Moving House

Chapter 46: Moving House

A week later.

Feng Xiuxue's commercial engagements concluded, and she departed from Ye City.

She had not contacted Bai Yanliang since the day she left his apartment; she had sensed his wariness toward "them," as well as his dismissive attitude.

Consequently, Bai Yanliang had spent this period in relative peace. Today, he was holding his phone, following the map as he walked straight ahead.

169 Qingyi Street.

This was the place.

Bai Yanliang put his phone away and looked at the building before him, which stood in stark contrast to the surrounding environment of steel and concrete.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

Bai Yanliang tapped lightly on the door.

Footsteps were heard from inside almost immediately.

"Who is it?"

A young man's muffled voice echoed through the courtyard.

The other party opened the gate, revealing a young, handsome face.

It was no wonder his voice had sounded so garbled; he was brushing his teeth.

"Hello, are you the one who posted the rental listing?" Bai Yanliang didn't mind what the other person was doing.

Although, in his view, brushing one's teeth at one o'clock in the afternoon was indeed a strange thing.

Moreover, judging by the young man's appearance, it seemed he had only just woken up.

Perhaps it was some kind of special profession?

Bai Yanliang thought considerately.

The young, handsome man before him brightened upon hearing Bai Yanliang's words and hurriedly took several mouthfuls of water, gargling and swallowing them down.

"Yes, yes, yes! That's me! You're here to rent the place, right? Hahaha! You've got a good eye!"

His enthusiasm exceeded Bai Yanliang's expectations. Without even introducing himself, he pulled Bai Yanliang into the old building.

Because he had seen the rent beforehand, Bai Yanliang's psychological expectations for the place were not high.

In fact, it was precisely because the price was low enough that Bai Yanliang had been attracted to it.

But the room before him still shattered Bai Yanliang's imagination—not because it was too bad, but because it was too... good.

It was a typical brick-and-wood structure, with doors and windows carved with simple, elegant patterns. A bluestone path extended from the gate to the front of the house, and there were stone tables and stools placed under a locust tree. Not far away, a small pond had even been dug, with clear, flowing groundwater.

The young man kept watching Bai Yanliang's expression, but since Bai Yanliang rarely showed any, he assumed Bai Yanliang still had reservations.

Gritting his teeth, the young man said, "The rent can't go any lower! Even though there are rumors that this place is haunted, what year do you think it is? I can see you're a young man, surely you don't believe in such nonsense?"

Haunted?

Bai Yanliang glanced at him in surprise; he had truly never heard of that.

However... he had found the reason why the rent was so cheap.

"Look, I grew up right here. I've lived here for over twenty years and I've never seen any ghosts. That old locust tree might be a bit gloomy, but I've never seen it stir up any trouble, have I?"

Bai Yanliang smiled and asked, "How much is the rent per year?"

"Sigh, if you aren't willing, then... eh?" The man's eyes lit up; he had only just realized what Bai Yanliang was saying. "You want to rent it? That's great!"

"Fifteen hundred a month, which is eighteen thousand a year. Let's... let's call it seventeen thousand five hundred!"

With a discount of five hundred, Bai Yanliang nodded with satisfaction; it was a win-win.

"Hey! I knew you were different, not like those cowards who get weak in the knees the moment they walk in and see a tree." He said this while standing with his back to the locust tree.

Bai Yanliang followed his gaze toward the locust tree and suddenly froze.

He seemed to have... seen something with very long hair... watching him from between the leaves.

The young man in front of him was still chattering away. Bai Yanliang did not act rashly and withdrew his gaze as if nothing had happened.

"My name is Gao Fei! There are four rooms in this courtyard. Aside from the one I'm staying in, you can pick any of the other three!" Gao Fei was very generous, but his words also revealed that he seemed to be the only one left in this old courtyard.

Bai Yanliang did not refuse. Carrying his luggage, he chose the room on the far right, the one furthest from the locust tree.

With the two of them working together, the room was quickly tidied up and ready for occupancy.

Gao Fei was a decent young man. The fact that the room had finally been rented out seemed to make him very happy, so he decided to head out and get some good food to welcome Bai Yanliang.

Bai Yanliang sat on a stone stool in the courtyard, looking at the old locust tree in deep thought.

He hadn't felt it before, but why was it that now... he could encounter strange things everywhere he went?

Forget it. Gao Fei had lived here for so many years without incident, so the problem shouldn't be too serious.

Just as Bai Yanliang was thinking this, an unfamiliar number suddenly called his phone.

He looked at the number on the screen, which had no name attached, and pressed answer.

"Hello?"

"Is this Mr. Bai?" a magnetic male voice rang out.

"Who are you?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line.

"My name is Du Shangjing."

Du Shangjing?

Bai Yanliang recalled the name. This name, ranked right after Feng Xiuxue, was one of the people in Mist Gathering who had... lived the longest.

As for Feng Xiuxue, her performance had initially left Bai Yanliang somewhat disappointed, but that day, she had revealed another personality. It seemed now that this personality was the key to Feng Xiuxue's ability to keep surviving.

So, what could be special about this Mr. Du Shangjing?

"Hello, Mr. Du. May I ask why you are looking for me?" Bai Yanliang disliked pleasantries; aside from certain necessary performances, he generally preferred to get straight to the point.

"It's like this... you haven't appeared in the group for the past few days, and we know very little about the details of the third group's mission, so..."

Bai Yanliang realized with a start; he had forgotten about that.

In truth, it wasn't that he was unwilling to share, but rather... he disliked the atmosphere in that group.

Although everyone appeared to be chatting quite enthusiastically on the surface, between the lines... most of them were filled with a thick, heavy despair.

They were using normal conversation to mask their inner confusion, fear, and even bizarre madness.

When Bai Yanliang first entered Mist Gathering, he discovered that among those various people, quite a few were already on the verge of a mental breakdown.

The reason he could tell was that he was equally skilled at camouflage, equally skilled at... displaying fake emotions.

Enduring endless pressure and despair for so long, while facing a terrifying world where one could lose their life at any moment, it was only natural for such a situation to arise.

However, Bai Yanliang could also see that several people did not exhibit these emotions, and among them was this Du Shangjing.

"I will compile a document and send it to you, Mr. Du."

Du Shangjing sounded somewhat surprised upon hearing Bai Yanliang's reply.

But he did not refuse.

"Sorry to trouble you, Mr. Bai."

"Mm. If there is nothing else..."

"...Wait!" Du Shangjing hesitated for a moment before calling out.

"Is there something else?"

"Mr. Bai, may I ask... do you, have you felt... that something is not quite right with you?"

Bai Yanliang was taken aback. Du Shangjing's voice as he asked this was low, as if he were subconsciously trying to ensure no one else could hear.

After a moment of thought, Bai Yanliang smiled lightly:

"I haven't, Mr. Du."