Chapter 1079 — Can't Good People Stir Up Trouble?

Qu Ying was a resident of the building, the son of the deceased, and a member of the framework governing the building's rules.

If this guy insisted that Chen Ge was the killer, it would instantly thrust Chen Ge and Wen Qing into the eye of the storm, making the situation extremely dire.

For precisely that reason, Chen Ge had dragged Wen Qing into a corner.

Qu Ying held Qu Yan in his arms, the two siblings drowning in immense grief. The neighbors all expressed sympathy, and everyone's behavior appeared perfectly normal — or rather, every single one of them was doing their best to act normally.

Demons wearing human skin gathered together, each harboring ulterior motives. No one knew what any of them was truly thinking.

"Wen Qing, let's go find the landlord first." Chen Ge didn't want to stay any longer. A very bad premonition gnawed at him.

He knew that the people from the Cursed Hospital had entered the world behind the Door, and the Cursed Hospital's monsters also knew about him and Wen Qing. The fact that they had allied themselves with the building's residents first was likely a tactic to force Chen Ge out into the open.

Someone had died in the building. To investigate the killer, Qu Ying had a legitimate reason to knock on every door and question the residents — which would allow him to inspect each room under a perfectly reasonable pretext.

If anyone refused to let him in, that would mean they had something to hide, and they could well be the killer.

"What a vicious scheme. Make the murderer go chasing after the murderer, while the real killer hides in the victim's own family's home — in the one place everyone overlooks."

The Cursed Hospital's approach was clever in multiple ways: it gave them license to search every room in the building, pinned the blame on Chen Ge, and turned all the residents against him. Killing two birds with one stone.

"Those monsters know the rules of the world behind the Door. Even bound by this world and stripped of most of their power, they'll be anything but easy to deal with."

This counted as Chen Ge's first real clash with the Cursed Hospital — two outsiders scheming against each other behind someone else's Door.

"You want me to take the fall? We'll see if you're capable of that. Don't pick up a stone only to drop it on your own foot."

Chen Ge wasn't overly worried. The building's rules had been broken, and while the neighbors also wanted to catch whoever had broken them, every room concealed its own secrets. Getting Qu Ying into those rooms wasn't going to be easy either.

"For people hiding darkness in their hearts, barging into their private space and learning their secrets is tantamount to making an enemy of them. Even if they don't kill you now, the seed of murder will be planted." Chen Ge gave Qu Ying one last look, then left with Wen Qing.

The two slipped silently into the hallway. Grandma Li had followed after them.

The three of them went to the sixth floor first. Chen Ge stood outside Qu Ying's door for a moment, positioning himself in the peephole's blind spot, and activated his Ghost Ear talent.

Inside, a woman was talking to herself, as though conversing with someone — but Chen Ge could only hear the woman's voice.

"This woman is probably Qu Ying's girlfriend."

Chen Ge stared at the door of Room 601, caught in a moment of deliberation. If he knocked and went in now, there was a high probability of finding evidence of Qu Ying's murderous plot. The Cursed Hospital's monsters might even be hiding inside.

But he feared the low-probability outcome. If his deduction was wrong, he would instantly become the prime suspect.

"They're laying a trap, weaving a net. It'll slowly tighten until I'm strangled inside it." Their plan was sound, but Chen Ge was far too perceptive. The moment he'd laid eyes on Qu Ying, he had already pieced together a great deal.

"If the Cursed Hospital truly allies with Qu Ying, the situation will only grow worse for me. Rather than letting things drag on and lose the initiative, better to settle this now."

Separated by a single door, even the Cursed Hospital's monsters probably couldn't have imagined that Chen Ge was standing right outside.

He gave the door a light knock. Chen Ge was not only perceptive but also decisive — he rarely hesitated.

The instant the knock sounded, the woman's self-chatter inside the room ceased abruptly. Dead silence.

"At this point, anyone inside would tiptoe to the door and peer through the peephole." Chen Ge had anticipated every possibility. As he knocked, he pulled Grandma Li directly in front of the peephole.

He knocked a second time. After a long wait, the security door finally cracked open a sliver.

The person inside must have already checked through the peephole. After confirming it was Grandma Li, they opened the door.

In their eyes, a senile old woman probably posed no threat. Even if she witnessed something, who would believe the ramblings of a crazy old lady?

"Stop knocking. There's no leftover food in my house. Go find your own son. If you keep bothering people, I'll report you to the landlord and have him kick you out." The woman hurled a few harsh words. When Grandma Li just stood there holding her bowl without responding, the woman cursed her once or two more times, then moved to close the door.

The security door began to swing shut — but suddenly the woman realized the door in front of her wouldn't close no matter what she did.

She looked down and broke into a cold sweat. Below the security door, a hand had clamped onto the door panel.

"Who is it?!"

"Don't be alarmed. I have a few things I'd like to ask you." Chen Ge gripped the security door to make sure she couldn't shut it, then appeared in the doorway with a smile.

"What do you want to know?"

"The fewer people who know about this, the better. Let's talk inside." Chen Ge yanked the security door open. He didn't give the woman a single second to refuse, forcing his way inside.

The entire exchange happened in the blink of an eye. The woman barely had time to react — by the time she recovered, Chen Ge was already in the living room.

"Who the hell are you?!" The woman's voice rose. Chen Ge gave her a glance. He had already prepared himself to tear off the pretense — if she screamed for help, he would immediately clamp her mouth shut and restrain her.

She said nothing further. Chen Ge first located the bathroom, then walked straight toward it.

"Stop!" The woman tried to block him, but by the time she reached him, Chen Ge had already pushed the bathroom door open.

The washing machine was stuffed with a heap of dirty laundry. Several grimy pairs of shoes lay in the corner.

Chen Ge activated his Yin Eye. He found no bloodstains on the pile of clothing.

"Was I wrong?" His gaze shifted to the sink, and there — Chen Ge finally found something. Small flecks of dried blood clung to the edge of the basin, and traces of blood had not been fully cleaned from the grout between the tiles.

"The water droplets near the sink haven't dried yet, and the soap in the soap dish was just used. Someone washed blood off in here not long ago!"

Every thread of evidence told Chen Ge that his deduction was correct. "Qu Gui was stabbed to death with a sharp object. The murder scene was covered in blood and symbols. The killer must have gotten blood on themselves too — there has to be more blood somewhere in this apartment!"

With his Yin Eye, Ghost Ear, and Spirit Sense of Smell, Chen Ge was in many ways no less capable than a seasoned detective. Deceiving him was exceedingly difficult.

The bloodstains in the bathroom cemented Chen Ge's conviction. Next, he made an even bolder move.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Chen Ge wasted no words and immediately began searching the bedroom.

"What do you think you're doing?!" The woman's voice turned shrill. She was panicking.

It was too late to stop him now. Chen Ge pushed open the door to the first bedroom.

The room was a mess. The wardrobe doors hung open, and piles of clothing lay strewn across the double bed.

The only place in the room where a person could be hidden was under the bed. Chen Ge lifted the bedsheet, took a look, and finding no one, stepped out without hesitation and made for the second bedroom.

"Stop!" The woman seized Chen Ge's arm, her nails digging into his flesh. She gripped with tremendous force, her face twisted into something vicious — a look she herself might not have even been aware of.