One, two, three, four…
In just a few short minutes, the Water Ghost had seen more Red-clothed than he had in the previous ten years combined. He wanted to leave, but it was already too late.
The corridor was flooded with crimson, and resentment surged like ocean waves, nearly tearing the rooftop off.
"I'm not interested in the door you possess, so there's no conflict of interest between us. If you want to gain the door's acknowledgment and become the new Door-Pusher, the simplest way is to kill the original Door-Pusher, Mingtai. Right now, we have a common enemy."
"I…" The Water Ghost's all-white eyes rolled frantically. He scanned his surroundings and found every exit sealed shut. At that moment, several Red-clothed were staring at him the way one stares at food. "I think what you're saying makes a lot of sense. We're not enemies, and we shouldn't be enemies. If we fight, we'll only weaken ourselves and let Mingtai reap the rewards."
"So, have you remembered anything else?"
"Yes, the shrine is in the basement. I'll take you there."
Surrounded on all sides by several Red-clothed, the Water Ghost led everyone into the basement.
It was extremely damp, the air thick with the smell of mold. The corridor was piled high with all manner of junk, and two rusted bicycles lay discarded near the entrance.
"Many of the apartments in Jiangyuan Community have been rented out. Some tenants left their belongings behind, and if the landlord couldn't bear to throw them away, they all ended up piled up here."
They reached the deepest part of the corridor, and in the corner at the end of the passage stood a wooden shrine.
The inner walls of the shrine were carved with the word "death" all over, and inside were cobwebs and dead insects — but the clay figurine was nowhere to be seen.
"Have Jia Ming and his people been to the basement?"
"No." The Water Ghost's tone had grown much gentler. "This shrine was left behind by an old resident. He sold his apartment to pay off his debts, and the new owner thought the shrine was bad luck and wanted to throw it away. But he was afraid of offending the 'spirit' dwelling inside, so he moved it down to the basement."
"Do you know where that family moved to?" Chen Ge hadn't expected things to go so smoothly — he had found another lead on one of the children.
"The night before they moved out, I heard the homeowner mention sending the child to a special education school in the western suburbs. I think they may have gone out west."
"Child? Special education school?" Chen Ge was now more certain than ever that this child was one of the ones he was looking for. "You still remember what that child looked like, right?"
"Mm."
"Then this is simple. For the next eight days, you stick with me. We'll track down Mingtai together." Chen Ge didn't give the Water Ghost any more choices. He wasn't even asking for the Water Ghost's opinion — he was telling him how things were going to be.
"I can't leave here for too long. That door becomes active at night, and if I leave it unattended for an extended period, the building will gain a fourteenth floor." The Water Ghost hoped Chen Ge would understand the gravity of the situation.
"Don't worry. I'll give you time to come back and close the door." Chen Ge ushered the Water Ghost into the comic book, then stood before the shrine and began to consider something else.
"This shrine didn't correspond to the child at Jia Ming's side. So how had Jia Ming found this place? Could he sense the location of the shrines? Was that why he stayed in Hanjiang — to search for other shrines?"
If Jia Ming really could sense the location of the shrines, then Chen Ge needed to find him as soon as possible!
Chen Ge hadn't expected that a few fish who'd slipped through the net back then would end up helping him turn the tide.
Another Red-clothed had been added to the comic book. Counting the Costume Red-clothed as well, the number of Red-clothed at Chen Ge's side had reached a truly terrifying level.
But even with so many Red-clothed, Chen Ge still felt no sense of security whatsoever.
There was a chasm between Vengeful Ghosts and Red-clothed, and the same chasm existed between Red-clothed and Malevolent Gods.