Frightening Joke: Above the Mist
Chapter 224 Transparent

Chapter 224: Chapter 224 Transparent

Bai Yanliang and the others quickly followed and saw the village nestled in the mountain hollow.

Such a quiet village...

The moment they saw it, this word flashed through everyone’s mind.

Quiet...

Or perhaps... silent.

"Where’s that old man?"

Lu Guo asked.

No one answered him. The village ahead exuded an almost visible aura of unease, making everyone reluctant to enter.

But... this is Fog Gathering, this is the task. Going in still holds a sliver of hope for life; not going means certain death.

The surroundings were eerily silent, the mountain wind tugged at their hair and clothing.

But Bai Yanliang noticed that, apart from the five of them, the surrounding grass and trees didn’t move at all.

As if... the only living beings here were the five of them.

Old Li was nowhere to be seen, but his task was done.

This should be Zhongyuan Village.

Even though the five didn’t want to enter, they had no choice but to.

Yu Wenxuan was the first to step into the hollow, and the moment he did, Bai Yanliang noticed that the signal on his phone suddenly disappeared.

Jiang Li shivered as well; she felt that this hollow felt very different from the outside.

The quiet village lying ahead seemed like a giant, terrifying black hole.

Moreover... she wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but Jiang Li felt that even though she’d only taken one step forward, the once-bright sunlight had suddenly turned gloomy, and there seemed to be more dead trees and withered grass around.

Jiang Li walked in the exact middle among the five; no matter whether counted from the front or back, she was third.

Logically, this should have been a very safe position, but Jiang Li felt an intense pressure on her heart.

Breathing felt difficult.

Through the gaps in the dead tree branches, she looked up. It wasn’t an illusion... the sky indeed seemed much lower.

It seemed like it was going to rain; the low-hanging dark clouds were like an impenetrable black fabric covering their heads.

"Be careful, we’re almost there." Lu Guo advised.

He too felt uneasy; this unease was more pronounced than in any previous task.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Guo suppressed the strange emotion within him.

After another ten minutes, the five finally reached the village entrance.

Who would have thought that in this remote hollow, there actually was a village?

The village buildings were very old; not a single two-story structure, just low, old earthen and wooden houses.

Under the gloomy sky, they looked both dilapidated and desolate.

However... what caught everyone’s attention wasn’t the village’s environment but the bright red items hanging under the eaves of every house.

Though they hadn’t entered the village yet, the scene before them gave everyone goosebumps.

"Those hanging under the eaves... what are they?"

Jiang Li asked with dry lips.

"Clothes, by the style, they seem to be traditional wedding garments."

Lu Guo replied.

"No." Xu Zhifei suddenly spoke, her voice as cold as ever, "They’re funeral clothes."

With her words, everyone looked closely again at the garments hanging under the eaves. Though they were bright red, in the circle at the center of the clothes... it did look like the word ’longevity’ was inscribed.

These blood-red funeral clothes swayed under the eaves like people hanging there, staring at the five of Bai Yanliang.

"Damn it, I really don’t want to go in..."

Lu Guo swallowed hard, his unease becoming more apparent.

"Why don’t we... take a look around the village first? Anyway, it’s not dark yet, the appointed time hasn’t come, we don’t have to go in so early..."

Lu Guo looked at the four, seeking their opinion.

His attitude was clear; he wanted to enter only when the task officially began.

"I agree."

Jiang Li immediately raised her hand.

In such an eerie village, the less time spent, the better. Since the task hadn’t started, encountering any unexpected event by entering early would truly leave them with no place to cry.

But Yu Wenxuan clearly didn’t agree. He glanced at Jiang Li and Lu Guo, saying:

"As you wish. Personally, I think it’s a good opportunity now to find clues for survival."

"Have you discovered something?" Lu Guo hesitated again.

Yu Wenxuan nodded slightly, his eyes narrowed, "Although this village is rundown and old, it evidently has inhabitants, people who have lived here long term. I think, even if there are ghosts here, the villagers must have found some way to ensure their safety. Otherwise... this village would have long become a true ghost town; how could there still be living people?"

Asking the villagers for methods to ward off ghosts...

Lu Guo pondered upon hearing this.

He couldn’t deny that Yu Wenxuan made a valid point. Since there were still living people in this village, it at least proved that the ghost can’t kill indiscriminately.

The villagers who are still alive might hold the key.

Perhaps, hanging a funeral garment at the door was a method...

"If only that Old Li was still here, but sadly he’s gone." Lu Guo said regretfully.

Bai Yanliang looked at him and said, "Do you think he was human?"

Lu Guo froze; not only him, the others also looked at Bai Yanliang.

Could it be... Bai Yanliang thought Old Li was a ghost?

Bai Yanliang turned, looking at the river flowing by the village, saying, "Why wasn’t his body present?"

With this question, everyone immediately realized the oddity.

Yes... why wasn’t Old Li’s body among the corpses drifting from upstream?

Could it be because he wasn’t a member of Fog Gathering?

No... it couldn’t be. If it were truly the work of a fierce ghost, it wouldn’t care about the living people’s identities.

The only explanation is that Old Li wouldn’t have left a corpse.

Which means, Old Li was already dead.

"Let’s just split up..." Lu Guo still couldn’t decide to enter now, "I’ll take a lap outside the village with Jiang Li. Those willing to go in can go and scout the place."

Bai Yanliang didn’t answer Lu Guo’s proposal; he kept his head down, deep in thought, his expression inscrutable.

"Mr. Bai, what do you think?"

Yu Wenxuan asked, staring at Bai Yanliang.

"Let’s go in and take a look first."

Bai Yanliang raised his head, answering.

"Alright, let’s proceed as planned and split up."

Yu Wenxuan nodded.

At that moment, they suddenly realized that after someone spoke up initially, there had been no further movement.

"Where’s Miss Xu?"

The four looked around, but Xu Zhifei was nowhere to be seen.

"She... she hasn’t encountered some trouble, has she?"

Jiang Li moved closer to the men, struggling to suppress the fear creeping up from deep within.

"I’m here."

Suddenly, Xu Zhifei’s voice emerged from not far beside Bai Yanliang.

Four pairs of eyes immediately darted to that spot.

But there was absolutely nothing where the voice came from!

Xu Zhifei... had she turned invisible?