"No problem, but this bracelet seems to only work when I'm wearing it." Fan Yu took the jade bracelet off his wrist — a gift from the female ghost in the Living Coffin Village. The moment it left his wrist, the crimson blood threads on its surface dissipated entirely, making it look like an ordinary bracelet. When he put it back on, the blood threads reappeared once more.
"If you need my help, you can bring me along."
"Forget it." Chen Ge didn't want to drag Fan Yu into danger, nor did he want to be distracted looking after Fan Yu when the time came.
He rubbed his chin, then turned his gaze to Jiang Ling.
The well-dwelling female ghost from Living Coffin Village had already left Jiang Ling's body. She was just a very ordinary little girl now, and when Chen Ge looked at her, she was on the verge of tears.
The girl darted behind Fan Yu, putting both adults present in an awkward position. Chen Ge didn't know how to break the ice, and the female nurse felt completely ignored.
Clearing his throat softly, Chen Ge first sent the female nurse out, then put on the warmest expression he could manage. "Jiang Ling, Uncle has something important to do tomorrow night. Could I borrow your sister for a little while?"
Chen Ge had done his best to soften his tone, but Jiang Ling still burst into tears the moment she heard him.
"Am I really that terrifying?" Chen Ge was utterly helpless when it came to kids. He felt it was much easier getting along with people like Fan Yu or the Phone Ghost.
Jiang Ling cried louder and louder. In the end, Fan Yu leaned down and whispered something in her ear, and the little girl gradually stopped sobbing, her tear-filled eyes staring up at Chen Ge.
"Did she agree? What did you tell her?"
"I told her you're her sister's friend, that you're a really nice person, and that you can make her sister happy."
"That's exactly right." Chen Ge nodded. He felt that Fan Yu was picking up on his good qualities — the kid was making progress fast.
Jiang Ling trotted outside on her little legs and came back cradling a plastic bottle from behind the sofa. She handed it to Chen Ge with a look of deep reluctance.
"Don't worry — I'm only having her back me up. I absolutely won't let her come to any harm." Chen Ge took the bottle. Inside was a very small spider. "Your sister is in here?"
Jiang Ling nodded miserably, feeling like she'd been swindled.
Mission accomplished, Chen Ge lingered no further. He left the Jiujiang Welfare Home and headed straight for Building Three.
He waited bitterly until midnight, and when the Blood Door appeared, he slipped inside.
Practice makes perfect. When Chen Ge materialised beside the old director once again, that lone floating head looked like it was about to burst into tears — because it noticed that the violent ghost trailing behind Chen Ge had been swapped out yet again.
Without wasting time on the old director, Chen Ge went straight to Door Nan. He inflated the urgency of the matter tenfold and laid it on thick.
Door Nan heard him out, then fell into a conflicted silence.
Outside the Blood Door, his strength seemed to drop considerably. Besides, in his eyes, the threat Chen Ge posed was no smaller than Dr. Gao's.
Door Nan was deeply worried that he'd barely escaped the wolf's den only to tumble into the tiger's jaws.
"Give me some time to think."
…
After one in the morning, Chen Ge stepped out of Building Three. He glanced back — if everything went smoothly, this would be the last time he ever set foot in this place.
Back at New Century Paradise, Chen Ge gathered every scrap of information about the underground morgue and organised it all before bed.
"Beware the passage painted with red lacquer. Maintain absolute silence once inside."
"The outer perimeter of the morgue has only seven vaults. Never enter the eighth."