"Every killer's emergence is tied to the environment they grew up in. The fact that the innkeeper and the old man treat human lives so coldly means there has to be a trigger — and that trigger is most likely the old man's wife."
"Look at the entries that come after. Every one of the wife's diary entries revolves around the word 'eat,' and the old man's method of tormenting her wasn't chopping off her hands or feet — it was pulling out her teeth. That tells us the old man hated the idea of his wife eating."
"In a normal household, why would a husband hate his wife eating? Could the wife have had binge eating disorder?"
"On March first, when the wife was imprisoned, the husband forbade her from having any contact with the guests. Why would he do that?"
"On June sixth, the husband pulled out every single one of the wife's teeth. What did the wife do to make him so furious? What on earth did she eat that drove him to such a crazed act?"
Chen Ge's words made both Fan Cong and Fan Dade feel a chill creep over them. "Could it be that the wife liked eating human flesh? Did she kill a guest on March first?"
"Very likely." Chen Ge pointed to the last entry in the diary. "On June sixth, all of the wife's teeth were extracted. On November first, she wrote her final diary entry — she said she could no longer eat meat. That means on November first, she probably couldn't stand another day without meat, and she killed herself."
"Suicide?"
"Right. The wife's death was the beginning of the inn's transformation." Chen Ge kept some of his thoughts to himself — he suspected that after dying, the wife had become a vengeful spirit, and the old man and the innkeeper had begun committing murders madly in order to satisfy her wishes.
"But what does that have to do with you choosing to carry the teeth around?" Fan Cong still didn't get it.
"You'll see in a moment." Chen Ge had extensive experience dealing with ghosts and spirits. He knew that most of them possessed a single object that anchored their obsession. The wife had talked about eating meat every single day when she was alive — even after death, even if her spirit didn't reside in the teeth, she would still care deeply about them.
"Those teeth being hidden in the old man's drawer must serve a purpose." Chen Ge guided Xiao Bu out of the room, beelining straight for the kitchen. "The inn dares to operate in the dead of night, which means they aren't afraid of ordinary ghosts. Their confidence has to come from the wife who became a vengeful spirit."
As Chen Ge moved Xiao Bu into the kitchen, the blood-soaked old man was scrambling on all fours toward Room Number One. The other guests and the chef in the house had already been dealt with by the Headless Female Ghost, who was now chasing the innkeeper through every room.
"Terrifying." Chen Ge wasted no more time. He entered the kitchen and stopped in front of the refrigerator. "The diary says the old man originally imprisoned his wife in a hidden chamber behind this refrigerator."
"Going by what you're saying, the old man's wife has already become a vengeful spirit. Are you sure you want to provoke a second one when you've already got one on your tail?" Fan Cong clutched his Coke, unable to calm down no matter what.
"Don't worry — she's the key to breaking through tonight." Chen Ge clicked on the refrigerator with the mouse, and the door swung open. The space behind it had been hollowed out, and inside lurked a creature with emaciated limbs and a grotesquely distended belly.
The monster opened its toothless mouth wide, eyes shut tight, as though it were waiting for someone to feed it.
Seeing the monster inside the refrigerator, Fan Cong and Fan Dade both shifted back in their seats, overcome with revulsion.
Chen Ge, on the other hand, scrolled his mouse to reposition Xiao Bu, locking eyes with the monster in the fridge.
The moment he confirmed the creature was wearing red, a satisfied smile spread across his face. He muttered something no one else could understand — something about only red being able to counter red.
"Toss the teeth into the monster's mouth. That should wake her up." Chen Ge clicked on the inventory but didn't immediately discard the teeth. Instead, he guided Xiao Bu behind the kitchen door, silently watching the Headless Female Ghost chase the innkeeper in circles.