Folk customs begin with the entire funeral procession

Chapter 95 Third Ward
After listening, Chen Miao stood up and said, "Wait a moment, I'll go make a phone call."

Chen Miao took his phone to the corridor and dialed Chen Guokun's number.

"Brother Kun, there's something I'd like to ask you about, it's like this..."

Chen Miao explained the situations of Gigi Lai and Xiang Shang, specifically noting the different reactions of the peach charms and the fact that no yin energy fluctuations were detected in Gigi Lai.

After listening, Chen Guokun gave his reply.

"This situation does indeed resemble ghosts. Ghosts are complex; not all ghosts will want to kill people they see."

“Some ghosts have strong resentment. They usually don’t kill their targets directly, but instead implant their own resentment into them. This resentment will cause the target’s behavior to gradually change in the direction the ghosts want. Only when the ghosts achieve the desired result will they kill the target.”

"However, the ghostly resentment is ultimately a foreign object inserted into the target's mind. The target's own will is not erased. Except for some people with weak will who are completely controlled and eventually killed by the ghost, in most cases, these affected targets will die from various accidents due to mental confusion."

"The car accident you mentioned is one type, but there are also things like accidentally falling into a river, jumping off a building, or setting fire to your home, etc."

"As for the peach talisman you mentioned, my guess is this... The ghost went to find its target that night, but was stopped by the peach talisman. So it went again the next day. Without the protection of the peach talisman, the resentment was implanted by the ghost."

“The existence of resentment is different from yin energy. Its form is more like a brainwave that affects consciousness, which is why your peach charm did not react when it approached the target.”

"If it cannot be prevented in the first place, it will be very troublesome to remove it later."

"The most direct way to resolve this situation is to eliminate the evil spirits. Once the evil spirits are eliminated, the associated resentment will disappear."

"Of course, this is just my analysis of what you said; there could be other situations as well."

"Where are you? I'll find you."

Upon hearing this, Chen Miao revealed his location.

Upon hearing that it was in Shannan City, Chen Guokun fell silent for a moment.

"As for Shannan City, I can't get involved. Shannan City has its own investigators. If I go there, it would be considered an inter-regional matter, and even if the problem is solved, it would still be quite troublesome."

"Here's what we'll do: you go and find out the specifics first, and it would be best if you could find some concrete evidence."

"Then I will help you contact the investigators in Shannan City and have them handle this matter."

Chen Miao thanked him and hung up the phone.

Thinking of the information Chen Guokun had given him, Chen Miao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

At least the kind of ghostly encounter that Xiang Shang experienced was not ominous.

Back in the corridor, Chen Miao gave Xiang Shang three more peach charms, making a total of four charms, including the one Xiang Shang still had.

"Keep three on your own, and find a chance to slip one into Gigi Lai's body as well. Remember, they must not leave your body!"

Xiang Shang looked at the peach charm in his hand, not understanding Chen Miao's meaning.

"Also, take some time to find out about the other people who went to the secret room with you that day, and see what their situation is like."

"I'm going to take care of some things. You stay here with me for now and keep an eye on Gigi Lai. What she said to you probably wasn't what she really meant."

After Chen Miao finished speaking, he got up and started to walk out.

Xiang Shang seemed to have some guesses and grabbed Chen Miao's arm.

"Sanshui, did Gigi Lai...did she encounter something evil?"

Chen Miao patted Xiang Shang on the shoulder, without giving a direct answer.

"I'll find someone to handle things between you and Gigi Lai. Just remember what I told you, don't worry about anything else."

After saying that, Chen Miao left.

As Xiang Shang watched Chen Miao's departing figure, he suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity.

But when he looked down at the peach charm in his hand, the feeling of unfamiliarity in his heart dissipated.

"Sanshui wouldn't lie to me."

Although he had many doubts, Xiang Shang knew that Chen Miao would definitely tell him what he could.

Now, all he needs to do is listen to Chen Miao and wait.

Turning around, Xiang Shang walked into the ward and took out two peach charms, placing one in Li Zi's shirt pocket and the other in her bag.

After glancing at Gigi Lai's weak and pale face, Xiang Shang slowly withdrew and stood guard at the door of the ward, inquiring about Gigi Lai's colleagues.

After leaving the hospital, Chen Miao drove directly to the location of the escape room that Xiang Shang had mentioned.

On the way, Chen Miao received a message from Xiang Shang.

"Sanshui, there were seven of us that day. Besides me and Gigi Lai, four of them got into a fight in the office yesterday. Gigi Lai didn't fight back, but she got splashed with water."

"After that incident, Gigi Lai took leave to go home and then sent me a message asking me out. At that time, I thought she was normal."

"As for those who got into the fight, one of them was fired, and the other three were given a few days off. I don't know the specifics of their situation, so I don't know what's going on now."

"There's another one who didn't go to work at all yesterday; I don't know what happened."

After seeing it, Chen Miao replied, "Received."

So it seems that all seven people were affected that day. Gigi Lai was lucky; the peach charm protected her from the disaster that night, so she wasn't affected when she went to work the next day.

The behavior of the other people changed drastically because they did not have peach wood charms.

There are three issues that are currently worrying Chen Miao.

1. Of the other people, were any of them dead?

If there are deaths, will it strengthen that ghost?

Second, was that evil spirit newly born, or was it born long ago?

The longer it goes on, the more unpredictable the situation becomes.

Third, did that sneak attack indiscriminately on everyone playing in the escape room, or was it only targeting Xiang Shang and his group?
If it's the former, then to what extent does this ghostly ability reach?
If it's the latter, what did Xiang Shang and his group do?
These issues are closely related to how Chen Miao should proceed.

Chen Miao is an outsider in this matter, and so far he has not been able to trigger the contents of the book, so he has no way of knowing where the danger is coming from.

He definitely wants to save Xiang Shang, but only if he can ensure his own safety.

With that thought in mind, Chen Miao arrived at his destination, the escape room called "Other Dimension".

Since it was Tuesday and during working hours, there weren't many people at the entrance to the Otherworld.

Chen Miao entered the waiting area, observed the surrounding environment, and finally saw the secret room that Xiang Shang and the others had visited before on the flyer: "The Third Ward".

Chen Miao went to the front desk.

"Hello, is it possible to play in the third ward?"

The receptionist noticed that Chen Miao was alone and then said, "You can play, but this activity requires at least four people."

"Oh, is this project popular? This is my first time trying it."

Chen Miao asked.

"Don't worry, sir. Every project here is meticulously designed. Although the third ward is divided into three levels of horror, the actual scenes to visit are all in the same location. It's just that the content available is different."

"So you don't need to worry about the quality of the project. If you don't believe me, you can check recent gameplay guides online and see what other players are saying."

Chen Miao didn't understand these things, so he asked the receptionist to help him find a similar forum.

After climbing up, Chen Miao saw content related to other dimensions.

The Third Ward is a relatively popular project in the Otherworld, with more than ten related posts in the past week.

Chen Miao read through them one by one, and then he saw some unusual replies under two posts from five days ago and two weeks ago.

His eyes narrowed immediately.

"It seems it's not just targeting Xiang Shang and his group; others have also encountered problems, but none seem to be as severely affected as Xiang Shang and his group, who were completely wiped out?"

"That's not right either. This is what we've seen. How many problems have arisen even though no posts were made?"

Chen Miao glanced again at the unmoving book, and then at the players being led into the secret room by the guide.

This matter is somewhat dangerous for one person.

He immediately took out his phone and called Chen Guokun again.

……

(End of this chapter)