"It's just that our knowledge in this area is too limited, and there are many things we don't understand, so we can't connect the dots. If we only look at the scene with normal crime-solving logic, we won't see anything."
Nie Chongyang sighed and said, "But all indications suggest that this is definitely not where they had their accident, or rather, they shouldn't have encountered a crisis or been injured."
The胖子 felt a bit relieved upon hearing Nie Chongyang's words.
He said to Nie Chongyang, "At least knowing that Brother Ye is not injured is good news, because that evil spirit shouldn't be able to harm them so easily, and we still have time to find Brother Ye and the others."
This made sense, and Nie Chongyang nodded in agreement.
Ye Tiancheng was already powerful enough, and with a little fox by his side, it was as if Ye Tiancheng's shortcomings had been compensated for. Under such circumstances, there was truly nothing that could easily overcome him.
Although they didn't know why the two of them were trapped, their safety was likely not a cause for concern.
They discussed it amongst themselves. Since they had no leads at the moment, they could only conduct a thorough search for clues to see if they could find anything useful.
Nie Chongyang and his assistant began examining the scene in Ye Tiancheng's room, trying to find out where Ye Tiancheng and the others had gone. This wasn't a problem, as not much time had passed. Nie Chongyang and his assistant were also experts in this field and could make some useful deductions based on footprints and other traces.
According to the traces, it was evident that after packing their belongings, Ye Tiancheng and the others had left the room normally, with no signs of panic.
Then, following the traces into the corridor, it could be seen that their direction was towards the stairwell.
In other words, they had gone downstairs normally.
So, what had caused them to be trapped and unable to leave the guesthouse?
Nie Chongyang and his assistant discussed it and felt that they were still very curious about the mirror they had seen in the stairwell earlier, so they wanted to go and take a look. However, before they even reached the stairs, Nie Chongyang's assistant suddenly stopped.
Having partnered for a long time, Nie Chongyang understood his assistant very well.
His assistant's name was Liang Ping, and he had been with him for many years, achieving many merits, forming a stable partnership with Nie Chongyang. Nie Chongyang liked to bring Liang Ping with him when doing many things.
Because of this, in many cases, they could understand each other's thoughts and the meaning behind their actions without needing to communicate verbally, simply by observing each other's words and behavior.
Upon seeing Liang Ping's current state, Nie Chongyang knew that Liang Ping had likely discovered something.
Nie Chongyang immediately asked Liang Ping, "What's wrong? Did you find something?"
Liang Ping paused. His expression was somewhat serious, his brows furrowed tightly, and his gaze constantly swept across the entire corridor space. "I think something is strange. I feel like this place is different."
He had a very subtle feeling.
Because of Liang Ping's special profession, especially his skill in collecting clues, he was very sensitive to changes in the environment. Therefore, he was the first to notice that something was wrong.
Although Nie Chongyang was not as good as Liang Ping in this regard, he was not weak either. Perhaps his feeling was not as obvious at first, but after Liang Ping brought it up, Nie Chongyang was quickly able to sense the abnormality.
He immediately became serious, his expression solemn, "It seems so. If you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have noticed it for a while."
The胖子 was the least sensitive in this regard. However, it was precisely because everyone had not noticed it at first that they were successfully fooled. But now, it had been pointed out by both Liang Ping and Nie Chongyang.
For things that had the ability to confuse people, there was a simplest way to break them: to be discovered as wrong and then called out, which could break the illusion.
After this matter was pointed out repeatedly, all three people present realized the true abnormality.
Previously, they had all been confused and had not noticed anything unusual in time. But now, because the truth had been revealed by both Liang Ping and Nie Chongyang, all the abnormalities were clearly displayed before them.
The three of them saw with their own eyes that the space they were in had become the opposite of what they had seen before, or more precisely, it had completely become a mirror image.
Such a bizarre phenomenon was indeed shocking, but in an instant, they all thought of the mirror at the entrance of the stairs!
Suddenly, the three of them rushed towards the stairwell. However, when they reached the stairwell, they discovered that the mirror hanging on the opposite wall had disappeared.
The胖子 said in a deep voice, "It seems we are trapped too."
At this moment, they, like Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, were probably unable to leave. Even without verification, seeing such an abnormal situation, they knew that the reality was likely this.
"...It's my fault." The胖子 couldn't help but feel guilty after realizing this. "If you hadn't come in with me, you wouldn't have been trapped here together."
Nie Chongyang didn't feel that way when he heard the胖子 say this, and said to him, "You can't blame yourself for this. After discovering that Ye Tiancheng and the others were in trouble, no matter what, I would definitely bring people to help find clues for them. I couldn't stay outside."
