"This isn't the time to be debating who the killer is. Leave that to the police. What I'm worried about is Jiang Ling's psychological treatment." The female nurse looked exasperated.
"I'll handle that, but you'll need to give me some time."
"You'll handle it? You want to take
"I'm saying I'll cure Jiang Ling's trauma." Chen Ge knew Fan Yu better than anyone, and he was certain that everything Fan Yu had said was true.
The female nurse paused, stunned. "What could you possibly use to treat her? You're not even a doctor."
"Trying costs you nothing." Chen Ge stopped paying attention to the nurse and entered the room on his own.
He had extensive experience dealing with vengeful spirits and understood how to earn their goodwill.
"Having their parents murdered was likely the core trauma for Jiang Ling and her sister. As long as the killer is found and brought to justice, that should win me the sisters' favor." Based on Fan Yu's drawings, Jiang Ling's sister probably wasn't weak—very likely a Red-clothed ghost.
If he could build a good relationship with her, or better yet, recruit her into the haunted house, Chen Ge would feel far more confident about surviving the period while
He entered the room and tried to communicate with Jiang Ling, but the girl completely ignored him, only occasionally glancing at him with a look of fear.
"If you want to know anything, I'll ask." Fan Yu walked up to the girl and pointed at Chen Ge. "He's a good person, and he can see your sister too."
"Really?" The girl looked up at Chen Ge with innocent eyes. Chen Ge quickly nodded.
Seizing the opportunity, Chen Ge asked the girl a few questions and told her he would help find her sister.
Hearing that Chen Ge wanted to help her find her sister, Jiang Ling became very happy. She even handed him the squashed spider she had been holding, saying her sister looked just like that.
Chen Ge didn't refuse the child's kindness. He solemnly placed the spider's remains into a plastic bottle and kept it with him.
Having gotten closer to her, Chen Ge wanted to extract more information about the girl. But the more he asked, the more confused he felt. Perhaps because she was so young, the girl couldn't remember many things clearly, and her words often didn't connect logically.
After asking for a long time, he had only managed to learn the girl's former address and her sister's name—Zhu Xinrou.
It was past nine o'clock by the time Chen Ge finally left with the female nurse's accompaniment.
Back at Century Park, Chen Ge packed his backpack, stuffing in the Skull Crushing Hammer, Little Little, and a pile of other items. He had decided to go check out the place Jiang Ling had mentioned tonight.
"I might as well bring this too. It could come in handy."
Chen Ge stuffed the plastic bottle containing the spider's remains into his backpack, then took a taxi toward Linguan Village, located at the border between the western suburbs of Jiujiang and the county district.
In the taxi, Chen Ge tried calling Captain Li's phone, hoping to get some case-related information. To his surprise, the man's phone was switched off.
"Off on a mission?" Chen Ge checked his watch. "Being a cop sure isn't easy."
It wasn't until half past eleven that Chen Ge found Linguan Village. It was incredibly remote, nestled deep in the mountains, with roads that had only been built in recent years.
The mountains were cold at night, and the wind howled through the valley. The people here seemed to all be early risers.
It was barely past eleven, yet the village was already pitch black—not a single light on. It didn't look like anyone was living there at all.
"There aren't even streetlights or convenience stores. How am I supposed to stop and ask for directions? The little girl said the place is somewhere in the mountains. Going into the mountains alone at night, it'd be easy to get lost."