Bai Yanliang

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Bai Yanliang (白研良) 1
Alias(es)	Yang Wanlong’s “informant”; briefly poses as a detective using badge number 015386 35 36 32
Species/Race	Human 1
Gender	Male 1
Affiliation	Mist Gathering participant; initially selected as a Grudge-Bound 6
Occupation/Role	Unofficial investigative informant and investigator 35 36 38
Status	Active; continues participating in Mist Gathering missions 49
First Appearance	Chapter 1: “Leaving the Hospital”

Background / History

Bai Yanren’s Case and Hospitalization

Bai Yanliang was implicated in the brutal death of his older brother, Bai Yanren, ten years before his discharge. He was found alone at the scene with blood-red handprints throughout the room and on the murder weapon, yet showed no visible grief, fear, or panic. The evidence and his diagnosis led police to suspect him of murder. 1

The case remains unresolved from Bai Yanliang’s perspective. He has no memory of what happened at the crime scene, while Yang Wanlong later reveals that Bai Yanren’s body disappeared after his death was confirmed. 2

He was committed to Ye City Psychiatric Hospital under a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder. Beginning in his third year there, his evaluations improved steadily: he stopped fighting, self-studied basic subjects, read academic texts, and was eventually permitted to move around the hospital unsupervised. 1

Cognitive Disorder

Bai Yanren had recognized that Bai Yanliang’s condition was not a typical antisocial disorder, but an unusual and severe cognitive disorder. Bai Yanliang experiences the world from a detached “bird’s-eye view,” as though he is an observer inhabiting his own body rather than the central subject of his life. 3

His emotions are extremely faint rather than absent. He understands morality, social rules, and the feelings of others, but struggles to generate comparable emotions himself. His first clearly intense feeling of fear is triggered by the key connected to Bai Yanren’s belongings. 3

Return to Ye City

After ten years in institutional care, Bai Yanliang is discharged and taken in by detective Yang Wanlong, who had continued visiting him over the years. Yang gives him Bai Yanren’s possessions, work files, a bank card, and keys left behind by his brother. 1 3

One of Yanren’s silver keys opens a door to the Mist Gathering, linking Bai Yanren’s death to the supernatural space. Bai Yanliang later learns that Yanren had been a private investigator and that Yanren had been connected to Feng Yiru, the missing sister of actress Feng Xiuxue. 42

Appearance

Bai Yanliang is a delicate-looking young man whose gentle demeanor and refined appearance make him immediately memorable. His outward warmth can appear convincing even when it does not reflect a corresponding emotional response. 1 12

• Delicate, youthful facial features considered especially popular with young women. 1 37
• Tall, upright posture and deep eyes. 12
• Usually maintains a composed, expressionless, or lightly smiling face even in dangerous situations. 14 23
• Has a normal-looking but heavily trained physique and notable physical strength. 21 24

Personality

Bai Yanliang is analytical, controlled, and unusually difficult to frighten. He does not treat ghosts, curses, or violence as normal, but his muted emotional response allows him to examine them without panicking. This repeatedly makes other Mist Gathering participants question whether he is a genius or simply abnormal. 14 23 38

He is highly aware that his behavior unsettles people. Although he can imitate warmth, politeness, and concern convincingly, he regards such expressions as deliberate social performance rather than instinctive reactions. 1 12 23

Despite his detachment, Bai Yanliang does not consider himself cruel. He knows right from wrong, seeks the truth behind Bai Yanren’s death, and intervenes when others are in danger. Being trusted by Jiang Li gives him one of the first emotions he can identify clearly: happiness. 3 19

He is also curious about experiences that make him feel alive. Fear, an accelerated heartbeat, and other strong sensations are meaningful to him precisely because they break through his usual emotional stillness. 7

Abilities & Skills

Deductive Reasoning

Bai Yanliang rapidly identifies patterns in testimonies, crime scenes, supernatural rules, and interpersonal behavior.

• Deduced that the hotel ghost’s disguise ability prevented it from possessing other powers, including teleportation. 7 14
• Identified the connection between Zhang Qiao, Zhang Wen, the Ding brothers, and the murders surrounding Ruyi Inn. 15 26 32
• Exposed Ding Peng’s plan to replace his twin brother and inherit the couple’s wealth. 33
• Noticed hidden evidence and psychological details during the Hao Bowen investigation. 38 39 40

Emotional Observation and Deception

Although he experiences little emotion himself, Bai Yanliang is skilled at recognizing it in others and using a suitable response.

• Detects fear, malice, distraction, and insincerity through subtle changes in behavior. 8 11
• Can present a gentle smile, polite demeanor, and believable confidence when gathering information. 1 12 25
• Uses false identities when necessary, including posing as a reporter and a detective. 25 32
• His emotional flatness can make allies distrust him or mistake him for something inhuman. 20 23

Physical Conditioning and Combat

Bai Yanliang trained his body during his years in the psychiatric hospital and is substantially stronger and faster than an ordinary person. 21

• Breaks Xu Zhi’an’s arms to stop him from strangling himself while under supernatural influence. 21
• Supports Jiang Li on his shoulders so she can inspect four-meter-high water tanks. 23 24
• Disarms and subdues Ding Peng during their confrontation at Ruyi Inn. 33
• Carries Yu Sheng and her wheelchair burden on a mountain path without visible strain. 49
• His strength does not make him invulnerable; he can be injured, including being scratched by Ding Peng and pierced by Li Yuejun’s nails. 8 33

Supernatural Threat Analysis

Bai Yanliang approaches ghosts as problems to be tested rather than threats to be avoided.

