Thriller Zone: From the Mental Hospital to the Ghostly World

After a brief introduction, Chen Ji learned that Du Muyu was actually a psychological counselor.

No wonder, she always spoke with a comforting, gentle quality, similar to Tang Qin's previous mannerisms, but noticeably more natural, exuding an innate gentleness and refinement.

She had been following the case of Chen Ji's matricide, studied the trial videos, and even managed to obtain a copy of the transcript from that time.

It was she who, after observing Chen Ji's behavior during the interrogation, told Du Tingfeng that Chen Ji did not have a mental illness.

Unexpectedly, Du Muyu only briefly mentioned Chen Ji's case at the beginning.

After that, the matter was never discussed again, and she seemed to regard Chen Ji as just an ordinary friend that her younger brother had brought home.

Chen Ji breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, he just wanted to rest and didn't want to repeat the story about Tang Qin and the Painted Skin Ghost.

After the three of them finished eating the takeout they had ordered, Du Muyu led Chen Ji to a guest room, which was very clean, spacious and bright.

She thoughtfully placed a bouquet of flowers in the bedroom, then turned and closed the door, leaving Chen Ji alone to rest.

Chen Ji lay on the soft bed, a gentle beam of warm light shining on his face, making him feel somewhat dazed.

This seemed to be the most comfortable bed he had slept in in three weeks.

Half a day ago, he was still on the run from Fang Jia and the female teacher, his life hanging by a thread.

All of this made Chen Ji feel a strange sense of security.

He shook his head, shaking off the illusion, and a self-deprecating smile appeared on his face.

The current comfort will not last long. Apart from Tang Qin, who is constantly pursuing Chen Ji, the bigger problem is the domain.

Ding Xiang once said that anyone who has entered the domain once will definitely come back again, otherwise there will be serious consequences.

Even with the protection of the strange creatures, one cannot resist the domain's call, as life in the domain is a matter of life and death.

There are still many questions that need to be answered for Chen Ji.

First, there is the interval between the two entries into the domain.

How long will it take before the domain is summoned again?

Chen Ji rolled over. This question could be answered quickly; he just needed to ask Du Tingfeng tomorrow.

The second thing is the skill described very vaguely by the pen on the Yuhe River.

[Rewrite your destiny in ten minutes]

Chen Ji sat up in bed, took a tissue and put it on his person, looked at the pen on the bedside table, and said softly:

"How exactly is the ability to rewrite one's destiny used?"

After thinking for a moment, he asked another question, which was also a doubt that Chen Ji had always had in his mind.

"Also, what are the limitations of this ability?"

Aside from the extremely long cooling period, Chen Ji felt that there should still be some rules limiting this ability of the fountain pen.

If he could truly alter the events of the next ten minutes without any restrictions, Chen Ji could simply give himself an overpowered cheat code and easily clear the domain.

As if knowing what he was thinking, the pen gently wrote on the tissue:

You can only rewrite one sentence.

[And it must be logical.]

"A word?"

Chen Ji was taken aback; this quantifier made the ability to "rewrite fate" less abstract.

[“Chen Ji was playing on his phone in the bedroom.”]

Suddenly, there was a knock on his door.

[It's Du Muyu]

[“Because she noticed he hadn’t eaten much for dinner, Du Muyu opened the door and brought him a plate of fruit.”]

[Assuming the skill is activated, you will see in your mind what you will encounter in the next ten minutes. The following are events you cannot alter:]

[You cannot write: "Du Muyu opened the door and told Chen Ji the reason why he had been being hunted."]

[It also cannot be written as: "Du Muyu opened the door and brought in a pistol."]

Because Du Muyu didn't know why you were being hunted, and she didn't have a handgun.

This is illogical and constitutes fabrication.

"I understand." Chen Ji nodded, realizing what the pen meant.

The factors that allow fate to be rewritten must be reasonable and logical; you can't just kill off the ghost or force a way to pass the level.

"Then how can I rewrite it?"

You can write:

As Du Muyu carried the fruit platter upstairs, she received a call from her company. She then placed the fruit on the table, only to have her younger brother take it away.

Since there is no fruit available, Du Muyu will not open Chen Ji's door for the next ten minutes.

Chen Ji's expression shifted slightly; he sensed something was amiss.

"Can it be expanded this much?"

【not much】

This is a single event; the change in cause and effect has simply been described.

"Okay, I see."

Chen Ji nodded, gaining a deeper understanding of the pen's ability to rewrite destiny.

Simply put, he can make changes, but they must be logical.

"And one more thing."

Chen Ji suddenly remembered the anomaly that occurred in the Domain River, and rolled up his sleeves to reveal a curve composed of several red dots inside.

