"Come with me first to see Fang Yu. I promised her I'd bring you in front of her." Chen Ge opened the comic book. "You must want to see her too, right?"
The man nodded. "I want to see her, but I'm also terrified."
"You want to see her, and she wants to see you — that's enough. Whatever difficulties there are, we'll overcome them together." Chen Ge contacted Yan Danian, and the man was absorbed into the comic book.
Chen Ge pulled out the Black Phone and checked it. He hadn't received any message from it. Although the man had agreed to follow his instructions for now, he hadn't become an employee of the haunted house — he still didn't completely trust Chen Ge.
"Let's head out too. Coming to the reservoir this time was a wake-up call. I can never let my guard down. These are critical times — the Dark Fetus is about to be born, and I need to stay vigilant at all times."
Chen Ge felt it was necessary to carry the Skull Crusher with him at all times. On his own, he had no ability to pose any threat to ghosts and spirits. With the Skull Crusher, at least he had a fighting chance.
After accompanying him through multiple trial missions, the Skull Crusher had undergone significant changes of its own. Fine blood-red threads now traced along the handle, and the blood groove in the hammerhead had accumulated a dark reddish substance.
"Carrying the Skull Crusher to most places is inconvenient, but I can't worry about that right now."
He put away the Red High Heels and Chouxi. Chen Ge and Xu Yin returned to the shrine. This time, no one disturbed them, and they studied the shrine thoroughly.
The shrine's "age" was definitely greater than Chen Ge's own. It had probably been found by the Shadow somewhere, not crafted by him.
"Perhaps some fierce deity originally resided in the shrine, and the Shadow merely usurped it." Chen Ge recalled the painting from the Virtual Future Haunted House, where twenty-four evil ghosts' severed limbs had been pieced together to form a complete evil ghost. "If these nine paper figures are likened to nine incomplete evil-ghost paintings, could the Dark Fetus be trying to use them to assemble its own body? The evil-ghost paintings have appeared in many places — Dr. Gao and Chang Wenyu both had them. Now the Dark Fetus knows their meaning too. It seems like these things truly are some kind of symbol."
With no evidence and too few clues, Chen Ge was merely speculating.
He desperately wanted to move the shrine back, but Xu Yin and the Headless Female Ghost both firmly opposed it. Having Red-clothed spirits resist him so strongly surprised even Chen Ge. This shrine, carved through and through with the character for "death," seemed to be an inherently ominous object.
Without touching the shrine, Chen Ge placed the clay figurine bearing Fang Yu's name onto his own shadow.
The black blood on the figurine slowly faded, apparently absorbed by Chen Ge's shadow.
"There are definitely more shrines than these in Hanjiang. I'll do everything I can to find more figurines. I hope Zhang Ya can wake up sooner."
Chen Ge was actually quite anxious. Normally, after a Red-clothed spirit devoured another Red-clothed one, it would need to slumber for a very long time. But due to various circumstances, Zhang Ya's dormancy period after devouring a large amount had been remarkably short.
Even when she did fall into slumber, she would sometimes be roused by certain incidents — like the Spirit Medium Ghost School.
The Shadow had severed the Dark Fetus from himself, but he himself remained a top-tier Red-clothed spirit. After Zhang Ya and Dr. Gao split the Shadow between them, Zhang Ya had slumbered for only a few days before waking again. Even for a Red-clothed spirit, this was harmful.
Chen Ge walked through the room one more time. After confirming he hadn't overlooked any clues, he finally left.
There were no cabs near the reservoir. To get back as quickly as possible, Chen Ge sprinted along the highway.
Eventually, he came across a kind-hearted van driver who took him to the city center.
At 11:45 PM, Chen Ge arrived at the residential complex where Fang Yu lived. The dim yellow streetlights filtered through the thin rain curtain, casting everything in a hazy glow.
Chen Ge didn't know which floor Fang Yu lived on. He knocked on the old man's door first, and under the man's guidance, made his way to the fourth floor.
The fat auntie hadn't slept yet — she had been waiting for news from Chen Ge.
The security door opened. The moment the fat auntie saw Chen Ge, her expression turned eager. "Did you find that person?"
Chen Ge first returned the umbrella to the fat auntie, then glanced inside. "Is Fang Yu here?"
"She's in the room at the very back. I'll go get her."
"No need." Chen Ge took the comic book out of his backpack, walked to the bedroom door, and gently knocked. "I've found Fang Yu for you."
The door was flung open in an instant. Fang Yu, dressed in pajamas, appeared in the doorway. The characters for "Fang Yu" were tattooed all over her exposed skin. At first glance, it was terrifying. On second look, it was heartbreaking.
"Where is he?"
Chen Ge's gaze passed over Fang Yu and looked into the room.
The small room was meticulously organized. Every item was placed in perfect order. The walls were plastered with sticky notes, all written with things that would seem utterly ordinary to any normal person.
Get up and get dressed. Brush your teeth. Wash your face. Put your ID in your wallet. Put the wallet in your left pocket…