My House of Horrors

“Now is not the time to speculate who the killer is. That is the police’s job.” The nurse sighed. “I’m more worried about Jiang Ling’s therapy.”

“I’ll handle that, but you have to give me some time.” Chen Ge had a brief understanding of the story. The case described by the nurse had many inconsistencies, and they demanded a closer look.

“You’ll handle it? You’ll bring Fan Yu away with you?”

“I mean, I’ll cure Jiang Ling’s sickness.” Chen Ge was the one who was most familiar with Fan Yu. He knew that the boy had not lied.

The nurse was baffled. “How are you going to cure her? You’re not a doctor.”

“Letting me try is no skin off your back anyway.” Chen Ge ignored the nurse and walked back into the bedroom. He had a wealth of experience dealing with baleful specters and knew how to gain their goodwill.

The death of their parents should be the source of the problem within Jiang Ling and her sister. Finding the murderer and bringing them to justice should gain me the affection of the sisters.

From Fan Yu’s painting, Jiang Ling’s sister did not seem to be that weak, she might even be a Red Specter. If he could build a good relationship with her or even invite her to join the Haunted House, Chen Ge would not be so worried during this period when Zhang Ya was in her slumber.

Chen Ge tried to communicate with Jiang Ling, but the little girl ignored him other than occasionally using a fearful gaze to look at him.

“What do you want to know? I’ll ask.” Fan Yu walked to the girl and pointed at Chen Ge. “He’s a good guy; he can also see your big sister.”

“Really?” The little girl turned to Chen Ge with innocence, and Chen Ge nodded quickly. Using this chance, Chen Ge asked the girl several questions and promised that he would help her find her sister. Jiang Ling was very happy when she heard Chen Ge say that. She even gifted the flattened spider to Chen Ge, saying that was what her sister looked like.

Chen Ge did not reject the child’s kindness. Carefully, he slid the spider’s body into a plastic bottle and kept it on him. After their relationship got close, Chen Ge tried to get more information from the girl.

However, the more he asked, the more confused he became. Perhaps due to her young age, she could not remember much, and most of the things that she said did not make sense. In the end, Chen Ge only managed to get the girl’s former address and her sister’s name—Zhu Xingrou.

Chen Ge left the Children’s Home with the accompaniment of the nurse at 9 pm. After retuning to New Century Park, Chen Ge packed his backpack with the hammer and Xiao Xiao. He planned to visit the address that Jiang Ling had given him that night.

I should bring this with me—perhaps it might be useful. Chen Ge shoved the plastic bottle with the spider into the backpack as well. Then he called a taxi to head for Lin Guan Village, which sat at the edge of Western Jiujiang’s district limit.

While he was inside the taxi, Chen Ge tried to give Inspector Lee a call to see whether he could get some information on the case, but to his surprise, his phone was not on.

Is he on a mission? Chen Ge looked at his watch. Being a cop these days is not easy.

Chen Ge finally arrived at Lin Guan Village at around 11:30 pm. The place was so isolated. It was carved into the mountains, and the roads leading there had only been repaired a few years ago. The winds in the mountain were cold. There was no light even though it was just 11 pm. The people there either had a habit of sleeping early or the place was completely deserted.

There’s not even a streetlight or a convenience store; how am I supposed to ask for directions? The place the girl mentioned should be further inside the mountain, but it will be easy for me to get lost if I wander into the mountain alone. Chen Ge realized how complicated things were when he arrived at the destination. He walked into the village using the recently repaired asphalt road.

He walked for ten meters when the asphalt road turned into a muddy road. The village looked new from the surface, but its interior was old and broken down. Many of the buildings were several decades old already.

Something is not right. Why does this village feel so creepy? Chen Ge stopped moving. He opened the zipper on his backpack to reveal the head of Doctor Skull-cracker’s hammer.

Most of the doors are covered with dust. This village should have plenty of empty houses, and the number of villagers still living here should be very small.

He wandered to a random home, and when he got near, he realized the door was locked from the outside. If someone was in, the lock would definitely be on the inside. What has happened to this village?

He slowly retreated. When he planned to leave the village, the two phones in his pocket vibrated at the same time.

What’s going on? Chen Ge first took out the black phone to glance at it. The message said that the completion rate for Third Sick Hall’s Trial Mission had been increased to 87 percent. Looks like another patient has been captured.

Chen Ge opened his own phone. It was a call from Inspector Lee. “Uncle San Bao, I thought you’d blocked me. That saddened me.”

“There was a mission tonight, and everyone involved had to switch off their phones.” Even though Inspector Lee sounded tired, his good mood could be heard through the phone. “Good news, the Third Sick Hall’s Patient 8 has been captured.”

“Xiong Qing has been captured‽”

“You should be glad. The man has been seen patrolling around New Century Park for the past few days; he was probably targeting you.”

“Where is he? Can I talk to him?”

“He’s in the ICU. The madman assaulted many officers, and the people from the main station had to shoot him in his legs and shoulders to detain him. He is now unconscious.”

“Inspector Lee, capturing the murderer is a good thing, but you have to be careful. After all, safety first.”

“Stop going in circles with me. What do you want?” Inspector Lee was familiar with Chen Ge. Once Chen Ge tried to care about him, he naturally wanted something in return.

“Then I’ll come right out with it. About six months ago, there was a poisoning case at Western Jiujiang’s Lin Guan Village; do you have any recollection of it?” Chen Ge asked directly.

“I do, but that is not within our jurisdiction.”

“But it within Western Jiujiang!” Chen Ge did not expect that answer.

“Lin Guan Village is counted as part of the mountains.” Inspector Lee sighed. “Listen to me. Don’t go starting some insane investigation. Many weird things have happened in that village before. At the time, the case was quite a big one; it was followed by Captain Yan’s team.”

“What weird things?”

“That will be confidential information.”

“Then can you tell me about the poison case six months ago? Fan Yu is staying at the same Children’s Home with the only survivor, a little girl. I’m doing this to help them.”

“A little girl…” Inspector Lee paused, and his tone suddenly turned serious. “Chen Ge, you’d better keep a safe distance from that girl.”

“I admit she’s a bit weird, but there’s no need to avoid her.”

“According to the investigation, the final suspect and the one who had the power to commit the murders was the little girl.”

After a brief pause, Inspector Lee added, “She once said something very curious.”