Twists and Turns

Regarding Jiang Li's choice, for the first time, Bai Yanliang felt a subtle, peculiar emotion that he could actually perceive.

This feeling... was strange?

Especially when the girl, without a moment's hesitation, tugged at the corner of his shirt and hid behind him.

This unfamiliar emotion was magnified once again...

After struggling to process it, Bai Yanliang finally determined that this emotion was, in all likelihood... the happiness of being trusted.

However... this feeling was quite nice.

Bai Yanliang glanced down at her, said nothing, and turned his gaze toward the elevator.

That was correct.

Jiang Li had bet correctly; the Bai Yanliang who came up the stairs was the real Bai Yanliang.

As for the one in the elevator, his eyes were currently radiating an undisguised, ferocious glare.

Then... the elevator doors slid shut.

Watching "his" figure disappear, Jiang Li finally let out a sigh of relief.

She had also seen the look in that "Bai Yanliang's" eyes, and now, she could finally be certain that the guy beside her was the real Bai Yanliang.

It was just that... a flutter of emotion she felt ashamed to admit welled up in Jiang Li's heart; she hadn't expected... that the real Bai Yanliang would actually come to save her.

And at such great risk, too.

However, if she knew Bai Yanliang's true thoughts, the girl might be disappointed.

After all, saving her was secondary; the primary reason was simply to confirm a theory of his own.

And now, Bai Yanliang was finally able to confirm that theory.

"He" had retreated again.

In front of two humans, "he" had once again chosen to back down.

This meant that this ghost, which possessed the ability to disguise itself, was, for some reason, completely unable to kill!

Perhaps because it possessed the ability to mimic a human, it had lost its other supernatural powers, and its strength was even comparable to that of a human.

Or perhaps, "he" was under some kind of restriction that made it impossible for "him" to lay a hand on humans.

In any case, this was a good thing—a great thing... that would allow Bai Yanliang to take even greater risks.

Thinking of this, Bai Yanliang's expression couldn't help but brighten.

He looked down at Jiang Li and asked with a smile, "Elevator or stairs, Miss Jiang?"

Jiang Li glared at him and rolled her eyes, saying, "Stairs."

Bai Yanliang nodded and took the lead, turning toward the stairwell. Although it made no difference to him whether they took the elevator or the stairs, he was now certain that this ghost posed no real threat. He even thought that if he had known, he should have opened the door for "him" when he first woke up; if he had... he probably could have learned quite a bit of information from "him."

At this thought, Bai Yanliang actually felt a tinge of regret.

But even saying that, if he were to return to the early hours of the morning, he would still make the same choice.

Watching the side profile of Bai Yanliang as he fell into deep thought, Jiang Li felt a sense of bewilderment.

Even now, she couldn't believe that this newcomer who had just entered the Mist Gathering had actually come to save her.

However... in the Mist Gathering, only newcomers and fools would do such a stupid thing...

But Jiang Li didn't hate fools. After all... it was the existence of those idiots who sacrificed themselves for others that allowed everyone in the Mist Gathering to feel that they were still "human," still living people...

Xu Zhi'an was tailing someone.

To be precise, a waiter.

Just a moment ago, he had received shocking news from Bai Yanliang: Zhang Qiao was already dead.

Moreover, she had turned into a ghost and was hiding under Bai Yanliang's bed.

Then... what about Ding Lei's wife, Li Yuhua? And Zhang Qiao's husband?

Had these two people... simply vanished in such a bizarre fashion?

And then there was Ding Lei; because today was Sunday, he seemed to be staying at home and hadn't shown his face.

Mystery after mystery flashed through Xu Zhi'an's mind, but he had no intention of untangling them one by one; he only needed to do his own part well.

This was the valuable experience summarized by those who had managed to survive in the Mist Gathering.

Never try to cut corners or kill time waiting for the final deadline to arrive. And never dig too deep, getting lost in layers of fog from which you can never escape.

Both of these paths would lead to a quick death.

Therefore, exploring different directions individually was the best choice.

Through his investigation just now, Xu Zhi'an had not only learned that Zhang Qiao's husband was named Ding Peng, but also discovered the waiter specifically assigned to the couple—Jiang Chaojie.

Ding Peng was the younger brother of Ruyi Inn's owner, Ding Lei, and Jiang Chaojie was the waiter specifically arranged by Ding Lei to look after the couple.

But... looking at it now, this Jiang Chaojie seems a bit off.

"Jie... Brother Jie, should we really call the police? That matter is bound to come to light sooner or later, if... if..."

Xu Zhi'an hid around the corner, listening to the low male voice coming from the corridor on the other side.

It seems... they mentioned calling the police?

"Don't meddle." Jiang Chaojie looked at the thin, small man in front of him with a gloomy gaze. "Act like you saw nothing. We still have a sum of money to collect. If you cause trouble..."

"Bu... but..." The thin, small man in front of him stammered, appearing extremely terrified.

He was wearing the same uniform as Jiang Chaojie, seemingly also a service staff member of the hotel.

Jiang Chaojie stared at him with some impatience; this thin, small man in front of him was named Wang Sheng, a complete coward who was afraid of everything.

"The... the landlady has been dumped there for almost a week. The weather is so hot, by all logic, the stench should have been discovered long ago, but... but why..." Speaking up to this point, Wang Sheng seemed to suddenly think of something, trembling as he said: "Co... could it be that the landlady has turned into a ghost?"

"Enough!" Jiang Chaojie gave a violent shove, pressing his hand onto Wang Sheng's shoulder and slamming him against the wall, cursing: "What ghost? Shut your mouth for me! When the time comes... we take the money and go our separate ways. Everything we saw stays buried in our stomachs!"

Wang Sheng was timid after all, and he was a man with no backbone to begin with, otherwise, he would have gone to the police long ago.

Hearing Jiang Chaojie's words, he nodded repeatedly, not daring to say another word.

Seeing him in this state, Jiang Chaojie finally let go.

He frowned and glanced at his own palm, saying: "Why is your shoulder all wet?"

All wet?

Wang Sheng turned his head to look at his shoulder, and indeed, a large patch was soaked.

He scratched his head in confusion: "I... I don't know either. Could it be that the ceiling is leaking?"

Having said that, Wang Sheng subconsciously looked up at the ceiling.

Instantly, his eyes widened to the size of saucers, and his face turned deathly pale!

The ceiling had been soaked through with water at some point, and what's more... Wang Sheng clearly saw... those wet patches had actually formed a distinct, ghastly pale woman's face!

Terrified, Wang Sheng's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud, all color draining from his face. His fingers trembled as he pointed at the ceiling, screaming in horror:

"Ghost... a ghost, there's a ghost!"