• Initiates contact with the ghost beneath his bed to confirm its identity and behavior. 10 11
• Uses Jiang Li’s encounter with his doppelgänger to confirm that the disguised ghost cannot directly kill humans. 18 19
• Recognizes which manifestations at Ruyi Inn are unable to harm people and identifies the true hostile entity. 34
• Uses sensory deprivation—closing his eyes, covering his ears, and holding his breath—to escape a monster-induced hallucination. 45

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Silver key — Bai Yanren’s key, capable of opening the door to the Mist Gathering; Bai Yanliang later wears it on a necklace. 42 47
• Bai Yanren’s bank card — Contains savings left for Bai Yanliang; he uses it after returning to Ye City. 3 37
• Mobile phone — Purchased to communicate with Mist Gathering participants and investigate events in Ye City. 36 37
• Jade Ruyi — A haunted heirloom of Ruyi Inn that Bai Yanliang uses to absorb and banish the mission’s anomalies. 34

Relationships

• Bai Yanren — Older brother and the victim of the unresolved case that led to Bai Yanliang’s confinement. Yanren understood Bai Yanliang’s cognitive disorder and left behind keys and files tied to the Mist Gathering mystery. 1 3 42
• Yang Wanlong — Detective and longtime supporter who believed Bai Yanliang was not responsible for Yanren’s death. He provides Yanren’s belongings and allows Bai Yanliang to stay with his family after his discharge. 1 2 35
• Yang Yiyi — Yang Wanlong’s daughter. She admires Bai Yanliang as a mysterious informant, while he encourages her interest in becoming a detective but remains emotionally distant. 35 36 39 41
• Jiang Li — Mist Gathering teammate who initially finds him frightening but comes to trust him after he saves her from a disguised ghost and rescues Xu Zhi’an. 18 19 21 23
• Xu Zhi’an — Mist Gathering teammate who becomes increasingly wary of Bai Yanliang’s abnormal calmness, then develops genuine trust after Bai Yanliang saves his life. 20 21 23
• Li Yuejun — Mist Gathering teammate who is often unnerved by Bai Yanliang but gradually sees him as a source of security. 7 32 35
• Feng Xiuxue — Actress and Mist Gathering participant seeking her missing sister, Feng Yiru. She and Bai Yanliang cooperate because Feng Yiru’s disappearance is linked to Bai Yanren’s case. 42 43
• Du Shangjing — Veteran Mist Gathering participant who contacts Bai Yanliang about their previous mission and questions whether Bai Yanliang has noticed changes in himself. 46 47
• Yu Sheng — A wheelchair-using newcomer from Ye City. Bai Yanliang carries her during their mountain-path mission and notices that she is concealing something in her right sleeve. 48 49

Story Role / Major Arcs

Ruyi Inn Mission

Bai Yanliang enters the Mist Gathering through a door opened by Bai Yanren’s key and is immediately selected as a Grudge-Bound alongside Xu Zhi’an, Feng Xinghan, Jiang Li, and Li Yuejun. 4 6

During the Ruyi Inn mission, he investigates the ghost beneath his bed, tests the limits of the disguised apparition, uncovers the murders surrounding the Ding brothers and Zhang sisters, and uses the Jade Ruyi to banish the central anomaly. His group returns with only one casualty, and the other participants credit him with solving the mission. 11 19 32 34 35

Ye City Investigations

After returning, Bai Yanliang tacitly becomes Yang Wanlong’s informant and investigates the murder at the Polytechnic Affiliated Hospital with Yang Yiyi and Officer Wang. He links Hao Bowen’s impossible strength and Li Degang’s death to the same type of abnormal incidents connected to Bai Yanren’s past. 35 36 38 39

He assists in uncovering Hao Bowen’s hidden drawings and the role of Yehua Education Center in Hao’s psychological collapse. 40

Feng Xiuxue and the Apartment Incident

Feng Xiuxue reveals that Bai Yanren was connected to her missing sister, Feng Yiru. After they witness a black shadow associated with recent deaths, Bai Yanliang agrees to investigate the connection between their families’ cases. 42 43

At Li Degang’s apartment, Bai Yanliang encounters a facial-feature-covered monster capable of inducing hallucinations. He escapes the hallucination through sensory deprivation and learns that Feng Xiuxue possesses an alternate personality calling itself Feng Yiru. 44 45

Later Mist Gathering Mission

Bai Yanliang is selected as a Grudge-Bound again despite having been chosen in the previous mission, a breach of the Mist Gathering’s usual rules. He joins Li Mu, Yu Hanzhou, Yu Sheng, and others on a mission involving a stranded bus, a mountain forest, and a mist-covered village. 48 49

Notable Quotes

“Although I don't know what you are, this place... is not your world.” 34

“The doctor says I have antisocial tendencies. Do you want to test that?” 33

“Once you become a detective, maybe you'll come to arrest me one day.” 41