Regarding the phone call incident, Zhou Jiayu was truly caught between laughter and tears. Facing Lin Zhushui’s subtle interrogation, Zhou Jiayu could only timidly explain, “Sir is with me every day, so why would I need to call him?”

Lin Zhushui, however, merely raised an eyebrow slightly, not responding.

Zhou Jiayu continued to coax him for a while before Lin Zhushui finally gave a reluctant hum.

Everyone else in the room, except Zhou Jiayu and Lin Zhushui, was single. So, the group watched the two of them display their affection, their expressions filled with complex emotions.

Sitting nearby, Shen Yiqiong pensively stroked Little Paper’s head and then rubbed his chin against Little Paper, wondering what he was thinking… Of course, 80% of it was probably how to fall in love.

---

Regarding Jiang Zhu, Xu Jian quickly provided more detailed feedback. Jiang Zhu was from H City. His family was poor from a young age, and as misfortunes often come in pairs, Jiang Zhu’s family suffered a cruel blow when he just became an adult—he was involved in a car accident.

In this car accident, the driver fled, and Jiang Zhu was seriously injured.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jiayu recalled the masked man he saw at school and on the rooftop. That man seemed to wear a mask from beginning to end, meticulously covering his face. He wondered if this had an inseparable connection to the car accident.

Afterward, Jiang Zhu’s family sold all their property to pay for his treatment, but even so, it couldn’t fill the huge hole of the medical expenses. Under these circumstances, Jiang Zhu’s father suffered another misfortune. Like Jiang Zhu, he was also involved in a car accident. This time, the driver was drunk, and Jiang Zhu’s father died on the spot, without even a chance for rescue.

“That’s too tragic, isn’t it?” Lin Jue felt a little emotional listening to this story. “A family encountering all these things…”

“It’s quite tragic,” Xu Jian said. “And the drunk driver came from a poor family and couldn’t afford any compensation, so he could only go to jail. Jiang Zhu’s treatment expenses remained unresolved.”

“What happened next?” Zhou Jiayu felt sure the story wasn’t over.

Xu Jian said, “After that, Jiang Zhu’s mother started working at a construction site to earn money for his treatment, but she still couldn’t raise enough. Jiang Zhu was soon forced to leave the hospital because they couldn’t afford the fees.”

If the story ended here, it would be one thing, but fate seemed to think Jiang Zhu hadn’t suffered enough, delivering him another fatal blow.

Due to overwork, Jiang Zhu’s mother had an accident at the construction site. After the accident, the construction site boss immediately used his connections and, taking advantage of Jiang Zhu’s lack of money and power, actually paid not a single cent in compensation, settling the matter of Jiang Zhu’s mother.

Everyone listened, and their eyes showed a touch more melancholy. Jiang Zhu’s experience truly evoked some sympathy.

“Then it seems his mental state wasn’t very good,” Xu Jian said. “The specifics weren’t written in the file, but he was indeed sent to a mental hospital for a period.”

Zhou Jiayu said, “Mental state not good?” At this, he suddenly thought of the young man who lived with the little golden dragon. That young man was also considered crazy by the locals at the time. Now, thinking carefully, could Jiang Zhu be in a similar situation?

“Could it be that he awakened this talent after a severe hit?” Zhou Jiayu asked. “Like being able to see something dirty or something…”

Lin Jue said, “That’s possible. There have been such cases before, but they are rare and the probability is very low.”

Although the probability was low, it wasn’t impossible. Moreover, since Jiang Zhu appeared by Meng Yangtian’s side, it indicated that he must have something extraordinary about him.

“Is there any news about him now?” Zhou Jiayu asked.

Xu Jian shook his head: “No. After he entered the mental hospital, he secretly escaped, and then all news about him completely disappeared.”

Jiang Zhu, who escaped from the mental hospital, completely vanished from people’s sight. Everyone quickly forgot him. Perhaps now, if Jiang Zhu’s name were mentioned, no more than a handful of people would remember him.