"This is the answer you gave me when you were repeating your senior year of high school. What exactly is it?"

The pen remained motionless on the paper for a long time.

"...Can you stop pretending to be dead again?"

Chen Ji was speechless, realizing that the pen clearly had an ostrich mentality; it would immediately pretend to be deaf and dumb when faced with a question it didn't want to answer.

He picked up the pen, pressed his fingertips against the body of the pen, and forced it to stand upright on the tissue.

The pen trembled twice, as if trying to break free from Chen Ji's control, but it was held firmly down and could not move.

After a long while, it finally wrote three words on the paper.

【Waterworm】

"Water worms? Earthworms?"

Chen Ji was stunned. The pen slipped from his hand and lay on the bedside table like a corpse.

It seems he won't answer any more questions.

Chen Ji thought about it for a moment, and felt that the format of this word was very familiar.

He opened his phone, searched online, and many web pages popped up.

The Zhen water worm is the Zhen constellation, one of the seven constellations of the Vermilion Bird in the south, which is one of the 28 constellations in mythology.

"There are also 28 giant statues in the Yuhe River, so the number matches up."

Chen Ji scrolled down and saw a traditional Chinese painting that looked very similar to the mark on Du Tingfeng's body.

The label below reads: Tail Fire Tiger.

Why are there 28 giant stone statues of constellations in the Yuhe River?

What was the purpose of the marks they left on those who entered the realm?

Could it be, as Du Tingfeng said, that it was a favor bestowed upon them by the chosen ones?

Or is it... a kind of categorization marker?

"Boom, boom, boom."

Chen Ji was still pondering the stone statues in the Yu River when his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.

His eyes flickered slightly as he glanced at the pen before getting out of bed and opening the door.

Standing outside the door was Du Muyu, wearing a pair of fluffy slippers and carrying a plate of fruit.

There were green grapes, strawberries, and a small cake on the side.

"Sister Yu, you're still awake?" Chen Ji scratched his head.

Du Muyu shook her head, her voice gentle: "I noticed you didn't eat much for dinner, and I was worried you'd get hungry in the middle of the night, so I brought you some fruit and snacks."

"Oh, thank you, Sister Yu."

Chen Ji took the fruit plate and placed it on the table to the side, looking somewhat embarrassed.

As if she could read Chen Ji's mind, Du Muyu smiled slightly and said softly:

"It's alright, just make yourself at home and get a good rest tonight."

"Tomorrow I'll have Xiaofeng take you to buy some clothes and personal items; you don't need to worry about anything else."

The way Du Muyu looked at him was no different from how she looked at Du Tingfeng.

Chen Ji nodded silently. Du Tingfeng must have mentioned to his sister that he wanted Chen Ji to stay here for an extended period.

He didn't know what to say for a moment. During this time, even after entering the domain, most people looked at him with fear or disgust.

After all, everyone knows that Chen Ji killed his own mother.

Only Du Tingfeng and her brother treated him like a normal person and believed what Chen Ji said.

After closing the door, Chen Ji sat on the small sofa in the bedroom, eating fruit and lost in thought.

The pen problem was solved, but in the real world, Tang Qin's scheming and pursuit of him did not stop.

Tang Qin, the Painted Skin Ghost, and perhaps many more.

What exactly is their purpose?

Chen Ji lowered his head, trying to banish the lingering confusion deep within him...

......

Chen Ji slept soundly that night.

Until a sharp pain shattered his dream!

It was like a red-hot branding iron, pressed directly against Chen Ji's skin!

He suddenly opened his eyes, his previously muddled consciousness instantly clearing. He looked at his wrist, where a red dot was flashing on and off, emitting a strong burning sensation.

Chen Ji immediately turned over and opened his phone, which showed that it was 9:00 AM.

He hurriedly put on his clothes, pushed open the door, and rushed out, just in time to bump into Du Tingfeng yawning sleepily on the stairs.

"What's the matter? Why so anxious?"

Du Tingfeng was taken aback when he saw that Chen Ji's expression was very unpleasant.

What is the minimum time interval between two domains?

Du Tingfeng was a little confused, but after thinking for a moment, he said, "It will take at least a month, and possibly up to half a year before it can be summoned."

Chen Ji rolled up his sleeves, and on his wrist, the curves formed by the light spots flickered.

Du Tingfeng's eyes suddenly widened, and he was instantly wide awake!

He knew all too well what this meant.

The domain launched a new round of summons against Chen Ji.

He looked up, his expression constantly changing, finally settling into a helpless smile.

"You just got back from the domain, less than a day ago, right?"

"Chen Ji... should I say you're special, or just incredibly unlucky?"