Thriller Zone: From the Mental Hospital to the Ghostly World

"Three..."

Chen Ji was startled.

He couldn't help but think of red-eye flights, a concept that could very well originate in reality, though he didn't know the specifics of the relationship.

A mirror image? History? Or the world both inside and out?

"But I only know about this place in southern Yunnan."

Chen Yuetan continued, "Moreover, this large tomb is related to Wusu, so I had to come."

"Ok?"

Wusu was engrossed in watching TV when he suddenly heard his name called and peeked out.

"It's alright, let's continue watching cartoons." Chen Yuetan smiled gently.

He turned his head and whispered in Chen Ji's ear:

"The origin of Wusu lies in a 'Source Corpse' within the great tomb."

"I found an old book in the last domain that mentioned at least three 'Source Corpses' hidden in different locations."

"They were the first ghosts, from which other strange creatures were born."

Is it birth... or division?

Chen Ji couldn't help but think of the Hair Ghost.

But the Hair Ghost should not be as ancient as the "Source Corpse".

"Why is it called Source Corpse and not Source Ghost?" Chen Ji suddenly pointed out this question.

Chen Yuetan seemed to have anticipated his question and simply said, "My guess is that even if they are ghosts, they are already dead."

"Or rather, it has decayed and dried up."

“I saw one of them in the domain last time; it was an infant.”

Chen Ji's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected that Chen Yuetan would actually confront the Source Corpse!

Chen Yuetan waved his hand, not caring much: "That baby has lost its vitality, it's like a charcoal."

Chen Ji felt somewhat relieved.

He became increasingly curious about what Chen Yuetan had experienced in his last domain.

"Uncle," Chen Ji suddenly asked, "how many stars have you lit up?"

Chen Yuetan rolled up his sleeves: "3."

On a simple dragon-shaped mark, three dots shine like stars.

The fourth one, however, was extremely dim.

"My fourth star was already half lit, but it went out instantly after the Netherworld degenerated."

"It's alright, every loss has its gain."

Chen Yuetan said softly, looking at Wusu with complex emotions in his eyes.

...How come it doesn't feel like getting Wusu is a loss?

This thought inexplicably flashed through Chen Ji's mind.

"In short," Chen Yuetan rolled up the map on the table, "we have new clues about the tomb now, and I think I'll go to Gejiu next week."

"How many more days will it take you to investigate the Chuncheng murder case?"

Chen Ji did the math and said, "Give me two or three more days."

I'll go see Teacher Zhou tomorrow, and then go to the police station the day after.

“Okay.” Chen Yuetan then asked, “How about I go with you to investigate?”

Chen Ji shook his head. He knew that this trip was to the mountains, and Chen Yuetan probably had other things to prepare.

Chen Yuetan nodded, knowing his boundaries and not asking any further questions.

They seemed to trust Chen Ji quite a bit.

Early the next morning.

After the two people and the child ate the rice noodles, they went their separate ways.

Chen Ji wandered over to the side of No. 5 Middle School again, and went to the same beverage shop.

They've changed the staff inside.

Chen Ji didn't try to strike up a conversation like Xu Sandao did. The new employee looked quite young and probably didn't know much about what happened more than ten years ago.

Suddenly he thought of something:

The previous shop assistant mentioned that No. 5 Middle School lets out early...

But did it say exactly when it started?

Chen Ji thought back for a moment, unsure if he had missed something, since this was how Xu Sandao relayed it:

The Fifth Middle School lets out students early in the evening; this rule was established more than ten years ago.

The previous shop assistant looked quite young.

How did he know exactly which year and what rules the Fifth Middle School set?

Chen Ji frowned, stood up and asked, "Is the young man who helped out at the store yesterday not working today?"

The new shop assistant shook his head, looking at Chen Ji with some curiosity.

"We get along quite well."

Chen Ji quickly explained.

"Oh," the new clerk replied lazily, seemingly unwilling to continue the conversation.

"Do you know when he goes to work?" Chen Ji asked again.

The more he thought about it, the more something seemed off. If the previous shop assistant knew the exact time, then they would most likely also know about the murder of Rohan on November 11.20.

The new clerk, with a towel draped over his shoulders, said somewhat impatiently, "His grandmother passed away. She went back to her hometown for the funeral and won't be back for at least two weeks!"

Are you going to order a drink or not?

Chen Ji: "No."

After saying that, he turned and left, and went to sit in the fried potato shop on the other side.

This question cannot be answered for the time being.

Chen Ji seemed to be deep in thought; he still needed to get clues from Teacher Zhou.

Soon, the lunch break bell rang, and a large group of students walked out of the school gate.

Chen Ji blended in among the others, carrying his schoolbag, and was not noticed by the gatekeeper.

He went to the bathroom, dried his hair with water, hid his backpack in a stall, and only took out his notebook, pen, and cell phone.

Little monkey...

Chen Ji thought about it and decided to bring it.

Pushing open the office door, Chen Ji immediately spotted Teacher Zhou, who was sitting at her desk writing lesson plans.

"Who are you....."

Teacher Zhou pushed up his glasses; his face looked tired and he was already showing signs of aging.

"Hello, Teacher Zhou." Chen Ji briefly introduced himself, pretending that he was a staff member of a newspaper from another city and wanted to learn about the November 11.20th murder case.

“You’re a reporter,” Teacher Zhou said calmly. “You look quite young.”

Chen Ji turned on the recorder and laughed awkwardly: "I'm short."

He changed the subject, noticing that Mr. Zhou's expression wasn't surprised: "Have other newspapers also come to you before?"

Teacher Zhou nodded: "Not long after the incident, many reporters came to our school, but at that time the school did not allow us to disclose information."

"Later, when I tried to talk to someone about Rohan again, no one was paying attention to the case anymore."

"Only two... no, including you, only three people have come to see me in the past few years."

three people?

Besides myself, who else would investigate Rohan's death?

Before Chen Ji could ask, Teacher Zhou began to speak on his own: "Last year, a female reporter said she saw it in the school magazine... and thought my eulogy was very sincere."

“We had a brief chat about my emotional journey after Rohan’s passing.”

"A couple of years ago when masks were in season, a man came to ask me about them too."

Teacher Zhou's words came to an abrupt end.

"What did he ask?" Chen Ji immediately pressed.

"He said... what did he say again?" Teacher Zhou asked, somewhat confused, squinting as she tried to recall.

After a while, she patted her head dejectedly: "When you get old, you forget things."

"I really can't remember."

Chen Ji's breath hitched.

This is clearly abnormal. How could someone remember something from last year but have completely forgotten something from two years ago?

He didn't speak, but quietly wrote it down in his notebook, then asked:

"Teacher Zhou, do you remember what they looked like? Do you have their names, or their newspaper's contact information?"

"This industry is very small, and I might even know them."

Teacher Zhou looked apologetic: "I do remember that."

"That female reporter was in her early twenties, and seemed to have just started working. She was a very enthusiastic young woman."

"I still have her business card."

As she spoke, Teacher Zhou opened a drawer, rummaged through it for a while, and handed over a business card:

【刀无雁】

The newspaper's address and contact number are attached below.

"What a unique name." Chen Ji was taken aback: "A Dai person?"

Teacher Zhou nodded gently and then said:

"I don't really remember that boy... He was probably in his early twenties, with black hair, wearing a mask, and he was a local."

That wouldn't be Zeng Guichuan...

Who is it?

Are they his men? But how could they be locals from Chuncheng?

Chen Ji seemed to be deep in thought.