Because this case was too tragic, the police involved in the investigation back then had some impression of it. When Xu Jian looked up his information, the police quickly pulled out the file.

Zhou Jiayu saw a photo of Jiang Zhu from back then. The man was indeed very tall, already 1.86 meters at seventeen or eighteen years old. He had a refined appearance, quietly smiling in the ID photo, without a hint of gloom. This made Zhou Jiayu think of him now, by Meng Yangtian’s side. If it weren’t for Xu Jinghuo’s information, probably no one would have been able to connect the two.

Now, no one knew Jiang Zhu’s whereabouts. After some discussion, the group decided to visit the mental hospital from which Jiang Zhu had escaped to see if they could find any new clues.

---

The Mental Hospital.

In fact, both in the past and now, public attitudes towards mental illness are not very friendly. Unless one comes from a wealthy family and can afford special care, life in a mental hospital is truly not a life fit for humans.

If Zhou Jiayu’s guess was correct, then Jiang Zhu might not have had mental problems; that is to say, he was forcibly confined as a normal person, and wanting to escape was a normal reaction.

The mental hospital’s address was a bit remote. The only way to get there currently was by car, so the group set off on their journey.

As the car drove towards their destination, Zhou Jiayu noticed the surrounding scenery becoming increasingly desolate. After asking Xu Jian, he learned that the mental hospital was actually deep in the mountains, had been operating for over thirty years, and was government-funded.

“That’s too remote, isn’t it?” There were no modern buildings visible anymore, and the roads were muddy, making the car’s progress very slow. Zhou Jiayu said, “Can people who come in here actually leave?”

“Alas, in a mental hospital, how many who enter can actually leave?” Xu Ruwang said. “Even a normal person would probably be broken after staying there for too long.”

Zhou Jiayu sighed softly.

Everyone’s mood was already heavy after hearing Jiang Zhu’s story. When the car reached its destination and they saw the appearance of the mental hospital, their mood became even worse.

The mental hospital was nestled among dense trees. Only its old, towering walls were vaguely visible. Barbed wire surrounded the walls, and the bricks were covered in a dirty green from moss corrosion.

It didn’t look like a mental hospital; it looked more like a prison.

Because Xu Jian had already made arrangements, they were not obstructed when entering through the gate.

The security guards at the gate were two middle-aged men in their fifties or sixties, their expressions completely indifferent. Seeing the group, they said nothing, simply pulling open the iron gate.

The place gave a very uncomfortable feeling. Zhou Jiayu’s footsteps at the doorway involuntarily paused.

“Jiayu?” Lin Jue noticed Zhou Jiayu’s unusual reaction.

“It’s not very comfortable,” Zhou Jiayu honestly expressed his feelings. “I have a very bad feeling about this place…”

In fact, not just Zhou Jiayu, but even Shen Yiqiong, whose senses weren’t as keen, also felt the atmosphere here was incredibly oppressive. Although they didn’t see a single person, humans clearly have an instinct for self-preservation. Some places make you not want to go any further once you stand at the entrance.

Xu Jian said, “Many people have died in this place.” He pointed in a direction. “Some patients’ family members disappeared after sending them in, and they wouldn’t appear even after the patient had an accident. The hospital would just bury the patients on the back mountain.”

Zhou Jiayu frowned.

They followed the main road from the entrance and arrived at a place that looked somewhat like a ward.

The exteriors of the buildings here were all gray, and the roadsides were overgrown with weeds. Along this stretch of road, Zhou Jiayu didn’t see any people—no doctors, no patients.

“It seems to be inside,” Xu Jian pulled open the door to the ward. “Let’s go.”

Lin Zhushui seemed to sense Zhou Jiayu’s unspeakable anxiety and directly reached out to hold Zhou Jiayu’s hand. A thin warmth emanated from his palm, alleviating Zhou Jiayu’s emotions that had been influenced by the environment.

“This place is truly uncomfortable,” Zhou Jiayu mumbled.

“Yeah,” Shen Yiqiong said, “It feels even more uncomfortable than a prison…” At least a prison doesn’t have this nearly death-like sense of decay.

