Encounter

Chapter 20: Encounter

Wang Sheng's sudden shriek startled Jiang Chaojie, and even Xu Zhi'an, hiding around the other side of the wall, broke into a cold sweat.

Jiang Chaojie was much braver than Wang Sheng. After his initial shock, he immediately looked up at the ceiling.

The white ceiling overhead was already soaked through in most places, but there was nothing unusual about the wet patches.

Jiang Chaojie glared fiercely at Wang Sheng. "Quit fucking screaming!"

Wang Sheng rubbed his eyes and, steeling himself, looked at the ceiling again. This time, however, the water stain looked completely ordinary. How could it have looked like a woman's face?

"B-but I clearly saw..."

"Shut up!" Jiang Chaojie cut him off before he could finish. Grabbing him by the collar, he snarled, "Keep running your mouth and I'll stick you in the water tank with her."

The water tank?

Xu Zhi'an, hiding nearby, had just learned something important. Meanwhile, Jiang Chaojie and Wang Sheng's argument had ended.

Xu Zhi'an glanced around, a thought stirring in his mind, then slipped away quietly.

The water tank...

Generally, inns and hotels kept their water tanks on the roof.

Should he go check it out?

Or should he remember what he'd heard and tell everyone after they met up at six?

After thinking it over for a while, Xu Zhi'an made up his mind.

He would go and take a look first.

After all, although it was a little risky, there was a good chance he could figure out who the dead person was. Besides, from the moment they had entered this world, they had been surrounded by danger.

Rather than sitting around anxiously, waiting for death, he might as well take the initiative. Maybe he could find a way to get rid of the ghost sooner.

And it was only the first day. The ghost hadn't yet shown how terrifying it could be...

With that thought, Xu Zhi'an hurried toward the elevator. As luck would have it, it was coming down from the sixth floor.

Xu Zhi'an stood in front of the elevator, frowning slightly.

Just then, it arrived.

"Ding..."

The doors opened. Xu Zhi'an was about to step inside when he saw someone already standing there.

"Mr. Bai?"

Xu Zhi'an was surprised. He'd thought Bai Yanliang was planning to leave the inn and investigate something outside.

"Hello, Mr. Xu." Bai Yanliang gave him his usual faint smile.

"I thought you and Ms. Li were going outside?"

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

Xu Zhi'an brightened. "That's great! I found out a few things too. Shall we go together?"

As he spoke, Xu Zhi'an instinctively took Bai Yanliang by the wrist.

Hiss—

So cold!

Xu Zhi'an froze as soon as he touched Bai Yanliang's wrist. Before his confusion could surface, Bai Yanliang replied:

"Is that so? Sure. Let's go together."

Bai Yanliang's agreement interrupted Xu Zhi'an's train of thought. He hurried into the elevator and pressed the button for the sixth floor.

As they rode, Xu Zhi'an explained what he intended to do and told Bai Yanliang what he'd just overheard.

He told him about the servers' furtive behavior and the water tank they'd said was hiding something.

Bai Yanliang listened quietly to all of it, without offering any opinion.

The elevator was moving.

Two people stood in the enclosed space, but for some reason, a powerful sense of unease suddenly welled up inside Xu Zhi'an...

This situation felt so familiar...

There was something strange about the atmosphere in the elevator...

The moment the thought appeared, it took root, then grew vigorously as fear fed it.

His unease grew more and more real, until Xu Zhi'an began to tremble.

Something was very wrong!

Bai Yanliang certainly didn't seem like a talkative person, but... surely he wouldn't be this silent?

Could he... be a ghost?

Xu Zhi'an shivered.

Then he instinctively dismissed the idea.

Impossible... "He" had just disguised himself as Feng Xinghan to deceive him. How could he be after him again already?

The Grudge-Bound was Bai Yanliang this time, not Xu Zhi'an.

Even if he was unlucky enough to run into the ghost, what were the chances of it happening twice in a row?

That thought eased Xu Zhi'an's mind a little.

At the same time, the elevator chimed as it reached the sixth floor.

It's fine... Bai Yanliang must not be the ghost. If he were, he would have attacked already.

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

But then he noticed a huge lump swelling at the back of Bai Yanliang's head.

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

Bai Yanliang didn't turn around. He simply continued leading the way. "Nothing. I bumped it by accident."

Xu Zhi'an nodded and didn't think much of it.

Then he suddenly came to his senses. Why was Bai Yanliang leading the way?

Where was he going?

Could it be...

The suspicious thought had barely occurred to him when Bai Yanliang suddenly said, "Sorry, Mr. Xu. I really can't hold it anymore. I need to use the bathroom."

Xu Zhi'an let out a huge sigh of relief, thinking he'd been far too paranoid. If this kept up, he'd go crazy sooner or later.

As he relaxed, he felt the urge to pee as well.

"No problem. I need to go too. Let's go together."

Xu Zhi'an quickened his pace and said with a smile.

They walked one behind the other toward the bathroom at the end of the corridor. Every now and then, September sunlight pierced through the window.

For some reason, the sunlight looked rather bright, but when it fell on the walls, it suddenly seemed gloomy and dim.

It was the afternoon. The sun wasn't supposed to be setting yet...

As Xu Zhi'an thought this, Bai Yanliang suddenly stopped.

Xu Zhi'an looked up and saw that they had reached the bathroom.

They hurried inside.

Men didn't take long to relieve themselves, and Bai Yanliang was even faster than Xu Zhi'an.

He had already gone to the sink, head bowed.

Xu Zhi'an shivered. After finally finishing, he stared at Bai Yanliang's back, perplexed.

Why... wouldn't he look at him?

But... this newcomer seemed like a strange person to begin with. None of his behavior was surprising...

Xu Zhi'an found an explanation and let another question go.

After relieving himself, Xu Zhi'an thought about the water tank as he walked toward the sink.

Bai Yanliang was still bent over, repeatedly splashing water onto his face.

Xu Zhi'an hadn't been paying attention, but... by chance, he noticed that the water flowing between Bai Yanliang's fingers was red!

Xu Zhi'an's heart lurched. He instinctively stumbled back several steps, until he crashed into the wall with a "thump."

The faint noise caught Bai Yanliang's attention. He raised his head without turning around, but this time, there was a mirror in front of him.

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

But what he saw was... a man with a horribly rotted face.

In the mirror, that mangled face glared at him with venomous hatred!