Frightening Joke: Above the Mist
Chapter 225: Funeral Clothes

Chapter 225: Chapter 225: Funeral Clothes

Has she turned invisible?

The occurrence was somewhat unexpected for Bai Yanliang; Xu Zhifei’s voice was clearly beside him, yet the four of them couldn’t see anything.

Is this an optical invisibility or a physical transparency?

Bai Yanliang reached out his hand, feeling around in the air.

What was that?

Cold and icy, not large, somewhat soft...

"Slap—"

A loud slap landed on Bai Yanliang’s face.

Alright, now he could be sure Xu Zhifei had only become invisible to the naked eye, but physically, she was still there.

"What did you just do, or say?"

Bai Yanliang asked the air beside him.

Yu Wenxuan and the others stared at him in bewilderment.

A red palm mark quickly appeared on Bai Yanliang’s left cheek, but he acted nonchalant, asking questions as if nothing had happened.

Seeing everyone’s expressions, Bai Yanliang thought they were bewildered and explained, "This kind of invisibility shouldn’t happen suddenly. It might have been her words or actions that triggered some taboo, causing her to be like this now."

"Wait a minute..."

Jiang Li suddenly spoke, "What if the elder leading us also turned invisible this way? What if he’s really a ghost..."

Saying this, Jiang Li suddenly felt a chill on the back of her neck, as if someone was blowing on it.

It’s really hard to say...

Jiang Li’s words sent a shiver down Lu Guo’s spine as well.

Bai Yanliang quickly interrupted everyone’s wild thoughts, "You still haven’t answered me."

He was obviously speaking to Xu Zhifei.

"No."

Xu Zhifei coldly spat out two words.

Whether it was a delusion or not, they all felt Xu Zhifei’s tone was even colder than before, as if she were angry.

It seemed Bai Yanliang had touched a place he shouldn’t have earlier.

"I saw a face."

At this moment, Xu Zhifei suddenly spoke again.

"A face?" Lu Guo’s eyes widened, somewhat confused by what Xu Zhifei meant.

"A white face appeared on the collar of the funeral clothes just now."

Although Xu Zhifei’s tone was calm, her words sent chills down their spines.

Bai Yanliang immediately looked at the nearest set of funeral clothes. It still hung vividly red beneath the eaves, showing no anomalies, let alone a white face appearing on the collar.

But he didn’t think Xu Zhifei was lying or mistaken.

The thing she saw was probably the reason she became invisible.

"Do you remember what that face looked like?" Bai Yanliang asked the air intently.

Xu Zhifei didn’t answer, but Bai Yanliang could hear her breathing seemed somewhat erratic.

"You... turn around."

Xu Zhifei seemed to be gritting her teeth.

"Hmm?"

Bai Yanliang was puzzled, still staring at the air next to him.

"Don’t look at my..." Xu Zhifei’s voice carried a hint of embarrassment, "Turn around."

"Oh." Bai Yanliang felt rather aggrieved; it was clearly just a mass of air.

"That face... was mine."

Xu Zhifei’s voice rang out again.

This time, it was even more horrifying.

Jiang Li couldn’t believe why Xu Zhifei hadn’t screamed earlier. Was she not afraid?

A funeral garment suddenly displayed her own face...

Just imagining it gave Jiang Li chills, yet Xu Zhifei stood there quietly all this time, waiting until everyone realized she had disappeared to speak up.

Jiang Li didn’t know whether to commend her bravery or criticize her for being slow to react.

"What do we do now? Xu Zhifei has become invisible, and if something happens to her, we won’t even know." Lu Guo furrowed his brow and said.

At this moment, Bai Yanliang raised his phone, opened the camera, and started filming the air beside him.

"It’s not working this time..."

Xu Zhifei’s figure didn’t appear in the shots, which left Bai Yanliang a bit disappointed.

It seemed it wasn’t the same as last time, when the camera could capture invisible things.

Thinking for a moment, Bai Yanliang took out a thin cord, which he previously used to string keys. Now that the keys were given to Xun Weimo, the cord was temporarily unused, but it came in handy now.

Bai Yanliang tied one end of the cord to his left wrist, then handed the other end to the air.

"Tie it."

Xu Zhifei took the cord; though unseen by Bai Yanliang and others, she had been watching him all along.

This was actually quite bothersome because in an emergency, it would be hard to run while tethered.

The better option, naturally, would be to hold hands directly.

But Bai Yanliang didn’t want to get slapped again.

Being hit is an unpleasant thing, and although Xu Zhifei had saved him before, if it happened again, Bai Yanliang might not hold back from retaliating.

After securing it, Xu Zhifei’s invisibility problem was temporarily resolved.

The five of them decided to split up according to their earlier agreement.

Bai Yanliang, Xu Zhifei, and Yu Wenxuan headed into the village first.

Jiang Li and Lu Guo patrolled outside the village to see if there were any new findings.

Outside the village.

Jiang Li and Lu Guo had worked together before, so they were somewhat familiar with each other.

"What’s up? Are you still bothered by what Xu Zhifei said earlier?"

Lu Guo looked at the preoccupied Jiang Li and said, "Don’t overthink it. Although Xu Zhifei saw her own face on the funeral clothes, she’s only invisible for now, and nothing too terrifying has happened yet."

"What about... that elder?" Jiang Li looked up at Lu Guo and asked.

Lu Guo opened his mouth but hesitated; honestly, he was also worried Old Li, who seemed like a ghost, was lurking invisibly nearby.

After all, how could such a big person simply disappear without a trace?

Lu Guo remembered Yu Wenxuan had chased him closely, only to lose sight for two or three seconds before he disappeared, which seemed impossible.

"If... he really wanted to harm us, he could have acted on the road. Don’t worry, it’s fine..." Even as Lu Guo said this, he didn’t really believe it himself.

"Well, maybe... I’m overthinking it."

Jiang Li nodded, but what she truly thought inside was unknown to anyone but herself.

This time before setting out, Jiang Li had made meticulous preparations.

Included were data on Shangyuan Village, Zhongyuan Village, and Lower Yuan Village.

Although she couldn’t find anything, Jiang Li unexpectedly discovered the meanings of the terms Shangyuan, Zhongyuan, and Lower Yuan.

Specifically, Zhongyuan, in layman’s terms... was the Ghost Festival on the 15th of July.

The customs of the festival included ancestor worship, releasing river lanterns, and paying respects to lost souls...

In Fog Gathering, people long knew one thing: never ignore any detail.

These details included slight abnormalities or seemingly mundane coincidences.

Shangyuan Village, Zhongyuan Village, Lower Yuan Village.

Lantern Festival, Ghost Festival, Lower Yuan Festival.

Is this really just a coincidence...

Jiang Li shivered internally and glanced towards the village.

All she could see was the back of Bai Yanliang and Yu Wenxuan.

The two were knocking on a wooden door with a glaringly red funeral garment hanging out front...