The lighting in the inpatient department wasn’t bright. Even though it was broad daylight, the curtains were tightly drawn. The lights in the hallway were orange, casting a gloomy glow on people’s faces and bodies.

“Why are there no doctors?” After walking a bit further inside, they still hadn’t seen anyone. Zhou Jiayu peered into a nearby office and found it empty, with no one inside.

“Are they all eating in the cafeteria at this time?” Lin Jue glanced at her watch.

“Possibly, but where’s the cafeteria?” Zhou Jiayu asked. It was just past twelve, prime time for lunch. However, it seemed quite strange for everyone to go to lunch, and the office door was left wide open. Was it because no one usually came here, so they weren’t worried about theft at all?

“Second floor?” Shen Yiqiong noticed a sign next to the hallway.

“Let’s go, let’s go up and see,” Lin Jue said.

The group ascended the stairs. Zhou Jiayu noticed strange paintings hanging on both sides of the staircase. These paintings were very messy, lacking clear themes, and seemed more like spontaneous creations. Most of the paintings used dark tones. Xu Ruwang joked that the hospital probably hung the patients’ drawings.

Xu Jian glanced at Xu Ruwang without speaking. Xu Ruwang’s expression stiffened: “So there really is such a practice.”

This hospital was too abnormal. If he could, Zhou Jiayu would probably choose to leave immediately.

---

The Cafeteria.

The second floor was indeed the cafeteria, and they saw the first person they had encountered since entering the hospital. The person was wearing a doctor’s white coat, squatting by the stairwell, holding a box of food. Upon seeing them, he cast a rather unfriendly glance their way: “What are you doing here? Why are you here?”

“Hello,” Xu Ruwang said. “Because there was a murder case that might be related to a patient in your hospital, we’d like to understand some of the circumstances…” Before he could finish, he saw the doctor stand up and turn to leave, not showing a good face the entire time.

Xu Jian slapped Xu Ruwang’s back: “I told you not to shave your head. Now you’re being treated like a bad guy, and looking like that, you won’t even find a wife! Look at Zhou…” He probably intended to use Zhou Jiayu as an example, but when he turned his head, he saw Zhou Jiayu and Lin Zhushui shamelessly holding hands and continuing to show off their affection, so he swallowed his words forcefully.

Xu Ruwang: “…”

After Xu Ruwang’s failure, Xu Jian rolled up his sleeves, intending to go himself. However, it was clear that the hospital staff were quite uncooperative. This time, Xu Jian had it even worse. As soon as he stood there, before he could even open his mouth, the doctor just left.

Everyone: “…”

Xu Ruwang muttered that it really wasn’t his fault.

Xu Jian’s expression twisted. He turned his gaze to Zhou Jiayu and said, “Zhou Jiayu, you do it.”

Zhou Jiayu was caught between laughter and tears.

---

The entire mental hospital staff was indeed eating in the cafeteria. They stood at the doorway, watching the patients silently sitting at tables, spooning food into their mouths. The food didn’t look appetizing; most of it was vegetables, with very little meat. The doctors sat on the other side. Zhou Jiayu felt a sense of incongruity as soon as he entered the cafeteria, and he quickly discovered the source of this feeling—the unusual silence in the room.

The cafeteria was too quiet. There was no conversation, only the quiet sound of chewing.

The entire room was like a silent play, and the doctors and patients eating inside were the actors in this silent play.

Zhou Jiayu hesitated slightly, then walked towards where the doctors were eating. Although the place looked strange, Lin Zhushui was standing behind him, so he wasn’t afraid of any demons or ghosts.

“Hello,” Zhou Jiayu spoke softly, breaking the silence.

The doctors’ eating motions instantly stopped. One of them, closest to Zhou Jiayu, slowly turned his head. He still had food in his mouth and slowly swallowed: “Hello,” he said.

“Excuse me, we’re from the police station…” Zhou Jiayu said softly. “We had an appointment earlier. We’d like to know about a patient’s situation.”

