Thriller Zone: From the Mental Hospital to the Ghostly World

Soon after.

More details reached Chen Ji's ears.

The road blockage was man-made; traces of mine-specific explosives were found at the scene.

Three miners returning home were affected; their tractor was overturned by the explosion.

Fortunately, the vast majority of miners had left before the explosion began.

Meanwhile, some body parts were found near the broken road, belonging to Zeng Guichuan's close henchman: Tang Scorpion (Tang Donghai).

All the clues prove that Zeng Guichuan was responsible for the explosion.

“However…” Four-Eyes finished explaining the details one by one, then said somewhat hesitantly:

"Tang Scorpion's body parts were badly damaged, and his skull was shattered."

This means that Tang Scorpion's death was not caused by the explosion, which makes sense.

Zeng Guichuan left early in the morning, and the explosion was delayed, so Tang Xiezi shouldn't have needed to stay at the scene.

"A ghost followed them on their journey."

Chen Ji said, clicking his tongue.

Based on future developments, Zeng definitely didn't die; it's estimated that Tang Scorpion shielded him from disaster.

Zeng Guichuan has seen ghosts many times, and even went into a large tomb to retrieve a hair, but he has remained unharmed. His life is ridiculously tough.

How dare he go to such extremes?

Chen Ji was somewhat confused. They had blown up the only road leading to the outside world, and more than twenty people were trapped inside the mine...

For what?

"You simply can't imagine what someone like Zeng would do." Four-Eyes adjusted his glasses.

Having visited many illegal coal mines, Si Yan knows that some people are more vicious than ghosts.

“These mine owners are all incredibly audacious; they’ve done things even more shady than this.”

There's a saying that describes them as "their heads are off their belts, and they deliver money in sacks—"

There were two more sentences to come, but Four-Eyes hesitated and didn't say them.

Therefore, despite the fact that the appearance of the Forging Demon harmed so many people, Zeng Guichuan did nothing about it.

"There must have been something I was hiding."

Xu Sandao suddenly spoke up: "We have never known why the Forging Ghost appeared."

"Four-Eyes, do you know where the documents about the abandoned mining area are?"

Four-Eyes nodded and pointed to the cabinet.

"It was put into a red folder."

but.....

After opening the cabinet door, the documents inside were found to be in a complete mess!

Chen Ji glanced through them; there were many mining records from the past few months.

The red folder had disappeared; it had been taken away by Zeng Guichuan.

This, in turn, confirms Xu Sandao's guess that Zeng Guichuan must know something.

"From this perspective, cutting off the mountain road... might not have been just to cover up the mining accident."

Chen Ji seemed to be deep in thought.

After taking the remaining documents, the group left the office, while Four-Eyes busied himself dealing with the remaining miners.

It wasn't until evening that he returned to his dormitory, covered in sweat.

"You and the children will sleep in my room tonight."

Four-Eyes walked into the house carrying a large bundle of cotton quilts.

"There aren't enough dorm rooms."

Considering the ghosts in the mine who might return to the dormitory at night like Liu Yunfeng, Si Yan could only arrange for the remaining twenty-odd people to move into the safe cave dwelling.

"There are probably more ghosts in here than people right now..."

Old Yang smiled bitterly.

"As long as you don't violate their taboos, it's fine."

Chen Ji patted him on the shoulder and looked at Four-Eyes: "How long will it take to clear the road?"

The group had already discussed and decided to clear the boulders and broken logs from the road to assess the severity of the landslide.

"One or two days."

Four-eyed looked tired.

He could have left much earlier, but various things delayed him until the very end.

The four remained silent.

Inside the house, a cry rang out; it was Old Yang's youngest son waking up.

He seemed to sense the oppressive atmosphere in the mine and kept crying and making a fuss, and nothing could soothe him.

Chen Ji held the baby in his arms and silently walked outside, his mind in turmoil.

What exactly did Zeng find out?

He thought of the tin mine. Zeng Guichuan already knew the location of the tomb, which was why he deliberately mined in Gejiu to cover it up.

The great tomb.....

Source Corpse.

Could the Forging Demon also be one of the Source Corpses?

Thinking of this, Chen Ji suddenly realized that it was indeed possible!

The Forging Ghost was unlike any other ghost; it exuded immense pressure. Even a single projection of it made Chen Ji gasp for breath.

Assuming this is true, then everything can be explained:

It was in Tuotuo Mountain that Zeng Guichuan learned about the "source corpse" and the great tomb; perhaps Zeng Guichuan was not familiar with these terms at this time, but at least he knew that they existed.

Chen Ji's heart stirred slightly. If that were truly the case, then there must be another door within Tuotuo Mountain...

It connects to another space.

This also explains why the Forging Demon always appears in the form of a projection.

But to confirm this hypothesis, they must go down into the well again.

And it is very likely that they will have to return to the abandoned mining area.

Chen Ji's heart sank, and he glanced into the room...

Old Yang sat in a chair smoking, a lingering sense of bewilderment on his face.

Chen Ji knew that failing to bring his wife back was a scar in Lao Yang's heart.

After all, these two children are still so young, and the younger son hasn't even had a formal name yet.

Chen Ji sighed softly and suddenly realized that the baby in his arms had quieted down.

In her tiny hands, she clutched it tightly...

"Ok?"

Chen Ji was taken aback.

The baby somehow managed to pull out the fountain pen.

The pen cap seemed to be trembling slightly.

The pen has woken up!

Chen Ji was startled and quickly pried open the baby's hands, trying to pull the pen out.

However, the baby's hand was as if it were welded to the surface; no matter how hard it tried, it refused to give it back to Chen Ji!

A few seconds later, a loud cry rang out, and the pen was thrown to the ground in the struggle, hitting the corner of the wall.

Chen Ji quickly put the child on the ground and picked up the pen.

But the pen remained motionless, as if dead.

Was I seeing things?

Chen Ji tried calling out, but received no response.

Shaking his head, Chen Ji's thoughts turned back to Zeng Guichuan...

.....

Six hours ago.

The road leading from Tuotuo Mountain to Tianhai.

In the back seat of a black Santana, Zeng Guichuan stared out the window with a gloomy expression.

Cracks were faintly visible on it, and the bloody handprint left by Tang Donghai had been wiped dry by the driver.

He opened the bag and took out a piece of leather.

A human skin that has been rolled up.

Yellowed, wrinkled, and cracked, it bears the marks of time.

This was found on the corpse of the ghost that attacked them.

"map......"

Zeng Guichuan's eyes were dark and unfathomable. The upper half of this human skin was a map.

It's not standard; if you're not familiar with ancient geology and geography, it's hard to tell that it's a map.

"Mr. Zeng..."

The driver said cautiously.

"You want to go see Mr. Wan from Hunan first...?"

"Should we go pick up Boss Tang's daughter?"

Zeng Guichuan clicked his tongue impatiently.

"What do you say?"

The driver cleared his throat, unable to hold back, and said softly:

"Old Tang's dying wish was that you take care of his daughter..."

A silence.

After a long while, Zeng Guichuan's cold voice rang out.

"Boss Tang?"

His name is Tang Zhonghai.

"I'm your boss, you know that?"

"Go to the hotel with a budget of 10,000."