While Zhang Ya was slumbering, Xu Yin had protected Chen Ge on many occasions. Back then, both human and ghost were weak, and every encounter was a life-or-death struggle for a sliver of survival.
The ghosts Chen Ge trusted most were Zhang Ya and Xu Yin. The bond between them had long since transcended the boundary between life and death.
"Are you sure you want to swallow the Evil God's black markings?" Chen Ge looked at Xu Yin with absolute seriousness. Though Xu Yin was the most suitable candidate, he would never force the other party.
To gain power, one had to endure unimaginable pain.
The moment Xu Yin merely touched the markings, his skin began to crack and split across wide swathes. If he swallowed them into his body, what kind of agony would he have to endure?
The black patterns seared his skin, and the blood threads repaired the damage just fast enough to keep up with the destruction. Xu Yin stared silently at the black markings on his fingertip, then nodded.
No one knew what Xu Yin was truly thinking. Perhaps he felt the pressure radiating from the Evil God, or perhaps he understood that Chen Ge's situation was dire — one brushes with death after another had shown him that his own strength was not enough to protect everything he cared about.
He never said much, but he knew one thing clearly: he refused to lose anything else.
"Don't push yourself." Chen Ge and the other haunted house employees all watched Xu Yin. Standing at the center of the crowd, Xu Yin slowly raised his arm and swallowed the Evil God's black markings into his body.
The instant the black patterns entered his mouth, countless fine black veins surfaced across his face and neck. The Red Heart on his chest hammered frantically.
The pain he was enduring now was enough to make bystanders feel faint just watching.
Xu Yin's expression gradually twisted into a grimace of agony. Pain and despair flooded his eyes, and it was as if he had reverted to that helpless young man he had once been.
Reason was being gnawed away. Xu Yin stood on the verge of losing control.
A guttural roar echoed from behind the door. Chen Ge rushed over and gripped Xu Yin's hands.
The icy blood of the Red Clothes wrapped around Chen Ge's fingers. Blood threads sliced across his arms, leaving countless wounds — skin split open, warm blood dripping steadily — but Chen Ge did not retreat a single step.
"Don't let the Evil God deceive you. You are Xu Yin. Your name is Xu Yin!"
The Red Clothes employees behind them stepped forward of their own accord, and streaks of blood-red thread descended upon Xu Yin. They could not ease his pain, but they helped him recover in their own way.
A Red Clothes forcibly swallowing the markings of an Evil God — this had never happened before.
In the span of just a few minutes, Xu Yin's body was nearly reconstructed from the ground up. Physical collapse would have been unbearable even for a Red Clothes, but Xu Yin held on through sheer willpower.
He slowly grew accustomed to the pain. The strange pattern on his Red Heart was expanding at a rapid pace, while the black markings from the Chi Xing Evil God vanished at a visible rate.
Gradually, a strange man's voice began to emanate from within Xu Yin's own voice. It was impossible to make out exactly what he was saying — it sounded like a vicious curse being recited.
Along with the cursing, the black patterns inside Xu Yin's body took the shape of a mouth, attempting to gnaw at his heart from within.
And the moment that mouth latched onto Xu Yin's heart, the black markings on the heart itself burrowed into that same mouth. Neither side yielded; they consumed each other.
Enduring the ultimate agony, and with the help of several haunted house employees, the black markings on Xu Yin's heart slowly gained the upper hand.
The black patterns from the Chi Xing Evil God were shattered and became nourishment for Xu Yin.
Drops of black blood, each radiating a bizarre aura, flowed from Xu Yin's heart. His entire presence shifted. The black markings on his heart began to spread wildly.
"Did it work?" Chen Ge sent Zhang Yi to ask Red High Heels.
"Consider it a temporary success. The Evil God's markings will counterattack — it'll probably take a while to fully digest them." No one else could examine Xu Yin's body; only Red High Heels, who was well-versed in curses, could do so. After Zhang Yi relayed the answer, she also brought Chen Ge good news: "For some reason, Xu Yin's body has undergone major changes. Now the vast majority of curses have no effect on him — that's what the top-tier Red Clothes from the Curse Hospital said."
The pain would continue for a while longer, but Xu Yin's condition was essentially stable.
The top-tier Red Clothes from the Curse Hospital had been put to full use — not a drop wasted.
"Zhang Yi, examine his memories as quickly as possible. The more we know, the better our position."
Putting the Red Clothes ghost back into his comic album, Chen Ge left the world behind the door.
Back in the underground scenes of his haunted house, Chen Ge felt that his own place was far more comfortable.
In Xin Hai, even with so many Red Clothes around him, he still felt profoundly unsafe.
"My next priority is still the Curse Hospital. My parents should be there — I need to find them as soon as possible." Chen Ge had returned to Han Jiang, but Zhang Jingjiu and Qu Changlin were still in Xin Hai. He knew it would only grow more dangerous there, but he had his reasons for going back.
"I also promised Teacher Wang that we'd solve the case together. Little Sun's safety is something I have to consider too — if I'm too far away from him, even if he uses the ring to alert me, I won't be able to get there in time."
Chen Ge couldn't stay in Han Jiang for long. He planned to hide Chi Ren inside the haunted house and head back to Xin Hai at first light.
"Last time I left in a rush, and there were things I didn't get to take care of." Chen Ge entered the employee break room alone, took out the Black Phone, and spent all his remaining Scream Points on draws.
Maybe he really had drained the prize pool of ghosts — several consecutive draws yielded nothing. Instead, he got all sorts of odd items.
"Is this prize pool cursed? Either it's giving me ghosts or things meant for ghosts? Can it give me something normal for once?" Chen Ge was getting frustrated. He had read the Black Phone's description and knew the wheel contained many useful items beyond powerful ghosts, but he just couldn't pull them. "Is it because the Red Clothes Favored One title is too overpowered?"
There was nothing he could do. He distributed the drawn items to his employees.
Watching them celebrate like it was New Year, Chen Ge's irritation gradually faded. "A boost in my employees' strength is good for me too."
When he finished handing everything out, Chen Ge noticed that the Nightmare-Level Daily Mission Refresh Ticket he had obtained from the last draw was still unused. He checked the time and decisively activated it.
"Nightmare-level daily missions have special restrictions — you can't bring any ghosts, and you can't bring anything related to the Black Phone. In Xin Hai, there was no way I could attempt a nightmare-level daily mission; the risk was far too great. But in Han Jiang, I can give it a try."
Putting the phone away, Chen Ge glanced around and spotted the white cat crouching against the wall.
The cat, which had grown another size larger, stared at him with eager eyes, its tail swaying back and forth. Every other ghost and lingering obsession had received a gift — it clearly had expectations too.
"How could I neglect you?" Chen Ge took out a bag of premium cat food from the cabinet, lured the white cat over, and gently stroked its head. "After midnight tonight, we might have to go out again."
Since he was back in Han Jiang, Chen Ge intended to take care of everything he had left undone.
He took a short nap in the employee break room. Once the clock struck midnight, he pulled out the Black Phone and browsed the refreshed daily missions.
"Easy Difficulty Daily Mission: Camera coverage is severely lacking, making accidents highly likely. Install surveillance cameras in all three-star scenes within twenty-four hours."
"Normal Difficulty Daily Mission: The number of ghost employees is growing. To ensure their full dedication, you must constantly maintain their mental well-being. Help five ghost employees fulfill their unfinished wishes within twenty-four hours."