Frightening Joke: Above the Mist
Chapter 50 The Small Village

Chapter 50: Chapter 50 The Small Village

As they walked closer, everyone realized this village was larger than they had imagined.

The seven from Fog Gathering trailed behind, creating a slight distance from the six walking ahead.

Li Mu stopped in his tracks, looking around at everyone, and said:

"Two things: One, this is a survival task, and the ghost is unsolvable unless you, like Qi Nian, discover the hidden rules. Two, its uncanny abilities will manifest in two or more ways."

Everyone nodded, keeping Li Mu’s words in mind.

"I just chatted with them for a bit. The woman holding the dog is named He Miao, the driver is Tian Dawei, the old man is Chen Qingshan, and among the remaining three, the man who discovered the village is called Sun Liang. The other man and woman are a couple, the man Cheng Zhipeng and the woman Tong Li. All six are from Gui City. The long-distance bus we boarded earlier was also heading to Gui City."

The speaker was Lin Yan. She looked rather ordinary, but her eyes were exceptionally sharp.

Indeed, Lin Yan, in her thirties and having a background in sales, was well-versed in the art of communication.

Being able to understand everyone’s names and backgrounds in such a short time was her skill.

At this moment, the six people walking ahead suddenly became chaotic.

"Woof woof woof!"

The corgi that He Miao was holding suddenly jumped from her arms and barked fiercely towards the village.

"Doudou! What are you doing, Doudou!"

He Miao hurried to grab it, but the dog seemed insane, neither pulling nor retreating. When He Miao tried to hold it, it almost turned to bite her.

Its fur stood on end, the hair on its neck and tail bristled, its paws dug into the ground as it bared its teeth and barked madly at the village.

Tian Dawei and the others just thought this dog had gone mad, but Bai Yanliang and the others saw it tremble continuously as it barked fiercely.

It was scared.

What did it see?

The village, shrouded in a light mountain mist, suddenly whipped up a breeze, wailing like the sound of someone crying.

The trees on the mountains were rustling as overlapping branches in the shadows appeared like outstretched arms, reaching towards the thirteen people outside the village.

Tian Dawei and the others didn’t know, but Li Mu and the others were well aware that here... there was a ghost.

And it was an unsolvable terrifying fierce ghost.

The piercing dog barks echoed through the forest, and before long, there was movement from within the village. It seemed they finally heard the barking.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, an elder with a face like a cracked walnut, aided by a young woman, emerged.

"Who are you..."

His voice was as aged as his appearance, feeble and weak, as if he might pass out at any moment.

"Are you the Village Chief? We’re just passing by, our vehicle broke down so we’re resting in your village." Tian Dawei’s tone was ever unpleasant.

Sure enough, though the Old Village Chief didn’t react to his words, a man’s voice suddenly rang out.

"And why should we let you rest? Get lost!"

"Goddamnit, who is it!" Tian Dawei’s eyes widened, the flesh on his face quivered. This long-distance driver surely had a past.

"It’s me! What are you going to do about it!"

A robust young man emerged, eyebrows raised as he fearlessly glared at Tian Dawei.

"Cough... cough cough... Xiao Bin, don’t be rash." The Old Village Chief coughed violently, his voice growing weaker.

His drooping eyes scanned everyone, saying, "The village has no main road; cars can’t enter. Since you’ve found your way here, come in..."

"Village Chief!" The young man called Xiao Bin shouted, "These people have dubious origins, let them leave!"

Bai Yanliang suddenly turned his head, glancing at Xiao Bin.

With Yu Sheng still on his back, he followed Bai Yanliang’s gaze towards Xiao Bin, lost in thought.

"Nonsense!" The Old Village Chief glared angrily at him, "It’s getting dark, where would they go?"

Xiao Bin opened his mouth but said nothing further, his gaze moving back and forth among everyone, particularly glaring at Tian Dawei.

"Everyone... please follow me." Supported by the young woman, the Old Village Chief started walking into the village, "My surname is Yan, and I’m the Village Chief of Jixue Village. It’s been... a long time since we’ve had visitors..."

Village Chief Yan’s words filled the Fog Gathering visitors with unease.

This statement... was quite unsettling.

Just then, the young woman supporting him suddenly said, "Grandpa, the day after tomorrow is the Homecoming Festival. If we take in so many outsiders..."

Homecoming Festival?

The young woman’s words caught a few people’s attention.

The day after tomorrow... isn’t that the last day of the survival task?

Is this a coincidence?

"Quit the nonsense! Who the hell wants to stay here that long, the day after tomorrow... I’ll be out of here by tomorrow!"

Huang Yourong shot a glance at Tian Dawei, already seeing the glaring word ’death’ written on his forehead.

"Is that so?" The young woman gave Tian Dawei an odd look, "Then I hope you’ll be able to leave..."

This eerie statement tightened everyone’s chests.

But then, something even stranger appeared before their eyes.

Once inside the village, they realized there wasn’t a single cat or dog in sight—no chickens or ducks either. Instead, there were peculiar cages covered in black cloth and chained to every household’s doorway.

"What is this? Does your village keep lions?"

Tian Dawei asked casually as he lifted the black cloth on a nearby cage.

"Don’t pull!" Xiao Bin’s voice shouted.

But... his warning was a moment too late.

"Ahhhhh!!!!"

"Damn it! Let go!"

Tian Dawei’s eyes widened in rage, sweat pouring from him as an eerie woman clamped down hard on his finger.

Seeing this, everyone rushed to help, with Tian Dawei kicking the cage repeatedly, but the filthy, wild-haired woman inside refused to let go!

"Ahhhh!!!"

Tian Dawei let out an even more pitiful scream as he was pulled back by everyone, clutching his hand with horror and pain.

The woman had gnawed off his finger!

He Miao’s face went pale with fright, her screams lost in the shock.

"Damn it, I told you not to lift it!" Xiao Bin cursed angrily. Meanwhile, he somehow grabbed a handful of ash and scattered it on Tian Dawei’s severed finger, drawing another wretched howl from the short, stout driver.

But Bai Yanliang and the others weren’t even looking at the fool.

Their eyes scanned house after house.

In front of every... every house was an iron cage shrouded in black cloth.

Could it be... every cage held such a woman, one who feasted on human flesh?

"Please... don’t speak of this."

The Old Village Chief’s voice was filled with bitterness as he looked at everyone, trembling as he clasped his hands together in a gesture of pleading.