"There's a child called Jiang Ming living in Jiang Ming's house?"
Chen Ge hadn't expected that a casual question would yield such an unexpected lead.
"Yeah, I didn't think much of it at the time — I just found it odd. But then that kid actually called Jiang Ming 'Dad.'" The woman with long black hair wore a bitter smile. "Jiang Ming had never mentioned any of this to me. That night we had a very unpleasant dinner, and when we got home I asked him about it — what was the relationship between him and that child? He flew into a rage immediately and told me to stop prying."
She looked up. "Was my request really so unreasonable? If that child wasn't his biological son — just someone he'd adopted — I could understand. But he wouldn't say a word. How was I supposed to interpret that?"
"Probably not his biological son — what father and son would share the same name?" Chen Ge hadn't come here to listen to relationship drama. Without waiting for her to continue, he pressed on. "What did the child look like? Was there anything different about him compared to an ordinary kid?"
"That poor child — he's deaf in both ears. It seemed like he'd been cooped up at home the whole time. He could only say a few words." The long-haired woman looked worried. "Jiang Ming's family is clearly well off, but from the way he acted, he had no intention of sending the boy to a hospital for proper treatment. At dinner I even brought it up, but the moment that child was mentioned, Jiang Ming's expression would turn dark."
"When you visited his home that time, did you overhear Jiang Ming say anything to the child? Anything mentioning shrines, clay figurines, curses — things like that?"
"During dinner, Jiang Ming locked the child in the bedroom. It was as if he didn't want the boy having any contact with the outside world."
"Good, I understand." Chen Ge nodded. "One last question — where does Jiang Ming live? I'd like to pay him a visit and have a proper talk."
"How about I give you his phone number?"
"A personal visit would be better. This isn't something that can be cleared up over the phone." Only after Chen Ge insisted several times did the woman finally part with Jiang Ming's home address.
……
By the time Chen Ge left the hospital, it was already afternoon. He had organized all the leads inside the ward — scenes from the past were riddled with hidden information, and things that had once seemed useless now became key pieces in his search for the Nether Fetus.
If the truth was a massive jigsaw puzzle, then what Chen Ge was doing now was fitting those pieces together, one by one.
He returned to New Century Amusement Park for a brief rest, confirmed that the haunted house was running smoothly, then flagged a taxi and headed for the eastern suburbs.
The countdown had already begun. He had to race against every second.
When Chen Ge arrived at the White Dragon Cave Tunnel in the eastern suburbs, night had already fallen.
"The first time I came here, I found all sorts of nasty things lurking in the surrounding woods. Coming back now, it feels much quieter."
After waiting until past eight o'clock, Chen Ge shouldered his heavy pack and entered the White Dragon Cave Tunnel.
The tunnel had been abandoned years ago — no one kept watch over it. Rotten branches and garbage littered the ground. Chen Ge didn't turn on a light. He kept one hand on the tunnel's icy wall, feeling his way deeper, step by step.
The light behind him vanished. He had walked into a place where even starlight could not reach.