Frightening Joke: Above the Mist
Chapter 284: Melting

Chapter 284: Chapter 284: Melting

She understood.

The source of that... eerie familiarity.

Among them, the strangest thing was the wall that inexplicably appeared behind her, cutting off her retreat.

It always existed as a puzzle that Xu Zhifei couldn’t solve.

That was... why when it first appeared, she didn’t feel familiarity?

No... it should be said that all the familiarity appeared only afterward.

And that "afterward"... was the "gallery."

Whether it was the walls or the sense of deja vu of the building, all the familiarity happened after the gallery!

Realizing this, Xu Zhifei immediately sensed something was wrong with the gallery.

After thinking it through from beginning to end, she finally pinpointed the problem.

The paintings!

Those paintings hanging on the walls!

The vermilion door... the corridor full of arms... the courtyard with coffins... even the giant holding the house Bai Yanliang mentioned, were all depicted in the paintings hung on the walls!

Once this was realized, several other doubts were also resolved.

First was that wall that always inexplicably appeared behind them.

Because the place where they were, was inside the painting!

The back of the painting was this wall. Rather than saying their retreat was cut off after "passing through," it was more like they were just moving from one painting to another.

And also, the liquid that flowed out after Ou Zheng pierced the ghost hands. Although it smelled like blood, it looked entirely like paint!

The paintings... everything encountered after entering the gallery was within the paintings!

There were at least hundreds of paintings on the walls. If they really had to go through them one by one, the female ghost hidden in the paintings could definitely kill them all.

"To the fountain!"

Xu Zhifei said quickly.

Bai Yanliang turned on his heels and dashed toward the fountain.

His movements were without hesitation, putting all his strength into it.

However, he still couldn’t shake off the fierce ghost pursuing him.

Bai Yanliang ran desperately, while Xu Zhifei kept an eye on the fierce ghost behind them, as the fountain was now within reach!

Life or death would soon be revealed.

"Bai Yanliang..."

Xu Zhifei suddenly called out to him.

"Don’t give up... survive."

This might be the first time she uttered such words, so Xu Zhifei seemed quite awkward.

Whether Bai Yanliang heard it or not, he continued to run blindly.

Earlier, while carrying Xu Zhifei and weaving through the hall, they made quite a large circle.

Fortunately, this female ghost didn’t appear to have any other bizarre abilities.

Almost there...

Five meters...

Four meters...

Three meters...

Just as Xu Zhifei felt a slight relief, a strange, pallid arm suddenly emerged from the void in front of her!

Right... it also has the ability to extend its arm through space!

A chill ran down Xu Zhifei’s spine as the terrifying arm lunged toward her!

What to do... what should she do?

Facing the ghost head-on is impossible. Without knowing its rules, it’s an unsolvable entity!

But the restraining factor was clearly right in front of her!

It was a painting!

This world was a painting!

Water could wash it away!

However... the fountain was right there; the water she dreaded was so close yet unreachable...

Just then, Xu Zhifei suddenly felt a tremendous force from the arm holding her, and in a blur, she found herself thrown into the air!

Dazed, she saw that pale hand clutching Bai Yanliang’s neck once more!

Bai Yanliang, with no ability to resist, was lifted into the air without a struggle.

No... no, he can’t die!

His key had already been used; if he died this time, it would be for real!

A surge of unprecedented panic and fear made Xu Zhifei completely forget her fear of water as she tumbled into the fountain, sending a huge splash!

When the water splashed onto the ground, the surface began to blur like spreading ink.

It worked!

Xu Zhifei immediately scooped up a handful of water and flung it toward the ghost hand and the encroaching female ghost behind Bai Yanliang!

...

A suffocating sensation washed over him.

Yet Bai Yanliang remained unresponsive.

Bai Yanliang was a man without faith, so the concept of faith collapsing didn’t apply to him.

But at the moment the door opened, as he pierced his palm with the key, at the instant when the blood-red key activated its power...

Bai Yanliang saw many incredible things, things he had no choice but to believe.

Himself.

Bai Yanliang.

Was just a forged identity, a false memory, a soulless... body.

Bai Yanliang didn’t know what despair was, but his heart felt extremely heavy.

The person he had been pursuing, imitating, wasn’t what he thought at all.

Bai Yanren... was not his brother.

Their relationship was far more bizarre and complex.

Bai Yanliang’s mind was in chaos; was he Bai Yanren or Bai Yanliang?

He couldn’t be sure...

But one thing he was certain of was that Bai Yanren... was definitely still alive.

And, living well.

Maybe he was closely observing "his" growth and occasionally lending a "helping hand."

What am I...?

Thinking back, too many things about himself weren’t right...

In the asylum, whenever he wanted to learn something, he would "accidentally" find related books.

Even if none were available, Yang Wanlong would always show up at the right time, bringing exactly what he needed in his care packages.

It was all... too coincidental.

So coincidental that it seemed inevitable, so coincidental that Bai Yanliang never doubted it.

He was like a bird locked in a cage, not knowing that its wings could be used for flying.

By the time he realized, it was too late...

Bai Yanliang didn’t care about others’ skepticism, but now, he trapped himself in a quandary.

The ghost hand around his neck squeezed tighter. Suddenly, Bai Yanliang thought, if he died, would it disrupt Bai Yanren’s plans?

Though he didn’t know what Bai Yanren’s plans were.

But making him unhappy seemed like a good thing.

In his passive state, Bai Yanliang had no desire to struggle at all.

Until... he saw Xu Zhifei.

Currently, she looked quite miserable, her meticulously groomed long hair completely drenched, and her black gown clung awkwardly to her body.

She leaned against the fountain’s edge, tirelessly splashing water this way.

Seeing her like this, Bai Yanliang felt dazed.

She wanted to save him?

She didn’t want him to die?

Why...

I should be an unwelcome freak.

No... I couldn’t even be considered "human."

Bai Yanliang’s mind was a chaotic mess, but his neck was being squeezed so hard it cracked...

Xu Zhifei continued splashing water desperately, but it was always just out of reach.

Finally, she shouted, "Get closer to me!"

A solitary woman, who always kept her distance, saying something like this made Xu Zhifei feel truly ironic.

Nonetheless, under her call, Bai Yanliang finally moved forward.

"Sss—"

A drop of water splashed onto the ghost hand, and an abnormality abruptly arose.

It dissolved.

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