The doctor nodded and said, “Okay,” then turned back and continued eating.

Zhou Jiayu froze in place, a bit embarrassed, not knowing what the person’s “okay” meant. However, it probably wasn’t appropriate to disturb someone while they were eating. Zhou Jiayu thought for a moment, returned to the group, and said they should wait until these people finished eating.

Everyone agreed.

Eating is usually a happy thing for people, but no one who saw the scene in the room behind them would feel a shred of warmth.

Their eating seemed to be just a task forced by physiological needs. As long as they put food into their mouths, mechanically chewed, and swallowed, it was considered done.

Shen Yiqiong had been watching inside the room after coming out, and his eyes grew increasingly terrified.

Zhou Jiayu asked him what he saw, and Shen Yiqiong turned his head, his voice tinged with a sob: “Did you notice…”

“What?” Lin Jue asked.

“They all chew each bite of rice thirteen times…” Shen Yiqiong said.

Zhou Jiayu looked inside the room and found that Shen Yiqiong was indeed right: everyone eating in the room chewed each bite of food thirteen times, no more, no less. What Zhou Jiayu found hard to understand was that even the doctors sitting at the tables nearby were no exception.

“Honestly,” Lin Jue said, “if they weren’t wearing white coats, I really wouldn’t think they were doctors…” but rather a room full of mental patients.

She didn’t see any normal human behavior from these doctors. Whether it was their expressions, demeanor, or verbal responses, judging from the feedback from these doctors just now, they were practically indistinguishable from the patients around them, except for their clothing.

Everyone was silent for a while. Zhou Jiayu sighed and said, “Let’s wait until they finish eating and come out to see the situation.”

That was the only option.

They found some empty seats outside the room and sat down to wait.

This lunch was exceptionally long. Lin Jue kept track of the time and watched them eat from half past twelve until two o’clock. It was well past two before people slowly started to emerge from the cafeteria.

The doctor Zhou Jiayu had previously inquired about also came out. He was wearing a white doctor’s coat with a name tag on his chest that read “Attending Physician” and then his name—Li Yihao.

“Hello,” Zhou Jiayu once again braced himself and stepped forward.

Li Yihao was not tall, appearing to be around thirty years old. If one only looked at his face, he would seem refined and gentle. However, when he stared at someone expressionlessly, there was a sense of nervousness.

“Hello,” he responded to Zhou Jiayu’s greeting.

If he could, Zhou Jiayu wouldn’t want to interact too much with him, but since Xu Jian and Xu Ruwang’s attempts at conversation were completely ignored, he had no choice but to push on: “We’ve been sent by the police department to investigate a situation. Do you have time to cooperate with us?”

“Police investigation?” Li Yihao said, “What happened?”

Zhou Jiayu felt a strange sense of relief when he heard him say that. Although this person seemed odd, at least his logic seemed normal, and he didn’t directly ignore his question but instead asked what had happened.

Zhou Jiayu said, “There was a murder case at a hotel, and we suspect it’s related to a patient in your hospital, so we’d like to understand the patient’s specific situation.”

Li Yihao said, “Patient, which patient.”

Zhou Jiayu said, “Jiang Zhu.”

However, upon hearing that name, Li Yihao’s expression instantly contorted. It was an expression Zhou Jiayu had never seen before; his features seemed almost squeezed together, his eyes filled with terror, and his body was trembling uncontrollably.

“I don’t know, I don’t know Jiang Zhu,” Li Yihao said quickly. “Don’t ask me, I don’t know anything.” After saying that, he turned to run away but was grabbed by Xu Ruwang and directly lifted up.

In front of Xu Ruwang’s bulky figure, Li Yihao’s physique was clearly no match. He struggled in Xu Ruwang’s hand like a small chick, looking as if he could faint at any moment.

“Don’t you dare refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit,” Xu Ruwang said, rolling up his sleeves, his face fierce and menacing. Coupled with his bald head, he truly resembled a brutal thug.

