Twists and Turns

For the first time, Bai Yanliang felt a subtle, strange emotion in response to Jiang Li's choice—one he could actually identify.

This feeling... was strange?

Especially when the girl had grabbed the hem of his clothes without hesitation and hidden behind him.

That unfamiliar emotion swelled again...

After trying to figure it out, Bai Yanliang finally realized that the emotion was probably... the joy of being trusted.

Still... it felt nice.

Bai Yanliang glanced down at her but said nothing. Instead, he looked toward the elevator.

That was right.

Jiang Li had guessed correctly. The Bai Yanliang coming up the stairs was the real Bai Yanliang.

As for the one in the elevator, his eyes were now filled with undisguised malice.

Then... the elevator doors closed.

Watching "him" disappear, Jiang Li finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She had seen that "Bai Yanliang's" expression too. Now she could finally be sure that the man beside her was the real Bai Yanliang.

But... a flutter of excitement rose in Jiang Li's heart, one she was ashamed to admit. She hadn't expected... the real Bai Yanliang to actually come and save her.

And at such great risk.

Still, if she knew what Bai Yanliang was really thinking, she might have been disappointed.

After all, saving her was secondary. His main reason was to confirm one of his own theories.

And now, Bai Yanliang could finally be sure that he was right.

"He" had retreated again.

In front of two humans, "he" had once more chosen to back away.

That meant this ghost, who could disguise itself, was unable to kill people for some reason!

Perhaps its ability to disguise itself as a human had cost it its other supernatural powers, leaving it with no more strength than an ordinary person.

Or perhaps "he" had been subjected to some kind of restriction that made him incapable of harming humans.

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

At that thought, Bai Yanliang's expression grew a little more cheerful.

He looked down at Jiang Li and smiled. "Take the elevator or the stairs, Miss Jiang?"

Jiang Li glared at him and rolled her eyes. "The stairs."

Bai Yanliang nodded, turned, and led the way toward the stairs. To him, the elevator and the stairs made little difference. He was already sure the ghost posed little threat. He even thought that if he'd known sooner, he should have opened the door for "him" as soon as he woke up. That way... he might have learned quite a bit from "him."

At the thought, Bai Yanliang actually felt a little regretful.

Still, even if he could go back to the early hours of the morning, he would make the same choice.

Watching Bai Yanliang's profile as he fell into thought, Jiang Li felt a little dazed.

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

But... only newcomers and fools in Mist Gathering would do something so stupid...

Jiang Li didn't dislike fools, though. After all... it was only because people foolish enough to put others before themselves existed that everyone in Mist Gathering could still feel like a "person"—someone who was alive...

Xu Zhi'an was following someone.

More precisely, a waiter.

He had just gotten some shocking news from Bai Yanliang: Zhang Qiao was dead.

Worse, 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 the two of them simply vanished without a trace?

As for Ding Lei, since it was Sunday, he seemed to be staying home and hadn't shown up.

One mystery after another flashed through Xu Zhi'an's mind, but he had no intention of solving them all. He only needed to do his own part.

That was the valuable lesson people who survived in Mist Gathering had learned.

Never try to get clever by wasting time and waiting for the final deadline to arrive. And don't dig too deep, either, or you'll get caught up in layers of fog with no way out.

Either could get you killed very quickly.

So the best choice was for everyone to investigate different leads.

From his investigation earlier, Xu Zhi'an had learned not only that Zhang Qiao's husband was named Ding Peng, but also that the waiter assigned specifically to look after the couple was Jiang Chaojie.

Ding Peng was Ding Lei, the owner of Ruyi Inn's, younger brother. Jiang Chaojie, meanwhile, was the waiter Ding Lei had specifically assigned to take care of Ding Peng and his wife.

But... now it seemed there was something off about Jiang Chaojie.

"J-Jie, should we call the police or not? Sooner or later, what happened is going to come out. I-if..."

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

It sounded like... they were talking about calling the police?

"Don't get involved." Jiang Chaojie stared grimly at the thin man in front of him. "Pretend you didn't see anything. We're still getting paid. If you stick your nose in..."

"B-but..." The thin man stammered, clearly terrified.

He wore the same uniform as Jiang Chaojie and seemed to work at the inn too.

Jiang Chaojie glared impatiently at him. The little runt in front of him was called Wang Sheng, a coward through and through.

"The b-boss's wife has been left there for almost a week. It's so hot, the smell should've been noticed by now, but... but why..." Wang Sheng suddenly seemed to realize something. He trembled as he said, "D-did the boss's wife turn into a ghost?"

"That's enough!" Jiang Chaojie shoved him hard, pinning him against the wall by the shoulder. "What ghost? Shut your mouth! When the time comes... we'll take the money and go our separate ways. We'll keep what we saw buried!"

Wang Sheng was a coward, and not much of a thinker either. Otherwise, he would have called the police long ago.

After hearing Jiang Chaojie's words, he nodded repeatedly and didn't dare say another word.

Seeing him like that, Jiang Chaojie finally let go.

Frowning, he glanced at his palm and said, "Why's your shoulder all wet?"

Wet?

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

He scratched his head in confusion. "I... I don't know. Maybe the ceiling's leaking?"

As he said that, Wang Sheng instinctively looked up at the ceiling.

His eyes suddenly went wide, and his face turned deathly pale!

At some point, water had soaked through the ceiling. And... Wang Sheng clearly saw that the wet patches had formed the distinct, ghastly pale face of a woman!

Wang Sheng's legs gave way. He fell to the floor with a thud, all the color draining from his face. Trembling, he pointed at the ceiling and cried out in terror:

"A g-ghost! There's a ghost!"