Grudge

Chapter 8: Grudge

When Bai Yanliang touched Li Yuejun's shoulder, he felt her fear even more clearly.

Her whole body trembled like a leaf, her face was deathly pale, and her pupils shook violently.

However, after Li Yuejun blinked, she looked under Bai Yanliang's bed again... The space beneath it was pitch-black and empty.

But Li Yuejun, who had already experienced two cursed journeys, knew perfectly well that she hadn't imagined it, and it wasn't some kind of illusion.

"No... I'm fine." Li Yuejun forced down her fear, but her left hand clung tightly to Bai Yanliang's arm. People could summon tremendous strength without thinking when they were afraid.

Her sharp nails had drawn blood from his right arm, but his expression didn't change at all.

He simply said, "That's good. Let's go find the others."

Then, without turning around, he closed the door.

Li Yuejun finally breathed a sigh of relief. By the time she had fully recovered, Bai Yanliang had already led her to the elevator.

The elevator descended from the sixth floor and stopped in front of them. It was empty.

Bai Yanliang stepped inside, his expression unchanged. Li Yuejun hurried after him.

Only then did she notice that she'd scratched open Bai Yanliang's right arm.

"Why... why didn't you tell me?" Li Yuejun looked at Bai Yanliang in embarrassment, her tone sharp.

But Bai Yanliang shook his head. He didn't even glance at the wound, just casually wiped away the blood with his clothes and said, "It doesn't hurt."

Li Yuejun froze, staring at him in a daze.

She knew exactly what kind of person she was. The three months she'd spent in Mist Gathering had nearly driven her mad. Her emotions had grown more and more volatile, and she'd made enemies with more and more people.

She wasn't unattractive, but in the end, the people trapped in the curse were just a bunch of the nearly dead.

No one would be interested in someone on the verge of an emotional breakdown, and no one would put up with her.

Bai Yanliang had to be given credit for seeing right through her. She really was lonely. But because of that, fear and loneliness had made her more and more unpredictable and strange, creating a vicious cycle.

The elevator fell silent.

Bai Yanliang glanced at the buttons. The inn actually had six floors.

He couldn't be sure whether Xu Zhi'an was still on the first floor, but things were different from before. It was daylight now.

He couldn't say exactly what had changed, or be certain whether the brighter sky affected "him" at all, but... at least the atmosphere in the inn had eased a little, no longer so suffocatingly oppressive.

Bai Yanliang didn't think nighttime would be a good time to investigate. They had to make use of the daylight.

"Ding—"

The chime announcing their arrival on the first floor jolted Li Yuejun out of her thoughts. She gave Bai Yanliang a strange look, as if she wanted to say something.

But Bai Yanliang had already stepped out of the elevator, so she hurried after him and ultimately said nothing.

The first floor had a fairly decent lobby. The decor was quite good.

A waitress in her thirties came over and asked, "Sir, miss, would you like us to prepare breakfast?"

Her manner was professional and her smile just right, but there wasn't the slightest hint of warmth in her voice. If anything, there was a faint trace of malice.

Bai Yanliang was sensitive to other people's emotions. His own emotional responses were faint, but that didn't stop him from observing others.

Besides, judging by the way she addressed them, it seemed the two of them had only just arrived.

"Yes. Please prepare two breakfasts for us."

Figuring there was no reason to turn down a free meal, Bai Yanliang smiled as he replied.

The waitress had just nodded when Bai Yanliang suddenly seemed to remember something. Casually, he asked, "By the way, is there something here..."

He hadn't even finished speaking when the waitress's expression changed completely.

"Sir, if you're a reporter, please leave immediately, or I'll call security." Her face darkened, and her narrow, upturned eyes fixed on Bai Yanliang as if she wanted to see right through him.

Bai Yanliang's thoughts stirred. Her obvious attempt to deny something no one had accused her of was far too contrived.

It was almost as if she wanted to tell him that something had happened here.

But outwardly, Bai Yanliang shook his head. "No, I'm not a reporter. I'm just here on vacation. Oh, what I meant to ask was whether you could change my pillow. I didn't sleep very well last night."

The waitress's expression was strange. Her eyes shifted between Bai Yanliang and Li Yuejun, but one of them met her gaze calmly while the other kept her head lowered, lost in thought.

After a moment, she said, "All right. I'll have your pillow changed. I hope you sleep soundly."

Her words seemed to carry a hidden meaning, but Bai Yanliang acted as if he hadn't noticed. He looked around and this time saw three people.

Xu Zhi'an, Feng Xinghan, and Jiang Li.

Xu Zhi'an looked exactly as he had before: dressed like an office clerk, with his hair combed perfectly. He was young, but stooped a little.

Feng Xinghan seemed to have done physical labor for years. He wasn't tall, but he was powerfully built. He was about the same age as Yang Wanlong, but looked even healthier than Yang Wanlong, who worked as a criminal police officer.

Jiang Li, though, was a little unusual. Bai Yanliang couldn't tell her gender.

She had short hair and wore a white shirt on top and casual jeans below. She didn't look much older than nineteen, and her eyes roamed over Bai Yanliang without the slightest restraint.

Bai Yanliang and Li Yuejun came to the sofa by the lobby window, where they finally joined the other three.

"Sit down," Xu Zhi'an said, his voice weary as he looked at them.

Bai Yanliang's expression didn't change as he sat on the sofa opposite them.

It really was a novel experience. Not long ago, a "Xu Zhi'an" who looked exactly like him had knocked on his door.

Now that he thought about it, if he'd opened the door, the game of life and death might have ended right then and there.

"I didn't expect a newcomer like you to be the Grudge-Bound this time." Xu Zhi'an seemed not to have rested well; his voice was terribly hoarse.

Grudge-Bound?

Bai Yanliang looked at the four of them in confusion. It was a new term to him.

"Do you remember the three people whose names turned red first in Mist Gathering?" Feng Xinghan suddenly asked.

Mist Gathering?

So that was what they called the eerie place beyond the door.

Bai Yanliang nodded and turned his gaze to the sturdy middle-aged man.

"Grudge-Bound means exactly what it sounds like: someone who's most likely to be haunted by an evil spirit. For instance, if the odds are one in a hundred, the chance of the evil spirit targeting us is fifty percent, while your chance is ninety percent. And if it spots you and us at the same time, your chance of being targeted becomes one hundred percent."

Feng Xinghan didn't sound at all pleased with himself. After all, whether the odds were fifty percent or ninety, there were only two possible outcomes: life or death. There was nothing to celebrate.

"But it's not entirely bad. As long as a Grudge-Bound survives the current mission, Mist Gathering is guaranteed not to choose them for the next one."

Bai Yanliang nodded in understanding. Just then, two waitresses brought over breakfast.

"Gentlemen, miss, here's your breakfast."