Chapter 591 — Beneath the Surface

Chen Ge thought for a long time, but still had no answer.

"There's too little I know, but tonight wasn't a complete waste either." He narrowed his eyes and looked toward the riverbank. Huang Ling's husband was already gone. "I used to think he was just a small-time lackey. Turns out he's the biggest fish of all."

Chen Ge had one admirable quality — he didn't like beating around the bush. He decided that once he finished the Twin Water Ghosts quest, he'd go straight to Huang Ling's house.

The thick fog over the reservoir was slowly dissipating. Everything around was pitch black. Chen Ge glanced at the time — it was nearly one in the morning.

"I was in the fog for that long?" The boat had reached the center of the reservoir before midnight. Almost an hour had passed since then.

"Old Zhou, has the Jar Ghost come back?" Chen Ge stood at the bow, peering down the hemp rope into the water. The reservoir was far deeper than he'd imagined — even with his Yin Eyes, he couldn't see the bottom.

Old Zhou wasn't in the best state of mind. He'd been terrified by Zhang Ya, and that carried over into his interactions with Chen Ge. He'd always thought his boss was wonderful, approachable, someone who had attracted all those ghosts to the haunted house through sheer moral authority. But after witnessing Zhang Ya step out of Chen Ge's shadow up close, his opinion had changed.

To be able to live day and night alongside such a terrifying Red Cloak, to be so close you were practically inseparable — could an ordinary person manage that?

He'd even begun to suspect that his boss might already be under the Red Cloak's control, nothing more than a puppet on strings.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

The concern in Chen Ge's voice jolted Old Zhou back to his senses. He shook his head repeatedly, waving his hands. "No, no, I'm fine. What did you just ask?"

"During the time I was spacing out — did the Jar Ghost come back?"

"No. The rope hasn't moved at all." Old Zhou shook his head. "Honestly, I wasn't really paying attention. I was too busy watching you."

"Watching me? Oh — did you see a little boy who looked just like me walking over from the distance?"

"A little boy?" The confusion on Old Zhou's face said more than words ever could. Only Chen Ge and Zhang Ya had witnessed what happened earlier.

"Did you notice anyone appear on the opposite bank?" Chen Ge wanted to gather more information about Huang Ling's husband.

"I don't know, but the fog seemed to be drifting over from that direction." Old Zhou's words once again confirmed Chen Ge's suspicion. "Is there something wrong with that fog?"

Old Zhou was sharp — he immediately zeroed in on the crux of the matter.

"I can't figure out their goal just yet. They don't simply want to kill me. It seems like they specifically wanted me to see something, to lure me down some twisted path." Anyone else who saw their younger self being murdered would have been traumatized. Fortunately, the black phone had tempered Chen Ge, giving him a powerful heart and iron nerves.

"Never mind all that. The Jar Ghost hasn't come back — he might have run into trouble. Help me communicate with the female ghost in the shampoo bottle, see if we can get her to go down and bring the Jar Ghost back up." The Jar Ghost had dived into the depths alone, facing countless unfamiliar water ghosts, and Chen Ge was getting worried about his safety.

Old Zhou relayed Chen Ge's request to Wenwen's sister. After a moment, the shampoo bottle cap popped open, and strand after strand of tangled, reeking black hair crawled out.

She seemed to want to climb onto Chen Ge's body, but she was hesitant.

"What's she doing?" Chen Ge looked at Old Zhou, who was just as confused.

The black hair clumped together — if you didn't look closely, it really did resemble water weeds.