Jing Minghe finally succeeded in entering the flower garden. However, the garden was exactly the same as when he entered yesterday, with no changes at all. Not even the positions of the butterflies had shifted.
"So, brother," Jing Minghe muttered to himself as he walked towards the flower wall, "does this garden have anything to do with you? What role does its existence play in this instance?"
After meticulously inspecting the entire garden, Jing Minghe still couldn't find any new clues.
"Minghe!"
Chi Hao searched the hotel and finally found Jing Minghe in the flower garden. Seeing him, he hurried over, checking him from head to toe with concern. "Are you okay?"
Jing Minghe was confused. "I'm fine, Brother Hao. Why do you look so tense?"
Relieved to see Jing Minghe unharmed, Chi Hao explained, "Li Zhong is dead. He died in his own room, his body chopped into pieces and placed on the bed. You went to find him, didn't you?"
Jing Minghe found it hard to believe. "Dead? In his own room?"
"Yes."
"That's strange," Jing Minghe mused, tapping his chin. "I went to his room to find him, but I didn't see him."
Following this, Jing Minghe recounted what happened in Li Zhong's room to Chi Hao, analyzing as he spoke, "I think the Lu Fanfei I encountered was a manifestation of something within this instance, a false image created by prying into my memories. As for whether Li Zhong was in the room at that time, perhaps..."
Chi Hao finished Jing Minghe's thought, "Perhaps you weren't in the same space."
Jing Minghe nodded, confirming that Chi Hao's guess was indeed what he had thought. He then asked, "By the way, who discovered Li Zhong's death? A player, or someone from the art troupe?"
"An Ruo and Xia Rong," Chi Hao replied.
"Them?" Jing Minghe narrowed his eyes. "Everyone should be there by now, right? Let's go take a look."
Chi Hao grunted and, as they left the flower garden, added, "Gong Liang is back."
Jing Minghe paused mid-stride, turning to ask, "What? Gong Liang? He's back?"
Upon receiving Chi Hao's affirmative reply, Jing Minghe hurried downstairs.
They arrived on the fifth floor, where a crowd had gathered outside Li Zhong's room, comprising both players and members of the art troupe. Jing Minghe noticed Gong Liang standing at the outermost edge of the crowd. All the players were outside, and not a single one had entered the room.
Jing Minghe felt a pang of curiosity. How terrible must the situation inside be? Even Gu Chenhui hadn't gone in to investigate.
"Minghe," Gu Chenhui said, spotting Jing Minghe and Chi Hao. He walked out of the crowd and approached Jing Minghe, whispering, "Mr. Lu's people are inside."
Jing Minghe froze for a moment before realizing. When A Mo died earlier, Hu Feiyan had mentioned that Mr. Lu's people would arrive. With two members of the art troupe dead within a day, he wondered how Mr. Lu's people would handle the situation.
Since he couldn't enter Li Zhong's room to find clues, Jing Minghe shifted his attention to another person. He leaned closer to Gu Chenhui and asked, "When did Gong Liang get back? Did you notice?"
Gu Chenhui replied, "He came out of his room. I couldn't find Wei Hao on the fifth floor, so I went down to the second floor. Next to the exhibition hall, there was a storage room. I encountered Wei Hao there. I'll explain the details later. When I heard the commotion upstairs, I came up and saw Gong Liang coming out of his room on the fourth floor."
"They're coming out."
Chi Hao said, pulling Jing Minghe closer to him.
Jing Minghe's attention was entirely captivated by the people emerging from Li Zhong's room, and he didn't notice Chi Hao's subtle movement.
The person who emerged was dressed in black, with an imposing posture, a stern face, and sharp eyes. Hands in his pockets, he swept his gaze casually over the onlookers as he walked out of the room.
Hu Feiyan followed closely beside him, looking anxious and helping to clear a path.
A brief exchange of glances sent a chill down Jing Minghe's spine.
You Mi and Qiao Qiao, spotting Jing Minghe, quickly approached. Before they could speak to him, they sensed a sharp gaze from behind them and, in a moment of unspoken agreement, moved to the side.
Jing Minghe, Chi Hao, and Gu Chenhui remained in the middle of the corridor, waiting for the man to approach.
"Three guests, please allow..."
Hu Feiyan was interrupted by the man before she could finish. The man approached Jing Minghe, leaning in close. A forced smile appeared on his stern face. "Little Jing, Boss Lu misses you dearly. He's waiting for the day he can see you."
This single sentence froze Jing Minghe on the spot. By the time he wanted to ask for more, the man had already walked away.
"Minghe!" Gu Chenhui grabbed Jing Minghe, who was about to chase after the man. "Now is not the time. The instance is more important. Don't let this affect you."
"You..." Jing Minghe looked at Gu Chenhui, a hint of annoyance rising within him. In the outside world, he and Gu Chenhui were not strangers, but neither were they close. He only knew that Gu Chenhui was one of Lu Fanfei's few friends. Because Lu Fanfei wasn't the type to frequently socialize, Jing Minghe had limited opportunities to see Gu Chenhui. At this moment, Gu Chenhui's demeanor gave him a certain impression.
In this City of Death, Gu Chenhui seemed to know more about Lu Fanfei's situation than he did. To be precise, apart from knowing that Lu Fanfei had entered this place long ago and believing that Lu Fanfei was definitely still alive, he knew nothing else.
"You come with me!"
Jing Minghe didn't pursue the man and paid no heed to the circumstances of Li Zhong's death. Instead, he grabbed Gu Chenhui and led him up to the sixth floor.
Reaching the door of the flower garden on the sixth floor, Jing Minghe pushed Gu Chenhui against the door and demanded, "Gu Chenhui, tell me, have you seen him?"
Gu Chenhui, unbothered by Jing Minghe's roughness, smiled faintly and said, "Minghe, whether I've seen him or not isn't really important to you. I know he is very important to you. If you want to see him, you must keep moving forward."
Before Jing Minghe could reply, Gu Chenhui continued, "Only you can save him. But not now. Even if you could see him now, you wouldn't be able to save him; you would only harm him."
"What do you mean?" Jing Minghe's body trembled slightly. "He's still alive? Truly alive? I can save him? What do you mean? If he's still alive, isn't he more... than me..."
"He's not exactly alive," Gu Chenhui leaned close to Jing Minghe's ear and whispered, "He's on the cusp of life and death. Whether he lives or dies is entirely up to you."
Jing Minghe released Gu Chenhui, stepping back two paces. His eyes were fixed on the small door of the flower garden. He suddenly understood something: the role of this flower garden in this instance wasn't as crucial as he had initially thought.
"Heh."
Jing Minghe let out a wry chuckle and whispered to the flower garden, "I will make myself stronger. If you want to add any more difficulty, bring it on, as long as you can do it. If you like it, I'm happy to oblige, just like before."
With that, he turned and headed downstairs, not casting another glance at the flower garden.