"Moreover, I would probably have called more people to come. If something happened then, more people would have been involved. Now, it's just me and Liang Ping, which is already a better outcome."
"We haven't encountered any danger yet, and you are here. As long as we don't get separated, there shouldn't be any major problems," Nie Chongyang also assessed the danger of the current situation. "Besides, Ye Tiancheng and the others have been unreachable, so maybe they are also in this place. Perhaps we will meet them."
When our two teams meet, with the combined strength of five people, we will definitely find a way to leave here.
Hearing Nie Chongyang say this, the胖子 managed to cheer up a little.
He had already implicated others in danger, and Nie Chongyang and the others had come in with him. The胖子 felt that he had to protect Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping well and ensure they got out safely.
Fortunately, Nie Chongyang had previously issued an order that no one was to enter the guesthouse without receiving news, to avoid further chaos. Therefore, even though they were temporarily out of contact, it would not lead to more serious consequences, and no one would rush in blindly, thus implicating more people.
"I will protect you both. Let's also see if there are any clues, both to find a way out and to try to find Brother Ye and the others here."
The胖子 said, cheering up, and assured Nie Chongyang and the others.
Nie Chongyang was not pretentious. He and Liang Ping nodded slightly to the胖子. No matter how capable they were among ordinary people, their strength was still too weak when facing these strange supernatural events. When they needed help from others, they shouldn't be too pretentious, as this would only make the situation worse and put themselves in danger.
They were not that foolish.
The three of them also confirmed that their mobile phones had lost signal and could no longer be used for communication, so they could only focus on the current situation and try to find a way to break the deadlock.
Next, Nie Chongyang and the others would certainly not blindly walk down the stairs. After all, if they could leave by taking the stairs, Ye Tiancheng and the others would not have disappeared. It was easy to imagine that there must be a problem.
Therefore, the first thing Nie Chongyang and the others did was to search for various clues and traces.
The result was some shocking facts. The stairs did not seem to be a complete mirror image of reality. These stairs were likely not walked on by many people, so they were very clear, with only the footprints of the little fox and Ye Tiancheng.
However, that was not all. Nie Chongyang and the others not only found Ye Tiancheng's footprints on the stairs but also found that the two of them had walked back and forth on the stairs many times, both up and down, without a fixed pattern. Although there were no signs of panic, such repeated comings and goings were clearly abnormal.
After Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping told him about this, the胖子 almost instantly reached a conclusion: "Brother Ye and the others must have encountered the 'ghost blocking the road' phenomenon!"
Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping looked at each other.
The term "ghost blocking the road" was not unfamiliar to the Chinese people, let alone Nie Chongyang and the others, who had begun to encounter these strange supernatural events. Even before they had come into contact with the other side of the world and knew that these mysterious existences were real, the term "ghost blocking the road" was not unfamiliar to them.
There were many scientific explanations for "ghost blocking the road." Sometimes, the phenomenon of "ghost blocking the road" did occur for those reasons. However, after realizing that the world was not what they had originally imagined, Nie Chongyang and the others knew that sometimes, the phenomenon of "ghost blocking the road" was indeed a strange supernatural event.
In such cases, scientific explanations were completely useless and could not resolve the predicament.
But Nie Chongyang couldn't help but feel strange. He said to the胖子, "Is it really 'ghost blocking the road'? If I remember correctly, the little fox should know how to draw guiding talismans. If they encountered the phenomenon of 'ghost blocking the road,' Ye Tiancheng and the others should have gotten out long ago. How could they still be trapped and unfindable?"
Liang Ping nodded along from the side and said, "Mr. Ye is so powerful; a mere 'ghost blocking the road' shouldn't be able to trouble them."
The胖子 actually understood this point, but the traces at the scene were too obvious, and he couldn't think of any other possibilities.
He said to Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping, "The logic is sound, but the traces at the scene are like this. If they didn't encounter 'ghost blocking the road,' they wouldn't have been going in circles in the stairwell. Brother Ye and the others have no reason to do this."
Nie Chongyang hesitated. He thought that standing there and discussing was useless. Ultimately, they had to experience it themselves to figure out what was going on.
Therefore, Nie Chongyang said to the胖子, "How about this? Since it's confirmed that the abnormality appeared from the stairs, there's no point in just discussing it. We have to experience it ourselves. So, why don't we go and see what's going on?"
"If Ye Tiancheng and the others are also trapped in the stairwell, we will eventually meet them. We can also try the talismans in our hands to see if this is indeed 'ghost blocking the road.' Practice is the only way to find the truth."