Investigation

Investigation

People spent their lives constantly doing all kinds of stupid things.

But... generally speaking, voluntarily going to see a ghost was not one of them.

If the others in Mist Gathering learned of Bai Yanliang's actions, they would certainly think he was insane.

Everyone in Mist Gathering knew that there were two kinds of ghosts. One kind was vengeful spirits that still retained fragments of consciousness and emotion, yearning for revenge.

Generally speaking, the targets of their revenge were not people from Mist Gathering. But... ghosts did not exactly have firm principles, much less any moral bottom line. When they encountered humans, they might casually kill them too.

It was like accidentally crushing an ant while walking down the road. Perhaps it had not been targeting anyone in particular, but humans were utterly incapable of bearing its terror.

The other kind consisted of evil ghosts that had lost all consciousness and fallen into endless resentment and malice.

They no longer had weaknesses, reservations, or lingering emotions. Their sole purpose for existing was to erase everyone trapped in this terrifying game.

Therefore, no matter which kind a ghost belonged to, humans would never choose to approach it voluntarily. After all, that was no different from placing one's head beneath the executioner's blade.

Of course, Bai Yanliang did not know that Mist Gathering classified ghosts in these two ways.

But he had his own judgment: the ghost beneath the bed would not hurt anyone.

After all, it had been sleeping beneath Bai Yanliang from the very beginning, yet it had not made a single move.

Bai Yanliang did not think he possessed enough charm to make a ghost abandon an attack. If the ghost under the bed had truly wanted to act, Bai Yanliang's corpse might already have gone cold.

What truly confirmed Bai Yanliang's guess, however, was that line of Jieyu.

"Sleeping beneath one's back, waking soulless within a dream."

The first half clearly referred to it.

According to Xu Zhi'an and the others, Jieyu could also contain misdirection and traps. But judging from the results so far, this Jieyu was indeed a hint.

After all, Bai Yanliang had awakened in this room, and beneath the bed in this room was its presence.

If it truly harbored malicious intent, Mist Gathering would never have placed Bai Yanliang directly beside it. That would mean Bai Yanliang had lost this game from the very beginning.

Bai Yanliang looked into its eyes.

No... perhaps it should have been... her.

Her pupil-less eyes were wide open with incomprehensible meaning, radiating suffocating malice. A thick stench crazily burrowed into Bai Yanliang's nostrils. Her face was far too pale, and her hair far too long.

She curled her lips slightly, as if she were sneering strangely, or perhaps preparing to feed.

Long strands of black hair had silently coiled around Bai Yanliang's ankle. The cramped room was filled with an eerie, dangerous aura.

Bai Yanliang did not panic.

In fact, once he had made this decision, he had already prepared for the worst. Though in his estimation, the odds of this ghost killing him should have been low.

Moreover, Bai Yanliang had come looking for her because of his own nature.

He was a man of strong initiative. Once he confirmed a plan, he would carry it out step by step. Even if it took seven years, he would not hesitate, remaining as steadfast as ever.

Her gaping mouth revealed sharp teeth slick with disgusting saliva, but Bai Yanliang merely watched her quietly and said again, "There is something I want to ask you. Are you... the proprietress?"

Her movements visibly paused, and her mouth, which had already split to her ears, quietly stopped as well.

Saliva dripped from her sharp teeth. Her eyes remained fierce and terrifying.

But... there was now a trace of distraction in them.

Bai Yanliang was certain of it. He understood all kinds of emotions very well, though he possessed none himself.

Observe and think, then take targeted measures. That was the key to his successful discharge from the hospital.

The tightening black hair gradually withdrew. Her deathly pale face also retreated, shrinking back into the darkness deep beneath the bed until she vanished completely.

From beginning to end, the ghost did not say a single word.

In fact, Bai Yanliang doubted whether these ghosts could speak at all.

Like that "Xu Zhi'an." He had indeed opened his mouth, but that had merely been "his" clumsy imitation. Could the real "him" speak?

Still, although the other party had not spoken, Bai Yanliang had already obtained the information he wanted. The next step was to confirm it.

Bai Yanliang stood up and glanced at his ankle. It was already bruised black and blue.

It seemed he could not be so rash when dealing with them in the future.

He closed the door behind him and headed for the next place, while... it was still daytime.

"Ms. Zhang?"

Xu Zhi'an softly called to the person before him, who seemed to be lost in thought.

Beside him stood a sturdy man: Feng Xinghan.

If Bai Yanliang had been there, he would definitely have recognized Ms. Zhang as the waitress who had questioned him and Li Yuejun.

Xu Zhi'an's call startled her awake. Her eyes lit up as though she had suddenly come to her senses. She looked around hurriedly, and seeing no one nearby, seized Xu Zhi'an's hand. "You finally came! I'll tell you, I'll tell you everything!"

"What? Ms. Zhang?" Xu Zhi'an froze. He looked back at Feng Xinghan, then at Ms. Zhang. "What do you want to tell us?"

"Stop pretending! I was the one who called your newspaper office, and I was the one who told them not to let you say you were reporters. Don't worry, this is my break room. No one will come." Ms. Zhang's expression was somewhat strange. She seemed to be smiling happily, her eyes widening as she stared at Xu Zhi'an and Feng Xinghan.

"Ah... oh, right!" Though he did not understand what arrangement Ms. Zhang had with the newspaper office, seeing that she seemed to intend to tell them something, Xu Zhi'an decisively chose to pretend to be a reporter.

Feng Xinghan also realized that Ms. Zhang seemed to have misunderstood something.

Still, she... did not seem very well liked. After asking around all the way here, they discovered that her break room was in the farthest corner of the employee area, right beside the restroom. As a result, a strange, faint odor always lingered in her room.

Pulled along by the overly enthusiastic Ms. Zhang, the two sat beside her bed and accepted cups of a strangely smelling liquid.

Xu Zhi'an and Feng Xinghan exchanged glances, each seeing shock and suspicion in the other's eyes.

This water was...

"Drink. Aren't you thirsty?" Ms. Zhang tilted her head and looked at them strangely. Seeing that neither had moved and that they were still staring at each other, she seemed to grow anxious.

She directly picked up the kettle and gulped its contents down.

As Xu Zhi'an and Feng Xinghan watched her throat convulse, sourness surged in their stomachs and an overwhelming urge to vomit rose within them.

What exactly was wrong with Ms. Zhang?

There was no water in her kettle at all. It was pus and blood mixed with all kinds of scraps!