Encounter

Chapter 20: Encounter

Wang Sheng's sudden shriek not only startled Jiang Chaojie, but even Xu Zhi'an, who was hiding on the other side of the corner, broke out in a cold sweat.

Jiang Chaojie had much more nerve than Wang Sheng; after his initial shock, he immediately looked up at the ceiling.

He saw that the white wall above had been soaked through for the most part, but these damp marks didn't look like anything out of the ordinary.

Jiang Chaojie lowered his head and glared fiercely at Wang Sheng: "Stop your damn screaming!"

Wang Sheng rubbed his eyes and gathered the courage to look at the ceiling again, yet this time, the water stain looked completely normal. Where was the woman's face?

"B-but I clearly saw it just now..."

"Shut up!" Wang Sheng's words were cut off by Jiang Chaojie, who grabbed him by the collar with a ferocious expression: "If you keep yapping, I'll make you go stay in the water tank with her."

The water tank?

Hiding to the side, Xu Zhi'an learned a crucial piece of information, and at the same time, the argument between Jiang Chaojie and Wang Sheng came to an end.

Xu Zhi'an glanced left and right, his heart stirred, and he quietly slipped away.

The water tank...

Generally speaking, the water tanks for inns and hotels are located on the roof.

Should he go and check it out...

Or... should he just note this information and tell everyone when they regroup at six o'clock?

After pondering for a moment, Xu Zhi'an made up his mind.

He would go and take a look first.

After all, while it was a bit risky, there was a high probability of figuring out the identity of the deceased, and besides, from the very first moment he stepped into this world, it had been filled with danger.

Rather than sitting around anxiously waiting for death, it was better to take the initiative; perhaps he could find a way to deal with the ghost sooner.

Moreover, this was only the first day, and the terror of the ghost wasn't that apparent yet...

Thinking of this, Xu Zhi'an walked quickly toward the elevator, and as luck would have it, the elevator was just coming down from the sixth floor.

Xu Zhi'an stood in front of the elevator, his brows slightly furrowed.

At that moment, the elevator arrived.

"Ding..."

The doors opened, and just as Xu Zhi'an intended to step in, he saw that there was already someone standing inside.

"Mr. Bai?"

Xu Zhi'an was a bit surprised, as he had previously seen Bai Yanliang seemingly intending to leave the inn to investigate something outside.

"Hello, Mr. Xu." Bai Yanliang smiled slightly, as he always did.

"I remember, weren't you and Ms. Li planning to go outside?"

"I thought of a few more things, so I came back to take a look," Bai Yanliang explained.

Xu Zhi'an was delighted: "That's great! I just happened to discover something as well, shall we go together?"

As he spoke, Xu Zhi'an subconsciously grabbed Bai Yanliang's wrist.

Hiss—

So cold!

Xu Zhi'an, who had just touched Bai Yanliang's wrist, froze. Just as his confusion began to surface, he heard Bai Yanliang reply:

"Is that so? That's fine, let's go together."

Bai Yanliang's agreement interrupted Xu Zhi'an's doubts, and he hurriedly entered the elevator and pressed the button for the sixth floor.

Xu Zhi'an explained his plan while recounting the news he had just overheard.

From the waiter's furtive behavior to the water tank where they were hiding something.

However, regarding all of this, Bai Yanliang just listened quietly, without expressing any opinion.

The elevator was in motion.

Two people stood in the confined space, but for some reason, a strong sense of unease suddenly welled up in the depths of Xu Zhi'an's heart...

Such a familiar situation...

The atmosphere in the elevator was somewhat eerie...

Once a strange thought appeared, it immediately took root and sprouted, growing vigorously under the nourishment of fear.

The intense feeling of unease became more and more real, making Xu Zhi'an tremble slightly.

Something was very wrong!

Although Bai Yanliang didn't seem like a person who liked to talk, he... shouldn't be this silent, right?

Could he... be the ghost?

Xu Zhi'an shuddered.

He immediately and subconsciously denied this thought.

Impossible... "He" had just disguised himself as Feng Xinghan to deceive him, so how could he have sought him out again now?

One had to know, the Grudge-Bound this time was Bai Yanliang, not him, Xu Zhi'an.

Even if he were unlucky enough to run into a ghost, it was impossible to run into one twice in a row, right?

Thinking of this, Xu Zhi'an felt slightly more at ease.

At the same time, the sound of the elevator reaching the sixth floor rang out.

No problem... It seems Bai Yanliang is not a ghost. If he were a ghost, he should have made a move while in the elevator...

Xu Zhi'an's lingering fear gradually dissipated, and he let out a sigh of relief as he looked at Bai Yanliang's back.

However, at this moment, he suddenly noticed a large lump protruding from the back of Bai Yanliang's head.

Xu Zhi'an stepped out of the elevator, caught up to him, and asked, "Mr. Bai... what happened to your head?"

Bai Yanliang did not turn around, simply continuing to lead the way forward: "It's nothing, I bumped it by accident."

Xu Zhi'an nodded, not thinking much of it.

Suddenly, he came to his senses—why was Bai Yanliang leading the way?

Where was he going?

Could it be...

The suspicious thought had just emerged when he heard Bai Yanliang suddenly say: "Excuse me, Mr. Xu, I really can't hold it anymore, I'm going to the restroom first."

Xu Zhi'an let out a long sigh of relief, secretly telling himself he was being too neurotic; if this continued, he would go crazy sooner or later.

After relaxing slightly, Xu Zhi'an also felt a surge of urgency.

"It's fine, I was just thinking of going too, let's go together."

Xu Zhi'an quickened his pace to catch up, saying with a smile.

The two walked one after the other toward the restroom at the end of the corridor, with the September sunlight occasionally piercing through the windows.

For some reason, the sunlight, which looked quite bright, suddenly became somewhat gloomy and dim when it shone on the walls.

It was afternoon, and it shouldn't be time for the sun to set yet...

Just as Xu Zhi'an was thinking this, Bai Yanliang suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Xu Zhi'an looked up and saw that they had arrived at the restroom.

The two hurried inside.

For men, relieving themselves was not a complicated affair, and Bai Yanliang's movements were even faster than Xu Zhi'an's.

He had already stepped ahead, head lowered, toward the washbasin.

Xu Zhi'an shivered, and after finally finishing, he looked at Bai Yanliang's back with some confusion.

Why did he... keep not looking at him?

But... this newcomer seemed to be an odd person to begin with, so any behavior wouldn't be strange...

Xu Zhi'an found an explanation and let go of another doubt.

After finishing his business, Xu Zhi'an walked toward the washbasin while thinking about the water tank.

Bai Yanliang was bowing his head, splashing water onto his face repeatedly.

Xu Zhi'an hadn't paid much attention at first, but... he inadvertently discovered that the water flowing through Bai Yanliang's fingers was red!

Xu Zhi'an's heart trembled, and he subconsciously took a few steps back until he hit the wall with a "bang."

This faint sound was noticed by Bai Yanliang. He lifted his head, still not turning around, but this time, there was a mirror in front of him.

And through this mirror, Xu Zhi'an finally saw his face.

However, what he saw was... a man with a festering face.

In the mirror, that unrecognizable face was glaring at him with resentment and malice!