Moving House

Chapter 46: Moving House

A week later.

Feng Xiuxue's business engagements came to an end, and she left Ye City.

She hadn't contacted Bai Yanliang since leaving the apartment that day. She'd sensed how wary he was of them, and felt his rejection.

So Bai Yanliang had enjoyed a relatively peaceful time lately. Today, he was walking along with his phone in hand, following the map.

No. 169, Qingyi Street.

This was the place.

Bai Yanliang put away his phone and looked at the buildings before him, which stood out starkly against the surrounding concrete and steel.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

Bai Yanliang gently knocked on the door.

Footsteps soon sounded from inside.

"Who is it?"

A young man's muffled voice came from the courtyard.

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

No wonder his voice had been muffled. He was brushing his teeth.

"Hello. Are you the one who posted the rental listing?" Bai Yanliang didn't mind what the man was doing.

Though, to him, brushing your teeth at one in the afternoon was certainly strange.

And judging by the young man's appearance, he seemed to have just gotten up.

Perhaps he has an unusual job.

Bai Yanliang thought this with understanding.

The handsome young man's eyes lit up at Bai Yanliang's question. He hurriedly took several mouthfuls of water, gargled, and swallowed.

"Yes, yes! That was me! You're here to rent a room, right? Haha! You've got good taste!"

His enthusiasm surprised Bai Yanliang. Without even introducing himself, he led Bai Yanliang into the old building.

Since he'd seen the rent first, Bai Yanliang hadn't expected much from the place.

In fact, it was the low price that had drawn him here.

But the room before him still exceeded his expectations—not because it was too shabby, but because it was too... nice.

It was a typical brick-and-wood house, with elegant, old-fashioned carvings on the doors and windows. A path of bluestone slabs ran from the gate to the house. Beneath a locust tree stood a stone table and benches, and a little farther away, a small pond had been dug, filled with clear, flowing spring water.

The young man kept an eye on Bai Yanliang's expression. But since Bai Yanliang rarely showed much, the man assumed he still had some reservations.

Gritting his teeth, the young man said, "I can't lower the rent any more! Sure, there are rumors the place is haunted, but what era are we living in? You look young too. You don't believe that nonsense, do you?"

Haunted?

Bai Yanliang looked at him in surprise. He hadn't heard about that.

But... he'd found the reason the rent was so cheap.

"Look, I grew up here. I've lived here for over twenty years and never seen a ghost. That old locust tree is a little creepy, sure, but I've never seen it do anything strange."

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

"Ah, if you're not interested, then..." The man's eyes lit up. Only then did he catch what Bai Yanliang had said. "You want to rent it? That's great!"

"Fifteen hundred a month, so eighteen thousand a year. I'll... I'll make it seventeen thousand five hundred for you!"

A discount of five hundred. Bai Yanliang nodded, satisfied. Both sides benefited.

"Hey! I knew you were different. You're not like those cowards who come in, see a tree, and get so scared their legs turn to jelly." He said this with his back to the locust tree.

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

He thought he'd seen... something with long hair... watching him through the leaves.

The young man in front of him kept chattering. Bai Yanliang didn't make any sudden moves, simply looking away as if nothing had happened.

"I'm Gao Fei! There are four rooms in this courtyard. I live in one, so you can pick whichever of the other three you like!" Gao Fei was generous, but his words also suggested that he was the only one living in the old courtyard.

Bai Yanliang didn't refuse. He carried his luggage and chose the room on the far right, as far from the locust tree as possible.

After the two of them busied themselves for a while, the room was soon ready to live in.

Gao Fei was a nice young man. He seemed delighted that he'd finally rented out the room, so he decided to head out and get something tasty to welcome Bai Yanliang.

Bai Yanliang sat on a stone bench in the courtyard, gazing thoughtfully at the old locust tree.

He hadn't noticed it before, but why was he... running into strange things wherever he went now?

Never mind. Gao Fei had lived here for years without anything happening to him, so it was probably fine.

As Bai Yanliang was thinking this, an unfamiliar number suddenly called.

He looked at the number with no name attached and answered.

"Hello?"

"Is this Mr. Bai?" A deep, magnetic male voice came through.

"Who is this?"

The person on the other end fell silent for a moment.

"My name is Du Shangjing."

Du Shangjing?

Bai Yanliang recalled the name. It came right after Feng Xiuxue's on the list, making him one of the people in Mist Gathering who had survived the longest.

Feng Xiuxue's earlier behavior had disappointed Bai Yanliang somewhat, but that day, she had revealed another personality. Now it seemed that this other personality was the key to her continued survival.

So what was special about Mr. Du Shangjing?

"Hello, Mr. Du. What can I do for you?" Bai Yanliang didn't care for small talk. Aside from the occasional necessary pretense, he preferred to get straight to the point.

"Well... you haven't appeared in the group these past few days, and we know very little about the details of the third group mission, so..."

Bai Yanliang understood. He'd forgotten about that.

It wasn't that he was unwilling to share. It was that... he disliked the atmosphere in that group.

On the surface, everyone chatted quite freely, but between the lines... most of them were steeped in despair.

They were using ordinary conversation to hide their inner bewilderment and fear, or even their strange, growing madness.

The first time Bai Yanliang entered Mist Gathering, he'd noticed that many of the varied people there were already on the verge of mental collapse.

He could tell because he was just as good at pretending, just as good at... displaying emotions that weren't real.

After enduring endless pressure and despair for so long, and facing a terrifying world where death could come at any moment, it was only natural for people to end up like that.

But Bai Yanliang could also tell that several people hadn't fallen into that state. Du Shangjing was one of them.

"I'll put together a document and send it to you, Mr. Du."

Du Shangjing seemed a little surprised by Bai Yanliang's response.

But he didn't refuse.

"Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Bai."

"Mm. If there's nothing else..."

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

"Is there something else?"

"Mr. Bai, may I ask... have you ever felt that something about you... wasn't quite right?"

Bai Yanliang froze. Du Shangjing's voice had grown low as he asked, as if he instinctively didn't want anyone else to hear.

After thinking for a moment, Bai Yanliang smiled softly.

"No, I haven't, Mr. Du."