Frightening Joke: Above the Mist
Chapter 53 Children

Chapter 53: Chapter 53 Children

Squinting eyes, crooked mouths, and disproportionate features made these silent and skinny villagers look very strange.

But the strangest thing was that among these people, there wasn’t a single female villager.

Except for the village chief’s granddaughter, everyone who appeared was male.

The villagers carefully twisted Cheng Zhipeng’s head back and closed his eyes, placing him on a wooden board.

Tian Dawei was clamoring to leave and call the police, He Miao was trembling while holding a dog, Chen Qingshan kept sighing, Sun Liang frowned without saying a word, and Tong Li was crying her heart out. Yet, Cheng Zhipeng, who was already dead, lay there rather peacefully.

The Old Village Chief looked at Cheng Zhipeng’s body with a complex expression before turning around and entering the house.

Li Mu glanced at the Old Village Chief, then turned back, nodded to Bai Yanliang and the others, and followed him inside.

It seems... he plans to confront the Old Village Chief himself, who is the biggest problem.

"Meet up at noon, everyone be careful." After Yu Hanzhou said this, he turned and walked in another direction, with Su Qian quickly following.

Seeing this, Huang Yourong also turned and left without a word.

Lin Yan kindly nodded to Bai Yanliang and Yu Sheng, saying, "Be careful, conduct the survival task with minimal exploration; waiting cautiously for the time to pass is the best strategy."

Yu Sheng thanked Lin Yan for her kindness, whereas Bai Yanliang seemed distracted and didn’t respond to Lin Yan’s words.

Soon, the few from Fog Gathering had all left one by one.

They weren’t the police and weren’t interested in Cheng Zhipeng’s death at all.

Only Tian Dawei might still think someone killed Cheng Zhipeng. The others had all noticed something wrong to some degree. Although Cheng Zhipeng was honest and straightforward, he was strong and robust, a bona fide big guy.

Who could instantly twist the neck of an adult male without causing any visible injuries?

The answer is obvious.

"Miss, are your legs inconvenient?"

Bai Yanliang snapped back to reality and looked up, it was actually the village chief’s granddaughter speaking.

Her gaze wasn’t directed at Bai Yanliang but rather, she looked somewhat sympathetically at Yu Sheng on Bai Yanliang’s back.

"If you don’t mind, I have a wheelchair that you can temporarily use."

Both Bai Yanliang and Yu Sheng were a bit surprised to hear this.

The word wheelchair... hearing it in such a remote mountain village always felt a bit strange.

"Thank you very much." Although puzzled, Bai Yanliang showed a cheerful smile.

The village chief’s granddaughter nodded slightly and turned to leave.

Bai Yanliang carried Yu Sheng, quietly waiting in place.

He didn’t speak, and Yu Sheng also remained silent.

Soon, she pushed out a wheelchair and looked at Yu Sheng, saying,

"My mom also had inconvenient legs and used this. Now she’s passed away... please don’t mind."

Yu Sheng shook her head repeatedly, thanking her: "Not at all, thank you... By the way, I don’t know... what’s your name?"

"Just call me Lu Bingyan." She seemed unwilling to say more, and after giving her name, she turned and left.

Bai Yanliang settled Yu Sheng into the wheelchair and watched Lu Bingyan’s retreating figure, thoughtful.

"What are you planning?"

Withdrawing his gaze, Bai Yanliang asked Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng paused and then touched the rather old wheelchair, saying, "You go ahead, I can manage."

Bai Yanliang nodded and walked away without looking back.

Yu Sheng suddenly smiled, a faint but genuine smile.

She wheeled herself in the direction Lu Bingyan had left.

...

Bai Yanliang stood in the village, looking around.

The mountains of Jixue Village were very different in shape from those around Ye City.

The mountains near Ye City looked like puffed-up buns, whereas the mountains in Jixue Village rose up like serrated blades, with a severe and indifferent intensity.

However, the vegetation nearby wasn’t sparse; situated in the south, there’s rarely any snow. Clearly, there’s more to the name Jixue Village.

Coming down a slope, Bai Yanliang returned to the village entrance.

Now as the sky brightened, the village’s appearance became clearer.

Apart from the village chief’s house, the village was mostly composed of adobe houses, with walls of yellow mud and black tiles for roofs, low and modest.

Some houses only used thick thatch as a roof, the thatch tightly packed and layered, with a few cold stones pressing on top.

Bai Yanliang’s movements soon caught others’ attention.

Three dark-skinned village children looked up and eyed him up and down.

According to the Old Village Chief, Jixue Village hadn’t had visitors for a long time.

Bai Yanliang glanced at the three children and waved at them.

Driven by curiosity, one slightly taller and older village child walked over, followed by the other two.

As they approached, Bai Yanliang smelled a faint stench on them—a mix of sweat and grime long unwashed.

Their clothes were caked with mud from top to bottom; the original color of these worn-out garments was indiscernible.

Apparently, they wore them regardless of the season, perhaps owning only this set, not intending to take them off for washing.

"Can you tell me what those are?"

Bai Yanliang squatted down, smiling gently at them.

He was referring to the iron cages covered with black cloth at each household’s entrance.

The three children exchanged a glance and suddenly grinned.

Bai Yanliang’s gaze turned cold, and he quickly stood and retreated.

Right where he’d just been squatting, the skinny, dark child swung a sickle.

Seeing Bai Yanliang evade his sickle, his eyes shone brightly as he looked at him.

Bai Yanliang also quietly observed them.

Their eyes were bright, but not purely innocent bright.

No... maybe it’s a kind of innocence.

Except it wasn’t an innocent kind of kindness, but... innocent evil.

"Clothes... stuff."

The slightly taller child pointed at Bai Yanliang, his voice childish.

They didn’t seem to speak often, and their tone was peculiar.

Bai Yanliang shook his head, ignoring him.

The child who wielded the sickle earlier swung it again.

Bai Yanliang lifted his foot, responding with a swift kick to the child’s face.

Without hesitation about bullying the weak, his kick sent the dark skinny child flying with several teeth, tumbling to the ground unconscious.

Bai Yanliang’s action finally seemed to make them realize this person’s trouble.

The remaining children didn’t scream or shout but quickly dragged their unconscious friend away.

Bai Yanliang flexed his ankle, frowning slightly.

What kind of environment fosters children who snatch whatever they fancy?

Could it be... these villagers were originally a band of bandits?

Bai Yanliang stroked his chin, not ruling out the possibility...