Li Yihao trembled all over with fright, finally looking like he was about to cry: “I don’t know, I really don’t know…”

Xu Ruwang said, “I’m really going to do it now.” Seeing that he was about to act, Li Yihao finally gave in. His eyes darted around, not knowing what he was looking at. A moment later, he said softly, “You go find the dean. I can’t say. Only the dean knows.”

“Where is he?” Xu Ruwang asked.

Li Yihao said, “Office…”

Xu Ruwang said, “You take us there.”

Li Yihao initially wanted to refuse, but seeing the muscles on Xu Ruwang’s arm, he still gave in, saying the office was on the fourth floor and that if Xu Ruwang would put him down, he would lead them there.

Xu Ruwang finally put Li Yihao down. Everyone looked at him with admiration. He reached up and touched his bald head, joking, “All I’m missing is a gold chain.”

Xu Jian said, “Master will buy it for you! Buy the kind as thick as an arm, the kind that clinks when you drag it!”

Xu Ruwang: “…” Master, are you serious?

---

The Dean’s Office.

While a gold chain was tempting, the immediate focus was on Li Yihao. Although he had agreed to lead them to the dean’s office, Li Yihao’s gaze was incredibly shifty, constantly darting around. It was clear that he would definitely bolt if he found an opportunity.

However, until they reached the fourth floor, Li Yihao found no chance to escape. His steps stopped in front of an office at the end of the corridor. He quietly said, “The dean is inside.”

Xu Ruwang said, “You go in first.”

Li Yihao said, “I don’t want to go in first. If you want to go, you go. I have other things to do. I have patients. You can’t make me go in.” As he spoke, he sounded almost delirious, both his tone and his eyes frantic.

Zhou Jiayu knocked on the door in front of them, but there was no response. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and turned the doorknob, opening the office door.

With a creak, the scene behind the door was revealed. Everyone looked stunned after seeing what was beyond the door.

Behind the door was not a spacious office, but a narrow corridor. The corridor was incredibly dim, with only a faint light at the end.

“This is an office?” Xu Ruwang deliberately asked Li Yihao in a menacing tone.

To everyone’s surprise, Li Yihao nodded furiously: “This is the dean’s office. The dean is behind the corridor… I didn’t lie to you.” As he said this, his entire body began to tremble, but it was unclear what he was afraid of.

“Want to go in and see?” Zhou Jiayu asked.

“Go,” Lin Zhushui nodded.

Xu Ruwang said, “Let’s go, let’s all go in and see what’s going on.”

Zhou Jiayu said okay and followed Lin Zhushui into the narrow corridor.

This corridor was only wide enough for one person to walk. It was about two meters high, making it difficult to turn around inside, and the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

Lin Jue muttered that if there was no one inside, she would definitely beat up Li Yihao after they got out. Zhou Jiayu said, “Uncle, you’re getting more violent.”

Lin Jue said, “Don’t you want to do it too?”

Zhou Jiayu glanced ahead and said, “I didn’t want to just now, but now I do.” At the end of the corridor, there was no room, but a corner. The light source they saw from outside was a huge, crude lamp, almost like a trap attracting light-seeking insects.

“Keep going or go back?” Lin Jue also felt very uncomfortable here.

Lin Zhushui said, “Go.” His tone was very firm.

Hearing Lin Zhushui say that, everyone didn’t object and continued along the path, as if walking in an endless maze.

Zhou Jiayu now began to understand Li Yihao’s reluctance to enter. This narrow tunnel was filled with an oppressive atmosphere. As a psychologically normal person, he started to feel irritable after walking for about a few minutes, let alone patients with mental problems.

Fortunately, after turning a few more corners, they finally reached the end and saw a door with a “Dean’s Office” sign on it. At least Li Yihao hadn’t dared to deceive them on this matter.

__

Author’s Note:

Xu Jian: How can I make my apprentice stronger…

Lin Zhushui: Fall in love with him.

Zhou Jiayu: Yes, that’s right, I’m very ♂ strong now.

Xu Jian: Hmm…

Xu Ruwang: ????? Master, have you thought this through???