter at a touch.
Faint blood vessels flowed across its surface, yet it emanated none of the oppressive aura that usually accompanied such doors. That was what confused Chen Ge the most.
He had seen many blood doors — the one at the Spirit-Sensing Ghost School included — and every single one, the moment it began to change, turned the surroundings into a living nightmare reeking of copper. This door was the exception.
It posed no discernible threat. Its appearance felt more like a reminder aimed at the little boy.
"Aren't those blood vessels awfully sparse?"
Chen Ge lifted his backpack and crept toward the door. He hadn't taken more than a few steps when the lock on the blood door suddenly trembled.
The sound was faint, and the child wasn't woken. When Chen Ge stepped back, the blood door returned to normal.
"So I can't get close?"
He set the backpack down, signaled Men Nan with a hand gesture, and walked toward the door alone. This time the blood door showed no abnormal reaction.
"Is it really because of the Red-clothed?"
Standing directly in front of it, Chen Ge made a bold move — he reached out his hand toward the door.
The door was like an obsession, intangible. His fingers passed straight through the door panel.
"I can't touch it? This is the first door like this I've ever seen."
He wasn't sure whether every child selected by the Nether Embryo had a door appear beside their bed when they fell asleep. He had certainly never heard Fang Yu mention it — Jiang Ming might be a special case.
If that was true, then Chen Ge needed to be even more cautious, because the chances of the Nether Embryo hiding inside Jiang Ming were very high.
His fingers slid across the door panel, unable to make contact with any of it — but just as he was about to give up, a piercing chill suddenly lanced through his fingertip.
His finger had come to rest on the doorknob.
"Most of the blood vessels converge near the doorknob. Could that be why the doorknob is solid?"
The phone ghost's trick could only be used once, so Chen Ge didn't want to miss this opportunity. But he didn't dare push the blood door open alone.
Despite the sparse blood vessels on it, he wasn't so reckless as to walk through the door into the unknown world by himself.
"Should I take the gamble? The Black Phone said I'd die for certain if I couldn't find the Nether Embryo in nine nights — which means it isn't ready yet. Now might be when it's at its weakest."
The opportunity was right in front of him. Chen Ge wasn't about to let it slip. He slowly retreated.
"Men Nan, give me the bag. You stay outside and keep watch."
"You're going in just like that? Isn't that too hasty? Aren't you going to think about it a bit more?"