Division

Chapter 45: Division

Feng Xiuxue seemed stunned. She kept her head bowed, her body trembling. Though she didn't back away again, she was unwilling to come any closer to Bai Yanliang.

Bai Yanliang stared at the tall, gaunt monster. Human features covered its exposed skin, and its countless eyes all stared in the same direction—the apartment building's thirteenth floor.

Although it hadn't looked at them at all, Bai Yanliang didn't think that meant he was safe.

Because... the sounds around them hadn't returned. This was still a world that was unnaturally silent.

But... he wasn't entirely helpless in this situation.

"Close your eyes, cover your ears, and hold your breath." Bai Yanliang didn't know if Feng Xiuxue had heard him, but at least he'd said it.

Whether she followed his instructions was up to her.

Besides... Bai Yanliang was already doing as he'd said.

Generally speaking, there were two ways to make people hallucinate. One was to confuse their five senses; the other was to act directly on their cognitive nerves.

The second method was more troublesome, because you had to break free of thoughts you'd already "accepted as certain" and establish a new understanding.

But that wasn't difficult for Bai Yanliang. He'd just tried convincing himself that everything before his eyes was an illusion, but it hadn't worked.

It seemed that this was the relatively simple first kind after all.

Bai Yanliang closed his eyes, covered his ears, and held his breath.

Gradually, things began to change...

"Whoosh..."

The sound of wind.

Then came voices, the sound of cars, and honking...

Bai Yanliang calmly opened his eyes. The world was back.

As expected, it had been an illusion.

He looked straight ahead. Feng Xiuxue was still standing with her head lowered, saying nothing.

The busy road was right behind her. If she'd taken another step backward just now...

Bai Yanliang looked away from her and turned to face the thirteenth floor of the apartment building.

He clearly remembered the eyes of the monster in the illusion. Every one of them had been staring at that floor.

This wasn't Mist Gathering. Bai Yanliang wouldn't knowingly walk into danger.

After a moment's thought, he decided to leave.

The case had essentially been closed for now, though too many details remained unexplained.

The police couldn't explain it either. Some bizarre things simply couldn't be shared with everyone.

Bai Yanliang wasn't in a hurry. Sooner or later, he would return to the apartment building's thirteenth floor.

"I'm leaving. You'd better not go inside." Bai Yanliang glanced at Feng Xiuxue.

But she kept her head lowered and said nothing.

Bai Yanliang was puzzled. Was she still trapped in the illusion?

Just as he was drawing closer to Feng Xiuxue, she suddenly raised her head.

Bai Yanliang's pupils contracted. He stopped warily. "Who are you?"

"Feng Xiuxue" raised her head and looked at him quietly.

She still looked like Feng Xiuxue, but Bai Yanliang could clearly sense that "she" was different... different on the inside.

"Feng Yiru." Her voice made Bai Yanliang furrow his brow.

He clearly remembered that Feng Xiuxue's voice was gentle. But the "woman" before him had a voice so cold it sent a shiver down his spine.

And the three words she'd just said were even stranger.

Feng Yiru? Wasn't that Feng Xiuxue's older sister?

"Don't believe her." She looked at Bai Yanliang, her tone cold.

Bai Yanliang's thoughts stirred.

Could she have multiple personalities?

"What do you mean?" Bai Yanliang looked at the "strange" woman before him.

"Don't look for them in the real world." Her gaze was deep and chilling, completely unlike the feeling Feng Xiuxue gave him.

"You're not the only smart one. And you're not the only one who wants to know everything."

Her warning took Bai Yanliang by surprise.

Feng Xiuxue should have been on the same side as Bai Yanliang, but... the other personality inside her seemed to think otherwise.

"Stay away from her. Sooner or later, she'll die by her own hand."

When she spoke of death, she didn't seem at all aware that if Feng Xiuxue died, she would disappear too.

"Are you... my sister-in-law?" Bai Yanliang asked suddenly.

She seemed unprepared for the question. Her expression visibly froze, then she stiffly shook her head.

"No."

Before Bai Yanliang could respond, she spoke again, much faster this time.

"She's about to wake up. Remember what I said."

"Remember... don't believe her."

She gave Bai Yanliang a long look, then closed her eyes.

And then, right before Bai Yanliang's eyes,

Feng Xiuxue's demeanor changed abruptly. She opened her eyes, and they held nothing but confusion and fear. Her face was pale, and her lips trembled.

"Bai... Bai Yanliang, there's a ghost here..." Feng Xiuxue's voice was trembling, but it had returned to the gentle tone Bai Yanliang remembered from the first time he'd heard her speak.

Bai Yanliang watched her in silence.

What was going on with this woman?

There was a personality inside her named "Feng Yiru." In theory, Feng Yiru was her biological older sister, and Feng Xiuxue was willing to seek out the strange and supernatural for her sister's sake. The sisters should have had a good relationship, and by the same logic, the relationship between her primary and secondary personalities shouldn't have been too antagonistic.

But... judging by what he'd just seen, "Feng Yiru" seemed to distrust Feng Xiuxue completely, even... to bear her ill will!

This woman was full of contradictions and suspicious details. Bai Yanliang was even beginning to wonder whether anything she'd told him about Bai Yanren and her "older sister" was true.

If it was all a lie, what could she possibly gain by deceiving him?

Bai Yanliang didn't think anyone could get anything out of him at present.

But setting everything else aside, "Feng Yiru's" warning happened to match what he was thinking at that moment: he couldn't approach them for now.

According to "Feng Yiru," someone in Mist Gathering had already investigated those strange beings in the real world. Who were these smart people she'd mentioned? Which of them were in Mist Gathering?

With that in mind, Bai Yanliang told Feng Xiuxue, "It's too dangerous here. We can't go in for now."

Feng Xiuxue parted her lips, as if she wanted to say something.

But Bai Yanliang had already turned and walked away. He had no intention of going inside to see what was there.

Her gaze dimmed, but she had no grounds to ask anything of Bai Yanliang.

One went left, the other right, and they headed off in opposite directions.

Bai Yanliang suddenly stopped and looked back at her.

Feng Xiuxue... seemed completely unaware that she had another personality.

And that personality used her older sister's name.

Bai Yanliang looked away and glanced once more at the towering apartment building.

It wasn't as if he'd come away empty-handed this time.

At the very least, he could now be certain that there was a monster in the apartment building capable of creating multiple layers of illusion. Human features covered its body.

Was it a ghost? Or something else entirely...

And what did it have to do with Li Degang's abnormality?

Besides... Feng Xiuxue had displayed another personality, and that personality seemed to know a lot of things Feng Xiuxue didn't.

Things were getting more and more interesting.