Thriller Zone: From the Mental Hospital to the Ghostly World

"It disappeared yesterday?" Hua Yilan was stunned.

"Didn't you say three people died?"

Chen Ji finally realized that there was a problem with his communication with Hua Yilan!

Hua Yilan mistakenly believed that the three dead people corresponded to the three ghosts in the first wave, proving that Master Zhou had been replaced by someone else.

...But Tan Xiangsong didn't turn into a sheep; instead, he was framed and killed by Wu Gong!

Chen Ji, whose nasal passages were numbed by the smell of sheep dung, didn't notice that Hua Yilan no longer smelled of grass!

"No," Chen Ji murmured, feeling as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water. "Before I escaped, only two black goats appeared."

"Tan Xiangsong was murdered; he was not replaced."

Hua Yilan suddenly stood up, her face deathly pale: "But I really don't smell at all!"

There's only one possibility...

Since Master Zhou couldn't find Hua Yilan, he changed his target to someone else, and it's even highly likely that he has already succeeded in replacing her.

Who could it be...?

Chen Ji couldn't help but suspect the previous person.

I went to Aunt Wu's house yesterday, and afterwards Aunt Wu turned into a gray sheep.

Moreover, there was a suspicious period of disappearance in the middle.

Wu Gong!

This explains why, even though the female ghost was tricked by Wu Gong, she didn't send a new ghost to replace Wu Gong, but instead directly chose Chen Ji himself!

Because Wu Gong has become a ghost!

However, Chen Ji was still somewhat uncertain, because Wu Gong was very shrewd, and Yin Ziqin had mentioned that Wu Gong seemed very relaxed before they parted ways yesterday afternoon.

If he finds himself smelling of grass again, how could he not go to the other two houses?

Moreover, how could Wu Gong possibly have contacted Master Zhou?

The most crucial question is, assuming Wu Gong was indeed replaced, why didn't he stay with "Chang Hao" and "Jiang Zhong" instead of remaining in the team with everyone else?

Whatever the answer, it's not good for other newcomers.

Chen Ji made a decision immediately.

He has to go to the Zhou residence.

But before that, he needs to confirm another issue.

Are black ewes only allowed to enter the village at night?

Hua Yilan nodded.

"Why?" Chen Ji immediately pressed for an answer.

“This… I really don’t know.” Hua Yilan hesitated for a moment: “During the day, she usually just wanders around in the mountains and forests, and she deliberately avoids people.”

“I think this might be related to her intelligence? I’ve observed that Fengxiu’s thinking ability isn’t very strong; she’s like a child of a few years old, and she often acts on instinct.”

Chen Ji knew.

He was about to return to the cave when he suddenly paused, noticing a figure faintly visible at the cave's exit into the dense forest.

He's a madman!

He had been eavesdropping silently the whole time!

"Ignore him." Hua Yilan's expression was complicated.

Seeing the madman's delirious eyes and his hands constantly scratching his body, Chen Ji's thoughts began to waver.

He began to believe Hua Yilan's words... The madman had truly gone "mad".

But Chen Ji paused for a moment, then asked again:

"Young Master Zheng, why do you only bring Fengxiu back to the village at night?"

Hua Yilan hesitated, but to her surprise, the madman actually answered Chen Ji's question.

Moreover... his tone changed abruptly.

I became very calm.

"Because it can protect her."

Hua Yilan looked at him suspiciously, feeling that Young Master Zheng was like someone with a split personality, sometimes cowardly and incompetent, and other times acting very affectionate and responsible.

But Chen Ji's expression changed slightly.

"You mean, she's only safe to go out at night?"

The madman nodded.

"Why?" Hua Yilan was a little confused.

He slowly raised his hand, curving his droopy skin into a sinister smile, and said, "Come here, I'll tell you."

Hua Yilan hesitated for a moment, but still went over.

After spending two days together, she realized that although the madman was not in his right mind, he would not hurt her.

A putrid stench assaulted her nostrils, making Hua Yilan want to vomit. Then, she heard the madman whisper in her ear:

"because....."

"Haha, the grass hasn't turned green yet!"

The next second, a shrill chuckle rang in Hua Yilan's ears, instantly raising goosebumps on her arms.

what?

Before Hua Yilan could ask any further questions, the man ran back into the cave in a madman-like manner.

"..."

She sighed heavily.

"Nonsense." Hua Yilan looked at Chen Ji helplessly: "He said the grass hasn't turned green yet."

That statement is completely unfounded.

However, Chen Ji's expression changed drastically, and his eyes revealed undisguised excitement: "So that's how it is!"

"The grass hasn't turned green yet..."

"No, that's not right. Night isn't the only condition for turning green, so what should we do?"

He muttered to himself, pacing back and forth, his mind racing!

He then pulled out Jiang Zhong's two sheep eyes from his pocket; the vertical pupils had already dimmed.

The gray membrane on it had long been wiped clean by Chen Ji.

"Hua Yilan".

After thinking for a while, Chen Ji turned to the bewildered girl beside him and said, "Listen to me."

“The black ewe… no, it’s Li Fengxiu, she is our only hope.”

“She was different from the other black sheep—because, only she had her eyes not gouged out!”

Only then did he recall that Hua Yilan had not experienced the night Chen Ji was captured by the black ewe, so she did not know that the black ewe's pupils would turn green.

After a pause, Chen Ji quickly recounted what happened that night.

The black ewes are incredibly strong, giving off a strong sense of oppression, which contrasts sharply with the other sheep.

“I’ve been wondering about this for a while,” Chen Ji murmured, “why would the ghosts gouge out the black goats’ eyes?”

"...It's because the black goat with green pupils might pose a great threat to the ghost."

"It's even possible to kill the ghost."

Perhaps something triggered Li Fengxiu's pupils to turn green, causing the ghosts to suffer a loss, which is why the ghosts immediately gouged out all the new black goat's eyes when they replaced the person.

When the black goat was dug out, its pupils were still covered with a membrane.

"Horizontal pupils are the prey."

Chen Ji recalled a sentence Jiang Zhong had mentioned before his death. Although the guess was wrong, the sentence made a lot of sense.

"Vertical pupils... are the true symbol of a predator."

The black goat has a complex identity, a dual nature; it can be the prey of the hunters, or in an instant, the hunter of the ghosts.

Everything was actually foreshadowed.

Just then, a light hoofbeat came from not far away.

A dark-skinned female goat emerged gracefully from the bushes behind the two.

Li Fengxiu is back.

She first saw Hua Yilan and nodded obediently. The next second, she saw Chen Ji behind Hua Yilan.

His expression changed abruptly.

His nose suddenly started flaring up with heavy breathing, and a faint green light reappeared in his eyes—

Chen Ji sighed helplessly. That female ghost in the Li residence had really caused him a lot of trouble.

This strategy kills two birds with one stone: it shifts the risk and makes the black ewe despise Chen Ji and his companions, ensuring that even if they are chosen by the ghost, the black ewe won't rescue them.

"Ame—"

A roar came from behind them; the madman had spoken.

Chen Ji's eyes flickered slightly as he glanced behind him before walking towards the black ewe.

"I am Chen Ji."

He extended his hand very slowly: "I didn't kill the gray goat. Smell it carefully again."

He couldn't believe that the strong smell of cow dung and grass on him couldn't mask the smell of sheep's blood.

Black Sheep watched him warily, and after a long while, it gently bent down and sniffed Chen Ji's body.

A moment later...

The green light in her eyes disappeared.

The soft sheep ears gently rubbed against Chen Ji's palm.